Who We Are
We <3 television. We want to talk about the shows we love. But we don’t want to just regurgitate exactly what happened in the episode — we want to dig into the heart of the show – the characters.
We are a group of writers who appreciate the fact that any plot, any relationship or punch line ultimately is translated through the character.
We respect that good characters are at the heart of smart writing and riveting stories. They are the people who keep us distracted from the persistent, cruel bitch of reality.
What We Do
We discuss character development on TV. We evaluate characters on an episodic basis. In a throwback to the days of desks that flipped open, trapper keepers and pencil pouches, we assign them grades. We determine these based on a variety of criteria.
- Consistency. Are the character’s actions the same throughout the episode and within the larger arcs of the season? This is an evaluation of how realistic the character exists in his or her world.
- Development. Does the character have depth and potential to be dynamic? Is that highlighted within their storyline?
- Fun. Do you want to watch this character? Are they engaging and entertaining? Are you interested in what’s happening to them? Do they stay with you after you turn off the TV?
Theoretically, all of these bullets would have equal weight, but it doesn’t usually work that way. Much like 5th graders, we’re easily distracted. If something is really hilarious, scary, magical, or just super shiny, we’ll adjust the grade accordingly. At the end of the day, the main question is: do we enjoy what we watch?
Check out a full list of shows we’re grading the shit out of.
What You Should Do
Character Grades is best enjoyed as a side dish to a hearty meal of viewership. Watch the show before you read. This will make our jokes funnier, our references more relevant and our posts just more enjoyable overall. It will also keep you safe from the landmine of spoilers ingrained in our writing.
We are grading based on the assumption that you’ve seen the show, you love the show, and you’re smart and hilarious (which if you’re reading this right now, you can go ahead and give yourself a double check-plus). If you’ve had an episode ruined for you by reading a post before you’ve watched the episode, we are *truly sorry. We can’t say that we didn’t warn you.
*Yeah, we’re not. Deal with it.
