Critical Myth - ProfilesArchive

About Me

My name is John. I am married with two nutty kids, two cats, and a dog. And a house with a white fence. Somehow, not quite the American dream, but getting there. My daughter finishing out second grade, and my son is working towards potty training.
By day, I am an engineer in the pharmaceutical industry. It's been an interesting place to work. Starting in Fall 2007, I began pursuing a Masters in Pharmaceutical Engineering.
In the evenings, I am a published TV critic with more than six years of experience and about 1400 reviews to my name. Additionally, I review books, music, and video games. My reviews are published by MediaBlvd Magazine:
http://mediablvd.com/magazine/
They are also archived on my personal site Critical Myth:
http://www.criticalmyth.com
All of this content is copyright protected.
At night, I am co-director and lead investigator for New Jersey Paranormal Resource Group (NJPRG). Our current team has grown into a solid core, and this should be an interesting year as we expand operations into NYC and eastern Pa.
Oh, and sometimes I get some sleep. Not often, but sometimes...LOL...

My Interests

Writing fiction, reading fiction and non-fiction (lots of history and philosophy), listening to new artists and old favorites, watching genre television and discussing the deeper meanings in timeless stories. I also like alternative models, because I find the artistic themes and elements very attractive.

I'd like to meet:

JMS, Joss Whedon, JJ Abrams, TAPS (again!), Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, Ron Moore

Music:

Pretty much anything, so long as it has something unique that holds my interest. If it's purely commercial, it's probably not in my collection for long. Right now, I tend towards "gothic music" like Lacuna Coil or The Cure, or live DMB, industrial, etc. I also like instrumental music, like good soundtracks for films or TV, especially if world music or percussive elements are involved.

Movies:

Serenity, The Fifth Element, Contact, Sin City, Aliens, Matrix trilogy, X-Men, Trek and Star Wars (of course), Free Enterprise

Television:

Lost, Battlestar: Galactica, Firefly, 24, Ghost Hunters, Prison Break, Buffy, Angel, X-Files, Babylon 5, Farscape, Supernatural, Veronica Mars, Smallville, West Wing, Sopranos, Medium, My Name is Earl, The Office, Amazing Race, Stargate, Dead Zone, 4400, Doctor Who, NCIS, The Unit

Books:

All things Tolkien, Frank Herbert, Asimov, Clarke, etc. Old school Anne Rice, when she had an editor. Doug Adams, David Brin, Ray Feist, Greg Benford, Stephen Donaldson. I lot of non-fiction on history, philosophy, psychology, "paranormal". And in between those books, a lot of media tie-in books that serve as "brain candy"!

Heroes:

Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson, Paula Donovan, Joss Whedon, JMS, JJ Abrams, Ron Moore

My Blog

Ghost Hunters 4.22: "USS Hornet"

Much like the railway station in Buffalo not so long ago, this is one of those locations that seems overwhelming just on the screen. I recall being concerned about the personnel control issues w...
Posted by Critical Myth on Fri, 31 Oct 2008 04:50:00 PST

Heroes 3.7: "Eris Quod Sum"

While I wouldn't go so far as to say I've given up on "Heroes", I will say that the third season has been a disappointment to this point. The third volume, "Villains", has been a massive retread...
Posted by Critical Myth on Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:44:00 PST

Smallville 8.6: "Prey"

So far, this season of "Smallville" has been a marked improvement over the seventh season, and that has much to do with the consistency of the episodes. With the key relationships now settled, a...
Posted by Critical Myth on Tue, 28 Oct 2008 05:10:00 PST

Stargate: Atlantis 5.13: "Inquisition"

For quite some time, I've wondered whether or not the denizens of the Pegasus Galaxy found Team Atlantis to be a beneficial addition to the population, considering all that has happened since the SGC ...
Posted by Critical Myth on Tue, 28 Oct 2008 04:56:00 PST

Supernatural 4.6: "Yellow Fever"

Airing another episode with comedic overtones may have been a minor mistake, since it seems a bit odd to place them together. But this is "Supernatural", and even if the timing was less than ide...
Posted by Critical Myth on Sat, 25 Oct 2008 05:12:00 PST

Ghost Hunters 4.21: "Hometown Haunts"

Much like the previous episode, this is less about the "name" locations and more about the "everyday" locations. And, as I said in the previous review, that's something that appeals to me, both ...
Posted by Critical Myth on Fri, 24 Oct 2008 04:57:00 PST

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles 2.6: "The Tower is Tall..."

Fans of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" should be very happy right now. Not only have the writers settled into their first season form after a rocky second season start, but FOX delive...
Posted by Critical Myth on Wed, 22 Oct 2008 05:33:00 PST

Heroes 3.6: "Dying of the Light"

This show is becoming increasingly difficult to review, not because of its complexity, but because of its chaotic inability to settle into meaningful plot threads. The story is propelling along ...
Posted by Critical Myth on Wed, 22 Oct 2008 05:22:00 PST

Stargate: Atlantis 5.12: "Outsiders"

After the overstuffed "Lost Tribe", this episode feels almost decompressed. It's ostensibly connected to the overall season arc in terms of the post-Michael status quo for the Wraith, but it's s...
Posted by Critical Myth on Tue, 21 Oct 2008 05:25:00 PST

Smallville 8.5: "Committed"

I think it's safe to say that this is not the best episode of the eighth season. What surprises me is that this is still a better episode than most of what was aired in the seventh season. ...
Posted by Critical Myth on Tue, 21 Oct 2008 05:09:00 PST