TELEVISION UPDATE

HI! I have not written here in a while, because of life and because I'm terrible and stuff. So, since we're about halfway through November sweeps and coming close to the halfway point of the TV season (!!!), I thought I'd give a few updates on where a few shows are standing with me right now.

Let's start with Bob's Burgers. Bob's has only had 4 episodes so far this year, thanks to FOX's stupid dedication to SPORTS (gross!), but they've all ranged from decent ("A River Runs Through Bob") to fantastic ("Fort Night", which is, in my opinion, is already Bob's Burgers' Halloween classic). Bob's Burgers is one of those shows that's in such a great groove right now that it's hard to imagine it doing much of anything wrong. Other shows may be more ambitious, sure, but I still look forward to my half-hour with the Belchers every week more than anything else on television. Other than "Fort Night", nothing this season has quite hit the dizzying heights of episodes like "Mother Daughter Laser Razor" or "Topsy", but since the first half of this season will all be episodes made under the Season 3 production schedule (thanks to scheduling weirdness, now a staple of Fox's animation block), I'm fairly certain there's more classics waiting for us in the bunch. The thing that continues to impress me the most about Bob's Burgers is the way it just accepts everyone's flaws and quirks and does so in a way that is lovingly hilarious. It's such a refreshing tone, and it's certainly been present in all of the episodes this year. I really can't say enough good things about this show. It's a strong contender for my favorite show on television right now.

Let's get onto Brooklyn Nine-Nine, easily the seasons' best new comedy and probably the best freshman comedy since Community back in 2009. It's amazed me just how quickly this show found its comic tone - by the second or third episode, I was already consistently laughing out loud when I watched it, which is pretty rare for a comedy that young. The show has also done a great job crafting strong, relatable comic characters, from Captian Holt to Terry to Amy. And of course, it features the hilarious Chelsea Peretti, who was absent in this weeks' episode but is always there to bring her special touch of enderaring weirdness to everything she touches. My biggest issue with the show has been the way its lead character, Jake Peralta, can delve into douchebag territory far too quickly and never quite get the moments of redemption a character like that needs to in order for us to root for them. But the show actually remedied that a bit this week, with a stellar plot where Jake puts himself on the line after someone insults Captain Holt's sexuality. He's still not a perfect lead character, but I can see now that the show is working to make him better, and given Mike Schur & Dan Goor's track record with that subject on Parks & Recreation, I'm confident they'll be able to do so. One thing I find interesting about Brooklyn Nine-Nine is how old-school it feels - not so much in its humor, which feels very much like modern comedy, but in its relatively simplistic plotting and subtle character development. It's an interesting vibe that I'm wondering if the show will keep. I think it could stand to push its characters just a bit more, but other than that, I'm enjoying the bit of a throwback vibe its giving off, and I'm certainly enjoying the misfit ensemble they're crafting through solid writing and mostly pretty fantastic performances.

Then there's New Girl, which got off to a bit of a slow start this year but has really picked up its game in the last few episodes. I loved this weeks' episode, "Menus" - it was my favorite of the season so far, and probably one of my favorite episodes of the show of all-time. It wasn't anything particularly fancy, but the way it took the characters' seperate insecurities and blended them into one meaningful and thematically strong storyline was some really excellent writing. I think the show is also being aided a lot by the re-addition of Coach, who has already freshened up the dynamic a lot in the two episodes he's been around. I am hoping that Coach's return will spark something in Winston, rather than having him pushed to the sidelines even more. Winston's been having a great season comedically, constantly providing the show with some of its funniest moments, but I do think it's about time we got a real, full-fledged Winston arc (and not just a half-assed romance one like the one he had with Brenda Song). I know some people are frustrated with the show this season, but I really don't understand why, other than the usual third season backlash narrative. New Girl has never been a perfect show, but that's sort of what I like about it. It doesn't settle into a groove and continue to coast. It's constantly pushing and re-inventing itself to get to the emotional truth of its characters. That makes for a show that isn't always consistent but, when it hits, it really hits, and it's still hitting enough of the time that I continue to find it one of the best shows on TV.

That seems like a good way to segway us into Parks and Recreation, which has spent much of the last several years in "coasting" territory. Parks & Rec has an incredibly strong core, so when it coasts, it's still pretty damn great a lot of the time - but it can still get kind of same-y and boring after a while, as it did for much of Season 5 and portions of this season so far. Luckily, the show came back roaring this week in its return from its random hiatus/not hiatus, and it did so by doing what it used to do well in its earlier seasons but hasn't done in a while (arguably since Leslie got Ben back in Season 4) - it let Leslie Knope lose. I know, tragic. Just tragic. It was! The scene where it was announced that Leslie was recalled was a gut punch, and millions of Leslie Knope fans on Tumblr all cried out in sorrow at the same time. But that's a good thing! These things make us feel more connected to the characters. What was missing with Parks over the past few years was that it didn't let Leslie fail anymore. It gave her everything she wanted, mostly without even trying. All she had to do was defeat a bumbling moron for City Council or go through ridiculous, cartoonish townspeople to get what she wanted. So I'm really happy to see the show actually testing her again. It's sad! But this is Parks, so you know something good is coming for her soon, and that something is going to be even more powerful now that she's been through a bit of a struggle. This season has been inconsistent so far, but I'm enjoying it more than the last because it feels like its slowly poking out of the narrative rut it was in for all of last year and even a lot of Season 4. Let's hope it keeps pushing itself as the season progresses.

And finally, The Michael J. Fox Show, which I have nothing to say about. Because I dropped it. Because that shit is boring. I love you, MJF, but please, get a better show.

So, there's the basics. There are other shows that I'm consistently entertained by - like The Middle, which is the best family sitcom in ages - and other shows that I've been consistently let down by - like South Park, which is showing more cracks than ever this season, but those are the shows that have been consuming my mind the most lately. And Doctor Who. Oh, do I need to make a post about Doctor Who. But that's for another time.

"That's exactly what I'm going to say when I put them in a home" - Thursday TV Roundup 10/3/13

Here are some quick thoughts about Parks & Rec and The Michael J. Fox Show. Honestly, I don't really have a lot to say about them, so it will be quick. Oh, and bonus Welcome to the Family hatred!

Parks & Recreation - This episode felt like a whole lot of set-up, so I'm not quite sure how to feel about it. The Pawnee/Eagleton merge should make for some entertaining stuff, but it never quite escalated into anything particularly funny in this episode. Kristen Bell was good in her role, but I wanted to see even more of her, which I'm guessing we will in the next few weeks. And after really liking her in the season premiere, Leslie was just...too much here. The show kind of lost their handle on Leslie in Season 5, and this episode continued that unfortunate streak. I didn't really care for either of the subplots - Ron trying to erase all trace of his existence was just way too cartoony, even for Ron Swanson, and the shows' attempt to ground it with the tie to his marriage to Diane felt very forced. The Ann & April plot was...strange. Ann is moving to Bloomingtown because they have a nice baby store? And it all came at the expense of what could've been an interesting April plotline? All in all, this was definitely a disappointment after last weeks' stellar premiere, but maybe it'll look better once we get more from these storylines.

The Michael J. Fox Show - The quote in the title made me laugh a LOT. Actually, a bunch of stuff in this episode made me laugh a lot. But I'm still sort of getting a generic family sitcom vibe from the plot and characters. Since this show doesn't look like it's going to be the mass-appeal hit NBC wanted it to be, maybe they'll let the show break out of the tired Modern Family storylines they're trapped in and start getting a bit more experimental. I'm not holding my breath, but it'd be nice. Still, there's a lot of other appealing elements to the show. MJF continues to impress, and Betsy Brandt is also pretty awesome here. It just feels like it's playing it a lot safer than it wants to right now. The writing and the humor is pretty great, but everything else feels a few steps behind. Still, it's only episode 3 - here's to hoping they get everything figured out soon.

I also, unfortunately, watched the Welcome to the Family pilot. It was maybe the blandest thing I have ever seen, and strangely completely devoid of laughs. I bashed it more here, if you want to read!

http://blog.sitcomsonline.com/2013/10/cbs-fall-pilot-review-millers-premieres.html

I will end this by saying the complete blandification of NBC's Thursday line-up, complete with obnoxious tiny Sean Hayes running around the bottom of the screen, makes me very sad and nostalgic for days past. Come save us, Community! (I'm tagging Community in this because I only have 2 posts tagged Community and that is just wrong).

"I'm having so many thoughts and feelings that I'm paralyzed right now" - Thursday premiere round-up 9/26/13

Hello, dear reader(s). It's NBC Thursday, and you know what that mea...oh, wait. 30 Rock and The Office are gone? And Community is on hiatus yet again? And there's a bunch of generic, boring shows moving in next week to take their place? Oh. Well.

Hey, at least we still have Parks & Rec! And The Michael J. Fox Show, which is not quite up to the levels of the aforementioned NBC Thursday sitcoms but looks like it could get there eventually! So let's talk about those. Just...please, let's not talk about those horrible Sean Saves the World promos. Please, let's talk about anything but those.




Parks & Recreation 

I consider myself a fairly big fan of Parks & Rec - particularly Seasons 2 & 3, which was some of the most perfect comedic television made in the past 20 years. But I had some significant issues with the show last season - it seemed to lose all sense of direction after Leslie won the City Council seat, and spent most of the year sending its characters through rehashed, cartoony plots that provided some mild amusement but mostly failed to make any sort of impact. This was incredibly disappointing coming from a show that once knew how to pack every single episode with tons of great comedy and even stronger emotional punches. There were some high points - Leslie and Ben's wedding could easily stand with the best of the show, if you pretend Councilman Jamm wasn't there - but the most part, it felt like the show was kind of coasting on its former glory.

I'm happy to say that tonight's hour-long premiere, "London", doesn't share those same issues. It's not perfect - the Chris/Ann baby plot still can't help but feeling like a last resort for those characters, even if it's sort of worth it for the reaction from the rest of the Parks department - but it's an episode that has stakes that feel real, emotion that feels earned, and a lot of good old-fashioned Pawnee humor. (In London!) It's an episode that made me excited for the rest of the season, something that I feared wasn't possible after a string of highly unsatisfying episodes last spring.

There's a whole lot going on in "London", but we'll start with the episodes' central story, the Leslie "recall" plot. I had some issues with the way this plot was introduced in last seasons' finale - mainly that it happened so suddenly and wasn't grounded in anything that had actually happened on the show while Leslie was in the City Council seat. But I actually liked what the show did with it here, showcasing Leslie's growing annoyance at Pawnee and its ungrateful citizens, and - most promisingly - setting up some actual stakes for her going forward. I don't want Parks to ever lose its sunny disposition, because that's part of what makes it stand out from the rest of TV comedies - but in recent seasons, the show has sometimes used its optimism spirit as a way to avoid actual conflict, which comedy (and really, television in general), tends to thrive off of. The thing that made Parks' optimism so appealing in its earlier days was that it often came as a shining light to times of great turmoil. The Harvest Festival arc - perhaps the shows' best run of episodes - was so powerful because Leslie's determination and optimism led to her saving the entire Parks department. The show raised the stakes to huge degrees, and it made the end result all the more satisfying. Leslie's campaign arc, while filled with some all-time classic episodes and moments, wasn't as successful on the whole because we never had any real doubt that Leslie Knope wasn't going to win that election. Her opponent was a moron, and this was Parks & Rec, where everyone always gets what they want. That vibe continued in Season 5, which washed, rinsed, and repeated the "Leslie faces a ridiculous opponent -> Leslie defeats the opponent with her charm and optimism" over and over again. It was pleasant to watch, but the strong emotions that Leslie's accomplishments once brought were gone, because she wasn't really being tested anymore. So I guess that's why I like what the show is doing here. I have no doubt that this is somehow going to end up well for Leslie, but I don't mind because the show is going to throw her around a little bit and test her patience. She's going to get angry, and she's going to feel defeated, and we're going to feel for her, and that's good, because it's going to let us connect to her and root for her again, which makes for much better and, ultimately, more uplifting television. That's why the end of this episode worked so much better for me than any of the similarly sweet endings to Season 5 episodes. April's letter about Leslie was sweet, but it was even sweeter knowing it's coming at a time when Leslie truly, honestly needs it.

I also really liked the Andy plotline, even if it seemed like a bit of an excuse to explain why Chris Pratt isn't going to be around for a few months. Andy and April have been two of the shows' most interesting characters in its later years, as they've both grown leaps and bounds from where they were at the start of the show - and done it completely naturally. This felt like a continuation of that - Season 5 actually had some pretty good development for Andy, with him finally deciding it's time to get on his feet and do something with himself. So seeing him finally being able to do that - with full support from his wife and while still allowing to be...well, Andy...is really nice to see. Plus, Chris Pratt is still one of the best comedic actors on television, and can sell the hell about just about anything he is given. It's too bad that the show has to go on without him for a little while, but I'm confident that there will be plenty of great material for him upon his return.

Oh! And I haven't even talked about Ron fucking Swanson! Ron's "look at this closed off guys' heart opening" arc was a little trite last year, but I also found it pretty effective - effective enough that I thought the cold open was genuinely sweet and earned. I also loved how the show chose to completely forgo any kind of hoopla over Ron and Diane's wedding and just pushed these two together. Just how Ron Swanson would want it, indeed. And even better was Leslie showing her enthusiasm but not doing so in a way that went against Ron's desire for a non-event. The entire cold open was just pretty fantastic and a great way to start off the season.

This is getting ridiculously long, so I'll wrap it up by saying the Tom storyline wasn't anything special, but was very funny and put guest star Henry Winkler to great use. I'm really happy I have so much to say about this show again, because too many of last seasons' episodes would've added up to little more than "eh, it was okay I guess" if I were writing about them. I really hope this continues for the rest of the season.

The Michael J. Fox Show

This was both one of my most anticipated and feared pilots of the season. Like any reasonable human being (*cough* Taylor Swift *cough*), I like Michael J. Fox a lot and want to see him succeed. I also like a lot of the other talent on this show, both on-screen and off, and I think the idea of a comedy about a man struggling with Parkinsons is pretty risky and interesting and could be something really special if it works out. At the same time, it also easily seemed like this show could be bogged down in NBC's desperate attempt for a broad-reaching hit and become something cloying, manipulative, and little more than a Modern Family rip-off (so, basically The New Normal). Luckily, it is not that. It's not that at all - except for maybe the Modern Family rip-off part, right down to the wholly unnecessary mockumentary set-up. But this is looking like it has all of the potential to be a great and even somewhat powerful show, even if it's not quite all there yet.

Unsurprisingly, the show's stongest aspect is Michael J. Fox himself, who continues to be a masterful comic actor, Parkinsons be damned. Betsy Brandt also deserves some major credit as his wife - the two already have really great chemistry and a well-drawn and believable relationship, even when their relationship is left to deal with some pretty by-the-numbers sitcom schlock, as it was in the second episode tonight. If absolutely nothing else, this show should be a nice showcase for both of them, who are pretty fantastic and feel right at home in these roles.

But I don't expect that to be the only thing the show has going for it. Even if the plots too often border on typical family sitcom territory, the writing itself is sharp and nuanced, following the snappy pace of edgier single-camera fare. (Not surprising for a writing staff with a handful of 30 Rock, Happy Endings, and Community alumni). If it plays its cards exactly right, I could maybe even see this becoming the rare show to become both a critical darling and a mainstream ratings hit, something that often seems almost impossible these days.

At the end of the day, though, this show is mostly interested in being a family sitcom, which is something fans of the NBC line-up of the old will want to keep in mind before skyrocketing their hopes up to unreachable levels. It's not attempting to push the sitcom formula to new dimensions like 30 Rock and Community, or even trying the ambitious character work of shows like Parks & Rec and New Girl. And that's fine! If everything works out, this show could easily become a wonderfully written and acted family sitcom with some serious emotional impact. That's more than enough for me, and as long as it gets a bit more ambitious than the stock family sitcoms that it displayed in its second episode tonight, it shouldn't have too much of a problem reaching those levels. 

Things I am looking forward to on the television this year

Hello again, dedicated readers! I thought I would take this rainy Saturday night before what remains of the traditional network TV season to run through a list of what I am looking forward to this season. Why? Because, well, this is my life, and it's time I accepted it. So let's go! In no particular order, here are my most anticipated shows, both old and new, for the upcoming TV season:

• The return of New Girl and Bob's Burgers, aka the two best comedies on television right now. Seriously, if you're a comedy fan and you're not watching these shows, you are depriving yourself of a great source of joy, and that's just sad. True, both of these shows got off to a somewhat rocky start, but they've really come into their own. They both were far ahead of the rest of the comedy competition last season, churning out endless streaks of near-perfect episodes. Both shows benefit from having a deep understanding of their brilliantly defined characters - the kind of understanding that only shows that take the definition of the sitcom and elevate it to new heights can achieve. While following up seasons that were as good as New Girl Season 2 and Bob's Burgers Season 3 is a tough act, I'm still incredibly excited to see where these shows take us next, and I'm pretty confident that wherever it is, it's going to be all kinds of awesome. 

• Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I've already talked about my enjoyment of the pilot on here a lot, so I'm not going to go into too much detail - but I really feel like this is the safest bet for a great new comedy in quite a while. The creators are great, the cast is possibly even better, and the characters are already proving to be pretty interesting. Now, to be fair, my most anticipated comedies of the past 2 seasons both turned into shows I didn't care for (The Mindy Project and Up All Night, if you were wondering), but I have higher hopes for this one, which is already starting with tighter characters and stronger promise than either of those shows had at their start.

• The Michael J. Fox Show. I haven't seen the pilot for this one yet, and my anticipation for it can best be described as "cautiously optimistic". Like any self-respected human being, I like Michael J. Fox a lot and am excited at the prospect of him returning to television. Plus, the premise of the show sounds like something that could make for genuinely interesting and powerful television. My fear is that NBC is pushing so hard for this to be their new flagship comedy that I fear it will be sunk in the process. That's why Go On ended up as such a miserable failure, and I'd hate it to see that happen here, because I could see this being a really excellent show if it's given the chance.

• The triumphant(?) returns of Community and Parks and Recreation. I love both of these shows. That's no secret. I would strongly consider naming Community my favorite show of all-time (only 30 Rock might stand in its way), and the first 3 seasons of it are basically as perfectly tuned to my interests as a television should could be. Of course, it's no secret that Season 4 of Community was a mess, and I don't think there's anyone left in the fanbase that would deny that. But Dan Harmon is back! The darkness is over! Sure, Chevy Chase is gone and so is Donald Glover after 5 episodes. But I have strangely high hopes for this season. I think everyone involved in committed to really giving its fans the return to form they deserve, and we've all seen what can happen when a show really buckles down and commits itself to turning itself around and making an impact again (again, see: 30 Rock). Re-watching the earlier seasons of this show has reminded me of just how amazing it used to be, and I really think it can be that again. As for Parks - well, this will be far less popular, but I also felt that show sort of fell off the wagon a little bit last season. Its season wasn't the disaster that Community's was, but it was kind of a bore, with a few stand-outs but mostly a lot of repeated character beats and half-assed plotlines (Chris and Ann having a baby, anyone?). And yet, those few stand-out moments - like the genuinely touching "Leslie and Ben" - proved there's still spark left to Parks - and I'm hoping Season 6 will expose those sparks once again.

• Orange is the New Black Season 2. The biggest TV surprise of the year for me was Orange is the New Black. Not only was its release trapped in the dead of summer - a time of year generally reserved for B-list reality shows and Suits -  I show had no interest in until I heard the unanimous critical acclaim. As it turns out, Orange was one of the best shows of the entire year, a thoughtful and gripping look into a womens' prison that had the most diverse cast I've ever seen on television - not only in terms of ethnicity, but also in just in terms of different types of female characters. It was a show that really opened our minds in terms of what a television show could do, both with its unique flashback structure and its hoards of completely original characters. It's the best defense of the Netflix model of programming yet, and I'm incredibly curious to see what it can do in Season 2. Part of me fears it will go all Weeds on us, but the more logical side of me trusts that a show this special can't be soured so easily.

So there you go. There are my 5 things I am looking forward to most on TV this year. Or, more accurately: here are a bunch of TV shows I felt like talking about and this seemed like the most convenient outlet to do so. Hope you enjoy my opinions!