So if you were thinking of outrunning them on a horse...I would try a cheetah.

The Office.  It was Michael's last episode.  The end of an era, really.  How will the show fare without Steve Carrel in the driver's seat?  Time will only tell, I suppose. 

It was a sad episode.  Michael spent the time alloyed in his last day saying goodbye to everyone in the office in his own way.  He was a man who could be so awkward at times - and that was not lost in this episode.  His awkward goodbyes with Phyllis, Ryan and Toby were great.  His gift to Oscar - hilarious. 

But at the same time, Michael always had the biggest heart around the office - and this was also present in his final episode.  The scenes with Dwight were especially pleasing.  Their friendship throughout the years, though at times one sided was shown as the true friendship it always was.   It always seemed that Michael took Dwight for granted, but in the end -it turns out- they both appreciated and needed each other. 

And the scenes with Jim and Pam - especially the last two.  Of course it would be Jim who figures out Michael's plan at the end.  Again, in a situation where we always felt one party was more attached than another it turns out that both Jim and Pam need and love Michael as much as he does in return.  In the end, they were all one big happy family.  And it won't be the same going forward.

I don't know what the office is going to be like without Michael Scott.  If the final scene of this episode was any indication, I probably won't be tuning in very often.  The problem with Ferrell's character is that it is too one sided.  Michael had the boss side, he had the psychotic side, he had the awkward side, but he always had the side that made you love him too.  Thus far, Ferrell misses that.  Will they end up giving it to him or whoever ends up being the new Michael Scott?  I certainly hope so, or I doubt the show will have much of a place on NBC in the future.

Coming up this week, I think I'll go through some of the best Michael Scott moments.  A good way to remember such a funny and lovable character.  

Until the next episode...
Chris


TWSS

Celeb Doppelganger 2

Lately I have been watching a lot of Bones...and it has lead me to believe that David Boreanaz looks an awful lot like one-time boyband member Nick Lachey. Anyone else agree?  Plus, they both have had marital problems...so they've got that going for them...which is nice...


Until the next episode...
Chris

Guilty Pleasure Shows

The Real World. One of my biggest "guilty pleasures" on TV is the genre of reality TV shows. Over the years I have watched a myriad of shows that can fit under this descriptor, including: Top Chef, Project Runway, Next Food Network Star, Jersey Shore, Fear Factor and - of course - The Real World. I'm not sure what it is, but there is something about that last show that draws me in when I watch it.

The history of The Real World is an interesting one. In 1992 MTV set out to produce a scripted TV show, very similar in form to a soap opera. But after realizing they didn't have the budget to continue with the project - they decided that cutting actor and writer fees (among other things) would work with their funding. They also figured that putting 8 interesting people in a house together would create enough drama in itself - easily as much as a scripted program. And, as they say, the rest is history. In the first few seasons of the show - it really hit on some difficult issues, no more compelling than that of the cast member on the third season who had AIDS. In those early days, the show was actually full of substance, bringing important issues to light, and allowing real people to talk about them in front of millions of others.

Sadly, in the past years, the show has degenerated into an excuse to put 7-8 people together in a house to drink, pass out and hook up. Not always in that order. In the most recent season, airing now, there are 7 young people living in the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas. One (Adam) has already been kicked off the show for getting so drunk he broke just about everything in the suite, and also was breaking things in the hotel's clubs which the cast members frequent. He had been warned once, and instead of responding like a normal person ("I'm sorry, this won't happen again), he told the other cast members that he couldn't promise it wouldn't happen again and continued to act exactly the same.  He seems like a real winner...as you can see from the following video:



Furthermore, this past week, a new cast member joined them to replace the recently kicked off Adam. Instead of welcoming her in a friendly way, the females on the show decided she was ruining their status-quo and proceeded to attack her verbally (I'm rather surprised it did not come to fisticuffs - yes you heard me, fisticuffs). It was quite atrocious to watch.

Most of this season has been that way - really difficult to watch. And yet...I do. I watch every week. I even get excited to watch. Why? Maybe I live vicariously through their "free" and young lives. Maybe I find it interesting to observe people with such different value-systems than I adhere to.  Maybe I just find it fun to watch people screw up their lives on national TV.  Whatever the reason may be, I tune in every week and will probably continue to do so. 

And there we have it, the first of my "guilty pleasure shows."  I'm sure there will be more.

Until the next episode...
Chris

Saturday Show Recommendation

Archer.  In its second season on FX Archer has shown consistently that it belongs on the list of great comedies currently on TV.  Not for the faint of heart, the animated show irreverently follows secret agent Sterling Archer through his sexual and spy lives as they intertwine with ISIS - a secret government agency run by his mother.

When it comes to crossing lines of decency, Archer (both the show and the character) excels at it.  However, as a favorite comedian of mine says - when I cross my line of decency it reminds me that I have one...

Featuring some great actors in voice over parts, Archer offers a star studded cast.  It includes: Aisha Tyler, Jessica Walter, Chris Parnell, Judy Greer and Jeffrey Tambour.  There is a very obvious connection to Arrested Development with the mother played by Jessica Walter - and this only adds to the hilarity of this show.

Basically the show, to me, feels like everything James Bond would say and do if his movies were not intended for audiences of all ages.  Archer provides laugh out loud sequences every single week, and as the episodes are only 20 minutes long, it is easy to enjoy a few episodes at a time without wasting the day.



Episodes can be watched out of sequence, but really, to get the most from the show show, start from the beginning.  It's a great series, and if you are ok with pushing your line of decency for a bit - you won't regret tuning in.

Until the next episode...
Chris

Who will it be?!

http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/22/jim-carreys-on-his-way-to-the-office/?iref=NS1


The Office. Excited for next week!  Especially after the sad final Dundies awards that took place this week.  I kinda hate/love Ferrell's character on the show, so it will be interesting to see what the others can bring to it as well.

Until the next episode...
Chris

A not drunk Snooki?

Who wants to watch that?


http://entertainment.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/04/20/jersey-shore-cast-forbidden-to-booze-it-up-in-florence-italy/?test=faces

Until the next episode...
Chris

Mid-Week Rundown

Ok, I have neglected my posting obligations here for over a week - very sorry.  In my defense, it was one of those times when I was in the midst of a production (which I speak of in the blog header) and I got really busy.

So, I've decided to just touch on the most important things from TV last week in this blog.

Here goes:

House: 13 is back.  We bid goodbye to another character?  Taub is still a jackass. And Cuddy has all but disappeared. Why?

HIMYM: One good episode, and then we go straight back to the crap of Barney with his Dad. Hello HIMYM producers - don't you read my blog? We want LAUGHS. We want humor. We should just watch the Big Bang Theory instead...

Glee: Welcome back Glee, it's been a while. Do we have a Will/Emma rekindling? I hope so. The abandonment of that story-line was a big disappointment. Anyone else think this highschool drama has gotten a bit big for its britches? I mean, it used to feel like they were in HS. Now it's just one big drama after another, and the school part is irrelevant. And not in a good way.

The Killing: Still the best new show on TV. Czech it out.

The Office: Will Ferrell's funny jokes work in 20 minute segments too. I hope they keep him around for a while.

Parks and Rec: Andy and April tie the knot in a pretty underwhelming episode. But there were some good laughs, and the concept of an Xbox pancake was born.

The Good Wife: This show is in danger of being canceled. That is beyond my understanding. People need to learn how to pay attention to things for more than 20 seconds again.

The Event: This is one of the worst shows I keep watching. Thankfully it's almost over.

 Archer Benoit (balls). Silk Socks. "As what? Russia's only black woman?!" Just tune in.

I guess I'll stop there. That seems like enough. I omitted 30 Rock, which was funny too, yet underwhelming. And that should more or less catch us up to today. Tune back in this week for some new posts, an actual Saturday Show Recommendation, and maybe even some guilty pleasure shows.

Until the next episode...
Chris

Saturday Show Recommendation

The Killing.  AMC has once again caught my eye with a new series on their network.  In the past 5 years they've released some of my favorite shows on TV including, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and Rubicon.  And while I don't yet watch The Walking Dead, I have heard that it is also phenomenal.

The Killing is a murder-mystery crime show based on the Danish show of the same name.  In the premiere episode we learn that the story will focus on the murder of a teenage female high school student who, while seemingly pure and innocent at home (pink room, very girly, pictures on the wall, butterflies, etc), may be wrapped up in some deeper darker secrets.  It also appears that her death may be tied up with the campaign of a politician as the election draws nearer.

One of the great things about all of these AMC series is that they are headed by more-or-less unknown actors of incredible talent.  Yes, I know some of them peripherally from other shows/movies, but with the exception of maybe 4-5 people I could not have named the show that I knew them from before looking it up.  The same holds true with The Killing.  The cast is headed by the unknown Mirelle Enos, who is absolutely amazing.  She plays a female character unlike any that I've really ever seen on TV before.  She is strong, stoic, in love - but not obnoxious, and incredibly smart. 

Generally we don't have main characters on TV shows that are female who are not strikingly beautiful, and in this series it seems that they not only are not accentuating her looks, but actually playing them down.  She looks like a run-down cop ready to leave her job, but hot on the scent of a new case.  She is really great in the role.  As with most of the AMC shows, there is quite a large ensemble cast, including Billy Campbell, Michelle Forbes, and the Swedish actor Joel Kinnaman (who plays Enos' unconventional partner).

The show  presents itself as a sort of extended movie, where you don't really get the feeling that you are watching a TV series with a beginning and an end to each episode, but rather a longer through-developed storyline.  It is captivating, very emotional, and quite dark.  There is no real horror to the show - it's not a thriller, per se - but it is full of drama.  The characters are very real feeling - the scene on the beach where the parents have to tell their young children that their sister has been killed was heart-wrenching.  I feel (as with most AMC shows) that I am not watching a put together scene between actors, but that I am watching real people having an actual conversation.  Everything feels genuine, and this is an extremely welcome change from normal network TV. 

The Killing airs on on Sunday nights, which makes today's post especially relevant.  It is, at the very least, worth DVR-ing, and if you have nothing to do, make sure you find the first episode (2hour premiere) somewhere and then watch the second tomorrow.  I hope that people continue to tune into this show and make it a success; it would be a shame to have another Rubicon - in which the show was so fantastic and gripping, but the storyline developed slower than the modern TV watcher's 30 second attention span would allow for, and the show was eventually canceled.  AMC programing is just too good for that fate.

Until the next episode,
Chris

Shut. Your. Ass.

The Big Bang Theory.  A couple years ago The Big Bang Theory overtook HIMYM as the best comedy on CBS and it showed once again this week why that is true.  The episode revolving around rumors and how quickly they spread was absolutely laugh-out-loud funny.  It was one of the best episodes of comedy TV I have seen in a long time, with both Sheldon and Raj having some incredible lines.  And even Amy Farrah Fowler had a couple great ones (and is more and more turning into a character I like).  I don't want to give too much away - if you're a fan of the show, just go and watch it.  I haven't laughed like that in a while. 

Until the next episode...
Chris

Guacamole on a Donut

The Good Guys.  Starting last fall there was a great new show on tv called The Good Guys.  And then all of a sudden in December, it was no more.  FOX decided the show no longer had a place in its programing and canceled it.

This is maybe one of the biggest shames in TV this season, in my not so humble opinion.  The show starred Colin Hanks (Tom Hank's son) and Bradley Whitford.  Awesome right?  It gets better.  They play cops.  Hanks is a straight laced rookie cop who has been paired with an old veteran who no one thinks much of.  In his role as this lovable veteran, Dan Stark, Whitford grew an excellent cop 'stache and put on a little weight.  It is a zone I've never seen this actor in before, and he absolutely kills in it.

Though I've never been a big fan of the West Wing (yes, I know - I haven't really given it a chance, and one day I'm sure I will watch it all and fall in love with it as I do with most other Sorkin things, but I digress) I most clearly remember Whitford from Billy Madison as Eric.  Sniveling, very put together, young, no 'stache...those are the memories I have of Mr. Whitford.  This is a think of the past.  As Dan Stark he is a dirty, guacamole on a donut eating, caricature of an old school cop.  I think the thing that makes this show so impressive to me is that that character can be so cliche - most actors would make it so.  But Whitford's Stark is always fresh and always hilarious.  The two lead characters play off of each other so well and the show really has a fast upbeat pace. There is never a dull moment; and the humor, while sophomoric at times, is genuinely funny.



Overall, this show should not have been canceled - and if people didn't like it, I think it is only because the first couple episodes started a bit slow...but it really picked up after that.  I hope this becomes a cult classic - I would definitely buy a Dan Stark shirt.  And if anyone is looking for a BDay gift for me (May 30) please feel free to see if they exist and send me one.

Until the next episode...
Chris

Parenthood

Parenthood. There are few shows on TV today that I find so entertaining and well-acted as Parenthood. Who knew that taking a guy from Punk'd, a girl from Gilmore girls, a guy from Sports Night, the girl from Swimfan, and a Julia Roberts look-alike...and giving them the Coach from Coach and Holly Gennaro from Die Hard for parents would be such a winning recipe? But that's exactly what they've done and it works so well.

Dax Shepard is one of the biggest surprises for me on the show. I first saw him on Punk'd, then knew him from Employee of the Month and Idiocracy. Needless to say, none of these are works of genius, or characters which required much depth. But holy cow does his character on Parenthood have depth. He plays the ugly duckling on the show. Really a great guy underneath, but he makes some bad decisions.

Peter Krause and Monica Potter play the parents of a young boy with Asperger's disease. They are one of the most believable parent couples I've ever seen on TV. The bring both the pride parents can have in the young ones they raise as well as the fear and confusion that comes with dealing with a child like that. And the young boy who plays the son, my gosh what an actor for that age. So committed. So effective.

The show not only focuses on families, but also on issues like race relationships, job crises, teenage issues like sex and drugs and alcohol, school things, etc. Nothing seems to be off-limits. It's almost like having a huge family of your own and there are no boundaries. They talk about what is on their minds, because they're all related and don't have to shy away from things that friends might have to.

Almost every week watching the show I laugh out loud at something that one of the characters does. At the same time, in almost every episode I get a bit choked up - not only because they show difficult situations, etc, but because they almost always somehow relate to my life (and I'm sure I'm not the only one). And in the end, no matter what is going on on the show, family always comes first - and this is something most of us can relate to in a huge way.

This is the type of show that has to be watched from the beginning, so if you haven't been watching - Netflix the first season and go from there.

Until the next episode...
Chris

Lack of anything

This weekend was pretty much a deep void of worthwhile TV.  Even the event that everyone was looking forward to - the NCAA finals turned out to be much of a dud. 

On Monday, almost no new shows were on, but The Event continued it's run into obscurity. After killing off the principal "bad guy" character last week, they decided to take a character who was previously nice, and turn her bad.  It seems to me that only a show that has no direction whatsoever would pull a maneuver like this.  Either a character is good at heart or not, but they do not change so suddenly to fit a storyline.  I am pretty much done with this show, but as it was the only thing on  - I watched it.

I would have been better off watching reruns of Frasier. 

Until the next episode...
Chris

Saturday Show Recommendation

 Sports Night.  Sports Night was an Aaron Sorkin show that ran on ABC from 1998-2000.  The show centered around a SportsCenter (ESPN) type show on the fictional CSC network and all the happenings that went on behind the scenes.  Much like many of Sorkin's shows it was often shot with long single takes, very seamless dialogue bits and contained a whole lot of wit and humor.

The show starred many future big names on primetime TV, notably: Felicity Huffmann (Desperate Housewives) as Dana Whittaker the show's producer, Josh Charles (The Good Wife) as Dan Rydel - one half of the two man anchor team, and Peter Krause (Parenthood) as Casey McCall - the other half of that bro-some.

Besides the wonderful cast, which also included Josh Malina and Robert Guillaume, the show had a freshness to it that I still find true today.  The situations, while often overstated, always seemed applicable to something I was feeling or going through at the time.  In a way, it was a show that was about sports - but it was also about everything BUT sports.  It was about people, their interactions with each other, and their lives at home and work.  It was about office life, deadlines and work competition.  It was had a great love story that ran through it and it had a great friendship by which each episode was measured.  It was a show that mixed both comedy and drama and put that all into 25 minutes of airtime each week.  I think this was one of the reasons it was so short-lived...people weren't ready to deal with such a mature show at that time.  Nowadays I think a show like this would find a much larger audience.  In some ways, the show was just too far ahead of its time.  

Also, Dan Rydell really gets my feelings on soccer:




One slightly annoying part of the show is the laughtrack that they felt was needed in the first season.  It drops out somewhere along the way (I can't quite remember when) and when it does, the show is without flaw - in my not so humble opinion.  

To be honest, I never watched Sports Night when it was actually on.  I believe that it was on Comedy Central (or some other channel on which it was syndicated) that I first became acquainted with its genius.  Sports Night is constantly listed as one of the best unknown shows and one of the best shows ever to have been canceled.  So do yourself a favor: order the box set from Amazon.  Or download it illegally.  Or watch it all on youtube (yes, it's all out there).  Or ask me if you can borrow my copy sometime...it is well worth getting your hands on and devoting a bit of time to watching.

Until the next episode...
Chris

Follow Up

Also care of J.B.:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12931459

Grey's Anato-glee

Grey's Anatomy.  Hmm.  Where to begin with this week's Grey's...?  First off, I felt that the episode missed the mark a bit.  The singing didn't bother me that much - I mean, House did a similar thing with an episode a few weeks back and I really liked it (they also put the characters into basically every sitcom ever which was brilliant).  But I think the reason I liked the episode of House was that they went somewhere daring with it.  With Grey's it all felt very safe.  Like they wanted to do this sort of strange funky episode but couldn't go far enough or dark enough with it.  Which is kinda weird - especially for a show that specializes in the "dark and twisty."

Furthermore, I thought that it was an odd choice for a show that usually uses music so well.  Grey's is almost famous for its soundtrack - - for introducing no songs to us week after week - - and using them extremely effectively.  That was a bit lacking from this episode.  Also, it was blatantly clear that the only cast members truly ok with singing were: Callie, Bailey, Owen Hunt, and Little Grey - everyone else stayed more or less silent  (and some, like Christina stayed completely silent).  It kept me wondering when their breakout solos would be, and also disappointed me that it was that obvious that they can't sing.

However, I love Sara Ramirez's voice.  A graduate of the Juilliard School, many people only know her as Callie - but she was also an original cast member in Spamalot on Broadway.  The lady can sing, and she showed this...especially at the end of the episode when she was singing "The Story" by Brandie Carlile.  She let it rip and it was pretty brilliant.  My favorite part of the episode by far...and really the only committed singing I felt the entire time.

When it was all said and done, I was sort of underwhelmed by the episode.  If you want to do something like this, you have to commit.  You have to be willing to go all the way to weird.  Sure, you might alienate some people, but the ones who get it will be absolutely hooked.  "Sometimes for an artist, the only difference between insanity and genius is success,"  In this instance, Grey's was not willing to risk insanity...so they didn't make it to genius.

Until the next episode...
Chris