Transparent S4 E1-3: Off to Israel

by Chris Feil

The opening theme music to Transparent by Dustin O’Halloran always chokes me up. Something about its evolving images and sound carry the weight of the shared histories - LGBTQ, Judaism, and family - speaks to both the known and still secreted past that makes the Pfefferman clan all too relatable. Like the rest of us, they’ve been somewhere and it hasn’t been easy. But from the opening emotive thrum, the theme now incorporating pilgrimage images and a traditional Jewish instrumentation, this season announces that it’s going somewhere too.

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Difficult People S3 E7-8: Sitcoms, Sleepovers, & "Yes And"

In Episode Seven, “Fuzz Buddies”, Julie lies her way into a Nick Jr. writer’s room, Billy gets a decades late response to fanmail from Monkee Micky Dolenz, and Marilyn finally celebrates her Bat Mitzvah.

CHRIS: So the theme of this episode was delayed adolescence. Billy got a childhood fan letter to Micky Dolenz returned and ends up getting roped into helping him with a one-person show.

SPENCER: What does it say about me that I don’t know who this person is?

C: I can’t imagine you’re the only viewer thinking that. Even by Difficult People standards, this guest appearance is specific and completely bizarrely random. But fitting for the theme to have an old school teen idol.

S: Teen idol? I’m listening (while also googling Micky Dolenz)...

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Four Better Ways to Spend Avatar's Billion Dollar Budget

By Ilich Mejia

Avatar 2 just began production after it was announced that the saga's four upcoming sequels (filming back-to-back) will have an alleged combined budget of $1 billion. For those of you too pretty to be bothered by mental math, that's an estimated $250 million per sequel. Very good news for the realtor finalizing the purchase of Sigourney Weaver's next vacation home; less good for our over-stuffed "sequels no one needs" file.

To be fair, $250 million doesn't come close to matching the fourth installment no one wanted of the Pirates of the Caribbean series' ($370 million budget), but it is still two handfuls of zeroes (if—for whatever reason—you are missing a pinky) for movies that will come out in the next eight years. 

In an effort that could willingly be misinterpreted as a cry against the threat of capitalism, we have come up with four more pressing ways to spend someone else's money. Come disagree!

01. $250 MILLION for the Crazy Rich Asians press tour + sequels

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PSA: Kim Cattrall was famous before "Sex and the City," okay?

by Nathaniel R

Just when you think the world can't get any more sexist, there's always a reminder that it can. One such reminder is the famed existence of Sex and the City, a target in perpetuity. It often brings out the very worst in journalists, critics, famous people, and the public alike (both male and female in all four cases) as people fall over themselves with new ways to hate on, be offended by, or attempt to take down that particularly glitzy femme pleasure.

The brand has beenquiet for some time now until the Daily Mail posted a gross story about Kim Cattrall supposedly stopping production of Sex and the City 3 in its tracks with "outrageous demands". I didn't personally believe this was true, even before the stars started giving quote about it. The more quotes there are the more it's clear that everyone will have a different perception of what happened and that's fine. What was shocking was not the misleading story (my best guess is that the truth is somewhere inbetween all the quotes from the cast and executives because many many people with big egos and lots of millions are involved) but how unbelievably petty and sexist the "sources" were in their quotes about Cattrall...

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Will & Grace: Fresh or Flimsy?

By Spencer Coile 

I remember being 14 years-old, sobbing in front of the television as Will & Grace ended its eight year run. I had grown up with the show, learned a lot about myself through watching the show. It was truly the end of an era. Of course, in 2017, with people's desire for nostalgia running rampant -- it was only a matter of time before this groundbreaking NBC sitcom would return for its second wind. In very much the same was as Gilmore Girls, Full House, and One Day at a Time, our pals, Will, Grace, Jack, and Karen are back to remind audiences what was so rewarding about their shows in the first place. 

But considering we live in an altogether different social and political climate, one drastically different than in 1998 when the series first aired, is there space for Will & Grace? 

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