Son...people can SEE you!

I realized this morning that, after my last post, some of you may have worried that my subsequent absence from the blogosphere may have meant that I may have actually died from my massive headache. Never fear, dear readers...still alive and well, watching entirely too much television, and back ready to bend your ear for a while.

First things first...I do think I want to do a more long-form writeup of Justified episodes. I just need to figure out a schedule, and see what (if any) online resources there are for transcripts, which is what I used to do my old LOST recaps.

As for this week's episode, I thought it was good but not great. I sincerely hope that there is more Carla Gugino in the future, as she was obviously perfect in her old "Karen Sisco" role. In fact, that was probably my only issue with this episode...not enough of Raylan and Karen (although they never actually CALLED her Karen).

But, honestly, the rest of the episode was good enough that I can understand why something had to get the shaft. Some of the things I loved:

 - Art being a bada**, and possibly letting us in on why he has such a complicated relationship with Raylan. On one hand, Raylan has to be an absolute nightmare as an employee, and Art has made no bones about how fed up he is with constantly having to clean up Raylan's mess. On the other hand, Art probably sees a younger version of himself in Raylan, which is why he continues to clean up the mess no matter how fed up he gets.

 - Everything about the Boyd/Dicky scenes. Obviously, Walton Goggins is phenomenal as Boyd, but I think Jeremy Davies is a little underrated by people who talk about the acting on this show. There are so many "versions" of Dicky (each one as true and believable as another), and we got a good example of that here...look at the difference between how Dicky is acting when he thinks he's talking to a guard, vs. when he realizes that it is actually Boyd coming to visit. There is a version of Dicky that he projects when he thinks he has the upper hand, and another very different one when he knows he is in a position of weakness...both versions are at the same time very real, but also very much an affectation. I don't think he is ever as strong as he likes to pretend he is sometimes, but you better not underestimate him and think he's as weak as he projects at times either. Just great, great stuff from both guys.

 - Always fun to see Band of Brothers alumni pop up on other shows, and this is not the first time we've seen one here.

 - We didn't get any more of Neal McDonough's character (currently only known as "The Carpetbagger"), but we were introduced to another of this seasons Big Bads. Mykel T. Williamson was terrifying as Limehouse. And also a big fan of Fight Club, which automatically makes it hard for me to root against him.

It's also really disconcerting to see Bubba be such a psychopath. Forrest would be SO disappointed.

Overall, another really good episode, albeit one that I still feel like is doing a lot of foundation work. We haven't even really gotten into what the "Big" story is going to be this season, but that's not unusual for this show...they like to establish the world and its players early on, and then start moving the pieces around.

 - I also watched the pilot of Touch, the new Tim Kring joint that stars Kiefer Sutherland. I thought it was a really good pilot...cool concepts, Kiefer is really good, etc. I'm going to stick around, but it's hard not to compare this project with the LAST one that Tim Kring put out, which was Heroes. This pilot reminded me so much of the Heroes pilot...the global scope, the "everybody is connected" themes, even the overly pretentious voiceovers and long subtitled scenes. I loved the Heroes pilot and most of the first season, but then that show went off the rails in a HUGE way as it collapsed under the weight of its own mythology. This is obviously a different show...I'm hoping that Kring learned the right lessons from Heroes and fixes some of the issues here.

I don't think the show comes back until sometime in March, so you have plenty of time to catch the pilot between now and then...I'll be watching with cautious optimism when it makes its return.

 - Last night's Parks and Recreation was tremendous, and I would actually suggest that this could be an "Emmy submission" episode...there was so much good stuff for almost every character:

Ron - FANTASTIC Ron episode...from the snack bar in the bowling alley being his "favorite restaurant" to his horror at Tom's bowling mechanics ("Son...people can SEE you!"), to his subsequent anonymous testing of Tom's "technique" ("I was never here..").

Tom - Another great Tom list, with all of his possible bowling nicknames (forgot that in the Ron section earlier...he went with BOWLER, GIRL, and TOM). And his whining about his "fingy" was Tom at his pathetic best. All that was missing from his storyline was Jean-Ralphio.

Jerry - "Well, I don't really think you need MY social security number...but I guess it wouldn't hurt to give it out. It's 2-1-0.."

Andy - Every single thing Chris Pratt says and does cracks me up. "Why are we laughing?" "Champion really doesn't like awkward situations..."

April - I really think Aubrey Plaza was the MVP of this episode. Her annoyance with Chris leading to her wanting to win the contest in order to make his happiness "go away", that tremendous scene of her affecting different accents and personas in order to wring donations out of people, and of course her heart growing three sizes after she realizes Chris is heartbroken (and it may be her fault: "I might be a wizard"). April showing actual human feelings always gets me.

Obviously, that list could keep going...the only problem I had with this episode was that it wasn't a great one for Leslie. I thought her reaction to that one guy in the focus group saying he couldn't see himself going bowling with her was too over the top, even for her. But A) the show acknowledged it (through Ben's reactions), and B) she got to redeem herself at the end with her refusal to apologize for the fact that her boyfriend stood up for her to this repulsive jerk, and in fact she found it pretty hot.

So, yeah...this is still the best comedy on TV.

 - Archer. Well...as usual, there are a lot of jokes that I can't re-create here, either in order to keep the blog family friendly or because they don't translate as well in writing. But even though Parks and Rec is the best comedy on TV, I didn't laugh harder at anything last night than I did at "Did you hear we met a TIGER? But...then, he was....murdered", with the possibility of "I'm gonna die in a toilet stall! Just like the gypsy said!". Or Ray Gillette as a Decepticon.

TOKEN SPORTS CONTENT:
As usual, Blutarsky says what I want to say, just much better...great post from him today on the dangers of a college football playoff, specifically my biggest problem with a tournament-style system. And extra points for using a reference from The Wire in the title of the post.

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND:
 - Chuck has its series finale tonight. If you haven't been watching so far, I guess it's a little late to jump in now...but for those of us who have been along from the beginning, what a ride. And I'm still shocked and happy that we got five seasons of this show, and that they are being allowed to go out pretty much on their own terms. Hooray for NBC suckiness! If they actually had done a better job of developing shows over the last four years, there is no way we would have made it to this point...Chuck kept getting renewed because NBC had absolutely nothing with which to replace it.

Alan Sepinwall has been one of the biggest online Chuck supporters since season one, so of course he is going to have some excellent finale-related material. HERE is part five of his week-long interview with showrunners Josh Schwarz and Chris Fedak, and HERE is a fantastic post listing all of his favorite moments from the series.

As for me, I'm really going to miss this show...but I think I will miss Sarah most of all.

 - Also this weekend is the "beginning" of HBO's Luck. I put "beginning" in quotation marks because HBO actually ran the pilot a while back. I watched it then and thoroughly enjoyed it, even though I had to watch it in standard def vs. hi-def (the HORROR!!!).

I'm a HUGE fan of Deadwood, which is also from creator David Milch. That one was set in a "western" type setting, but it was so much more than just a "western". It was a story about community, the greater good, how the truly awful things in life can sometimes open our eyes to the beautiful things....all with some of the most beautifully profane dialogue ever written. So I'm sure this one won't be for some of you...if you're easily offended by certain words, don't bother tuning in.

But I admire Milch's vision and style, and this one has the added bonus of a visionary director (Michael Mann) and a ridiculously talented cast (Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Dennis Farina, Jason Gedric, Richard Kind, just to name a few). So I'm in, 100%.

Oh, and by the way, speaking of Deadwood...AV club has a great piece today about the first season that is co-written by a first-time viewer and a long time fan. Good stuff from them, as usual.

Have a great weekend!

EDITED TO ADD: Didn't want to make a whole post out of this, but Grantland agrees with me with regards to what Jericho is doing since his return (the part in bold is my favorite part):

The shtick was nothing short of brilliant. To play with the crowd's instincts — turning their welcome-back applause against them — was the most effective way for a star like Jericho to "turn heel" in short order. In fact, he was turning heel in perhaps the most meta way possible: Average fans were largely left perplexed by Jericho's act, but the "smart" fans on the Internet felt most strongly aggrieved. Many of them knew what Jericho was doing, yet they were still disgusted by the inanity of it. When CM Punk went off-script, those fans swooned; when Jericho deliberately undermined the whole edifice, that was a step too far. Punk assaulted the fourth wall over the summer; Jericho went out and found a fifth wall to address. Jericho and Punk are expected to clash, and when that happens "reality" may take the biggest beating.

The most obvious precedent for Jericho's audience-taunting is Andy Kaufman's "I'm from Hollywood" routine in the early 1980s, but what Jericho did in those few silent appearances actually has more in common with another Kaufman stunt: reading The Great Gatsby in its entirety to stupefied audiences. It was performance art under the guise of a blunt assault on fans' expectations, or vice versa.

So...what are some of the things that Leslie Knope is "pro"?

TOTALLY ripped this off from TV.com. Guess I'm one of those Internet pirates that the feds are aiming to take down.

Here is the text of Leslie's "positive" campaign ad from last night's ep, including the ENTIRE list of things that she is "pro" that scrolled by at breakneck speed.

Hi, I'm Leslie Knope, I'm pro parks, pro public safety, and I'm pro clean water. I'm also pro environmental regulation, and I'm very, very pro local propositions 45, 86, and 102F. But most of all, I'm pro Pawnee. Here are some other things that I'm pro:


More dog parks

Senior citizens' rights

Safe streets

Safe sidewalks

Better schools

Lower taxes

Better parks

Better business climate

Better Better Business Bureau

Cleaner streets

Improve greenways

More snow plows

Protecting Pawneeans

Improving tourism

More trash cans

Energy-efficient street lights

Westside Detoxification and Revitalization Project

Repaving Grand Avenue

More teachers

Fewer libraries

Improve intergovernmental agency communication

Clean-up Barefoot Lake

Passing Pawnee Jobs Bill P-129.4

Playgrounds in every park

Playgrounds in every schoolyard

Playgrounds in every residential block

Clean energy

One police officer for every 5 citizens

One park ranger for every 10,000 raccoons

Resodding Hilltop Cemetery

Start talking to Cuba again

Emergency Evacuation Drills

Plow for Charity

Forming an Ad Hoc Sub-Committee Oversight Committee

Challenging the norm

Pawnee Corn Subsidies

Finally Passing PR-61, formally recognizing South Korea

Official peace treaty with the Wamapoke Tribe

Four-way stops at every intersection

Unionizing ice cream trucks

Get Europe out of debt

Free trade with Illinois

Enact RRP - Raccoon Relocation Project

Pawnee Community College tuition in exchange for 4 years of public service

Doubling Pawnee Hospital's emergency room nurse staff

Legalize Korean

Lower the obesity level

Stop global terrorism

Re-open the toucan exhibit at Pawnee Zoo

Find Gabe the Toucan

More community gardens

Ordinance 11F: To Re-pave city Sidewalks

Budget Reform

Updated Technologies for Local Schools

Better retirement benefits for city employees

Edward Phillips Senior Center Remodeling

Speed bumps in front of elementary schools

Unemployment Benefits

Re-instating the Main St. Farmers Market

No turtles as pets

New uniforms for youth sports programs

Free Public Wi-Fi

Updated childcare facilities

Shutting down the Child Left Behind program

Handicap parking placards for the obese

FREE PARKING EVERYWHERE

Cleaner drinking water

Regulate heights of trampolines

Memorial for those lost in the trampoline "incident"

Control the floods

Funding for public art commission

Fencing in correctional facilities

New police patrol cars

Funding overtime hours for police

Rebuilding the PTA

Prosecuting former PTA president Linda Trifle

Profitable government organizations

Shutting down underground shooting ranges

Making sure city contracts employ local workers

Providing more economic development grants and micro-loans to small businesses

Foster partnerships with sister cities

More buses to speed up morning commutes

More streets to accommodate additional buses

Require all city employees check and respond to email

Working sewers

More parades

Grants for scientists to discover new forms of energy

Leave a lasting impression on all visitors

Challenge the norm

Finish the statue of Burt Bacharach

No more conflict diamonds

Bulletproof glass everywhere

Free cookies at every street corner

On school for every student

Require flattering mirrors in public restrooms

Develop a municipal composting operation

Enforce existing speeding and noise ordinances

Upgrade existing parks

Create an anti-graffiti, youth outreach program

Free cake when it's your birthday

Reevaluate NAFTA

Rickshaw Wednesdays

Making it illegal to refuse a hug

Make downtown more people-friendly

Sell candy in government buildings to pay down the debt

Get Pawnee a licensed pharmacy

Better screening processes at local adoption agencies

Finding homes for the abused children of Day Labor Corp.

Prop 6A: To Recognize All Five Food Groups

Replacing all glass with plastic at Pawnee Psychiatric Clinic

KNOPE 2012!!!

"Oh, yeah, laugh it up, Burt!!" "I AM!!"

Scheduling conflicts kept me from watching much on Wednesday night, but it did allow me to come up with an acceptable way to watch the American Idol audition shows...I can wait until it goes off at 10, then and follow along with Dan Feinberg's live blog, fast forwarding past the parts I don't care about. Doing that, I was able to watch the whole 2 hour show in about 20 minutes.

Have I mentioned lately how much I hate the audition episodes? Last night's episode didn't record because of too many conflicts (as you are about to see), and I certainly don't feel like I missed anything. I am out until at least Hollywood week...then we'll see if there's anybody that actually grabs my attention.

So, anyway, I had the house and TV to myself last night and ended up basically overdosing on comedies...Modern Family, Happy Endings, Parks and Rec, 30 Rock, Raising Hope, Big Bang Theory, and Archer. On one hand, that made for a VERY enjoyable three hours...on the other hand, watching them all in a block like that kind of causes it all to run together, to the point where I'm struggling to remember specifics about any of them. So let's knock them out...and for the sake of my addled brain, we'll do it in the order that I watched. Maybe that will help...

Modern Family - The "Claire is unlikeable" storyline was by far the best part of this episode, both because of the meta commentary (since Julie Bowen often gets the same type of criticism), and also because it led to the two best scenes of the episode...the mock debate where Phil and the kids "buzz" her every time she pulls one of her "unlikeable" tics or shows the "bad side" of her face (which Phil and Haley disagreed on which side that was), and then the ACTUAL debate, which was best encapsulated by the viral video that resulted from it.

But if those two scenes were Modern Family at its best (which they were), the other two were the show at, if not its worst, at least its laziest. Absolutely nothing stood out to me in either of those storylines, except how telegraphed and unfunny the jokes were.

In other words, a typical Modern Family episode for me...parts that had me pausing and rewinding so that I could catch my breath (usually involving Phil and the kids), and parts that had me having to fight the temptation to fast forward.

Happy Endings - This is one that especially suffers when I gorge like this...I vividly remember laughing at this one at least as much, if not more, as I did at my other favorites (Parks and Rec and Archer). But because the plots are so thin, usually just acting as joke delivery systems, that I sometimes have a hard time recalling all the jokes the next day. But I know that Elisha Cuthbert continues to impress (in more ways than one, right? HEY NOW!!). I don't know if it's her or the writers, but they have really nailed her character (stop it), settling on a variation of a "dumb blond" without it being too cliched. "I think my baker is ripping me off" and "Four V's? That's almost FIVE!" both had me cracking up.

And, of course, the Black Wee Man...hilarious.

Parks and Recreation - First of all, I was completely unspoiled on the appearance of Paul Rudd, and I loved his character...Bobby Newport (said in the most over the top "scary" voice you can think of).

Chris Pratt continues to bring it every week. He had three moments of physical comedy in this episode that I am cracking up right now just thinking about....the initial "sneezing his head into the wall" incident that set the whole story line up, him hitting himself in the eye with a tennis ball in the background of April's talking head, and of course, him running full speed into a parked ambulance. "Call an ambulance! A different ambulance from this one that I just ran into!"

The Andy-April storyline was definitely my favorite this week ("Brain helmet", "You DROVE us here!", "Some of that is just being a human"), but the other two were typical goodness as well. The Chris/Ron plot may have been the weakest, but it still gave us the scene where Chris is laughing at Ron's refusal of his lunch offer, immediately cutting to him laughing at the diner and Ron's confusion as to how exactly that happened. "Did he drug me?"

Best comedy on television. And yeah, I'll probably be saying that every week for a while.

30 Rock - Admittedly, I kind of zoned out on this one (hey, I do have other stuff to do, believe it or not!). But two things stood out....A) the fact that this show may be the only one on TV (besides maybe South Park) that would take a controversy like Tracy Morgan's anti-gay comments and not only ADDRESS it, but actually mimic it on the show; and B) the Idiot protest, including the Frat Boys, Parrot Heads, Anti-vaccine Activists, Guy Who Won't Shut Up About Scuba Diving, and of course...celebrity spokesperson Denise Richards. ("Yeah, I'm an idiot...surprised?" "Ehh").

Raising Hope - Not much to say about this one, either, except that this show continues to be Greg Garcia at his best. I loved the early seasons of My Name is Earl, and that one eventually ran out of steam. I expect that to happen with Raising Hope, too, but for now it is consistently funny. And this week, I laughed out loud several times, especially EVERY time Garrett Dillahunt had to crash through his red Solo cup fort in order to look up something else on the internet for Jimmy. ("Why does one word have two definitions?? JUST MAKE MORE WORDS!!!).

Big Bang Theory - Meh. It is what it is, much like any other Chuck Lorre show. I laughed a couple of times, I cringed several times (all of the scenes where Howard and Raj cracked up at the word "wood"), and I continue to think that I might rather watch a show in which the female characters were the leads and the guys were ancillary. The show is sort of close to that now at times already...and I think Amy and Bernadette steal the show many weeks the same way Sheldon did early on.

As for me, I am 100% Team Bernadette. Just the right mix of good looks and insanity.

Archer - What a fantastic return episode that was, even if it was not one of my all time favorite episodes of the show. It was just great to fall back into the tremendous comic rhythms that this show has that I don't think any other show on TV can match.

The show didn't have enough Pam and Cheryl for it to be one of the top ones for me, but pretty much everything to do with mega guest star Burt Reynolds was gold. Woodhouse constantly confusing him for Clark Gable...the amazing chase scene (including the meta commentary on the same footage being used for two separate crashes and the shoutout to stuntman extraordinaire Hal Needham (more on that in a minute))... and, especially the scene with Archer and Burt riding the elevator discussing Archer's battles with the co-op board over installing a Batpole in the garbage chute. That scene was some Tarantino level stuff.

The parts that DID include Pam and Cheryl, of course, included most of the stuff that I can't print here and keep it family friendly...but that's what I love about the show: the fact that when it wants to get raunchy it can push the envelope as much as anybody, but it's not content just being that show. It's also smart enough that there are usually 2-3 jokes every week that require me to hit up Google in order to fully appreciate them (like the Hal Needham reference).

So this show certainly isn't for all of you...if you are easily offended, STAY AWAY. But I'm certainly glad to have it back.

WHAT TO WATCH TONIGHT
Chuck is winding down its final season for sure, and Fringe may be doing the same. I didn't do writeups for Fringe and Chuck last week, although I thoroughly enjoyed both of them. I'll try to get some thoughts up over the weekend if the schedule allows.

Portlandia is another show that I would recommend and will be watching, though I'm not sure what all I'll be writing about it on the blog. It's on IFC at 10, and it is a sketch show from Fred Armisen (from SNL) and Carrie Brownstein. If you are like me and came of age in the 90's, or if you just like Fred Armisen's style of humor, I definitely suggest checking it out.

Thursday night TV report, other stuff

Last night's big winner? Parks and Rec, of course. But I'll be honest...I don't think I laughed harder at anything than I did at Amy Farrah Fowler's reaction to receiving her tiara on Big Bang Theory.



But a close second was the entrance of the Leslie Knope campaign team: GET ON YOUR FEET!



(you're not going crazy...yes, it's backwards. Copyright infringement, and all that. On second thought, who am I to say whether you're crazy...you could be. But not because that video looks backwards to you. )

Adam Scott is brilliant, and extremely underrated....his excitement over both "Low-Cal Calzone Zone" and his foray into the world of claymation, followed by his awareness that he was slowly going insane was hilarious. "That can't be all there is!"

 - Also watched last night...Wednesday's episode of Top Chef. I LOVE the Restaurant Wars episodes, and this was another fun one.

Grayson is my favorite, and I can't stand Lindsey or Sarah (The Mean Girls). I mean, Beverly is annoying, but I would have already gone Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon on those girls if I was her. I'm looking forward to the season finale, when Beverly hits Lindsey over the head with a mixing bowl and when Sarah tries to come to her rescue, Grayson steps in front of her and throws boiling water in her face, while Jim Ross screams in the background, "MY GAWD!!! THAT'S GRAYSON'S MUSIC!! WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE??"

 - As for tonight...it's the return of Fringe! And here is a great video to catch you up on what is going on in Season 4 so far...



And, apparently, we need to enjoy Fringe while we can. Kevin Reilly (Fox president) was, at best, non-committal regarding the future of the show at press tour. The show is very expensive, and loses money every single week. It's not realistic to expect the network to continue to do that. They gave us four seasons of the show, which is likely four more than they would have gotten on ANY other network.

 - I've also finished my Justified season 2 rewatch...I had forgotten just how intense those last two episodes were. Can't wait for Tuesday...I'll likely talk more about it then.

 - More good news for the Dawgs today...another big running back commitment from Todd Gurley (let's see how fast Crowell grows up with both Gurley and Marshall pushing him), and then the announcement that Orson Charles is in fact the only junior that is jumping to the NFL. It's gonna be a LONG offseason...

My top 20 (plus) shows of 2011

Hey, look! It's a new blog post!

Just got in the mood to write again, so what better in the last week of the year than go the lazy cliched route and do a "Best of" list? So here are my Top 20 shows of 2011!

(These are my top scripted shows...none of my favorite reality shows belong in the top 20 as "best", but they are some of my favorites, so my top 5 reality shows: 5) Work of Art; 4) Hoarders; 3) Top Chef; 2) Deadliest Catch; 1) So You Think You Can Dance)

JUST MISSED THE CUT: Raising Hope, The Office, Up All Night, True Blood, Modern Family, Downton Abbey, The Good Wife

20. Suburgatory – Was not expecting to like this one, but it’s one of my favorite new shows of the season. Creepy chemistry aside, the two leads are very enjoyable, although the fact that Jane Levy was supposed to be 15 for the first part of the season caused some weird dissonance. I HAVE a 15 year old daughter…they don’t look or act like that.

19. New Girl – Look, this all comes down to whether you find Zooey Deschanel annoying or not. I don’t, and Schwarz cracks me up on a pretty consistent basis. The show is still trying to find its footing in many ways, but when they let Jess just be clueless rather than infantile, it’s one of my favorite shows.

18. Psych – Comfort food. Consistently funny, and the many pop culture references are right in my wheel house, since I am roughly the same age as the writers and stars.

17. Louie – Louis C.K. is a genius, and this show is 100% his vision, so of course it’s good. Personally, I found it fascinating and certainly I admired his “no rules” form of creating television, but I found it hard to really ENGAGE in the material, which is a big thing for me.

16. Happy Endings – Just started watching this in the fall, or it probably would have been higher. This is just a really funny show with really funny people that I like to hang out with for 25 minutes every week. Elisha Cuthbert is surprisingly strong, and the rest of the cast is filled out with people who simply know how to be funny. Did I mention it’s funny?

15. Chuck – One of my most personally beloved shows. There have been some serious inconsistencies in the quality from week to week, but when this show is on its game it still hits every one of my pleasure buttons. There are only a few episodes left before it ends its (amazingly) FIFTH and final season, and I’m starting to miss it already.

14. Sons of Anarchy – Would have certainly been higher on the list if Kurt Sutter had not completely wimped out and blown the ending. (SPOILERS AHO…SKIP TO THE NEXT NUMBER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE SPOILED ON THE CRAPPY SONS OF ANARCHY SEASON FINALE….). There is NO reason, plot-wise, for Clay to still be alive. None. He killed John Teller, a founding member and Jax’s father. He killed Opie’s wife and father (another founding member of the club). He tried to have Jax’s old lady killed, and possibly derailed her surgical career in the process. He roped the club into this arrangement with the drug cartel that has produced multiple deaths and tons of problems for the club. AND EVERYBODY KNOWS ABOUT IT. In this universe that Sutter has created, there is NO way for Clay to survive. And yet…next season, Clay will probably be sitting at that table, because Sutter chickened out and couldn’t kill off one of the stars of the show. Booooo.

I actually really liked the season up to that point…definitely would have been in my top 10. But between the botched Clay storyline, the ridiculous deus ex machina ending to the FBI investigation, and the whole Juice fiasco…I need to stop talking about it, or I will have to drop it further and redo the list.

13. Dr. Who – Honestly, the majority of the episodes of this show are just so-so for me. But…when you have a calendar year that includes “The Doctor’s Wife”, “A Good Man Goes to War”, “The Girl Who Waited”, and “The Wedding of River Song”, well…you make the list. Plus, Amy Pond may be at the top of my Favorite Redheads on TV list, and Matt Smith is very fun to watch.

12. Walking Dead – I enjoy this show, but I also understand that it is probably never going to be “great television”. Almost* all of the characters are extremely two-dimensional, as well as stupid, and virtually every decision is based on what the plot needs them to do, rather than what actual people would do. But no show does tension like this one, it is beautifully shot, and hey…..ZOMBIES.

* - The two exceptions to the crappy characters on this show are Daryll and Shane, both of whom I found to be EXTREMELY problematic in the first season, but whom I now wish would just branch off from everybody else and start their own show.

11. Archer – Continues to probably deliver the most laughs per episode, plus they actually made a bold attempt at continuity and serialization this season. But mostly, it’s on the list because it’s the show that makes me pause and rewind most often due to laughing too much to catch all the jokes.

10. Fringe – If I made this list in June, this one may have made the top 5. The end of last season had me calling it my “new LOST”. This season, on the other hand, has not been nearly as strong, mainly due to what I think was a major misstep in last season’s finale. Won’t spoil too much, because I still want you to go back and watch this show, but the problem is that the writers have painted themselves into a corner where it seems that either the characters I’m seeing NOW aren’t really themselves, or the characters I’ve been watching for the last three seasons don’t exist anymore. Either way, it lessens my investment in the characters. But, man…I can’t leave it out of my top 10 after the utter awesomeness that was most of season 3.

9. Cougar Town – Barely remembered that this one was on in 2011, due to the ridiculousness that ABC execs are putting the show through now, but the Cul de Sac Crew are probably my favorite group on television to hang out with every week. My love for Busy Phillips has been discussed here before, and the rest of the cast play off each other perfectly. To me, they are the most “organic” cast on television, in that I feel like they talk to each other like real friends do…they rip on each other, they gang up on each other, but they have an absolute loyalty and love for each other. Love this show, and can’t wait until they come back….whenever that ends up being.

8. Boardwalk Empire – Can’t believe this show is this low on the list, but I can’t put it above any of the ones above it. I love this show, and it’s because what some may call its “weakness” (that the plot is historical in nature and therefore unchangeable in many ways) isn’t really that much of a factor for me. I will ALWAYS value characters over plot, and this show does characters better than just about anybody. Plus, they had the guts to do what almost any other show would never do (SPOILER AHO!!!) by killing off a character who was ostensibly the lead this season. Hey, Kurt Sutter…this is how you tell a story. When the story says it’s time to die, then it’s time to die, and there was no way Jimmy could walk away from the decisions he made this season. Nucky could NEVER allow him to live…it doesn’t matter that the attempt on his life was Eli’s idea…Jimmy was in charge and could have stopped it, and Nucky knows it.

Even before the gut wrenching finale, this was a really strong season of television, with typical fantastic acting performances. Jack Huston breaks my heart as Richard Harrow every week, Michael Pitt was outstanding, Gretchen Mol was convincingly creepy, Michael Stuhlbarg as Rothstein steals every scene he’s in, etc, etc. This show does fantastic “moments” and character studies, and the fact that we know basically how the story is going to end doesn’t lessen my enjoyment of it in any way.

7. Justified – I love that this show has started to get mainstream critical approval. Crackling dialogue, delivered by fantastic actors, in a setting that immediately felt lived-in and real from the moment we stepped foot in Harlan, KY. If you grew up in the South, you KNOW these people….heck, you’re probably RELATED to some of them. The cast is phenomenal, but special kudos for this season go out to the magnificent Margo Martindale, who took a character that could have been a very two-dimensional villain and made you sympathize and even ROOT for her at times. This show comes back in just a few days, and I am STOKED. Yeah, I still say STOKED, when it’s appropriate, and it certainly is in this case.

6. Game of Thrones – To say I was excited about this one is a massive understatement, as the books the show is based on is my very favorite book series of all time. The show got off to sort of a slow start, as I think the creators actually tried to stay TOO close to the source material, but about a third of the way through they hit a groove and never looked back. Gorgeously shot, with a truly epic ambience. The creators have been handed a fantastic story, one which they obviously love, and they were smart enough to mostly let that story drive the narrative on the show while only embellishing around the edges. And, honestly, the embellishments were some of my favorite scenes.

Special credit goes to the simply amazing child actors that the show chose to play the vitally important young characters. The Stark children, in particular, felt to me like they leapt directly from the pages of the books onto my television screen, and I REALLY want to adopt Maisie Williams (Arya).

My only disappointment with the show, besides the slightly pedantic opening few episodes, is how little use they made of the direwolves. I know that animals are hard to direct, but the link between the direwolves and the Starks is one of my favorite aspects of the book…but, as usual, the books are better anyway.

5. Community - This one is hard to explain to people who don’t watch the show, or who have tried it and don’t enjoy it, but I’m going to try. WARNING…rambling ahead.

There is not a show with more ambition on television, in my opinion. They aren’t just aiming to be funny (though they are hilarious), they want to be…DIFFERENT. Not content to just be another sitcom that can live in perpetuity in syndication. Not a Chuck Lorre project, in other words.

I am square in the middle of the target demographic for this show…I don’t just enjoy watching television, I love exploring what makes television what it is, like examining various tropes and clichés and figuring out why they work or don’t work. I love meta commentary. I am in my mid thirties (barely hanging on to them), so I recognize all of the pop culture beats that the show hits. It just hits so many sweet spots for me.

Plus, the entire cast is super talented, extremely funny in a very clever way. And, yes, I know the “cleverness” is what turns a lot of people off, but what can I say? I’m often guilty of assuming I’m the smartest person in the room, and that’s the vibe this show gives off when it’s at its worst…so I can sympathize.

This show has my heart. Six seasons and a movie.

4. Homeland - My very favorite new show on television this year. I’m not going to spoil anything, because it’s still new enough that you can probably find a place to watch it. I will just say that it is refreshingly bold in its narrative, in that nothing is dragged out simply because the length of the season requires it (hello, THE KILLING). There are several moments that happen a good 5-6 episodes, or even 1-2 seasons, before they would happen on a typical show, simply because…that’s when these things would happen if they were happening in real life rather than on my television screen.

And, seriously…I can not possibly over praise the work that Damian Lewis and Claire Danes do on this show. These are two actors that I am predisposed to like anyway, due to their previous work (I ♥ Angela Chase FOREVER), but wow…Lewis will find it hard to break in to the Cranston/Buscemi/Hamm/Hall/Grammar field for Best Actor (especially with Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte joining the fray soon with Luck), but if Claire Danes doesn’t get serious Emmy consideration then we need to consider shutting down the whole system.

Go watch this. I promise, you won’t be disappointed.

3. Parks and Recreation – OK, I take it back. Among comedies, Community really has more of my BRAIN…Parks and Rec has my heart. No show brings me more sheer joy than this one…even when I’m not laughing till I hurt (which happens at least once every episode), I usually have a ridiculous grin on my face the entire time. I love every single one of these characters…even Jean-Ralphio (played by Ben Schwarz, who is probably in my top three favorite podcast guests).

The show just does everything well…character, story, ambience, you name it. Fancy Party is probably my favorite comedy episode of the year, and that is not because it was the funniest…it’s because it completely captures everything that this show is about, and what it’s about is pretty near perfect.

Plus, Ron Swanson…enough said.

2. Friday Night Lights – I still can’t talk about this show without getting emotional. This final season was a perfect send-off to a truly amazing show.

Amazing on so many levels…not just the truly spectacular acting performances (too many to name), the gut wrenching writing (I’m sure I wept openly at least once at every episode), the flawless direction (the show often looks and feels like the greatest home movie ever made)…but the fact that we actually got five seasons and that the writers were able to finish their story as they wanted, when we spent the first two seasons wondering if every episode may be the last one to see the light of day due to America’s stupidity.

This show is an American treasure. It’s television as an art form.

Texas, forever.

Clear eyes, full hearts…you know the rest.

1. Breaking Bad – Speaking of television as an art form…in my mind, there is no question that what Vince Gilligan is doing with this show is truly next-level stuff. It is visually astonishing. The story SIZZLES. The characters…well, more on them in a minute. Every single episode just flies by for me…I’m truly sad when it’s over and I know I have to wait another week before I can step back in to this deeply disturbing, wondrously wrought, bleak and yet somehow hopeful universe.

As for the characters, this show has a truly unique ability to surprise me without sacrificing the characters that have been built over the life of the show. It’s easy to surprise a viewer…just write a scenario that calls for a character to do something that we would NEVER expect. LOTS of shows do that, but most of the time the reason the character surprised you is because their actions completely contradict everything we know about that character. It is much more difficult to pull off what this show does, which is to have characters do completely unexpected things that first shock me and then cause me to say, “Yeah…that is EXACTLY what that character would say/do in this moment, because it is exactly in line with what we know about him/her.” It’s art, is what it is…and this show does it better than anybody.

From a storytelling perspective, there are few better. From a character perspective, there are none more well-developed and formed. From an acting perspective, there is no better cast. From an aesthetic perspective, no show currently has a better grasp on what their visual style is and how to best use it.

For all those reasons, Breaking Bad is my Best Show of 2011.

So, fellow TV fanatics...what's your favorite? Any that I'm missing? Let's discuss!

Random thoughts - Idol, the future of television, and more

- Sometimes I hate it when I'm right.



Some thoughts on the finale:

Beyonce is AMAZING. And J-Lo could not have been happy to have to go on after her.

Casey Abrams and James Durbin are legitimately funny.

Jack Black? Seriously? And...those girls didn't have fat bottoms.

Haley can have a nice career in the Adele/Amy Winehouse/Duffy genre. She just needs to get there fast while people are still buying it.

I miss Pia.

Speaking of which, Pia doesn't get a solo song, or even a duet, but we get a song from the Spiderman musical? And nobody was even INJURED during it? BOOOOOOOOO.

Carrie Underwood. Good grief. I'm glad I don't live anywhere near her...that girl is a restraining order just waiting to happen.

I am willing to bet that Scotty McReery's high school choral department doesn't have as hard a time getting guys to join as most high schools.

I gave myself a 45 minute fast forward buffer, thinking that would be plenty. It wasn't. Not even close.

Congrats to Scotty...he is now going to sell a whole lot of records, and I will never have to pay attention to him again.

- If you are an HBO subscriber and are NOT taking advantage of HBO Go, do yourself a favor and go to hbogo.com RIGHT NOW. You have access to the ENTIRE library of HBO shows, at no extra charge. You don't even need an iPhone...I have been watching season one of Sopranos and season 3 of Deadwood on my PC. For free, except for the $10 a month for HBO that I would already be paying.

It's just another step towards the future of television. Pretty soon, it will ALL be web-based. After my post the other day, I was thinking about the logistics, and it may actually be easier than I thought...you could just pay your cable company just like you do now, since most of the cable companies are also internet providers, go to comcast.net or whatever, and then pick your channel (web page) and go watch what you want to. The only other thing to figure out is advertising, but Hulu has a pretty good model for that right now, I think. Just imbed the ads in the video, and even better (from the advertiser's perspective), don't allow fast forwarding during the ads.

- Cougar Town fans...it may be too late now, since the season ended last night, but you should really be following @TheLarmy on Twitter. I'm not sure if it's actually Busy Phillips updating it or not, but it is Laurie in character, and it is consistently hilarious.

- Last week's Parks and Rec season finale ended one of the most perfect sitcom seasons of all time.

- Speaking of perfect seasons...I just started watching Survivor two seasons ago. Has any player ever dominated the way that Boston Rob did this season? It was like he was using Jedi mind tricks or something.

- Guess what today is? 100 DAYS UNTIL KICKOFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep...the countdown starts in earnest now.


GO DAWGS!!

My favorite things I watched last week (including my very late thoughts on Signing Day)

- Crowell and his AWWWWWWWW PUPPY! For any Dawg fan, the absolute best thing on television last week was probably this:



Also, pretty cool story on where that adorable puppy came from in the Ledger-Enquirer.

Obviously, I am thrilled with the way the Dream Team came together. The coaching staff did a tremendous job pulling a class like this coming off the last two years we have had on the field.

I will make one small side note...Richt got pretty lucky in the fact that in a year when he DESPERATELY needed a huge recruiting class, the state of Georgia was loaded with talent even by the state's normally lofty standards.

Even so, all of that talent was being heavily recruited by some of the biggest names in the country, and Richt and his staff was able to fend them off for the most part and put together a class that has the potential to be one that we look back on as the turning point of Richt's tenure as head coach.

The flip side, of course, is that there is TONS of pressure now on these kids...The Dream Team concept was fun, and it certainly worked as a recruiting tool, but the fanbase (myself included) now looks at them as guys who are going to turn the program around. Time will tell if that is the case, or if February 2, 2011 will be the high point.

One of the things I love about this class is how diverse it is from a positional standpoint (and Bubba 'n' Earl beat me to this point by a few days). With only a very slight amount of finagling, I can actually put together an entire starting lineup out of this class.

(Assuming a one back-3WR set on offense, standard 3-4 look on defense)

OFFENSE:
QB - Lemay
RB - Crowell
WR - Mitchell, Wesley, Conley
TE - Rome
OL - Ward, Dantzler, Andrews, Long, Debell (this one may get a little tricky, as far as tackle/guard combos, but it's conceivable)

DEFENSE:
DL - Bailey, Jenkins, Mayes
LB - Drew, Turene, Herrera, Wilson
CB - Swann, Marshall
S - Sanders, Moore

Seriously...I could make the argument that our starting lineup in 2013 might be pretty close to this, other than the fact that Jenkins will be gone after 2012. I know Bailey might actually play OLB, but he could also put on about 10 more pounds and fit right in at the 3-4 DE spot.

I also like the fact that we signed six offensive linemen, and none of them necessarily HAVE to play this year. We are really building some quality depth at that position, and that makes me happy.

Overall, fantastic job by the coaching staff, and definitely my favorite thing I watched last week.

- Most of Community. I really enjoyed last week's episode of Community, although like a lot of the really good Community episodes, it wasn't for everybody. I liked the conceit that the story was being told like a sci-fi/fantasy novel, I loved Senor Chang's costume and the entire scene setting up the game. I am in no way a D&D gamer, but I am familiar enough with the concept of RPG's in general that the way Abed was running the game brought plenty of laughs. The story itself was sort of Community at its best, in that it played around with a theme (the whole Dungeons and Dragons thing) while still having a soft gooey center of a heart (the group trying to cheer up and possibly save Fat Neal).

The one thing I didn't like is the one thing I always don't like when it comes to Community...Pierce Freaking Hawthorne. There is absolutely nothing likeable about this character or Chevy Chase's heavy-handed portrayal of him. The wonderful folks over at the Extra Hot Great podcast did a great job this week in talking about the long history of jerks in sitcoms and why they work, and why Pierce in no way works as that character. Bottom line is that I think this show would be tons better if you just took the character out of the show and gave his lines to other characters who could deliver them in a more effective way.

But Pierce is a problem every week...overall, this was one of my favorite Community episodes so far this season.

- Downton Abbey. Not going to go into a whole lot of detail on this one...it aired for four weeks on PBS as part of their Masterpiece Classics series, and the finale was last Sunday. A British period drama set in the time period between the Titanic and the beginning of WWI, it was tremendously acted, well written, beautiful to look at, and honestly...it just made me feel smart as I watched it. If it's not your thing, you would hate it...but it was one of my favorite things, and I am already looking forward to the second season. It doesn't hurt that the family that make up the main characters is the Grantham family, so I got to pretend it was actually about my ancestors.

Just for fun...one of my favorite scenes from the show, including a great line from the fantastic Maggie Smith. This scene pretty much spells out one of the dynamics of the series...the difference between even the upper middle class and the ridiculously rich in early 20th century England:



- Yep...Parks And Recreation. Again. My favorite comedy on television provided another hilarious episode. Being the only male in a house dominated by females who have totally bought into the Vampire craze, I especially loved the whole Twilight plot, especially Tom's excitement at discovering the books. The easy way out would have been to make fun of Twilight as the puffy piece of tween girl nonsense that it is, but the writers took the story in a much fresher direction, and it was ultimately much funnier because of it.

- The Chicago Code. This was technically not "last week" since it premiered last night, but since this post is a couple days late I can throw it in here. This is the latest from Shawn Ryan, the creator of The Shield (the much respected series that is next on my iTunes list, right after I finish Deadwood), and the fantastic and much-lamented Terriers (maybe my favorite series of 2010). I was very impressed with the pilot episode, especially if you apply the grading curve that I normally apply to pilots (due to the level of difficulty involved with introducing entirely new characters in an entirely new show universe, while still telling a compelling story). I am especially excited about Jason Clarke's character (Det. Wysocki (sp?)), who seemed sort of cool, funny, dark, and quirky all at once. The acting in general seems to be top notch, the show makes good use of its on-location shooting in Chicago, and most of all...the American viewing public OWES it to Shawn Ryan to watch this show, after failing miserably at keeping Terriers on the air despite its awesomey goodness.

Pretty slow week overall, for me...some of my favorite shows (like Chuck, Cougar Town, Fringe) fell into the good-not-great category for me.

Looking forward this week to the return of Raising Hope (I know...I'm as shocked as you are that I actually have become a big fan of this show) and, especially, Justified. (Wednesday at 10 on FX...check it out)

What about you? What are your favorite things that you are watching? Am I missing anything good?

My favorite things I watched this week

- Ray Drew. Of all the things I watched this week, I don't think I enjoyed any of them more than I enjoyed this....

(courtesy of UGASports)

I think we have a great one, folks...not only his play on the field, but he seems to be a guy who is going to be a real leader both in the locker room and in the field. He has already been identified as a guy who the rest of the Dream Team looks to as "the guy". Can't wait to see him on the field!

- Southland. I meant to say something about this show last week, but I forgot...it works out, though, because this week's episode was much stronger, and was truly one of the best things I watched this week. The ending, especially, was extremely effective.

I am not usually a big fan of "procedural" type shows, and though this isn't exactly that, there are very few if any serialized components to the show. But every week, I feel like the show tells compelling stories, it has a tremendous cast, and also has a great cinematic look and feel to it. This was one of those shows that struggled to find an audience on the network side for some reason, and I for one am thankful that it was saved by TNT. Not to mention some of the coolest opening credits on television:



- Parks and Recreation. This will likely be on this list for as long as it is on the air. Another fantastic episode from the best comedy on television, highlighted by Rob Lowe as health freak Chris dealing with some of the worst, um, byproducts of the Pawnee Flu:



- The return of Archer. In all of its politically incorrect, raunchy glory. What is Germany, the Alabama of Europe?

- Casey and Morgan sing Happy Birthday on Chuck. In an episode made most notable by a new look on Sarah (short verdict: not a big fan of the hair, HUGE fan of the outfit), there wasn't much that made me happier this week than Casey and Morgan singing Happy Birthday to the unsuspecting security guard.

- John Noble and Joshua Jackson on Fringe. Again, not one of my favorite Fringe episodes...I thought some of the writing was downright painful, although I did like where the show took Peter in his quest to find out what is going on with him and the Doomsday Device. But both of the Bishop boys brought their A game, including some of Joshua Jackson's best work so far in my opinion.

And good news again on the ratings front, as the show was solid enough again to boost Fox to a win in the coveted 18-49 demographic.

- 30 Rock. I don't always love this show, but when they are on their game there are few funnier. This was a particularly strong week.

What about you? What were your favorite things you watched this week?

My favorite things I watched last week

Hopefully, this is going to be a weekly feature on the blog. In a normal week I would plan on getting this up over the weekend, but some family issues kept me from doing much blogging this past weekend.


These lists will be in no particular order, and will certainly not contain everything I watched or enjoyed during the week...just my very favorite things.

- The return of Parks and Recreation. Probably my favorite comedy currently on television, and it returned in top form. Even if there was nothing else good about the episode (and there was TONS), it would have made the list just for this:
(Click to enlarge...trust me, it's worth it)

- The ratings for Fringe. The first Friday show itself was not one of my favorite Fringe episodes...I thought it was good-not-great, even though every scene with John Noble and Christopher Lloyd was brilliant. But the really good news is that they managed to maintain the same ratings on Friday that they were running on Thursday, which was enough to win the night for Fox in the key demographics. Great news, and if they can keep that up they will have overcome the dreaded "Friday Slot of DOOOOOOOOOOM".

- Phil Dunphy eating breakfast on the floor. My favorite part of the scene was that neither he nor Claire even acknowledged it. It was just like, "Well, I'm hungry....and Claire won't let me go downstairs until we figure out how to deal with this. So I'm gonna try and salvage these eggs".

- Everything Busy Phillips did on Cougar Town. Wuh-BAMM!!

- Surprisingly enough, American Idol. I was pleasantly surprised by the judges panel, though I am still mostly reserving judgment until we get to the live shows and they can no longer edit out the awkward/annoying moments. But what I was most excited about was the noticeable reduction in freak-show/mentally challenged auditions. I liked what Jacob on Television Without Pity said: "What if the big change this year is that we are no longer playing to the Lowest Common Denominator?"

- Breaking Bad and Deadwood. Two shows on almost everybody's "Best of the '00s" lists that I had missed. I'm catching up on Breaking Bad by watching the replays on AMC, and I'm into season 2 of Deadwood on iTunes. Both are living up to their lofty reputations, though Deadwood's language is causing me some problems...I'm no prude when it comes to profanity (in that I understand that if you're going to write realistic dialogue, you have to write how people really talk), but the air around Deadwood is so blue it is actually distracting at times. But the writing and acting on both of these shows are tremendous, and I no longer begrudge Bryan Cranston beating out Jon Hamm for his multiple Emmys.

- Jay Rome's announcement. Got me believing again that the Dawgs may pull off this whole Dream Team thing, especially when it was quickly followed by his teammate Malcolm Mitchell following him to the Classic City. With Drew, Crowell, and Jenkins still on the board (and supposedly all strong UGA leans), I may actually get excited about football again.

How about you, fellow TV watchers? What were your favorite things on TV last week?