2013 In Review: My Five Favorite Stories

I write a lot of stories in the course of a year. In 2013, it was somewhere north of 1,000 news items, reviews and think pieces. While I'm proud of all them, my favorites tend to be the ones in which I offer someone in the industry unasked-for advice.

So here are five pieces of mine from 2013 that are particular favorites, in no particular order:

What If Shakespeare's Globe Theater Had Been Run Like A TV Network?
TV network love testing their shows with focus groups. So what would "Hamlet" have looked like if it had been through the network testing process?

Why "Best Of TV" Lists Are A Fool's Errand
There was a bit of blowback this year over the endless number of generally pointless "Best of" lists released by TV critics. I'd like to think this piece from November helped spark a bit of the discussion. But it's more likely I just ended up annoying a few of the people who had to write the pieces.

Why We Need A TCM For TV Shows And What Netflix Can Do About It
As a fan of television, I'm jealous of what Turner Classic Movies has done for the classic movie fan. In fact, I'd love to have a TV equivalent to the network and I think the best place for it would be on Netflix.

The TCA And What It Means To Be A TV Critic
There are a lot of disadvantages to writing about television at a smaller independent site located in the Midwest. But one advantage is that I'm a lot less influenced by peer pressure or the traditions that have built up around the craft of TV criticism. I've been writing about the TCA for a few years, arguing that it's outlived its usefulness. I don't enjoy writing the pieces, because they inevitably sour my relationship with fellow critics whose work I really admire. But I keep writing them in part because my outsider status is a gift in this instance. And because every time I write a piece like this, I receive a lot of private feedback from network execs and even some critics who agree with me.

Recap: "NCIS: Los Angeles'
I don't often write recaps, but when I do, they tend to be of shows that are a bit unexpected. This one-off recap for the CBS procedural "NCIS: Los Angeles" was jam-packed of snarky fun. But if you're a fan of the show, you'll also realize while you're reading it that I'm very familiar with the show and its characters. I may not like the show much, but I still end up watching it every week.