Tuesday’s with Worry
What is up with the 9 o’clock hour on Tuesday night? I normally watch Scrubs but this week had two high profile debuts on CBS and ABC, plus UPN is apparently showing repeats of Everybody Hates Chris in that timeslot as well. Why is that such a coveted slot of time for networks.
Anyway I had to tape three networks for that hour and of course the one VCR that I didn’t set myself, which was taping Scrubs (the one show that I really needed to watch) didn’t tape. It was my roommates VCR and her responsibility. I’m so irked that I missed that episode. I’d been waiting seven whole days for a conclusion, that I missed!
What I Watched Last Week
The Shield – Twas good to see the Strike Team making moves again. The Dutch story with the Captain and the rookie was kind of thin. I did kind of feel bad for Lem, being locked up and all. But the Strike Team is dirty. Seeing Vic recount Terry’s final minutes really reinforced how dirty he is.
I am with Kavanaugh all the way. I dig how Vic pressed him about where he’d send Lem and how not even he could give him up to Antwan. Kavanaugh’s reply was pricless as was how he said it. I’m also loving how Kavanaugh has the upper hand and has Vic playing defense. This show really is the best cop show on, at the moment.
The Oscarsâ„¢ – I had to work when it aired so I taped it. I had planned on watching it on my day off, but I ended up watching it as soon as I got home.
I thought that John Stewart did a really good job hosting. His humor really clicked with me. The presenters, on the other hand, mostly bombed. They’re always awkward and this year was no different. I really felt sorry of Ludacris and Queen Latifah who bookended Three 6 Mafia’s performances. That placement seemed to me that the producers were sending a message to Luda and Queen La that despite their success in acting, it’ll be a minute before they can distance themselves from “rapping.”
The producers were real pricks when it came to acceptance speeches. I understand that everyone complains about the length, but the Oscars® are always long. They will always run long. Cutting off the mic during what’s probably the zenith of their career acclaim is downright coldhearted and it happened too many times. I mean how do you cut the mic for the winner of Best Picture, the final award of the night? C’mon, really!
The Boondocks – This show is so disappointing. I’m so close to actually contacting Aaron and volunteering my services. To completely gloss over the topic of “abandoning the community” (Huey’s B Story) is just wasting solid potential.
I watch this show, because I’m optimistic. But it’s really one of the most frustrating shows to watch. Maybe I’m expecting too much, but generally I’m let down every week, because I see all of the missed opportunities to examine things.
Real Time With Bill Maher – D.L. Hughley is a funny guy. And he really holds his own on the panel. But the real star was Harry Anderson. It was so dope to see him again, though he’s getting kind of old. Bill seemed a tad off this week, but his panel picked up the slack.
24 – Let me explain how I watch 24. It’s kind of a group thing. I watch it with my roommate and her boyfriend and we all dig and dislike different characters. For instance whenever President Logan is on the screen I chant “Four More Years!” because I find the idea of an idiot in the White House hilarious…in fiction. My roommate hates Logan and her boyfriend thinks he’s a coward (he’s never forgiven him for hiding in the bunker last season.
All of which to say her boyfriend had been calling for the death of Edgar all season long. So when Edgar finally met his end and the end of the second hour it was a tense moment on the couch. The next day he admitted he was wrong for wishing death upon Edgar.
It did rock having two hours back to back, but am I the only one who thinks that next week is going to be damn boring? Aren’t most the main characters locked in rooms at CTU? Jack and Chloe are locked up. Clearly next episode is when Tony and Curtis will shine. I just hope that Tony doesn’t mess things up for the investigation by killing Robocop.
Lost – Ok, so I finally watched last week’s episode. There were plenty of revelations. I was disappointed to find that Zeke’s beard was fake. I was irked at Sawyer’s cameo. But my main beef was Locke’s tantrum.
Ok, so just, let’s say a week ago (island time) Locke was manipulated by Sawyer to make a preemptive move against Jack. So now Locke, the thinker of the bunch, allows himself to be manipulated, yet again, in the exact same place with Jack in play again? I really think that the writers are asking a lot.
And wasn’t Locke a military enthusiast? You’ve think he’d be able to see such an obvious attempt at division for what it was.
As for Claire, her proactive change in character was barely believable. The logic of leaving her baby in an attempt to save it from something that was barely possible seems to fly in the face of motherly instinct. To leave the child to save it just doesn’t make all that much sense. But whatever, at least we got a female road trip out of it.
Now if only the new facility is, y’know actually used as shelter for our cast, things would be great. But that may actually make too much sense.
Sons & Daughters – Whoa, talk about your disappointing. This show not only didn’t live up to the hype, but it seemed to be kidnapped by banality. I watched this show wanting to laugh so badly. If there were ever an argument against unscripted shows, this is it.
Fred Goss really needs to quit with the (at this point) obscure WWII references. Does he realize that the target demographic can barely remember Vietnam? I really wanted to like this show, but it fell so flat.
The kids are funny. But this show really feels like a skim Arrested Development (a show about a messed up family) only without any of the wit or humor. It’s like watching the awkwardness of The Office but without the funny that makes it work. I really can’t even say this show has potential.
Black. White. – Funniest! Show! Ever! I’m going get deeper later in the column.
Greatest Show Ever…this week The Unit
Wow, was this show good. I’m a fan of David Mamet, but this show was downright cool. It’s like The Shield (and with good reason, since that show’s creator Shawn Ryan is also behind this one) only with less moral gray areas and with a sense of patriotism.
As if the situations and characters (a covert unit of the armed forces that’s not afraid to get it’s hands dirty) weren’t enough, the show also supplies heart by giving some spotlight to the wives left at home.
Of course there are twists, like one wife sleeping with her husband’s boss, who happens to keep sending the husband on assignment, but even without that this show would be great. Mamet’s writing is so crisp and curt, it’s a joy on the ears and treat for the mind. The show is also superbly acted. Scott Foley’s rookie acts like a rookie, he does what he’s told and he doesn’t speak much.
This is one show that I hope has a long life.
Comedy in Black & White
So without a doubt the funniest show on TV this week was FX’s Black. White. The premise, for those not in the know, is that one white family (mother, father, daughter) and one Black family (mother, father, son) share a house and trade races via makeup wizardry.
The comedy begins when the blackfaced Bruno (the white guy) actually sheds a tear while embracing his equally pigment enhanced wife. Only white people would get welled up with emotion upon realizing that their love has survived a superficial race change.
Another reoccurring joke is how completely oblivious the white family is to anything remotely Black. Whether it’s the wife actually referencing “jive” (which no one Black has spoken since the Beaver’s mom broke it down in Airplane) or Bruno foolishly believing that getting called a nUggeT is a daily occurrence for Blacks. I always knew that Blacks were more attuned what “white” was like than vice versa, but this family takes it to the extreme.
Rose, the white daughter, actually brought her laptop to a Slam Poetry class (because people need to be taught how to be that contrived). Now even if one was completely aloof, which she clearly was, wouldn’t you think that she’d actually use that laptop to actually look up Slam Poetry (the fakest of all poetry) on the damn internet? A laptop is damn near the antithesis of Slam Poetry (which I despise).
On the Black half of the equation, things aren’t as side busting, but they’re still pretty funny. Rene didn’t really have any gems this week. But Brian reveling in being white was kind of humorous. And Black son Nick’s complete ambivalence about the whole situation just cracked me up. The idea that he’s going to continue being himself should prove for future comedy.
But what’s really funny about the show is the discussions it stirred up. Bruno’s resistance to the possibility that prejudice has a subtle side, caused my roommate to begin explaining to me what it’s like to Black. Of course after a minute I felt the need to point out that I’m actually Black as well. But that’s how frustrating Bruno’s stubbornness is.
All in all, this show was pure comedy. I don’t know that FX is trying to accomplish, but they’ve got a comedy hit on their hands.
Health Care Crisis Dilemma
Last week I posed the following scenario (very late at night, judging from the typos)
Good News; aren’t dead. Bad News; you’re going to need some medical attention in order to stay alive. Good News; your chances of living are pretty good. Bad News; it is going to require going under the knife. Maybe it’s benign tumor. Maybe it’s an aggressive form of cancer. Maybe it’s your gall bladder. Who knows, the point is you’ve got surgery in your future. Good News; you’ve got insurance. Bad News; you’re premiums are probably going to go up.
So, would you rather be admitted to Seattle Grace Hospital (Grey’s Anatomy) or Sacred Heart Hospital (Scrubs)?
Bink hit me up via a PM on the Message Boards;
Far as which show is better it’s a toss up. But the Docs on Grey’s Anatomy just come across more competent. It could just be that they got a bomb out of a guy without blowing him up. Then again, maybe I just want to wake up to Mcdreamy. Even if it is from anesthesia. Mostly, if they can get a bomb out, I’d trust them with a tumor.
Colin sent me an old fashioned email;
Grey’s Anatomy vs. Scrubs?!?!?!?
I guess I’ll have to go with those from Seattle Grace. I’m not really into Scrubs, and if I need something done, I don’t want to be on a sitcom.
Sure, Grey has funny stuff going on, but I think I’d rather get treated there.
Plus, she’s so loose there might be a Florence Nightengale effect, and I could say I got with Karen Page and she sold out my secret identity to the Kingpin. Sweet.
What is wrong with you guys? Maybe it’s because I live my life like it’s a sitcom, complete with lavish fantasy sequences, but I’m going Scrubs all the way. Turk is an excellent surgeon and J.D. does an adequate job as attending. And if I had a choice of which doctors I wanted to have a friendship with, post treatment, it’s clearly the Scrubs bunch. I might even get to meet Santiago!
Plus, I missed this week’s episode and I figure they could catch me up.
Naturally this leads us to…
Good News/Bad News/Question of the Week
Good News; You’ve got a TV show. Bad News; it’s not on one of the Big Four. Maybe you’re an actor. Maybe you’re a writer. Maybe you’re a producer. The point is you’ve got a show, that’s earning you money, on a network. Good News; your show is pretty successful. Bad News; your network is getting canceled. Good News; new network is being formed. Bad News; your show isn’t guaranteed to be on it.
So, for the sake of survival for your show, would you rather have a show on UPN or WB with hope of it ending up on the CW?
Links
Josh laments the stupidity of the average American.
Matt dug Lost’s flashbacks, something I didn’t but I’m too tired to go into it.
Hey Joe (Reid)
On his blog Joe continues to chart his American Idol success, and as he voices his displeasure at the outcome of the Oscars® a lively discussion springs up.
I’m guessing Joe’s follow up at The Film Experience is forthcoming. Did I say “guessing” I mean “salivating in anticipation of.”
And that’s the end of that!
