Antenna Free TV — Sharp, Passionate TV Criticism

‘The Voice’ Has Become Super Boring, But Blake Shelton is a Smart Coach

Last night’s elimination episode of The Voice, which sent the show’s top five acts to its season four semi-finals, restored my faith in the viewers who vote for and download music from the contestants. The retention of the only two non-country singers left in the competition, Sasha Allen and Michelle Chamuel, proved that at this [...]

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Dan Harmon’s Return to ‘Community’ Should Come with Lowered Expectations

by Joel Keller June 4, 2013 Commentary

The slavish following Community creator Dan Harmon has garnered is unprecedented among TV showrunners. Even TV visionaries past and present, like David Chase, David E. Kelley, Aaron Sorkin and Amy Sherman-Palladino, or social-media-literate producers like Bill Lawrence and Shonda Rhimes, never had people follow them around as they toured the country doing a podcast. None [...]

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Is Walt Longmire TV’s New Western Anti-Hero?

by Mike Moody June 3, 2013 Commentary

Longmire spent most of its first season quietly becoming one of the best procedural dramas on cable TV, deftly balancing pulpy case-of-the-week mysteries with longer character-driven story arcs. Set against Wyoming’s gorgeous and rugged mountain land (but mostly shot in New Mexico), A&E’s adaptation of author Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire Mysteries mirrored its lead character’s [...]

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‘The Killing’ Season 3 Premiere: A Promising New Start

by Mike Moody June 3, 2013 Reviews

It’s almost impossible to review the season three premiere of AMC’s The Killing without mentioning the mixed reactions to the show’s first two seasons. Or how the show was cancelled then resurrected after a deal was struck with Netflix. Or how awesome Holder looks in his new suit. Trouble is, I don’t want to write [...]

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Pilot Error: ‘Killer App’

by Will Harris May 31, 2013 Commentary

Why is this man smiling? Oh, wait, sorry, he’s actually not smiling. Garry Trudeau, on the other hand, is probably jumping for joy right about now, what with Amazon having decided to give his pilot, Alpha House, a series pick-up. As is becoming — and will continue to be — a recurring theme within this [...]

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One Man, One New Man, And a Little Girl

by Dw Dunphy May 30, 2013 Commentary

There are some things you simply never do on modern TV, not because they’re taboo or in poor taste — Mary Louise Parker’s character in Weeds had sex in an alleyway, for heaven’s sake, so are there any no-no’s really left? — but because they were once done so often and were such bald-faced acts [...]

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Family Strife Makes ‘New Jersey’ the Most Watchable ‘Real Housewives’

by Joel Keller May 30, 2013 Commentary

Anyone who used to follow me over at AOL knows that I’ve never been shy about my love of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of New Jersey. It’s only one of two RH series that I watch, and it’s the only one I’ve enjoyed since day one. I’ve interviewed Caroline Manzo and even trekked out to [...]

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Chronicles of a Cord-Cutter: So Long, Cable Bill

by Jeff Giles May 29, 2013 Commentary

During a recent edition of Craig Rowin’s “It’s That Episode” podcast, Rowin’s guest, Natasha Rothwell, described herself as a “TV baby” — a member of the generation for whom television was a commonplace fixture in the home, and one to be cheerfully enjoyed rather than guiltily moderated. I’ve got a few years on Rothwell, but [...]

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English Lessons: How The U.S. Finally ‘Got’ U.K. Television

by Dw Dunphy May 28, 2013 Commentary

If you had asked me in early 1982 if Doctor Who would ever be one of the more popular series in the U.S., I’d have thought you were cracking into your parents’ liquor cabinet again. Doctor Who was barely able to hang onto syndication here on the U.S. east coast back in the early ‘80s, trundling from independent [...]

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Forget AMC: FOX’s ‘The Goodwin Games’ and NBC’s ‘Save Me’ are the REAL Walking Dead

by Will Harris May 24, 2013 Commentary

This week, FOX debuted a new sitcom called The Goodwin Games. If you missed it, well, you’re not the only one. After all, who expects a network to introduce a new sitcom to its lineup just as it’s offering up the season finales of its current series and beginning the process of trumpeting all of [...]

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