As I've probably said in just about a million comments here on Episodic Medium, LOST and perhaps more specifically LOST Criticism significantly shaped my life, my interests, my politics, and my career - is that too melodramatic, lol? I'm not a TV critic, but engaging with LOST fans online and following TV Critic Discourse about LOST (RIP TV Twitter) has so weirdly informed the things I care about. And I'm always here for reflections on reflections on reflections. Super excited to dig into the book (it arrived about an hour ago!) and looking forward to Parts 2/3 of this discussion!
Reading reviews of shows like LOST, Mad Men and Rubicon on AVClub at some point became one of my favorite activities, and one of the reasons why I came to study and critique television.
I know I'm in the minority but I think the grades do matter and they were actually one of the things I loved most about an AVClub review. For one thing, they were well incorporated with the images and the text, giving you as a reader a really nice shorthand for both the episode's perceived quality and the review itself. For another they added a level of visual pleasure to the reading and helped track throughout a season whether or not a show was having a creative upswing or a downward spiral.
Finally, they could also help develop an interest in reading about an unfamiliar series. Like, if I saw a list of shows with grades for their latest episodes, I'd become interested in checking out reviews of the A-grade programs and then from there might start watching.
Heck, when I review TV episodes for my newsletter now, I try to replicate the AVClub format, with graded images and even a custom navigation menu for a given season.
Noel's reviews of LOST are what led me to the AV Club as I was desperate for somewhere, anywhere, to discuss the show and read people's thoughts about it. If not for those articles, I probably wouldn't have discovered so many other great AVC writers, followed some of those to The Dissolve, become a regular listener of Blank Check, started reading Alan Sepinwall's work etc etc etc. The list goes on but it can all be linked back to those LOST articles.
Living in the UK, I had no idea TV criticism as a concept really existed. All you'd get in UK newspapers (and this is often still the case!) is someone whose job is broader than just TV writing a brief capsule review of what's on in the coming week with a star rating lazily attached. Noel and others showed me why TV is so much more interesting as a medium when you actually think about it critically and I'll be forever grateful.
Just need to chime in to agree that there's nothing more stressful than deciding between a B- or C+
As I've probably said in just about a million comments here on Episodic Medium, LOST and perhaps more specifically LOST Criticism significantly shaped my life, my interests, my politics, and my career - is that too melodramatic, lol? I'm not a TV critic, but engaging with LOST fans online and following TV Critic Discourse about LOST (RIP TV Twitter) has so weirdly informed the things I care about. And I'm always here for reflections on reflections on reflections. Super excited to dig into the book (it arrived about an hour ago!) and looking forward to Parts 2/3 of this discussion!
Reading reviews of shows like LOST, Mad Men and Rubicon on AVClub at some point became one of my favorite activities, and one of the reasons why I came to study and critique television.
I know I'm in the minority but I think the grades do matter and they were actually one of the things I loved most about an AVClub review. For one thing, they were well incorporated with the images and the text, giving you as a reader a really nice shorthand for both the episode's perceived quality and the review itself. For another they added a level of visual pleasure to the reading and helped track throughout a season whether or not a show was having a creative upswing or a downward spiral.
Finally, they could also help develop an interest in reading about an unfamiliar series. Like, if I saw a list of shows with grades for their latest episodes, I'd become interested in checking out reviews of the A-grade programs and then from there might start watching.
Heck, when I review TV episodes for my newsletter now, I try to replicate the AVClub format, with graded images and even a custom navigation menu for a given season.
I think one reason they went away from grades was that too many commenters focused on the minutiae like it was their own GPA
Noel's reviews of LOST are what led me to the AV Club as I was desperate for somewhere, anywhere, to discuss the show and read people's thoughts about it. If not for those articles, I probably wouldn't have discovered so many other great AVC writers, followed some of those to The Dissolve, become a regular listener of Blank Check, started reading Alan Sepinwall's work etc etc etc. The list goes on but it can all be linked back to those LOST articles.
Living in the UK, I had no idea TV criticism as a concept really existed. All you'd get in UK newspapers (and this is often still the case!) is someone whose job is broader than just TV writing a brief capsule review of what's on in the coming week with a star rating lazily attached. Noel and others showed me why TV is so much more interesting as a medium when you actually think about it critically and I'll be forever grateful.
Interesting conversation, I’m heading downtown to pick up my preorder tomorrow.
I dug up the Disqus comments for the Lost (Classic) reviews in preparation for a rewatch. https://bsky.app/profile/mike.eire.ca/post/3l4a3u26sch26