Arts & Culture

Where is Wendy Williams? It’s None of Our Business.

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Wendy Williams is a former daytime talk show host, infamous for being unabashedly controversial. Her show ran for almost 14 years before abruptly ending in June 2022 due to concerns about her health, leaving fans of the show with many questions about Wendy’s wellbeing, whereabouts and the future of her career. In February, Lifetime released a four-part docuseries called Where is Wendy Williams? which attempts to answer some of these questions.

Arts & Culture

Netflix’s Adaptation of ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Stumbles In Capturing the True Character of Its Predecessor

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There is no doubt in the zeitgeist that Avatar: The Last Airbender has cemented itself into legend as one of the most iconic animated TV shows of all time. Taking place in a world where four nations are divided by the four elements — water, air, fire and earth — the tale follows a young boy who is forced into the role of the Avatar, the master of all four elements, and must embark on a quest to restore balance in a world ravaged by the Fire Nation’s war. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, shame on you! Everyone’s seen Avatar, and no, I’m not talking about the one with the blue people. Avatar: The Last Airbender is more than just a good story.

Arts & Culture

Overflowing with Untapped Potential: A Critical Review of Percy Jackson and the Olympians First Season

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“Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood.”

Such was the line that began The Lightning Thief, the first book of many that were to embody the famous, multi-series saga of half-bloods, monsters and gods. Welcome to the realm of Percy Jackson. 

If there’s anything we can all agree on, it’s that the Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series is a childhood classic. From witty humor to action-packed fight scenes, with thrilling characters and a beautiful blend of modern magic, many fans consider the series one of the best stories of our time. 

Last December, the much-anticipated live-action adaptation finally aired on Disney+. This season covers the first book and serves as the introduction to what is to become a much larger series. It concluded on Jan.

Arts & Culture

TV Shows Returning in 2024

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Now that the SAG-AFTRA strike has finally ended, 2024 is shaping up to be an absolutely amazing year for television fans who have been long awaiting the return of their favorite shows. Though this list spans only a tiny fraction of all the shows returning this year, the ones covered below include many of the biggest names in current television, as well as personal and highly recommended favorites. On this list, there is something for everyone: historical dramas, comedies, action adventures, reality, international stories, romances and so much more. It is time to pull up your Google Calendar and start adding in these dates for a binge-watching session — there is a lot to look forward to in the months ahead. 

Winter

All Creatures Great and Small: January

One of the first shows to return this year, and the only one on this list already released, is the third season of All Creatures Great and Small. All Creatures is a PBS Masterpiece show that returned to American screens on Jan.

Arts & Culture

Is ‘The Golden Bachelor’ Something Old or Something New

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As a former Bachelor franchise addict, I was very intrigued by the concept of The Golden Bachelor. The Bachelor is one of the original, most popular dating shows which is premised around one seemingly perfect man who has 20 seemingly perfect women competing for his love. This year, ABC created The Golden Bachelor, which is this exact premise, except all the contestants are elderly. I started watching out of curiosity, but was pleasantly surprised at how invested I became. 

From a perspective that judges purely based upon entertainment value, I think the show is very good. Every week, I get excited to watch the new episode, though the elderly kissing is a bit uncomfortable.

Arts & Culture

Halloween Horrors: The Haunting of Hill House

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As Halloween creeps closer, so does the itch to watch a blood chilling horror show/movie. And so, this mini column is dedicated to recommending horror media to add a little bit of fright to your October! The Haunting of Hill House is the first part of a horror anthology directed by Mike Flannigan and based off of the book by Shirley Jackson. It follows five siblings through two different timelines, one in the present when they are adults, one in the past as kids, living in Hill House. The show’s “adult” timeline centers around a tragic event that befalls the Crain family and forces them to reconvene after years of physical and emotional disconnect.

Arts & Culture

Dancing with the Stars Premieres 32nd Season

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For the next few months, our television screens are going to be filled with reality shows, as the Writers Guild of America has just announced that they will authorize members to return to work. The premiere of Dancing with the Stars’ 32nd season is just the start of the sea of reality television that will be coming to cable and streaming services this fall.  

The show has a long history, and the many changes that have occurred since the last season make this premiere highly anticipated. Tyra Banks, who has hosted the last three seasons of the show, did not return this season. Audiences were very critical of Banks’ hosting abilities and many were happy to see her gone. She was replaced by Julianne Hough, a long time member of the Dancing with the Stars family.

Arts & Culture

British “Paw Patrol” Review

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On the first or second night of staying with some family in England, a young second cousin twice removed (or something of that sort) asked me to name a movie… one she’d know of. I responded: “Barbie.” After asking me if I’d seen or liked the film (I’d apparently picked one that had been on her mind), she got to her question: “so, when they show… Barbie in your country do they have to have the actors re-record some of the lines?”, alluding to the fact that some of the actors don’t naturally speak English with an American accent. I chuckled a bit and responded, “No. Actually, I think part of the movie takes place where I’m from,” pointing out that some of the non-Barbieland scenes in the film were shot blocks away from my childhood home. It remained funny to me, though, that my accent (or something about me) had been silly enough that my cousin believed I couldn’t possibly be engaged in the same cultural ecosystem as her (even in the case of a movie where numerous British and Australian actors were putting on American accents). 

A week or so later, I relayed the story to my partner.

Arts & Culture

Netflix’s New Crown Jewel: ‘Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story’

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Through expanding the “Bridgerton” universe with the addition of serious topics such as race, grief and mental illness, “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” proves to be an impressive prequel that adeptly employs its predecessor’s characteristic visual milieu of opulent scenery and lush costumes and builds on its foundation of witty banter and steamy romance.