If you’d told me even four months ago if I would be really looking forward to the return of AMC’s The Walking Dead for the second half of its fifth season, I would have thought you were crazy. I couldn’t, quite frankly, figure out the growing cultural fascination with zombies. Really? Slow moving, mindless creatures that eat whatever living thing they can find and can only be killed with a terminal shot to the brain? I just didn’t get it. But then one friend kept mentioning what a great show it was, and another told me that if I could get through the first episode with lots of shooting zombies in the head, I’d be hooked. And,...

The conclusion of the third season of HBO’s adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s sprawling fantasy A Game of Thrones is tonight. Of course, those of you who know and love the story already know that, while those of you who don’t probably don’t care. 🙂 Recently, there’s been a minor furor over whether Christians should watch such a violent and racy show. In response, I wrote an article on the Huffington Post suggesting that the way one responds to that question says as much about one’s theology as it does the show. I’ll put the opening paragraphs below and direct you to the article should you want...

I love Downton Abbey. (Or at least I did until last night. I’m rather undecided going forward.) I love it for many of the reasons I love Mad Men. In addition to strong characters and the elements of love and betrayal and power and suspense that are part and parcel of good narrative, both shows are also period dramas set at particular times and places which aren’t just interesting in general but are experiencing great tumult and change and so help us understand not just something of where we came from but also who we are and where we are going. When we watch the debate over the women’s vote in Downton Abbey (or women’s pay in the...

Fred Rogers was a Presbyterian minister serving in the Pittsburgh area who was dissatisfied with television programming for children and decided to do something about it. His “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” ran for nearly 35 years, influencing a generation of children, including me. A week ago PBS released a remix of several scenes from his shows entitled “The Garden of Your Mind.” It’s already garnered more than 4 million views and seemed like a good pre-Father’s Day selection. The YouTube description closes with the invitation, “If you like this video, please support your local PBS station.”...