<![CDATA[CriticallyTouched / News]]> en-USMon, 06 Feb 2012 22:25:28 -0800 <![CDATA[ACP: "Inside Out" [Angel]]]> I encourage everyone to check out Sue's new review of S4's wacky "Inside Out" [4x17]! The ACP is heating up again, as you can look forward to at least a couple new reviews coming up soon. Also take note that there are still review openings for "Long Day's Journey," "Soulless," "Sacrifice," "Just Rewards," and "Underneath."

]]> <![CDATA[Merry Christmas! [Buffy]]]> I just wanted to wish all my readers a very merry Christmas, and a wonderful holiday season. I will still be working on some Angel reviews for a while, of which you can follow here, but I am also very much looking forward to starting my polish pass beginning with the refinement of my "When She Was Bad" [2x01] review.

Stay tuned, as 2012 should be a fun year for Critically Touched, even beyond what I've already announced. Well, this is as long as the world doesn't end. ;)

]]> <![CDATA[ACP: The Unsurprising Surprise [Angel]]]> The ACP continues to roll forward! Today I'm happy to present to you Fray-Adjacent's review of "Awakening" [4x10]. Go forth now, and read.

]]> <![CDATA[ACP: Arrival of the End [Angel]]]> Please welcome Ben to the growing list of wonderful Angel Completion Project contributors! He has graced us with his thoughts on Jasmine's final days in Season 4's "Peace Out" [4x21]. Go read it before it gets lonely.

]]> <![CDATA[ACP: This Train is Movin' [Angel]]]> In what's been a stellar ACP review turnout lately, I'm super pleased to announce yet another new completed review. Please check out Alexandra's balanced look at "Harm's Way" [5x09]. Expect at least a few more reviews in the coming week or two!

]]> <![CDATA[ACP: MikeJer's Return [Angel]]]> Hey all. How about a weekend treat with a fresh review of Season 4's "Release" [4x14]? Hopefully my review of "Home" won't take as long to see the light of day as this one did.

]]> <![CDATA[ACP: Why THEY Fight [Angel]]]> Here we are yet again, with another glorious ACP review that I don't have to write! Cheers all around! Oh yeah and, of course, massive props to our contributor this time: the one and only Brachen Man, a forum netizen who has gathered his thoughts on Season 5's "Why We Fight" [5x13] in a quest for your reading pleasure.

]]> <![CDATA[Apocalypse, Ewww! [Angel]]]> Give a round of applause to Alex for turning in her review of "Apocalypse, Nowish" [4x07]!

Per usual, a big 'thanks' for the contribution. :D

]]> <![CDATA[Status Check [Buffy]]]> Hi everyone! I just wanted to pop on here and let you know where things are at in regard to the site. I am still currently working through the handful of Angel reviews I agreed to do -- quicker progress on this should be happening soon. After that, you will begin to see (hopefully) some more regular updates to my Buffy reviews, starting in Season 2. For those of you that may have forgotten, I'm calling this process my 'polish pass.'

So hang on just a little while longer before you start seeing some fresh updates on the site. To hold you over I highly suggest you get caught up on AMC's "Breaking Bad" -- so far it's been an excellent show.

]]> <![CDATA[ACP: Shiny Happy Review [Angel]]]> New forum member Alex has quickly turned in her thoughts on S4's "Shiny Happy People" [4x18]. Go read it, but don't look too closely or you risk becoming forever joyful.

]]> <![CDATA[ACP: MikeJer's Angel Debut [Angel]]]> Hey all! My first ACP contribution is finally in. Check out my thoughts on "Habeas Corpses" [4x08] before it gets stale. :O

Note that I will also be reviewing Season 4's "Release" and "Home" along with several Season 5 episodes. Remember that you can keep up-to-date on the status of the ACP here.

]]> <![CDATA[ACP: Iguana Returns with "Calvary" [Angel]]]> The Angel Completion Project is rolling again at a pretty good clip. Thanks to everyone for churning out these fabulous reviews! Now it's time to add a new review to the list: Iguana-on-a-stick's take on Angel Season 4's "Calvary" [4x12]! Read, think, and comment. :D

]]> <![CDATA[A Look at Season 1 [Buffy]]]> Well, I've finally lived up to my promise of several years to completely rewrite my reviews of Season 1. Take a gander at my fresh and much more comprehensive take on Buffy's flawed inaugural season.

]]> <![CDATA[The Fight of the Overlooked [Angel]]]> Please give Miscellaneopolan the floor for the "Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco" [5x06]!

Thanks for your contribution, once again! :D

]]> <![CDATA[ACP: Fray-Adjacent's Debut [Angel]]]> The ACP continues along with Fray-Adjacent's first (of hopefully several) review(s). Check out her take on "Spin The Bottle" [4x06].

Thanks, Fray!

]]> <![CDATA[ACP: Smile Time!! [Angel]]]> Hey everyone! It's sadly been a while since the last review came in, but things look to be heating up again. To start, Iguana-on-a-stick returns with his take on the popular "Smile Time" [5x14]!

Thanks yet again for another solid review, Iguana. :D

]]> <![CDATA[S1R: Sacrifice, Salvation, and Fruit Punch [Buffy]]]> The Season 1 finale "Prophecy Girl" [1x12] has been reviewed again, only this time with actual analysis! I'm not sure when it will happen, but I'll be working on updating the Season 1 Review next. After that, I'm going to start reviewing a handful of Angel episodes. After that, I'll jump right into my "polish pass" of the rest of my reviews. Huzzah!

]]> <![CDATA[S1R: Nightmares of Invisibility [Buffy]]]> Yeah, okay, that title isn't the most clever. It's late, so I hope you'll let this one slide. ;)

To make up for it, though, I've got two wonderful new re-reviews covering "Nightmares" [1x10] and "Out of Mind, Out of Sight" [1x11]. Enjoy! The Season 1 rewrites are almost complete! :D

]]> <![CDATA[S1R: The Puppet Show [Buffy]]]> My refreshed take on the entirely inconsequential "The Puppet Show" [1x09] is done and up for consumption. Not much to say about this one I'm afraid.

]]> <![CDATA[ACP: Iguanas Unleashed! [Angel]]]> Hey all! I'm very pleased to report that another ACP review is in! Check out Iguana-on-a-stick's take on S5's "Unleashed" [5x03]. In case you forgot, Iguana also reviewed "Lineage" [5x07] for the ACP.

Thanks for you contributions, Iguana!

]]> <![CDATA[S1R: The Good and the Ugly [Buffy]]]> Hey there, shiny readers! Go have a gander and my refurbished reviews of one of S1's standouts, "Angel" [1x07], and one of S1's clunkers, "I Robot, You Jane" [1x08]. Both reviews are certified fun for the whole family!

]]> <![CDATA[S1R: This Pack Aint Got No Legs [Buffy]]]> My refreshed take on "The Pack" [1x06] is live! While I fully expected to like the episode more than before, I ended up finding more (and actually thought-out) reasons I didn't care for it.

]]> <![CDATA[S1R: Responsibility and Sacrifice [Buffy]]]> The updated Season 1 reviews continue with my refreshed look at the decent "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" [1x05]. I've already got my notes written for "The Pack" as well, so expect that review to go up soon.

]]> <![CDATA[ACP Update: "The Magic Bullet" [Angel]]]> Patrick has turned in his final contribution to the ACP: a review of "The Magic Bullet" [4x19]! Thanks for the reviews, Patrick! :)

]]> <![CDATA[S1R: Updated Reviews Continue! [Buffy]]]> I've rewritten my reviews for "The Witch" [1x03] and "Teacher's Pet" [1x04]! Enjoy, or rage... it's up to you. ;)

]]> <![CDATA[ACP Gets a Little More Faith [Angel]]]> Check out Miscellaneopolan's review of "Orpheus" [4x15] as the ACP continues its slow rumble. Thanks for the contribution, Miscellaneopolan!

]]> <![CDATA[Season 1: Revisited [Buffy]]]> As promised a long, long time ago, I've finally started rewriting my Season 1 reviews! Check out my more thorough look at "Welcome to the Hellmouth" [1x01] and "The Harvest" [1x02] to kick things off.

]]> <![CDATA[More ACP Goodness is Here! [Angel]]]> Check out forum member Iguana-on-a-stick's nice take on S5's "Lineage" [5x07]!

Thanks, Iguana! :)

]]> <![CDATA[The ACP is Salvaged! [Angel]]]> Hi all! I'm pleased to report that the ACP continues to move along. Today we have another contribution from Patrick: his take on S4's "Salvage" [4x13].

Thanks again Patrick! :)

]]> <![CDATA[The ACP Kicks Off! [Angel]]]> Our first guest reviewer on the Angel Completion Project (ACP) has chimed in! Behold Patrick Pricken's review of "Supersymmetry" [4x05]. Thanks for the contribution Patrick!

]]> <![CDATA[The Fuuuuuuture! [Buffy]]]> 144 episode reviews and 7 comprehensive season reviews. I clearly don't have a life. I'm going to take a moment here to just marvel at that (both the accomplishment and the not-having-a-life thing). (beat) Okay, moving on.

Here's a list of the latest news on my site along with what's next for me:

1. First, don't forget to read my incredibly thorough Season 7 Review.
2. Over the weekend I developed a RSS feed for CriticallyTouched.com. Take a look at this forum post for information on using it.
3. When I began this site I really didn't know what I was doing or how far I really wanted to go. It was as I was reviewing S2 that I began to realize just how much I had to say about the show. In light of this, my S1 reviews are mostly terrible. Since I've already devoted an insane amount of hours to this site, I can't leave those reviews in their current state. So I will very soon be doing complete rewrites of all my S1 reviews. This is the next piece of content you can expect from me.
4. After I re-review S1 I will be embarking on what I'm calling my 'polish pass.' This polishing process will mostly involve review improvements, typo fixes, and grade tweaks. The end goal here is to have a polished, tight, and complete package of a site that I can be proud to show people from episode 1 to episode 144. Obviously the further I get into the series the less polishing will be required. In light of all of this, the polish pass will be much faster than the initial reviewing was.
5. You should head over to the Angel site for some breaking news about what's next there. Ryan will not be finishing those reviews and I've enlisted the community to help me get them finished. This means that, yes, I will be reviewing ~10 S4 and S5 Angel episodes! My reviews will start popping up sometime after I finish rewriting my Buffy S1 reviews.

So I think that covers it for now. That'll keep me plenty busy for a little while. Thanks again for all the gracious e-mails, comments, and forum posts I've been getting lately! It's genuinely appreciated. Now, onward! More Buffy awaits!

]]> <![CDATA[Ryan is out. 'You' are in! [Angel]]]> If you haven't already noticed, this is mikejer posting. You'd be right to think that "this can't be good news." Sadly, Ryan will no longer be reviewing for CriticallyTouched.com. He was apologetic about not keeping his commitment to me to finish all of Angel, but his schedule has simply become too busy.

Rather than dwelling on what cannot be undone we must look forward. In light of the fact that I can't stand review sites that are incomplete, I can't just leave the site 'as is.' On the other hand, I have no desire or time myself to finish all of the remaining reviews.

Rick (the one who wrote the supplementary review of Buffy's "Lies My Parents Told Me"), however, came up with a great compromise. His idea was to ask this community for help in filling in the gaps! As of right now I am looking for members of this community who feel they can offer up individual reviews of the quality we've come to expect. Rick has already tentatively committed to reviewing a number of the remaining episodes himself. In light of his contribution, I will also be reviewing select remaining Angel episodes as well! My hope is that with the combined intelligence and tenacity of this community we can get this site completed while maintaining CriticallyTouched's standard of quality in the process.

Are you game? ... If so, click on the title of this news post, read up, and decide if you're ready to join in. :)

]]> <![CDATA[Season 7 Review [Buffy]]]> At long last my Season 7 Review is complete. I'll let the review speak for itself. Expect some news on what's next for me very soon. For now: enjoy!

]]> <![CDATA[Follow us on Twitter! [CriticallyTouched]]]> We now have a Twitter page!

You can access the Twitter page by clicking on the Twitter icon in the top-right corner of any page or by going here: http://twitter.com/CriticallyTouch.

Small status updates, information on bug fixes, and early news on new things happening with the network (like new shows being reviewed) will be posted there before anywhere else, by me.

]]> <![CDATA[Twitter Time! [Buffy]]]> Hi all, status update time. A couple things to report:

1. The Season 7 Review is partially complete and is still being working on. Admittedly it's been slow going, but progress is being made nonetheless. The primary reasons for it not being done yet? Lingering health issues resulting from a mean food poisoning episode a few months back and, well, the StarCraft 2 Beta sucking up a bunch of my free time.
2. You can now follow me (and the network) on Twitter: http://twitter.com/CriticallyTouch. Small status updates, information on bug fixes, and early news on new things happening with the network (including my site) will be posted there, by me.

I'm really looking forward to starting my 'polish pass' over the whole series again (and re-reviewing S1) as soon as I get that Season 7 Review wrapped up. Sorry it's taking so long, but it'll be worth it in the end. :)

Also, thanks to all the new readers who have sent me e-mails, joined the forum, and started commenting on various reviews. Huzzah for Netflix Watch Instantly! It's lovely to see fresh faces in this wonderful community. Welcome!

]]> <![CDATA[mikejer's ghost [Buffy]]]> Hi all! I know it's been a while since I've said anything, but the holidays and personal stuff have kept me plenty busy as of late. With that said, I'm looking to spin up my writing wheels and get going on that Season 7 Review I know you're all anxiously biting your nails for. So please stop biting your nails -- it's just not becoming.

It'll still likely take me a little while to put the review together though, so don't get too excited quite yet. It'll be done at precisely the moment it is done. Comforting, isn't it?

Thanks for your patience! Please know that I still check for and read new comments daily and frequent the forums even if I don't post much.

]]> <![CDATA[Not Dead Yet [Angel]]]> Just dropping in to say hey! and I'm still alive and reviewing. Just, you know, not this moment. Or day. Exams are what they are, but I'm still around. Watching.

]]> <![CDATA[4 Years Later... [Buffy]]]> Can you believe it's been four whole years since I posted my very first reviews? Can you believe how much better not only this uniquely brilliant television show got over its seven seasons, but also how much better my reviews of it got? I'd like to take a moment here to just marvel at how much this show and this site have challenged me: my beliefs, my intellect, my writing skills, my web development skills, and my communication skills. I set out four years ago to unleash my unfiltered enthusiasm and amazement for this modern classic upon the world. Back then I never imagined what the site would end up becoming. Well, you can now finally read the culmination of this journey in my review of the final episode, "Chosen" [7x22].

So, after you consume that review faster than I can write another word, you'll probably be wondering what's next for this site, and for me. Well, for starters, don't forget that I still have the comprehensive Season 7 Review left to post. This review will be fantastic and will have my complete thoughts on the entirety of S7 and the series as a whole. So definitely don't miss out on that. Although it may take me a month or two to put together.

Beyond that though? Well, while my focus will no longer be on this site anymore, I do plan on re-reviewing S1 and then entering what I'm calling a 'polish pass.' I intend on re-watching every episode of the series for the fun of it and to fine-tune all my previous reviews and scores one last time. After this I will put the site to rest, aside from the occasional article from me or someone else. So while the bulk of my work here is done, there's still a little bit of tweaking left to do. Note that the forums will always remain up, and that I'll likely still read most of the comments posted throughout the site, and occasionally reply to some.

I'd like to thank all of you for being such fantastic and patient readers over the years. A lot of you have not only helped me in my understanding of the series, but have been a blast to have discussions with. Thanks!

Now, go enjoy my review of "Chosen" [7x22] while it's still fresh! I'll reveal more about what my new major project is a bit later. Let's just say it will be very different from this one. :)

  
]]> <![CDATA[Journey's End... Almost. [Buffy]]]> Hey all! I had plans for a big post tonight, but I ran out of time. So expect this post very, very soon, likely tomorrow night. Stay tuned!

]]> <![CDATA[The Most Overhyped Title Ever? [Buffy]]]> "End of Days" [7x21] is reviewed in all its over-baked glory! Thank God for that wheelchair fight. Only one episode left! Can you believe it? I know I can't. My review of "Chosen" [7x22] will be posted on a very special day. If you can understand what I mean by that, you'll know when it will be posted. Journey's end is upon us! Are you here with me? :)

]]> <![CDATA[Love Inspired Quips [Buffy]]]> First of all, welcome to CriticallyTouched.com!!! What do you all think of the new site? Okay, okay, for those of you still just visiting my site not a lot has changed. But be assured that a lot of code has been rewritten and is now built as a platform to support as many similar review sites as I can find people to review. Ryan's Angel site got the benefit of this change in a big way.

Going forward my goal is to bring on board new people to review other quality shows. In time, I expect to expand the CriticallyTouched.com network to include movie reviews and possibly even game reviews and book reviews. So if you're a great writer and want to tackle a project of your own, I encourage you to tell me. But before you do, be sure to visit this page for more information.

Some new features added to my site include a site search now at the top of every page, a link to our Facebook group (please join it and spread the word), some subtle graphical enhancements, and a few functionality enhancements. A lot of this code is pretty new, so if you encounter anything strange or dysfunctional, don't hesitate to let me know!

Now that we're clear on all of that, let me present you with an additional present: my review of the wonderful "Touched" [7x20]! Enjoy!

]]> <![CDATA[Bad Posture [Angel]]]> My review of "Slouching Towards Bethlehem" [4x04] is active, fresh, and tasty.

]]> <![CDATA[What? Why? How? [Buffy]]]> As promised, here's your fresh review of "Empty Places" [7x19] in all its troubled glory (the episode, not the review). ;)

]]> <![CDATA[Faith with Blades [Buffy]]]> Wow, that sure took a while! "Dirty Girls" [7x18] is finally done! Sorry for the long wait. The delay was a combination of work on the project I've been poking at behind the scenes and sheer exhaustion from reviewing. So you're all in "the know" going forward, I'll be reviewing "Empty Places" [7x19] shortly and then take a hopefully not-too-long reviewing break to wrap up and launch this new project. My review of "Touched" [7x20] will coincide with this launch. Following that moment, I intend to then review the final two episode as quickly as I can. I'll have information about my timetable for the Season 7 Review at that time. I assure everyone that some really cool stuff is just on the horizon. I just have to get off my ass and finish it!

OT: If you're having a hard time figuring out what to do while waiting for my clearly brilliant reviews, I strongly encourage you to play 2001's Silent Hill 2 (watch this opening and then this trailer) on your preferred system (Xbox/Xbox 360/PS2/PC). I recently played through it for the first time, and it has a seriously amazing story. Now go forth. Read. Play. Go.

]]> <![CDATA[A Cordial Welcome! [CriticallyTouched]]]> Welcome to the brand new review network CriticallyTouched.com! Originally hosted over at SuperJer.com, Mikelangelo "MikeJer" Marinaro moved out on his own to create, develop, administrate, and launch this review network. This site hosts a network of review/analysis sites for quality television shows and other media. Each reviewer goes through a thorough interview process in which they are screened for insight, skill, sanity, dedication, and overall intelligence. If you have any problems with the reviewer of any site or the functionality/design of the site itself, please feel free to e-mail Mike at mikejer(at)criticallytouched(dot)com. We hope you enjoy all the time, effort, sweat, and tears put into the development, design, and content of this network. Thanks, and have fun!!

One last thing! Are you interested in reviewing a show that you feel has critical depth? If so, we'd love to hear from you! Just wander over to the about page to learn about how to submit a request to get a CriticallyTouched.com site of your very own. Good luck!

]]> <![CDATA[Cloak and Surprises [Buffy]]]> So, yes, there's been no new reviews in the last month. The good news is that I've been using this time to build something new and quite wondrous. My site along with (even more so) Ryan's Angel site will be undergoing a bit of a change sometime in the next month or two -- a change that will shake the very foundation on which your expectations are built! Okay... maybe not quite that much, but there's definitely something new on the horizon that is shaping up to connect and expand our wonderful little community. As an early hint, I'll just say that SuperJer.com will soon be a thing of the past for this community. We're going to soon be moving to bigger and better heights.

In the meantime, you can expect another couple reviews hopefully sometime in the next week or two. I can promise all of you that the wait for both the new review and the upcoming launch will be worth the wait! :)

]]> <![CDATA[This Old Casino [Angel]]]> My review of "The House Always Wins" [4x03] is now available for consumption.

]]> <![CDATA[Grounded [Angel]]]> The reboot continues: read my new-new (new) review of "Ground State" [4x02]. I know you'll get along.

]]> <![CDATA[We Mean Business [Buffy]]]> I've got a special treat for all of you to start off the weekend! My review of "Lies My Parents Told Me" [7x17] is done! But that's not all! At the end of my main review text, keep reading for a special treat from long-time forum troll, err... I mean presence, and good online friend of mine, Rick. Only the final 5 episode arc is left!

]]> <![CDATA[Wheat-flakes FTW! [Buffy]]]> The final comedy-heavy Buffy episode, "Storyteller" [7x16], is all up and shiny. Please indulge me by actually reading it. :p ...Only 6 episodes remaining!

]]>