On Tuesday, Jan. 26, Mike Rowe fans who haven’t yet signed up for streaming service Discovery + can get a taste of what they’re missing, when “How a Civil War Soldier Produced This Show,” an episode of Six Degrees With Mike Rowe, airs at 10 p.m.…

Discovery+ Series ‘Six Degrees With Mike Rowe’ Gets a Showing on Cable Discovery

In the first installment of this series, I discussed what those who write in English should read. This post may be less fun than that; it's definitely more judgmental.
Writers in English Must Learn English
If you are to be a professional writer --…

Ink-Stained Wretch, Part 2: Learning Your Tool

This may sound like a strange time to expound on the etiquette of social platforms, but it's been on my mind. So, here we go.
Allow me to say up front that this is the result of absolutely no focus groups, detailed research or algorithms. It comes…

The Etiquette of Social Platforms

What happens when Walker, Texas Ranger becomes just Walker? More than the loss of two words, that’s for darn tootin’.
The CW’s “reimagining” of star Chuck Norris’ iconic 1993-2001 contemporary Western series Walker, Texas Ranger premieres on…

The CW’s ‘Walker’ Is Sure Not ‘Walker, Texas Ranger’

Writing is hard. Doing it poorly is hard. Doing it well is hard. But only one of these will get you consistently paid.
What's an ink-stained wretch? The phrase dates from those days, before the Flood, when people wrote with pens. To me, it's a…

Ink-Stained Wretch, Part 1: What You Must Read to Write

One of the most popular genres of unscripted TV is the veterinarian show, and on weekends, viewers have plenty of choices, with a new series and new episodes of two existing ones.
Masterpiece: All Creatures Great and Small (PBS, Sundays, 9 p.m. ET/PT…

Weekends With Vets: 'All Creatures,' 'Dr. Pol,' 'Heartland Docs'

These days, reboots and remakes fill me with dread rather than anticipation, which makes the new All Creatures Great and Small, premiering on PBS’ Masterpiece on Sunday, Jan. 10, such a revelation.
Not only does it respect the original source…

Charming, Family-Friendly ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ Comes to PBS’ ‘Masterpiece’

For many generations of new arrivals, whether they came from another country or just another part of this country, churches were one of the main ways they were welcomed into an area. For one of the participants on Discovery’s Undercover Billionaire,…

In Discovery’s ‘Undercover Billionaire,’ Monique Idlett-Mosley Was Living on a Prayer

On Christmas Day, Soul, the latest animated film from Disney's Pixar division, came out on the streaming service Disney+. It'd be a stretch to call it a faith-based film, but it definitely deals with big metaphysical themes.
Directed by Pete Docter…

Pixar's 'Soul' Mixes Jazz With (Unusual) Metaphysics

I’ve seen Karate Kid, but it’s not a cultural touchstone for me (my ’80s were more about Prince and Miami Vice), so I’m not going to come at Cobra Kai with reverence. But after binging through all the seasons, including the new third season, on…

Netflix’s ‘Cobra Kai’: A Lot Right, a Little Ridiculous

The title of this post is not entirely accurate. On his new YouTube Channel, aSecularAge, Sean Bryan, the Papal Ninja of NBC’s American Ninja Warrior, does do a flip into Lake Tahoe. But that’s not the point of the video or the channel.
When he’s not…

‘Papal Ninja’ Sean Bryan Brings Faith, Not Flips, to YouTube

I’m not entirely disappointed by Soul, premiering on Christmas Day on Disney+, but I’m not entirely happy, either. This is the second time lately that a grand metaphysical mystery has ultimately gone splat.
Again With the Eastern Mysticism
After two…

Disney/Pixar’s ‘Soul’: A Midlife-Crisis Story Wrapped in Gauzy Metaphysics

EPIX’s DC Comics-inspired Pennyworth, which launched its second season on Dec. 13, exists in a world of “what if?”, an alternate universe that veers from history somewhere around the 1950s and never looks back.
Creating an Alternate England for…

EPIX’s ‘Pennyworth’: Season 2 Turns Jolly Old England on Its Head — Again (Did the Devil Do It?)

On Sunday, Dec. 13, Christian-music artists and Dallas Jenkins, producer of The Chosen, the Gospels-inspired crowdfunded series starring Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie as Jesus, throws an Advent-season party on multiple streaming and TV…

Christmas With 'The Chosen': Matt Maher, For King & Country and More...

The Christmas Chronicles 2, which just dropped on Netflix, reverses direction from the original … more on that later.
In a recent post, I pointed out that most of today’s Christmas movies are nearly or entirely free of any reference to Christmas…

Netflix’s ‘The Christmas Chronicles 2’ Puts Christianity in Christmas, Sort Of (SPOILERS)

How do you get Voices of Fire, with six episodes showcasing people singing God’s praises, on Netflix? Have megahit singer Pharrell Williams be one of the executive producers and make guest appearances, and have his uncle be the main character.
In my…

‘Voices of Fire’: Netflix’s Gospel-Music Docuseries Praises God Uphill and Down

A major producer of faith-based content has just announced plans to acquire a major online distributor of faith-based content, so what does this mean for the large but often underserved Christian audience?
On Nov. 12, AFFIRM Entertainment Inc., a…

Sony's AFFIRM Films and Pure Flix: A Media Match Made in Heaven?

One may wonder how an old-fashioned, sparkly, sweet, faith-filled Christmas musical like Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square, premiering Sunday, Nov. 22 ever wound up on Netflix, but the answer is a petite blond powerhouse. Nobody says no to…

Netflix’s ‘Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square’: It’s Twinkly, Sweet and a Delight

Season one of HBO’s Lovecraft Country is a ton of bonkers stuffed into a 10-episode bag. By far, it’s the most wildly inventive, bizarre, confused, occasionally clunky, occasionally compelling, nutso thing I’ve seen in a long time — and at least one…

HBO’s ‘Lovecraft Country’: In the Midst of Madness, a Moment of Baptismal Grace

One of my goals in this blog is to examine how various shows and movies tackle Christianity, especially when they’re not aimed at the faith audience. Sometimes, that’s the only reason I watch something. Answering some pesky questions from the pilot…