Email Author Joy Press

2004 Stories by Joy Press

• Double Dare: Looking for the Real Girl Inside a Dollhouse

  published August 31, 2004

  While searching for a copy of a book she adored as a girl, journalist Jean Nathan stumbled onto the sad, compelling life of its author, Dare... More >>

• The Teen Beat

  published August 24, 2004

  The teen drama has always faced snobbery and disdain—seen as sophomoric at best, glaringly fake and sugary at worst. This prejudice has yet... More >>

• Architect Versus Architect: The Great Manhattan Land Grab

  published August 24, 2004

  It's not often that we get to watch architects battle it out in a public grudge match. Judging by this program about the contested designs for... More >>

• Remote Patrol

  published August 24, 2004

  PILOT SEASON September 6 through 8 at 9 on Trio A few years ago, comedians Sarah Silverman and Sam Seder made a funny... More >>

• Cruelty Begins at Home

  published August 10, 2004

  At the black heart of Nighty Night, the six-episode British comedy series written by and starring Julia Davis, lurks a blonde sociopath... More >>

• Tune in to Discover the Unlikely Superstars of the New Games

  published August 10, 2004

  The networks may have commitment problems when it comes to doling out time to political conventions, but boy is NBC getting cozy with the... More >>

• Machine Age

  published August 10, 2004

  WORD WARS August 19 at 8 on Discovery Times Channel In the wake of Spellbound (the hit documentary about spelling bee... More >>

• Out of the Box

  published August 3, 2004

  It's a great time to be a couch potato—if you have cable, that is. Why pay for a movie ticket and popcorn when you can stay at home and watch... More >>

• Cling, Muse

  published July 20, 2004

  The muse gets some dirty looks nowadays. Considering that some of the most celebrated contemporary artists are female, the idea of a femme... More >>

• Cannibalism Gets Its Due in Sabina Murray's New Novel

  published July 20, 2004

  And now for a completely different gothic, courtesy of Sabina Murray, author of the fine story collection The Caprices. A Carnivore's Inquiry... More >>

• The Players

  published July 13, 2004

  We've come to expect extreme things from an HBO series: the misanthropic comedy of Curb Your Enthusiasm, the savage cruelty and... More >>

• Just Another Ordinary Day in the Life of an Icon With Killer Abs

  published July 13, 2004

  One of my guiltiest pleasures of the last year has been Newlyweds, the reality series in which pop star Jessica Simpson floats on a cloud... More >>

• Machine Age

  published July 13, 2004

  FEARLESS MUSIC Mondays at 8:30 (Manhattan) or 10:30 (outer boroughs) on Time Warner Cable channel 35 I spent much of my... More >>

• Skin Games

  published June 15, 2004

  "Tell me what you don't like about yourself." As TV catchphrases go, it's pretty creepy and pretty catchy. And it crystallizes the compelling... More >>

• Movin' on Up: Rappers Invade a Snooty Gated Community

  published June 15, 2004

  Critics originally described The Simple Life as The Beverly Hillbillies in reverse: two rich girls plunked down in rural Arkansas to... More >>

• Remote Patrol

  published June 15, 2004

  CELIBACY June 28 at 10 on HBO This documentary is shocking in its brazen determination to prove that celibacy is... More >>

• Single Half-White Female

  published June 8, 2004

  "I used to spy on white people, blend into their crowd, let them think I was one of them, and then listen as they talked in smug disdain about... More >>

• Catfight Scorecard: Humanity and Virtuosity 1, Loftiness 0

  published June 8, 2004

  Some people worship operatic divas or movie stars, but for Craig Seligman, it's the female critics that leave him weak-kneed. Two specific female... More >>

• The Parent Trap

  published June 1, 2004

  In Summerland, Aaron Spelling's latest highgloss drama, an ambitious thirtysomething fashion executive inherits three kids after the sudden... More >>

• Used Cars 'R Us: Wheeling and Dealing in the Lemon Trade

  published June 1, 2004

  The title brings to mind a horror movie, but Slasher depicts an altogether different kind of horror: the life of a freelance used-car... More >>

• Machine Age

  published June 1, 2004

  FINAL CUT: THE MAKING OF HEAVEN'S GATE AND THE UNMAKING OF A STUDIO June 13 at 8 on Trio Trio has declared June "Flops!"... More >>

• The Mercy Seat

  published May 18, 2004

  As I sit on the set of Fox's latest drama series, The Jury, a wave of inertia washes over me. Not because I'm so blasé about... More >>

• Obscure Winged Superhero Offers Legal Aid to Cartoons

  published May 18, 2004

  What happens to old, forgotten cartoon characters? If they're lucky, they get to make a cameo appearance on Harvey Birdman, a zany... More >>

• Machine Age

  published May 18, 2004

  WITHOUT PREJUDICE Sundays at 8 on BBC America This U.K. reality show asks a panel of ordinary folks to choose which... More >>

• Bling Breakfast

  published May 11, 2004

  According to UNICEF calculations, $1,000 is enough to feed 200 starving children a month. It's also just enough to stave off the hunger pangs of... More >>