In “Pepper McMasters Singles Seminar,” things are settling into a rhythm. The format of Party Down is becoming clear–every episode takes place over the course of a Party Down-catered event. Henry settles into the tedium of bartending, Casey argues with…
TV Review: Netflix’s Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp Recaptures the Spirit of Its Origin
When Wet Hot American Summer hit theaters over a decade ago, it flopped spectacularly at the box office–not a particularly surprising turn of events for a tiny indie film starring a bunch of people no one had ever heard of.…
TV Review: Lifetime’s UnReal Season 1 Exceeds Reasonable Expectations
As you may have heard by now, Lifetime’s UnReal is fantastic. Created by Marti Noxon and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, UnReal goes behind the scenes of a fictional The Bachelor style reality-TV show called Everlasting. At the start of the…
TV Throwback Review: Party Down (1×02) “California College Conservative Union Caucus”
In last week’s “Willow Canyon Homeowners Annual Party,” the perceived failure of Henry Pollard is contrasted with the perceived success of Gordon McSpadden. In “California College Conservative Union Caucus,” the innate laziness behind Henry’s decision to quit acting is examined…
TV Throwback Review: Party Down (1×01) “Willow Canyon Homeowners Annual Party”
“Do you know what you get when you hire a Party Down catering team?” Conventional wisdom would suggest that if you were to begin a Party Down retrospective series with a quotation, you’d go with “Are we having fun…
TV Review: BoJack Horseman Has a New Outlook on Life in Season 2 of the Netflix Comedy
Few of the great TV protagonists have been extravagantly rich. It’s hard for an audience to empathize with characters that openly and gleefully flaunt their wealth. TV writers and executives know this, and that’s a big part of why, at…
