Tv Talk Machine

We spend the first 27 minutes of this week’s episode talking about the “Game of Thrones” finale, why we liked it, and why the knives were out for it all over the internet. Twenty-seven minutes. We warned you. Warm up your fast-forward fingers if you don’t care. Then we move on to reviews of “Name of the Rose” and “What/If”, and answer a few of your letters. Tim Goodman and Jason Snell.

You’ve got that right, this is Thursday and we’re energetic and refreshed! Tim reviews “Fleabag” season 2, “Line of Duty” season 5, and we discuss the ending of “Veep” and the impending end of “Game of Thrones.” Plus Disney buys out Comcast and takes full control of Hulu, and Tim goes down his 14 top TV comedies right now. Tim Goodman and Jason Snell.

This week Tim watches “Fosse/Verdon” and George Clooney’s new Hulu miniseries adaptation of “Catch-22.” Then we dive into talk about cord cutting, because the time has come for everyone with decent Internet access to plan their departure from traditional TV and embrace the stream. Tim Goodman and Jason Snell.

The impossible task “Game of Thrones” faces in trying to please its entire audience, “Barry” finds a balance, “Chernobyl” dodges the Boris and Natasha accents, HBO at the center of Warner Media’s streaming plans, and favorite TV catchphrases. Tim Goodman and Jason Snell.

This week we discuss the return of “Game of Thrones”, how the clock is ticking for WarnerMedia’s entry into the streaming wars, and answer your letters! Tim Goodman and Jason Snell.

Disney announced the release date (November) and price ($6.99) for its new streaming service this week, and it’s set the bar awfully high (or low) for competing services. What does this mean for Netflix and Amazon? What about Apple? Why is ABC not even mentioned among Disney’s brands? Also Tim has some praise for goofy absurdism on TV and we get a phone call from an Australian doing an American accent. Tim Goodman and Jason Snell.

This week Tim has praise for “Killing Eve” season 2, condemnation for “The Twilight Zone”, and lots of love for “Game of Thrones” as an all-time classic drama and “Veep” as a classic comedy. Plus, lots of letters from the +44, guv’nor! Tim Goodman and Jason Snell.

This week Tim says hello to the final season of “Veep”, Jason laments the existence of live studio audiences, and we ponder the streaming service that Apple announced in Cupertino this week. Also, a listener takes a victory lap and Netflix cancels a show we’ve never heard of. Tim Goodman and Jason Snell.

Apple’s video service announcement looms next week, and Tim and Jason turn the topic over one final time in the absence of any real evidence. Also, do British shows like “Sex Education” handle teen sex better than American shows? And we read a few of your letters, as is our tradition. Tim Goodman and Jason Snell.

It’s a double-sized mid-week episode of the TVTM! Jason turns the tables on Tim by writing about Apple’s forthcoming TV service and the necessity of non-Netflix services to create distinctive brands. Tim reviews a whole bunch of new shows, including the return of “Catastrophe”, the new UK drama “Manhunt”, the unfortunate comedy “Turn Up Charlie”, and the delightfully weird “What We Do In The Shadows.” Plus we empty the mailbag and read all your letters! Tim Goodman and Jason Snell.

HBO’s chief executive exits, leading us to speculate about the fate of HBO and Warner Media’s future streaming efforts; congressional testimony returns with more unadaptable drama; Pamela Adlon’s “Better Things” returns as strong as ever; and we play two audio messages and answer a few of your letters, too. Tim Goodman and Jason Snell.

This week Tim and Jason lament the passing of “Counterpart”, Tim lashes out at “Umbrella Academy”, we blow through a bunch of Tim’s articles from the past two weeks, and save time for your letters and two (two!) voice messages. Most importantly, the TV Talk Machine theme makes a surprise appearance in a TV promo. Tim Goodman and Jason Snell.

This week Tim’s focused on the plight of the mid-level premium network/streamer, most notably Epix and Starz. Starz is hoarding its content, but that can prevent a show like “Counterpart’ from becoming a broad hit. Meanwhile, Epix chose to sell “Get Shorty” to Netflix. What’s the fate of brands like this? Plus, we answer an awful lot of your letters, and ignore any news that has happened in the past week (because we pre-recorded this episode)… Tim Goodman and Jason Snell.

This week Tim reviews Hulu’s “Pen15” and TBS’s “Miracle Workers”, and we take a walk through a grab bag of other TV topics — live TV, “Lost”, “Atlanta”, “Bandersnatch”, “Legion”, “Travelers”, “Counterpart” angst, and ABC and John Mayer being BFF’s. Tim Goodman and Jason Snell.

This week Tim and Jason discuss Netflix’s careful use of its own internal stats to sow fear and disbelief in the television industry. When a lightly-promoted series like “Sex Education” can get 40 million viewers, what’s the hope for anyone else? We also answer your letters and hear the voice of Hobo Eric for the very first time! Tim Goodman and Jason Snell.

Until you listen to this episode you won’t know if we’re alive in this cardboard box or not. This week Tim reviews the excellent Netflix miniseries “Black Earth Rising,” and we discuss the big streaming-service price changes from Netflix and Hulu. And of course we answer your letters about cord cutting and more! Tim Goodman and Jason Snell.

NBCUniversal has announced its own take on the streaming service, and Tim has many questions. Also there are reviews of “Brexit” and “Dynasties” and Tim implores you to check out “Wilfred” on Hulu. Plus, Tim’s five greatest TV dramas of all time and listener Brandon sends in our first audio letter! Tim Goodman and Jason Snell.

This week Tim and Jason deal with Golden Globes fallout, Tim reviews “Informer” (Amazon), “Black Monday” (Showtime), and “Valley of the Boom” (shout out to Stephanie from NatGeo!). Then Jason reveals the madness that made him re-publish the entire original TV Talk Machine catalog, complete with Tim’s show notes from 2009. “Enjoy.” (Get in your emails, tweets, and MP3 about your wet newspaper early for next week’s episode. We’ll be recording Wednesday or Thursday. podcast@tvtalkmachine.com as usual.) Tim Goodman and Jason Snell.

It’s our 200th Episode Spectacular, in which we discuss articles Tim has written and then read your letters! So… pretty much like the other 199 episodes. This week Tim’s got some positive(!) thoughts about the Golden Globes, negative thoughts about turning TV episodes into video games, and some suggestions for TV viewers trying to find a strategy that makes sense for watching shows in 2019. And at the very end, we celebrate our 200th episode with an OG appearance from some very special guests. Tim Goodman and Jason Snell.

We exit 2018 and the 100s episodes with Tim’s final lists of the year, of bad shows and great performances and good episodes. Plus we read some hall-of-fame letters! See you in two weeks for the 200th episode spectacular. Merry Christmas to everyone’s mothers. Tim Goodman and Jason Snell.