FS1 launched 5 1/2 years ago, promising to be the FUN alternative to...well, ESPN's name wasn't said specifically, but anyone who consumed sports media knew exactly to what the new FOX flagship's ad campaign alluded. Various reboots and myriad staff changes later, FS1 is a barren wasteland. To borrow a phrase from Billy Crystal: It's…
Each year in late summer, just ahead of a new college football season's kickoff, I adopt a football-themed Twitter avatar. My choice for 2018 calls back to one of my favorite TV series of my own college years, Smallville -- which, uh, feels awkward to rewatch in light of real-world events. Regardless, a story arc…
When assorted manbabies were losing their minds two years ago over a version of Ghostbusters they deemed fraudulent, my first thought: Some film studio is making a live-action movie adaptation of that weird cartoon with the gorilla? The original Ghostbusters came to theaters in 1984, but as a '90s kid, I didn't see the movie…
TV executives love launching sports talk shows in June, which happens to mark the beginning of a month-long slog through the sports calendar. That might seem counterintuitive, but I suspect it's by design. Since such shows are inherently inane, manufacturing conversation is more feature than bug. It's the same guiding principle that prompted the abominable…
Hollywood has found a successful formula in comic-book adaptations. They're the sole bankable genre in an era of consumers opting to stay home rather than venture to the cinema. What's more, most occupy that rare territory of the most ubiquitous mainstream media that also garners almost universally positive critiques. Portrayals of groups historically marginalized in…
A surprising abundance of children's media adapted from source material very much targeted at adults emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Jason Voorhees wasn't just the original Hockeymans So Tough, playing through injury that would surely send a basketball player to the locker room -- such as a machete to the head and drowning at…
Horror as a genre has long relied on singular, lead characters to tell stories. From the moment F.W. Murnau filmed a pointy-eared, fanged Max Schreck as Count Orlock in 1922's Nosferatu, horror's focal characters have almost exclusively been the very monsters audiences are meant to fear. Dracula. Wolf-Man. Michael Myers. Jason Voorhees. Freddy Krueger. Their…
My wife walked through our living room after making herself a bowl of yogurt and granola Saturday night, and upon seeing me watch the 6-Man Ladder Match from NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, offered an astute observation. "I've never seen you watch so much wrestling." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLn_ghXfkbo Now, I wouldn't say I am a bigger wrestling fan…
There’s not a lot to criticize when it comes to The Americans, whose final season debuts Wednesday on FX. It's technically brilliant and emotionally engaging with an unsurpassed attention to detail. Several critics have called it the best show on TV, and it's hard to argue. But, in a show featuring Soviet spies embedded in…
Perhaps you have seen advertisements for YouTube's exclusive series Cobra Kai, a follow-up to the 1984 film Karate Kid. Now, I have railed previously in this space against Hollywood's creatively empty reliance on reboots and adaptations, but I will admit Cobra Kai piqued my interest. Comedic spins on old properties produced hilarious results with 2004's…
The Open Man Q&A is here for you, playing your requests. Just call me The DJ from The Warriors, my babies. Can you dig it? This week's edition features the ongoing NCAA basketball "scandal," which isn't all that scandalous, but has overshadowed the upcoming Tournament. With the Dance tipping off two weeks from today, The…
CBS plans to reboot Murphy Brown, a popular television series that began its initial run 30 years ago and ended 20 years ago. This decision follows NBC relaunching Will & Grace, Netflix picking up the misadventures of the Tanners on Fuller House, the Disney Channel introducing Girl Meets World and ABC planning a Roseanne reboot…
Welcome to The Open Man Q&A! To submit your questions on sports, movies, literature, TV, music or life, tweet @kensing45 or @the_open_man. You can also email kyle@theopenman.com. While FBS had just one game in the last two weeks, the period could not accurately be referred to as a dormancy. Hardly. College football is a beehive…
If you’re a fan of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, and who isn’t, there’s a decent chance you’re in the midst of re-binging the series that’s masterfully combined the best elements of Seinfeld and South Park to become TV’s best sitcom. A licensing agreement between 20th Century Fox and Netflix is coming to an end, which…
After just one episode, ESPN cancelled Barstool Van Talk, thus ending a controversial and short run in which Barstool Sports and ESPN collaborated to try to capitalize on the success and popularity of the acclaimed Pardon My Take podcast. Barstool Van Talk's short run brought up the question: Which awful shows lasted longer? Friend…
