![gq:
Watching TV: UR DOIN IT RONG
There are rules, you know. Or at least we made some up. Presenting GQ’s The New Rules of TV, including:
Rule #13SHUT YOUR DANG MOUTH! (Spoiler etiquette)
Don’t spoil something and then say, “That’s not really a spoiler.” Critics do this all the time, especially with stuff that happens early in the episode. As if an event in the first five minutes somehow doesn’t count. It all counts.
Rule #16:You guys seriously have to cool it on The Wire. We know, we know. It was a great show. One that’s been off the air for FIVE YEARS.
There’s now even a Twitter dedicated to calling out people who use The Wire as pick-up bait in their online dating profiles. (Exhibit A: “On our first date, we can quote scenes from The Wire.”—Male, 29) As a lady who has ventured to grab a drink with such males, I can tell you that a good proportion of them seem to confuse owning the DVD box set with, oh you know, fully understanding the plight of the urban poor in America.
Rule #12Don’t Even Try to Resist Aaron Sorkin, Fools
Admit it. When you heard about his new series on HBO, The Newsroom (debuting June 24)—the one where Jeff Daniels plays a media mash-up of Keith Olbermann and Tom Brokaw with a hint of Howard Beale— you rolled your eyes: Here come the same tricks—Sorkin’s patented zippy-speechy-preachy trifecta, this time applied to news rather than sports (Sports Night) or politics (The West Wing). Same old shit. And yeah, it is the same old smart, addictive, entertaining-as-hell shit. Which is why you’re going to watch it. Resistance is futile.
RULE: 10 BRITISH TV IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER THAN AMERICAN… [except it is]
…despite what your snobby friends might say (unless they’re talking about the British Skins; our MTV version sucked ass—which likely happened on the UK’s!). But these five are damn good and worth seeking out.
Whip-Smart WhodunitJustified (FX) = Sherlock (PBS) Benedict Cumberbatch’s deductive reasoning is faster than Raylan Givens’s trigger finger.
Drama with Smoking Mad Men (AMC) = The Hour (BBC America) Swap out Mad Ave. for the Suez Canal and you get this sophisticated mystery set at a ’50s TV show.
Comedy Nerds The Big Bang Theory (CBS) = The IT Crowd (Netflix) Bridesmaids’ Chris O’Dowd and Richard Ayoade as the put-upon brainiacs.
Undead vs. HumansThe Walking Dead (AMC) = The Fades (BBC America)Instead of zombies chomping people, it’s ghosts. Geeky, funny, scary.
Idris ElbaThe Wire (HBO) = Luther (BBC America) Elba as a detective is even weirder, crazier, and more dangerous than Stringer Bell.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4jog8fDBN1qe6vsbo1_400.jpg)
gq:
Watching TV: UR DOIN IT RONG
There are rules, you know. Or at least we made some up. Presenting GQ’s The New Rules of TV, including:
Rule #13SHUT YOUR DANG MOUTH! (Spoiler etiquette)
Don’t spoil something and then say, “That’s not really a spoiler.” Critics do this all the time, especially with stuff that happens early in the episode. As if an event in the first five minutes somehow doesn’t count. It all counts.
There’s now even a Twitter dedicated to calling out people who use The Wire as pick-up bait in their online dating profiles. (Exhibit A: “On our first date, we can quote scenes from The Wire.”—Male, 29) As a lady who has ventured to grab a drink with such males, I can tell you that a good proportion of them seem to confuse owning the DVD box set with, oh you know, fully understanding the plight of the urban poor in America.
Admit it. When you heard about his new series on HBO, The Newsroom (debuting June 24)—the one where Jeff Daniels plays a media mash-up of Keith Olbermann and Tom Brokaw with a hint of Howard Beale— you rolled your eyes: Here come the same tricks—Sorkin’s patented zippy-speechy-preachy trifecta, this time applied to news rather than sports (Sports Night) or politics (The West Wing). Same old shit. And yeah, it is the same old smart, addictive, entertaining-as-hell shit. Which is why you’re going to watch it. Resistance is futile.
RULE: 10 BRITISH TV IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER THAN AMERICAN… [except it is]
…despite what your snobby friends might say (unless they’re talking about the British Skins; our MTV version sucked ass—which likely happened on the UK’s!). But these five are damn good and worth seeking out.
Whip-Smart Whodunit
Justified (FX) = Sherlock (PBS)
Benedict Cumberbatch’s deductive reasoning is faster than Raylan Givens’s trigger finger.
Drama with Smoking
Mad Men (AMC) = The Hour (BBC America)
Swap out Mad Ave. for the Suez Canal and you get this sophisticated mystery set at a ’50s TV show.
Comedy Nerds
The Big Bang Theory (CBS) = The IT Crowd (Netflix)
Bridesmaids’ Chris O’Dowd and Richard Ayoade as the put-upon brainiacs.
Undead vs. Humans
The Walking Dead (AMC) = The Fades (BBC America)
Instead of zombies chomping people, it’s ghosts. Geeky, funny, scary.
Idris Elba
The Wire (HBO) = Luther (BBC America)
Elba as a detective is even weirder, crazier, and more dangerous than Stringer Bell.
