We review the new science fiction book, “Recursion” written by American author Blake Crouch who’s widely known for the “Wayward Pines” trilogy.
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Culture Crash 19-32: The Return of HBO’s Hit Show “Succession”
Season two of the hit HBO show, “Succession” returns August 11. We discuss the basic premise of the ruthless family drama and the success of its first season.
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Culture Crash 19-29: What To Do When You Don’t Really Like the Book You’re Reading
It happens to everyone. Despite your perseverance, you just can’t get into the book you’re reading. Do you push yourself to keep on going or give up and raise a white flag?
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Culture Crash 19-28: The Continuation of Veronica Mars
Season 4 of the TV show, ‘Veronica Mars’ premieres on Hulu July 24. We take a look back at the evolution of the series and its surprising survival through low ratings and network TV changes.
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Culture Crash 19-26: The Rise of Writer and Actress Phoebe Waller Bridge
Phoebe Waller Bridge has produced and starred in several hits ranging from “Killing Eve” to “Solo: A Star Wars Story”. Now, she’s working on the script for the fourth James Bond movie and has created a new season of the show “Fleabag”. We discuss her success in Hollywood and the allure of shorter TV shows.
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Culture Crash 19-25: Our Connection to TV Theme Songs
The opening credits of a beloved television show evoke a certain sense of nostalgia for many. We hear the tune and we instantly connect it to a certain series. How have theme songs changed throughout the years and why do they mean so much to us?
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Culture Crash 19-22: To Binge or Not to Binge
Binge-watching several seasons of a TV show all at once might not be the best idea after all. For some lighter shows like Stranger Things it may make sense, but it can be cumbersome and brain draining to get through all eight seasons of Game of Thrones in a matter of weeks. We discuss an alternate route that avoids the fatigue.
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Culture Crash 19-16: The End of Game of Thrones
The wildly popular TV show Game of Thrones is set to wrap up its story with six episodes this season, yet its fans may be unsatisfied. The TV show has departed the path of the books.
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Culture Crash 19-10: Netflix’s Russian Doll
Netflix’s new show, Russian Doll is an ethical, mysterious, funny drama modeled after the Groundhog Day “waking up in the same moment” plot. It’s an especially great binge-watch.
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Culture Crash 19-08: Television Shows Creating “Expanded Universes” of Their Own
Superhero franchises have spent a decade carefully laying plans for big, expanded universes. But we look at “Veronica Mars” and “Breaking Bad,” two TV shows that have broadened their universes in their own ways.
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Culture Crash 19-06: Missing Gems in the Deluge of ‘Peak TV’
There is so much new TV content being made that it can be easy to fall behind or forget to check out a show you meant to watch. We look at a few of these overlooked gems, like Showtime’s There is so much new TV content being made that it can be easy to fall behind or forget to check out a show you meant to watch. We look at a few of these overlooked gems, like Showtime’s “Escape at Dannemora”
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Culture Crash 19-02: True Detective
Tonight marks the long-awaited, sometimes excitedly and sometimes with dread, but long-awaited, return of True Detective. The TV phenomenon of 2014 and possibly the biggest letdown of 2015 is back for its third season, and the early reviews suggest this should be more like the incredible first season and not like the dud of a season two.
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Culture Crash 18-41: Better Call Saul’s unique pacing and why it works so well
One of the traditional ways that TV shows have kept these shock-and-awe moments coming is by moving things along quickly. As soon as some incredible act of deceit takes place, the show starts speeding toward that next signpost.
That’s where Better Call Saul, AMC’s Breaking Bad spin-off, differentiates itself. The show often moves at a glacial pace. It’s a law show with no case of the week format. It’s a show about drug cartels that has focuses on the politics of the cartels much more than actual drug deals.
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Culture Crash 18-38: The funny and philosophical TV comedy, The Good Place
Two years ago, NBC debuted a strange new comedy show called The Good Place. It was written by Michael Schur, a writer on The Office and the creator of Parks & Recreation, so people were willing to get it a change… but it’s logline was pretty out-there. It’s a half-hour comedy about people who died in the afterlife and, specifically, about Eleanor Shellstrop, a bad person who made it to heaven the good place thanks to a clerical error.
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Culture Crash 18-37: Fall Sports
Fall is upon on. September is underway and with it comes the apex of the sports calendar. Last weekend, the NFL season kicked off and all month, the MLB’s pennant races and Wild Card hunts are shaking out. Then will come the MLB playoffs and the dawn of new seasons in both the NBA and NHL. Plenty of sports intrigue abounds this time of year- Four divisions in baseball are coming down to the wire, Jimmy Garoppolo has taken over at quarterback in San Francisco for a massive contract with very little in the way of experience, and you may have heard LeBron James is taking his talents to LA.
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Culture Crash 18-34: The Joys of ‘Junk Food TV’
There’s another brand of TV that’s easy to overlook, what I call junk food TV. In this comparison, those prestige shows are your nice dinners out: they’re prepared with care by professionals. This junk food TV is what you reach for when you just need something easy and fast and delicious.
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Culture Crash 18-31: TV Episode Bloat: Too much of a good thing
Streaming networks have opened up the length an episode of television can run. Gone are the days when writers needed to accommodate advertisements. But episodes that run long often present a new slate of problems – namely, staying interesting.
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