Survivor is back, and with a bang. Dedicated viewers are truly rewarded for their loyalty in seasons like the current one: Heroes vs. Villains. There is no getting-to-know-you period between fans and participants, and starting from the season premiere, there is drama, excitement, and intrigue. One of the most recognized players to return is Colby (yes, that picture would be from survivorhunks.com) from Season 2, which aired nearly a decade ago.
I was planning on composing an in-depth discussion of the season premiere, but since most of my readers don't think of Survivor as good TV (though I know 14.1 million Americans who would care to disagree), I'll instead share a little Curb Your Enthusiasm, for your enjoyment. I think I managed to compare Survivor to the civil rights movement a few posts back, but Larry David takes is so much further and includes Colby to boot. And just as an added bonus, if you watch all the way to the end of the clip, there is one of the greatest Curb lines of all times.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Episode 413
This week was a major comeback week for NBC comedies.
Parks and Recreation didn't have anything to come back from, as it's been consistently hysterical and exciting, but even there, we are starting to see plot lines that will keep us coming back for more than just the absolute hilarity. Even more than just the Ann-Andy-Amber love triangle we have Ron and Leslie's burgeoning real friendship. It turns out Ron is a good guy, and that makes all of his douchebagginess even more funny.
This kind of true friendship is something that is missing from The Office. Other than brief moments of caring (Jim and Pam buying 69 Cup O' Noodles for Kevin), there are no meaningful friendships on The Office. But the fact that this is missing is by no means a bad thing -- in fact, it's actually part of what makes The Office work. All of the very distinct personalities that clash in almost every way on that show are what give it its dynamic nature. And although the cast ensemble wasn't back in full force last night, we had more participation from the tailees (if I may) than in the past weeks, and it was successful. Also, Michael was back to his predictably absurd self, and I think we all felt a sense of satisfaction for the nostalgia fulfillment of sending Jim back to sales and Michael back to sole manager. With all the big changes happening at Dunder Mifflin, it's nice that they threw us a bone.
Back to the issue of friendships, though, NBC scored again last night with Community. While Community has always been funny, it has lacked that "I can't wait to see what happens" factor. Last night we got that, and I think Community fans now might actually care what happens between Jeff and Britta. (Also, I'd just like to shout out to Abed who managed to reference Who's the Boss?, Friends, and LOST [brilliantly on that last one: "he's a young the Asian guy from LOST"] all in the course of about 20 seconds. He's a TV blog in himself.)
Even 30 Rock was back to its good old (actually funny) self, and there, too, we saw Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey at their best, looking out for each other.
Now, of course, after NBC gives us our gateway drug, we have to wait three weeks for the next set of awesome. Not that I'm complaining; it's worth it for nearly 24-hour Olympic perfection. In fact, Michael's truly perfect cold open last night -- in close competition with the MPH detector running contest for best non-Jim-does-a-prank related cold opens -- was the perfect lead in to the three week hiatus.
One final note: as amazing as the NBC comedies were this week, Modern Family definitely takes the cake and was by far the funniest half hour of TV this week, if not this year. Anything I say about it would just take away from its brilliance, but I promise you it's worth taking the time to watch.
[For that incredibly large number of you who are fuming for lack of comment on the best Survivor premiere ever, it's on it's way, I promise. Check back early next week.]
Parks and Recreation didn't have anything to come back from, as it's been consistently hysterical and exciting, but even there, we are starting to see plot lines that will keep us coming back for more than just the absolute hilarity. Even more than just the Ann-Andy-Amber love triangle we have Ron and Leslie's burgeoning real friendship. It turns out Ron is a good guy, and that makes all of his douchebagginess even more funny.
This kind of true friendship is something that is missing from The Office. Other than brief moments of caring (Jim and Pam buying 69 Cup O' Noodles for Kevin), there are no meaningful friendships on The Office. But the fact that this is missing is by no means a bad thing -- in fact, it's actually part of what makes The Office work. All of the very distinct personalities that clash in almost every way on that show are what give it its dynamic nature. And although the cast ensemble wasn't back in full force last night, we had more participation from the tailees (if I may) than in the past weeks, and it was successful. Also, Michael was back to his predictably absurd self, and I think we all felt a sense of satisfaction for the nostalgia fulfillment of sending Jim back to sales and Michael back to sole manager. With all the big changes happening at Dunder Mifflin, it's nice that they threw us a bone.
Back to the issue of friendships, though, NBC scored again last night with Community. While Community has always been funny, it has lacked that "I can't wait to see what happens" factor. Last night we got that, and I think Community fans now might actually care what happens between Jeff and Britta. (Also, I'd just like to shout out to Abed who managed to reference Who's the Boss?, Friends, and LOST [brilliantly on that last one: "he's a young the Asian guy from LOST"] all in the course of about 20 seconds. He's a TV blog in himself.)
Even 30 Rock was back to its good old (actually funny) self, and there, too, we saw Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey at their best, looking out for each other.
Now, of course, after NBC gives us our gateway drug, we have to wait three weeks for the next set of awesome. Not that I'm complaining; it's worth it for nearly 24-hour Olympic perfection. In fact, Michael's truly perfect cold open last night -- in close competition with the MPH detector running contest for best non-Jim-does-a-prank related cold opens -- was the perfect lead in to the three week hiatus.
One final note: as amazing as the NBC comedies were this week, Modern Family definitely takes the cake and was by far the funniest half hour of TV this week, if not this year. Anything I say about it would just take away from its brilliance, but I promise you it's worth taking the time to watch.
[For that incredibly large number of you who are fuming for lack of comment on the best Survivor premiere ever, it's on it's way, I promise. Check back early next week.]
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Episode 412
Today, I'd like to take a look at four characters who this past week officially made their way from rock star to rock bottom (whether temporary or permanent). These four television men have fallen from grace into their own personal hells. Beginning with the most recent:
Jake: We couldn't have a season of The Bachelor without a twist (are they even twists anymore if we're expecting them?). Last night, not only did Jake "pull a Mesnick" after having his heart broken by one of the less desirable women on the show, but that same woman (at least based on previews) will pull a Swiderski (I'm going to go ahead and claim coinage on that last one). The point is that Jake -- arguably the nicest bachelor ever -- went from being on top of the world, to crying over a banister.
Barney: On this week's episode of How I Met Your Mother, Barney finally realizes an ultimate dream, thanks to his stint at the Super Bowl. He has every woman (TV-watching women, by the way) calling him until he is literally driven insane wondering if the girl on the phone will be hotter than the girl he has in bed. Other than maybe during his relationship with Robin, I don't think we've ever seen him so pathetic.
David Wallace: Who saw this coming? David Wallace was perhaps the most normal person at Dunder Mifflin (who can forget that incredible scene when Michael tells him "I think you're a nice guy, too"?). He had his head on his shoulders, treated everyone -- no matter how Dwightish -- with respect and seemed to have his life in order. This past week, though, we saw him fall (not literally) into a hot tub while pitching unintentionally sexually charged children's toys to his former employee.
Ben: I don't know which was worse -- the look on Ben's face when he saw Locke's body in the coffin or the similar look when fake-Locke told him what Locke was thinking in his final moments: "I don't understand." And that's exactly what Ben must have been thinking when realized what he'd just done. Think about Season 2 Ben and how far he's fallen since then. I hate to compare LOST to Gossip Girl (clearly I will anyway), but his transformation is very reminiscent of Chuck's transformation from near-rapist to lost puppy.
Jake: We couldn't have a season of The Bachelor without a twist (are they even twists anymore if we're expecting them?). Last night, not only did Jake "pull a Mesnick" after having his heart broken by one of the less desirable women on the show, but that same woman (at least based on previews) will pull a Swiderski (I'm going to go ahead and claim coinage on that last one). The point is that Jake -- arguably the nicest bachelor ever -- went from being on top of the world, to crying over a banister.
Barney: On this week's episode of How I Met Your Mother, Barney finally realizes an ultimate dream, thanks to his stint at the Super Bowl. He has every woman (TV-watching women, by the way) calling him until he is literally driven insane wondering if the girl on the phone will be hotter than the girl he has in bed. Other than maybe during his relationship with Robin, I don't think we've ever seen him so pathetic.
David Wallace: Who saw this coming? David Wallace was perhaps the most normal person at Dunder Mifflin (who can forget that incredible scene when Michael tells him "I think you're a nice guy, too"?). He had his head on his shoulders, treated everyone -- no matter how Dwightish -- with respect and seemed to have his life in order. This past week, though, we saw him fall (not literally) into a hot tub while pitching unintentionally sexually charged children's toys to his former employee.
Ben: I don't know which was worse -- the look on Ben's face when he saw Locke's body in the coffin or the similar look when fake-Locke told him what Locke was thinking in his final moments: "I don't understand." And that's exactly what Ben must have been thinking when realized what he'd just done. Think about Season 2 Ben and how far he's fallen since then. I hate to compare LOST to Gossip Girl (clearly I will anyway), but his transformation is very reminiscent of Chuck's transformation from near-rapist to lost puppy.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Episode 411
Some of the best TV moments are those when we suddenly are able to relate to a character who is usually completely (and amazingly) out of touch with reality. As I've mentioned a couple times in various posts, these moments usually happen with characters like Michael Scott and Leslie Knope. The most recent Michael or Leslie on TV comedy comes in the form of Phil Dunphy on Modern Family. And on this week's episode, we had one of those precious moments when Phil is more like us than we thought. We're getting older and, just like Phil, we have to understand that. If only our revelations came in the form of 40-second moments of pure hilarity.
Here's the moment.
P.S. I didn't want to just post a link to a clip without some kind of comment, so I wrote a lead-in paragraph to make it seem like I was actually adding anything to the clip itself. What I'm trying to say is this: TV speaks for itself. Which is awesome, but it doesn't mean I'm going to stop trying to speak for it.
Here's the moment.
P.S. I didn't want to just post a link to a clip without some kind of comment, so I wrote a lead-in paragraph to make it seem like I was actually adding anything to the clip itself. What I'm trying to say is this: TV speaks for itself. Which is awesome, but it doesn't mean I'm going to stop trying to speak for it.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Episode 410
I've had some time to detox after the LOST premiere, so here it goes. First of all, I'd just like to point out that LOST is the only show on television that requires more time to watch on DVR or the Internet than on regular TV. Usually you think well, hey, this will only be 42 minutes of my life instead of 60 because I can skip the commercials, but the ability to pause the episode turned -- at least for me -- what should have been two hours into about three and a half. Every word that anyone says ("the first plane"?!) requires a pause (and a "did she say the first plane?!").
In any case, although there is a lot of other quality TV on to talk about (the season premiere of Shear Genius?) I will indulge and give my two cents on LOST. And I'll do it today because I am hoping beyond hope that tonight's episode of The Office gives me something to write about tomorrow.
Now that I've made it to paragraph three without actually saying anything of substance about the premiere, I'll give it a (very brief) go. I don't intend to discuss my theories because I'll just drive myself and everyone else mad and there's absolutely nothing I can suggest here that hasn't already been said in a thousand other places. What I'll do, instead, is suggest what I think were the most important moments of the episode -- the moments that I believe will be crucial in unraveling this crazy mystery that is the last 5 years of our lives. I think there were a lot of moments in the premiere that were just for the amusement of the viewers and nothing more (e.g. Boone tricking Locke into thinking he isn't a vampire), but the following five events are definitely going to come back later in the season. I don't know exactly what they mean, but I know they must mean something:
1) Jack now has a fear of flying that he didn't have before.
2) Desmond apparently disappears from the plane.
3) Charlie says he was supposed to die.
4) Jack gives Locke his business card.
5) (It's almost too obvious to say, but:) Christian Shephard's coffin is missing.
Now before I go crazy or begin the Lostpedia browsing that will turn me into a hermit for the rest of the day, I'll just wrap it up by saying this: I think they should avoid airing commercials for V, starring Juliet, or commercials with Kate as a make-up promoter during these LOST episodes. Kind of takes away from the intensity of the whole thing.
In any case, although there is a lot of other quality TV on to talk about (the season premiere of Shear Genius?) I will indulge and give my two cents on LOST. And I'll do it today because I am hoping beyond hope that tonight's episode of The Office gives me something to write about tomorrow.
Now that I've made it to paragraph three without actually saying anything of substance about the premiere, I'll give it a (very brief) go. I don't intend to discuss my theories because I'll just drive myself and everyone else mad and there's absolutely nothing I can suggest here that hasn't already been said in a thousand other places. What I'll do, instead, is suggest what I think were the most important moments of the episode -- the moments that I believe will be crucial in unraveling this crazy mystery that is the last 5 years of our lives. I think there were a lot of moments in the premiere that were just for the amusement of the viewers and nothing more (e.g. Boone tricking Locke into thinking he isn't a vampire), but the following five events are definitely going to come back later in the season. I don't know exactly what they mean, but I know they must mean something:
1) Jack now has a fear of flying that he didn't have before.
2) Desmond apparently disappears from the plane.
3) Charlie says he was supposed to die.
4) Jack gives Locke his business card.
5) (It's almost too obvious to say, but:) Christian Shephard's coffin is missing.
Now before I go crazy or begin the Lostpedia browsing that will turn me into a hermit for the rest of the day, I'll just wrap it up by saying this: I think they should avoid airing commercials for V, starring Juliet, or commercials with Kate as a make-up promoter during these LOST episodes. Kind of takes away from the intensity of the whole thing.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Episode 409
There are officially less than 24 hours until the final season premiere of LOST. Because I will be locking myself in my apartment and blocking Internet access to all sites except Lostpedia for at least several days following the return, I figured it would be best to post now.
And since LOST always makes me feel like an idiot (how did I not realize that Locke's backgammon story was foreshadowing the final season?), I thought I'd take this opportunity to confirm my superior intelligence in respect to Alex Trebek.
I was planning on citing an example from last night's Jeopardy when Alex condescendingly spelled out a word to the contestants who were unable to answer a question correctly and lo and behold, he spelled it wrong (a-u-g-e-r instead of a-u-g-u-r). I was also planning on mentioning that I caught it and was vindicated minutes later when Alex was informed of his mistake and apologized for having misspoken (I actually don't remember if he said "misspoke" instead of "made a mistake" but I'm going to go ahead and trust my instincts on this one). But I don't really need to address any of that because his inferior intelligence is so blatantly clear even without such specific examples.
Though I may never be bright enough to go on Jeopardy, I can take solace in the fact that I'm at least smarter than the host. Which is more than I can say about Wheel of Fortune, because Pat Sajak cleaned up on Celebrity Jeopardy while, by the way, simultaneously stealing the show. Honestly, Pat Sajak is kind of a comedic genius.
And since LOST always makes me feel like an idiot (how did I not realize that Locke's backgammon story was foreshadowing the final season?), I thought I'd take this opportunity to confirm my superior intelligence in respect to Alex Trebek.
I was planning on citing an example from last night's Jeopardy when Alex condescendingly spelled out a word to the contestants who were unable to answer a question correctly and lo and behold, he spelled it wrong (a-u-g-e-r instead of a-u-g-u-r). I was also planning on mentioning that I caught it and was vindicated minutes later when Alex was informed of his mistake and apologized for having misspoken (I actually don't remember if he said "misspoke" instead of "made a mistake" but I'm going to go ahead and trust my instincts on this one). But I don't really need to address any of that because his inferior intelligence is so blatantly clear even without such specific examples.
Though I may never be bright enough to go on Jeopardy, I can take solace in the fact that I'm at least smarter than the host. Which is more than I can say about Wheel of Fortune, because Pat Sajak cleaned up on Celebrity Jeopardy while, by the way, simultaneously stealing the show. Honestly, Pat Sajak is kind of a comedic genius.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
