Stuff @ the Start
Hustle – How the hell did I blank on this show? I’m usually on the ball, but for some reason I actually missed this show this week. I mean completely missed it. I didn’t even tape it. I’m really bummed because it’s not being shown again at all. It sucks, so now I’ve go to hope that AMC does a marathon of sorts. It sucks.
Line of Fire – I really liked this show; it needs to be on DVD, dammit!
What I Watched Last Week
Monk (USA) – I’m getting tired of talking about how much I love that “this show focuses primarily on character and that’s why I love it” but it’s true. It was pure comedy when Monk thought he was perilously balanced atop the building being constructed. That was hilarious. And it was nice to see Monk happy, especially when he was with his shrink.
Psych (USA) – The whole; she’s the mastermind seemingly came out of nowhere. I’m already tired of “she’s perfect for him, too bad she’s the crook” as it’s appeared a few times this season. That said I did like Shawn having to prove his psychic ability with the thug.
Lucky Louie (HBO) – Isn’t that like two weeks with episodes around “bad ass kids?” Not that this week wasn’t funny, but it did seem a bit soon to rehash the same plot. The show certainly makes good use of it’s extended boundaries in the language department. The show has certainly grown on me.
Entourage (HBO) – I really want to like this show, but the writers are way too lazy. Case in point; Drama’s temper. We’ve got to be halfway though the season, there was plenty of time for them to inject Drama’s temper into previous episodes. Yet here we see Drama’s temper, out of nowhere, almost derail his audition. Boo lazy writing.
Equally out of left field, the return of Queens Blvd. This is something else that could have been built up, much like Ari’s current storyline. Speaking of Ari’s storyline, I loved it. I liked watching him squirm. So while I did enjoy the episode, I felt that it would have been much better had there been some build up in previous episodes.
Deadwood (HBO) – I like the idea of a couple of less than savory Earps Wyatt and Morgan really don’t know what they’ve stumbled into, but they’re certainly going to get more than they bargained for.
As loathsome as Steve was, I’m sorry that he met the fate that he did. I am really glad that Dan appears on the mend. But that ending with the rooftop convo while Hearst awaited his back up was tense. I really can’t wait until Sunday.
Life on Mars (BBC) – I don’t know how I forgot to rave about this show last week. Last weeks’ premiere was amazing. This week’s episode was almost as good. It’s a horrific prospect, and one of my greatest fears; being trapped in a coma. I love how Gene plays the perfect antagonist. The concept of this show killer and the execution is flawless. Check this show out!
Rescue Me (FX) – Very good episode. Tommy’s ex is preggers? How would a DNA test work in that scenario? And hands down this episode featured the best game of checkers ever. I am curious if Sean knows that he’s getting into. He’s always been portrayed as slow or dense, but if he can’t see the nightmare he’s walking towards, he’s beyond hope.
Of course it sucked to see Proby get outed. His logic was very “guy-like.” The issue was dealt with in a realistic fashion, considering the setting, and it was true to character. It wasn’t touchy-feely, but at the same time it didn’t seem too harsh. This was a very good episode.
Eureka (Sci Fi) – This was a pretty good episode. It had actual emotional depth. How would you react if you found out that your life was basically taken from you, one moment at a time? This is probably the strongest episode to date. And I’m not really once for sci fi, but this show works for me.
City of Men (Sundance) – I can’t think of any show that’s more consistent on the air today. This show has such a high standard of quality that it’s putting other shows to shame. And so much happened this week too. We had a kite battle, a trip through the favela, an ill-fated trip to the mall and a money making mission, all in a half hour show. Man, do I love this show.
30 Days (FX) – Good episode. It was very eye opening. Still, the show is getting mundane. I’ll give my ideas on how to fix it later.
Brotherhood (Showtime) – Wow, this was a good episode. I love how there’s barely one degree of separation between the various factions, and not even in terms of relations, but also actions. Tommy attacks the snitch, who loses his ear yet again, while Michael goes after the Feds. And both of them use their childhood friend the cop.
And I’d just like to go on the record as saying that Annabeth Gish could probably catch one.
Greatest Show Ever…this week Saved (TNT)
How could this not be the pick of the week? First off we get flashbacks of when Alice and Wyatt were in med school. Secondly we get the revelation that Alice was pregnant by Wyatt. And lastly we get more Misha!
Now I love Misha. I fully realize that having Misha appear every week would completely taint his character, but I’m willing to risk it for that 1% chance that his weekly inclusion works. That said, I completely felt Wyatt’s pain when he found out that Alice had been pregnant (and assumed that she’d had an abortion.) That felt so real.
Equally real was when he confronted her and their eventual sit down talk. And as if to put the icing on the cake; they use Badly Drawn Boy’s The Shining as the soundtrack to Wyatt first laying eyes on Alice.
You didn’t have to go there; you had me at Misha’s fake 911 call.
30 Groundhog Days
I like 30 Days, I really do, but it’s getting kind of monotonous. Every week we get a white guy (or someone with white guy sensibilities, like the Cuban immigrant from the premiere) who learns that, surprise, the people have it worse off than he does.
I’m pretty liberal, and I’m tired of it already. Next week seems promising, with the atheist chilling with Christians, but would it really be difficult to inject some fun into this series? Couldn’t we have Celebrity 30 Days where Paris Hilton has to live like a plebe for a month? Or maybe someone has to actually be homeless? I’d love to see a snob living out of trashcans.
Maybe they could pick a snarky net writer to actually have to come up a workable movie or TV plot, to see if they could do better. Or make a paparazzi a celebrity for a month. I don’t know, but they’ve got to start thinking outside of the box to keep me from zoning out halfway though the episode.
Lady Friends!
Last week I posed the following scenario;
Good news; you’re you! Bad news; all of your friends are dead. Maybe it was horrible go-carting accident? Perhaps there was a hot air balloon tragedy? Who knows? The point is you’ve got no one to hang out with. Good news; you’re a pretty likeable person. Bad news; you’re going to have to enter into an established click. Good news; you’ve got options. Bad news; they’re all 100% female crews.
So, would you rather try to hang out with the ladies of Desperate Housewives, the women of Sex in the City or The Golden Girls?
Pirate Paulie thinks that age is just a number;
Wow, a choice between a bunch of psycho rich snob women, much older yet funny women, or a bunch or neurotic horse faced women (except for the one cute one). I’d go with the much older yet funny women of the Golden Girls. I’d be too tempted to slaughter the others in their sleep. And honestly, I’d do Rue McClanihan before I’d do any of those other chicks (Except the one cute sex in the city one)not to mention that Bea Arthur… ROWR.
A Faceless Name goes the personal route;
I have to go with Desperate housewives. 2 reasons. I haven’t watched it, so I have no idea what would be bad. But more importantly, Terri Hatcher as Lois Lane is pretty much what jump-started puberty for me.
Captain Spaulding is darn near poetic;
It virtually all boils down to, “do I have enough bullets?”
Desperate Housewives certainly has a hottie or two, but the bickering and fighting would just be too much. Eventually you’d end up killed yourself because one of them couldn’t take the fact that you cut the other one’s grass. And you can take that literally or figuratively.
Golden Girls…ugh! Here you have the amazon in Dorothy, the complete moron in Rose, and the 19th century whore in Blanche. The only cool one in the whole bunch is Sophia because she makes fun of all of them. But you’d never get any play unless you actually have the audacity to sack up with…Blanche!
Finally there is Sex and the City which is hell on earth, but I feel the lesser of all evils. Sarah Jessica Parker is NOT cute in anyway imaginable and hasn’t been since she was in 1985’s Girls Just Want To Have Fun. The redheaded, bad toothed, crackhead can be avoided and then the old one from Mannequin will be drunk in a corner. Last you have the cute dark haired one who you can share all your time with…and when drunk enough and want variety, head over to Sarah Jessica Parker’s house and be too tipsy to notice the nose.
Simple enough…it’s death, old biddies, or pretentious with a few cuties…I take the last one and Sex and the City!
Talowolf is thinking years down the line;
Wow I have to say this has got to be the most head scratching choice yet.
On sheer principle I can’t do Sex in the City. Even the potential to meet women like that is the reason I hang out in Hell’s Kitchen whenever I visit there.
Desperate Housewives has set to high a bar for what Latin people are supposed to like in a neighborhood like that and I sure as hell ain’t gonna start working out on the off chance someone wants to cheat on yet another spouse.
The Golden Girls was my obvious choice. Not only are you in beautiful sunny Miami, but you get in good enough you might get left in four different wills. As for the physical aspect…well porn was invented for a reason, so on really lonely nights, I’d just go in my room lock the door and hope Blanchs screaming is louder than my TV.
IP’s own Steve Murray is far from unbiased;
Hmm. Well, going by the premise “all of my friends are dead”, that means my wife is gone, too. So, I’m in the market for nookie. That knocks the Golden Girls right out (I enjoy some MILF action, but the GILF stuff ain’t my style).
Some of the Desperate Housewives are quite hot (and I disagree – Teri Hatcher has aged just fine, thankyouverymuch), but they all strike me as women that would not hesitate to kill me in my sleep if I left the toilet lid up. Now, everybody knows crazy chicks are absolutely fantastic in bed – but no sex is worth dying for.
So, that leaves Sex in the City. Full disclosure: I had a big-time thing for Sarah Jessica Parker back in the early 90’s, due to “L.A. Story”. But, I absolutely hate her character in this show – I’d lose patience with her in less than 15 minutes. However, I’d do Samantha (the sexpot) or Charlotte (the cute one) in a heartbeat. And having Miranda around as a failsafe would be handy – I just can’t see it being difficult to get her into the sack.
Thomasina is completely concise;
The Golden Girls would be and immediate no. I’ll hang out with old chicks when I am one. The housewives are sometimes entertaining, but that’s from the outside looking in. I don’t really want to join them. Guess that leaves Sex in the City. They go out to some nice spots and wear shoes I’d never buy. But that Samantha is just like girls I like to hang with so I can roll with them.
Colin is equally short and to the point;
First, instantly scratch on the ladies of Wisteria Lane. There are too many people getting killed, maimed, run over, houses are burning down, etc. Head for ze hills.
Golden Girls might be out too. Just imagine the smell of old that that house has.
I guess it’s Dee Snyder and her gal pals. Sure, they’re insufferably annoying, but that Samantha’s a freak.
IP’s own Aaron Cameron
Quite the collection of octogenarians that you gathered for this week’s question, no? ‘K, let’s bounce the Desperate Housewives, right away. Why? Because old women in denial about their age deserve our derision, not our desire. All the pancake makeup in on earth can’t cover up their crow’s feet or eventual soft-porn turn on Cinemax in six or seven years. Next up…the hookers from Sex in the City. If any of these harpies ever chose me, I’d run the other way. Have you ever watched the show? The recurring boy toys were Blair Underwood, the star of Office Space and Dr. Evil. That leaves us with The Golden Girls. We have a winner. Old women who can cook and crack jokes are OK by me. Sophia’s got her crazy Sicily stories. Rose is naive, but pure. Dorothy is the kind giant. While, 1987 Blanche would’ve caught one from 1987 Aaron.
Way too much information Aaron. Way too much.
I think that everyone made sound cases. I never even considered the whole Golden Girls/will factor and that almost swayed me. However I follow my stomach. Now if I’m hanging with the Golden Girls I’m going to be eating dinner at like 4pm, which is around four hours after I wake up. And I’ve never seen anyone on Wisteria Lane really eat anything. However the ladies of Sex in the City were always going out to eat, or at least talk, in restaurants. Yeah, I’d have to put up with all sorts of sex talk, but I’ll be eating some fancy meals while doing so.
Naturally this brings us to…
Good News/Bad News/Question of the Week
Good news; you’re physically fit. Bad news; you’ve got temper issues. Good news; you rarely explode. Bad news; you recently went supernova. Maybe someone took your parking space. Perhaps you thought someone was staring at your. Maybe someone spilled something on your new shoes. Who knows; the point is you got in a fight. Good news; the other person is alive. Bad news; you’ve got court mandated visits with a shrink.
So, who is your shrink going to be; Dr. Jonathan Katz (Dr. Katz), Dr. Robert Hartley (Bob Newhart Show), Dr. Jason Seaver (Growing Pains) or Dr. Craig Huffstodt (Huff)?
Feel free to drop me a line via email or post it on the Remote Destination Thread!
Links
I’m on the verge of staging an intervention for Matt who continues to watch Windfall. You’re in denial Matt. Maybe we can have A&E actually do an episode of Intervention about my proposed intervention.
Kevin likes uber-manly shows.
Last week Josh asked which cable network has the best original programming.
Sing, Joe Says
In his blog Joe Reid attacks Tom Wolfe.
Sadly I’m done for another week. But I’ll be back next week with more joy and fun.
