But I’m going to tell you anyway.
I have never been ashamed to admit that I’m extremely fond of television. Oh, I know, it rots the brain and making weak for form writeal of languaging. I don’t care, I likes it! So here are the shows I’ve been watching recently.
CURRENT FAVORITES
Boardwalk Empire (HBO, Sundays at 9) Found its groove pretty quickly. A great mix of fiction in a nonfiction setting. Beautifully shot, smartly written, with terrific performances (special kudos to Michael Shannon as the loony-tunes federal agent). Plus violence and booze and women and New Jersey.
Delocated (Adult Swim, Thursdays at midnight) Jon Glaser is one of the funniest dudes around. I love this surreal series about a masked, voice-altered guy in the witness protection program.
Childrens Hospital (Adult Swim, Sundays at midnight) Every funny person in the world is in this insane less-than-15-minute spoof of every medical series ever.
30 Rock (NBC, Thursdays at 8:30) When they’re at their best, this is the sharpest written show on TV. Alec Baldwin is reliably hilarious.
Bored to Death (HBO, Sundays at 10) Jason Schwartzman is a charming son-of-a-bitch. Zach Galifinoideahowtospellthis has perfected the persona of schlubby funnyman. And Ted Danson has never been funnier. Together they are so enjoyable to watch.
OTHER SHOWS I LIKE
The Office (NBC, Thursdays at 9) Steve Carrell is still wildly funny— but I fear for this show once he leaves. The sharp office satire of Better Off Ted last year made me realize that The Office has strayed from its strength: pointing out actual workday nonsense. But they’re still capable of churning out an excellent episode a lot of the time.
Running Wilde (FOX, Tuesdays at 9:30) From the first couple of episodes, it seemed liked Arrested Development alum Mitch Hurwitz and Will Arnett had a dud on their hands. But it has absolutely grown on me, thanks a lot to the very, very funny Will Arnett, and his friend/neighbor/rival Fa’ad.
Raising Hope (FOX, Tuesdays at 9) From the team who brought you My Name Is Earl, this is a pretty similar show: Dysfunctional family in a downscale setting, quirky characters, flashbacks, cleverly overlapping scenes, etc. You really root for the very likable protagonist and the checkout girl of his dreams. And Cloris Leachman is a hoot and a great sport in this, as the wacked-out great-grandmother. The show has a good heart.
South Park (Comedy Central, Wednesdays at 10) I’d say the past couple of half-seasons are notably weaker than all the previous seasons. But, again, when they’re “on,” nobody rips into current events and modern hypocrisy like this show, with a still-biting sense of humor.
Big Bang Theory (CBS, Thursdays at 8 ) Not enjoying this quite as much as in previous seasons, but the interplay of the dorky friends is still charming, and Jim Parsons as Sheldon deserved his Emmy as actor in a comedy series. He’s terrific.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX, Thursdays at 10) Very funny cast. Danny Devito is a tremendous sport and I’m more and more impressed with the comedic skills of Kaitlin Olson as “Sweet D.” They love to offend us and usually the results are very amusing.
Eastbound & Down (HBO, Sundays at 10:30) Summer of 2008 I had no idea who Danny McBride was. Since then I’ve seen him in several movies and enjoyed both seasons of this series. McBride has accomplished the neat trick of creating a thoroughly unlikable lead character who you still totally pull for. And I love that he took the show in a completely different direction this year. Fun stuff.
WATCHING OUT OF LOYALTY/FLASHES OF BRILLIANCE
Saturday Night Live (NBC, Saturdays at 11:30) Has become entirely too hit-and-miss, with way too much reliance on gay jokes/sex jokes/Andy Samberg rapping. But the right guest host can definitely raise the level, and individual performers often have their moments (Armisen, Hader, etc.).
The Simpsons (FOX, Sundays at 8 ) Maybe the element of surprise has worn off after all these years. With rare exceptions (such as the recent Banksy “couch gag”), the show doesn’t seem edgy anymore. But the right writers still cobble together an excellent episode a few times a season.
NOT SURE WHY I WATCH
Two and a Half Men (CBS, Mondays at 9) This used to be an occasional guilty pleasure for me—if I was home, I’d tune in, and I enjoyed its modern twist on The Odd Couple. When paired with Big Bang Theory, I became a regular viewer. And now I generally dislike this show. I’m absolutely not a prude, but there’s such an extreme over-reliance on crudeness and sex jokes. And it’s not just limited to the degenerate Charlie character (and actor). It’s everyone, including the teen son. Pretty weak, and distasteful.
Modern Family (ABC, Wednesdays at 9) The pilot of this last season was just about a perfectly crafted episode of television. They continued to impress me throughout the first season with strong comic performances (especially Phil and Cam) and a skewed take on…uh…modern families. Did they change? Did I change? This season I find it formulaic and overly sentimental. Maybe it’s a bad stretch, or maybe it’s just not the show for me.
Community (NBC, Thursdays at 8 ) I like Joel McHale a lot (who is actually much funnier on E!’s The Soup). Last season all the pop-culture references were fun, but it’s already growing tiresome. And the last couple of episodes have been downright awful.
JURY STILL OUT
The Walking Dead (AMC, Sundays at 10) My beloved shows Mad Men and Rubicon practically begged me to watch this. And I dig zombies. So I checked it out. The premiere episode was suitably creepy. And yet I don’t totally trust director Frank Darabont. Yes, he did write the most excellent Nightmare on Elm Street 3, but he also directed The Shawshit Redemption, which most everybody loved but I did not. I don’t think he has the subtlety to get us emotionally involved in the show. So I’m hoping they stick with cool zombie stuff.
DID YOU NOTICE
on the shows that start at 8:00 p.m., I put a space between the 8 and the parenthesis? That’s because, when I didn’t, it came out looking like 8).
No worries Jack, people probably have better things to do than read my comment.
Music in my car 6-CD Changer and their relevance to TV
1- Austin Powers Soundtrack
Odd pop song collection, 60s stuff, some instrumentals. Fun and forgettable, I like several of the 20 songs but am too much of a space cadet to properly match the names on the cd jacket to what i’m groovin on. If tv execs knew up from down, they’d turn Austin powers into a variety show, with the lead character being played by NONE other than Jack Silbert.
2- Gazetteers “Here We Are”
Maybe on my 10th listen and it really does get better each time. My wife declared the heard it before comparison to They Might Be Giants, and that was a tough one to swallow, because there’s so much more, as we all know. I remember my podunk Mommy used to do the inane scold “if you can’t say something nice, Don’t Say Anything At All.” I think that may apply in the SiW comment section, but I think it’s brilliant that Frank calls the members of KISS hideous! Spade a spade.
3- Inland Empire Soundtrack
Hands down, driving slowly in ANY neighborhood plays well with this record, not just Inland Empire neighborhoods, where I happen to be, and enjoy its flits of dark blues, low frequency feedback, schmaltzy strings, some Beck, a Vandellas type of song. If you were a fan of Twin Peaks, you will be a fan of this.
4- Katy Perry
My wife bought this for me after I started doing an asshole in love dance upon hearing Teenage Dream. It was being played at the end of Gossip Girl when they advertise the episode’s music. I really like the album, even though it’s probably more likely a bunch of asshole Hollywood dudes making the album than Katy. Still, as much as I like it, I’d rather watch the goings ons of Chuck, B, S, Vanessa, Nate and the rest of the fictional and non-fictional Upper East Siders. xoxo
5- XTC Rag Bone and Buffet
I have gone years when I haven’t listened the favorite musical sons of Swindon, but when I do, it comes back with a force like I was still 16, drinking and driving on the way to some weekend party. Apparently the main songwriter wrote the theme for a television show some 5-10 years ago, one of those shows that was semi-hailed by critics but still got cancelled after a season or 2.
6- Tommy James – Greatest Hits
Picked this up at the library a couple of weeks ago. James is close to being a cliched ‘real deal.’ I mostly base this on a DVD i saw several years ago of a bio about him, really really enjoyed it. He’s so incredibly lauded by a lot of cool musicians, I’ve tended to stay away from his influence. Saw the bio near the end of my 6 year stint living in a house/apt without cable tv, living alone, watching the computer, and having a horrible dating life.
I enjoy finding out what people are listening to. I wonder if iTunes’ “Ping” feature will catch on–there’s a definite hole in the social networking world for reviewing music/seeing what your chums are currently into. Someday i will purchase a Tommy James compilation, but as with other artists, every time I look at one it’s a Rhino collection from 1986 and i feel a remastered one must be on the horizon.