jussum updatez

curb finished last night, perhaps for good. if it was, it was the perfect series finale (granted, i didn't watch most of the series...yet.). not the funniest episode, but great closure for seinfeld fans (even if the actual seinfeld episode sucked, and the only good part was the rewrite that didn't actually get to air). i'm surprised they didn't address cheryl sucking, though. and larry as george was amazing.
last week's was also a week episode, but also good for cannon, and had the funniest moment of the season with duperstein.

south park is unreal this season.

sunny's pretty damn good, too, but starting to feel the tiniest bit stale.

dexter is a terribly put together show, but lithgow is amazing, and the show is still captivating. it's just sooo overdone, though.

friday night lights doesn't have the nostalgia of season 1, but is still amazing.

the office: is DM going under? my guess is that they get taken over by vance refrigeration, and all are given jobs there, with phyllis as the new boss (that's the only limitation to that plot idea, but it could work to their advantage).

californication also isn't having its best days, but i'm yet to watch this week's. we'll see.

'da zeitgeist

i'd love to make aggro a regular thing again. we'll see.

a few quick updates, before the real post:

-amazing south park season so far.

-sunny has been fantastic (besides the product placement ep, which still had its bright spots). it's a show that's begging to get old quickly, but it's not--it's saying extremely fresh. much respect for that writing staff.

-john lithgow is amazing in dexter. the season as a whole is okay.

-californication is constantly evolving and constantly good. hank's just too good of a character. he's our generation's don draper. and they fulfilled my boyhood fantasy of seeing the girl from saved! naked. ahhhhhh...tv nudity.

-mad men. i don't even need to go there. we all know it's the best.

-friday night lights season is too young for judgment (i only watched the first ep so far, and i was distracted. ep 2 coming immediately after this post.) UPDATE: how did i not see this before...it's district 5 and banks all over again. the miiiighty ducks!

-degrassi might as well be called the next next generation now. i'm digging this set of characters, but i find it hard to believe that some of them are who they play (for instance, the blond nerdy girl whose name i always forget [darcy's sister, i think? claire?] wouldn't get the guy with the temper problem whose name i also always forget).

-i've always had a problem with curb your enthusiasm's improv, and have never been able to get past the first episode or two of season one, but i'm giving this season a try and loving it. the weakest part by far is the seinfeld reunion (the first time they're all seen together again on the set is the most anti-climatic reunion i've ever seen). hysterical show, though, even if it is often annoying.

-the office is no longer a comedy, but it's still a good show.


and now, on to the post.

if you're looking for a tangible way to understand zeitgeist, look no further than your television at 3am. we haven't seen infomercials this popular since amazing discoveries, and we can actually track their progression into the zeitgeist. the magic bullet at 2am in college, snuggy on 30 rock (or so i'm told), billy mayes's death...infomercial hosts were this halloween's joker. they're officially something to be mentioned in "i love 2009."

and if you've never seen shop erotic, tivo it at least once.

smallville

in preparation for the summer gig, i've been watching all of smallville, beginning to end (i'm currently staring at a paused frame from episode 7.14). i was a fan of the show when it started, but hadn't partaken in a while. to my (mild) surprise, the show's is fantastic. they do an incredible job blending genres, and constantly keep the origin story interesting. it has its annoying procedural elements, and often is full of horrible acting, but when its at its best (seasons 2-6) it is a wondefully crafted almost-greek tragedy with multiple parallel, illuminating narratives about heros' journies, father/son relationships, and love. episode 5.12 is one of the best i've ever seen on tv.

another impressive feat worth mentioning is that the show has managed to keep dramatic irony interesting this entire time. i know who's going to live and who's going to die (for the most part), yet i am still gripped at every moment. ...and those damn d.i. jokes still haven't gotten old. now, let's just see if my opinion changes once i get to the disowned seasons, post gough + milar...

school's out for summah!

as the minute hand clicks its way to 3:37, then back to 3:36, and then finally to 3:38 for the final bell of the school year, aggrocrag (the sentient blog) salivates at the idea of being given attention once again. so here's my vow to do so. ...and to bring content of actual significance. so with that, let us begin...

ahhhhhhhh

jesus christ, graduate school--stop killing all my blogs!

of course, all it takes is a new south park season (and maybe some spring break) to bring us back into action.
after the controversy surrounding their potential display of the profit mohammad, i'm shocked south park got away with displaying the american profit mickey without us hearing about it beforehand. notorious for their rapidity in suing anyone who displays a trademark in any sort of way (example: preschools), disney is sure to get a bit annoyed over south park's anti-christian, hitler-meets-napoleon version of their iconic anthropomorph. but maybe the higher-ups at mouse will realize any law suit will just fuel matt n' trey's fire; maybe this will go ignored.
either way--brilliant comeback with very littler cartman is a good sign for things to come. let's see where this goes next.

that malcolm thing, described below, will come eventually--i just need to wait for the cycle to reset.

i've moved on to the shield now (almost done with season 3), and am catching up with dexter (half way through 2). both are very strong. mad men as well.

the new season of degrassi has been fantastic. and flight of the conchords s2 is kicking the living crap out of s1, which is an impressive feat.

east bound and down: weak first three episodes, although you could see something good was brewing. amazing fourth episdoe. david gordon mothaffffffudgin green.

24's new season has been almost as good as the first three, and the last episode was one of the best yet. they've finally taken it back to where it needs to be.

tim and eric have outdone themselves 50-fold this season.

best show you're not watching: deeper throat. showtime porn reality show about remaking the 70s classic.

breaking bad season 2. cued up on my tivo....NOW.