Sometimes what I love the most seems to be the most difficult to put into words. I watched the BBC mini-series Cranford – based on Elizabeth Gaskell’s novel
Wonderful Cranford
Funny, heart-wrenching brilliance
Awesome Judi Dench
The new season of Friday Night Lights will air tonight on NBC at 8pm EST! I first raved about the show during its first season (click on the link for more info about the show), and have posted about it several times since then. It was my #3 show of the last decade, and I’m so excited for its return.
Sadly, the show has struggled to survive this long and has only one more season confirmed by the network. If you appreciate brilliant writing, acting, and direction, you should watch it.
I think my rave review of Conan O’Brien’s Tonight Show debut explained my love for Coco enough for you to understand my disappointment over NBC’s decision to replace him with a dinosaur devoid of humor.
NBC had a great late night pairing with Conan followed by the new Jimmy Fallon Show (it doesn’t get much better than The Roots), and I’m sorry to see them mess it up with such a huge step backwards.
In case you don’t know what I’m talking about, NBC has announced that it will move Jay Leno’s corpse of a show back into Conan’s timeslot and Conan released a statement declining their pathetic offer to keep his job in order to avoid ruining The Tonight Show or bumping Jimmy Fallon’s show back further.
I’ll still watch Jimmy at whatever time he ends up at, but before that I’ll follow Conan wherever he goes.
Yes, I’m one of the crazy people tackling Best of the Decade lists. In addition to my annual year end lists, I’ll be sharing my favorite Albums, Books, Movies, and TV Series of the past decade. First up, my favorite ten television shows that aired between 2000-2009…
10. Firefly
As you’ll see below, Joss Whedon dominates this list. There were several shows that almost edged out Firefly – most notably The Sopranos
9. Absolutely Fabulous
AbFab remains one of the funniest, most bizarre shows I’ve ever seen. What was so great about the show is that the two overindulgent main characters Eddy and Patsy (played by Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley) were unabashedly vapid and unlikable, but you loved watching and laughing at them anyway. The show originally aired on BBC in the late 1990s and early aughts, but was rebroadcast on Comedy Central here in the U.S.
8. Once & Again
If you don’t remember Once & Again, it was a poignant little ABC drama by the creators of Thirtysomething and My So-Called Life. The show initially centered on the romance between a single mother played by Sela Ward and a single father played by Billy Campbell, and the struggles they faced from their respective kids and ex-spouses. But as the series progressed, it was the shy, awkward, teenage character Grace (played by Julia Whelan) who drew me in most. It also introduced a then unknown Evan Rachel Wood as Grace’s little sister Jesse. The show only lasted three seasons, but it was one of the best scripted dramas that has ever aired.
7. Arrested Development
I think Arrested Development was to the U.S. what AbFab was to the U.K. The hilarious Fox sitcom centered on The Bluths, a rich, despicable, and totally lovable family. The show itself was bizarrely clever and outrageous, but it was the perfect casting of actors Jason Batemen, Will Arnett, David Cross, and a then unknown Michael Cera that made the show so brilliant. I’m tempted to quote some of my favorite lines, but I don’t know that they would be as funny if you haven’t seen the show. My favorite moment was Will Arnett’s Gob “Final Countdown” entrance to his magic show. Or his duet with his puppet Franklin. Oh and when Tobias (David Cross) joined Blue Man Group. And…well, you get the point. It was all very weird and very funny.
6. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
I remember everyone I knew made fun of me for watching Buffy The Vampire Slayer during its cheesy first season. I was one of the few people who actually liked the Kristy Swanson movie
5. Angel
When my least favorite character on Buffy got his own spinoff, I didn’t think I’d bother to watch it and certainly didn’t expect to end up liking it better than its predecessor. Angel was often a much darker program, but it also had its share of humor – especially in the puppet-centric episode Smile Time. Though it featured many of the characters and actors first created for Buffy, it really came into its own during the final season. Actors Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker were particularly riveting as their characters drastically evolved over the years. Denisof’s Wesley went from an annoying, by-the-book geek to a haunted loner in various shades of gray. And Acker not only portrayed the many moods and quirks of resident geek girl Fred, she tackled the entirely different character of Illyria in the final season. Also entertaining in that final season was the banter between Angel and new cast member James Marsters as Spike. And Angel‘s final episode was possibly the best series finale ever.
4. The Office
Yes, I’m cheating and combining the British and the American versions of The Office. When NBC’s remake first aired, I thought it was huge mistake since they’d obviously failed to capture the painfully realistic mood of the BBC original. But by the second season, the U.S. version stopped trying to mimic the Ricky Gervais vehicle that spawned it and instead found its strength in its new side characters played by actors Creed Bratton, Angela Kinsey, Mindy Kaling, Brian Baumgartner, and Phyllis Smith. The BBC version had bite, the NBC version has heart. And both versions of the show are so hilarious that I can no longer distinguish which I like more. I’m still waiting for a Cousin Mose spinoff…
3. Friday Night Lights
I think I’ve written enough about Friday Night Lights (especially in my first post about it two years ago) for you to know how much and why I love the show. Every episode of the series has been so brilliantly written, acted, and directed that it’s been like watching a feature film every week.
2. Freaks & Geeks
I pretty much listed everything I loved about Freaks & Geeks in my 2008 review of the new DVD set, from which here is a brief quote: “Set in 1980 Michigan, the show centered on aspiring freak Lindsey Weir (Linda Cardellini) and her little geek brother Sam (John Francis Daley) as they traversed the nightmarish landscape of high school, the precarious loyalty of friends in their respective cliques, the anguish of unrequited love, the transitory nature of relationships, the mortifying affection of their parents, and the sheer humiliation of the teen years.“
1. Lost
Was there any doubt? After My So-Called Life, Lost is probably my favorite TV show of all time. The final season begins on February 5, 2010, and I’m both excited and very sad. No other series has so wonderfully trusted, engaged, and challenged the intelligence and imagination of its audience in the way Lost has with every episode. I remember vividly when I first watched the pilot, which was the summer before it first aired on ABC (aw, the innocent days of Bittorrent). I, like so many others, was hooked from the very first second. The first two seasons were excellent, but I think the last two seasons have been the strongest for the show thanks to addition of characters like Desmond, Ben, Daniel, and Richard, the increased focus on Locke, and the deliciously convoluted mysteries woven throughout each season. I’ve also appreciated how enthusiastic the actors seem about their characters in interviews, and how the writers have so intensely utilized the internet to stir up interest in the show. There has never been a show like Lost, and I fear there never will be again.
During the summer, my weekday evenings were spent reading, listening to music, and actually leaving the house occasionally to attend live performances and engage in other activities. I’d hope this unplugged trend might continue until Lost returns in January, but several new shows have pulled me in enough that I haven’t done much that I would consider productive in the past few weeks! For the curious, following are the new shows I’ve been enjoying…
The Forgotten: ABC, Tuesdays, 10pm EST. Christian Slater leads a team of civilian volunteers who search for the identities of murder victims after the police have given up. The twist is each episode is narrated by that week’s deceased. It’s Cold Case meets The Lovely Bones. The Shield‘s Benito Martinez also stars. If you missed the pilot (which features a guest appearance by My So-Called Life‘s Devon Gummersall), you can watch the full episode online at ABC.
The Good Wife: CBS, Tuesdays, 10pm EST. ER‘s Juliana Margulies gracefully portrays the archetypal politician’s wife, enduring mass judgement and attempting to resurrect her own law career after standing by her man in one of those infamous post-scandal press conferences. While I think the show would be more interesting had it stayed focused on the moral dilemas of the political world, it is a solid legal drama. If you missed the pilot, you can watch the full episode online at CBS.
Mercy: NBC, Wednesday, 8pm EST. Judging from the previews, I didn’t expect to like this one and only watched it because the hubby insisted. I was pleasantly surprised how much the show reminded me of the first season of ER. It centers on a spunky, unhappily married nurse who has recently returned to working at a “normal” hospital after spending some traumatic time on the frontlines in Iraq. Buffy‘s Michelle Trachtenberg plays a humorously optimistic young nurse. I’m a little worried they’ll mistakenly go all Grey’s Anatomy with silly romantic subplots, but otherwise I liked it. If you missed the pilot, you can watch the full episode at NBC.
Modern Family: ABC, Wednesday, 9pm EST. This quirky half hour comedy shares the same kind of sarcastic, oddball humor of Arrested Development. But rather than following the exploits of an eccentric rich clan, Modern Family looks at the dysfunction of a multi-cultural Middle Class family. Married With Children‘s Ed O’Neill plays the family’s curmudgeony patriarch. If you missed the pilot, you can watch the full episode at ABC.
The Vampire Diaries: CW, Thursday, 8pm EST. My new guilty pleasure by Dawson’s Creek creator Kevin Williamson. Though the previews, overall plot, and direction of the premiere were all very similar to Twilight, the subsequent episodes have reminded me more of Buffy and Angel. It’s the standard sarcastic, misfit high school gal falling for a lonely, conscience-stricken vampire story, but it’s done well. But the highlight of the show for me is Lost‘s Ian Somerhalder as the sexy, over-the-top villian vamp. The music has also been pretty good so far. If you missed the first two weeks, you can watch both episodes at CW.
Flash Forward: ABC, Thursday, 8pm EST. This is the big disappointment. After so much hype (the “from the network that brought you Lost” promo was a summer-long joke in my house, with my best/worst parody being “from the womb that brought you Roseanna Arquette, it’s David Arquette!”), I had hoped for more eerie mystery. But despite the cool premise (the world’s population blacks out for 2 minutes and see glimpses their future selves) and presence of Joseph Fiennes, the dry, melodramatic pilot ep seemed more like 24 than Lost. But it was kinda cool to see a brief dramatic cameo by Family Guy‘s Seth McFarlane and the new ads reveal Dominic Monahan will join the cast, so I’ll give it another chance. If you missed the pilot, you can watch the full episode at ABC.
I’m also still loving The Office (NBC, Thursday, 9pm EST) and So You Think You Can Dance (Fox, Wednesday, 9pm EST).
Update: As of mid-October, the only new show I’m still watching and loving is The Vampire Diaries. All of the others listed above failed to live up to their premieres.
If you watched CW’s new series The Vampire Diaries last week or have seen the new promo for the show, you’ve already heard “Hang You From The Heavens” by The Dead Weather. I posted the free and legal mp3 earlier this month in my review of the band’s album Horehound. Per my agreement with the label, the mp3 will be removed this Friday, September 25th. So download it while you can…
You can now stream all nineteen episodes of My So-Called Life on Hulu. The series is also available on DVD (you can read my review of the set here).
I’m one of the many crazy, rabid fans of MTV’s cult comedy sketch series The State that have waited over a decade for the show to receive a proper DVD release. Our wait is finally over, as the DVD set of The State is now available with a plethora of extras.
While I gleefully watched the original airings of The State on MTV in the early 1990s, my husband (like many of you readers) was most familiar with the actors from Wet Hot American Summer and Reno 911 (Michael Ian Black and Thomas Lennon are probably the best known of the lot). But he seemed as amused by the show’s humor as I was the first time around, and even compared it to British comedies like The Fast Show
Like most television shows from that era, The State was forced to replace the popular songs that made up its soundtrack due licensing issues. But the new score fits into the skits well enough that it doesn’t detract from the series. The only time the change in music was glaringly apparent to me was on the bonus disc during the “Miserable Crap” promo. As I recall, the ad – which cleverly promoted their show by quoting their worst reviews – originally featured the song “I Started a Joke”. The new ballad doesn’t fit into the gimmick nearly as well. But that will only matter to old fans like me, and maybe not even to them.
If you’ve seen the show before, you know it is not high brow entertainment. Many of the sketches are unquestionably bad, so much so that not even I can sit through an entire disc in one sitting. Even the good skits were unapologetically camp and often self-deprecating. But that’s always been the show’s charm, and also the quality that seems to have propelled the cast through other projects throughout the years.
In addition to cast commentaries on each season, there’s an entire disc of bonus features including promotional ads, unaired sketches, and interviews. There’s also a brief appearance by the cast on The Jon Stewart Show – yes, my generation first came to know The Daily Show host by his stint on MTV.
My personal favorite sketch of the entire series has always been “$240 Worth of Pudding”. There’s just something about Barry and Levon that makes me giggle uncontrollably.
The State – $240 Worth of Pudding (video)
The State Trailer (video)
More The State Videos
In addition to Up!, another thing that raised my low spirits last week was Conan O’Brien’s debut as host of NBC‘s The Tonight Show – during which I rediscovered my love of all things Conan. I was a fan of Conan’s old show pretty much from the beginning (not to mention I was once awakened by the sound of the tv and found one of my cats sitting on the remote, watching Conan O’Brien), and was worried that he would abandon his quirky charm to appeal to the broader Tonight Show audience. But with a few exceptions, that hasn’t happened yet.
Conan O’Brien’s new Tonight Show digs are certainly more polished than his previous set, and the return of former sidekick Andy Richter (who I like as a comedic actor, but find annoying as an announcer) has sadly pushed my beloved Max Weinberg back into the limited role of bandleader. In recent years, Max had become Conan’s new sidekick and their chemistry was much more entertaining and natural than the forced banter between Conan and announcer Andy during these new monologues. But he did give Max and fellow bandmate La Bamba some brief camera time this week, so maybe this will be a temporary complaint.
Otherwise, though, Conan seems to be remaining true to what made us love him in the first place. He has restrained his quirky moves in the monologue so far, but occasionally does his hippy shake for the camera and throws out his “Keep cool, my babies!” catchphrase to the audience. But while such signature elements have faded a bit, the content of Conan’s jokes and the ease of his delivery are sharper than ever. And what could easily have become a cringe-inducing mix of live jokes and pre-recorded skits (in which I still enjoy the Conan/Andy comedy duo) has instead resulted in a very well blended variety show. I’d say O’Brien is closer to Carson than Leno ever was.
What’s been entertaining you lately?
I’m happy to hear that the The Big Bang Theory has apparently been renewed for two more seasons, but I still want to lend my support to what is quickly becoming my third current favorite tv show (after Lost & The Office). The Big Bang Theory airs Monday nights at 8pm EST on CBS.
The Big Bang Theory initially centered on geeky roommates Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons), and the culture clash they experience when ditzy blonde Penny (Kaley Cuoco) moves into the apartment across the hall.
But the series has hit its stride during the second season, opening up to show the comedic interactions between shy Leonard, obsessive-compulsive Sheldon, and their fellow physicists Howard (Simon Helberg) and Rajesh (Kunal Nayyar).
Rather than relying on ridicule of the geeks for laughs, what makes the show so funny to me is how relatable all of the characters are. Even Penny has been more humanized this year, with the focus shifting to how none of the characters truly fit into the world around them.
