CMI on TV

Ok, ok, we get it. Lena Dunham likes sex.

After creating the hit TV show Girls (HBO), Dunham has become something of a poster child for sex without consequences and abortion-on-demand in popular media. So it’s no surprise that her guest appearance on Scandal (ABC) came with a heavy side of sexual adventure and condemnation for anyone who would dare not affirm those choices.

On Thursday night’s Scandal episode, Sue Thomas (Lena Dunham) is an author of a soon-to-be-published book detailing her erotic confessions of kinky affairs with the elite of Washington, D.C. Sue is confronted by Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) who is concerned not only about the political ramifications of these explicit memoirs, but also about the well-being of Sue. Olivia warns her that the press will be eager to shame her publicly. “I’m trying...

Music has always been a big part of television. But, let’s face it, some shows do it better. While many sitcoms and dramas rely on beats to merely fill in the background, these four shows represent musically distinct TV shows that allow the tunes to occasionally steal the spotlight.

FOX’s new series, Empire, is about power hungry family dynamics and the music industry. This show features musical styles of rap, R&B, and hip hop. If you want to listen to artists that embody this show’s music genre, look no further than the Empire cast (as produced by Timbaland), Lil’ Kim, and Estelle.

Nashville (ABC) is another current show that covers the music industry and the rise to fame. As may be inferred from the title of the series, this drama is all about...

The Thursday night series premier of Dig (USA) delivers on its promise of murder, conspiracy, and religion.

Dig wastes no time in making its religious undertones as blatant as possible. The show opens quoting a verse from Numbers 6 about bringing a red heifer to sacrifice, and then shows the red cow in Norway with one character stating cryptically: “It has started.”  Another announces: “The prophecy has begun.”

The show stars Jason Isaacs, as Peter Connelly, an American FBI agent who has transferred to Israel after a tragedy at home. At one point in the first episode Connelly follows a woman with red hair, named Emma Wilson (Alison Sudol) into the midst of a large crowd with chanting people holding crosses. The two begin talking and Emma leads him to an excavation site where she is working as an archeologist...

Dumb dads are nothing new.

From The Simpsons (FOX) to Disney Channel’s Austin & Ally, it has become clear that the 1950’s dads, styled after Leave It To Beaver and Father Knows Best, are long gone. Instead, the foolish father figures have become a TV staple.

Current sitcoms like Modern Family (ABC) carry on this tradition of buffoonery with pride.

Modern Family’s latest episode Wednesday night features the classic “doofus dad” archetype in the character of Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell.) In the latest episode, Phil spots a small helicopter-like contraption floating near the family pool and he immediately identifies its make and model, adding “As you can guess, I’m a droner myself.” Phil’s beautiful, and quite young, mother-in law Gloria (Sofia Vergara) quips: “Yes, you’re droning right now.”

After...