Adaptations & Remakes is an ongoing feature where I take a movie or a book and compare it to its remake and/or adaptation. Each post follows the same basic format:
And don’t forget, you can follow around the internet with the links below.
Posted in Matt Hurt's Columns, Movie Reviews
Tagged Adaptations, Alex Russell, Alfred Hitchcock, American Horror Story, Angela Bettis, Ansel Elgort, Brian De Palma, Bryan Fuller, Buy Digitally, Carrie, Carrie White, Catch It on TV, Chloe Grace Moretz, David Carson, Emilie De Ravin, Gabriella Wilde, House at the End of the Street, John Travolta, Julianne Moore, Kimberly Peirce, Lost, Made for TV, Maine, NBC, Netflix, Piper Laurie, Portia Doubleday, Psycho, Remakes, Shocktober, Shocktober 2013, Sissy Spacek, Stephen King, Stephen King Carrie White, Wait For Netflix Disc
I’ve waited a couple days before writing and posting this review. I’ve been busy editing and prepping 2 episodes of the podcast for release this week. Shameless plug, if you’re a fan of Breaking Bad, you should check out our first of 3 special Breaking Bad episodes where we breakdown the show’s final run episode by episode.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get to Under the Dome, shall we?
BEWARE OF MASSIVE SPOILERS Continue reading
Posted in Matt Hurt's Columns, Television Reviews, Under the Dome
Tagged Alexander Koch, Brian K. Vaughan, Britt Robertson, cbs, Colin Ford, Dean Norris, Jolene Purdy, Let the Games Begin, Lost, Mackenzie Lintz, Mike Vogel, Natalie Martinez, Natalie Zea, Neal Baer, Network Television, Nicholas Strong, Rachelle Lefevre, review, Stephen King, Television Columns
Under the Dome has become a successful mystery series in that each week I don’t know whether I will write a favorable review or pick the whole thing apart while comparing it to another show. It’s been a very inconsistent show in its first eight episodes. Being an eternal optimist, I view this inconsistency as a good thing. If the writers listen to feedback and examine what works and what doesn’t, the series could really thrive in season two.
For now, however, let’s talk about episode 9: “The Fourth Hand.”
BEWARE: MASSIVE SPOILERS ARE IMMINENT
Posted in Matt Hurt's Columns, Television Reviews, Under the Dome
Tagged Aisha Hinds, Alexander Koch, Brian K. Vaughan, Britt Robertson, cbs, Colin Ford, Dean Norris, Jolene Purdy, Lost, Mackenzie Lintz, Mike Vogel, Natalie Martinez, Natalie Zea, Neal Baer, Network Television, Nicholas Strong, Rachelle Lefevre, review, Stephen King, Television Columns, Thicker Than Water, Under the Dome
I feel like I was a little hard on the show last week. I want to reiterate that it was a good episode but the similarities to Lost were obvious to the point of being distracting for me.
I also want to say that Under the Dome season 1 now has a home video release date. It’ll be released on November 5th on DVD, Blu-Ray and a collector’s edition Blu-Ray set. You can preorder it by clicking the corresponding links in the previous sentence. I think it’s interesting that it’s releasing so soon. It’s an interesting way to combat piracy.
But enough about that; here’s my review of the episode. As always, BEWARE, MAJOR SPOILERS Continue reading
Posted in Matt Hurt's Columns, Television Reviews, Under the Dome
Tagged Aisha Hinds, Alexander Koch, Brian K. Vaughan, Britt Robertson, cbs, Colin Ford, Dean Norris, Jolene Purdy, Lost, Mackenzie Lintz, Mike Vogel, Natalie Martinez, Neal Baer, Network Television, Nicholas Strong, Rachelle Lefevre, review, Stephen King, Television Columns, Thicker Than Water, Under the Dome
Last week’s Under the Dome was the closest the series has come to being what I hoped it would be before the series premiered. I went into this week’s episode hopeful that it would keep the momentum going. So did it? Read on to find out but beware. There are MAJOR EPISODE SPOILERS in this review. Continue reading
Posted in Matt Hurt's Columns, Television Reviews, Under the Dome
Tagged Aisha Hinds, Alexander Koch, Brian K. Vaughan, Britt Robertson, cbs, Colin Ford, Dean Norris, Imperfect Circles, Jolene Purdy, Lost, Mackenzie Lintz, Mike Vogel, Natalie Martinez, Neal Baer, Network Television, Nicholas Strong, Rachelle Lefevre, review, Stephen King, Television Columns, Under the Dome
A note before I get started with this week’s review. I mentioned last week in my “Parting Thoughts” section that I didn’t understand last week’s episode title (Blue on Blue) and thought a better episode title would be “Friendly Fire.” Thanks to Reddit user “AegisToTheCrown” I now know that “Blue on Blue” is actually military terminology for “friendly fire.” I don’t know why I didn’t know that, but all the same, thanks Aegis!
MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD Continue reading
Posted in Matt Hurt's Columns, Television Reviews, Under the Dome
Tagged Aisha Hinds, Alexander Koch, Brian K. Vaughan, Britt Robertson, cbs, Colin Ford, Dean Norris, Jolene Purdy, Lost, Mackenzie Lintz, Mike Vogel, Natalie Martinez, Neal Baer, Network Television, Nicholas Strong, Rachelle Lefevre, review, Stephen King, Television Columns, The Endless Thirst, Under the Dome, White Rabbit
Before you start reading, I must warn you that this is a SPOILER HEAVY list, obviously. Read at your own discretion.
I wrote this in response to the end of season 3 of Game of Thrones. When I first started watching the series, I wanted to read each season’s corresponding book before I watched the adaptation. Given the length of the novels, my impatience and fear of being spoiled I stopped about 1/3 of the way through the second book and got caught up on the series.
Thankfully, I avoided all spoilers for the end of season three. What I got in return was one of the biggest “HOLY SHIT” moments in recent television memory. It’s the moment everyone has been talking about and now that I’ve finally seen it, I’ve been inspired to make a list of the most tragic moments in television. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Clearly this list is only limited to the shows I’ve seen. Think I missed something? Let me know in the comments, on Twitter @ObsessiveViewer or on Facebook. Continue reading
Posted in Editorials, Matt Hurt's Columns
Tagged 24, A Song of Ice and Fire, Aaron Paul, Angela Darmody, Band of Brothers, Ben Linus, Boardwalk Empire, Bodie, Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston, Cable Television, Charlie Hunnam, Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin, HBO, Jack, Jack Bauer, Jacob, Jax Teller, Jimmy Darmody, John Locke, Krysten Ritter, Locke, Lost, Man in Black, Manny Horvitz, Matthew Fox, Michael Emerson, miniseries, Morgan, My Lunch, Network Television, Opie, Poot, Ryan Hurst, Scrubs, Shane Vendrell, Sons of Anarchy, Stringer Bell, Television Columns, The Red Wedding, The Shield, The Walking Dead, The Wire, Tragedy, Vic Mackey, Wallace
I am going to make a conscious effort not to compare the series to Stephen King’s novel. I might do something at the end of the season, but I’ll make that decision when the time comes. For now, you can read my thoughts on the novel and the series in the lead up to the premiere on the Stephen King Week page. You can also hear my thoughts on some of the changes the show made on this week’s episode of The Obsessive Viewer Podcast (which releases on Friday). Continue reading
Posted in Matt Hurt's Columns, Television Reviews, Under the Dome
Tagged Alexander Koch, cbs, Dean Norris, Lost, Mike Vogel, Stephen King, Under the Dome
I finished reading Under the Dome last week. I haven’t read much about the show, for fear of spoilers, but I did read the character bios. Dome Day is tomorrow and today I’d like to share some thoughts on what I hope will be included in (and excluded from) the novel. Read on for my vision for Under the Dome as a television series.
Continue reading
First and foremost, I admit this is a ridiculous claim and I am being slightly facetious when I make premature comparisons to Lost with a series I haven’t watched yet. Besides, Lost had so many contributing factors tied to its success, that it would be difficult, maybe impossible, for network television to have a serialized show capture the hearts, minds and imaginations of so many viewers and “armchair showrunners.” Continue reading
Posted in Editorials, Matt Hurt's Columns, Under the Dome
Tagged Brian K. Vaughan, cbs, Lost, Network Television, Stephen King, Stephen King Week, Under the Dome
Pilots are interesting beasts in the television world. They’re used to convince a studio to shell out more money for more episodes. In order to do that, a pilot needs to succeed on several more fronts of storytelling than any other single episode. A pilot needs to introduce the major characters of a series in an engaging, often standalone, story that will leave the audience clamoring for more.
Furthermore, a good pilot needs to rely on a strong cast to build a rapport in a short period of time. Writers working on pilots also have to gauge possible long-term onscreen relationships completely blind of actors’ chemistry. Because of these factors, I live by one steadfast television-viewing rule:
Never judge a show by its pilot.
But some series have such strong pilot episodes that you can and should judge them on the pilots. And so, here I have compiled a list of some of my favorite pilot episodes. They aren’t necessarily my favorite shows ever, and they aren’t exactly the best episodes of said shows. These episodes are just the most engaging series-starters that I’ve seen. They also introduce the characters and story arcs in a highly satisfying way.
You can click the episode titles in the list to buy them digitally on Amazon.
So enjoy and be sure to let me know what you think of my choices in the comment section. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @ObsessiveViewer and like the blog on Facebook.
Continue reading
Posted in Editorials, Matt Hurt's Columns
Tagged Aaron Paul, Aaron Sorkin, Arrested Development, Boardwalk Empire, Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston, Carlton Cuse, Community, Damon Lindelof, Dan Harmon, David Simon, Episodes, Frank Darabont, Homicide, J.J. Abrams, Jeff Daniels, jj abrams, Joel McHale, Lists, Lost, Martin Scorsese, Martin Sheen, Mitch Hurwitz, Pilots, Steve Buscemi, Television Columns, Terence Winter, The Newsroom, The Walking Dead, The West Wing, The Wire, Vince Gilligan
Over the last decade, there’s been a steady shift toward more cinematic storytelling on the small screen. TV has dug its heels into the consciousness of the viewer like it never has before. While the television medium has become a juggernaut of long-form storytelling, it is not without its cast of disposable, irritating characters.
Everyone has that one character they wouldn’t mind seeing buried alive on a beach, mauled to death by a female goat or drowned in a creek filled with tears of their own narcissistic self-pity. Below you’ll find some of the characters whose appearances will have me checking my twitter feed, updating my Facebook or biding my time contemplating why I would even watch a show with such an irritating character.
Fair warning, there are some SPOILERS throughout this list so read sections at your own discretion… Continue reading
The zombie genre often raises interesting questions. How would we behave if society as we know it was gone? How far are we willing to go to protect our own and when the teeth are closing in, what or who are we willing to sacrifice?
These are themes The Walking Dead has played with since day one and things are quickly coming to a head as the show soon ends its third season. Only two new episodes are left and I feel now is as good a time as any to reflect on where the show’s been and where it’s heading. Let’s start from the beginning…
(Includes spoilers up to and including S03E14 – Prey) Continue reading
Posted in Editorials, Matt Hurt's Columns
Tagged AMC, Andrew Lincoln, Chad L. Coleman, Danai Gurira, David, Drive, FlashForward, Frank Darabont, Glen Mazzara, Greg Nicotero, Horror, Lauren Cohan, Lost, Morrissey, Robert Kirkman, Scott M. Gimple, Scott Wilson, Television Columns, The Walking Dead, TV Backlog, zombies
Thanks to The Walking Dead and American Horror Story, the horror genre is in the midst of its biggest television presence since Tales from the Crypt camped up the airwaves of the 1990s. Now A&E is trying to get in on the ground floor by taking a beloved character of the genre and enlisting network hit makers to create a modern day prequel series.
Posted in Editorials, Matt Hurt's Columns
Tagged A&E, Alfred Hitchcock, AMC, American Horror Story, Bates Motel, Carlton Cuse, Eli Roth, Frank Darabont, Friday Night Lights, FX, Glen Mazzara, Greg Nicotero, Hannibal, Hemlock Grove, Horror, Kerry Ehrin, Lost, NBC, Netflix, Psycho, Silence of the Lambs, Television Columns, The Walking Dead, zombies
Letterboxd – ObsessiveViewer
