Ok, I just watched an insane amount of TV in like, two days. As a result, I have a lot I want to say but the organization of my brain isn't working too well, so I'm just going to start wherever it wants and will probably end up with a super long and slightly discombobulated post. Stick with me, kids.
Mr. Sunshine
How often is it that a pilot episode surprises you by being miles better than you thought it was when you already thought it was going to be awesome? Not very. Mr. Sunshine brought it SO UTTERLY AND COMPLETELY to the table that I cannot wait for the next episode. Allison Janney is a comedy goddess and a dream come true; she should honestly share top billing on the show. Matthew Perry is a master of acerbic wit and Mr. Sunshine was tailor-made to cater to his strengths - even the theme song reminds me of him. And somebody must have known that I'd be watching to include the brilliant and fabulous Jorge Garcia cameo, even if he is only around for one episode. I would highly recommend this show to anyone who has ever enjoyed Friends, Studio 60, Allison Janney in 10 Things I Hate About You, or has ever been to San Diego. You can find plenty of links here at my new favorite TV streaming site, Project Free TV.
Archer
I was planning on writing a long Archer post the morning my computer died, but it probably boils down to "Archer is hilarious. If you like Arrested Development or South Park or Adult Swim, you will love Archer." So watch it - it's a much better way to get your Jessica Walter fix than that painful guest role she had on The Big Bang Theory this week, and sometimes Jeffrey Tambor shows up as well! You can even watch them out of order, it doesn't really matter, although starting from the beginning will give you a better idea of why they treat Pam like crap or why Cyril is such a douche. Oh, and H. Jon Benjamin gives me a susan. If you're as enchanted by his mellifluous voice as I am and want to see what he looks like in person, you can watch the episode of Parks And Recreation where Leslie fills in the pit and Andy ends up in the hospital; Benjamin is the city lawyer.
Glee
Oh, Glee. The sad truth of the matter is that Glee will never be able to recapture the pure joy that was the first season. Sure, they made some missteps, but overall the music and the teenagerness of it all carried the season through. Now they're stuck constantly trying to outdo themselves. While I was watching The Sue Sylvester Shuffle with my parents on Sunday, my mom noted, "Glee just isn't as good this year, is it?" The answer is no, it sadly isn't. That's not to say that there aren't fun part of it or that I'll stop tuning in - Britney and Sue still deliver some killer one-liners and I am definitely a little in love with both Artie and Mike Chang - but the show has lost any simplicity it once had in favor of big, overblown stunts. And the music! UGH. Last year most of the songs were in my iTunes before the show was over; this season, I'm hard-pressed to find one song an episode that I want to listen to again, most of the time. There are, of course, exceptions ("Forget You", "River Deep, Mountain High", that awesome "Thriller/Heads Will Roll" mash-up), but for the most part the songs sound far too similar to their radio originals to be anywhere near interesting. I won't even go into the vomitrociousness of unnecessary auto-tune, but will instead be an old lady and complain about the music choices. Nobody needs to hear another version of "Firework" that is arranged exactly the same, it's already all over the fucking place. And if I have to see stupid Blaine and his stupid face sing another stupid fucking song, I may just stop watching. Seriously, I hate that guy. And the ugly blonde one whose name I always forget, but who is totally going to become an ogre-face like John Mayer in a few years. Sam. Anyway, there are ways to include modern music selections in a positive way, but they don't ever involve making the song sound as close to the original as possible. The one song they did well in that respect with was "Toxic" at the beginning of the year, but then they had to go and ruin it by having creepy Mr. Schue be as creepy as possible in it and now when I see it all I can think of is him dry-humping Santana.
I do love Santana. More of her, please. Less of everything shitty.
Parks And Recreation
Seriously, just watch it. It is getting so, so good. You won't even recognize Ron Swanson. This show is getting better and better and you will want to be around to see it get even awesomer. Leslie-Ben love is blossoming! And that's all I'm going to give away.
Community
I was bummed my computer died just in time to keep me from writing about Fat Neil and the Dungeons and Dragons episode, because wow. I love this show. As demonstrated by that and this week's slightly choppy but overall awesome episode (especially the Troy and Abed parts), what this show does best is taking you from riotous comedy to serious issues/heartwarming moments in the blink of an eye. After this week left Pierce on a bench being goaded into oblivion by Tiny Andy Dick the Pill Fairy, I can already see that next week will be chock full of hilarity and life lessons and redemption. For those of you who have been complaining that Pierce has become so mean as to border on insufferable, I can already tell you that his behavior over the past few months has been for the most part, drug-fueled in order to build up to what will probably be a classic episode that may also make you cry. Just my predictions.
30 Rock
This is just to say that I never have anything to say about 30 Rock. It's a good show, I enjoy it, but ever since the third season it just hasn't been particularly inspired. I miss the episodes where I would be laughing every other second; this season is falling flat, flat, flat. It's not even Elizabeth Banks' fault; while I hate the actress, Avery is no Emily Valentine...I just don't care about her at all. So c'mon, bring it back for me, Tina. I know you can.
Fringe
Expect a longer post about Fringe soon. In the meantime, I just had to give a shout-out to Anna Torv for her exceptional ability to play two different characters who share similarities but are distinctly separate. Last night's episode especially brought it home for me; the differences between the two Olivias are played to nuanced perfection on her face - this is not wig-acting. I will reiterate: if you like sci-fi of any kind, go back to the last few episodes of the first season of Fringe and start there. The show may have taken awhile to build, but build it has and now it's a tour-de-force of acting, plot, and mystery. There is not a bad actor in the entire cast, and the show is going places I would never have thought of. Truly gripping television can be hard to find these days.
So that's it for now! I'm sure there's some stuff I've forgotten about already, but hopefully by Monday I'll be back on track and posting every few days. Like I said, more stuff on Fringe, Community, and Parks & Rec coming soon, and look out for my love letter to Louis C.K., as I finished the first season of Louie last week and haven't been able to get him out of my head. In a good way, not in a terrible Glee rendition of "Firework" way.
Happy watching!
Image via Esquire
No comments:
Post a Comment