Monday, November 10, 2008

Sepinwall on TV: Dipping into the mailbag

In today's column, I answer a few reader letters, including one about whether "The Shield" can get back into awards contention for its final season, and one about the division of labor between the print column and the blog.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

wow....your favorite drama series ending ever....even better than the Wire? I have never seen the shield, but now will have to at some point. And the best part of your story on the mailbag was where you state you aren't going anywhere. Very happy to hear.
One more thing....any news on if or when Curb Your Enthusiasm is coming back?
Thanks

Pamela Jaye said...

I finally saw Joe The Plumber (told you I could do that politics avoidey thing!) ans wow, he really does look like Michael Chicklis (who, btw, had a lot of hair when he graduated, 3 years after me (the boston globe had a hs yearbook graduation picture edition of its Sunday magazine, years ago))

Nicole said...

I'm trying not to get to excited over your praise of the series finale of the Shield because I don't want my expectations raised too high. That said, I enjoyed both the Sopranos and Wire finales so as long as it makes some sort of sense, then I'll be okay with it. I only wish that they would air the last two back to back because I bet that would add to the breathtaking pace.

Rick said...

"...I'm extremely open to suggestions about what you'd like to see from me, both in print and online."

I have no suggestions, only praise: In the world of television writing, there are mostly two options: The Meat & Potatoes of facts and recaps (TWoP, TV.com) and The Sugary Desserts of Celebrity Culture & Spoilers (Ausielo, Kristen at E!)

The reason people gravitate here is because of the rarity of actual thought and analysis out there. (My foods analogy has broken down here, but I suppose we could liken your writing to... lasagna? Layered, with flavor and, um, cheese.) Most people are content with that superficial glimpse, but those of us recognizing a subtext delight in the actual discussion you provide here. (There are certainly others who deserve praise, like Maureen, but insight is certainly the exception in television writing, and television in general. This set of parenthesis sort of got away from me.)

Glad to hear the Star-Ledger recognizes what they've got. Keep up the great work!

Anonymous said...

I too was delighted to hear that you are "not going anywhere"! I actually read the Star Ledger each evening (yup, the one you can hold in your hand) and I squealed out loud when I got to that part of the column (at which point my husband, who reads the SL in the morning, said, "Oh, yeah, Alan's staying). I'm sure it is not an easy time there for any of you but I am selfishly so pleased that you will still have a home at the home-town paper.

And not to hijack the thread, but speaking of the home-town, did you happen to see Corey Booker on Bill Maher's show? It was pretty great.