Savoring
Arrested Development and Kitchen Confidential made appearances on FOX this week, which I taped. I taped, but I haven’t watched them yet. I guess I’m just too afraid to let go and have to say good-bye.
I realize that my denial isn’t going to keep the shows alive or bring them back, but I really don’t want to abandon the prospect of watching episodes that I’ve never seen just yet.
When I’m ready to let go, I’ll share my thoughts on the episodes with you.
What I Watched Last Week
Desperate Housewives – Guess what; I read through this show. What did I read? The first trade for Gotham Central which is like Homicide: Life on the Street set in Batman’s hometown. I also read how much Entertainment Weekly agrees with me about Nip/Tuck. But from what I picked up on Susan has a problem with her newfound stepmom, and Lynette has started a daycare at work. Thrilling.
Gray’s Anatomy – Way good show. But a quick sidenote; we had now sound until the end of the third act, so my roommate and I basically read the captions and acted the first three acts of the show.
But we did have fun. The show was pretty well written. I dug the tension between Izzy and Alex. I liked how George still carries a torch for Meredith. This is a really good show. It was tough to watch the mom lose some of her quints, talk about postpartum depression. It was truly dope how Dr. Shepard hung Izzy out to dry, for her betterment.
I really enjoyed how McDreamy put Alex through the ringer for his mistake, but his speech at the end about “the first guy I killed” really creeped me out. I mean, the idea that folks are allowed to kill more than one person (I know, they pay extremely high insurance rates, but the way that he phrased it was so cavalier.)
The Boondocks – This episode had its highs and its lows. I dug Samuel L. Jackson’s guest spot and his Pulp Fiction send up. But this show does the N word a tad too much. Y’know what, I can’t lie; I fell asleep during this episode. I was kind of sick, it was after work, and the episode just really didn’t hold my attention, which is odd because I’m a huge fan of prison rape. I’ll delve more into this series later on in the column.
My Name is Earl – Normally I’m not a fan of the “Christmas theme” episodes, but this one was solid. I loved Earl’s history of ruining Christmas. I enjoyed the father’s history of Jungle Fever (so take that!) I do think that Earl got off easy, considering he lost the car and all of the lying going on.
The Office – Secret Santa is always fun. And as usual this was a really funny episode. I completely thought that the payoff of John’s gift was that Pam wasn’t going to get the inside jokes. I was pleasantly surprised. Michael is like aloof in the worst possible way, yet that’s where the comedy comes from.
Boston Legal – It was cool to see “Omar” from The Wire as the homeless dude Denny shot. But the casting was really the highpoint of the story. It thought it was preachy and self-righteous. It pointed out the class problem but really offered no solutions.
The child molester storyline was really heavy. The FBI agent, who obeyed the letter but not the intent of the law, was a nice touch. I was really caught off guard when the priest lost his fingers, as I didn’t really expect any sort of comic relief in the story (and when isn’t a priest losing three fingers hilarious?) It was an interesting episode, but not my favorite.
Nip/Tuck – This show is so topsy-turvy. First off, I really hope that I wasn’t the only one who completely see that Julia’s mom wasn’t on the plane. Why would she be on the plane? Last time I checked Julia wasn’t the boss of her.
Julia episodes, in general, suck. What a coincidence, Julia actually took care of the mother of the woman that she met earlier in the day. Get out! Sean doesn’t feel comfortable doing on operation? Seriously? Christian is undergoing a personal torture? I don’t believe it! Entire storylines get put on hold (The Carver & Kimber, Quentin, Matt’s burgeoning career as an Aryan)? I’m shocked!
By my count there’s three hours left in the season, and they’ve got to address the three storylines ignored plus the major characters and two business. Can I just say that I’m not filled with confidence that the creators can pull off this feat.
The Greatest Show Ever…this week – Sleeper Cell
I’ll admit to buying into the hype about this show. I’ve read flattering things about the show and unflattering things. I’ve seen it compared to my beloved The Wire in an unflattering manner (but really what measures up to The Wire?) I’ve seen it called gripping.
It really is a decent show. The fact that it’s a miniseries decrease the enjoyment a bit, because you know there’s only but so deep you can get. Plus I’ve only watched the first two episodes. But still the story is solid. The characters aren’t perfect, but they’re somewhat interesting.
Here are five things that I’ve learned from watching Sleeper Cell;
Terrorists Come in all Shapes and Colors – The undercover guy is Black and he’s teamed up with blue eyed blond haired white dude for a mission. There’s also a Frenchman and a Serbian. They even tried to recruit a Polynesian.
What’s really tricky is how none of them wear turbans. How nice of the media to steer clear of cultural stereotypes, for the most part.
White Single Mothers are Easy – Darwyn, undercover as an ex con, shags Gayle (the white single mother in question) right off the bat. Further more, she’s damn pressed. I’ve certainly made a mental note, on the off chance that celibacy gets to be too much for me.
Mall Security is a Joke – Yes, to paraphrase Flavor Flav, “Mall security is a joke.” True I was aware of this before, but that was when mall security was more of a “lack of juristiction, anyone can get that job, look that guy has a cane” type of joke, as opposed to a “threat to public safety” type of joke.
Getting Stoned isn’t as Fun as Artists Will Have You Believe – Sure people like Cypress Hill and Snoop Dogg will preach the gospel of getting stoned, but after watching a guy get buried to his neck and literally stoned, it just doesn’t seem that appealing.
I Hate Darwyn’s Hair – I don’t know if it’s gel or “grease” but whatever they put in Michael Ealy’s hair to give it that consistency annoys the hell out of me. The way that it glistens in the light is vaguely reminiscent of a Jheri Curl. And the Jheri Curl era for Black people is like the Jim Crow era for white people; it was bad and stupid thing that we did to make us feel better about ourselves. We both look back on our respective eras with shame and think, “how could we have been so stupid? I’m glad those days are behind us and I’ll do everything in my power to prevent things returning to that state.”
My Thoughts on The Boondocks
Y’know I was really going to just cut and paste my comments about Chappelle’s Show for this part, but then I decided that The Boondocks deserved better.
Before I get into the show let me just get a few things clear. As a guy who was in Baltimore attending a Morgan State University (an HBCU) I knew about The Boondocks comic strip a bit before y’all. But I don’t read it (I’m somewhere between Fantasia and Homer Simpson on the literacy scale). So while I’m not new to the world of The Boondocks I’m also not comparing it to it’s printed form.
I really wanted to like the show. I really did. Here you had a young Black man with something to say and the opportunity to say it. But the show just leaves me a bit flat.
The show really needs a balance and perhaps a sense of direction. The quality of the episodes ranges from awe-inspiring (“The Trail of R. Kelly) to coma inducing (“A Date With the Health Inspector”). Yeah I get it; it’s a veiled attack on the Iraq War. But it would have meant something if it had occurred before the last election. Now it just seems like jumping on a bandwagon. It’s not funny. It’s not entertaining. It’s not even eye opening or provocative at this point. In fact it’s practically lazy.
“The Garden Party” was pedestrian. “Guess Hoe’s Coming To Dinner” seemed like a poor attempt at earning some street cred. “Grampa’s Fight” had it’s moments but ultimately disappointed. “A Date With the Health Inspector” just seemed like an attempt to curry the favor of a segment of the population and enjoys the unoriginal. And it apparently worked given that the episode is the highest rated over at TV.Com
I’d like to see the show take more of an assertive role and explore nuance (like it did with “The Trial of R. Kelly”) as opposed to picking on easy targets. I’d rather have it hold a mirror to various segments of society than poke fun at them.
As for the use of the N word, it needs to be cut back. There excuse that “it’s already out there” isn’t really relevant. Sure we (the Black community) do use the word, but just as the white community, 1) we don’t all use it 2) we usually use it amongst ourselves and 3) we don’t constantly use it. Ruckus uses it to a great effect. But elsewhere, it just seems excessive.
I’m really trying to enjoy the show and be supportive, but it’s quality and content just disappoint me.
Links
Tim recaps the latest episode of Nip/Tuck!
Matt gives in depth thoughts on Lost.
Farah laments the Holiday Hiatus.
Kevin does too, a bit.
Josh has a beef with TV on the Big Screen.
J.A.M.
“J” is for Joe Reid who’s currently engulfed in Project Runway. My roommate loved that show, but then again, she’s a girl.
Over on The Film Experience Joe dishes about his latest viewing upcoming news and shows sarcastic sympathy for Crash‘s potential Oscar® snub. Shame on you Joe!
“A” is for Aaron covers Kevin Spacey’s sexual orientation, fallen Idols and Eating Disorders. Plus Nick gives you some of the best guest spots. Calm down, it’s only Part I.
The End, I’m done. Later.
