Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture

Oscar Schmoscar 2021

Much has been said (and will be said) about how extraordinary this year’s Oscar nominees are (in terms of diversity, and because “smaller” films got to break through due to studio films being delayed by the pandemic). For me that has also meant unprecedented access to the nominees through streaming services (mainly Netflix) for my…

New Superhero TV

Many of us have tested positive for superhero overdose in recent years, but it has been almost two years since the release of Avengers: Endgame, and arguably long enough time to be ready for some more from the MCU and other sources of spandex-based entertainment. Of course, in the intervening time we have been treated…

Midwinter TV 2021

This time of year used to be when we got some midseason replacements for shows that didn’t survive the fall. However, in a year when there’s a dry breeze and tumbleweed rolling across the barren viewing schedule, we still get plenty of shows from our streaming channels to keep us busy (while we endure lockdowns)….

Fall TV 2020 – More Shows

I was particularly looking forward to catching new episodes of Netflix’s The Crown this past week as new and returning shows debut into the late fall and early winter. The pandemic-hobbled TV season continues sadly, with a lot of recent new shows having been disappointing and uninspiring. In a time when I could really use…

Fall TV 2020 – Second wave

Thanks to COVID-19, the fall TV season is in a very odd shape, but shows have continued to trickle out over the last few weeks. A lot of stuff comes from the streamers (who apparently have a healthy backlog), but even the broadcast networks are trying to stay in the game as a few shows…

Fall TV 2020 – Genre Series Fun!

In a normal year, I might be getting ready for the new fall TV season soon. But it’s no small understatement to say that this is not a normal year. Since all production was halted a while ago due to the ongoing pandemic, we won’t be expecting much from the networks. Streaming channels have built…

TV Universes Keep Expanding, part 2 – Marvel

Continued from part 1, about Star Trek/Star Wars Last, but far from least is the multi-billion-dollar mega-franchise of Marvel’s cinematic universe. Unlike the others, where expanding the universe means coming up with new characters and new stories (backstories) around existing characters, Marvel Comics already has a decades-long backlog of some of the most epic characters…

TV Universes Keep Expanding

One of the best things about streaming TV is that it’s giving media companies a channel to expand their cinematic universes. For us fans, it means there is no end in sight to the new shows being announced, at least for three of the biggest sci-fi properties around: Star Trek, Star Wars, and Marvel (MCU)….

What I Watched in Quarantine – 10 Shows

While it’s far from the most important problem of the current pandemic (and its accompanying prolonged global shut-down), one of the side-effects will be that pretty soon (especially by the time the fall TV season is regularly scheduled to begin) TV networks and streaming services will run out of new content. That is a trivial…