TV Diary
1. My Name Is Earl
This bullshit is supposed to be the best new show of the season? I figured there'd be something more to it than a bunch of jokes about mullets and how stupid rednecks are, but that's it. It's like a modernized and more smug Green Acres. Even Joe Dirt had more to it than this bullshit. I'm ok with actual southerners like Jeff Foxworthy doing this kind of humor because it comes from a place of familiarity, and King Of The Hill has proven it can be done with real warmth and intelligence, but I kind of doubt anyone involved in this show has a legit trailer trash background, it all feels like a bunch of smarmy clowning on stereotypes. Ethan Suplee (returning to sitcoms for the first time since the eternal classic Boy Meets World) is the best thing about this show, but that's about it.
2. Saturday Night Live
Accepting the premise that it's never great but rarely as bad as people say, this season has been pretty weak so far, even since Tina Fey returned from maternity leave (although Update is still the strongest part of the show week to week). Most of the good cast members from last couple seasons are still around (did anyone of significance leave at the end of last season? If Chris Parnell's still there he's being underused), but there's a lot of room being made for the 2 or 3 new guys, none of whom have made an impression (although few do on their first season). I was looking forward to last week's episode with Dane Cook hosting, partly because I think his stand-up is hilarious, and partly because I can't remember the last time SNL was hosted by a comic who was still primarily famous for his stand-up (and not, say, movies or sitcoms). It was also the first time in forever that they let host just do a stand-up comedy bit for their monologue, maybe since the infamous Martin Lawrence incident, after which they began making every monologue a scripted skit about how the host's monologue keeps getting interrupted by cast members. And they let Dane just do this thing for like 10-15 minutes, which was pretty cool, although I'm not sure if it totally made sense out of context of his stand-up act. It was at least less awkward than the horrible way they shoehorned him in for a 2-minute bit at the VMA's this year (although, why does he have to do the Superman bit at every opportunity? It's really not one of his best). He did an ok job with the sketches, the highlight being when he screamed "IT'S LIKE I'M BEING RAPED BY A WOOKIE!"
3. House, M.D.
Or just plain House, as they seem to call it most of the time. After a few years of not really following any prime time network shows on a weekly basis, living with J.G. has really pulled me into a lot of her favorite shows, and so far this and Veronica Mars are the ones I've gotten the most hooked on. House is like the constantly quipping secondary character in every other show, except he's the center of the show here and says everything possible to make himself unsympathetic, even at the end of the show when he's right and rubs it in people's faces, and yet completely likeable. Sometimes the plot contrivances are a bit much (at what point are they going to run out of rare diseases and bizarre ways they elude quick diagnosis?), but still, good show.
This bullshit is supposed to be the best new show of the season? I figured there'd be something more to it than a bunch of jokes about mullets and how stupid rednecks are, but that's it. It's like a modernized and more smug Green Acres. Even Joe Dirt had more to it than this bullshit. I'm ok with actual southerners like Jeff Foxworthy doing this kind of humor because it comes from a place of familiarity, and King Of The Hill has proven it can be done with real warmth and intelligence, but I kind of doubt anyone involved in this show has a legit trailer trash background, it all feels like a bunch of smarmy clowning on stereotypes. Ethan Suplee (returning to sitcoms for the first time since the eternal classic Boy Meets World) is the best thing about this show, but that's about it.
2. Saturday Night Live
Accepting the premise that it's never great but rarely as bad as people say, this season has been pretty weak so far, even since Tina Fey returned from maternity leave (although Update is still the strongest part of the show week to week). Most of the good cast members from last couple seasons are still around (did anyone of significance leave at the end of last season? If Chris Parnell's still there he's being underused), but there's a lot of room being made for the 2 or 3 new guys, none of whom have made an impression (although few do on their first season). I was looking forward to last week's episode with Dane Cook hosting, partly because I think his stand-up is hilarious, and partly because I can't remember the last time SNL was hosted by a comic who was still primarily famous for his stand-up (and not, say, movies or sitcoms). It was also the first time in forever that they let host just do a stand-up comedy bit for their monologue, maybe since the infamous Martin Lawrence incident, after which they began making every monologue a scripted skit about how the host's monologue keeps getting interrupted by cast members. And they let Dane just do this thing for like 10-15 minutes, which was pretty cool, although I'm not sure if it totally made sense out of context of his stand-up act. It was at least less awkward than the horrible way they shoehorned him in for a 2-minute bit at the VMA's this year (although, why does he have to do the Superman bit at every opportunity? It's really not one of his best). He did an ok job with the sketches, the highlight being when he screamed "IT'S LIKE I'M BEING RAPED BY A WOOKIE!"
3. House, M.D.
Or just plain House, as they seem to call it most of the time. After a few years of not really following any prime time network shows on a weekly basis, living with J.G. has really pulled me into a lot of her favorite shows, and so far this and Veronica Mars are the ones I've gotten the most hooked on. House is like the constantly quipping secondary character in every other show, except he's the center of the show here and says everything possible to make himself unsympathetic, even at the end of the show when he's right and rubs it in people's faces, and yet completely likeable. Sometimes the plot contrivances are a bit much (at what point are they going to run out of rare diseases and bizarre ways they elude quick diagnosis?), but still, good show.
This entry was posted
on Thursday, December 08, 2005 at 1:56 PM.
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Do like House a lot though. I'm curious about what you think of Boston Legal, if you've seen it. I think it's pretty funny, although it's gotten a bit more over-the-top this season which made the humor a little more forced. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it.