Category — Men

(I apologize in advance for the heteronormativity of this post: the one demographic TV doesn’t seek to analyze is sexual orientation, and so I’ve written the post from a heteronormative standpoint because I’m attempting to analyze the thinking of a heteronormative industry.)

From what I’m hearing and seeing on LiveJournals, Michael Shanks spent a significant amount of time in nothing but boxer shorts in his recent guest appearance on 24 (see the footage on YouTube). First Casino Royale, now this. Now, … READ MORE

I watch NCIS VERY intermittently, and after the last episode, I’ve decided never to watch it again.

What I saw was the “˜hero’, Tony, strutting around like Mr. Big-Man-on-Campus. He didn’t seem to do much but grab other people’s work out of their hands and present it to Gibbs, their boss, to take credit. He dumps grunt work onto his colleagues, then snatches it back when it looks interesting. In one scene, he palmed off a translation job to Ziva, an … READ MORE

I love Greg Grunberg. I think he’s gorgeous. I sat through that Sydney-Vaughan ship tripe for him. I would watch him reading out the White Pages. I wait in eager anticipation for the Australian premier of a show I wasn’t otherwise interested in - “Heroes” - because he’s in it.

(Yes, to answer you questions, we really do get shows that late sometimes.)

I’ve been thinking in the last few days how many other women there are who would follow a particular … READ MORE

The Full Monty, if you don’t already know, is a great comedy about unemployed British men who can’t catch a break and decide to make some money by stripping like the guys at these clubs their wives go to. It suggests a lot of dialogs we could have about gender. We see men with body shame issues. We see men selling a peek at their bodies just the way women have for so many years. We … READ MORE

One of the interesting things about reality tv is that sometimes, people surprise you and do the right thing when you least expect it. It’s rare, but it does happen. Occasionally though, you find that someone you used to like does something that forces you to sympathize with someone you disliked before. That’s probably one of the very few ways it resembles actual reality- that you can end up empathizing with people you dislike if you look at things objectively. … READ MORE

Just a shoutout here about this link: Playboy promotes poor cultural image.   It’s written by a young white man in a fraternity.   You know, a member of the target audience elite.   I realize Playboy isn’t film or TV (our usual topics on this site), but it’s so tied into the soft porn themes that invade our TV shows nightly that more than a few of his remarks seemed to apply to our general mission.

In the beginning of … READ MORE

I know The Dog Whisperer seems like an odd choice for this site, but it’ll make sense when I’m done. Really.

Cesar Millan is a dog behaviorist - not a trainer, but someone who really understands how dogs think, and how to communicate with them like another dog would, and how well-intentioned owners can inadvertently encourage aggressive or fearful behavior. In his own words from the intro: “I rehabilitate dogs; I train people.”

As you watch, you may notice that … READ MORE

I’m plodding my way through the second season of Alias, after having watched the third and forth seasons initially, and something occurred to me:

Michael Vaughn is pathologically incapable of being faithful - emotionally and/or physically. Unless, of course, he’s with Syd; then he epitomises the word. But when he’s not, then he wants to be with her - or he just gives up all pretence at fidelity and cheats on whoever he’s with to be with our heroine.

Conclusion? Fidelity is … READ MORE

I’ve been watching season three of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.  The last episode I watched Clark came clean to his new fiancée, Lois, that he’s been saving himself for the right woman.  Which, as it so happens, is Lois.

Lois freaks.   She certainly didn’t save herself for him.    

Why is this worth mentioning?   Two things.   First, the fact that the male lead in a television show is the one showing signs … READ MORE

I watched an episode of House called “Skin Deep” last night, and instead of having to look for potential meta-messages, I found the message right in the dialog: “the ultimate woman is a man.”

House is treating a 15 year old female supermodel who turns out to be chromosomally male. Don’t ask me about the science: according to this website about intersex conditions, the science was wrong and offensive, anyway. But to give you the story’s context, House talks … READ MORE