John’s top 10 ‘Star Wars’ novelists (Book commentary)
I’ve been doing occasional “Star Wars Flashback” entries, but I thought I’d take a break here and give a rundown of my top 10 “Star Wars” novelists. For geeks like me, it might provide a […]
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Revisiting ‘Dawson’s Creek’ in Wilmington, N.C. (TV commentary)
The most entertainment-oriented aspect of my Thanksgiving trip to North Carolina was a visit to Wilmington, which to me is defined as “the town where ‘Dawson’s Creek’ was filmed.” In reality, the rich entertainment scene of Wilmington […]
John’s all-time top 5 Canadian character dramas (TV commentary)
Canadian TV gets short shrift in the U.S., where most cable packages offer Univision and BBC America but not CBC. And often when you mention “Canadian TV” people think of “The X-Files” or other American […]
John’s 300 favorite songs: The top 10
10. Smashing Pumpkins — “1979” — This song reminds me of driving around with my friends in Fargo, N.D., during my high school years. The “1979” of the title is a stand-in for anytime, I assume, since […]
Happy 30th anniversary to ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ (Movie commentary)
On Friday, “The Empire Strikes Back” marks its 30th anniversary. That’s right, 30 years ago, the movie industry was capable of putting out a Memorial Day weekend blockbuster that people wanted to see and that was not […]
Turtles were ‘Lean, Green and on the Screen’
Movie commentary: From the perspective of 2002, I look back at 1990’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and the saga around it.
On ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ DVDs, the song doesn’t remain the same (and that’s a problem)
TV commentary: The show is ruined by not having its original music. Classics are replaced by generic tracks that scream “straight-to-video movie.”
6 ways J.D. Salinger influenced modern pop culture (Book commentary)
Like everyone, I think “Catcher in the Rye” is a brilliant book. I think J.D. Salinger’s other three books (actually compilations of his magazine short stories and novellas) range from very good to OK — […]
What are your favorite Christmas stories? (Commentary)
My question for this post is: What are your favorite Christmas stories (movies, books, comic books, TV episodes, etc.)? When you think of Christmas entertainment, what comes to mind? What do you re-watch or re-read […]
Can’t-see TV: 16 sweet shows that aren’t on DVD or Hulu
TV commentary: These are the 16 best shows that can’t be seen anywhere — not on DVD, not on the Internet and not in syndication.