Posts Tagged ‘30 Rock’

TV Talk

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Hey Scott, theres been a lot of wrestling talk lately, but lack of love for TV. Have you had a chance to catch any of the fourth season of Dexter. It just wrapped up this past Sunday and dare I say, it was the best season thus far. John Lithgow was absolutely awesome as the guest star this season. Season Three totally sucked IMO, but Season Four totally redeemed it. Also, any House? Family Guy? American Dad? Cleveland Show? The Cleveland Show is actually a lot funnier than I expected it to be and Famly Guy started out really slow this year, but has actually had some really funny eps as of late. Carter Pewterschmidt getting hooked on the Big Bang Theory this past week was hilarious, I thought. Thoughts?

I have downloaded and not yet watched season 4 of Dexter, so please no spoilerage about it, y’all, and we’ll discuss it at a later date, I promise. 

House I daresay I’m giving up on.  The season premiere was so awesome and then it was right back to the same formula.  I’m about 5 episodes backlogged on the DVR now and it’s way down the priority list for catching up on. 

Family Guy is what it is.  I watch it because I watch it, sometimes I laugh, mostly I don’t.  House/Roadhouse, though, was fantastic.

Cleveland Show I’m giving chance after chance to see if they go somewhere with it, but it’s never more than pleasantly funny, unlike American Dad which frequently hits the heights of insanely hilarious.  Like Steve’s Vietnam recreation flashbacks and Roger tripping to Barbra Streisand’s Celine Dion concert?  AD is truly on another level. 

Big Bang Theory might be my favorite show on TV right now because I not only get all the super-geeky physics jokes, but I get all the super-super-geeky comic book jokes, and they’re obviously written by people who know and love the source material enough to treat it with respect.  When they make a Green Lantern joke and have Sheldon go off about it, they make sure that he’s equipped with all the background needed. 

Glee has basically replaced House in my heart, as Jane Lynch can now play the Jane Lynch-iest character ever and gets paid to do it.  It’s a wonderful television program with wit, heart, great songs and JOY, something lacking from all the cookie cutter procedurals and sci-fi clones. 

Other shows on my DVR for those wondering what gets recorded every week:

- Diners Drive-Ins and Dives.

- Food Detectives

- 30 Rock

- The Office (barely hanging on)

- Parks and Recreation (shooting up the list every week!)

- Scrubs (yeah yeah…)

- Better Off Ted

- Cops

- Glee

- The Vampire Diaries (It’s GOOD, OK?)

- 90210 (I’m married, what can I do?)

- Dragon’s Den (and the Americanized Shark Tank if it gets a second season)

A very special Office wedding

Saturday, October 10th, 2009

Finally watched “Niagara” tonight on the DVR, and I have to say I fear a little bit for the Office now because this would have been the perfect series finale and now I don’t think they can go up any further from here.  To be honest, as much as I love the characters, I’d be fine if they wrote Jim & Pam out and let them just live happily ever after in smirking glance land, because their story arc has reached the conclusion it needed to.  Plus it’s not like Andy and Dwight couldn’t carry this show on their own anyway.

Regardless, this was one of the most wonderful hours of television I have seen in a long time, although I haven’t seen the Youtube video in question and I really don’t want to now.  I was also distracted by Pam’s sister being the Fellowship wacko from True Blood, but that was a minor complaint.  Dwight kicking Isabelle in the face during their dance was worth the price of admission, and the whole wedding speech was the kind of wonderfully awkward trainwreck that this show has down to a science.  And of course Michael had a whoopie cushion, just in case. 

Just wow.  30 Rock has a big challenge topping this one.

Office wrapup

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

Scott,
Forget all this Scrubs malarkey, you have yet to fill the blog in on your thoughts on The Office season finale. What did you think?
I personally loved the interraction between Michael and Holly, and it shows just how good the writing (and casting) of her is, when we all know Amy Ryan can't work a full schedule with them, but they make you think it could happen, one day. They've found a perfect compromise.
I'm pretty worried they're running out of ideas for Jim and Pam, hence the assumed pregnancy, but other than that, the whole episode (and the last 10-12 episodes) have been absolutely brilliant. The Michael Scott Paper Company arc and Café Disco in partiucular were complete triumphs, I thought. Can't wait for Season 6.
Et toi?

 

The Michael Scott Paper Company was certainly the most unexpectedly brilliant revival of a series in forever, but baby storylines make me wary.  That being said, although Office has long been one of my favorite shows, 30 Rock surpassed it this season with the Generalissimo gag alone (“We will go to McDonalds and order only a senior’s coffee” had me HOWLING at random moments for days afterwards), but I’m hopeful for an Office comeback next season after a rough go of it this year. 

Parks & Rec though…I dunno.  I’ve still got something like 4 episodes on the DVR so I’m hoping it breaks out quickly and gets really funny, but truth be told I thought Kath & Kim was really hitting a stride and deserved another chance instead of this. 

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Argh, more Scrubs

Friday, May 15th, 2009

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3id8b91cde574aee6579e23949fd192e9c?imw=Y

Yeah, it’s probably coming back.  I think if they changed the name to “Interns” and altered the premise, it might be OK, but the original show went out on such a great note that it’s just tempting fate to continue on now. 

That being said, I’ve also heard that they want to keep Scrubs so they can renew the awesome Better Off Ted and pair them up again, so if so then I’d endure Crappy Zombie Scrubs in order to keep BOT on the air for another season.  After only 6 episodes that show has NAILED IT and regularly challenges 30 Rock for the funniest show on TV, I think.

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Thursday TV

Saturday, February 7th, 2009

Throw out everything on TV tonight, because the Generalissimo strapping dynamite to a kid's head and then lighting the fuse was the funniest joke in the history of comedy.  30 Rock is on a crazy wavelength all it's own this season and it's become my must-see show for the night.

TV wrapup

Friday, December 5th, 2008

For those who have been e-mailing me looking for the TV thoughts this week, look no further...

- Heroes!  As great as the first season was and for as much as I was willing to forgive it this season thanks to the awesome opener, I'm getting on the verge of giving up on it, and that would be a shame because it's always had such potential.  But the storylines feel pointless, peoples' motivations shift back and forth from week to week, they introduce interesting characters and then kill them off to focus more on CLAIRE again...it's pretty frustrating, actually.  Hopefully Bryan Fuller rejoining can inject some new life into the next story arc because Peter running around Haiti with no powers and Hiro as a 10 year old just aren't going it for me, and this season in general is going nowhere.  And for a show that was supposed to eschew the "cape and tights" attitude of comic books, they're sure hung up on who has what powers and why.  I'd really rather just have a good story rather than spend weeks on silly pseudo-science explained by a human spider.  Pushing Daisies is a show that does (well, did) that really well, as there's never any need for an explanation as to WHY Ned can bring the dead back or how, he just does.

- House!  As much as it pains me to say, Thirteen was not horrible in this one.  And the ending, with Tank Girl choosing to be skinny and sick rather than fat and happy, was a nice (although quite sad) touch when normally the POTW chooses the easy solution to their problem and leaves cured.  Plus Kuttner & Taub & internet scams = COMEDY GOLD.  I'll reserve judgment on Cuddy + House until we see where it goes, although really they deserve each other.  Nice to see this show getting back on track after the endless angst of Wilson early on.  I miss Private (Investigator) Dancer, though!  Give the man a spin-off already! 

- Haven't watched this week's Pushing Daisies yet, although my will to continue on is being sapped rapidly by the cancellation.  I hope they at least get a proper finale.  Maybe Ned can join Heroes as Pieman?  God knows they bring everyone back from the dead on a weekly basis anyway.  At least they'd have an explanation for it.  

- I keep waiting for Kath & Kim to get funny or John Michael Higgins to have something funny to do...but it just never happens. 

- Very, very close race in the comedy battle between The Office and 30 Rock this week, but I have to give it to Tina Fey's crew for not taking the easy "sitcom wedding" route like the Office did, and instead going for tougher comedy with Liz Lemon discovering that people actually feared and hated her in high school.  The layers of her pathetic life just keep getting weirder and funnier as Tina Fey lets it all hang out on national TV ("He was the first gay guy I kissed!") and the B-story with Kenneth v. Tracy was great as well.  Extra points to the Office for actually remembering they didn't get new chairs the last time Michael tried to buy them and for Andy stepping in horse manure...in the kitchen.  Really it's like choosing between your two favorite children -- a winning proposition either way!

Office v. 30 Rock

Friday, November 21st, 2008

Man, the one hour on Thursday nights is turning into a heavyweight comedy battle for the ages.  I think the great thing is that these shows really are the yin and yang to each other -- Office overdevelops the characters sometimes to the point of hurting the comedy, whereas 30 Rock always goes for the joke sometimes to the point of making you not care about the people.  So even if Office isn't at its funniest one week, you know you're still going to get a heartbreaking scene like Michael's breakup with Holly or the reunion of PB&J to make up for it.  I think I like that dynamic better because if 30 Rock has an off-week it's just a bad sitcom, but the first episodes this season have been gold so we haven't gotten there yet this year.  As for last night, Office wins by virtue of Ryan's departure ("I'm going to Thailand with friends from high school.  A high school.  So let's have sex one last time and if you had some extra cash that'd be amazing.") and Michael buying a Caprezzi salad for $500 instead of weed.  30 Rock hovers closely behind, however, with the Tracy Jordan Sex Doll and the continual insights into Liz Lemon's psyche and how much she hates having sex.  But really, in the end if I miss 30 Rock I can always check the DVR later, whereas Office makes me feel like part of a family, so it's still my favorite on the night.

Brinner Party!

Thursday, April 10th, 2008

OH man, after the months-long wait filled with reality TV and reruns, the Office is finally back and more squirm-inducing than ever.  So many great lines packed into thirty minutes of sheer uncomfortableness for all, and that's how it should be.  Michael's "plasma" TV, Jim trying to ditch Pam, Dwight's surprise appearance ("Awesome."), all the little looks at the camera from Jim, Michael's reflex "THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!"....take a deep breath and thank the TV gods for the writer's strike being over. 

Scrubs was also OK, but clearly wins joke of the night for Intern Space Invaders and was able to coast on that for 30 minutes no matter what followed.  But what's the big deal about brinner?  That's Jodi's favorite thing for dinner so we have it all the time.  I pity those who have to live without hash browns and eggs for dinner. 

Didn't watch Earl or 30 Rock, sorry. 

Hey, it’s the Emmies

Monday, September 17th, 2007

So given a choice of paying $35 for Unforgiven or being bored by the Emmys for free, I went with the frugal choice.  And it was boring, as promised.  The Daily Show reunion bit was great, I'm glad 30 Rock won Best Comedy, and the rest was shows I don't watch so I don't care.  Seacrest OUT as host next year, hopefully.  And what does Hugh Laurie have to do to win an Emmy? 

Nice to see Batista finally won after like 18 title shots.  He's like the Hugh Laurie of the WWE, without the British accent.

SKTV: Thursday (and House)

Friday, March 9th, 2007

 

Well, I knew that House had an angle going with the whole "cancer" thing, but I just couldn't figure out what it was, which made that aspect of the show almost as entertaining to play along with at home as the Patient was. House's disciples were all adorable ("Were you two showering together?" "No!") and Wilson's point about faking cancer and then pushing away the people who care about him was a really good one. House really is too much of a lowlife to deserve a friend like Wilson. But we love him anyway.

I thought Dave Matthews was tremendous as the savant piano player, and the "I Don't Like Mondays" bit was really charming as well. The great lines came fast and furious, with Cuddy's "Call the Make-A-Wish Foundation", House's "If you want a sperm sample, come back without the needle" and Chase's incredibly awkward "I'm going to hug you now" in the most scared voice possible.

Possibly my favorite episode of the season thus far. If not, then it's way up there.

And oh man, do Thursdays ever rule now.

Rumors are swirling about the fate of Zach Braff next season, as it's now being reported that he's being offered a pretty gigantic amount of money to do another season of Scrubs instead of his mopey indy movies (hey, Zach, BE FUNNY!), and hopefully if he comes back for another go the show will go through a revival, because this season hasn't been very good. Last week's clip show was pretty brutal, and Dr. Cox was suddenly bald and now he's not and I'm confused. At least the Private Dancer saga wrapped up this week, and there were some great flashbacks (Haven't we all gotten into a water balloon fight with a hot girl who just wanted to get naked and warm up under the covers?). The Janitor's crazy talking goldfish was suitably weird, and really there wasn't enough Ted for my liking. I think the problem with the show is the same one that plagues many others -- it started out as us associating with the loser, newbie intern JD who knew nothing and was at the bottom of the totem pole. Now he's an attending doctor, pretty much knows everything and he's got a half-acre. Really the show needs to find someone else to narrate and focus on and maybe start again from the beginning like that. And then Zach can go make movies where he acts all melancholy about his life while indy bands play on the soundtrack. I still love the show, but it needs a kick in the ass really, really badly.

However, a show that has seemingly been kicked for the better is 30 Rock, which is rapidly ascending up my hard-to-crack list of shows I will now make time to watch instead of switching over to WWE 24/7 by default. What was originally looking like another lame behind-the-scenes-at-SNL contender has turned into a really funny show with some legitimate laugh-out-loud moments, like Tracy converting to Irish Catholic because they'll forgive ANYTHING, or Liz doing the most cliche performance evaluation ever before awkwardly firing everyone in the Accounting department. They WORK for the laughs instead of going for the cheap sitcom punchline, and I respect that.

Finally, I know this is old news to those in the US, but we're finally getting The Sarah Silverman Program up here on our version of the Comedy Network, and it's like they rounded up all the former Mr. Show actors and had them do a sitcom. It's BRILLIANT, because Silverman is such a shallow and heartless bitch, and that's why she's so darn lovable. Tonight's episode, where she takes in a homeless guy but denies him food "because then he'd just think it was something he didn't have to earn," was amazingly great, filled with quotable moments like "Sssh! It's not a duet..." and her ongoing argument with the ghost of Fred's queefing mother ("Do you want to end up like me?" "No, because you're totally annoying"). I can see why it's such a hit on Comedy Central, because it's gloriously self-centered and obnoxious in a way that no sitcom has dared to be since, dare I say it, Seinfeld. Well, they're both Jewish, at least. Time will tell with Sarah Silverman, but having 90% of the Mr. Show troupe is a good way to start. And is Brian Posehn really gay?