New this week
After years of complaints, we bent to the public will and began covering notable web series and short-form TV in 15 Minutes Or Less. First up, Issa Rae, whose Awkward Black Girl series has been successful enough to earn her an ABC pickup for her new pilot, I Hate L.A. Dudes.
We also had a yen to know what our readers are reading, so we started a new monthly AVQ&A about the our most recent reads. Tasha Robinson, Keith Phipps, and Josh Modell start us off.
Don’t miss
- We got an early start on our holiday hate with a This Was Pop about the “sleighful of barely tolerable holiday cheer” coming in for Christmas.
- We also enlisted Jonathan Coulton to explain why “Jingle Bell Rock” is the worst.
- Nathan Rabin took on That’s My Boy for My World Of Flops. Sample quote: “It’s a film where incest and statutory rape aren’t merely the subject of tasteless, unfunny jokes. Incest and statutory rape are pretty much the cornerstones of the film’s plot.”
- And just to make sure his beautiful vitriol is spread around evenly, Nathan also watched Dave Barry’s Complete Guide To Guys, a film of “all-consuming awfulness”
- Julie Klausner picked her favorite How Was Your Week episodes. She also high-fived her cat.
- Todd VanDerWerff made a case for Suburgatory being one of TV’s best dramas. Not bad for a show that started as a live-action cartoon.
- Teenage mutant ninja turtle and animaniac Rob Paulsen talked to us about playing all of your favorite ‘80s and ‘90s cartoon characters. We made our best effort not to crack Fight Club jokes.
- We talked about the celebrities we hope stay scandal-free, and inadvertently think of a bunch of terrible things they could get do. At least none of our ideas are as disappointing as the real-life Kevin Clash case.
- Wyatt Cenac is leaving The Daily Show, but before he goes, he talked to The Gameological Society about what games he’ll be playing this weekend.
- Numero Group’s Ken Shipley made us an Eccentric Soul mixtape.
- And we made you a mixlist of 23 songs that use fruit for sexual metaphor, exposing a pattern in this feature that is rather embarrassing.
- Genevieve Koski once more allowed you to laugh at her pain with ghost pepper sorbet and eggnog fudge at the National Chocolate Show in Taste Test.
- If you’ve always wanted to know what it would be like to be Nerf’s spokesman, Devon Sawa can give you an idea. He also talked about Nikita and Now And Then.
- Terrence Malick entered the New Cult Canon with The New World, which is either a stylized retelling of an American origin story or endless shots of waving grass, depending on who you ask. We, of course, think it’s a classic.
- Phil Dyess-Nugent looked at TV’s problem with political dramas in light of Boss’ cancellation.
What are we arguing about this week
In what may be the least surprising entry to ever grace this section, Kyle Ryan’s 10 Episodes on The Simpsons is our most commented-on article this week. We only read the first thousand comments, but the gist seems to be that Kyle forgot all of the greatest episodes. Please leave your suggestions for why the list is invalid in the comments. We promise to treat all suggestions with equal weight.
This weekend
See: There weren’t a ton of notable new films this week, so if Killing Them Softly’s “instant-classic” robbery scene doesn’t get you out of the house, maybe stay in and catch up with Nicolas Cage in Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans.
Read: The Adventure Time comic had its best issue yet and Laina Dawes published her memoir What Are You Doing Here? A Black Woman’s Life And Liberation In Heavy Metal. Or you can read about Penn Jillette’s many opinions.
Listen to: We can’t in good conscience tell you to listen to Kid Rock’s new album, but we did review great older records from Metz and Angel Haze.
Laugh at: Maria Bamford's excellent, raw, The Special Special Special allows viewers into her home.
Watch: Liz Lemon got married on 30 Rock, and it was great. Whitney Cummings also has (yet another) new show, and while it’s not great, it is much better than we expected.
The A.V. Club in your town
New York, Austin, Arlington, VA, and Denver, the New Cult Canon tour is coming to you next. Come drink free Mike’s Hard Lemonade and watch Bad Santa or Black Christmas. Denver and Austin will even get a post-show Q&A with Black Christmas actress Margot Kidder. To buy tickets and see if the tour is coming to your town, check out our website for the tour.