Last year’s Dumpster fire has spread to the landfill. But there were some good parts. Little Village contributors weigh in on the highs and lows of 2017.
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The best and worst of 2017
Television
Attention ‘Rick and Morty’ fans: McDonald’s Szechuan sauce is coming to Iowa City for one day only
McDonald’s is bringing back their 1998 limited-edition Szechuan dipping sauce at the insistence of Rick and Morty fans. One Iowa City location will distribute the now-famous condiment. […]
Interview: Richard Hell on his new collection of essays, ‘Massive Pissed Love’
“Fuck Rock and Roll (I’d Rather Read a Book),” Richard Hell sang in 1974, back when he played in the band Television. He also co-founded two other influential New York punk groups—The Heartbreakers and The Voidoids—something that tends to overshadow Hell’s half-century involvement in the publishing world. “I’ve always loved books,” he told me over […]
The Tube: As villains take center stage, ‘Gotham’ forges its own path through the Batman mythos
The first season of Gotham, FOX’s exploration of the Batman mythos beginning from the moment Thomas and Martha Wayne are murdered, was, at best, uneven. Driven by strong performances, including that of Shueyville, Iowa native Robin Lord Taylor as Penguin, the show nevertheless floundered about as characters and storylines were introduced, dropped and (sometimes) revisited. […]
Another Period show? Yes, please!
Comedy Central’s Another Period, written and created by Natasha Leggero (Chelsea Lately) and Riki Lindhome (Garfunkel and Oates), follows a wealthy Newport family as sisters Lillian (Leggero) and Beatrice (Lindhome) attempt to become famous in 1902. The show, which premiered last week and airs Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m., features a knock-out cast and sumptuous costuming. […]
The Tube: Losing the stigma, not the weight
As excited as we are for our annual respite from the cold, the heat of summer—also known as “swimsuit season”—can bring with it anxiety, and for some, feelings of shame. What does television have to do with swimsuits and bodies? For one, television has a long history of contributing to and exacerbating body anxiety both […]
LV’s top television picks for summer 2015
The warmer months are usually thought of as a television hiatus reserved for re-runs and Saturday afternoon movies, but these summer releases will give you something to look forward to when you’re all sunburned out from your adventures. Bring those tropical drinks from the poolside to your side table and kick back with your year-round […]
Iowa native Chris Soules debuts tonight on ‘The Bachelor’
Chris Soules of Arlington, Iowa makes his debut tonight in the season 19 (season 19!) premiere of ABC’s The Bachelor, a strangely anachronistic show wherein dozens of women compete on national television for one man’s affection. It’s a pretty strange concept for 2015, right? This season, the producers have a twist in store for the […]
The Tube: Bridging TV’s caricature gap
A couple issues ago, I put the ABC sitcom Black-ish on the list of new fall TV to skip. I rarely admit to something like this, but I was wrong. It may not be the funniest or most innovative show on television, but I think it’s a socially and politically important one. Black-ish features an […]
The Tube: Rectify’s slow and deliberate pace makes for one of the most unique shows on television
“I can’t quite get a handle on the concept of time yet.” These words by Daniel Holden (Aden Young) in the first episode of Rectify describe both his experience… […]
The Tube: Vulgar, female-driven comedy challenges stereotypes of ‘ladylike’ behavior
Boner and boob jokes are now mainstays across numerous guy-centered, raunchy television comedies: Workaholics, Two and a Half Men, Blue Mountain… […]
The Tube: On HBO’s Girls, Lena Dunham’s naked body gives audiences a body image reality check
Since its debut on HBO in the spring of 2012, Girls has polarized viewers. Some consider it to be a refreshing and humorous portrayal of less-than-likable female… […]
