penguinonthetelly
“This oldish photo illustrates how much Nick Offerman enjoys working with me.” -Adam Scott (Behind the Scenes of Parks and Rec episode “The Fight,” immediately following Ron Swanson’s infamous crazy hat dance.

“This oldish photo illustrates how much Nick Offerman enjoys working with me.” -Adam Scott (Behind the Scenes of Parks and Rec episode “The Fight,” immediately following Ron Swanson’s infamous crazy hat dance.

7 months ago Comments

And a Long Farewell It’s Been (But We’ll Be Back)

We started this blog, as you have heard a thousand times over at this point, in an effort to channel our obsession into a productive medium. We love TV. It’s no secret. It’s the opposite of a secret. TV means something to us that a lot of people in this world will probably never be able to fully grasp. Some people might respect us less for it. Lucky for us, starting Penguin on the Telly has opened the doors to people who understand exactly what it means to obsess over something, to love something “silly” so much that it hurts. To demand the best from it—whatever the hell that means.

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10 months ago Comments

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, CHUCK, COMMUNITY and More Favorite Television Musical Moments

10 months ago Comments

COMMUNITY Recap: ‘Critical Film Studies’

10 months ago Comments

GLEE's Cory Monteith Talks Finn-Rachel, Prom and More

10 months ago Comments

Sady Doyle: As Far As I Can See, That 30 Rock Episode Was About (In Approximately This Order):

sadydoyle:

  • Jezebel
  • “The Tina Fey Backlash”
  • More Jezebel, specifically the Daily Show’s “woman problem,” as reported on by Irin Carmon
  • A character who was basically Cerie from Season One (with bonus Cerie line, to remind us that she’s smart now).
  • Ariel Levy’s Female Chauvinist Pigs, see: The…

(via sadydoyle-deactivated20110608)

11 months ago Comments

Dying a Hero or Becoming the Villain: The Binary Future of Cult TV Shows


“You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” – Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight

In the world of television appreciation, there exist a few seemingly magical terms which, when uttered, will almost always yield a passionate outcry, complete with hand gesturing, raised voices, and the occasional shedding of tears.  Included among these extraordinary words are “Firefly,” “Arrested Development,” and “Freaks and Geeks.”  Each of these represents a show that was fervently beloved by its fans, including even some of the most cynical of professional bloggers, but cruelly cut down by networks due to a lack of ratings success.  These shows have since achieved the status of legends, spoken of alternatively in hushed, reverent tones and impassioned speeches by those who loved them best.  It is almost impossible to have a conversation that includes the words “brilliant, but cancelled” and not have at least one of these come up.  Some dark days, we the television cognoscenti swear to never love a niche show again, so we might never feel the same pain of its loss.  In our more optimistic moods, we thank the television gods that we got to know them at all, and recognize that they will always live on in our hearts and our DVD collections. 

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11 months ago Comments
”

Community is a huge experiment. Every time we do something different and have success with it, each subsequent thing becomes less and less of a gamble. If I’d had to play by the same rules as traditional sitcom writers, I’d have wound up making a bad sitcom. Fortunately, I haven’t had to.

Dan Harmon, creator of NBC’s Community
1 year ago Comments
Just finished watching the pilot of “Perfect Couples” and for those of you interested in how it is, here’s a breakdown of the funny bits - there weren’t nearly enough for me to watch it again.

Just finished watching the pilot of “Perfect Couples” and for those of you interested in how it is, here’s a breakdown of the funny bits - there weren’t nearly enough for me to watch it again.

1 year ago Comments

BREAKING: Matthew Bomer can sing, has officially stolen the title of Most Perfect Person on the Planet. In related news, the discovery of this clip while watching The Kennedy Center Honors caused me to die of bewildered happiness many times over, and I will be sending Mr. Bomer my medical bill.

1 year ago Comments
FINALS. They suck. A lot. They also mean that, as you have probably noticed, we will be updating Penguin on the Telly significantly less for the next few weeks. You can still catch Alanna over at her internship for GMMR, though!

FINALS. They suck. A lot. They also mean that, as you have probably noticed, we will be updating Penguin on the Telly significantly less for the next few weeks. You can still catch Alanna over at her internship for GMMR, though!

1 year ago Comments

Community: There Was a Christmas Pterodactyl Involved. That's All You Need to Know.

“Dear Santa, For Christmas I would like the following things: a brand new slingbox, a kitten to cuddle with, for GLEE to stop being so inconsistent, and an Abed of my very own.

My love for Abed Nadir knows no bounds. Of all my TV boyfriends—and, oh, there are many—Abed tops the list every time. He’s sweet, observant, awkward, and a veritable encyclopedia of all things pop culture. In other words, my soul mate. Not to mention the fact that he stars in a show that consistently steals the title of My Favorite Series Currently on the Air from other greatly entertaining contenders like BONES, MAD MEN, and GLEE. That’s some tough competition, my friends.”

[Photo Courtesy of Flying-Angels]

1 year ago Comments

Gossip Girl “The Townie” Skype Recap

Tori doesn’t watch Gossip Girl. Alanna does. So every week, Alanna liveblogs the show for her, for vicarious-watching opportunity. What follows is the (completely unedited) Skype conversation recap of last night’s episode, “The Townie.” Beware of Dair and misspellings.

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1 year ago Comments

Community Celebrates Troy's Expulsion From a Uterus

Penguin on the Telly’s own Co-Editor-in-Chief Alanna has an internship at Give Me My Remote! Head over to GMMR right now to read her post on last night’s episode of Community!

1 year ago Comments

BREAKING: Watch Chris Colfer and Darren Criss sing “Baby it’s cold outside!” Swoon!

1 year ago Comments