November 18th 2013 To Whom It May Concern: Attached are two different writing samples.

The first is one is a recap from Big Brother 15 (which I blogged about every week last summer). The second sample is an opinion piece from last year about the uneven seasons of Dexter and Homeland. I have been blogging for almost two years about various shows including New Girl, How I Met Your Mother, Whodunnit?, Big Brother and Dexter. If you would like other writing samples from other shows please do not hesitate to ask. Thank you! David Allen !

Dual Redundancy: TV Review: Big Brother 15: "Week One"

11/18/13 10:38 AM

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Thursday, July 4, 2013

TV Review: Big Brother 15: "Week One"

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DA- While it has only been one week in the Big Brother house there has been enough drama to fill an entire season (or the very least a giant jar of BBQ sauce). Before I discuss the controversy that has already come out of the house, I am going to try and recap the entire week faster than the houseguests can drink an entire bottle of red winelets go!
Nick started off Sundays broadcast with a great idea. Lets form an alliance that includes Jeremy, Howard, Spencer, McCrae, and himself. Too bad it was already formed without him a few days before but in the end he still got to join and help name it The Moving Company. Why TMC? Because they well ummmove contestants out the door? After a camping have-not competition that had houseguests stack cans on a balancing board after they retrieved them from a larger cooler, McCrae put Candice and Jessie on the block. McCrae picked these two because he believes they are the least liked in the house. However, I think I agree with Amanda that his real reason was because Jessie has a better ass than she does. That would be my thought process if I had to nominate people in a game for a half of million dollars! Tuesday nights episode was all about the MVP twist and who it would be. Elissa jokingly tells the house she will get a lot of votes because of her sister who is Rachel Riley a supermodel named, according to Jeremy, Jazelle ButtChin. In the end ButtChin pulled through for Elissa and she was awarded the MVP fan vote and nominated Jeff Spicoli Harry Dunne David much to Aaryns dismay. (Its been a week. Im sorry your boyfriend who lives at home with only a seasonal job and no ambition is going to leave you forever for possibly three months. Stop crying!) But before David is sent packing he gets another chance to make a fool of himself in the veto challenge. This week some emotionless judge from CBS The American Baking Competition hosts as houseguests run through honey and pop blueberry balloons to retrieve letters to spell a word. Whoever has the longest word (or longest letter according to David) after time runs out wins. While Howard and Jessie had seven-letter words it looked like Elissa with potroasts was going to win. Unfortunately potroasts is two words and McCrae with an eight-letter word wins. However, David did not leave the competition empty handed. He did receive the honor of being the only contestant in Big Brother history to not spell a single word in this type of challenge! Go David Go! McCrae uses the veto to take Candice off and put Elissa on the block in order to please the house (and probably displease America in the process).

! 2013 (52) " November (2) " October (4) " September (9) " August (15) ! July (5) TV Review: Whodunnit? 106: "All The World's a Stag... 2013 Emmy Nominations - Most Deserving & Most Like... TV Review: Big Brother 15: "Week Two" TV Review: Big Brother 15: "Week One" TV Review: Whodunnit? 102: "Fire Starter" " June (2) " April (4) " March (5) " February (3) " January (3) " 2012 (97)

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Dual Redundancy: TV Review: Big Brother 15: "Week One"

11/18/13 10:38 AM

Now going into eviction night Julie promised to show the houseguests and their true colors. While I thought for a second they might address the recent controversy, which I will get to soon, I was sorely let down and instead got to see more hookups and houseguests flirting. Thankfully we did get a little drama and it is all thanks to some alcohol.

Big Brother gave the house one bottle of red wine and the houseguests agreed to wait until midnight so the havenots can celebrate with themwell most of the houseguests. An hour before midnight Aaryn and David couldnt wait a second longer so Jeremy grabbed it and the group of them drank it before anyone else could get a sip. While Jeremy falls on the sword later and said he drank the entire bottle (when it looked like the house was angry at Aaryn for doing just that) I want to fault Big Brother instead. One bottle? For the entire house? Even though a limited supply brought the drama, next time you should supply an unlimited amount to really get the unexpected going!
In the end David is sent home with seven votes (Elissa received five and Jessie received none). Will I be sad to see David go? Not a chance. I want my houseguests to play the game and not sign up for Big Brother to just hook up (which was his goal over the money). It was clear David was recruited because not only did he not know any past contestants like Rachel Riley but also he didnt even know what was going on in the house. For example during his goodbye interview he asks Julie will he ever find out who the MVP was. First off, everyone in the house knew it was ElissaEVERYONE! Secondly, yes you will find out. In case you did not know David, you are on a TV show. TV shows are things on television, which you can watch in your own home. Now a home isnever mind. Now to get to the part I am sure you actually want to discuss (but Big Brother definitely does not want to even bring it up) the offensive comments! While I will not repeat any of these comments on this blog, if you are truly interested you can easily find them online with a simple Google search. For those who do not know many of the houseguests including GinaMarie, Spencer, and Aaryn have used derogative terms and offensive comments describing other members of the house. While I understand Big Brother is a family show and airs on one of the main networks (which is still overly cautious after this famous incident) I wish they could show these contestants for who they really are. There will be plenty of people out there possibly rooting for their success unaware that these pretty houseguests are pretty ugly on the inside. Thankfully word has spread around on the Internet and many houseguests are getting their dues. Both GinaMarie and Aaryn have been fired by their respective jobs and I am sure they will have a hard time getting a job after this vacation in the house. During Wednesdays live eviction while it is unclear if they were just booing for votes against Elissa or cheering for votes cast for David, it is possible people have gotten word about Aaryns comments and want to see her (and her boyfriend David) fail. These boos and cheers were so loud that supposedly contestants could hear them in the house and producers could be seen trying to quiet the audience during the broadcast. Ironically they only booed during Aaryns vote before they were told to be quiet so she may think America hates only her and she needs to change what she is saying and doing. Only time will tell if Big Brother will address this matter on the show (besides a standard public statement) and if any of the houseguests will improve their behavior.

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In and O ut Po int s:
- Spencer is already handing out nicknames for The Moving Company including one for himself: The Conductor. Uh-oh! This isnt Survivor you know. Dont let Phillip Sheppard know you are copying his whole shtick. - While we saw a little hook-up between McCrae and Amanda I heard it got a little more PG-13 on the live feeds. Ill just repost Amandas comment that she said in bed with McCrae: Its like SeaWorld down there. - Ultimately The Moving Company picked David because he was a challenge threat while they could use Elissa (and her possible MVP status each week) to control who goes up and possibly goes home. If America stands behind her and Elissa works with TMC this could be a great plan. - I feel as though while three nominees makes it more interesting I think it will end up like Survivors final three. In the end it will always be between two people and the third will be a non-entity, for instance this week with Jessie. - Finally, we ended tonight with the classic fill a container of liquid using only a small cup HOH challenge. However this time we had teams of two competing instead of individuals. Depending on who finally wins it we could have some interesting dynamics when they have to choose who will be crowned the real HOH. Was David the right choice to send home? Who will win the HOH challenge? What do you think of the recent controversy? But first , what is the longest word you can spell? Let me know in the comments or @eastwoodmcfly.

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Labels: 2013, Aaryn Gries, BB15, Big Brother, Big Brother 15, Big Brother recap, CBS, controversy, David Allen, David Girton, Dual Redundancy, Elissa Slater, GinaMarie Zimmerman, HoH, Julie Chen, McCrae Olson, MVP, TV review

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Dual Redundancy: TV Thoughts: Dexter & Homeland "Hopping the Shark?"

11/18/13 10:38 AM

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Wednesday, December 19, 2012

TV Thoughts: Dexter & Homeland "Hopping the Shark?"

DA- A wise man once said I'm afraid I prematurely shot my wad on what was supposed to be a dry run if you will, so I'm afraid I have something of a mess on my hands. If you are not a fan of Arrested Development or the world renowned analrapist Tobias Fnke, you may not understand the genius of what he was trying to say. Sometimes people just get too excited and rush into something they are not completely ready for. If only shows like Dexter and Homeland took this into consideration when creating their seasons.
Now before I dive into this, I just want to say Dexter and Homeland are amazing shows and I am really just nitpicking as someone who really loves television. These shows among many others did not necessarily jump the shark. They may have just taken a hop into a direction they should have waited a few seasons for.

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First up is Dexter. Now our favorite serial killer just wrapped up his seventh season with an arc that had Deb contemplating how to babysit her serial killer brother that she also has a crush on. This season started off well (especially after a lackluster fifth season and a terrible sixth season). However once they got rid of this seasons bad guy Isaak Sirko in episode nine, they gave us a terrible placeholder villain. This guy who lasted an episode or two was an arsonist who as a kid liked to start fires and became an adult who also likes to start fires. Then we had Quinn dating a stripper who just leaves and dumps him anyways and Batista retiring from a great career to open a terrible restaurant. However the best part of the season involved the least liked character of the series on the heels of Dexters dark secret. There were so many flashbacks to season two, which many consider a high point for the series that involved Miami Metro investigating Dexters own crimes. Now after a solid first season it seemed like a crazy jump for season two to already find Dexter in hot waters but after this season premiered in 2007, these may be the only hot

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Dual Redundancy: TV Thoughts: Dexter & Homeland "Hopping the Shark?"

waters Dexter will ever face. Now every episode once Dexter makes any mistake he can easily get himself out of it. He does not need to worry anymore about murdering a suspect in a busy airport or even tranquilizing the guy that murdered his mother in a sunny park THE SAME DAY HE WAS SUSPECTED TO BE THE BAY HARBOR BUTCHER!

11/18/13 10:38 AM

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When James Doakes was framed in season two to be the Bay Harbor Butcher, Miami Metro knew it was some lawenforcement member that was doing these vigilante killings. However now when any evidence may even remotely point to Dexter it is just brushed off as crazy talk. One of my biggest complaints was the blood slide that LaGuerta found at the church in the season seven premiere. This blood slide with Travis Marshalls blood on it was found years after the Bay Harbor Butchers killings. These blood slides was a trait of the killer and was a detail that was never released outside of Miami Metro, thus it is impossible for any copycats outside of Miami Metro. In other words, there is a chance that the BHB is still out there. Sure it is not necessarily Dexter but this means the BHB may not be Doakes. Even though this slide sparked LaGuertas doubts, when Matthews finds other possible evidence that the BHB is not Dexter this detail is never brought up again. Is this just a detail the writers decided to gloss over once they realized they had no idea what to do with it? In the end it does not matter because ever since Dexter explored his own crimes back in season two we will probably never have the blame back on Dexter until the last episode of the series which may be many, many years ahead of us (thanks to last Sundays ratings). It is almost like not being able to find out who the mother is on How I Met Your Mother except here we know exactly who Dexter is and we are dying for someone at Miami Metro to open their eyes and realize who he is too.

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D u a l Redu n da n cy Created in August of 2011 Dual Redundancy is a podcast, past TV show, and now blog about television and entertainment news produced and hosted by David Allen and Mike Ladue. View my complete profile

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Immediately following Dexter on Sunday night is Homeland. Now before I dissect this brilliant show I do like how they ended season two. However there were many points this season that I was worried they make have took many leaps in what the audience can believe. Season one was a solid season that climaxed with Marine One saying once and for all what side Brody was on. As season two started I loved the first few episodes where Saul and later David Estes figured out that Carrie was not so crazy with her beliefs about Brody. Dont get me wrong she is still crazy but as Saul said in the season two finale she is the smartest and the dumbest person we all know. However once Carrie breaks her undercover work and they apprehend Brody at the end of New Car Smell it was as though somebody took the car from the writers, pressed hard on the gas, turned up Neon Trees Everybody Talks, and did not look back to see the people they may hit along the way. Instead of letting the audience stalk Brody for awhile and wonder what side he is on now, the show tried to give us surprises every episode. These include almost killing a U.S. Congressman and possible Vice Presidential candidate in the back of a limo or how the Vice Presidents pacemaker can easily be accessed by a serial number which can be found just by sneaking around the VPs house. (There is not one camera or microphone anywhere in that house?)

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Dual Redundancy: TV Thoughts: Dexter & Homeland "Hopping the Shark?"

11/18/13 10:38 AM

While I was still excited to tune in every week it reminded me a lot of the show 24 which actually had Homelands creators Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa on staff. Now this is not necessarily a bad comparison. I enjoyed the first few seasons of 24 myself and how crazy it was to find a mole inside an intelligence organization (even if it did feel like there was a mole every season). But The A.V. Club's Todd VanDerWerff said it best in his Homeland "Broken Hearts" review. By saying Homeland is acting like 24, people are not bashing 24, which was a good show, but [it was] a very different kind of show. Different is right. For me to believe there was a POW that was turned against his country did not take much disbelief for me for a television show, but after the events mid way this season I had to suspend my disbelief even more than I should for this "realistic" universe Gordon and Gansa created. Though it created interesting television what worries me is it becoming 24, a show that had to rely on crazy tricks and reveals when it got into later seasons. Did we have to cover so much ground in season two that the only thing that seemed possible for the show was for it to clean house and kill Brody so they can start working on other terrorist plots? No. We had the time to kill (just ask Dexter) but it is clear sometimes we can just get too excited and rush through storylines like we have barrels full of them ( Glee season one I am looking at you next!) Lets just hope that these next few seasons of Dexter and Homeland (hopefully just one more for the former) dont leave too much of a mess on any of the show runners or writers' hands. If not, they may just be mumbling how they blue themselves too early. Do you agree/disagree? Leave your thoughts below in the comments or send me a tweet @eastwoodmcfly.

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Labels: 24, Alex Gansa, bay harbor butcher, Brody, Carrie Mathison, David Allen, Dexter, Dual Redundancy, Homeland, Howard Gordon, jump the shark, LaGuerta, season 2, season 7, Showtime, Surprise Motherfucker, The Choice

1 comment:
Jen n ifer Agu ia r July 25, 2013 at 8:30 PM Dexter Season 8 DVD would be the last, executive producer Scott Buck stated that "while Dexter season 8 will be treated as the final season, theres still a chance that the show could continue into season 9" indicating that Dexter could go beyond season 8.Dexter DVD Season 8 guest stars will include Charlotte Rampling as a neuro-psychiatrist specializing in child psychopaths and Sean Patrick Flanery as Jacob Elroy Reply

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