Morning Coffee (10/24/13)

Prince George's christening was yesterday. Here's the delightful Guardian live blog.

And a rundown of the godparents and guests.

The official details of the service . . .

And, of course, pictures!

If this is true, it's... icky: Contentious ‘Scandal’ Fan Blogger Exposed as ABC Sales Director

Yes yes yes: Better Without The Bear: How The Cancellation Bear Damages Ratings Culture

The new promos and art for The Following are making me very eager for the show to come back.

Whoa: Meet The Man Who Ran A Marathon While Knitting A Scarf

Morning Coffee (4/24/13)

The Following fans, make sure you don't miss this amazing season finale trailer.

NBC now seems to be racing the CW to see who can make a real-life Hunger Games first. (Note: This is not a compliment.)

Yesterday, the Associated Press's Twitter account was hacked and tweeted out a false report of explosions at the White House. This is what the stock market did.

Today in NH state reps being idiotic and insane: NH State Rep. Suggests Boston Bombing Was ‘False Flag’ Conspiracy

This devolution has been so sad to watch: American Girls Aren't Radical Anymore

Leading Men Age, But Their Love Interests Don't

I don't necessarily agree with everything in this piece about romance novels and feminism, but it makes some good points. And one of the books mentioned, A Lady Awakened, is incredible. I tend to recommend it by saying "It's amazing! It's all about bad sex and land management theories!" Maybe I need to work on that. (But really!) I'm disappointed there was no mention of Nora Roberts, who keeps up a shockingly huge output of novels that are both feminist and reliably high-quality.

I don't watch Duck Dynasty, but Alan Sepinwall is considering some interesting ideas about the blurring boundaries between scripted and "reality" TV.

Quick Take on The Following

After much hubbub and critical hand-wringing, FOX's new serial killer/FBI drama, The Following, finally premiered last night. I'll admit I was inclined to like it: I like other things (like The Vampire Diaries) from creator Kevin Williamson, and I was immediately pulled in by the literature connection. (The serial killer is a literature professor obsessed with Poe and other romantics.) And, of course, the cast is great - James Purefoy, Kevin Bacon, Natalie Zea. But a large percentage of the critics and journalists who saw the show in advance and were talking and writing about it were focusing on how violent and disturbing it was, so I wasn't sure if I'd a) like it and b) be able to handle it.

But the premiere made me entirely buy into the show. Sign me up. First of all, it didn't actually strike me as particularly violent or disturbing - though that is surely in part because all the hysteria made me expect it to be worse than it was. Don't get me wrong: there's violence and disturbing imagery and the show certainly will not be for everyone. And that's fine. The best shows are not for everyone. (No, I'm not claiming that this is among "the best" shows, whatever that means. More than one episode is necessary for that sort of evaluation.) I tend to be more bothered by creepiness than violence, and there were a few moments that scared me, but the rest of it was so compelling that I can get past that.

The reasons why I liked the pilot had little to do with the violence or the serial killing or any of the other things people are mostly talking about. I liked the amazing cast. I liked the literary references. I liked the damaged, tortured hero. I liked the villain who managed to be both charismatic and terrifying. I especially liked their scene together at the end. Sure, the violence was part of it all, but to me, it felt organic, not like random violence for the sake of it.

And really, the most promising sign for any pilot: I want more now.

Morning Coffee (1/15/13)

Your actually important read of the day: Transphobia Is a Goddamn Embarrassment to Us All

How to Choose a Bottle of Wine

To promote their new show The Following, FOX released clips from a fake true crime show about the case. This is an awesome idea and I really can't wait for the show now.

Presented without comment (mostly because I haven't had time to finish reading them yet): The Beyonce and Lindsay Lohan stories everyone's talking about.

Another terrible-sounding Twilight AU fanfic has a big book deal. Commence hand-wringing as needed.

Lance Reddick and J.H. Wyman Remember Their First Days on Fringe

Danish/Swedish show Bron, which has a U.S./Mexican version in the works at FX, now has a British/French version coming too. I'm fascinated by how the different relationships between these sets of countries will affect the shows.

New 3-Minute Look at The Following

SO EXCITED.


(First seen at Give Me My Remote.)

Why I Want to See The Following for Myself

It's not surprising that a lot of wildly different reactions and opinions and theories have appeared in the aftermath of last week's tragedy in Newtown. But one in particular did surprise me: a small chorus of TV reporters and critics are calling for FOX to cancel its upcoming drama The Following, which is set to premiere on January 21. For those who haven't heard about it: It's a show about a serial killer (James Purefoy) forming a cult of serial killers, and the FBI agent (Kevin Bacon) trying to stop him. Yes, by all accounts, it is very violent and includes lots of murder, for obvious reasons. But it's worth noting that it focuses neither on guns nor on killing children, and it will be premiering over a month after the events in Newtown.

First, a small issue: Some of the people saying this have seen at least one episode of the show, but others (by their own accounts) have not. (For the record, I have not seen it yet. I've heard wildly differing opinions, but people whose taste I trust have loved it, so I'm looking forward to trying it. But until I do so, I HAVE NO OPINION. That's how this works.) Publicly condemning a show without actually watching it strikes me as completely irresponsible. It frustrates me when people - especially people who viewers look to for advice on what to watch - give uninformed opinions. Saying you don't find the trailers for a show appealing so you don't want to watch it? Sure, that's fine. Saying, based on trailers and buzz, that you think a show should not be on the air? That's problematic.

And really, that gets at the larger issue. There are absolutely things in this country that should change in the wake of Newtown. But I really don't think banning violence from TV is one of them. To be fair, people are saying that FOX themselves should pull the show, not that the government should force them to do it, so it's not quite censorship. But saying "This awful thing happened in real life, so this unrelated violent show being on the air is insensitive" seems like a very dangerous path to go down. If individuals decide not to watch The Following because they don't want to voluntarily put more violence (even fictional) into their lives or worlds, that's COMPLETELY understandable and fine. But saying that no one should have the option of watching it puts them in the company of parents who want books pulled out of libraries so that NO children (not just their own) can read about gay characters or sex or eating disorders.

Both my personal inclinations and my library training lead me to firmly believe that no one should decide what media anyone else should consume (with the exception of things whose production harms people who cannot consent to participation, such as child pornography). As Ranganathan's second and third laws of library science state, "Every reader his book. Every book its reader." I believe the same goes for TV shows. Those who object to the violence shouldn't watch. But this is a business. If enough people feel that a show is outside the bounds of taste, or just not what they want to watch, the show will fail. Does this mean that many things I personally have no interest in seeing wind up on the air? Of course. But I don't want any person or group deciding what content I'm allowed to consume, and so I wouldn't want to impose my beliefs or tastes on others.

Is The Following any good? Does it glorify murder? Is it in poor taste? Is actually brilliant? Is it more violent or scary than I'll be able to handle, watching alone in my apartment? I have no idea! But I want the chance to find out.

Morning Coffee (10/26/12)

Vacation day! So of course I have a list of 27 things I really need to get done. SIGH.

I basically want to make out with this new promo for The Following.

Tumblr of the day: Life in Publishing

I don't actually find the Nashville guys hard to tell apart, but this is hilarious.

This may save your Friday: Emergency Compliment Generator

Morning Coffee (10/25/12)

Snor'eastercane? Really?

Ooh, shiny posters for The Following. (Which premieres January 21, by the way.)

If DVRs were a network, they'd be first in the ratings.

Is the next big thing in YA Fringe readalikes? Because I'd be okay with that.

The Body on Somerton Beach

Michael Chabon on Thanksgiving

What's in Taylor Swift's fridge?

Watch This Promo for The Following

If you haven't seen this Poe-themed promo for The Following, you absolutely must.