Category Archives: AMC
A-scare-ica: The Rise of Horror in American Television
I have a theory that nightmares are our brain’s way of saying “hey, your life could be worse,” which is why the horror genre is increasingly becoming popular in television. So what if you have crippling debt because of student loans. At least, you don’t have to kill your zombified friends and family. According to this CBC article, that’s why zombies are so popular.
There is no doubting that times are tough. When you find yourself in times of trouble, mother television comes on to make things all better. Since the dawn of primetime, TV has always been an escape from our daily lives. It’s why we never saw our favorite nuclear TV families broken apart by war. Instead of living vicariously through our favorite TV characters like we used to, we’re saying, “hey, my life could be worse”.
True Blood (HBO)
True Blood came out in the height of that whole Twilight fad that some of us don’t like mentioning being part of. I remember girls complaining that True Blood was a blatant rip off of the saga. Aside from having vampires, the protagonist happens to have telepathic abilities, just like a certain sparkly vampire. Except The Southern Vampire Mysteries that inspired the TV show came out before Stephanie Meyer dreamed up Twilight.
The difference between True Blood and any other vampire movie or TV show is that it dealt with current issues. Gay rights to be specific. This is made obvious by the “God hates Fangs” sign in the intro, which is a lovely jab at The Westboro Baptist Church. The show has continued to use vampires as an allegory for the LGBT community. You know, vampires are people too!
Despite airing in the summer, which is usually a death sentence, this show became insanely popular. So popular that HBO has been pushing out more and more TV shows ever since its 2008 debut. Since so many people took time out of their busy summer schedules of doing nothing, it showed that horror is something channels should strive toward.
Weekly TV Update: July 30
Each week we bring you stories from around the Internet that you might have missed.
Charlie Sheen thinks the world needs more than 90 episodes of Anger Management.
In other Anger Management news, Martin Sheen will play Charlie’s father on the show.
The Modern Family cast wants big salary increases.
The Killing has been killed. AMC cancels the drama after 2 seasons.
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog will air on the CW in October.
The 2012 Emmy Nominees
Earlier today, The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced the 2012 Emmy Awards nominees. HBO (81 nominations) and CBS (60 nominations) lead the networks in nominations. Mad Men and American Horror Story (tied with 17 nominations) were shows nominated for the most awards.
Here is list of shows nominated in the major categories:
Best Comedy
The Big Bang Theory
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Girls
Modern Family
30 Rock
Veep
Best Drama
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
Mad Men
Weekly TV Update: July 16
Each week we bring you stories from around the Internet that you might have missed.
Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler leave American Idol.
More American Idol news: Will Aretha Franklin be a new judge?
Aleve may have discovered a way to gets its advertising past a DVR.
Charlie Sheen’s Anger Management keeps losing viewers.
Breaking Bad started a new season last night. Ken Tucker has a review of the show.
Dish Subscribers Will Have Access to Breaking Bad Premiere
At the end of last month, Dish Network dropped AMC from its service. However, all is not lost for fans of AMC’s Breaking Bad. The network is making the season 5 premiere of Breaking Bad available via a live stream at www.amctv.com/breakingbad4dish. Dish customers will be able to register for access to the live stream beginning today at 3pm. The live stream will begin this Sunday at 10pm, which is the same time Breaking Bad will begin its fifth season on AMC.
Wait! What's A Dial? 