Salon.com > Television http://www.salon.com Fri, 04 Jan 2013 12:45:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Vince Gilligan on last episodes of “Breaking Bad”: “It’s going to be polarizing” http://www.salon.com/2013/01/03/vince_gilligan_on_last_episodes_of_breaking_bad_it%e2%80%99s_going_to_be_polarizing/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/03/vince_gilligan_on_last_episodes_of_breaking_bad_it%e2%80%99s_going_to_be_polarizing/#comments Thu, 03 Jan 2013 22:25:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13161288 Vince Gilligan and his writers are about two episodes away from writing the series finale of one of the best shows on television, "Breaking Bad," whose final half-season will air this summer on AMC.

Vulture interviewed Gilligan to find out what the writing team is thinking about in this "schizophrenic" time. “It’s going to be polarizing no matter how you slice it," he said. "But you don’t want 10 percent to say it was great and 90 percent to say it sucked ass. You want those numbers to be reversed.”

Gilligan didn't reveal any plot twists, but he did share what the writers are thinking about when writing the show's final episodes:

1. Even Gilligan doesn't know how the show is going to end, yet, but he's hoping to create something that will mix the element of surprise with a sense of inevitability:

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/01/03/vince_gilligan_on_last_episodes_of_breaking_bad_it%e2%80%99s_going_to_be_polarizing/feed/ 3 CBS drama “Hawaii Five-0″ plans choose-your-own ending episode http://www.salon.com/2013/01/03/cbs_drama_hawaii_five_0_plans_choose_your_own_ending_episode/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/03/cbs_drama_hawaii_five_0_plans_choose_your_own_ending_episode/#comments Thu, 03 Jan 2013 21:36:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13161228 The reimagination of the 1968-1980 show "Hawaii Five-O," called "Hawaii Five-0" (zero), has announced that, for the first time ever, a prime-time drama will allow audiences to decide how an episode ends in real time.

On Jan. 14, viewers will log into CBS and Twitter to vote for one of three alternate endings in an episode that investigates the death of an Oahu State University professor. “I've always felt the most fun aspect of watching a mystery is trying to figure out ‘whodunit,’” executive producer Peter Lenkov said.  “Now the 'Hawaii Five-0' viewers will actually get the chance to tell us who they think committed the crime and we will listen. I love that our dedicated and attentive fans will actually play a part in resolving our story.”

But wait -- isn't the best part of a murder mystery being surprised by the reveal? Well, let's hope that the move to involve the audience is not part of a wider social experiment that results in a twisted new genre of scripted reality TV shows reality scripted TV shows.

CBS plans to publish all three alternate endings on CBS.com after the episode airs. Watch the promo below:

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/01/03/cbs_drama_hawaii_five_0_plans_choose_your_own_ending_episode/feed/ 0 Golden Globes: Amy Poehler roots for “Avatar” and Tina Fey wants best picture http://www.salon.com/2013/01/03/golden_globes_amy_poehler_roots_for_avatar_and_tina_fey_wants_best_picture/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/03/golden_globes_amy_poehler_roots_for_avatar_and_tina_fey_wants_best_picture/#comments Thu, 03 Jan 2013 19:48:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13161102 If the promos are any indication, you'll want to tune into 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards this year, hosted by comedians Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. In a newly released video, the two speculate on who the big winners will be: Tina Fey and "Avatar." "I, personally, would like to win best picture," says Fey. "Just me, like, as a person, winning best picture, I think would be unprecedented especially because I didn't even really make a movie this year."

And, spoiler alert, but Daniel Day-Lewis might be up for something, too:

Poehler: I haven't been keeping up with pop culture, is it "Avatar" this year?
Fey: Yes, yes.
Poehler: We've been practicing: And the winner for best actor in a drama is ...
Fey: Daniel Day-Lewis.
In unison: For "Avatar."

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/01/03/golden_globes_amy_poehler_roots_for_avatar_and_tina_fey_wants_best_picture/feed/ 2 “Downton Abbey”: Hard times hit the estate http://www.salon.com/2013/01/03/downton_abbey_hard_times_hit_the_estate/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/03/downton_abbey_hard_times_hit_the_estate/#comments Thu, 03 Jan 2013 17:37:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13160794 A few nights ago, I dreamed about “Downton Abbey.” Mr. Bates had taken Matthew Crawley hostage and was holding him at knife point in some soignée drawing room, a costume dream remake of “Misery.” Other people’s dreams — particularly the ones that do not contain the existence of you — are, as a rule, dull, so I won’t go on about the drapery patterns or the motive or Bates' strange expertise with knots. The basic outline makes my point: Over its first two genteel, delectable seasons “Downton Abbey” has sunk its well-manicured hooks in me, lodging so deep that my subconscious now spews out alternative story lines in which the pious Mr. Bates has been made over into a villain (which, not for nothing, would make him a whole lot more interesting).

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/01/03/downton_abbey_hard_times_hit_the_estate/feed/ 9 “Girls”: Zosia Mamet swears she’s nothing like Shoshanna http://www.salon.com/2013/01/03/girls_zosia_mamet_swears_shes_nothing_like_shoshanna/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/03/girls_zosia_mamet_swears_shes_nothing_like_shoshanna/#comments Thu, 03 Jan 2013 14:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13160135 Actress Zosia Mamet wants you to know that she is not like Shoshanna, her sheltered, awkward, ditzy, yet oddly endearing character on HBO's "Girls." In a recent New York Times Magazine profile, writer Taffy Brodesser-Akner writes, "her fans really believe she’s that girl, drifting through her confused and crazy 20s just the way they are. But she’s not that girl."

Except that the way she comes off in her profile might make you think that she, like, totally is that girl.

Mamet, like all of the central actresses in the show, is a product of the cultural elite: She is the daughter of famed playwright David Mamet and actress Lindsay Crouse. And, by starring in a show about privileged 20-somethings that's created by a privileged 20-something, it makes sense that Mamet might feel the need to draw a line that separates her from the cozy, sheltered world of "Girls" and her actual life. In a four-page profile, Brodesser-Akner attempts to draw that line by saying that Mamet, a loner, does not enjoy much of the publicity that being a celebrity brings:

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/01/03/girls_zosia_mamet_swears_shes_nothing_like_shoshanna/feed/ 0 “Buckwild”: MTV comes to the Appalachian mountains http://www.salon.com/2013/01/02/buckwild_mtv_comes_to_the_appalachian_mountains/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/02/buckwild_mtv_comes_to_the_appalachian_mountains/#comments Wed, 02 Jan 2013 20:55:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13159236 After MTV announced its new reality show “Buckwild” last month — the series debuts tomorrow night —  it wasn’t long before friends started sending me links to the trailer without comment — the virtual equivalent of excitedly tapping me on the shoulder and saying, “Look! Your people!” The show, described as the “‘Jersey Shore’ of Appalachia,” stars “an outrageous group of childhood friends” who live, party and shoot potato guns in Sissonville, W.Va. In the trailer, one cast member receives a “birthday lickin’”; another boasts, “I don’t have no phone, Facebook — none of that Internet stuff.” My fellow West Virginians were quick to decry “ugly, inaccurate stereotypes!” and the state’s “Democratic” senator (formerly, governor) Joe Manchin III even went on the "Today" show to denounce the “travesty.” After using the phrase “heck-bent,” he called West Virginia “one of the greatest states in the nation” and suggested, cringe-worthily, that maybe MTV could “show a balance” by presenting the state’s “greatest young adults who’ve accomplished an awful lot,” alongside the “Buckwild” cast. The big, bad media responded with the noble savage argument; in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, one of the show’s producers called the lack of Internet thing “refreshing” while Tricia Romano, writing for the Daily Beast, deferred to TV historian Tim Brooks. "There is some self-awareness over what they are doing,” she quoted Brooks. “They are proud of it. One of the things you learn from these shows is that people who aren’t like us may be proudly not like us. They live differently intentionally."

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/01/02/buckwild_mtv_comes_to_the_appalachian_mountains/feed/ 20 Conan O’Brien bringing sitcom to Fox http://www.salon.com/2013/01/02/conan_obrien_bringing_sitcom_to_fox/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/02/conan_obrien_bringing_sitcom_to_fox/#comments Wed, 02 Jan 2013 20:50:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13159938 Conan O'Brien is bringing a 30-minute medical comedy sitcom to Fox. The show, "Bob's New Heart Show," a play on "The Bob Newhart Show," is about an ambitious young doctor who decides to take over a small medical practice in his hometown after a heart transplant compels him to reevaluate his life.

In addition to writing the script, "Community" writer Ben Wexler will executive-produce the show, along with O'Brien and Conaco's David Kissinger and Jeff Ross.

"Bob's New Heart Show" marks Conaco's first project with Fox, although Wexler and O'Brien worked together on a Fox script in 2010.

h/t Deadline

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/01/02/conan_obrien_bringing_sitcom_to_fox/feed/ 0 “Girls”: Can this friendship be saved? http://www.salon.com/2013/01/01/girls_can_this_friendship_be_saved/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/01/girls_can_this_friendship_be_saved/#comments Tue, 01 Jan 2013 20:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13157997 From the time we’re little we’re told nothing is more precious than our female friends. We sign our letters BFF. We bond by sharing our most intimate secrets with each other, which is what endows us with the ninja-like skill and power to psychically disembowel each other.

I hate fighting with friends. I’m prone to fits of hysterical deaf, dumb and blindness at the first whiff of a dust-up. The stakes are too high. I’d rather they run me down with their car than tell me I’m insensitive.

Which is why when I watched "Girls," and witnessed the blowout between Hannah and Marnie toward the end of the season (Episode 9),  I was seized by a mild terror. Not because I was so emotionally invested in this friendship, but because it was so true.

I shouldn’t have been surprised: While Dunham gives shout-outs to "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Sex and the City" in the first episode, it’s clear that "Girls" is a different beast altogether. Honestly, can you imagine Carrie and Samantha spooning in bed? Mary eating a cupcake in the tub while Rhoda sits on the edge in a towel shaving her legs? Yes, those girlfriends argued, but with five minutes left in the show they were weeping and apologizing over a gallon of Rocky Road or a round of Cosmos. Not so in "Girls." Then again, Rhoda never set up a doctor’s appointment for Mary to have an AIDS test, and Samantha never financially supported Carrie. So it should come as no surprise that when Marnie and Hannah do have a fight — a big BFF steel-cage death-match — it would get real.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/01/01/girls_can_this_friendship_be_saved/feed/ 12 Carrie Brownstein: “A lot of these characters are permutations of myself” http://www.salon.com/2012/12/30/carrie_brownstein_a_lot_of_these_characters_are_permutations_of_myself/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/30/carrie_brownstein_a_lot_of_these_characters_are_permutations_of_myself/#comments Sun, 30 Dec 2012 23:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13154840 Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen's anthropological sketch-comedy series "Portlandia" returns to IFC on Friday, Jan. 4, for a third season of gently mocking and dissecting the behaviors of niche Portlanders and their kin across these United States. Brownstein, who was Sleater-Kinney's front woman and now performs with her band Wild Flag, spoke with me while her dogs barked in the background. We discussed the series, the proliferation of Portland culture, her fascination with couples' behavior and the qualities she shares with Kath and Dave.

How many of the characters on "Portlandia" would make you insane if you encountered them in real life?

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/30/carrie_brownstein_a_lot_of_these_characters_are_permutations_of_myself/feed/ 18 Chris Matthews is a statesman! http://www.salon.com/2012/12/27/matthews_raises_profile_during_campaign/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/27/matthews_raises_profile_during_campaign/#comments Thu, 27 Dec 2012 14:38:00 +0000 http://http://www.salon.com/2012/12/27/matthews_raises_profile_during_campaign/ To his boss, Chris Matthews has become a statesman. His critics probably have other words.

The veteran MSNBC host raised his profile as much as any member of the television commentariat during the presidential campaign. His 5 p.m. "Hardball" show has seen viewership jump by 24 percent this year from 2011, 17 percent for the rerun two hours later.

Matthews symbolized MSNBC's growing comfort in being a liberal alternative to Fox News Channel. He engaged in an uncomfortable on-air confrontation with Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, seemed nearly apoplectic when President Barack Obama flubbed his first debate and had to apologize for appearing grateful that Hurricane Sandy might have helped Obama's re-election effort.

With Keith Olbermann out of sight, Matthews essentially replaced him as the commentator that most annoyed conservative viewers.

"During the run-up to the Iraq War, he just became really, really partisan and became even more so when MSNBC decided to become the anti-Fox," said Geoff Dickens, who used to watch Matthews as a fan and now monitors him regularly as part of his job with the conservative Media Research Center.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/27/matthews_raises_profile_during_campaign/feed/ 8 Targeted ads coming to TV http://www.salon.com/2012/12/26/predictive_ads_coming_to_tv/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/26/predictive_ads_coming_to_tv/#comments Wed, 26 Dec 2012 21:11:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13155112 Get ready for TV that watches you back.

As targeted advertising has fueled the growth of internet giants like Google and Facebook, the $70 billion TV commercial market has remained in the dark. Sure there are beer ads during the Super Bowl, but to a far greater degree than on the internet, advertisers just pay for their spots and hope to find a receptive audience. That could change next year with the debut of a new technology from Gracenote, a division of Sony.

TechCrunch reports, “Gracenote‘s new ad replacement system combines viewing habits with personal info to show you more relevant commercials.” While some consumers will undoubtedly appreciate a technology that delivers ads for things they're more likely to buy—reporter Josh Constine writes “I literally left my meeting with company giddy with the possibilities” – some blowback about personal data collection is probably inevitable, like the last gasps of a defeated army.

Constine describes the technology as follows:

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/26/predictive_ads_coming_to_tv/feed/ 4 “Downton Abbey”: The U.K.’s biggest import since the Beatles http://www.salon.com/2012/12/26/downton_abbey_the_u_k_s_biggest_import_since_the_beatles/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/26/downton_abbey_the_u_k_s_biggest_import_since_the_beatles/#comments Wed, 26 Dec 2012 20:41:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13151940 Amid a whirlwind media blitz that had the “Downton Abbey” cast doing a panel discussion in L.A., at Knicks games in New York and spoofing “Breaking Bad” on "Colbert," here at last, in Washington, was a setting befitting the regal cast. The posh British Ambassador’s residence on the embassy grounds in D.C. hosted a PBS-sponsored reception on this month that drew fans, station officials and what serves as celebrity in this town: Bob Schieffer, Gwen Ifill, Andrea Mitchell and Alan Greenspan, among them.

And there, beneath the chandeliers and portraits of royalty past, the seventh Earl of Grantham, in tweed, seemed right at home.

“It’s a beautiful residence,” said the actor Hugh Bonneville, in his familiar dulcet tone before the reception was in full swing. “And it feels, well, it feels like Downton really.”

“It’s just like home,” Elizabeth McGovern, the show’s Lady Grantham, added, playing along.

Using the British Embassy to showcase cultural exports is something that goes back decades and includes reception for the Beatles in 1964 just after their first U.S. show at the Washington Coliseum, when an overly anxious souvenir hunter clipped a hunk of Ringo’s hair. “We didn't stay there long,” the drummer remembered later, saying “These diplomats just don't know how to behave."

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/26/downton_abbey_the_u_k_s_biggest_import_since_the_beatles/feed/ 0 Dan Stevens confirms rumors that he is leaving “Downton Abbey” http://www.salon.com/2012/12/26/dan_stevens_confirms_rumors_that_he_is_leaving_downton_abbey/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/26/dan_stevens_confirms_rumors_that_he_is_leaving_downton_abbey/#comments Wed, 26 Dec 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13154885 Actor Dan Stevens, who rose to international fame for his role as Matthew Crawley in British period drama "Downton Abbey," has confirmed rumors that he will not be returning to the show's fourth season. Considering that the show's Season 3 Christmas special just aired in Britain, Stevens joked that “It is very strange to make it official especially since we are talking about it in the future perfect." He added, “I am not sure exactly what tense it is, but it is something very weird.” (Making it weirder still for Americans, as Season 3 premieres in the U.S. on Jan. 6.)

But in an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, Stevens admits that he made the decision before filming for the third season had even begun. “We were always optioned for three years,” he said. “And when that came up it was a very difficult decision. But it felt like a good time to take stock, to take a moment. From a personal point of view, I wanted a chance to do other things."

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/26/dan_stevens_confirms_rumors_that_he_is_leaving_downton_abbey/feed/ 9 “Downton’s” Rob James-Collier: “America does not like people being not nice to dogs” http://www.salon.com/2012/12/22/downtons_rob_james_collier_america_does_not_like_people_being_not_nice_to_dogs/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/22/downtons_rob_james_collier_america_does_not_like_people_being_not_nice_to_dogs/#comments Sat, 22 Dec 2012 19:55:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13152018 On "Downton Abbey," Rob James-Collier plays Thomas, the handsome valet always cooking up a scheme or jockeying for a position. Back in season one of the period drama — the third season begins airing on PBS on January 6th, having already played in England — we learned that Thomas was gay, an aspect of his character that gets much more fully explored in the coming season. James-Collier, wearing a blue sweater and some stubble, spoke with me about the series while he was in New York promoting the show. (The cast rode the subway while visiting because, as James-Collier joked, "We’re keeping it real. There’s a recession on. Saving PBS money; that’s what we’re all about.") He talked about what's to come on "Downton," the show's appeal and Americans' love of dogs.

Thomas’s storyline this year, which has to do with his sexuality, feels like the most modern and relevant of any this season.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/22/downtons_rob_james_collier_america_does_not_like_people_being_not_nice_to_dogs/feed/ 7 Blue Glow TV Awards: Top 10 Shows of the Year http://www.salon.com/2012/12/21/blue_glow_tv_awards_top_10_shows_of_the_year/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/21/blue_glow_tv_awards_top_10_shows_of_the_year/#comments Fri, 21 Dec 2012 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13149412 http://www.salon.com/2012/12/21/blue_glow_tv_awards_top_10_shows_of_the_year/feed/ 1 Cassadee Pope wins Season 3 of “The Voice” http://www.salon.com/2012/12/19/cassadee_pope_wins_season_3_of_the_voice/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/19/cassadee_pope_wins_season_3_of_the_voice/#comments Wed, 19 Dec 2012 15:45:00 +0000 http://http://www.salon.com/2012/12/19/cassadee_pope_wins_season_3_of_the_voice/ NEW YORK (AP) — Cassadee Pope, who was country singer Blake Shelton's protege on the third season of NBC's "The Voice," has won the show's competition.

The 23-year-old singer is stepping out into a solo career after performing with a band called Hey Monday. Her victory over Scottish native Terry McDermott and long-bearded Nicholas David was announced at the end of a two-hour show Tuesday.

"The Voice" has grown into a hit for NBC and was the key factor in the network's surprising success this fall.

The show's status was affirmed by the stream of hitmakers who performed on the finale. They included Rihanna, Bruno Mars, the Killers, Smokey Robinson and Peter Frampton.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/19/cassadee_pope_wins_season_3_of_the_voice/feed/ 2 “1600 Penn”: A political satire that’s short on wonkiness, big on wackiness http://www.salon.com/2012/12/18/1600_penn_a_political_satire_thats_short_on_wonkiness_big_on_wackiness/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/18/1600_penn_a_political_satire_thats_short_on_wonkiness_big_on_wackiness/#comments Tue, 18 Dec 2012 16:06:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13148515 There are a lot of fictional politicians milling about the television these days. There’s Leslie Knope, State’s Attorney Peter Florrick, President Fitzgerald Grant, and Vice Presidents Selina Meyer and William Walden. Until recently, Kelsey Grammar was the mayor of Chicago on “Boss” and Sigourney Weaver was a version of Hillary Clinton on “Political Animals.” There are various Defense and State Department officials on “Last Resort,” a mayoral race in “Nashville,” and soon there will be all of Capitol Hill in Netflix’s forthcoming “House of Cards.” As of last night there are also the Gilchrists, America’s first family and the stars of “1600 Penn,” a new sitcom that sneak-previewed on NBC and will begin airing regularly in January.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/18/1600_penn_a_political_satire_thats_short_on_wonkiness_big_on_wackiness/feed/ 4 David Chase: Whether Tony died isn’t the point http://www.salon.com/2012/12/18/david_chase_reflects_on_the_sopranos_ending_2/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/18/david_chase_reflects_on_the_sopranos_ending_2/#comments Tue, 18 Dec 2012 14:17:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13148498 In a recent interview with David Chase about his new film, "Not Fade Away," the conversation inevitably turned to "The Sopranos" and its infamous ending. Below are Chase's comments reflecting on watching the final episode for the first time two years ago, with only an occasional interjection from a reporter.

---

I thought the episode itself might have been kind of a dud, but it wasn't. I was proud of it. I was satisfied that we'd done something. What I didn't understand was that the ending would be so talked-about that it would completely obliterate the rest of the episode that came before it. No one ever even saw it, talked about it, mentioned it or anything about it - and I think didn't even interpret it correctly because all they talked about was that ending. I did not know that would happen.

I think a lot of people thought they were being made a fool of, that I was being really meta - is that the word? - and postmodern or just showing my quote-unquote "contempt" for the audience or going "Ha, ha, ha. It's just a TV show." None of that was what was going on. That was the best ending I knew to come up with and I thought it said some things but people didn't get it because they were angry. Or maybe it wasn't executed well.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/18/david_chase_reflects_on_the_sopranos_ending_2/feed/ 5 Networks adjust programming in wake of Newtown shooting http://www.salon.com/2012/12/18/networks_adjust_programming_in_wake_of_newtown_shooting/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/18/networks_adjust_programming_in_wake_of_newtown_shooting/#comments Tue, 18 Dec 2012 13:55:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13148446 As Americans continue to grieve over Friday's elementary school massacre in Newtown, Conn., Hollywood is responding by censoring violent or disturbing content from network programming this week. This weekend, Fox pulled new episodes of "American Dad" and "Family Guy," opting instead for reruns. Syfy pulled a new episode of "Haven," which centered on "violence at a high school." ABC temporarily removed an epsiode of "Scandal" from its website, in which a family of four were murdered. TLC has delayed the premiere of "Best Funeral Ever," a reality TV pilot episode about unique funerals (the show will air, instead, on Sun. Jan 6).

Other shows, like last night's "Conan" and the weekend's "Homeland" paid respect to the victims by addressing the nation in the form of a monologue or a disclaimer--or, in the case of "Saturday Night Live," opening a children's choir singing "Silent Night."

Four movie premieres have also been canceled or delayed, the latest being Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained," originally scheduled for tonight. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the tragedy in Newtown, CT, and in this time of national mourning we have decided to forgo our scheduled event," a spokesperson for the Weinstein Co. said in a statement.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/18/networks_adjust_programming_in_wake_of_newtown_shooting/feed/ 1 “Homeland” showrunner addresses Season 2 criticism http://www.salon.com/2012/12/17/homeland_showrunner_addresses_season_2_criticism/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/17/homeland_showrunner_addresses_season_2_criticism/#comments Mon, 17 Dec 2012 21:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13147770 "Homeland" showrunner Alex Gansa addressed the criticism against the show in an exclusive interview with Grantland following an overwhelmingly disappointing season finale; the finale focused less on tightening the plot and more on the implausible relationship between CIA agent Carrie (Claire Danes) and her target Brody (Damian Lewis), of which Gansa said:

"The finale has its own shape to it. The strategy was to sort of to lull an audience into thinking it's going to be about one thing, and then really turning it on its head in the middle of the story and make it about something else entirely."

According to Gansa, the love affair was "the promise of the season":

"We were fulfilling the promise of the season, which I've been saying from the very beginning is the story of this doomed love affair between Carrie and Brody. And that's what we were really positing in the finale: Is a happy ending really possible for these two characters? And I think the answer was clearly no."

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