TRADITIONAL CRITICISM, PLOT RECAP, WHAT-WILL-HAPPEN-NEXT PUNDITRY, AND UNADULTERATED FANBOY-ISM: "Television criticism used to be like restaurant criticism," writes Slate's Josh Levin in a love letter to Alan Sepinwall today. "A writer would sample a few episodes and then issue an informed recommendation. Today, it's more akin to visiting the same restaurant every week, then reporting back on the mood of the wait staff, the condition of the silverware, and what dishes might appear on the new fall menu." And there are strengths and limitations to the format, as Levin notes -- except Alan and his cohorts are also strong at the end-of-season "what it all means" stuff too.
Two people unjustly left out of the piece: first off, you can't talk about weekly Sopranos criticism without mentioning Matt Zoller Seitz, whose archives are a bit more scattered, but if you read nothing else today read his "Kennedy and Heidi" insta-react-slash-series-thesis, and whoever Damitol was at RealWorldSucks.com -- because his acidic 1999 recaps of the Real World: Hawaii season are what introduced me to this writing style.
Ought that be "a love letter to ALOTT5MA Fave Alan Sepinwall"?
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that Alan was so key in creating the episodic recaps that I enjoy so much. Go, Alan!
ReplyDeleteHere's his NYPD Blue page, still on the Penn servers.
ReplyDeleteThere can't be a more validating sign that one has reached the top of one's profession than a profile in a general-interest journal. There's nothing in there that I didn't already know about our favorite TV critic, but I'm the kind of guy who enjoys recaps of shows I've already seen, so obviously that didn't bother me.
ReplyDeleteI've been following Alan's writing since the NYPD Blue days, when I read his recaps and commentary on usenet. Yes I feel old. I can't imagine my experience of that show, or so many others, without following each episode by reading his thoughts and subsequent online discussion.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, it was nice to know there was at least one other person out there mourning the cancellation of EZ Streets. (See above, old.)
I like Fiendberg and Moriarty/McWeeny but is there any doubt that the smartest thing Hitfix has done to this point is bring in Sepinwall? If just for the Mad Men, Lost and Breaking Bad reviews alone.
ReplyDeleteThat's so very awesome, and well-deserved.
ReplyDeleteFienberg. Sorry Dan.
ReplyDeleteI wish he had mentioned Alan's coverage of The Wire. For my money, the 5 seasons of work he did on that show is the best television writing ever done.
ReplyDeleteI first saw this type of television writing done about ER. Some brilliant guy (whose name I don't remember) recapped it for the first two or three seasons, then walked away, saying the show had become a chore to watch (looking back, I don't blame him at all). Then someone else did a decent, but not as insightful, job for a few seasons before eventually somebody just pointed us all toward MightyBigTV.
ReplyDeleteAny chance anyone knows what I'm talking about/ where to find this?
I read recaps at alt.tv.er.<span> </span>
ReplyDeleteHis name was Scott Hollifield. We were friendly from the NYPD Blue group and he was inspired by me to try something similar for ER.
ReplyDeleteMy one problem with the piece is that it lumps two different strands of TV response together:
ReplyDelete1. Recaps/reviews that analyze the show, looking for internal and external references and in essence annotating and footnoting the show, which is what Alan does (especially with the Mad Men and Wire ones).
2. Recaps that are primarily for the purpose of snarking on/ridiculing the show and/or the participants therein--TWOP.
The two aren't always mutually exclusive, and indeed, some sites house both for different shows (Vulture's Gossip Girl recaps are steadfastly in Category 2, while most of their other recaps lean toward Category 1), but they have very different aims and styles.
I'm watching The Wire via the week-by-week replays on DirecTV (they're midway through Season 3 now) and following along with Alan's coverage has made a great show even more enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteThere's also the compilation synopsis/review/analysis capsule used by the Simpsons Archive at http://snpp.com
ReplyDeleteI suppose that the shift from Usenet to the web has made authors more important, since they're hosting and setting stage for the discussion. And even though Alan would be well respected on his own, the community he's developed, through strong moderation, is what makes his blog so essential.