Boxcutters

Dave Lawson!

I miss the old Boxcutters. There seems too much chit chat about non-tv related issues on the new Boxcutters, and far too much superfluous nonsense. I think that when the hosts review a show, or talk directly about television, the show shines and I really enjoy it. However, the addition of “Marian’s Crush” as a segment is trite, and shows a real dumbing down of the show since Kinal and Richards’ departure. The claim that having a woman make sexual objects of people is somehow a feminist twist on society’s sexualisation of women is a weak and hollow claim. Can Blyth not see that in discussing her ‘crushes’ SHE is the portraying the typical stereotype of the ‘in love’ young woman? Anyway, that small criticism aside, I’m giving 2.0 the rule of three and sticking with it. I really hope that we get more tv and less anecdotes about non-tv related nonsense. Brett Cropley is still the best in show!

I was a little worried that a large scale change of presenters would affect the feel of the podcast, but most of the things that made me listen in the first place are still there, and the more equal gender ratio adds a bit more balance.

The sign of a good podcast is when it tackles a topic you're interested in and covers it well. The sign of a GREAT podcast is when it tackles a topic you couldn't care less about, and still makes it essential listening. I couldn't care less about any form of reality TV and usually stop paying attention whenever anyone threatens to mention it, but the show's comparison the two 2012 diet programs The Biggest Loser with Excess Baggage was both entertaining and well-informed. Nothing is off limits. Shows such as Games of Thrones and Mad Men, reality TV, European dramas, sports coverage, advertising, gender politics in HBO's Girls, an episode devoted to whether or not The Newsroom works... it's broad, smart and consistently funny. Hit subscribe and never look back.