Firewall & Iceberg Podcast, episode 168: 'Community,' 'Smash,' 'The Walking Dead' & more
Dan and Alan also review Super Bowl ads, TNT's 'Monday Mornings' and revisit the '30 Rock' finale
Another long Firewall & Iceberg Podcast this week, as Dan and I discuss various Super Bowl-related entertainment (or the lack thereof), the revamped returns of "Smash" And "Community," discuss TNT's "Monday Mornings," check in on the return of "The Walking Dead," and spend even more time extolling the virtues of "30 Rock." Oh, and we get to discuss Kareem Abdul-Jabar, TV critic. Always fun. The lineup:
Super Bowl XLVII (00:00:55 - 23:20)
"Monday Mornings" (00:23:20 - 00:35:10)
"Smash" (00:35:10 - 00:46:40)
"Community" (00:46:40 - 00:56:15)
"The Walking Dead" (00:56:20 - 01:03:10)
Listener Mail - Kareem's Thoughts on "Girls" (01:03:30 - 01:09:45)
"30 Rock" finale (01:09:45 - 01:37:10)
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 stream it on Dan's blog.
And as always, feel free to e-mail us questions for the podcast.
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
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupGUEST123
February 4, 2013 at 6:58PM EST Reply to Commentyay, my 2 favorite shows start up again this week -- SMASH & COMMUNITY
JB
February 4, 2013 at 9:21PM EST Reply to CommentReally sad to hear that about Community but at the same time, not surprised. :(
exiledjerseyite
February 4, 2013 at 9:21PM EST Reply to CommentI stand with Alan: Joe Buck is History's Worst Monster. And it has nothing to do with his reaction to The Helmet Catch (since I was work and didn't see that play live). He's just awful.
joel Favorite blackout moment was the camera just silently panning aimlessly around the darkened roof for a good 45 seconds.
February 5, 2013 at 2:15PM ESTCBS has the worst NFL broadcast of any network. Even ESPN has better graphics. The fact that any given week of Sunday Night Football on NBC looked technically better and is better commentated than CBS' Super Bowl coverage tells you everything you need to know. CBS is a joke.
Adam
February 4, 2013 at 9:31PM EST Reply to CommentI wish Community had the luxury of being able to "find itself" again, because I feel like this is a process that all new showrunners need to go through when they're taking the reins from a distinctive voice. They need to try out what came before and I think that process helps them refine what works and what doesn't in the "new" version of the show.
Cabo
February 4, 2013 at 9:40PM EST Reply to CommentI agreed with everything Dan and Alan said about Kareem Abdul Jabbar's critique of Girls, but I'd be really interested to hear their take on Huff Post's Mo Ryan's sharp critique that cited and seemed to agree with KAJ. Love to hear her on this podcast to discuss/debate Girls.
Tom
February 4, 2013 at 10:53PM EST Reply to CommentDamn. Just hearing about the new Community makes me sad.
ed w
February 4, 2013 at 11:36PM EST Reply to CommentHave you guys considered asking Kareem A. J. to guest on your podcast? Why not try?
sabrinakit
February 5, 2013 at 1:57AM EST Reply to CommentHappy to know that my favourite shows are gonna start this week....
S
February 5, 2013 at 9:20AM EST Reply to CommentStill not giving up hope on Community. I'm not doubting Alan's and Dan's assessments that EP 1 and 4 were not good but maybe Sony put out those epsiodes thinking a high concept episode is what the critics wanted instead of giving the best two episodes which might be 2 and 3.
MatthewL Exactly what I thought. As soon as I heard they'd sent out an episode from later in the season I thought "it will be the Inspector Spacetime convention episode", since I'd heard that they were doing that one. And indeed I was right. I can definitely see that there will have to be smaller less gimicky episodes that will really show whether they've got a grasp on the characters.
February 6, 2013 at 6:33AM ESTJean
February 5, 2013 at 12:16PM EST Reply to CommentI think the treatment of Liz ending up with Criss and not Carol, Floyd, etc. was a really great move, and a contrast to the rom-com/sitcom trope where people are meant to be together and end up back with each other in some sort of fairy-tale ending (Ross and Rachel?). I think everything that happened in the show world - actors not being available, the Liz/Criss relationship starting to show some chemistry - parallels things that happen in the real world. Like sometimes people are great for each other and circumstances just prevent them from being together, so they end up with someone who works. Plus who knows whether Liz "ends up" with Criss? I loved that the show didn't perpetuate the often-unattainable ideal of a happily ever after with that one perfect person.
Garrett
February 5, 2013 at 2:05PM EST Reply to CommentThat sweatiness even comes through in the preview clips. The optimistic take: After everything that happened with Dan Harmon, of course Sony would send out the episodes that strained the hardest to ape the first three seasons. (The "Inspector Spacetime" convention in particular felt like something the new guys would come up with to prove their bona fides.) And "Community" has always started slow; Season 2 is one of my all-time favorites, but it didn't really gel for me until "Cooperative Calligraphy."
andrei
February 6, 2013 at 9:51AM EST Reply to CommentAlan, I'm very disappointed - all that talk about Colin Kaepernick's tattoos, and not a Bai Ling joke to be found anywhere!
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