Phillip Maciak
@pjmaciak.bsky.social
TV Critic @ The New Republic //
DAD: A POP HISTORY (Plume 2027) //
teaching @ Wash U in STL //
pjmaciak.substack.com
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, sixers
DAD: A POP HISTORY (Plume 2027) //
teaching @ Wash U in STL //
pjmaciak.substack.com
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, sixers
I wrote this about the scuzzy way Vance plays the DAD card back during the election. He's doing it again. nymag.com/intelligence...
January 23, 2026 at 6:50 PM
I wrote this about the scuzzy way Vance plays the DAD card back during the election. He's doing it again. nymag.com/intelligence...
syllabus spring 26
January 12, 2026 at 7:45 PM
syllabus spring 26
I just watched every available Turkey Pardon since George H.W. Bush for book research. Ask me anything. #DadAPopHistory
January 6, 2026 at 10:25 PM
I just watched every available Turkey Pardon since George H.W. Bush for book research. Ask me anything. #DadAPopHistory
lol — I just got this in an email from New Era cap company. Feels right.
January 5, 2026 at 6:01 PM
lol — I just got this in an email from New Era cap company. Feels right.
gave it a try — educated guesses
![OUT IN
penultimate flashback eps flashback pilot eps where you don’t meet the main characters til the end
tonally discordant grisly violence tonally discordant extreme cursing
vignette-based first person auteur sadcoms [not replaced]
existing IP non-existent IP
drunken villain Matthew Rhys drunken hero Matthew Rhys
Bluey Minisodes Bluey microdosing
Delco accents Pittsburgh accents
hockey romance field hockey romance
Big Little Lies copycats Slow Horses copycats
no Kyle Chandler Kyle Chandler](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:stqs7doqtql75cdr7uw3bxhu/bafkreifm4psc2ickue7iv5erbaaw5g4zoiuy6wapfajmzxxb42e5sm5eda@jpeg)
December 31, 2025 at 6:45 PM
gave it a try — educated guesses
December 29, 2025 at 8:56 PM
This is me learning, today, that there are people who've apparently rewatched No Country for Old Men who believe that we don't have enough information to know what happened to the characters in it.
December 11, 2025 at 3:38 PM
This is me learning, today, that there are people who've apparently rewatched No Country for Old Men who believe that we don't have enough information to know what happened to the characters in it.
[enter Trudy, shot from a cannon]
December 4, 2025 at 4:35 PM
[enter Trudy, shot from a cannon]
Again, this episode, there's a scene where Don is doing pushups and counting out loud, and when he sees Betty come in, he skips to 99. The writers did not yet know that was not a Don Draper thing to do, and yet, here's Betty, doing Betty things almost nonstop.
December 3, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Again, this episode, there's a scene where Don is doing pushups and counting out loud, and when he sees Betty come in, he skips to 99. The writers did not yet know that was not a Don Draper thing to do, and yet, here's Betty, doing Betty things almost nonstop.
Really excellent AI illustration of the 7bbers' own Tyrese Maxey.
December 2, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Really excellent AI illustration of the 7bbers' own Tyrese Maxey.
But, good gravy, this show knows what it's gonna look like from the jump. Sheesh.
December 2, 2025 at 9:26 PM
But, good gravy, this show knows what it's gonna look like from the jump. Sheesh.
Interestingly, tellingly too, I think Hamm is the one in the pilot who has his character figured out the least. The famous "love was invented by guys like me" monologue is smart writing, but he plays it weird. He's trying things out. He'll eventually learn to do a little less.
December 2, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Interestingly, tellingly too, I think Hamm is the one in the pilot who has his character figured out the least. The famous "love was invented by guys like me" monologue is smart writing, but he plays it weird. He's trying things out. He'll eventually learn to do a little less.
Hendricks has to do a lot of the cringey schadenfreude stuff in the pilot which bogs her down, but the way she and Moss figure out how to play the "go home, take a paper bag, and cut some eyeholes out of it" scene cracks the show open. Peggy instantly exists.
December 2, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Hendricks has to do a lot of the cringey schadenfreude stuff in the pilot which bogs her down, but the way she and Moss figure out how to play the "go home, take a paper bag, and cut some eyeholes out of it" scene cracks the show open. Peggy instantly exists.
I've rewatched one and a half MAD MEN episodes now, and it is bananas how quickly these actors have these characters figured out, sometimes before the writers do. January Jones has had, what, five minutes of screen time at this point, and bam, one look, there's Betty Draper.
December 2, 2025 at 9:00 PM
I've rewatched one and a half MAD MEN episodes now, and it is bananas how quickly these actors have these characters figured out, sometimes before the writers do. January Jones has had, what, five minutes of screen time at this point, and bam, one look, there's Betty Draper.
Either accidentally or on-purpose, my favorite shot from MAD MEN — Moss clearing her throat before the Burgerchef presentation — references my favorite shot from HENRY V — Olivier clearing his throat before walking on stage — which is probably my favorite shot in all of film history. Welcome back.
December 1, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Either accidentally or on-purpose, my favorite shot from MAD MEN — Moss clearing her throat before the Burgerchef presentation — references my favorite shot from HENRY V — Olivier clearing his throat before walking on stage — which is probably my favorite shot in all of film history. Welcome back.
SKUNK AND BADGER // These are a series of cottage-core throwback chapter books by Amy Timberlake with gorgeous illustrations from Jon Klassen. Mel recently noted what an innovator Timberlake is with onomatopoeia words. www.amytimberlake.com/about-the-tr...
November 28, 2025 at 6:41 PM
SKUNK AND BADGER // These are a series of cottage-core throwback chapter books by Amy Timberlake with gorgeous illustrations from Jon Klassen. Mel recently noted what an innovator Timberlake is with onomatopoeia words. www.amytimberlake.com/about-the-tr...
AVIDLY READS SCREEN TIME makes an excellent stocking stuffer because it's small, and it won't scare the shit out of you. nyupress.org/978147982057...
November 28, 2025 at 5:08 PM
AVIDLY READS SCREEN TIME makes an excellent stocking stuffer because it's small, and it won't scare the shit out of you. nyupress.org/978147982057...
Re-upping this to say that there are still spots available at New York Magazine as well.
November 25, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Re-upping this to say that there are still spots available at New York Magazine as well.
This is my favorite recent Bucks city edition. It's about as tempted as I've ever been to get a non-Sixers variant.
November 20, 2025 at 3:38 PM
This is my favorite recent Bucks city edition. It's about as tempted as I've ever been to get a non-Sixers variant.
"Salt Lake City’s personal Count Orlok is Danny Ainge, and he has sucked all of the joy from the Utah Jazz organization like a Mormon Nosferatu. Lauri Markkanen and Ace Bailey are trapped in his castle against their will. Walker Kessler is dead. Danny Ainge is an appetite, nothing more."
November 19, 2025 at 8:10 PM
"Salt Lake City’s personal Count Orlok is Danny Ainge, and he has sucked all of the joy from the Utah Jazz organization like a Mormon Nosferatu. Lauri Markkanen and Ace Bailey are trapped in his castle against their will. Walker Kessler is dead. Danny Ainge is an appetite, nothing more."
When's the last time you contemplated the splendor of an Ohio sunset? Or the splendor of Donovan Mitchell?
www.basketballfeelings.com/p/a-predicti...
www.basketballfeelings.com/p/a-predicti...
November 19, 2025 at 6:03 PM
When's the last time you contemplated the splendor of an Ohio sunset? Or the splendor of Donovan Mitchell?
www.basketballfeelings.com/p/a-predicti...
www.basketballfeelings.com/p/a-predicti...