Periscope Depth

the economics of the death star

If you’re wondering why content has seemed so light this week, it’s because this is the only place you’ve been looking (like a sucker). Check this out: * I tag teamed on a Think Tank with the rest of the Overthinking It crew on the economics of the Death Star blowing up a planet. This [...]

death as surprise, death as interruption

New post up on OTI, in which I rave aboutAMC’s The Killing: The Killing is a police procedural for people who know police procedurals backward and forward. In the pilot, it plays to all the tropes we expect. Nubile victims being chased through the woods by flashlight-wielding killers. Tired cops who’ve seen it all before. [...]

the economics of niche programming

New post on Overthinking It examining the difficulty – and success – that smart TV has in finding an audience. Battlestar Galactica is set in a universe that, confusingly, looks a lot like 21st century Earth, only with starships. But it’s not Earth. In fact, it’s the last survivors of a genocide, who are fleeing [...]

the oddly conservative “Modern Family”

New post on Overthinking It about how subdued Mitchell and Cameron’s relationship is on Modern Family and why, given the history of the sitcom in general and gay rights in particular, that shouldn’t shock us: Cam and Mitch are an outgrowth of that contradiction – the desire to stay relevant without rocking the boat. Of [...]

we got ‘em going down for the count

Part Two of my exploration of the ten best mash-ups on Girl Talk’s “All Day” is now up on Overthinking It. Mashing “Cecilia” with “Get Low” makes a terrifying song friendly. Suddenly, you have something everyone can enjoy. Lil Jon’s commands to “back, back, back it up” now have a spirit of fun behind them. [...]

get out the way

New article up on Overthinking It today, breaking down the ten best mashups on Girl Talk’s “All Day”. Or the first five in chronological order, anyway. It was always easy to make fun of Ol’ Dirty Bastard. He had the most comical name of any of the original Wu Tang Clan. He had the weirdest [...]

bellum omnia contra zombies

First up, I’ve got a new post on Overthinking It, interpreting the first season of The Walking Dead in light of social contract theory: Locke’s social contract, and Shane’s, hinges on reason. People emerge from the state of nature because, as rational creatures, they see a value to it. An established tradition of how to [...]

songs of innocence and experience

New post on Overthinking It about Season One of Boardwalk Empire. Some minor spoilers for the finale – and substantial spoilers for the season as a whole, of course – so read with care. By telling a story from your past, you tell the listener: I have been there. Speaking from experience gives your words [...]

american zombies: the walking dead and urban flight

New post on Overthinking It that looks at zombie movies in light of America’s mid-century flight to the suburbs. Cities, as the centers of densest population, are likely to be the greatest concentration of zombies. They’ll clog the streets with their numbers. Every person they kill will only swell their ranks. In every good zombie [...]

the best of all possible Die Hards

New post on Overthinking It today, considering what Die Hard might have looked like in an alternate universe: Die Hard was an adaptation of the Roderick Thorp novel Nothing Lasts Forever. This novel was a sequel to Thorp’s 1966 novel The Detective. The Detective, a gritty crime novel, was adapted into a 1968 movie of [...]

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  • Periscope Depth

    The website of John Perich, author of TOO CLOSE TO MISS and editor for Overthinking It. He's learning about writing, marketing, publishing and promotion, and he encourages you to learn along with him.

    perich@periscopedepth.com

  • TOO CLOSE TO MISS




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    Mara Cunningham knew that sleeping with a married man was a bad idea. But when her lover shows up in the hospital after his wife and son are murdered, the rumors about her turn dangerous. Now she's the prime suspect in a double homicide, and the real killers will stop at nothing to silence her ...

    Buy the book that readers are calling "a great, suspenseful thriller" at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online retailers.



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