Monday Morning Critic

The most vital piece of television criticism this past week came from The Huffington Post’s Maureen Ryan. In writing about the recent string of ‘Outlander’ episodes, she noted something revolutionary in its storytelling, primarily centered around its catering to the female gaze. It’s an important piece not only for what it uncovers, but also in how both Ryan’s article (and ‘Outlander’ itself) are another piece of the ever-evolving viewpoints that TV can sustain and foster.

Welcome back to another installment of the Monday Morning Critic. In this space each week, I’ll be looking at the week that was in addition to the week ahead in television. The format will shift each week, as the world of TV will dictate the form and content of each piece. In this week’s installment: what makes the ratings for ‘How to Get Away With Murder’ so important, and a Q&A about this week’s premieres.

In this week’s edition, I start my coverage of the Fall pilot season, and speak with the creator of the best comedy currently on television, 'You're the Worst'.

I always thought that was a fascinating way to discuss the broad topic of baseball: Rather than write about one thing, Gammons wrote about all things, and the format allowed him to shift things around on a weekly basis as the season itself changed. It seems like a fine approach to appropriate here with this, the inaugural edition of the Monday Morning Critic. I’ve long wanted to adopt Gammons’ approach and turn it towards television. One could argue the lifecycle of certain discussion points is more and more finite as the sheer amount of good TV increases and insta-analysis of Twitter renders episodes moot a mere hour after initial airing. But I’m hoping that’s not the case, and that we can all meet here each Monday to look back at the week that was.