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Posts tagged as “Buffy”

The Art of the TV Episode (PT20)

The Art of the TV Episode (PT20)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:36 — 47.5MB)

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Alex and Nick explore the differences in what an episode looks like between episodic or procedural TV and serialized shows.

How has the TV episode evolved over the years? What does an episode mean in the age of binge-watching? What are some memorable stand-alone and serialized episodes?

The Paper Team offers a self-contained narrative…

SHOWNOTES

Content

1 – The Stand-Alone Episode (00:34)
2 – The Serialized Episode (13:23)
3 – What is a TV episode today? (35:34)
4 – Critical reception of Episodic vs. Serialized TV (42:45)
Next Week On (50:03)

Links

Masters of Horror
“22 Short Films About Springfield” (7×21 – The Simpsons)
“Window of Opportunity” (4×06 – Stargate SG-1)
“The Farnsworth Parabox” (4×15 – Futurama)
“Hush” (4×10 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Donald Trump “Law & Order: SVU” Episode Gets Post-Election Airdate
6 Days to Air: The Making of South Park
“Restless” (4×22 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
“Grave Danger” (5×24-25 – CSI)
Monte-Carlo Television Festival
MIPTV Media Market
Coupling (US)
Law & Order: UK
Paris enquêtes criminelles
Babylon 5
The Cuckoo Hour
Dream On
“A Mother’s Work” (6×13 – Sons of Anarchy)
“Phase One” (2×13 – Alias)
“Other Things You Could Be Doing” (2×12 – You’re the Worst)
“Development Arrested” (3×13 – Arrested Development)
Why mythological shows are often idolized
NY Times Reviews Amazon’s Goliath Out of Order
“Two Boats and a Helicopter” (1×03 – The Leftovers)
“Guest” (1×06 – The Leftovers)
In Praise of Midbrow TV

Special thanks to Jason J. Cohn for helping us edit this episode.

If you enjoyed this episode (and others), please consider leaving us an iTunes review at paperteam.co/itunes! :)

You can find Paper Team on Twitter:
Alex – @TVCalling
Nick – @_njwatson
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, you can e-mail us: [email protected]

The Influence of TV: Scratching the Surface (PT11)

The Influence of TV: Scratching the Surface (PT11)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 48:57 — 44.8MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | RSS | More

Alex and Nick go off the beaten path to discuss the influence of the television medium on both cultures and people. We take a look at a few interesting case studies that have affected us personally, and the world we live in.

Which television stories have had a major impact on our lives? What about representation, international exports, and other cultures? Why is television much more than just an “idiot box”?
From The Simpsons to Star Trek, diversity to social relevance, Paper Team takes a look at a few interesting case studies illustrating television’s impact.

This episode is by no means an exhaustive discussion on the subject (people have done entire PhDs on it), merely a conversation starter through specific examples and themes.

SHOWNOTES

Content

1 – What is the most influential TV show of all time? (00:55)
2 – A few words on diversity and representation on TV (15:03)
3 – Exports, adaptations, and the influence of international shows (25:24)
4 – TV’s social and personal impact (35:02)
Takeaway and next week’s topic (46:50)

Links

Bush v. Simpsons (Video)
Kodos and Kang’s Two-Party System (Video)
Homer owns the Denver Broncos (Video)
The Simpsons’ Movie References (Video)
Irish Unification of 2024
NASA’s Science of Star Trek
Nichelle Nichols reflects on MLK Encounter
Lucille Ball & Star Trek
Homosexuality portrayal in Star Trek
Dawson’s Creek at ATX (The Writers Panel)
Les Miroirs Obscurs – Martin Winckler
“Indians on TV” (1×04 – Master of None)
NBC’s SeeSo
Le bureau
Psychology for Screenwriters – William Indick
“Other Things You Could Be Doing” (2×12 – You’re the Worst)
“The Body” (5×16 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
“Mother Simpson” (7×08 – The Simpsons)
“Ecotone” (5×09 – Six Feet Under)

Special thanks to Jason J. Cohn for helping us edit this episode.

If you enjoyed the episode (and others), please consider leaving us an iTunes review at paperteam.co/itunes! :)

You can find Paper Team on Twitter:
Alex – @TVCalling
Nick – @_njwatson
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, you can e-mail us: [email protected]

Why Academics Love “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”

This week, Katherine Schwab from The Atlantic published a great extensive piece about the scholarly interest in Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The article talks about the kind of TV studies that’s been happening for years, but I’m glad it’s finally going mainstream after over a decade.

I highly recommend the read, even if you’re not a Whedon fan.

Here’s a short excerpt:

Buffy scholars have taken dozens of different approaches to understanding the television show or using it to further work in other disciplines. In the decade since it went off the air, a Stanford University population ecologist used mathematical formulas to determine potential vampire demographics in Sunnydale, the fictional California town where the show is set. A strategist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the prominent Washington, D.C. think tank, compared Buffy’s war against the forces of evil to the U.S.’s war on terror and named a new paradigm in biological warfare after the fictional vampire slayer. An English-language historian and linguist published a lexicon of ‘Buffyspeak,’ the insider name for the particular slang and expressions used in the show (Examples include: “Love makes you do the wacky,” “What’s with the grim?” and “She’s the Do-That Girl”).

Read the full article

As a bonus, you can check out this Emily Nussbaum piece (also about Buffy and TV criticism) I mentioned last year.