The Unfettered Critic
EXIT TO LIVE! – by Paula & Terry Erdmann
The Unfettered Critic – March 2026
ONE OF OUR cable boxes recently stopped functioning. So the cable company promised to dispatch “Someone” to perform an “analysis.”
We thought the Someone simply would replace the box. A no-brainer, […]
SONG SUNG WRONG – by Paula & Terry Erdmann
The Unfettered Critic – February 2026
WE MIGHT HAVE suspected from the movie’s title.
It could’ve been named “Sweet Caroline,” or “Play Me,” or “Beautiful Noise,” or, for crying out loud, “The Story of My Life.” But […]
BOXES, LITTLE BOXES – by Paula & Terry Erdmann
The Unfettered Critic – December 2025 / January 2026
RECENTLY, we needed an empty box. We spotted one that looked to be the perfect size underneath a stack of other boxes in the far back corner […]
TAKING A BREAK – by Paula & Terry Erdmann
The Unfettered Critic – November 2025
DEAR PUBLISHER PARKER, Citizens of Jacksonville, and all the ships at sea,
As you know, we traditionally think of this column as a two-fisted (well, four-fisted, if you’re going to be […]
MURDER, THEY WROTE – by Paula & Terry Erdmann
The Unfettered Critic – October 2025
FROM TIME TO TIME, the entertainment industry hits upon a brilliant notion and begins to churn out product along those brilliant lines. Lots of product. Until eventually it runs out […]
EAT, DRINK, AND THE FOOD NETWORK – by Paula & Terry Erdmann
The Unfettered Critic – September 2025
THROUGH OUR amazing powers of anticipatory perception, Dear Readers, we already detect you muttering, “Hey, Critics—haven’t you talked about television food shows before?”
Well, yes. But in our defense, please note […]
RESULTS MAY VARY
The Unfettered Critic – August 2025
AS DEDICATED Entertainment Geeks, we’ve reviewed movies, music, plays, weather, books, dogs, and, of course, TV. It seems the only topic we haven’t appraised is TV commercials.
Until now.
The commercials that […]
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING IRREVERENT – by Paula & Terry Erdmann
The Unfettered Critic – July 2025
THE PANDAMMIT OF 2020 changed the world of entertainment. It was a tedious period, during which we stopped visiting Places and Events that we’d long relished: Restaurants. Movie theaters. Music […]
SHORT AND SWEET…OR NOT SO SWEET – by Paula & Terry Erdmann
The Unfettered Critic – June 2025
YOU, DEAR READER, have little reason to concern yourselves with the whims that flutter aimlessly through your Unfettered Critics’ brains at those rare moments when they’re not […]
CRAVEN…BUT COZY – by Paula & Terry Erdmann
The Unfettered Critic – May 2025
WHO DOESN’T LOVE a “cozy?”
Cozies, as mystery lovers know, involve crime-solving in a charming setting (like a historic mansion), with minimal graphic violence (so the initial […]