It is that time again folks! The end of the year is upon us and that means it is time to look back on the highs, lows and WTFs in television from the past 12 months. There is a lot to reflect on in regard to television 2011. Charlie Sheen went crazy. Well, crazier. Comedy … Continue reading TV Surveillance’s Worst of 2011: Worst New Series
Category: The Killing
Quality television-by-the-numbers: On AMC’s continued misguided laziness
This is not a review for the pilot episode of Hell on Wheels. You see because I don’t think I could barely muster up more than 150 words about that initial offering. At the pilot stage, Hell on Wheels is dull, sloppy, clunky and generally trying to do way too many different things without accomplishing … Continue reading Quality television-by-the-numbers: On AMC’s continued misguided laziness
Season Finale — The Killing, “Orpheus Descending”
This is going to be a slightly different kind of review, mostly because it's going to talk just as much about the reaction to the episode as it does the episode itself. If you've been on the site over the last week, you probably came across my frustrated rant about The Killing, pre-finale. After watching … Continue reading Season Finale — The Killing, “Orpheus Descending”
Empty twists: On frustrations with The Killing
I haven't written about The Killing in a very long time and I think you can guess why: It quickly devolved into a boring mess. I still enjoyed a number of the performances -- most notably Michelle Forbes and Brent Sexton -- but the middle part of this season focused way too much on a … Continue reading Empty twists: On frustrations with The Killing
Telling the best original stories?: Discussing AMC’s brand development
I have been thinking a lot about television network/channel branding lately. Call it a dual byproduct of writing a MA thesis on the topic and the upfronts season, which always brings forth questions about whether or not a series is "right" for whatever it is a network or channel is trying to do. My branding-on-the-brain … Continue reading Telling the best original stories?: Discussing AMC’s brand development
The Killing, “What You Have Left”
Note: I'm super-busy this week, but wanted to get down a few quick thoughts. I haven't written about The Killing for a few weeks. Part of that has to do with scheduling issues; I've been traveling the last two weekends. But perhaps more importantly, the last two episodes of the series haven't been particularly review-worthy. … Continue reading The Killing, “What You Have Left”
The Killing, “El Diablo”
The first two episodes of The Killing that aired last week were, let's say, fairly dark. The case is depressing, the location is depressing and a lot of these people Linden and Holder are coming into contact with seem suspicious and kind of awful. Well, if the events of this week's episode, "El Diablo," are … Continue reading The Killing, “El Diablo”
Series Premiere — The Killing, “Pilot” and “The Cage”
I've slowly recognized that reviewing pilots of big, anticipated series is sort of a frivolous game. By the time something like The Killing hits the airwaves like it did last night, it's been discussed so much and been reviewed so frequently, it's moderately difficult to think about the series in ways that the 923 reviews … Continue reading Series Premiere — The Killing, “Pilot” and “The Cage”
