Category Archives: Cultural Learnings

July 23, 2008 · 10:58 pm

A Cultural Vacation

Hey all,

I’m off to beautiful Kejimkujik National Park for the weekend, and as a result there’s going to be a lack of postings around these here parts. I promise to get to Project Runway, My Boys and Burn Notice when I return next week, but first and foremost I’ll be back on Monday with my thoughts on the Mad Men premiere on AMC (Sunday at 10). If you haven’t yet caught up with the show, immediately go out and buy the DVDs and gorge on a fantastic series.

Hope all have a fun weekend, and if I miss out on any big TV news from Comic Con feel free to be excited/apprehensive for me in my absence.

Myles

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June 2, 2008 · 2:21 pm

June @ Cultural Learnings: A Preview

As far as TV months go, you’d think that June would be pretty dead.

All the finales have ended, there is largely still a lack of quality in summer network offerings, and enough major films release that it seems that other media formats are outweighing my personal favourite.

However, at the same time, June is a month in which I have a fair amount of time: summer is here, DVD prices are continuing to drop rapidly, and after pontificating to great length over various finales there is a desire to continue on the same path. As a result of this, perhaps even more than last year, I have every intention on keeping busy during this month.

Most pressing is tonight’s guest spot on the /Filmcast, the official podcast of SlashFilm.com. My old pals from The Watchers have gone corporate, but with good reason: /Film’s a great site, and the podcast remains a great community in which to discuss film and television. I’ll be on for the first half hour of the show or so to discuss Lost’s season finale, so tune in @ the live uStream Channel at around 10 EST to listen to me attempt to condense 5000 words of analysis into quippy contributions to a group discussion!

Elsewhere, however, there’s plenty of other things to chat about.

First off, I’m in the process of what I’d like to call “Myles Meets HBO,” a chance for me to catch up on shows that aired on a cable network I didn’t get, and to a certain extent pre-date my interest in television. First and foremost, I am now 2+ seasons into Six Feet Under, a show I picked up on DVD and have been enjoying greatly (I’ll probably talk about this later in the week, maybe once I hit the official halfway point).

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January 30, 2008 · 2:52 pm

Apologies and a Podcast: A Cultural Update

You know, folks, I had big plans for this week in my head – a review of last night’s new episode of House, a preview of ABC’s new series Eli Stone, a big post about how to prepare to watch Lost’s Fourth Season, and of course a review of the show’s season premiere. And, well, only one of these things is going to happen, so stay tuned for my review of the premiere tomorrow night.

The reason is I am ridiculously busy: I’m planning a large-scale debating tournament, preparing to enter into thesis hibernation, planning my long-term academic future, helping promote/facilitate a campus event, and fighting off the later stages of a cold. It’s kind of like the perfect storm of every commitment I have at this point, and unfortunately blogging is the most malleable of those commitments.

As a result, I’ll be out of the commission over the next few weeks, but I’m at least happy that I have something to tide you over. This time with a far better microphone (So good it apparently picked up a ridiculous amount of background noise, including my ludicrously loud typing), I was once again a guest of Dave, Devindra and Adam over at The Watchers. These guys know their entertainment, and it’s always a pleasure to join them in discussing the latest in film and television.

The Watchers Episode Four

http://www.alwayswatching.org/

In terms of television, I briefly discuss Eli Stone and Chuck’s final two episodes of the season while everyone gangs up on the hugely successful and hugely exploitative Moment of Truth. We also discuss the return of Weeds and Mad Men’s writers, followed by an indepth discussion of another of last summer’s best shows, Damages. For film buffs, there’s also an indepth discussion of The Nines and our comments about Heath Ledger’s tragic passing.

So head on over to The Watchers to check that out, and check back here at Cultural Learnings on Thursday night for the definitive Lost review*.

*Note: May or may not actually be definitive.

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January 17, 2008 · 8:33 pm

Cultural Learnings Celebrates its First Anniversary

One year ago today, I started Cultural Learnings.

This sounds really startling when I say it aloud, but over the past month or so I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ve been doing this for an entire year. I really wish that this was falling during a less busy time of the year, because as it is I feel like I am doing this post a disservice. I should have spent a week on a retrospective post like the one I did for my three-month anniversary, before my blog became focused closer on television.

But unfortunately, a combination of work and illness has meant that all we’re getting today is a solemn and humble thank you, and a promise that at some point in time I will reward you with some sort of prize for your continued readership. But, for now, let’s settle with this.

Thank you for reading, commenting, emailing, subscribing, questioning, enjoying, criticizing, and inspiring for an entire year. If you had told me one year ago that my blog would win 2nd place in a contest held by the Nielsen Company, I would have guffawed. I loved TV, no question, but blogging about it had never been something I had really considered.

What I enjoy the most about blogging is not that people are reading my opinions, as if I require the validation of a readership. Rather, I have been inspired that people have cared about what I’ve written and have added their own opinions. My experience working with fans of Jericho hasn’t been rewarding in the sense of statistics or prestige, but rather in establishing relationships with people as fascinated by television as I am. Being able to feed and observe your passion has been an experience I did not expect to have, and something I enjoy immensely.

So, with one year behind us, it’s time to look forward to the next year (And there WILL be another year and more). I want to continue to offer content you enjoy, content I enjoy, and content which engages important issues. The Writers’ Strike is only one part of the television story – I am excited for the return of Lost and Battlestar Galactica, and of course the long anticipated return of Jericho, I could finally start blogging about Project Runway (It’ll be late, stupid Canadian broadcasting rights), and I’ll be back on the reality bandwagon with the February premiere of Survivor: Fans vs. Favourites.

Thank you to anyone who contributed to my 200,000+ Page Views, and I hope that you will continue to 200,000 more.

Keep on watchin’,

Myles

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January 16, 2008 · 11:13 am

Cultural Listening: The Watchers Podcast

This will be a brief post only due to a bit of a time crunch, but on Monday evening I was the honoured guest of Dave, Devindra and Adam on The Watchers Podcast. While the podcast is mostly focused on film, something more universal for the three normal contributors, my inclusion brought out a bit more TV discussion of shows like 30 Rock and Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles…well, it would have if my microphone wasn’t a “JWin” and as a result much of it has been (rightly) cut out. However, some of it remains, so if you desire to hear my terrible for vocal recordings voice, feel free to listen!

The Watchers: Episode 2

Includes discussions of the Writers’ Strike, Fight Club: The Musical, Sunshine, Stephen Chow, and more!

More importantly, however, the three of them provide a fascinating discussion of all things film and entertainment in general – I ended up having to sit out some of their discussions simply because I haven’t seen the films they mentioned and want to without them spoiling it. It’s a great way for me to be guilted into watching films I haven’t really gotten to over time, so it’s definitely something I’ll keep listening to even if I am unable to make it back onto the podcast due to my mic situation.

But, in the meantime, head over to The Watchers, subscribe, and enjoy some fantastic podcasting. I might be back with thoughts on American Idol tonight, but more than likely will simply be back tomorrow with an announcement of sorts. Stay tuned!

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December 29, 2007 · 8:10 pm

Ringing in the New Year in Front of the TV – The Start of 2008 at Cultural Learnings

While it may not sound productive to my thesis advisor or to those who remain concerned about my academic future, there’s nothing like television to bring productivity back to the forefront after the lethargic post-Christmas period. In what is normally a fairly quiet time for television, as series go on extended hiatuses until mid-January in order to extend their seasons into May, this year is obviously quite different: there might not even be a May for a majority of series, and the television landscape remains a battleground as opposed to a form of entertainment. The result is a rather busy first week of the new year, which will be reflected here at Cultural Learnings

For this blog, as opposed to some others, the New Year signals a time to look forward as opposed to backwards. With 2008 on the horizon, and shaping up to be a sparse yet volatile year for television, I want to take a look at what we might be looking forward to in the new year. As a result, I’ve prepared a list of The 10 Shows to (Hopefully) Watch in 2008. This is not a list of the shows to actually physically sit and enjoy, but rather those which pique my curiosity for good or bad reasons. These are the shows which are in need of improvement, those making their triumphant return, or those which face an uncertain future and some unique opportunities in the new year. Look for numbers 10-8 in this countdown to debut on Monday, with the remainder of list emerging throughout the week.

The week is not devoid of new television programming, however. Sunday brings the latest episode of The Amazing Race, while Wednesday brings both a new episode of Gossip Girl and the premiere of the new lineup for Law & Order. This is followed by Celebrity Apprentice (Which is being blogged about purely for the sake of entertainment, as opposed to true interest) on Thursday, and then the first of a rather large number of new Friday Night Lights episodes to air in 2008 on Friday.

As a result, after a rather large period of Cultural Learnings being a bit outside of the curve so to speak, it looks like this week will provide plenty of fodder moving forward. Check back for the 10 shows to watch, and for reviews/commentary, throughout the week, and look for more news about future developments on New Year’s Day.

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December 23, 2007 · 12:25 am

Happy Holidays from Cultural Learnings!

Hey everyone,

Hope all is well this holiday season! I have to apologize for not being able to bring you end of year retrospectives and the like, but my real life has taken a turn for the hectic. The result was a whirlwind of essays, exams, theses, and just about everything else under the sun. I am going to try to get back into a posting rhythm in the New Year, but we’ll see how that goes.

However, where I have dropped the ball others have mercifully picked it up and ran with it. Here’s a couple of links to keep you occupied during this festive time of year, and may they and the rest of the month bring you good tidings.

South Dakota Dark, where I’ve been covering Dirty Sexy Money, has been going full force with an epic countdown of the 100 Greatest Television Shows of all time. I am envious of Todd for being capable of crafting this list, as I am both too young and was too-television deprived in my youth to possibly cover the same range of material. I know that a lot of my future DVD purchases may end up coming from this list, so be sure to check it out.

SDD’s Top 100 Shows of All-Time

If TV isn’t your current mood, what about Music? McNutt Against the Music, run by my elder brother, has put together a fantastic series of lists of the year’s best and worst in music.

McNutt Against the Music’s Best of Music 2007

And because it’s the holidays, time to spend a little bit of time with a certain frog (or lizard, if you prefer):

YouTube – Muppet Family Christmas

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November 11, 2007 · 4:36 pm

In Support of the Writers Guild of America

Over the past four weeks, my life has been dominated by labour action – on October 15th, the faculty at Acadia University (Which I attend) went on strike. This strike did not end until Wednesday, which meant three and a half weeks out of the classroom. In covering that strike, I maintained a neutral perspective: I felt the profs were striking for sound principles, but that the administration could never simply accept their demands thanks to shrinking enrollment. The landscape of the university was changing, and this crossroads was only inevitable. In the end, our second strike in 4 years was settled, this time with a resolution that should maintain the security of the institution for over a decade.

I mention all of this because I am not neutral about the recent Writer’s strike that has threatened the state of this year’s television season. If Acadia’s administration were facing dwindling enrollment and a grave financial position, Studios are facing a boon in the form of the ability to distribute content over the internet. Hollywood stands at a content-distribution crossroads, and the idea that the internet is “too young” to enter into contract negotiations is ludicrous. New Media is here, there’s no doubt about it, and something needs to be done to respect the work of writers within this medium.

In my time working with fans of CBS’ Jericho, the way many fans caught onto the show was through watching episodes online through the network’s Innertube service. In some cases, it was the only way they watched the show as they were unable to watch the series live thanks to other commitments. The idea that the writers of that episode, the individuals responsible for crafting those words, get nothing for every time someone watches it through this medium makes me wonder whether the service is really assisting the state of television in the long run. Because it should be: there lies amazing potential within the internet, but if it is being realized to the detriment of the writers I believe its value is primarily lost.

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October 16, 2007 · 10:28 pm

Hey! Nielsen TV Blog Contest Update – 3rd Place? Madness!

Hey everyone, hope everything is going well out there. While I’m busy off dealing with the faculty strike (They’re talking again tomorrow night, in case someone is theoretically interested in my daily affairs), I missed an email that informed me that Cultural Learnings was sitting in 3rd Place in the Hey! Nielsen TV Blog Contest.

Needless to say, I need to thank everyone who has voted for me thus far. The fact that you’d take the time to react to this site in a positive fashion shows I must be doing something right. I greatly appreciate the support, and only wish I could have been more productive over the weekend to justify this high placement.

Now, you might be wondering what my plans are to dethrone the current leader. Well, I have no plans whatsoever. When it comes to who deserves to win this contest, there is no doubt in my mind that current #1, Jericho Monster, is that site.

Jane has put together a site that has garnered interviews with not only bloggers like myself and Rich over at Copywrite Ink., but also actors like Lennie James, who plays Hawkins on Jericho. Her interviews and postings have been a huge service to a fan campaign, and her contributions don’t stop there: whether on message boards or elsewhere, Jane has been a huge part of the Save Jericho campaign.

And since that’s really what Hey! Nielsen is for, rewarding those who step outside the box to promote their favourite series, I want everyone who might vote for me to vote for Jane as well.

Hey! Nielsen TV Blog Entry – Jericho Monster

Hey! Nielsen TV Blog Entry – Cultural Learnings

Thanks again, everyone: voting ends on October 24th!

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October 14, 2007 · 9:27 pm

Explaining the Cultural Absence

Hey loyal readers,

I know I’ve been a little bit aloof lately with the television, but there were a series of events that kept me both away from television and away from this blog. I am but a student, after all, so there are some times when television actually has to take a back seat (Yeah, I know, it’s not cool).

The faculty of my university is officially going on strike tomorrow morning, and I’ve been blogging for the Students’ Union in order to inform students about the details and the ongoing activities. This has taken up a great deal of my time, and I’ll be working in this role and others throughout the coming week (at least) to best deal with this situation.

But in short: I thought this week’s Friday Night Lights was better but still not quite on its feet, I found 30 Rock REALLY funny if not monumental, Survivor is a wee bit too predictable this year, and I’ll hopefully be able to watch Brothers & Sisters from tonight at some point tomorrow.

I would like to thank everyone who commented on my Hey! Nielsen Sound Off! week. It was great to get some fan participation, especially with the addition of Dresden Files fans late in the game.

All the best, and feel free to send me off an email if you have any TV related comments or questions!

Myles

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