Part 2: The 1968 Third Party Run That Foretold So Much of Politics’ Future As has been recorded by countless historians over the more than half a century since, 1968 was one of the most violent years in the century and the frustration with the stalemate in Vietnam and the…

Part 1: The American President Came Before The West Wing — And Holds Up Better Over the years I have written several articles about the television series of Aaron Sorkin and how that while his style was brilliant and some of his series were incredible, the lion’s share of his…

Bob Odenkirk is Back On AMC — But That’s Not The Only Reason To Watch Lucky Hank I have made little secret over the last decade and indeed before that how much of an admirer I am of Bob Odenkirk. I have loved him well before he took on his…

It’s Fine To Love Grey’s Anatomy…As Long As You Understand Why I have made little secret in my years as a columnist how much I truly loathe Shonda Rhimes and all the series that she and her ilk have created over the past two decades. However, it was not until…

How The Rise of Peak TV Has Led to A Similar Rise in the Quality of TV Criticism -And How One Minor Publication Can Show Others How Its Done Throughout this long and winding series on criticism, you might have noticed that I have largely focused my attention on the…

Part 1: The 1964 Democratic Party Challenge As a historian, part of your job is that you have to write the truth about history, not just the people you admire. While I knew I was going to be writing about George Wallace at some point, I was obviously loathe to…

Better Late Than Never: Wednesday One of my fondest memories as a child is watching the film adaptation of The Addams Family and its sequel. I consider both movies hysterically funny as well as among the best examples of a film adaptation of a classic TV series. (Of that era…

And This Feeling Is, Sadly, One All Groups Have If I had to choose to betray my country or my friend, I should hope I would have the guts to betray my country. Attributed to both E.M. Forster and Francois Truffaut I met the man who would become my best…

Stephen Webb’s Run On Jeopardy Wasn’t As Good Some Recent Ones. That Doesn’t Mean He Doesn’t Have A Future on the Show When Stephen Webb officially qualified for the Tournament of Champions last Monday, it looked like he had the gift of the all-time greats. Looking near the end of…