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Thursday, May 30, 2013

Hannibal Renewed For A Second Season!

Well this is amazing news...

After weeks of low ratings, delayed announcements, and genuine uncertainty into the fate of the show, NBC decided to renew the show for a 13 episode second season.

 What is so amazing about this news? It might just be the fact that this is a time slot where television shows on NBC can't survive! Awake got ratings similar to Hannibal's and was cancelled swiftly and unsurprisingly by NBC.

So with this news, hopefully the show will build up an audience between seasons one and two, and then live beyond two seasons. I also think that with this renewal, their is now a real chance that either Mads Mikkelsen or Hugh Dancy could be nominated (even win) an Emmy award for best actor.

With this news, I would also like to announce that I will now be reviewing episodes of Hannibal on this site.

Stay tuned...


Book Commentary: Writing the Pilot (By William Rabkin)


What I like about William Rabkin's Writing the Pilot is the manner in which it teaches the reader how to make a pilot. He utilizes many popular and recent examples of television pilots to illustrate how and how not to make one, running through the plots of each episode and utilizing the level of success the particular show had beyond the pilot to show whether the pilot was successful or not. For example, the book make the claim that the show Flashforward was a complete failure as a pilot and series, as it created a premise which did not allow the main characters to make decisions that would result in their development and that of the plot. This resulted in a slow but gradual deterioration of viewership that eventually resulted in its cancellation.

Not only does the claim seem to directly hit the mark on why Flashforward was such a failure, but it also shows an insight into the process of television making and an understanding on what the ultimate function of a television pilot is: to provide an experience that hooks viewers, while also setting up a premise that allows for future conflicts to occur and giving the viewer an idea of what the show will be like each week. It also helps that the prose is accessible and entertaining to read, meaning one will have very little trouble understand what Rabkin's saying. If you want to better understand what makes a good pilot, the different types of pilots out there, and how to make a good pilot, then Rabkin's novel is definitely something that every inspiring television writer should read.
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Wednesday, May 29, 2013

The Grading System

So here is the grading system that will be used for each episode.

10-Perfect
9-Excellent
8-Great
7-Good
6-Decent
5-Average
4-Poor
3-Bad
2-Terrible
1-Abomination
0-No words...

I know, it's a generic model of grading, but I think it's the best one I can come up with for television reviewing. Keep in mind that in the end, it's the review that counts, not the numerical grade. The tone of my review may vary differently with the grade of the episode.

Stay tuned...

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

One Last Riff


This friend of mine, Elijah Pitts, just directed a short film titled One Last Riff. It's a simple, if very competently directed, short film that is a whole lot of fun to watch. Please be sure to spread the word about this film. Another friend of mine, Sam Domino, also stars as the main villain of the film. Boy does he seem to be having lots of fun with his role. Here is a quick plot synopsis:

The premise is about a street musician who's dream is to play guitar for the world. With his guitar taken from him, it's up to him and his odd friend to get it back and serve some justice.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Shows For Weekly Review

After much though, I have decided to do episodic reviews of these shows:

  • Defiance (SyFy)- After watching a few episodes of this show, I have realized that this is probably the best show SyFy has aired since Battlestar Galactica. The political intrigue is fascinating, the visual style is fun, and the world of the show feels fresh and enormous. It's also the most ambitious drama SyFy has done recently, which is always welcome considering the "science fiction lite"programming the channel has been offering recently. It's a little rough around the edges, one or two of the storylines are problematic, but I have never seen anything like it one television in while.
  • The Killing (AMC)- I can't tell you how frustrated I have been with this remake of the Skandinavian hit. While I enjoyed the first season, I knew it had many problems, such as the repetitive plot structure of red herrings every episode and general lack of character development. For me, the interesting atmosphere, dark visual style, fantastic directing, and solid performances kept me coming back every single week and would have been enough if it hadn't been for that season finale. If The Killing had simply solved the case in it's first season, I think it would have had a seasonal uptick in quality, as it would have been given a fresh start. Unfortunately, the writers decided to bog themselves down in the same old case, meaning that the second season was an atrocious slog that I never bothered finishing. The third season promises a fresh start, a reduced episode order, and an original story that isn't restrained by the original show's plot-line. A big reason why I felt the first two seasons were a complete failure is because they adapted a 20 episode season of television into 26 episodes of television, while also following the same red herring structure the original had. Now with only 12 original episodes of television, multiple murders occurring over the season, the elimination of most of the annoying side characters, and an assurance from show-runner Veena Sud of a conclusion to the case by the end of the season, the next season of this controversial series seems pretty promising. It could all tank horribly, but that will definitely be something worth writing about as we follow this season. Let's see if AMC was right to resurrect this show.
  • Falling Skies (TNT)- Perhaps season three of Falling Skies will morph into something beyond fun distraction. I tolerated the often frustrating first season in order to get to a better, if still frustrating, second season. The show often has suffered from contrived plotting, a syrupy sentimentality and stupidly annoying characters. However, what has kept me coming back are the action set pieces, individual moments of poignancy, and a seasonal quality uptick that drove this show from annoying to decent. If this trend continues, I'm thinking this season could actually be great. However, if this is not to be, don't expect me to write about this next season. Three seasons should be enough to get your act together Falling Skies! The Walking Dead was able to do this, now it's your turn.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

What you need to know

Since I have already written hundred of variations of this post on countless other blogs and sites, I'm going to make this quick...

My name is Eric Robinson. I am a recent High School graduate about to go into George Washington University. My interests include politics, screenwriting, and television. Because of this, my dream is to one day write a television show about politics.

So what's with about the site? What is the plan for it and why am I doing this? This site is essentially my home base. It is here that I will give people updates on what projects I am working on, books I am reading, and my opinions on specific movies and television shows that spark my interest from time to time. The reasons why I'm doing this are because I feel the need to train my writing ability through the analyzing of movies and television, and to network with other writers and producers if possible.

I am currently a member of Newgrounds and serve as a contributing writer and columnist for Independent Voter Network.

Stay tuned...