Boardwalk Empire: the show you're supposed to love

Boardwalk Empire is hard to want to write about. This is because it's obviously one of those lauded, "good" shows...but I am not even close to obsessing about it. The actors are great, totally solid - although in period dress Michael Pitt's resemblance to Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic grows tenfold - and the directing and set design and beautiful, but I have not found myself forming connections to any of the characters. Maybe it's just all the exposition that's necessary in the first two episodes, but I've now seen over two hours of Boardwalk Empire without feeling any emotional connection - and that just doesn't feel right.

"I'm not your dead husband, Maw Maw"

I thought I would have more to say after the second episode of Raising Hope, but I don't, really. It's a good comedy - nothing earth-shattering, but original and funny. It's created by Greg Garcia, the dude who created My Name Is Earl, and Raising Hope has a very similar quirky white trash family vibe. My Name Is Earl definitely lost steam (and charm) after the first two seasons, and I could see this show taking a similar trajectory. However, it's enjoyable, it made me laugh, and it's got Cloris Leachman being awesome and hilarious.

And that's it. That's all I've got. I've been hearing and reading a lot of stuff about how awful the new pilot season is, and while I don't completely agree (Running Wilde is steadily improving, por supuesto), for the most part, it is pretty lackluster. Raising Hope has a chance of getting good, but it's going to have to find its audience.

Image via buddytv

"I'm fine! Just staying at home...chillaxing."

Now for the dramatic equivalent of a rundown.

Fringe

If you're not watching Fringe, and you like SciFi...why are you not watching Fringe? It's really developed into a great, compelling show after the first part of the first season started off a little weak and slow. Now in its third season, Fringe has found an audience and a pacing and a story that works quite well, in addition to some truly unexpected twists and turns. I'm not going to say anything else here in fear of ruining it for you, but suffice to say it's awesome, entertaining, and sexy. You should really be watching it.

Bonus: Hot Joshua Jackson is Hot.

"Surf, sun, and..." "Sandwiches?"

Alright, bitches. I've gotten way behind and there are some shows about which I don't have much to say, so we're gonna knock a few out of the way right now.

The Big Bang Theory

You know, everyone talks about how smart this show is, but just because they make references to science and Star Trek doesn't really make it smart. In reality it's just a basic, formulaic CBS-style sitcom with jokes written to appeal to nerds. Now, that doesn't mean that I don't like the show; I do. The problem is I only really like one part of the show and that is Sheldon Cooper. He's so strange and Asbergers-y and "Bazinga" is a catch phrase that cracks me up like no other catch phrase because Jim Parsons' timing and delivery are incredible. Last week I was talking about how Geoffrey Arend's talents were being wasted on Body Of Proof; and here we've got another Garden State scene-stealer who just won an Emmy (which I actually think he deserved!) for being funny. Parsons really is great on The Big Bang Theory; I just wish that everyone else on the show was as good.

The problem is that the rest of the cast are either abhorrent, obnoxious, pathetic, or just a sad clump of stereotypes smooshed together into a person-shape. I can't stand Howard Wolowitz (See: The Emily Valentine Problem), which is sad, because I loved Simon Helberg in Studio 60 and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. So, you know, I'll watch the show but it's probably never going to be one of my favorites - the premiere was alright, but compared with all the other comedy I watched last week, it was near the bottom of the list. In fact, all you really ever need to see is right here.

PS: CBS changed their schedule and are trying to use TBBT to kill Community. This shall not stand!

"Turn off the Chumbawumba and scram, twerp!"

Dude, I love how surly and free with her body Meredith is - even when she's dancing on Kevin.

The Office is one of those shows that has consistently gotten better and better. I'm not of the mind that Jim and Pam getting together ruined anything about the show - they couldn't have gone on the way they were, and now they're like this awesome team and they are still hilarious together, just like always. Jim and Pam make the perfect foils to Mr. Dwight K. Schrute, and I love how their relationships have developed - sometimes they're friends, mostly they're adversaries, and their relationship is always dynamic and believable. And I think it's great to have pranks being pulled that wouldn't be possible in an office that isn't this office - it gives the audience a nice voyeuristic fantasy. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.

The opening of the premiere was a great chance for everyone in the office to have a moment - which is part of what makes this show great, mining the comedy potential of all these diverse characters. People are saying that The Office couldn't go on without Steve Carell, but those people obviously haven't seen the webisodes, which are great without most of the lead actors.

However, just because he's leaving doesn't mean that Steve Carell isn't still amazing at playing Michael Scott:

"Do you think they should have had open auditions for the band Hanson? What if no one named Hanson showed up? That wouldn't even make sense. Or what if they just hired the littlest kid...and a 50-year-old guy...who was a murderer.....really safe."

"I don't understand - is this you being meta?"

It is really hard for me to express how much I love Community. It's self-referential without being obnoxious or oblique, loves and celebrates the things I love, and is based in reality enough that when it gets ridiculous it simply enhances the world that's already been created. And it has Abed.

Betty White aside (I'm starting to tire of her schtick, I must admit), this was a great, classic Community episode. Everyone gets a chance to shine on this show (even Starburns), it's a true ensemble, and each character is now fleshed out enough so we get to have lots of fun with their interaction.

I'm tempted to just post a bunch of my favorite quotes, but I won't ruin it all for you. Everyone was good, but Alison Brie (Annie) was incredibly solid throughout (her reaction shots alone are just amazing), and Troy had some of the best lines. The kiss between Britta and Jeff - I actually rewound to watch it again, it was that perfect.

I'm currently waiting for the first season to arrive on dvd, so expect a more in-depth analysis of Community at a later date. But, like I've been reiterating, good comedy effortlessly combines the hilarity with heart-felt honesty. I'm not sure anything illustrates this rule better than these two lines:

Abed: "I can tell life from TV, Jeff. TV has structure; it has logic, rules...and likeable leading men. In life, we have this. We have you."

(Silence as Abed leaves the room.)

George Clooney Impersonator: "I'm on the clock for another hour if you want me to do some Batman lines."

Ahahahahahahahaha oh man that joke KILLS me. Over and over again. Just like Abed breaking my heart.

OMG, just go watch it now - and if you haven't seen first season, well...you obviously need to watch that, too:

"Dogs used to eat me but now they bring the paper in"

Images via TVSquad.com, buddytv.com, and fyeahjoelmchale.tumblr.com

"Get me mounted!"

Man, it's so nice to have Mitchell Hurwitz making stuff for my TV again.

Running Wilde was quite good. It was strong for a pilot, where the task of introducing the characters and premise can often take away from the funny. It was irreverent and topical and there is a child named Puddle, which I love. Will Arnett...how it has taken this long for him to get his own show is beyond me, but I suspect he was holding out to work with Mitchell Hurwitz. He is SO goddamn hilarious - but you all know that. And who knew that Keri Russell was funny? I like that they aren't afraid to make fun of her eco-groovy self-righteousness: "But if I were the type of person who needed to feel superior I would say, 'I feel sorry for that shallow rich guy...but good for that deep poor girl for not judging him.'"

Just some of my favorite bits:

"Attention Earth rappers - "

"Rapers. Rapers. Rapers!"

The piano that Steve is not playing.

"His breath is so milky"

"Nothing worse than a wide-awake drunk"

"Well, on the other hand, you smell pretty good...what the hell"

"I saved a horse today!...I'm going to. I know where I left it."

Ok, I'm not going to ruin it all for you. Suffice to say, if you are a fan of laughing you should definitely be watching this show.

"And for the nothing. Mostly you do it for the nothing."

"He really IS ruggedly handsome!"

The premiere of Castle was handled so well, there isn't much to bitch about. I hate it when shows lack consistency from season to season, but Castle had zero problem with that. By making Castle a constant suspect, Beckett was able to vent her frustration, but it's very, very clear that they both still have feelings for each other and that there will be consistency in handling that in the future.

Ryan and Esposito are hilarious; j'adore entertaining sidekicks.

I find it interesting that Castle and Lie To Me premiered around the same time and star very similar main characters: egomaniac single dads who happen to be quite good at solving crimes. Their methods are completely different, which keeps the shows dissimilar enough, but the comparison really applies to their home lives. Interestingly enough, the teenagers on both these shows I pretty much like. The girl on Lie To Me is a better actor, but the girl on Castle is actually funny. Anyway, I like both these shows, and I think it's interesting that they've both managed to do something so similar so well.

So yay Castle! I love how fun (and funny) this show is; the eye candy doesn't hurt either.

Images via CelebrityBug.net, tvworthwatching.com

"People thought I went on vacation but actually I spent the summer lost in the sewers."

When Glee started last night with "Jew Fro" interviewing glee club members and asking questions that the blogosphere and critics have all been asking, I was so excited. "Finally," I said to myself, "They really are going to address the criticisms and make the show stronger." And it did start out that way.

ABC Fall Lineup - *sad trombone*

Wherein I get lost without Lost.

ABC is such a hit-or-miss network. Lost, Castle, The Unusuals, and Pushing Daisies? Very yes. Anything else that ABC's done for the past 8 years? Very meh. They try so hard to be family-oriented that the comedy (and writing) suffers because it ends up being about the same shit over and over. Anyway, besides Mr. Sunshine (which doesn't premiere until later in the season) I'm not super excited for any of these shows, but I'll check them out because, well, that's what we do here.

"What lightweight outfit, pink or white, makes the front of my slacks abnormally tight?"

OMG Barney and Robin are totes gonna get married!

"It's a sundress, by the way."

How I Met Your Mother's premiere episode last night, "Big Days", was familiar and tender and hilarious and right at the highly developed level of comedy I've come to expect from the show. Remember when I was talking about Friends' ability to effortlessly combine the tears with the laughter? HIMYM does it, too, but rarely enough that when you tear up, it's about something big. Of course, Marshall and Lily are just Chandler and Monica 2.0, so...it's not too unexpected.

OMG Barney and Robin! As soon as she came down in that sundress and the way that he looked at her - I knew it was on. If I'm wrong about this it might just destroy me, but I can't be wrong. Who else would Ted be best man for? I mean, it might be his dad or something, but I'm on the Barney and Robin getting married train and I'm not getting off until somebody makes me.

Overall, I'm obviously glad to have the show back. I am not so excited for the addition of Jennifer Morrison to the cast (as The Mother, I'm assuming) because I've never seen her be funny ever, but until they find a way to make everything all about Ted again, I'm loving every minute of it.

OMG Barney and Robin! I knew Robin could never end up with someone named Don.

Image via tvserieslounge.com

FOX Fall Lineup - Getting Warmer...

Wherein we travel through the Tunnel of Love, Indubitably.

Well, after slogging through the $hit at CBS, coming around to Fox is a nice change. Fox is a network that I often forget my favorite shows are on; Fringe especially often feels a little too well-put-together for Fox. But I should give them a break, because three out of four is the best record I've seen all week.

Let's get the bad 'un out of the way.

Lone Star

What is it with all the shows about Texas this season? Texas never interested me before and it sure as hell doesn't interest me now. Con men who aren't James Ford? Pass. Jon Voight? Pass. Add in a generic and lackluster leading man and it looks like a snooze-fest. It's being billed as "one of the most provocative dramas FOX has ever had", but to me it looks less provocative and more like a lame retread of a bunch of other shit.

CBS Fall Lineup - Hulk Smash!

Wherein I bitch about competing scheduling.

Before I start, I'd like to state for the record that I'm not a fan of CBS as a network. While they produce How I Met Your Mother (premieres tonight!), their shows tend to be some of the shows I hate most (Everybody Loves Raymond; A Man, An Ugly Teenager, And A Douchnozzle, etc). Now, CBS knows how to turn out a crime procedural like nobody's business - and I will freely admit my love for OG CSI, Numb3rs, Cold Case, and Without a Trace - but they have traditionally been a more old-school, conservative network. Their fall schedule looks neither new nor especially exciting. But, you know...let's take a closer look!

$#*! My Dad Says

You know, everyone's been saying that this looks horrible, but the preview doesn't look that bad (maybe I just love Will Sasso). I think the ultimate problem this show is gonna have is that CBS cut off its balls. I never read the Twitter account, but I believe that it was full of hilarious profanity. I mean, the fact that you can't say "shit" on TV is already ridiculous; now you have a TV show that emphasizes broadcasting censorship. FAIL.

NBC Fall Lineup Smackdown!

Wherein I weep for the future of network television.

Seriously, I don't really get it. You would think that with cable networks producing some of the best TV since forever (Mad Men, Damages, Huge...and even shows that I don't watch, like Breaking Bad and Sons Of Anarchy, or haven't gotten around to watching, like Rubicon), that the networks would have to step it up. Well, it appears that some of them have and some simply haven't. NBC cancelled Law & Order, yet now we have Law & Order: LA, which appears to be like, three other crime shows rolled into one. I'm not going to review it; you know it exists and I think that's all you need to know. In fact, none of these are meant to be summaries - you can watch the preview for that - they're simply a guide to what looks good and what looks...less than good. Anyway, here's a rundown of the scripted shows that NBC has premiering this fall, ranked in order from godawful to possibly awesome.

Outsourced

Is about a guy who has to go to India to run a call center for an American novelty toy company. Do I really need to say anything else? Unfunny and culturally offensive - not to mention outdated (as call center jobs are currently returning to the US in droves)...all of these sound like great show descriptors, don't they? I refuse to post a preview.

the Friendsaissance

On this week's Pop Culture Happy Hour, Linda Holmes was talking about how she started watching Friends from the beginning again and she had forgotten how funny it was blah blah blah and now is about the time that the backlash has subsided and people can start watching Friends again. Which is great, but Bitch, Please! Some of us never stopped.

I've loved Friends ever since I started watching in about 6th grade. I own seasons 3-10 on DVD (I started at 3, eventually I'll get around to buying the first two seasons but they're not my favorites anyhow). I have watched countless reruns. And here's the thing: I never watched it for the hype, or because Jennifer Aniston was popular, or even because I love Matthew Perry (which I do). I watched it then, and continue to now, because it's fucking funny. It is! And I know people with all sorts of different tastes - yes, including many men - who love Friends, and who have continued to love Friends even when it was uncool to do so.

So, Linda Holmes, even though I like your podcast, I scoff at your johnny-come-lately-ness. Those of us who are real fans of the show never wavered, even through Joey and The Break-Up and Cougar Town. We loved Run, Fatboy, Run (directed by David Schwimmer) and gobbled down Studio 60. We are excited for Episodes and Mr. Sunshine (Allison Janney! Dillon Killington!) and everything that Lisa Kudrow does. We also watch How I Met Your Mother, which is just Friends post-2005 with the bonus of NPH.

I could post tons of clips here showing how hilarious Friends is, but I don't think I need to. You've all seen the show - and if you haven't, what is wrong with you? (asked Angry Padma-style) Yes, it's a sitcom. Yes, it's very white, for the most part. Yes, some of the lesbian jokes fall flat. But, you know, that's television. Those things could be said for almost any sitcom on today, and most of them are nowhere near as funny as Friends (get off my screen, Two Men & An Ugly Teenager). Plus, in addition to being consistently smart and funny, Friends manages to be touching and deeply emotional at times, while balancing that out with the humor. Just watch The One The Morning After from season 3, or The One With The Proposal from season 6, and tell me you're not laughing through the tears.

I mean, whatever. If you're not into by now, you may never be. But if Friends is going to become cool and awesome again, I want it on the record that, for me, it never stopped being so. All comedy can feel dated at times, but Friends has, for the most part, stayed fresh and lol-worthy - unlike, as Holmes notes, the comedy of Seinfeld, which often doesn't age as well. The Friendsaissance is upon us, so now is the perfect time get back into the show if you abandoned it to be a hipster, or if you were simply too close-minded to give it a chance before. Open your mind and let the jokes on in, and stop worrying so much about being cool.

So I've just got one clip to show you - of possibly my favorite Friends moment. Even if you've seen it before, watch it again - you'll enjoy those endorphins you get from laughing. And if you're too hard-hearted not to laugh, well...this whole argument has just been a moo point.

Friends forever! And speaking of Friends Forever, Saved By The Bell forever! My original favorite teen sitcom will definitely be addressed at some point in the future. Goddamnit, now that's stuck in my head. Might as well be in yours, too:

Enjoy your weekend, friends!

Images via HollywoodJesus.com and HollywoodDame.com

The Thing About Parenthood

I watched the premiere of Parenthood (NBC, Tuesdays @ 10pm) and was pleasantly surprised. That's pretty much what this show is: pleasant. Now, I've never seen Parenthood The Movie, so I don't have any need to to compare the two, but the show does an excellent job of showcasing a multigenerational family - better and more authentic than Modern Family, I must say. And, even though it's a drama, it's often funnier, too (Skype sex, anyone?). Just watch this clip where Julia and Joel try to explain to their borderline-genius child about the birds and the bees. That's how precocious is done, kids.

THIS is why I watch Gossip Girl

Richard Lawson on Gawker does the most brilliantly hilarious recaps ever. Read the most recent one here.

Oh, man, I am seriously still chuckling to myself.

"She wants to have doing it with Dan."

It's like a poem.

and Fall TV Premiere season is upon us...

Just a heads up: I am going to try to write posts relating to as many of the season premieres (of shows that I watch) as possible, so if you're afraid of spoilers you should wait to check back until you've gone through your DVR/Sidereel schedule/Hulu queue and gotten caught up. I am especially excited for Glee, Community, Castle, The Office (more Michael and Holly??!!), Parenthood, How I Met Your Mother, and the premieres of Boardwalk Empire and Running Wilde.

If there are any other new shows premiering that I should check out, let me know - I've seen most of the previews and it mostly looks like a whole lotta awful (fucking Outsourced, anyone?), but I'm open-minded and have learned that the networks rarely know how to effectively market a good show.

It's a little ridiculous how excited I get for TV premiere season. Hopefully you'll find it infectious. Happy watching!

Image via iwatchstuff.com

OMG, it's Gossip G-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Seriously, Gossip Girl is so boring. How is it possible that a show with so many dramatic events - Babies! Shootings! Fountain-pushings! - could be so goddamn dull?

I started watching Gossip Girl because I was home sick for a weekend and had nothing else to watch. The first season did not impress me. The second season got me hooked on Chuck Bass. And now I'm left with no other way to get my CB fix than on Gossip Girl...and now I don't even get to hear him say, "I'm Chuck Bass" anymore? Fail.

I watch Gossip Girl now because it's the beginning of premiere season and I've got my mornings free - and, you know, it's mildly entertaining. But it's seriously a terrible fucking show with terrible fucking boring characters and I really wouldn't recommend that anyone else waste their time with it. And if you're suffering from symptoms of Chuck Bass withdrawal, go watch something with Cillian Murphy or Jonathan Rhys Meyers and get your British dandy needs fulfilled elsewhere.

The Ups And Downs Of Modern Family

I just spent the last two days blazing through the first season of Modern Family. You know, this is a good opportunity for me to point out that advertising on television has gotten so ubiquitous and out-of-control that "half hour" shows are actually never more than 22 minutes long (and often closer to 20). This abbreviated format forces shows like this, and The Office, Community, et cetera lose important parts of plot lines and some of the moments that make the show what it is. It's a damn shame, especially since most people fast-forward through commercials or watch TV online these days.

Anyhow, I liked Modern Family, more than I was expecting to from the few episodes I'd seen. However, I'm still not completely sold on it, and I certainly think the Emmy should have gone to Community or Glee or The Office or 30 Rock. But first, let's talk about what I enjoyed.

Obviously, the initial appeal is the multi-generational blended family. The inclusion of a gay male couple with their adopted daughter is really a step in the right direction in terms of visibility of that sort - and the characters are multi-dimensional and do not simply fall into stereotypes (although they do sometimes, just like people in real life). The rest of the family fall pretty easily into traditional sitcom character roles - the perfectionist mom, the cantankerous-yet-endearing grandfather, the dumb and pretty teenage girl, the preternaturally romantic boy - and while it occasionally feels a little tired, the writing keeps these characters fresh. There really is something engaging about modern mixed families like this, and it can be fun to see them through their trials and tribulations.

On the surface, it's enjoyable. But watching the episodes one after another reveals pretty quickly the cracks in the show - something I've never experienced with most of the other comedies I love (see above).

They'll Psych You Out In The End

As usual, you must first watch this:

And now, once you've seen that clip, it will be impossible for you to hate on Psych in any way. That's actually Curt Smith from Tears For Fears, btw. What!

So, I'm sure that you've had moments where you'd like to watch some TV, but you really don't want to watch anything you have to think about too hard or be completely caught up on to understand or that reminds you of the day-to-day banalities of your life. If you're also looking to laugh and enjoy yourself than Psych is the perfect show.

I've been watching Psych since the beginning; I've had a huge crush on Dule Hill since early days of The West Wing and when the opportunity arose for me to see more of him, I grabbed it with gusto. And once I started watching, Psych appealed to me on oh-so-many levels. For those of you who don't know, the premise of the show is that Shawn Spencer (James Roday) was raised by his detective father (Corbin Bernson) to possess very keen, almost supernatural, powers of observation. Finding himself out of work and wanting to prove something to his father (without becoming a cop), Shawn and his BFF Burton Guster (AKA Gus, played by Dule Hill) open a fake psychic detective agency and begin working with the local police department to solve an unrealistic number of crimes and murders taking place in the greater Santa Barbara area. They work closely with surly, bumbling Detective Lassiter (AKA Lassie, played by Tim Omundson) and the sweet, sexy, tough, and logical Detective Juliet O'Hara (Maggie Lawson) and often have to call on Shawn's dad for assistance. Naturally, hilarious antics ensue.

And that's really all you need to know to watch practically any episode of Psych. You can drop in at any time and even if you don't have a relationship with the characters the show is still funny, light, and engaging. I still recommend, as I do with most shows, that you watch from the beginning, but you won't be missing much if you don't. Anyway, these are the reasons that I love Psych, in no particular order:

"Je-sus Christ."

Matt: "How did I get involuntarily deputized as a commandments enforcer?"

Danny: "By working in broadcasting."

Matt: "Nuh-uh, blasphemy isn't an FCC issue, there's no threat of fines."

Danny: "It's a community standards issue."

Matt: "But it's not my community we're talking about."

Danny: "You can't use the lord's name in vain, and that's not going to change and you know it, so move on."

Matt: "It's not my lord we're talking about either."

Danny: "We've had this conversation, and it bores me now."

Matt: "Look, it's one thing to be asked to respect someone else's religion, it's another to be asked to respect their taboos. In my religion it's disrespectful to god not to keep your head covered, but you don't see me insisting that the cast of CSI Miami wear yarmulkes."

Danny: "That'd be an unusual creative direction for CSI Miami."

Matt: "Half the shows in primetime start with two strippers getting strangled after a lap dance. And that's fine with me, but if it's also fine with Jesus than I don't see the need to tiptoe around his name."

Danny: "Matt, you'll be able to have a character tell another character to do something to himself that is anatomically impossible, you'll be able to do it at 8 o'clock on a Sunday before you'll be able to use God or Jesus as an expletive."

Matt: "I can only write Jesus or Christ when I'm referring to Jesus Christ!?"

Danny: "Yes."

Matt: "Let me tell you, if Jesus was the head of Standards and Practices he would pimp-slap the whole lot of us, and not because we used his name in....Jesus as the head of Standards and Practices!"

- Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Nevada Day, Pt. 1

by Thomas Schlamme and Aaron Sorkin

This is one of my favorite scenes from the short-lived series Studio 60 (a show about a late-night SNL-type show where all of the writing except that being performed on the fictional show was pretty awesome). The scene not only takes to task a ridiculous and discriminatory rule that I'm sure many people don't know even exists, but it does it in such a smart way that it's able to subvert the very restrictions that Studio 60 itself has to abide by. Aaron Sorkin...writing like this is the reason that The Social Network makes me sad.

What sucks is that this idea, the Jesus-as-head-of-Standards-and-Practices idea, which may have been the been the best sketch on Studio 60 (where the self-proclaimed and supposedly brilliant comedy writing was often not at all funny) got quashed and never aired (on the fictional Studio 60 - man, writing about this show is confusing). After the terrible-sounding "Crazy Christians" sketch was made such a fuss over, I wished we would have gotten a chance to see that insane mustachioed guy from Standards and Practices shitting a brick over this sketch (which is good! seriously, they do a read-through and the timing is brilliant).

Jesus! Getting back to the point...

Damn The Man - Save Huge!

So...Huge has ended. For now. And because ABC Family only ordered a measly 10 episodes, we're left in the middle of camp when all the drama and relationships are finally coming to a head! Bastards. Now we get to the problem with ABC Family: namely, conservatism.

This is not to say that conservatives hate fat people. I'm sure, no, I know many are fat themselves. It's just that the network seems far more willing to support the psuedo-propaganda and terrible acting and even worse writing of The Secret Life of the American Teenager (hint: the secret is S-E-X) than a show that has a nuanced and realistic look at the actual lives of actual fat teenagers. A show that has a character who is proud and comfortable with his fluid sexuality and gender presentation. A show that has a character whose parents pretty much represent the people in society who believe that all fat people need to be happy/successful/worthwhile is to lose weight. A show that has numerous characters who used to be fat and are still trying to learn to love themselves. A show that calls characters out for disordered eating disguised as diet tricks.

And so I'm worried. I'm worried that the execs at a company that apparently gets to determine what "family values" are are going to watch the show and say, you know, this isn't what we want our kids watching. We don't want them getting any ideas about pride and self-expression and hooking up with your camp counselor. We don't want them knowing how complicated life can actually be.

Not to mention that there is always going to be someone saying that no one wants to see fat people on TV...which is completely ridiculous, given that we live in a fat country. Face it - we are fat. We are so fat that the city I live in had to pass rules stating what kinds of snacks we can let kids eat at school. We are so fat they had to ban Fruit by the Foot and make kids start eating actual fruit. I think it's kind of ridiculous, and that there are ways to teach kids how to be healthy without forbidding certain things (because when food is forbidden it automatically becomes more desired - at least I know that's one of the things that led to my own weight issues)....just like there are ways to let teenagers know it's ok to be fat and value your own health simultaneously.

I think really I'm afraid for the future of Huge because in many ways Hollywood gives little value to originality or relatability and instead cares entirely about money (surprising, I know). When there's a show that doesn't fit in to the way they think they should be making money, they cancel it, or market it so poorly that they are able to find an excuse to cancel it (a la Arrested Development, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brian, Pushing Daisies, etc). And I love Huge so much that I am just waiting for the cancellation shoe to drop - because I know the studio execs are itching for an excuse to destroy the best thing to show up on teen-oriented television in forever. I guess it's not just about ABC Family - I simply have no trust in Hollywood in general to keep the good things on my screen.

So go send them some feedback or simply "like" Huge on Facebook. Little efforts like that can make a big difference in these digital times, when a visible and vocal audience can actually have an impact. I already lost Party Down this summer, I'm not sure I could stand it if I lost these characters too.

And for pity's sake, if you're not watching, go do it now. The most recent seven episodes are on Hulu, or you can always go find links on Sidereel and start from the beginning.

BTW, if you'd like the link for the picture up top I'll give it to you, but I got it from a CNN Health article on childhood obesity that I'd really rather not link to. So, I'm not trying to steal this image, but fuck you CNN and your fatist bullshit.

More seconds, please!