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Melanie Mcfarland

Melanie Mcfarland

Salon

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"It was a fearless ending": "What We Do in the Shadows" vamps reflect on laying the show to rest

Salon talks to the show's usual suspect Kayvan Novak and Kristen Schaal about saying goodbye and the show's legacy

latest 7

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

The "Deadpool & Wolverine" Golden Globe nomination category says a lot about the state of movies now

Top award races nod at originality, but the Globes' newest category shows we're still hooked on reboots and sequels

10.12.2024 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

How the mid "Skeleton Crew" makes us nostalgic for the wretched "Star Wars" holiday specials of yore

Maybe the real gift of the bad Wookiee and Ewok specials were the memories we made along the way

09.12.2024 8

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Let nothing you dismay: The "Die Hard" comfort and joy in Netflix's bloody "Black Doves"

Arguing whether action movies can be Christmas movies is mainly for fun. This show further legitimizes the subgenre

08.12.2024 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

My shelter cat heist: How "Adopt, Don't Shop" almost became my villain origin story

"Come back in a couple of weeks, and we'll talk then," the woman at the animal rescue chirped.  The short version of this story is my husband and...

06.12.2024 20

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Wicked" reminds us we'd all better be ready to defy gravity. Especially Black women

The “Wicked” nation is still relatively young, like the musical itself. This year marks its 21st anniversary on Broadway, and the touring version...

02.12.2024 7

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Conclave" is just "Mean Girls" with priests

Awards season always brings a parade of Very Important Cinema to theaters, most of which have the appeal of roughage. They may be good for us, but...

22.11.2024 5

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

With "A Man on the Inside" Ted Danson sweetly leads us into the mystery of getting old and going on

Mike Schur devised a mostly foolproof formula for the perfect modern workplace sitcom that began with “The Office” and steadily evolved through...

22.11.2024 3

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

HBO's "Dune: Prophecy" is a bold vision up to the task of matching its theatrical counterpart

What “Dune: Prophecy” offers on its face is bound to appeal to women who are sick of everything. Given the present circumstances, who wouldn’t...

18.11.2024 60

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Say Nothing" ambitiously breaks open a story of resistance and disillusionment during the Troubles

“Say Nothing” begins in a state of knotted tension: an introductory voiceover by Lola Petticrew’s resolute Dolours Price lets us know we’re...

14.11.2024 3

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"What We Do in the Shadows" star Matt Berry is ready to say goodbye to Laszlo Cravensworth. Are we?

Although the troubles of our world never bled into “What We Do in the Shadows,” the story never shied away from politics within its own musty,...

12.11.2024 5

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

In hindsight, we should have paid more attention to Don Lemon

Throughout this election cycle, Don Lemon has been taking the pulse of the election person by person in cities across the country.  During his...

07.11.2024 6

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Brian Williams held our hand, giving us a way to check out from cable news – and the election

For a little while on Tuesday evening “Election Night with Brian Williams” was the breaking political news equivalent of a meditation app. As...

06.11.2024 3

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Jon Stewart said Tony Hinchcliffe was "just doing what he does." That take helped get us here

This may be challenging to consider at a time when clipped-out segments have become the primary delivery system for headlines, information and...

06.11.2024 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell: Not knowing how to cover Donald Trump is still the news' biggest problem

While hosting MSNBC's "The Last Word,"  Lawrence O’Donnell has never held back about the danger Donald Trump poses to our democracy, or how he...

04.11.2024 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

To Chris Coelen, the "Love Is Blind" experiment is not about proving if what the title says is true

Those who know how reality TV works may take issue with Chris Coelen viewing “Love Is Blind” as a documentary. "We just want to know what's the...

02.11.2024 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Grotesquerie": Niecy Nash-Betts on her role and that killer finale — "It scared me on the page"

“Grotesquerie” may have been inscrutable to most of us when it began, but its star and executive producer, Niecy Nash-Betts, knew exactly where...

31.10.2024 9

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Somebody Somewhere”: Tim Bagley enlists hope, faith and St. Louis sushi to make his role sing

Tim Bagley had no idea what St. Louis sushi was before he joined “Somebody Somewhere.” The oddball appetizer — pickle slathered in cream cheese...

29.10.2024 5

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

What did we learn from Donald Trump's "Joe Rogan Experience"? Nothing good

“What is happening with the whales? I've read about this.” Over the years, Joe Rogan has welcomed an array of accredited scientists and nature...

29.10.2024 20

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"The Penguin": The emancipating, entirely reasonable fury of Sofia Falcone

Gauging Sofia Falcone’s situational anger at any moment in “The Penguin” isn’t tough. Just look at her eyes — not simply the emotions...

27.10.2024 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Maybe "Love Is Blind," but does politics adjust the lens on this show's relationships?

The second episode of the Washington D.C. “Love Is Blind” season is named for a game a few women play to pass the time: “Perfect Husband,...

25.10.2024 4

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Farewell to Colin Robinson, the "What We Do in the Shadows" vampire that could very well be us

Salon chats with Mark Proksch about Colin Robinson's final flight and how he'd fare in our world right now

21.10.2024 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Kamala Harris sparred with Fox News' Bret Baier in a chat meant to sell us on ... the interviewer

In an alternate universe, Vice President Kamala Harris’ first Fox News interview probably would have been conducted by Chris Wallace. A veteran of...

17.10.2024 7

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Shrinking" returns with a more assured and legitimately therapeutic second season

Therapy rarely begins smoothly. Initial sessions tend to be colored by weeping, hesitancy and half-truths as the clinician and client get a feel for...

16.10.2024 4

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Citizen Nation" shows there's hope for democracy, and our future, in championing civics in schools

PBS could not have wanted for better organic, coincidental advertising for its four-part series “Citizen Nation” than Oakland University student...

14.10.2024 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Three Women" from the page to our TV screens: Lisa Taddeo expands our view of desire

We expect stories of first kisses to be singular and unforgettable because that’s what movies and books taught us to expect. “Three Women”...

10.10.2024 6

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

America's need-to-know basis makes "Call Her Daddy" as valuable to Kamala Harris as "60 Minutes"

Over the weekend, a gaggle of media establishment figures lost their collective crackers at the news that Vice President Kamala Harris sat down with...

08.10.2024 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Grotesquerie" slices into our numbing habit of mixing God, American carnage and celebrity skin

If all horror is metaphor, then of course “Grotesquerie” would feature a turducken. The hedonistic holiday feast occasions Det. Lois Tryon (Niecy...

05.10.2024 20

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

CBS News delivered a veep debate riddled with falsehoods and lacking in fact-checking

A past CBS boss likened political debates to campaign ads. Tuesday's moderators didn't do much to disprove him

02.10.2024 7

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Remembering "Good Times" and "Roots" actor John Amos, dead at 84

John Landis knew exactly what he was doing in casting John Amos opposite James Earl Jones in 1988’s “Coming to America.” The audience related to...

02.10.2024 30

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

The prime of Dame Maggie Smith left us a portrait of what it means to be a lady, upper and lowercase

Dame is a term that shifts dramatically in the cross-Atlantic translation between Britain and the United States. Here it’s considered archaic, a...

01.10.2024 7

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"One Person, One Vote": Finally, a film that explains the Electoral College in an engaging way

The last step that “One Person, One Vote” director Maximina Juson needed to complete her documentary on the Electoral College was to film the...

01.10.2024 20

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Reuniting Daryl Dixon with his soul mate in "The Book of Carol": Lofty aspirations, grounded results

All great stories can be dragged down by fan service. No matter how lofty the concept, regardless of how successfully it launches, the gravitational...

29.09.2024 9

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"How to Die Alone" lets Natasha Rothwell write her own ticket for the role she deserves to play

Natasha Rothwell’s life would be unrecognizable, compared to what we know of her today, if she hadn’t stopped still at a crossroads and changed...

28.09.2024 4

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

In "The Old Man," John Lithgow says he found one of the great challenges of a long, storied career

Days before I sat down for my conversation with John Lithgow, and purely by coincidence, I watched “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th...

25.09.2024 4

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

The challenge of "The Choice"? Figuring out Kamala Harris, fast

One would think “The Choice 2024” would have been, if not easier for “Frontline” producer and director Michael Kirk, perhaps a slightly easier...

23.09.2024 6

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

The 76th Emmys made satisfying history while reminding us that TV favors humanity over partisanship

Television is never quite perfect, even in its remarkable seasons. Awards shows celebrating TV have a long history of being far worse, somehow, than...

16.09.2024 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"They might be going wild": "Have I Got News For You" brings "Late Night" star Amber Ruffin to CNN

Earlier this year, CNN made good on its pledge to inject topical comedy into its Saturday lineup by re-airing “Real Time with Bill Maher” in that...

15.09.2024 20

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"How to Die Alone" demonstrates why Natasha Rothwell was born to be the main event

“How to Die Alone” existed long before JD Vance mounted his campaign against childless women, but the timing of its debut landing smack in the...

13.09.2024 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

From "Star Wars" to "Fences," we've lost a universal voice and noble presence in James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones introduced me to August Wilson by way of his play “Fences.” Our acquaintance was forged indirectly and vicariously, I should say,...

12.09.2024 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"She whupped him": Kamala Harris won the debate by turning a potential disaster into a laugh-in

Armchair quarterbacks typically weigh in the morning after a game’s been lost. Regarding the debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former...

11.09.2024 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Every single family has been touched by this": "#Untruth" director Dan Partland diagnoses Trumpism

Dan Partland ended our recent conversation by referencing the paradox of tolerance: To maintain a tolerant society, it holds, tolerant citizens must...

10.09.2024 8

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Lincoln and Bowie share a lot of the same behaviors": Filmmaker on the 16th president's bisexuality

Shaun Peterson hadn’t thought much about Abraham Lincoln’s love life until around 15 years ago. That changed when he read Gore Vidal’s 2005...

07.09.2024 7

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

From pop stars to insult comedy, the Dems threw a cookout where the real joke was on Trump

Since the Clinton era, the Democratic Party has claimed the concept of political rock stars. Following 12 years of Democratic candidates and two...

24.08.2024 50

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Then and now, "Pachinko" remains one of TV's richest shows about life and living

Late in Season 2 of “Pachinko” waits a frame that's as flawless as it is simple, in that it holds two people. By then we've watched their yearning...

24.08.2024 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Menopause is all the rage, from Hollywood stars to "The Change"

If you have ovaries and a uterus, and are somewhere in your late 40s or beyond, you will have a body-informed epiphany. It might be barely noticeable....

19.08.2024 6

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Chimp Crazy," the latest from maker of "Tiger King," is disturbing in more ways than the obvious

“Things are getting kind of strange” is what you’d expect someone in a docuseries called “Chimp Crazy” to say. By the time someone drops...

18.08.2024 5

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Don't overthink "Alien: Romulus," a thrilling adventure that doesn't aspire beyond its homage orbit

Forty-five years after “Alien” launched horror into space, little hasn’t been analyzed about its hissing xenomorphs, face-huggers or the...

17.08.2024 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Breaking made Olympics history, but sent a mixed message thanks to an Aussie b-girl's audacity

Eddie the Eagle. The Jamaican bobsledding team. Great underdog stories are part of the Olympics’ fabric, giving TV audiences supplemental heroes to...

13.08.2024 4

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

In Joe Rogan, Netflix continues mainstreaming misinformation and panic for laughs

Just like comedy fans replay their favorite routines every so often, I often find myself returning to a few journalistic pieces written about comedy...

11.08.2024 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

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