Friday Night Lights
Watching TV these days can be a real chore. There aren't many great shows, but even if you stick to the very best and dutifully record them on your DVR, there just aren't enough hours in the day to watch them all. And I'm a guy whose girlfriend lives two states away and who hardly lifts a finger other than the one that presses buttons on the remote control.
So as a service to the refined TV-viewing sloths out there, here are the essentials as I see them.
- "Friday Night Lights" -- Better catch this one before it's gone. The movie, based on an exhaustively researched book by Buzz Bissinger, gave us a season in the life of a Texas high school town that, like every other town in Texas, worships football above all else. The TV show, using a fictional Texas setting, allows an even more detailed look into the lives of each character. Every scene rings true. It's heartbreaking, honest and inspiring. There are characters to puzzle over, to hate and to root for. It's all that's great and horrible about sports in America. And it's all that television should aspire to be. Which is why it will likely get canceled before the season ends. Maybe you should wait for the DVD release.
- "House" -- Back after the baseball playoff hiatus, no other show depicts as likeable an anti-hero. Gregory House is the perfect lout, the disgruntled, impossible-to-hate hero. He plays God with an attitude and hidden softness, and in doing so becomes far more worthy of worship than the dude that supposedly rules over all humanity without ever bothering to even send a postcard.
- "30 Rock" -- Tina Fey's take on the behind-the-scenes of an SNL-like live comedy show allows her to vent all her years of frustration against television executives and everything else that gets under her skin. But unlike Aaron Sorkin's preachy and smug "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," Fey doesn't get bogged down in anything so lofty as The Future of Television or The American Culture War. It's a comedy show about a comedy show, more in line with Sorkin's brilliant "Sports Night" but with it's own edge and lunacy. In last week's episode Alec Baldwin's meddling network exec channels Hannibal Lector to intimidate a clueless NBC page, whom he claims is destined to either one day run the network or "we will all die by his hand." No other sitcom has been worth watching since "Seinfeld."
- Of course, there are the Comedy Central staples, "The Daily Show," The Colbert Report," and "South Park." They remain as biting and hilarious as ever. Last week's "South Park" was about Satan holding a "My Super Sweet 16"-style Halloween bash at the W Hotel in Los Angeles. The only thing funnier is an episode of "My Super Sweet 16" on MTV, which I catch from time to time as a way of feeling good about my own privileged position in life and thanking my parents I'm somehow not a raging, spoiled brat.
- I started watching "Heroes" on NBC, one of the more popular break-out hits among the kiddies this year. It's well-conceived, but somewhat obvious in it's plotting. I watch it in fast-forward, more curious about how and when the writing will derail like on "Lost."
- I was somehow able to convert a football-ignorant Rolling Bones blog contributor to the sublime pleasures of "NFL Films Presents." Almost impossible to find without an extra smart DVR, this ESPN regular breaks down the league into its most curious stories with the best behind-the-scenes footage and in-game audio of any sport. So far there have been pieces on the municipal ownership of The Green Bay Packers, the 24-year career of Morton Andersen, ordinary people who share names with NFL legends, and the peculiar popularity of Phil Collins "In The Air Tonight" during pre-game warmups. All perfectly edited and narrated by Steve Sabol.
- The Cartoon Network's "Robot Chicken" is consistently surprising and hilarious in sending up pop culture with stop-motion animation of action figures doing naughty and sick things.
- And "The Office" on NBC might not have me rolling off the couch so far this season, but they have succeeded in keeping the romantic plot to the sidelines while offering cringe-inducing moments like Micheal (Steve Carrell) proving his tolerance by kissing a homosexual employee.
There's plenty more out there, but those are the essentials. And we've all got to save some time for football games. And human contact.
3 comments:
Well, reviewing Rick's list, I disagree with a ton. 1/3 or Rick's viewing comes from bad cartoons - South Park, The Simpsons, and Robot Chicken. Not sure why the first two are still on the air. They weren't that funny when they were first on the air which makes me believe they are unwatchable now. Heroes seems like an X-men rip-off for television. Since the X-men really don't excite me, neither does this show. As for 30 Rock...was Tina Fey even funny on SNL? I don't think anyone the last few years was funny on that show.
However, Kudos to Studio 60 even though that will be cancelled. And due to time constraints, I had to delete all episodes of "Friday Night Lights" and "The Nine" before watching a single episode but really wanting to. I don't do "House" but I've heard good things about it. Daily Show is funny but that should only be watched when there is nothing better on. As for Stephen Colbert. I can tell you where he can take is "report" cause he is so unfunny that he makes Tina Fey come off as funny. So, with FNL probably being cancelled as well as Studio 60, that leaves the following:
The Bachelor: Rome. Yeah...it's cheezy but it makes for great cheese. Nothing is better than watching Erica, a self-proclaimed "Socialite" talk down about living in a room with girls when she lives in a room 10 times that size and then how she doesn't do laundry and will see if she can hire one of the girls to do it for her. Bad television like this is reasons why it is so great.
Two And A Half Men. The best rated sitcom for the 4th straight year. The funniest show on Television. This is Must See TV
Dancing With The Stars. Yes, another guilty pleasure but these people practice 10 times a day and it's amazing when they can accomplish in a week. Plus, it's nice to see Sheryl Burke and Edyita Slywinska dancing around in their Skimpy outfits. The only downfall is the irritating female host.
Desperate Housewifes. Although not as good as Season 1, it still is original programming that makes me giggle here and there.
The Biggest Loser. You wanna talk inspiration? Watching the obese shed 10+ pounds per week training and competiting is good television. The only downfall is the irritating host.
America's Next Top Model. Yes, they pick an UGLY winner each year but the show is more about the cat fights than anthing else.
Survivor. Another year, another solid season. You can't go wrong as long as there is a good cast.
Grey's Anatomy. Although I find Ellen Pompeo quite ugly, the cast puts on a good show that is 100X better than ER.
Girls Next Door. Is anything better watching what stuipd things will come out of Kendra's mouth living at the playboy mansion?
On the bubble for me: The Class
Just finished: Celebrity Duets, The Contender, Project Runway. The Contender and Project Runway are some of the Top reality shows on Television.
And...coming Soon....AMERICAN IDOL.
It's nice to know you can criticize shows without seeing them. And inventing shows to hate -- since I didn't even mention The Simpsons, which hasn't been good for 8 or 9 years now.
But since you mentioned it, suggesting The Simpsons isn't one of the all-time greatest shows -- animated or otherwise -- pretty much disqualifies your taste. You might as well have said Robert De Niro can't act or the only downfall of "Dancing With the Stars" is an irritating female host.
Oh. You said that.
I'm thinking one of you got switched in the hospital when you were born. You two can't really be related.
Bird - I just re-read your post a second time, only this time I imagined a 12-year-old girl wrote it. It made a lot more sense that second time.
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