Warm Glow

« HD HD WC TV* | Main | The New Political Reality »

TV Doesn't Suck
by kmikeym

At UrbanHonking we are fond of saying, "Television is dead." By that we mean "the system of television", not the content itself. With iTunes, TiVo, bittorrent, DVDs, and tv-links.co.uk the idea of sitting down to see what is on is an antiquated way to . But TV? TV has risen like a phoenix from the laugh-track ashes of "Must See TV!"

And so we revive Warm Glow, the blog about about TV, because TV is more important and interesting than it has been in a very long time. We start with a round-table wrap-up of some of the shows that UrHo is watching.

30 Rock

Curt: This is one of the funniest shows on TV.

Steve: Everyone knows what this show is, right? Tina Fey (former head writer/weekend update host on SNL, writer and star of Mean Girls) has a sitcom now on NBC about the backstage life at a sketch comedy show. I watched an episode or two and enjoyed it but wasn't fully hooked. This show unfolds and gets better and better with each episode. It is very possibly the smartest show on TV and sometimes DUMB TOO! The greatest combo ever. Everyone has probably heard that Alec Baldwin is great on this show, which is 100% true, but I am equally pumped up by and excited every week to see Tracy Morgan. What a star. He's such a weird awkward actor in a way that is mind breakingly funny to me. Tina Fey is a genius and actually a talented actor. I love her. I leave you with 2 words: Dr. Spaceman.

ANTM

Liz: Half of me loves this show for the show itself, and half of me loves it for the brilliant recaps FourFour does. I fully expected to be disappointed this year, because how could the show get any better? But then they pull out some fantastic shit like Russian mail order brides and trotting girls out on Salvation Army runways and I fall in love all over again.

Best Week Ever

Steve: Avoid the gossip blogs, and just watch this show instead. It recaps pop culture for the week with talking head comedians saying funny stuff. As a description it sounds pretty dumb to me, but IT'S ACTUALLY VERY FUNNY. Some really good comedians, this show has been somewhat of a launching pad for talented folks in the last year or so (Rachael Harris has gone on to be in For Your Consideration and the brand new TV Show Notes from the Underbelly. Aziz Ansari, Rob Heubel, and Paul Shceer all now are in the new MTV sketch comedy show Human Giant). I really love Mr. Show alumni Paul F. Tompkins and Doug Benson (who has a pretty funny podcast called I Love Movies). It's a really great way to catch up with all the TV you missed, memes that slipped by you, and gossip not worth reading but maybe worth hearing jokes about.

The Dog Whisperer

Steve: Cesar Milan is powerful. Cesar Milan saves (dog) lives. Cesar Milan is The Dog Whisperer. This show is the most uplifting on television. It's totes feel good, and nothing is better to put on when you are just feeling sorta blah. Cesar is an incredibly kind dude who rehabilitates problem dogs. He makes the dogs and the owners happy with a striking power he has over these animals that is awe inspiring. So much good talk of energy, also the strength of a pack.

Friday Night Lights

Curt: I admit to having preconceived notions about how I would not like this show because it's about high school and football -- two things I don't much care for. However, it's less about those two things than characters and relationships in general.

Heroes

Liz: Great characters with great pacing, what's NOT to love? I am constantly comparing it to Lost because while I like the shows for a lot of the same reasons, so far Heroes is doing a much better job of answering mysterious questions and keeping the plot moving right along. This is the best possible show to start the week with. I credit it entirely for making me look forward to the end of the weekend.

Curt: This series premier didn't grab me like I was hoping, but it certainly has grown on me. I consistently look forward to it every week -- well, not any more since it's on a break until April. I'm really drawn to the characters of Hiro/Ando and the Petrelli brothers. I like the dichotomy of how both pairs have someone who is impulsive and almost blindly devoted to their "path" and another who is more cautious and pragmatic. I think everyone struggles with maintaining a balance between those two characteristics.

High Stakes Poker

Josh: Through the World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour, poker fans have gotten to know the best and the most entertaining players in the poker world, but they're usually mixed in with plenty of random scrubs. High Stakes Poker gets these players together at one table, and has them play for huge amounts of cash money. It's not a tournament, where the chip values are basically meaningless. It's a cash game, one in which fifty or a hundred thousand dollars is a perfectly reasonable bet. It's occasionally intense, but also frequently easy-going and jovial. The commentary stays out of the way whenever possible, allowing the players' banter to carry the show.

The Hills

Steve: A true guilty pleasure. This is a spin-off of Laguna Beach. It's a reality show focused on people in their early 20s in Los Angeles, trying to figure out their lives, love and business. The first season on The Hills was pretty okay, but not special. The just completed second season was FANTASTIC. RICH BEAUTIFUL YOUNG PEOPLE TV DRAMA the way it is supposed to be. There was a villain like never before seen in Spencer Pratt, the boyfriend of one of the stars Heidi, who was creepy in every possible way. He was creepy to look at with weird very fake looking veneers on his teeth (although, I think he is the son of The Dentist to the Stars, so he might just have supernatural oral health). He is always scheming in an evil evil way. He is manipulative of everyone around him, and maybe the fakest seeming human ever. This season was the epic tale of Lauren trying to let her best friend Heidi know that she was dating a total creep, and Heidi pulling away from her friend for the love of a weird creep. Plus some other really amazing things like Lauren's lovable co-worker Whitney falling on a live national TV show the first time she models. GREAT TRASH!

Lost

Liz: In spite of my aforementioned irritation at the show for dragging its feet and getting lazy with all the plot points they spent so much time setting up in the first seasons, I am still a Lost loyalist. For now. I've invested so much time and energy into the show already, I have to stick around for the payoff! But if Lost fails me the way Alias failed me, so help me, Abrams is OFF the Christmas card list.

Curt: The third season hasn't been living up to the bar set by the first two. The pace has slowed, but the characters are still interesting and there are many questions I still want answered, so I keep watching. I don't follow all the crazy theories happening online, so I've just barely scratched the surface of what is going on with the show, but the hour of suspense punctuated by humorous moments keeps me coming back week after week.

My Name is Earl

Liz: Again, this never ceases to be funny for me. It's the perfect mix of in-your-face humor and intelligence, with just the right touch of earnestness. One of the smartest comedies out there.

The NBA on TNT

Josh: Two words: Charles Barkley. Charles tells it like it is! He is unafraid to say whatever pops into his head, and he stands by it, too. He doesn't treat NBA stars like gods in the least -- if he thinks someone is playing like crap, he says so, in so many words. Barkley usually operates from the studio, but one night he was called in to do game commentary when the regular guy was sick. That night, he was ripping on the oldest referee in the league, saying he was the guy who brought down Moses' stone tablets, and the like. Charles ended up challenging the ref to a footrace, which was accepted, and which played out on national TV during the All-Star Weekend. (Barkley carried his considerable girth to a narrow victory.)

The Office (US)

Liz: Love. I love it all. I love that Michael's character is so flawed and terrible, but then there's this added layer of humanity when he does stuff like show up to Pam's art show. The beauty of this show is in the details and the subtlety of the actors' facial expressions and their sad quirks that make them endearing. Plus, it's just funny as shit.

Josh: This show was lucky to make it past its first season, when they were running off the BBC series' scripts. But it's great fun now, and the only currently airing comedy that I watch.

Skins

Steve: As I watched the credits roll on the final episode of the first season of this new British teen drama I was already contemplating its place among the all time great seasons of television. It's such a special show that could probably never air in the US due to its language and subject matter (drugs, sex) other than on HBO or Showtime, but then again it would probably fit in with the high quality shows on those premium channels (Six Feet Under, etc.). The show is really amazing mix of Larry Clark-esque frankness but a with a lighter tone and a sharp sense of humor. It's an ensemble cast of diverse teens who are played by a really solid group of young actors (including the kid from About a Boy, who is now a hunk). This show brings some characters to television that have never been shown before like the amazing Cassie who battles eating disorders and is totally magical in her lost in the clouds vibe also Chris who is abandoned by his parents, addicted to male enhancement pills and somehow woos his psychology teacher and remains lovable while being as stupid as an 17 year old can be. Plus, the show branded itself in promos and some scenes with some music by Portland's The Gossip!

Survivor

Josh: Survivor's structure is pretty formulaic. Even the show's surprises (ooh, the tribes are merging!) are predictable. But the personalities are not, and Survivor's structure (not to mention terrific casting) allows for endless variety in the characters' behavior. I guess that is why it still on after 14 seasons.

The Wire

Josh: This is pure escapism, I guess. I don't think it's necessarily the best show ever, which seems to be the critical buzz. But I like how much it's rooted in Baltimore, a city I never previously thought of at all, and certainly wouldn't have had a sense of what's uniquely Baltimore about it. The Wire's big innovation must be the way they follow characters wherever they end up, instead of anchoring the show firmly in a particular setting.

Some Other Shows

Steve's other shows that he liked and thought about writing about:
Big Love, The Girls Next Door, Adventures in Hollyhood, Human Giant, This American Life, Great Hotels/Passport to Europe, the Bravo Reality shows Project Runway/Top Chef/Top Design/Shear Genius/Work Out, Entourage, The Amazing Race.

Comments

Post a comment