oh my god

Seconding Ninajirachi, I Love My Computer

also

Madison Cunningham, Ace
Divorce, Drive to Goldenhammer
The Beths, Straight Line Was a Lie

They sent critics 7 out out the 9 episode season

I can only speak so much to the process of episodic reviews as I gave up doing that even before I joined the NYT 10 years ago... but journalistically, there is always a critical obligation to be honest if you think something is bad! Your only job is to offer an authentic response

Yeah, episodic reviews (which I haven’t done in a long time) have a whole different dynamic. You could also make they case that they created the EXPECTATION that critics like what they’re writing about (even when giving “tough love” to a bad season) but that’s a whole other discussion

Oh PS, to yr question, "Do critics tap out after a few episodes like the rest of us?" Absolutely (my whole day is often watching a tiny bit of a bunch of things and moving on). But if I don't watch it all, that means I'm not reviewing it.

I think that's likely true, but there are dynamics specific to music critics and its history that this lays out well (partly because Sanneh is such a big part of that specific intellectual history)

- Whereas "This show you never heard of? It's amazing! [or] It's weird! [or] It's neither great nor terrible, but it says something that's worth unpacking" -- that's news
- So it's less that I only want to write about things that I like, and more I only write things that won't put me to sleep /end

- For those straight reviews I still do, it's different from, like, 2002, where there were a handful of broadcast netowrk shows and you might cover most of them. There's hundreds.
- So the bar for "This show you never heard of? It sucks" is just higher. /cont.

- that means reviewing ANYTHING is just a bigger investment of time. You have to ask, Is it worth it?
- For me, "Is it worth it?" is not "Is it good?" But "Is it important / interesting?"
- Partly for that reason I do fewer straight reviews period now, and more essays /cont.

OK, this is one I probably actually have to answer in thread form:

- there's WAY more TV now
- but also critics have WAY more of each show to watch (20 years ago I might get two episodes of a show to screen. Now I get a full 10-hour season. I have to watch it all if I'm going to review.) /cont.

Anyway, I was going to do a whole thread on why I think you see fewer pans in TV criticism today, but I decided that was the route to madness. But like any writer I find my own work fascinating, so am open to questions about it!

The yin-yang of this moment is that people are skeptical and interested in media criticism (great!) but also think they already know how media works and reject any explanation that doesn't affirm their beliefs (not great!). This is a nuanced talk worth listening to with an open mind

season sixers will have our day

I'm a devout #4 btw; I go into this Larry David mode of "I'm not going to lie for your sake and also you're not the boss of me"