Top Pop Culture Fan Sites: Intelligent Discussion of Movies and TV

Pop culture websites are a small but satisfying part of my internet diet. I need something to read about after I get the news on wrestling, sports and the rest of the world. Here are some of my favorites:
FAMETRACKER

This website is totally devoted to fame. You won't find movie reviews or TV listings here. If someone is plastered all over the tabloids, he or she will be found on Fametracker. My favorite feature is the Galaxy of Fame, featuring made-up quotes by nine celebrities. The fame-seekers are arranged as the nine planets, from the hottest (Mercury) to the coldest (ex-planet Pluto). Harrison Ford is always there. He never talks, but he is pictured as The Sun. Madonna often appears in the Galaxy, begging for our attention to her latest controversial actions.

Fametracker also does a Fame Audit of stars who are seemingly everywhere, analyzing their pros and cons. The Fame Audit concludes with an assessment of the star's "current" and "deserved" levels of fame. For example, Gwen Stefani's Fame Audit says she is currently as famous as Christina Aguilera, but she only deserves to be as famous as Natasha Bedingfield.

Other regular features include Hey! It's That Guy! (profiles of character actors); 2 Stars, 1 Slot (comparisons of similar stars) and Celebrity vs. Thing (which is just what it sounds like).

Fametracker could be even better, if the webmasters would bring back the forums and take fewer vacations.

EW.COM (ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY)

The entertainment magazine improved its website with the addition of the "Glutton" column by Dalton Ross. His writing is one of the highlights of the print magazine.

I enjoy the "TV Watch" recaps of the previous night's episodes of several big shows, such as Survivor and Desperate Housewives. It is a great way to catch up on a missed episode - or simply to get another set of eyes to make sure you didn't miss something important.

EW.com is also becoming more interactive. The writers did a feature revealing their crushes on TV characters, and they invited the readers to confess to their own. This resulted in two fun articles that had every reader nodding in agreement on at least one crush.

REALITY BLURRED

This website collecting news from a variety of sources to deliver a daily blast of reality news. I went there today and found out the twist on the upcoming Apprentice season and real-life political coup in Fiji, where Survivor is filming.

Reality Blurred does a good job of listing all of the shows (even the small cable offerings) in an upcoming season, including channels, time slots and premiere dates.

If you're into American Idol, the site will keep you informed about the singers' tours and album releases. I'm not into the fashion shows, but if you like Project Runway or America's Next Top Model, this is the place to go for news and interviews.

THE FUTON CRITIC

This is an enormous database for information on prime-time TV shows. On any given night, you can find out everything that's on, including the name and number of each episode. If you're a TV insider (which I'm not), you will appreciate the site's coverage of TV series that are in development. You can also get reviews on current shows and updates on which shows are coming out on DVD.

TELEVISION WITHOUT PITY

Some of the funniest writing on the web is at this site, which recaps a selection of TV shows. Every fall, TWoP chooses nine or ten new shows to follow. Sometimes they get canceled immediately, but this year they have done well by choosing shows like Ugly Betty, Heroes and Jericho.

I prefer their coverage of reality shows to their work on scripted shows, because the writers' caustic comments have more bite when they are directed at real people. TWoP also has an outstanding forum section, where you can find discussion on all sorts of shows, not just the ones that TWoP recaps.

JUMP THE SHARK

This site tracks the moment when television shows start to go downhill. It is named for the episode of Happy Days where Fonzie jumps his motorcycle over a shark tank. The site contains a huge A-to-Z list of shows, featuring the fans votes and comments. It's a great place to reminisce about episodes of shows past.

You can also see the shows grouped in categories like Graduation (90210), I Do (Mork and Mindy), Puberty (The Wonder Years), They Did It (Friends, Dawson's Creek and Moonlighting) and New Kid In Town (The Brady Bunch).

A few shows have made the Hall of Fame as having Never Jumped, since more fans voted for Never Jumped than any other moment. This elite list includes The Simpsons, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Odd Couple, Barney Miller and WKRP in Cincinnati.