science

On Cinema

On Cinema is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand On Cinema rather than just read about it. In short: On Cinema at the Cinema (or just On Cinema) is an American comedy web series and podcast starring Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington as amateur film critics. The duo appear as fictionalized versions of themselves.

Key takeaways

On Cinema belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect On Cinema to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of On Cinema from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

On Cinema at the Cinema (or just On Cinema) is an American comedy web series and podcast starring Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington as amateur film critics. The duo appear as fictionalized versions of themselves. The show started as an independently released podcast from 2011 to 2013, before being picked up as a professionally produced web video series by Thing X in 2012, continuing after the site merged with Adult Swim's website in 2013. The show moved to HEI Network in 2021, an independent service with funding from user subscriptions and special event ticket purchases. On Cinema at the Cinema is the hub of a metafictional universe which includes the original podcast, 16 seasons of the web video series, yearly live Oscar specials, a spin-off limited series entitled "The Trial", the spin-off series Decker, a movie review app, an On Cinema Live! tour, and a film entitled Mister America. On Cinema also features guest actors, some of whom play fictionalized versions of themselves, most notably actors Joe Estevez and Mark Proksch. The show and fictional universe have a dedicated cult following of fans who play along with the storylines via social media, often by taking sides in Tim and Gregg's frequent arguments by self-identifying as "Timheads" or "Greggheads". Heidecker and Turkington also started Decker-Con, where they appear in character and interact with fans.

Premise Tim and Gregg "review" films without actually providing any meaningful information or critical insight. Beginning with the video series, they each give a rating from one to five "bags of popcorn". Almost every film gets a score of "5 bags" or higher from both reviewers. Many episodes also include special segments, usually from Gregg. Episodes of On Cinema are often interrupted by petty arguments. Tim tends to derail the show with issues from his personal life, especially his problematic romantic entanglements and bizarre medical problems, much to the chagrin of Gregg, who prefers to focus on the movies. Gregg produces low-quality segments like "On Cinema On Location" which provoke anger and harsh criticism from Tim.

Major characters

Tim Heidecker Played by Tim Heidecker as a fictionalized version of himself, Tim is the creator and host of On Cinema. He appears to know very little about the films he is discussing, and in some episodes has clearly not bothered watching them, although he is a fan of Tom Cruise and Jack Reacher. Tim often uses his show to discuss his conservative views, his personal problems, and to promote his other projects, like his action series Decker, his band Dekkar, and his company HEI Inc. Tim is an aggressive and egomaniacal alcoholic; he tends to drink heavily during the Oscar specials and begin ranting and berating his costars. He has an estranged teenage son from his first marriage, which ended after he underwent brain surgery against the wishes of his wife. He then married Ayaka, a foreign exchange student, and the two had a son, Tom Cruise Jr. Heidecker. Tom Cruise Jr. died after Tim refused to have him vaccinated, and the marriage soon ended. Tim then became involved with Toni Newman, his aide during his campaign for San Bernardino district attorney. They married twice, but following an affair and a trip to rehab, a newly sober Toni divorced Tim. Later, after Toni’s son Matt was shot and killed, they reconciled and married again. While attempting to get the marriage license certified, Tim accidentally changed his name to "Newman Heidecker".

Gregg Turkington Played by Gregg Turkington as a fictionalized version of himself, Gregg acts as the cohost of On Cinema and appears in nearly every episode, although Tim almost always refers to him as a "guest". Gregg is a self-described film buff and movie expert, although his knowledge mostly consists of dull and obscure trivia. He is generally naive and ignorant about the movie industry; for example, he regularly predicted that the Hobbit movies would win Best Picture despite never being nominated, believing that the Academy has a "write-in section". Gregg is generally annoyed by Tim's distracting antics and believes that On Cinema should be devoted exclusively to "the movies". Gregg has an extensive collection of VHS cassettes located in Victorville, California, which he refers to as the Victorville Film Archive. He frequently claims that it is one of the largest film archives in North America, though its exact size is unknown and Tim has destroyed it on multiple occasions. Gregg produces many of the show's recurring segments, including "Popcorn Classics", in which he showcases a VHS tape from his collection, and "On Cinema On Location", where he visits Hollywood "landmarks" (usually minor shooting locations from forgotten movies). Gregg also plays Special Agent Jonathan Kington on Decker. Gregg has contempt for and is visually annoyed with Tim's antics, openly antagonizing Tim when speaking on a topic not related to the films they're reviewing, often Tim's right-wing conspiracy theories or hypocrisy. He returns to On Cinema despite this, hoping to keep Tim focused on the movies and to be made an official co-host of the show.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with On Cinema

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what On Cinema claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to On Cinema before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about On Cinema ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of On Cinema

In research: On Cinema appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses On Cinema in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: On Cinema is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2010s YouTube series, 2011 podcast debuts, 2012 web series debuts, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for On Cinema outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study On Cinema in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what On Cinema means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain On Cinema out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is On Cinema in simple terms?

Why does On Cinema matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study On Cinema?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on On Cinema.