Whenever people ask me if it's okay to stop watching "The Leftove... by Hank Stuever

Whenever people ask me if it's okay to stop watching "The Leftovers," I always say OF COURSE IT IS.

Hank Stuever

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Categorized in : People Ask Me Leftovers

Jarecki's 'Reagan' is a compellingly watchable and appropriately conflicted portrait...artfully nuanced and intellectually curious.

portraits curious

There just isn’t a weak season of 'Breaking Bad.' There’s just superior work, a sprint toward evil that turned into a marathon. But like all big-talker shows that bring their heavy cargo in for a rough and breathlessly observed landing, 'Breaking Bad' didn’t quite leave itself enough runway to satisfactorily end some of its better story lines, especially once the chronology gap closed up between the flash-forwards from last year’s episodes and Sunday night’s conclusion. One could easily argue that there was just too much left to do in this one episode.

sunday night years

It seems to me conspiracy is at the heart of dozens of TV dramas currently on. Maybe that itself is some kind of conspiracy.

dozen heart drama

While I don't like violent programs per se, I do like good storytelling, which made me a fan of shows like Breaking Bad and American Horror Story.

american-horror-story horror-stories fans

"Big Bang Theory" focuses on main characters who in other shows would only be auxiliary players hewing to stereotype: The gawky nerd who lives next door and says oddball things.

nerd player character

Just as it's unfair to review a taco stand for not being a four-star restaurant, I also have to be mindful that not every drama on TV is trying to be "The Wire."

stars trying drama

I'm a fan of half-hour shows that can be both funny and dramatic. by Hank Stuever

I'm a fan of half-hour shows that can be both funny and dramatic.

dramatic fans half

I don't have scientific data, but I think plenty of perfectly nice weekends are being given over to the binge craze.

weekend nice thinking

My first few years as TV critic, I would go to parties and people (usually older Posties or ex-Posties who seemed to pride themselves on not watching very much television) would take me by the arm and insist that I watch this show they'd recently starting watching on DVD, about drug dealers in Baltimore.

dvds party pride

I'm pretty sure the world is in solid agreement that "The Wire" is worth watching all the way through.

wire agreement world

In the end, all critics should be guided by this one principle: Is this piece of work [TV show, movie, play, concert, album, restaurant] succeeding at what it set out to do?

tv-shows principles play

My work is very much like the restaurant critic's - a number of factors come together to make for a strong review.

strong together numbers

In fact, when it comes to TV, I'm not even sure what my real, tru... by Hank Stuever

In fact, when it comes to TV, I'm not even sure what my real, true preferences are.

tvs real facts

As far as my personal nostalgia zone goes, I find I watch more of... by Hank Stuever

As far as my personal nostalgia zone goes, I find I watch more of AntennaTV than anything else.

zone nostalgia watches

I love commercials. I love to hate commercials, too. I talk back... by Hank Stuever

I love commercials. I love to hate commercials, too. I talk back to them.

love-hate hate

"Star Trek" expands almost instinctively - the more information you seek from it, the more it gives. It also has the benefit of taking place in our future, our mutual destinies as occupants of a peaceful, non-polluted Earth.

destiny stars giving

We all have to draw some lines. To preserve my sanity, I steer clear of cooking, professional sports and most imports, unless imported to us via PBS, Sundance, etc.

pbs cooking sports

We got Arbitron diaries at my house in the 1980s, when the family was down to just my mother and me, and we tried for a couple of days to fill it out (I of course treated it like we'd been asked to write a new book of the Bible), but we got really bored with it and gave it up.

couple mother book

One of the dirty little secrets of my job is that I don't do ANY... by Hank Stuever

One of the dirty little secrets of my job is that I don't do ANY food or cooking shows.

cooking jobs dirty

The fastest way to bring financial ruin upon yourself is to go for a drive in the United States without proof of insurance and current license and registration.

ruins united-states way