Hank Stuever

Author

  • home
  • books
  • bio
  • blog
  • tv criticism
  • media room
  • contact

The worst fall TV season I’ve had to review

September 16, 2013 by Hank Stuever Leave a Comment

That’s right, I said it.

Nevertheless, here’s what I’ve been up to since late summer — trying to find something, anything to say about the new crop of fall shows from the broadcast and cable networks. I didn’t give any A’s this year and a whole lot of D’s and F’s — and, yes, I did a self-reflective moment to make sure I wasn’t just wearing an extra-cranky pair of crankypants. This year’s season gets a 1.88 GPA, which, in my book, equals academic probation, right?

Continue Reading...

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: criticism, Hank Stuever, Style section, TV reviews, TV reviews Fall 2013, Washington Post, writing reviews

Toob

February 5, 2013 by Hank Stuever Leave a Comment

Sorry to have made it seem that I once again abandoned this blog. After I left Montana, I was on the road for 37-38 days (depending on how you add it up), with a lot of stops along the way. I’m back in D.C. now.

While criss-crossing America, I also went back to my job as TV critic at The Washington Post, filing a heap of TV reviews from hither and yon, mostly yon.

Continue Reading...

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Hank Stuever, Hank Stuever TV reviews, Style section, television, TV reviews, Washington Post

Another year, another List

January 2, 2013 by Hank Stuever Leave a Comment

Monica Hesse and Dan Zak’s 2013 edition of The Washington Post’s annual List is out, and it’s a good one.

This is the 35th year that the Style section has put out an “in/out” List, a tradition begun by Nina Hyde and Jura Koncius in 1978. It was my great pleasure (and huge headache) to pen The List in 2000 and then from 2003-2009. It is my greater pleasure that Dan and Monica are now in charge of doing it. Like anything worthwhile, it’s much harder than it looks.

Continue Reading...

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: #TheList2013, Dan Zak, Monica Hesse, newspapers, Style section, The List, Washington Post, Washington Post in and out list, writing

Popular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Nov. 26 — name of dog, brand of beer

November 26, 2012 by Hank Stuever Leave a Comment

On Monday, we finished up critiquing the Nov. 7 scene stories. For my general diagnoses of these stories as a whole, please see the Nov. 19 recap. Meanwhile, here are excerpts from the three stories that I liked best, and why. (I haven’t fixed anything — the copy you’ll read here is exactly as it was filed to me.)

Continue Reading...

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: 000 Silver Dollar, 50, Allison Bye, Bob Barker, Eben Keller, Eben Wragge-Keller, Gene Weingarten, gold party, Hank Stuever, Jour494, Journalism 494, Maryland House, Pollner professor, Price is Right, Style section, T. Anthony Pollner, Tom Holm, University of Montana School of Journalism, Vanity Fair Oscar party, Washington Post, William Booth, writing

Popular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Oct. 15 — the divine scene story

October 16, 2012 by Hank Stuever Leave a Comment

We’re delving into scene stories now, and what do I mean by that? It’s a feature that’s not too long, heavy on narrative and vivid detail, that takes a reader into a place they might not normally go, or were too busy to get to, or don’t have the access to. Reporting on a trial is, in a way, a scene story: What happened, but also, what did the courtroom feel like as it happened? What did people say during court recess, in the hallways? What did people wear? How did they react to evidence, testimony, verdicts? And, of course, what is the news?

Continue Reading...

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Dan Zak, Green Party convention, Hank Stuever, Jour494, journalism, Journalism 494, Michael Kruse, Monica Hesse, Popular Culture Journalism class, Robin Chotzinoff, rock paper scissors tournament, Style section, Tampa Bay Times, The Washington Post, tweed ride, University of Montana School of Journalism, Westword, writing, Yankee Candle

Too much about the tube of plenty

September 14, 2012 by Hank Stuever Leave a Comment

Call the midwife! I’ve once again assisted in the birth of another FALL TV ISSUE (would you believe my fourth?). You can read every last bit of it online by going here. But if you’re in Washington, won’t you do us the kindness of buying a paper? This year included reviews of all the new scripted shows, as usual– 22 of them, not technically all if you count that new Scott Baio comedy on cable and other morsels buried deep down on the program grids.

Continue Reading...

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Allie Ghaman, Allison Ghaman, criticism, Emily Yahr, Fall 2012 TV shows, Hank Stuever reviews fall TV shows, Joe Heim, Johanna Goodman, journalism, Lynn Medford, Marie Elizabeth Oliver, Maura Judkis, Style section, Television Critics Association, TV critic, Washington Post, Zack Davenport

Reviewing the fall TV shows, or: Donating my brain to science, one micro-thin slice at a time…

September 20, 2011 by Hank Stuever 2 Comments

Fall TV season! For you it began long ago, when NBC first started airing those endless commercials for “Whitney.” For me it began even longer ago, and involved a two-week press tour in Los Angeles in August. (Rough life, I know — boo hoo.)

Continue Reading...

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Fall TV, graphic design, Hank Stuever, Jesse Lenz, journalism, Kim Maxwell Vu, Kim Vu, newspaper design, newspaper illustrations, Style section, TV critic, Washington Post, writing, Zooey Deschanel bugs the shit out of me

Lolling

August 3, 2011 by Hank Stuever 3 Comments

I was trying to figure out why I haven’t blogged in so long (erm, THREE MONTHS) other than the usual excuses, most of them having to do with my undying admiration for what Nancy Nall manages to pull off nearly every weekday morning of the year — while also working her fingers to the bone on other paying gigs. My stuff here definitely remains in the slowest possibble slow-blogging category. And yes, that’s a thing, or once was.

On the upside, I guess, it’s just you and me now. No one comes here anymore.

Continue Reading...

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: above-ground pools, aboveground pools, Esther Willaims, One-Man Book Club, Style section, Washington Post

Defrosted from the archives

February 4, 2011 by Hank Stuever Leave a Comment

For all y’all who’ve spent a lot of this week snowed in …

Washington was spared (this time) but for some reason I was having vague memories about this piece, from February 2003, and I wanted to go back and make sure I wasn’t imagining that I actually wrote it. I remember it was inspired (and suggested) by Frank Ahrens. It’s short. It’s about how guys go all macho when it snows and stomp in to the office unshaven and fleeced out.

Enjoy it all over again, or for the very first time.

Continue Reading...

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Blizzard man, Frank Ahrens, journalism, snow, Style section, Washington Post, winter, writing

It’s moaning again in America

November 1, 2010 by Hank Stuever Leave a Comment

My broader analysis of the cultural zombie fixation, vis-a-vis my Walking Dead review on Sunday.

And another nice use of art on the section front (see below), courtesy of illustrator Zohar Lazar. The print edition of the newspaper is still a bargain and a visual treat that the web site just frankly still isn’t. However, with the web version, you get a brief slide show of zombies. In a perfect world, you’d get both the lovely freelance illo AND the web extras. Maybe iPad will somehow deliver on the promise of principled design and neat, new geegaws…

fp_style

Continue Reading...

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: graphics, journalism, newspapers, Style section, television, The Walking Dead, Washington Post, writing, Zohar Lazar

Next Page »
Follow Us on RSSFollow Us on FacebookFollow Us on Twitter

Recent Posts

  • I got nowhere else to go
  • Not forgetting, but forgiving
  • Chuh-click-click. (One of my favorites)
  • Book giveaway! Book giveaway! GRANDMA GATEWOOD’S WALK by Gangrey’s Ben Montgomery
  • Frankincense and whirr

Recent Comments

  • Nancy Adkisson on Not forgetting, but forgiving
  • Liz on Not forgetting, but forgiving
  • Laura Keefe on Not forgetting, but forgiving
  • Jolene on Not forgetting, but forgiving
  • Linda on Not forgetting, but forgiving

Archives

Tags

1980s Albuquerque Tribune Austin book promotion book reviews books book tour Brooks Johnson Carli Krueger criticism Curtis Sittenfeld Dan Savage Dan Zak David Finkel David Finkel story about family who watches television Derba Eben Keller Frisco Texas Gangrey Gene Weingarten Hank Stuever Heather Jurva Henry Allen Joan Didion Jour494 journalism Journalism 494 Martha Sherrill Monica Hesse newspaper design newspapers Oklahoma City One-Man Book Club Pollner Pollner professor Popular Culture Journalism class SNL Homowatch Style section T. Anthony Pollner Tampa Bay Times television tinsel University of Montana School of Journalism Washington Post writing

Copyright © 2021 Hank Stuever