Thursday, May 9, 2013
'Parks and Recreation': NBC renews veteran comedy for Season 6
If you know anything about me, you know I love love LOVE this show...more often than not this show is creatively better than most of whats on television right now. One of the finest sitcoms I've ever watched, and better than a lot of dramas out there, too - both funny and heartwarming, with well rounded characters living in a world that despite its quirkiness feels very real. I wish I could be friends with Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt. Ron Swanson is a wry, dry revelation. Ron and Leslie have one of the best "bromances" ever on television. And if I could, I would totally move to Pawnee. Good on NBC for renewing this show!! Now make sure you watch it!!! Read the story at Zap2It.com here.
Friday, March 22, 2013
Community as we knew it...
If you've been watching Community this season, chances are, you know what I'm talking about when I say that the show we all knew and loved is no more.
Despite the ousting of creator Dan Harmon as show runner, I was excited about Community's return and optimistic that the actors and writers knew the quirky world of Greendale Community College and its cast of colorful characters well enough to bring back a show that had some semblance to the original.
Alas, the episodes that have aired just prove why I tend toward pessimistic realism.
Community was never your typical sitcom. That was part of its charm. Part of what it did so well was parody the pop culture around us, such as in a Quentin Tarantino inspired paintball episode. The writers this season attempted to parody the widely popular Hunger Game books and movie in an episode that pretty much sums up everything that is wrong with this season - instead of ACTUALLY parodying The Hunger Games, the show TOLD us it was going to do it, and then never actually got around to showing us anything having to do with The Hunger Games. One of the great rules of writing - and this applies to writing that people just read, so it most definitely applies to writing that will be turned into something people watch like, say, a television show - is SHOW DON'T TELL. Don't tell me why an event was exciting. Describe for me how there were fireworks and acrobats and a car chase. So in the case of Community, we have an episode which is trying to play on The Shawshank Redemption, with Annie, Troy, & Abed trying to escape from Shirley's terrible Thanksgiving celebration. We know it's terrible because the characters keep telling us it is. We don't actually get to see any of the terrible things that are happening. And then to top it off, we only know its a Shawshank tribute because Abed says it is, not because the characters actually DO anything to try to escape besides stand around in a garage and talk about escaping.
It's not just bad Community writing. It's bad writing, period.
The characters are all still there, but their voices are not the same. Its people trying to get inside the head of Dan Harmon, who is no longer there, and write what they think he would write...except its like these people have never even met Harmon. It's obvious that Harmon was the major voice and heart and soul of this show, and that Community as we knew it is over and gone for good. It would almost be better if these writers realized that and rebooted the show - keep the characters and general concept, but make them you're own. Shows reboot all the time for all sorts of reasons. If you can't imitate someone's voice, you make your own. Yes, it would be like watching a different show, but it would be so much better than what is happening now - these writers are so at a lost trying to recapture Harmon's voice that the show isn't even funny anymore. It's not heartfelt, it's not original, it's not even typical sitcom fare. Two and a Half Men is funnier than the Community airing now, and that's saying a lot. I keep watching out of habit and obviously ill-advised optimism that things might still turn around. But it's no longer must-see TV for me. Thank god for my Community DVDs...three seasons of brilliance is better than nothing.
Despite the ousting of creator Dan Harmon as show runner, I was excited about Community's return and optimistic that the actors and writers knew the quirky world of Greendale Community College and its cast of colorful characters well enough to bring back a show that had some semblance to the original.
Alas, the episodes that have aired just prove why I tend toward pessimistic realism.
Community was never your typical sitcom. That was part of its charm. Part of what it did so well was parody the pop culture around us, such as in a Quentin Tarantino inspired paintball episode. The writers this season attempted to parody the widely popular Hunger Game books and movie in an episode that pretty much sums up everything that is wrong with this season - instead of ACTUALLY parodying The Hunger Games, the show TOLD us it was going to do it, and then never actually got around to showing us anything having to do with The Hunger Games. One of the great rules of writing - and this applies to writing that people just read, so it most definitely applies to writing that will be turned into something people watch like, say, a television show - is SHOW DON'T TELL. Don't tell me why an event was exciting. Describe for me how there were fireworks and acrobats and a car chase. So in the case of Community, we have an episode which is trying to play on The Shawshank Redemption, with Annie, Troy, & Abed trying to escape from Shirley's terrible Thanksgiving celebration. We know it's terrible because the characters keep telling us it is. We don't actually get to see any of the terrible things that are happening. And then to top it off, we only know its a Shawshank tribute because Abed says it is, not because the characters actually DO anything to try to escape besides stand around in a garage and talk about escaping.
It's not just bad Community writing. It's bad writing, period.
The characters are all still there, but their voices are not the same. Its people trying to get inside the head of Dan Harmon, who is no longer there, and write what they think he would write...except its like these people have never even met Harmon. It's obvious that Harmon was the major voice and heart and soul of this show, and that Community as we knew it is over and gone for good. It would almost be better if these writers realized that and rebooted the show - keep the characters and general concept, but make them you're own. Shows reboot all the time for all sorts of reasons. If you can't imitate someone's voice, you make your own. Yes, it would be like watching a different show, but it would be so much better than what is happening now - these writers are so at a lost trying to recapture Harmon's voice that the show isn't even funny anymore. It's not heartfelt, it's not original, it's not even typical sitcom fare. Two and a Half Men is funnier than the Community airing now, and that's saying a lot. I keep watching out of habit and obviously ill-advised optimism that things might still turn around. But it's no longer must-see TV for me. Thank god for my Community DVDs...three seasons of brilliance is better than nothing.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
’Veronica Mars’ fans donate more than $1 million to fund big-screen movie
’Veronica Mars’ fans donate more than $1 million to fund big-screen movie
Now, that's love! Shout out to devoted fans of quality television, as well as to the writers & actors who actually produce quality television storytelling... Here's hoping for the return of our favorite marshmallow & the rest of the Neptune gang! (Now, if we could only get a Party Down reunion, too!!)
:)
Now, that's love! Shout out to devoted fans of quality television, as well as to the writers & actors who actually produce quality television storytelling... Here's hoping for the return of our favorite marshmallow & the rest of the Neptune gang! (Now, if we could only get a Party Down reunion, too!!)
:)
Thursday, February 14, 2013
In honor of Valentine's Day: From 'New Girl' to 'I Love Lucy:' our favorite TV couples
In honor of Valentine's Day, Henry Hanks put together a slideshow of 20 of the best television couples over the years on CNN.com. It's pretty good - many of my favorite tv couples are on the list. Did yours make the cut? Who would you add or take off?
You can find the slideshow here.
You can find the slideshow here.
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Tuesday, February 12, 2013
From Zap2It.com: 'Psych' Slumber Party: Gear up for Season 7 with cast skits, prize giveaways and more
What better way to gear up to welcome back my long-lost, long awaited show than with a "slumber party" of fan-favorite episodes this Friday night? Cable puts out way better shows than the major networks for the most part nowadays but the bad thing about cable is it takes FOREVER for our favorite shows to return!! Ordinarily, this tv fangirl would be out partying on a Friday night. But now that I'm a pregnant tv fangirl, I may have to make plans to be in slumber partying on Friday night! Or maybe I'll just DVR the marathon (which starts at midnight) and spend a day in on Saturday! Either way - woo hoo! Ain't nothin' better - as Gus would say, "You know that's right!"
Read the whole story here. Besides the fan fave episodes that will air, there will be sneak peeks, prizes, and skits with the cast - bring it on!
Join the slumber party this Friday, Feb. 15 at midnight on USA.
Read the whole story here. Besides the fan fave episodes that will air, there will be sneak peeks, prizes, and skits with the cast - bring it on!
Join the slumber party this Friday, Feb. 15 at midnight on USA.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Ready for some football? Start with 5 great onscreen moments
In honor of the Super Bowl this weekend:
Ready for some football? Start with 5 great onscreen moments
Author Courtney Hazlett picked some great moments from both television and the movies - my dad and sister always loved Al Pacino's inspirational speech from Any Given Sunday, and I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Coach Taylor's "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose," from Friday Night Lights - in fact, I'm tearing up just thinking about it. I guess the only thing I'm surprised by is the lack of Rudy on this list. Isn't that the iconic inspirational football movie? Even the music has become the go-to music for any kind of inspirational sports montage/moment in television, previews, commercials, etc. Otherwise, good job - and good suggestions for anyone who wants to watch something to get in the mood for this weekend's game...just might have to dig out my FNL DVDs!
Ready for some football? Start with 5 great onscreen moments
Author Courtney Hazlett picked some great moments from both television and the movies - my dad and sister always loved Al Pacino's inspirational speech from Any Given Sunday, and I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Coach Taylor's "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose," from Friday Night Lights - in fact, I'm tearing up just thinking about it. I guess the only thing I'm surprised by is the lack of Rudy on this list. Isn't that the iconic inspirational football movie? Even the music has become the go-to music for any kind of inspirational sports montage/moment in television, previews, commercials, etc. Otherwise, good job - and good suggestions for anyone who wants to watch something to get in the mood for this weekend's game...just might have to dig out my FNL DVDs!
Thursday, January 31, 2013
’30 Rock’s’ 30 best guest stars
’30 Rock’s’ 30 best guest stars
My favorites out of this list have to be Dean Winters, Will Arnett of course, because he's one of the funniest guys out there, but also two guys you'd never peg as having great comedic chops but totally rocked it (no pun intended) on 30 Rock - Jon Hamm and Matt Damon. I didn't always love this show or think it was the funniest show on television, but it had terrific guest stars and really utilized them well!
My favorites out of this list have to be Dean Winters, Will Arnett of course, because he's one of the funniest guys out there, but also two guys you'd never peg as having great comedic chops but totally rocked it (no pun intended) on 30 Rock - Jon Hamm and Matt Damon. I didn't always love this show or think it was the funniest show on television, but it had terrific guest stars and really utilized them well!
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