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.

what what whaaaaa?!?!!

obviously last week's south park must be discussed. and that odd but amusing it's always sunny should be mentioned (and now has been). but first--

summer heights high. worst advertising campaign of all time, but a rare free half hour on sunday led me to watching, and i was blown away. the best mocumentary style show yet, perfectly capturing these personalities. possibly the best pilot i've ever seen. start watching if you aren't.

and 'park. less than 24 hour turn around? how'd they do that? my guess: they assumed obama was going to win (and figured if he didn't they'd just do the episode anyways and bite the bullet?), made the episode's shell, and fought like hell to get the details in in time. whatever the case, a great episode.

and entourage continues like it's been all season. awesome.

my apologies that this blog has become only about two or three shows. more to come as soon as there's time.

ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod...

lots to update.

first: WE HAVE A NEW PRESIDENT COME JANUARY AND IT'S THE RIGHT ONE.

a few years ago, when time/newsweek/otherfakeishnewsmagazine came out with a barak cover and the question: is he our next president, i remember being ecstatic that the question could even be asked. never could i have dreamed that the answer would be yes. thank god, america. faith is restored.

now, on to the show.

the last two episodes of the office have been unreal good. so, so awkward, yet so perfect. they've gotten back to their roots by moving on--if that makes sense.

entourage: another two great ones. ari handled the offer semi-perfectly (i'd have liked to have seen him take the job, but this works, too), and smokejumpers has the makings of a great arc. and all of the characters have for the first time in the show's history REALLY hit their strides. let's see how this all plays out.

south park. two weeks ago: abysmal. confusing as all hell. as a huge pan flute comedy fan (check my track record), i found this to be a terrible use of a potentially brilliant set piece. and stan's dad? but it was all just a setup for one of the most brilliant episodes of the past few years. bravo. all i couldn't understand--why send the kids to peru? why not just send them somewhere else? or kill them? if you know craig's the key, why even put him in the same country as the lock? amazing, though.

it's always sunny. rob thomas and sinbad's episode was just kind of confusing--the least sensible one yet (which is saying a lot), but still hysterical. last week's, however, with the mail room jobs and dee's heart attack, is among the best ever. it was politically poignant ("we don't have government provided health care in this country?! what is this, socialism?") and hysterical (charlie, as per usual, was unreal).

24's on its way back, as is breaking bad. --or breaking bad might already be back, actually. i really should be more on top of all this.

reDOMption, south park e2, it's always sunny kidnapping

the unwelcome return of dom to entourage--even if it was a sendoff--comes in the middle of the most formulaic episode of this otherwise stellar season. back to the e/vince turtle/drama mode, which they thankfully (like with dom) cut the ties with before it got too far. i'll mark this one up to doug ellen doing a friend from home a favor (at the wga he said dom, who basically plays himself, was getting heckled on the street because of his "character." the title says it all...), and we'll move on...

south park's second of the season (breast cancer) is among the best of all time. they returned to the bare bone of their strength and made an episode about the innerworkings of eric cartman. it felt...real. for the first time in a long time.

...which is the exact pattern i've been expressing fear it's always sunny was falling into, but tonight's--the first without devito since he started--dispelled that notion. the indian neighbor's arch was perfect.

a good week for television on the whole.

it's always sunny in philadelpiha

the new season is doing well, but it may be in danger of acknowledging its own goodness soon and getting too full of itself. the hour-long episode (as opposed to the almost-normal back-to-back) last week was weak, although charlie's butt eating monologue was amazing, and this week's poop-search was fantastic, but for the third time this season it relied too much on itself (green man; repeated, more often than usual visits by the waitress; etc). i'm still loving it, but i hope the end of that isn't as in sight as it may appear...

it's always sunny in the bigoted south...and heroes. OH! and skinamax!

the second it's always sunny double-header of the season featured two episodes that helped ease the fear of shark-jumping, but brought forth a fear of formulaic writing. nonetheless, two episodes that started off slowly and finished amazingly does bode well--it's the antithesis of what south park's been doing lately, and that's a good thing.

true blood kind of reinvented itself this week. kind of. it's still hard to fully judge where it's going, but i know that it's treading dangerous waters: it's going to be hard to keep up an interesting supernatural allegory without feeling hammy (it already kind of does).

heroes: i can't believe it's taken me this long to realize that i don't like these characters or actors. writing in the two hour premiere was HORRIBLE, but the plot lines are somewhat interesting. as dan points out, though, adding time travel elements to a show like this just makes it too unnecessarily complicated. it adds in a diagetic rule that nullifies all other diagetic rules. tough.

and finally, co-ed confidential. those of you who are fans of brian belot's work (see: claremonttelevision.com) will love this currently on-demand softcore semi-porn show about four college freshmen and they're craaaaazy overseers. highly recommended. in depth analysis of each episode coming soon.

ps. congrats to the marlins for pooping on the mets' parade this afternoon. HUZZAH!

it is indeed always sunny.

this thursday marked the first time since pre-strike where television really felt normal again. the return of it's always sunny double features made me feel...whole.

the first two episodes were both fantastic, but i'm afraid the show might be suffering from the 24 fallacy, which is to say that they think their strength comes from raising the bar for what they see as a core element of the show, muting the show's real strength (24 seasons progress by making jack save more people, in effect dehumanizing his adventures). in it's always sunny's case, these two episodes brought controversy to its highest levels, through cannibalism and water boarding respectively, and while the show maintained it's humor, i'm afraid it can't keep up this pattern for long. ...we shall see...

things i've learned during--and, in one way or another, as a result of--the strike

-jon stewart is even funnier a person than i had given him credit for.

-it's always sunny in philadelphia is hysterical. charlie is one of the greatest characters ever.

-robot chicken is what happens when family guy has no allegiance to main characters.

-as hard as this is to admit to myself, i actually get lonely without my favorite shows having new episodes. i hated the last season of 24, and i was not particularly looking forward to this one, but jack bower's absence in my life is certainly felt.

-the simpsons can still actually be funny. that 90's show, season 19 ep 11, was one of the best i have ever seen. the BTTF reference...incredible.

-the wire is hands down the most brilliant television show ever made.

-nick gas really is dead. i love the n, but i was fine having it a few hours a day on noggin. the world is a sadder place without gas.