Linda Holmes

Credit Chris Hartlove
for NPR

Linda Holmes writes and edits NPR's entertainment and pop-culture blog, Monkey See. She has several elaborate theories involving pop culture and monkeys, all of which are available on request.

Holmes began her professional life as an attorney. In time, however, her affection for writing, popular culture and the online universe eclipsed her legal ambitions. She shoved her law degree in the back of the closet, gave its living-room space to DVD sets of The Wire and never looked back.

Holmes was a writer and editor at Television Without Pity, where she recapped several hundred hours of programming — including both High School Musical movies, for which she did not receive hazard pay. Since 2003, she has been a contributor to MSNBC.com, where she has written about books, movies, television and pop-culture miscellany.

Holmes' work has also appeared on Vulture (New York magazine's entertainment blog), in TV Guide and in many, many legal documents.

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11:05am

Fri December 7, 2012
Monkey See

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Second Acts And Party People, Or Not

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  • Listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour

Our first topic on the show this week follows indirectly from a correction we received about the current status of Andrew McCarthy: we talk about second acts (they do exist in American lives, you know), from child actors who now make cool videos and write great books to the complex question of whether going from

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12:22pm

Wed December 5, 2012
Monkey See

The Spatter Pattern: Does All The Good Television Have To Be So Bloody?

Credit Ursula Coyote / AMC

[This piece contains information about the plots of lots of contemporary TV dramas, probably most notably a context-free discussion of an incident during the most recent season of Breaking Bad, as well as general comments on the plot of the film The Grey.]

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9:43am

Wed December 5, 2012
Monkey See

Jimmy Fallon And The Roots Help Restore The Charm Of Mariah Carey's Christmas Classic

Originally published on Wed December 5, 2012 12:40 pm

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4:48pm

Tue December 4, 2012

9:51am

Tue December 4, 2012
Monkey See

Sundance 2013: Who Cares About Ashton Kutcher? Bring On Jesse And Celine!

Credit Glen Wilson / Sundance Film Festival

The headline out of yesterday's announcement of the films that will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2013 had to do with jOBS (if it is up to me, I will never obey that silly typography again), the Steve Jobs biopic starring Ashton Kutcher wearing '70s facial hair.

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3:23am

Mon December 3, 2012
Monkey See

Neil deGrasse Tyson Helps His New 'Bud' Superman Get A Glimpse Of Home

Originally published on Mon December 3, 2012 8:29 am

On Monday's Morning Edition, Hayden Planetarium director and pop-culture go-to science guy Neil deGrasse Tyson tells NPR's David Greene the story of how he came to lend a hand to Superman.

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5:58am

Sun December 2, 2012
Monkey See

The High And The Low In Holiday Movies

Originally published on Sun December 2, 2012 5:59 am

My well-documented weird affection for Hallmark movies brings me — along with NPR.org movies editor Trey Graham — to Weekend Edition on Sunday to talk to NPR's Rachel Martin about the high-profile theatrical holiday film as well as the corny basic-cable incarnations that are appropriate to this season.

Trey was in charge of the high parts.

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11:17am

Fri November 30, 2012
Monkey See

Pop Culture Happy Hour: This Is Your Life, And TV Pool Knockouts

Originally published on Fri November 30, 2012 11:23 am

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  • Listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour

Fortunately, Glen is back this week after two weeks away, and if you don't check out his mother's ceramic goose dressed up for Thanksgiving, you're just not living right.

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10:58am

Thu November 29, 2012

12:56pm

Wed November 28, 2012
Monkey See

Top Ten Things I Am Not Going To Do During This 'Les Miserables' Screening

Originally published on Wed February 20, 2013 12:44 pm

Credit Universal Pictures

It's just about that time when members of the press begin to attend screenings of Les Miserables. I hereby vow to engage in none of the following conduct.

1. Throw crusts of bread at the screen and yell, "HEY, JEAN VALJEAN, ARE YOU HUNGRY?"

2. Do my imitation of Amanda Seyfried singing "There are so many questions and ah-nswers that somehow seem wrong," even though it's really funny and quite terrifying.

3. Refer to the short-haired Anne Hathaway as "Ruth Buzz-y."

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