Contributor: Paul Asay

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

Rescue Me

UPDATED REVIEW: Asked if the channel ever told him to stop pushing boundaries so hard, Denis Leary said, “No, FX is absolutely the best group of people I have ever worked with. All they do is ask us to push the envelope even further.”

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10 Things I Hate About You

An ABC Family series based on the movie based (loosely) on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.

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The First

Are we there yet? Everyone who’s ever taken kids on a road trip has heard that before. Parents everywhere are familiar with the whining and crying, the queries to stop for ice cream, the pleas to get to a bathroom. And then, after what seems like hours …

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The Neighbors

Strong fences make for good neighbors, they say. But for every rule’s there’s an exception. And the exception to this one has to do with … aliens.

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Midnight, Texas

Every small town harbors its share of secrets. But Midnight has more than most.

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Psych

UPDATED REVIEW: Murder She Wrote for Gen Xers, this mystery sendup is loaded with screwball comedy, deadpan delivery and obscure ’80s references.

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The Last Man on Earth

Well, not exactly. But close enough for Fox’s comedy standards. (Which won’t necessarily be yours.)

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GCB

Is GCB trying to demean your faith? Or just the “faith” of its characters? And how much does it even matter when there are so many other reasons not to give much weight to what it thinks?

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Extant

This summer sci-fi series is a surprisingly daring show for a network that has thrived for years on crime procedurals and salacious comedies.

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24: Legacy

While the twists and turns might be different, the problematic content is much the same.

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Saving Hope

It’s a summertime medical procedural, but with half-dead spirits walking the halls. With a setup like that, you’d think Saving Hope would be at least a little different.

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11.22.63

Stephen King’s 11.22.63 would, in terms of its story and sci-fi vibe, feel right at home in 1960s. If it didn’t have all those f-words, of course.

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Phineas and Ferb

Moooommmmmm! Plugged In is publishing a review of our show! On Disney Channel, Phineas and Ferb are whiling away their summer vacation with outlandish, reality-twisting pastimes—as their sister tattles.

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Madam Secretary

While Madam Secretary has its problems, it’s better and cleaner than we’ve seen lately from any of the other Washington-based dramas.

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Bizaardvark

Nice and sweet, with a bit of bathroom humor mingling amid character lessons.

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