Featured Blogs:

 

Cannes Film Festival 2013

Firewall & Iceberg podcast, episode 21: 'The Gates,' 'Scoundrels,' 'Memphis Beat' & more

Lots of new shows this week - just not a lot of good ones.

By Alan Sepinwall Wednesday, Jun 16, 2010 5:26 PM

The

 
Busy week for the Firewall & Iceberg Podcast, as Dan and I preview a bunch of new shows (few of them very good, alas), continue our summer run through "Undeclared" and weigh in on the "Breaking Bad" finale. Though I guessed late in the podcast that this would be our longest installment ever, it actually clocks in a little under an hour, and here are the segment times: 
 
ABC's "Scoundrels" and "The Gates" -- 01:55 - 15:35
"Memphis Beat" -- 15:40 - 19:30
"Hot in Cleveland" -- 19:30 - 23:15
ESPN's "June 17, 1994" -- 23:15 - 27:35
"Undeclared" -- 27:40 - 39:35
"Rubicon" -- 39:40 - 45:00
"Breaking Bad" -- 45:25 - 56:35
 
As always, you can subscribe to The Firewall & Iceberg Podcast over at the iTunes Store, where you can also rate us and comment on us. Or you can always follow our RSS Feed, download the MP3 file, or just stream it over at Dan's blog.
Alan-sepinwall-sm
Alan Sepinwall
Sr. Editor, What's Alan Watching
Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com
Related Searches: Alan Sepinwall, Firewall & Iceberg, Undeclared, Breaking Bad, The Gates, Scoundrels, Memphis Beat, Hot in Cleveland, Rubicon, 30 for 30

Comments

  • Option 1

    Comment instantly as a guest Guest

  • Option 2

    Connect

  • Option 3

    Login or create a HitFix account Login Signup
  • Pic_talkback_profile

    forg

    Aww no attempt to say "from hitfix dot com" at the same time from you guys this week? :D

    June 16, 2010 at 8:18PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Pic_talkback_profile

    forg

    They like this

    June 16, 2010 at 8:19PM EST Reply to Comment



  • You seem always to be greater concerned with the duration of the show. I think an hour IS a good length for it. I skip past the shows I don't watch anyway, so mostly it ends up being less than an hour.

    June 16, 2010 at 8:54PM EST Reply to Comment
    • Shades_talkback_profile

      Tuchman Marsh Yeah, I thought this week's podcast was great, due to the length, and the amount of shows you got to cover thoroughly. The more analysis you guys can bring on a show, the better.

      June 17, 2010 at 3:10AM EST
  • Default-avatar

    tl

    what about kevin hart he was hilarious on undeclared. undeclared was a great show because they had great guests like sandler, ferrel and stiller.

    June 16, 2010 at 9:10PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    hey

    Geoffrey Arend has a pretty good career going with his role in 500 days of summer and elsewhere.

    June 17, 2010 at 1:52AM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    Rick

    In reference to "Chekov's windshield"...

    There is actually a long description by Vince Gilligan on the Breaking Bad podcast of a scene of Walt Jr's driving test that they had written but didn't get to film because they knew the episode would run too long. It's a shame it didn't make the cut -- it sounded like it would have been a pretty funny early scene

    June 17, 2010 at 2:51AM EST Reply to Comment



  • As much as I love the podcast, I think just a little stinger of intro music would make the whole thing sound 75% more professional. Lots of amateur podcasts manage this, there's got to be plenty of CC-liscensed music you could use.

    June 17, 2010 at 9:37AM EST Reply to Comment
  • A_talkback_profile

    belinda

    It's too bad that ABC can't seem to remake Outrageous Fortune (it's not the best show in the world, but has its moments of hilarious debauchery and is my guilty pleasure. Have either of you watched the original (or I think there's also a UK version which kind of bombed too), and any thoughts on it?) into a halfway decent show.

    Also, would love to hear more impressions from Alan now that we know he was 'that guy' in college. :D

    June 17, 2010 at 10:26AM EST Reply to Comment
    • Midnight_run_mca255950_talkback_profile

      sepinwall Dan has put his foot down on impressions during the podcast.

      Also, Geoffrey Arend is way, way, way better at them than I am, and I would therefore not want to follow him anytime soon.

      June 17, 2010 at 11:20AM EST



  • Re watching Undeclared is always a treat. Just blows my mind it only got one series, while not as good as Freaks and Geeks, you can understand how Freaks and Geeks never picked up the audience. Undeclared just feels like the college comedy. How the he'll does Greek getting so many series?

    Not sure how an Englishmen can do such a fake sounding English accent. Lloyd sounds so cliche.

    June 17, 2010 at 10:42AM EST Reply to Comment

    • I spent about half the series waiting for it to be revealed that Lloyd was from Montana or something, and the accent and all the Britishisms were fake.

      I guess instead, he just fully got how hot girls got for British guys, so he hammered the point home as often as he could.

      June 17, 2010 at 1:53PM EST
  • Default-avatar

    Sareeta

    Funny, funny podcast this week, guys. I especially loved the vampire genre discussion. Currently, The Good Wife is just OK... It would be way more interesting if Alicia went to work for a law firm of vampires. Mad Men might even be worth watching if it were about vampires. The first thing I thought of The Gates promos was Desperate Housewives meets True Blood (i.e., the soapiness of ABC with the vampire theme to make the show stand out). I'm glad at least one of you liked it because I was looking forward to it.

    Also, I'm a big World Cup fan and I wouldn't mind spending a few minutes discussing the event. Some interesting games this week.

    June 17, 2010 at 6:05PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    rosengje

    I would just like to register my dissatisfaction that in your comparison of the greatness of Breaking Bad Season 3 to Mad Men Season 3 you neglected to mention the true best season of television this year: Sons of Anarchy Season 2.

    June 18, 2010 at 2:56AM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    marmad

    Alan,

    Although I thoroughly enjoyed this season of Breaking Bad, I don't agree at all that it 'kicked the ass' of the last season of Mad Men. There were some cliché-ridden elements this season of Breaking Bad (the unstoppable killing machine of the cousins) which, for me, lessened the impact of the overall season (and seemed out of place with the much more briliant and subtle writing later on). Also, it appears to me that Gilligan et al actually 'lifted' one of the great main arcs from last season of Mad Men (the emasculation and rebirth of Don Draper) and reused it on Walter White.

    June 18, 2010 at 7:24AM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    eggwizard

    What is this you're saying about Breaking Bad starting late next year? Is it starting in May or what?

    June 18, 2010 at 11:32AM EST Reply to Comment

News From Our Partners

Get Instant Alerts on What's Alan Watching

Latest Posts
More Posts
Recent Activity on Facebook
Most Popular on Facebook
Top Stories From Around the Web
About HitFix

HitFix delivers the Movie, Music, TV and Awards and general entertainment news that fans care about most, without the gossip or celebrity scandal. Our nationally-recognized, tastemaker journalists provide the latest breaking news, analysis, reviews, recaps, interviews and exclusives 24 hours a day while our proprietary localized Event Calendar and mobile apps allow consumers to stay up to the minute while managing their entertainment lives. Find out What’s Next In Entertainment with HitFix.

Advertise on HitFix
Subscribe to HitFix

Get the latest headlines & updates in your inbox

Popular Topics

© Copyright HitFix.com. All rights reserved. Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy