Mr. Smarty Pants Knows

"...The truck driven by the Clampetts on The Beverly Hillbillies..."

Jan. 12, 2024 Column by Mr. Smarty Pants

Howard Waldrop, Upright & Writing

Five decades into his career, the brilliant science fiction writer still isn’t taking any shortcuts

"..."Just sit down in the chair and start writing and then after 10 or..."

Oct. 6, 2017 Arts Feature by Elizabeth Banicki

Gay Place: Grandma's Revenge

Rudolph was framed!

"...Look where you're going, Rudolph! Rude! The Underground Roller Derby babes give granny a chance at..."

Dec. 4, 2015 Column by Kate X Messer

DVD Watch

'All in the Family: The Complete Series'

"...The situation comedy changed forever and forever changed how popular..."

Oct. 30, 2012 Screens Post by Marc Savlov

'The NFL Beat': The End of the Super Agent

New CBA, new ball game

"...I have actually been around Drew Rosenhaus more than the average American, and I can tell you one thing..."

May 23, 2012 Sports Post by Alex Dunlap

Gold in Them Thar Hills

The Dancing Outlaw was just the beginning of the cinematic wealth that is the White clan of West Virginia

"..."When you represent the Whites, you don't know what you're going to get..."

July 9, 2010 Screens Feature by Marc Savlov

Mr. Smarty Pants Knows

Sharks, toilet paper, and more

"...Mel Blanc played a taxi driver on The Beverly Hillbillies...."

June 25, 2010 Column by Mr. Smarty Pants

Leave It to Beverly

This send-up of sitcoms can't solve its problems as smoothly as the old shows it spoofs did

"...Leave It to Beverly..."

Nov. 13, 2009 Arts Review by Robert Faires

The World Is Flat

How King of the Hill helped make Texas three-dimensional again

"...– a baffled Hank Hill to son, Bobby, in the series finale of King of the Hill..."

Sept. 11, 2009 Screens Feature by Cindy Widner

Miranda Lambert, Elizabeth Cook, Gretchen Wilson, & Avril Lavigne

Ladies Night

"...One of the Boys (Sony/BMG Nashville)Avril Lavigne..."

May 18, 2007 Music Review by Christopher Gray

Claus & Effect

The holiday how-to guide for the perpetually perplexed

"...Oh hell, it's the holidays...."

Dec. 15, 2006 Features Feature by Meredith Barnhill

TV Eye

You might think a TV columnist without a TV has little to offer. Think again.

"...went down last week. I mean really went down. The repair guy shook his head, saying someone who could..."

Nov. 10, 2006 Screens Column by Belinda Acosta

TV Eye

Here at last, here at last:'The Boondocks' on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim

"...Here at last, here at last: The Boondocks finally comes to the small screen thanks to..."

Nov. 4, 2005 Screens Column by Belinda Acosta

TV Eye

Is it time for an all chimp and monkey network?

"...When Chronicle Managing Editor Cindy Widner wrote about the Texas Monkey Project a couple of weeks back (for..."

Aug. 5, 2005 Screens Column by Belinda Acosta

The Fearless Vampire Killers, or: Pardon Me, but Your Teeth Are in My Neck

Period horror comedies were virtually unheard of in 1967, and although all of Roman Polanski's work up to that year had shone a flair for blacker-than-pitch grave-digger humor, this would be the first time he had experimented with outright comedy

"...The Fearless Vampire Killers, or: Pardon Me, but Your Teeth..."

Nov. 26, 2004 Screens Review by Marc Savlov

Hot Smoke & Sasafrass

'Hot Smoke & Sasafrass' (and its backstory) returns via the reissue of A Gathering of Promises

"...unassuming dead-end street just off busy Riverside Drive in Southeast Austin. Despite the apartment complexes and shopping centers lurking..."

May 7, 2004 Music Feature by Greg Beets

TV Eye

Belinda Acosta is not amused by the two rich chicks on Fox's farm.

"...reality TV again because, well, let's face it, are there really any more surprises to the genre? (OK, The..."

Dec. 12, 2003 Screens Column by Belinda Acosta

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)

Three highly amusing and personable comic actors skewer, pun, and cook their way through all 37 of Shakespeare's plays in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), a show that launches the Austin Shakespeare Festival's 20th anniversary season with a bang, a few whacks, and a lot of laughs.

"...'The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)': Gross, Grosser, Grossest..."

Oct. 3, 2003 Arts Review by Robi Polgar

Postmarks

Our readers talk back.

"...Clark-Madison Crosses the Line..."

June 13, 2003 Column

TV Eye

The Kentucky collective Appalshop presents a more truthful depiction of the rural life in Headwaters: Real Stories From Rural America.

"...lived on a farm, and we took day trips there. This is where I learned that chickens are vicious..."

June 6, 2003 Screens Column by Belinda Acosta

TV Eye

Happy 300th, The Simpsons.

"...Oh sure, The Osbournes have turned heads while others long for the..."

Jan. 31, 2003 Screens Column by Belinda Acosta

TCB

More on the Antone's merger, the noise ordinance, and finally, Abra Moore.

"...Although vegetable bloodletting must be easier than gathering concrete information about the recent Antone's/Direct Events "merger," a..."

Jan. 17, 2003 Music Column by Christopher Gray

Coming Soon

Trend Watch

"...Prior to the launch of this year's fall TV season, many critics..."

Dec. 20, 2002 Screens Column by Belinda Acosta

Mr. Smarty Pants

This is what your brains wants when you aren't looking close enough.

"...Men with low birth weight may be doomed to the single life, say researchers in Southampton, England, and Finland...."

June 15, 2001 Column by Mr. Smarty Pants

My Cousin Vinny

My Cousin Vinny combines a good dose of Northeastern pomposity and Southern ignorance to produce a great comedy.

"...My Cousin Vinny takes stereotypical characters and sets them in an odd environment, a situation that lays the..."

June 1, 2001 Screens Review by Eli Kooris

The Luckiest Girl in the World

An interview with Sissy Spacek, inducted into the first annual Texas Film Hall of Fame on March 9.

"...The voice on the phone is girlish and instantly recognizable,..."

March 9, 2001 Screens Feature by Margaret Moser

Serious Rock & Roll Anthropology

An interview with SXSW honoree Penelope Spheeris

"..."Attention: Please be advised that by your entry upon these premises, you are consenting to being photographed and filmed..."

March 9, 2001 Screens Feature by Marc Savlov

Postmarks

Our readers talk back.

"...Thank you for the run-down of the bills to expect in the upcoming..."

Jan. 5, 2001 Column

Young, Loud, and Cheap

The Skunks were a band. A loud one.

"...Maybe you were actually there to see the Skunks at Raul's. Maybe you weren't..."

Dec. 8, 2000 Music Feature by Ken Lieck

Hill Country Breakdown

"...The confusion was evident. It was showtime out at the..."

June 4, 1999 Music Feature by Christopher Hess

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