30 Rock, Fringe, more finales, cancellations, and other news this week at The A.V. Club
Don’t miss
- In AVQ&A, we picked the music we’d use to influence children’s tastes. Because the best way to raise kids is with lots of meddling.
- We collected 14 TV series that became bigger than their original film versions, and no, we did not forget Buffy, do not worry.
- To wipe the pleasant thoughts of Friday Night Lights from everyone’s minds, we followed that up with 8 truly scary PG-13 horror films. It is a slightly less pleasant list.
- We picked 10 episodes of 30 Rock to remind ourselves how desperately we’re going to miss it after next week. If you’re reading this site and have somehow never watched the show, now you can catch up before the finale and cry with the rest of us.
- Inside Llewyn Davis, The Coen Brothers’ new film about the Greenwich Village ’60s folk scene, has a trailer, and it is bleak.
- Our Sundance coverage continued this week with early reviews of Before Midnight, Upstream Color, and more.
- Nathan delivered a verdict of “it’s fucking dreadful” in Dispatches From Direct To DVD Purgatory. For a Tarantino ripoff that features Dane Cook, that’s actually a pretty solid review.
- Jason Heller explained how Adam Ant made the ’80s his bitch with bold defiance and an affinity for pirates.
- Noel Murray considered the short- and long-term effects of hype, and how that might affect Frank Ocean’s career.
- Back Issues tackles the eighth Sandman collection and Noel Murray’s favorite.
- Scharpling & Wurster share their three favorite Best Show Gems and the stories behind them.
- After loving George Saunders’ latest short-story collection, Kevin McFarland railed against Adrian Chen at Gawker for claiming that Saunders must write a novel to be recognized. After a book that great, Saunders can write whatever he pleases.
- “Is this really… wait a second… we’re going to be dancing? This is crazy!” Turns out Sarah Paulson wasn’t ready for “The Name Game” episode of American Horror Story either.
- Count the number of times Jesse Pinkman says “bitch” on Breaking Bad, because what better way is there to spend time?
- We followed fractured fairytales this week in honor of Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. You can read about all the films here, including Freeway, a sleazy faux-’70s flick starring Reese Witherspoon.
- Elaine May was a notorious perfectionist and not prolific, but the films she did make are worthwhile and worthy of the full Gateways To Geekery treatment.
- “No matter how successful I got, my mother still thinks I’m a bad person.” Jim Jefferies on himself and the version of himself he plays on Legit.
- This video of Paul Giamatti swapping in for the romantic leads in Twilight, You’ve Got Mail, and Magic Mike deserves at least three views from everyone on the planet.
- Denver, Denver, T.J. Miller’s from Denver, and he will rhyme it with tender as much as he pleases in “Denver.”
What are we arguing about this week?
Fringe’s two-part finale has sent many of our readers into a depressed tailspin. Believe us, we’re not happy about it either, especially Noel Murray, who’s been reviewing it from the beginning. If you need a place to cry and commiserate, this comment section is the place.
This weekend
See: Avoid Movie 43 at all costs this weekend, unless the thought of Hugh Jackman with testicles on his chin really does sound like the height of comedy. Parker is also skippable, but John Dies At The End and Happy People: A Year In The Taiga are both worth a view.
Read: Steven Gould’s Jumper series finally continues with Impulse. We hope this one never becomes a Hayden Christensen movie. If that doesn’t sound appealing, Big Issues finds a great time in Young Avengers #1.
Listen to: The Joy Formidable earned our highest grade this week, with a sophomore album that improves on an impressive debut. New records from Bad Religion and A$AP Rocky were also solid, with Bad Religion reorienting themselves and A$AP Rocky delivering an “aesthetic marvel.”
Laugh at: “Bits on killing sharks and second-place chess trophies turn into sophisticated pussy jokes so gradually it’s barely perceptible.” That sentence is the best way we have to sell you Chris Hardwick’s Mandroid. It is good.
Watch: With Fox pulling Ben And Kate from the schedule and ABC canceling Don’t Trust The B—— In Apartment 23, now would be a good time to catch up with them. At least you know it’s only a finite number of episodes. We also hear some pretty big things happened on 30 Rock and The Office, if that sounds like important news.