With the Celtics taking up most of my time and energy lately I've been neglecting my pet project. No matter. I am posting now.
1) I'm going to go ahead and blame the writers strike and forced creativity on the fact that after the first two post strike episodes of 30 Rock ("MILF Island" and "Subway Hero", both outstanding) the past three have been relatively subpar. You never want to force comedy and I fear that has taken place because I did not find myself laughing too much in those latter three episodes with the exception of the Cleveland and Detroit jokes when Floyd returned.
To be completely honest though, I am scared for 30 Rock. From what I have read, NBC is aggressively riding both that and The Office to reestablish their ties to great comedies and I think they are letting the dreaded "focus groups" steer things a bit too much here. I say that because from what I have heard, "people" love Keneth and they love Liz and Jack too. Because NBC is placing a large amount of faith into 30 Rock they are going to ride these characters to appeal to a wider audience. Of course this neglects the reason I came to love the show so much in the first place, the great ensemble cast. 30 Rock is not 30 Rock without Tracey, Jenna, the writers, and of course an appearance every now and again from Dr. Spaceman. If they use Liz and Jack to drive the show and Keneth (whom I really don't find that funny) as the "comic relief" I think they'll find the show all of a sudden becoming a lot less funny. They need to go with what got them where they are and that is the ensemble cast.
Oh, and as for The Office which I already mentioned, well I'm afraid the same things are going on there. It seems that people want lots of Jim and Pam and Michael doing ridiculous things as opposed to smart and witty writing mixed with great bit performances by the supporting cast. Still, there are some things on The Office that will ALWAYS crack me up. They are:
a) Michael trying to act cool.
b) Ryan acting like a douchebag.
c) Michael being outwardly mean to Toby.
2) I am one season away from wrapping up my submersion with Six Feet Under. Trust me, there will be plenty more to come on this when I am done.
3) Don't know whether or not you are watching the Real World: Hollywood, but if you are not I would highly suggest doing so. I more or less took Australia off but this new season is well worth the time. I really have no opinions on anybody on there except for the two people that they follow around 95% of the time. Those people would be an absolutely insane body-builder from Chicago who has already been intervened upon and sent to rehab and a stripper from Philadelphia who feels the need to dress like a stripper at all times and looks like she could be Delonte West's sister. Just trust me on this one okay?
4) Every now and again I pop on some of the first season of Friday Night Lights reruns they play on the Universal channel. What a great first season. The second season was not nearly up to the first season's standard, but that is mainly because the first season was so, so damn good.
That be it for now dudes.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Back With Some More
1) Slowly, The Office is creaping back. I thoroughly enjoyed last week's episode. Pretty much I am going to be on board for anything that involves Michael trying to act "cool" with his "boys" while quoting Swingers out on the town in New York.
I also love Ryan's reincarnation as a coke-head douchebag.
2) Definitely a bit disappointed in the most recent 30 Rock. Even the Dr. Spaceman appearance was a bit sub-standard.
3) Recently I caught up with the two most recent South Parks which were the internet and Frontier Village episodes. A couple of good moments in each, namely Randy soaking himself in his own "matter" and the gratuitous violence at Frontier Village. I LOVE when they do gratuitous violence. By far the best - and most graphic - was in Imaginationland.
4) God I am a pathetic loser. A potential Stephen-Lauren reunion (can he call her "LC" for old times sake?) on The Hills has me way too excited. I am a 27 year old, married, heterosexual male. I should not be looking forward to that this much. Guess what though, I am! Bring back Trey and his hats! I'm sure Dieter's got some time on his hands too. Let's get the gang back together. Dieter's official title after all was, "Stephen's Wingman".
And did I mention the extra spring in my step that Justin-Bobby's return gave me? God I'm a loser!
Oh yeah, and has anybody had a quicker and more whirlwind fifteen minutes of fame than Kristin Cavileri? Was she too much? Didn't she single-handedly bring about the act as dispicable as humanly possible while flaunting your hotness movement which seemed to be all the rage circa 2005-2006? Was MTV afraid of the repercussions of more Kristin on society so they in turn possibly had her killed and then replaced her with a dumbed down, toned down, and less attractive version of her in Heidi Montag? I say yes and the only way we will ever know if Kristin still is in fact alive is if she shows up on Celebrity Fit Club or a dating show involving the lead singer of one of those punk/whine bands that were popular five years ago.
5) I saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall on Saturday night. Must say I was less than impressed. It had a few good laughs, but nothing like Knocked Up or Superbad. My main beef is that I love the conversational elements in the other Apatow movies where guys crush on each other and because FSM was pretty much a one-man show that element was more or less non-existent. Let's just say there's no telling Fogle he looks like a "latin" or running beard jokes.
Still, it's worth a rental to see Paul Rudd and Billy Baldwin, the two funniest people in the movie in my opinion. Paul Rudd is clearly one of the most underrated comedic actors of our time and we best start recognizing the man sooner rather than later. If you don't believe just watch Wet Hot American Summer. A tour de force from Rudd.
I also love Ryan's reincarnation as a coke-head douchebag.
2) Definitely a bit disappointed in the most recent 30 Rock. Even the Dr. Spaceman appearance was a bit sub-standard.
3) Recently I caught up with the two most recent South Parks which were the internet and Frontier Village episodes. A couple of good moments in each, namely Randy soaking himself in his own "matter" and the gratuitous violence at Frontier Village. I LOVE when they do gratuitous violence. By far the best - and most graphic - was in Imaginationland.
4) God I am a pathetic loser. A potential Stephen-Lauren reunion (can he call her "LC" for old times sake?) on The Hills has me way too excited. I am a 27 year old, married, heterosexual male. I should not be looking forward to that this much. Guess what though, I am! Bring back Trey and his hats! I'm sure Dieter's got some time on his hands too. Let's get the gang back together. Dieter's official title after all was, "Stephen's Wingman".
And did I mention the extra spring in my step that Justin-Bobby's return gave me? God I'm a loser!
Oh yeah, and has anybody had a quicker and more whirlwind fifteen minutes of fame than Kristin Cavileri? Was she too much? Didn't she single-handedly bring about the act as dispicable as humanly possible while flaunting your hotness movement which seemed to be all the rage circa 2005-2006? Was MTV afraid of the repercussions of more Kristin on society so they in turn possibly had her killed and then replaced her with a dumbed down, toned down, and less attractive version of her in Heidi Montag? I say yes and the only way we will ever know if Kristin still is in fact alive is if she shows up on Celebrity Fit Club or a dating show involving the lead singer of one of those punk/whine bands that were popular five years ago.
5) I saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall on Saturday night. Must say I was less than impressed. It had a few good laughs, but nothing like Knocked Up or Superbad. My main beef is that I love the conversational elements in the other Apatow movies where guys crush on each other and because FSM was pretty much a one-man show that element was more or less non-existent. Let's just say there's no telling Fogle he looks like a "latin" or running beard jokes.
Still, it's worth a rental to see Paul Rudd and Billy Baldwin, the two funniest people in the movie in my opinion. Paul Rudd is clearly one of the most underrated comedic actors of our time and we best start recognizing the man sooner rather than later. If you don't believe just watch Wet Hot American Summer. A tour de force from Rudd.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Some Thoughts...
1) I gotta say, I think I need me some Justin Bobby on The Hills. Making fun of all the regulars is just too easy and a bit boring. Let's get good old JB back in the mix - army boots, blank stares, and all. Oh, and the prospect of Stephen coming back is way more excitement than I can stand.
2) It's old news - and more The Hills stuff - but how pissed must that French rocker dude have been that he didn't get the upstairs invite from Lauren after the late night tour of France? That must have just killed him right? Clearly he was trying to use some sort of Parisian charm to get in the sack with her. The funniest thing is he didn't even get a legit kiss. I promise you that guy went home, got an an angry jerk off in and then spent the rest of the night publishing her cell phone number on the internet.
3) Honestly, I think if you can look somebody in the eye and tell them that you thought The Office's first episode back was funny and good then you are lying. More troubling is that save for the deposition episode with Michael, Pam, and the DM board this season really has not been up to past standards. My thought is that they are trying too hard.
4) Still haven't gotten a chance to check back in with 30 Rock though, but knowing that a Donaghy produced "MILF Island" reality show plays a part is plenty to get me fired up.
5) True Life: I'm in the Porn Industry - wow. Phenomenal. This was on pretty regularly about a month ago and if you missed it, well I'm sorry. All you need to really know is that one of the guys they follow around is a "straight" guy who does gay porn. My favorite line of his, "I'm not gay, I just f*** guys for a living." Um, dude, that's pretty much the EXACT definition of being gay. Getting paid or not, if you are taking another guy in your mouth or ass then you are probably gay. Sorry to break it to you.
6) All I can say re: the South Park, Patriots slam is just, "ouch". I love when they crush everybody else so what kind of person would be if I were to get indignant over them crushing a team near and dear to my heart. I'll just go find Butters' "What, What in the Butt" video and cheer myself up.
7) The Wire Thought of the Day:
I recently finished my re-watch of Season 4 and for anybody interested, I'd definitely say the street story from Season 5 is a 100% continuation from 4, more so than any of the other seasons. Especially jarring for me was the scene in Season 4 - a definitive series altering moment - when Michael brings Dukie with him to talk to Marlo and Chris about killing his dad. Before entering, Michael stands outside the concrete park where Marlo holds court, debating whether he really wants to go through with everything knowing full well that reaching out to them means he is in essence giving himself up to them, their crime syndicate, and their way of life. Before he enters, he gives Dukie a look that says full well, "I know what I am about to do and I'm not sure if I should or not but I am going to anyway and now there is no turning back," and in essence leaves his old life behind. Another interesting tidbit which we don't learn until later is that when Michael has to abandon his new, old life after killing Snoop, the last person he sees as that Michael before becoming stickup boy Michael is Dukie.
And that is that. The first real TV blog post.
2) It's old news - and more The Hills stuff - but how pissed must that French rocker dude have been that he didn't get the upstairs invite from Lauren after the late night tour of France? That must have just killed him right? Clearly he was trying to use some sort of Parisian charm to get in the sack with her. The funniest thing is he didn't even get a legit kiss. I promise you that guy went home, got an an angry jerk off in and then spent the rest of the night publishing her cell phone number on the internet.
3) Honestly, I think if you can look somebody in the eye and tell them that you thought The Office's first episode back was funny and good then you are lying. More troubling is that save for the deposition episode with Michael, Pam, and the DM board this season really has not been up to past standards. My thought is that they are trying too hard.
4) Still haven't gotten a chance to check back in with 30 Rock though, but knowing that a Donaghy produced "MILF Island" reality show plays a part is plenty to get me fired up.
5) True Life: I'm in the Porn Industry - wow. Phenomenal. This was on pretty regularly about a month ago and if you missed it, well I'm sorry. All you need to really know is that one of the guys they follow around is a "straight" guy who does gay porn. My favorite line of his, "I'm not gay, I just f*** guys for a living." Um, dude, that's pretty much the EXACT definition of being gay. Getting paid or not, if you are taking another guy in your mouth or ass then you are probably gay. Sorry to break it to you.
6) All I can say re: the South Park, Patriots slam is just, "ouch". I love when they crush everybody else so what kind of person would be if I were to get indignant over them crushing a team near and dear to my heart. I'll just go find Butters' "What, What in the Butt" video and cheer myself up.
7) The Wire Thought of the Day:
I recently finished my re-watch of Season 4 and for anybody interested, I'd definitely say the street story from Season 5 is a 100% continuation from 4, more so than any of the other seasons. Especially jarring for me was the scene in Season 4 - a definitive series altering moment - when Michael brings Dukie with him to talk to Marlo and Chris about killing his dad. Before entering, Michael stands outside the concrete park where Marlo holds court, debating whether he really wants to go through with everything knowing full well that reaching out to them means he is in essence giving himself up to them, their crime syndicate, and their way of life. Before he enters, he gives Dukie a look that says full well, "I know what I am about to do and I'm not sure if I should or not but I am going to anyway and now there is no turning back," and in essence leaves his old life behind. Another interesting tidbit which we don't learn until later is that when Michael has to abandon his new, old life after killing Snoop, the last person he sees as that Michael before becoming stickup boy Michael is Dukie.
And that is that. The first real TV blog post.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Preview of What is to Come
Here are some things you can expect...
1) Now that I'm about to dive into season 5 of Six Feet Under, I'll probably drop a little knowlege on that.
2) I am an unabashed fan of The Hills. Deal with it because you are too I am guessing. If you are not, may Justin Bobby run you over in his motorcycle.
3) I'll probably bring The Wire up constantly.
4) There will be some Sopranos sightings too.
5) Lot's of 30 Rock and The Office talk with new episodes forthcoming. Liz Lemon, Tracey Jordan, and Michael Scott, I eagerly anticipate welcoming you back to my life.
6) True Life on MTV. I just love this show. True Life: I'm in the Porn Industry is a landmark 60 minutes of TV right up there with the "I'm Getting Married", "I Have a House on the Jersey Shore", and "I'm a High School Senior" episodes.
Well there will be plenty more too, but that should provide at least some semblance of what is to come. I hope to make this thing work Tim Gunn style.
1) Now that I'm about to dive into season 5 of Six Feet Under, I'll probably drop a little knowlege on that.
2) I am an unabashed fan of The Hills. Deal with it because you are too I am guessing. If you are not, may Justin Bobby run you over in his motorcycle.
3) I'll probably bring The Wire up constantly.
4) There will be some Sopranos sightings too.
5) Lot's of 30 Rock and The Office talk with new episodes forthcoming. Liz Lemon, Tracey Jordan, and Michael Scott, I eagerly anticipate welcoming you back to my life.
6) True Life on MTV. I just love this show. True Life: I'm in the Porn Industry is a landmark 60 minutes of TV right up there with the "I'm Getting Married", "I Have a House on the Jersey Shore", and "I'm a High School Senior" episodes.
Well there will be plenty more too, but that should provide at least some semblance of what is to come. I hope to make this thing work Tim Gunn style.
Welcome
OK, so I finally got this thing under way. Now I guess I need to do something with it. This is a big Step One though.
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