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Posts published in “TV Analysis”

TV Criticism ft. Heather Mason (SyFy Fangrrls/Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls) & LaToya Ferguson (The A.V. Club/IndieWire) (PT81)

TV Criticism ft. Heather Mason (SyFy Fangrrls/Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls) & LaToya Ferguson (The A.V. Club/IndieWire) (PT81)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:22:43 — 75.9MB)

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Alex and Nick invite Heather Mason (from SyFy Fangrrls & Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls) and LaToya Ferguson (from The A.V. Club & IndieWire) for a lighthearted conversation about the current state of TV criticism in the era of peak content and serialized storytelling.

What does TV criticism look like today? What is the process of reviewing a TV show? What can writers learn from critics? When are shows reviewed as a whole as opposed to episodically? How can critics review so much content in the era of peak TV? What are common misconceptions about TV criticism?

Plus, a special WonderCon 2018 reminder.

The Paper Team rates this episode “A+”…

SHOWNOTES

Content

WonderCon 2018 panel reminder (00:00:33)
A casual conversation about TV criticism (00:01:45)
Resources and Next Week On (01:14:18)

Reminder

Paper Team is going to WonderCon 2018! Join our panel “Reimagined for TV: Writing shows based on popular IP” on Sunday, March 25 at 1:00PM in Room 209.

Links

Heather Mason on Twitter
LaToya Ferguson on Twitter
The TV Sisters
LaToya Ferguson on Tumblr
SyFy Fangrrls
IGN
HelloGiggles
Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls
The A.V. Club
IndieWire
Uproxx
Television Without Pity
“San Junipero” (3×04 – Black Mirror)
Scream (TV Show)
Teen Wolf (TV Show)
Pretty Little Liars
Scream Queens
The Strain
Metacritic
Rotten Tomatoes
Drop Dead Gorgeous
Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23
Great News
The Vampire Diaries
Hannibal (TV Show)
Sasha Alexander
Greg Beeman
Dark
Television Critics Association (TCA)
Grace and Frankie
Electric Dreams
Charlie’s Angels (2011 TV Show)
666 Park Avenue
Dave Annable
Rachael Taylor
Robert Buckley
The Slap
The Slap (US Version)
Jonathan LaPaglia

Special thanks to Alex Switzky 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]

Analyzing Great TV Scenes: Case Studies of Deep Space Nine, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Good Place, The Good Wife, Lost and The Simpsons (PT77)

Analyzing Great TV Scenes: Case Studies of Deep Space Nine, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Good Place, The Good Wife, Lost and The Simpsons (PT77)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:04:55 — 59.6MB)

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Alex and Nick break down six iconic TV scenes to look at what makes them engaging and unique.

The moments explored in this episode include scenes from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Good Place, The Good Wife, Lost, and The Simpsons.

What makes for a great TV scene? How can a simple exchange play off character and story? How can dialogue be used to define a moment? What are ways acting, directing and editing influence the impact of a scene? What TV writing lessons can you learn from these scenes?

Plus, we talk how many people should be in a writing group.

The Paper Team gets in and out…

SHOWNOTES

Content

Paper Scraps: How many people in a writing group? (00:00:58)
1 – Introduction to the six TV scenes (00:03:09)
2 – “The Simpsons” Steamed Ham scene (00:08:02)
3 – “Deep Space Nine” Benny Rant scene (00:16:15)
4 – “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” Papa scene (00:29:35)
5 – “Lost” Henry Gale Breakfast scene (00:37:24)
6 – “The Good Place” Many Attempts Montage scene (00:44:55)
7 – “The Good Wife” Will vs. Alicia scene (00:53:02)
Next Week On (01:03:38)

Links

“Feedback and Notes: Building Your Reading Onion” (PT08)
“Analyzing Great TV Pilots” (PT54)
“Analyzing Great TV Characters” (PT72)
“22 Short Films about Springfield (7×21 – The Simpsons)
The Simpsons’ Steamed Ham scene
“Far Beyond the Stars” (6×13 – Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
Deep Space Nine’s Benny Rant scene
“Papa’s Got a Brand New Excuse” (4×24 – The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)
Prince of Bel-Air’s Papa scene
“The Whole Truth” (2×16 – Lost)
Lost’s Henry Gale Breakfast scene
“Dance Dance Resolution” (2×03 – The Good Place)
“Hitting the Fan” (5×05 – The Good Wife)
“I’m mad as hell” scene from Network
DS9 comment by Kingofmadcows
“Nonlinear Storytelling” (PT70)

This episode brought to you by Tracking Board’s Launch Pad Writing Competitions

Use code PAPERTEAM to get $15 OFF when you enter a Launch Pad Competition

Special thanks to Alex Switzky 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]

Analyzing Great TV Characters: Case Studies of David Palmer (24), Lindsay (You’re the Worst), Michael (The Good Place) and Scorpius (Farscape) (PT72)

Analyzing Great TV Characters: Case Studies of David Palmer (24), Lindsay (You’re the Worst), Michael (The Good Place) and Scorpius (Farscape) (PT72)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:27 — 47.3MB)

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

Alex and Nick break down four iconic TV characters to look at what makes them memorable.

The TV characters explored in this episode include David Palmer from 24, Lindsay Jillian from You’re the Worst, Michael from The Good Place, and Scorpius from Farscape.

What makes a great TV character? How are the characters introduced in unique ways? How do shows flesh out specific goals, needs and wants? What are key moments and decisions that can define characters?

Plus, we celebrate the new year.

The Paper Team sizes people up…

SHOWNOTES

Content

Paper Scraps: Happy new year! (01:00)
1 – The four TV characters (02:16)
2 – Why we picked these characters (05:12)
3 – Character introductions (10:10)
4 – Character traits (17:53)
5 – Character’s macro series arcs, wants, and needs (25:29)
6 – Key character moments (38:08)
Next Week On (50:16)

Links

David Palmer (24)
Scorpius (Farscape)
Lindsay Jillian (You’re the Worst)
Michael (The Good Place)
“Analyzing Great TV Pilots” (PT54)
David Mamet’s memo to his writing staff on The Unit
Scorpius costume designs
“All About That Paper” (2×04 – You’re the Worst)
“Try Real Hard” (3×01 – You’re the Worst)
“Day 2: 4:00AM-5:00AM” (2×21 – 24)
“The Trolley Problem” (2×05 – The Good Place)
“Nerve” (1×19 – Farscape)
“Liars, Guns and Money” (2×19 – Farscape)
“With Friends Like These…” (2×20 – Farscape)
“Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars”

This episode brought to you by Tracking Board’s Launch Pad Writing Competitions

Use code PAPERTEAM to get $15 OFF when you enter a Launch Pad Competition

Special thanks to Alex Switzky 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]