Matt Wild's posts

The spin-off becomes the primary: Here are seven pop-culture tie-ins that outlived their inspirations.

1. The Smiths
If the passion of a fan base was enough to get a band back together, The Smiths would’ve toured every…

Mere seconds into St. Vincent’s new, bracingly brilliant self-titled album, it becomes clear that the defining…

On Thursday, February 6, Jay Leno will take his final bow (again) as host of The Tonight Show. Few tears will be…

It’s getting cold. But we can hold out hope it won’t get as awful as in these 13 depictions of cities and towns…

Late in 2013, long-running news magazine Dateline NBC launched an online contest called “Don’t Watch Alone.” Viewers…

1. “Terminator X To The Edge Of Panic,” Public Enemy
Released in 1988, the 16 tracks from Public Enemy’s It Takes A…

1. The Lion In Winter (1968)
Christmas 1183 was a particularly disastrous one for England’s royal family. In 1968’s…

Everyone knows a little makeup can transform an actor for a role, but sometimes a movie’s cosmetic work is so good,…

1. Desiccated turkey, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
As Thanksgiving approaches, self-styled culinary…

1. Mr. Nanny 
Tuba-voiced pro wrestler Hulk Hogan was a ubiquitous media presence throughout the ’90s, trying his…

1. Jessica Lange, American Horror Story<
With the third season of American Horror Story off to a gruesome start…

1. Henry Fonda with Jane Fonda, On Golden Pond (1981)
Though father-son acting pairs seem to be the most prevalent…

Pop culture can be as forbidding as it is inviting, particularly in areas that invite geeky obsession: The more…

Welcome back to AVQ&A, where we throw out a question for discussion among the staff and readers. Consider this a…

In Hear This, A.V. Club writers sing the praises of songs they know well—some inspired by a weekly theme and some…

This week, reader Matthew Bernat asks: “Not that anyone living outside of Massachusetts’ I-495 would know, but this…

Justin Vernon’s cabin-in-the-woods origin story may have been relatively novel in its day, but the way in which he’s…