What I’ve Been Watching: Edition IX

Well, I did it: I “cut the cord.” I was pruning my azaleas and I accidentally snipped the cable cord right in two. So I immediately duct-taped it back together because I loves loves loves my cable TV. And here are the shows that I’ve been watching recently!

LOVED

Too Many Cooks (Adult Swim) OK, it’s not a series, it’s just 11 minutes long, but I’ve watched it so many times—too many times! too many times!—that it feels like my favorite show. Surreal and surprising and dark and smart and oh that song. Absolutely hilarious. Abso-lutely.

LIKED A LOT

Going Deep With David Rees (National Geographic) I don’t think I’ve ever watched a show on the National Geographic Channel before. But I used to enjoy Rees’s clip-art comic strips My New Fighting Technique Is Unstoppable and Get Your War On and there was that one time I saw him speak at Sunny’s in Red Hook because I was invited by this woman who’d recently dumped me and I stupidly thought I could win her back and that was before we all had maps on our phones and oh man did I get lost and I called my Brooklyn-based cartographer friend but he couldn’t help me (what the hell), it was just me and a lot of Mexican guys who were playing soccer and some food trucks and finally I found the place and, well, long story short, I did not win her back. But I digress. This is a fun, clever TV show in which Rees takes a seemingly simple activity—tying your shoes, making ice cubes, lighting a match, etc.—and meticulously walks us through the process, talking to experts at each step, as he attempts to optimize the results. Rees is like that smug, funny rich guy you went to college with; he’s just a little annoying but he’s enough of a goofball to keep me watching. Plus you learn stuff!

Jonah From Tonga (HBO) As time goes by, it really seems like Summer Heights High was Chris Lilley at his best. Still, I’ve enjoyed him revisiting some of that show’s best characters in recent follow-up series. Ja’mie was solid and Jonah was even better. He’s such a badly behaved little brat—really, really funny—but Lilley inserts just the right touch of humanity to raise things to another level. Well-crafted television.

LIKED

The Leftovers (HBO) The pilot was excellent television. The rest of the season was occasionally up to that level but sometimes not so much. Maybe I shouldn’t have read that interview with author Tom Perrotta where he admitted that HBO pressured him to change his lead character into an “anti-hero” because that’s what people respond to these days. And that’s from HBO, the proud bastion of originality. It broke my heart a little. Still, bonus points for having posters in the teen girl’s room from Nardwuar the Human Serviette’s band the Evaporators. And weird how I now see Ann Dowd, actress who plays the leader of the smoking, no-talking, white-wearing cult, in every goddamn movie I watch.

Gracepoint (FOX) So, a year ago, there was Broadchurch on BBC America, which I, ahem, “Liked a Lot.” And now there is the American remake. Starring David “I Was Doctor Who” Tennant, who (no pun intended) also starred in Broadchurch, but now he’s doing an American accent. And it’s the same damn show, almost shot-for-shot! And, of course, not quite as good. But, eh, good enough.

Garfunkel and Oates (IFC) They are sweet and funny and cute and write very clever songs. But it is perhaps telling that, while I’ve forwarded their YouTube links to several people, I’ve never actually suggested that someone watch the TV show. And ooh, also, I just watched this bad movie Hell Baby from the Childrens Hospital folks, and the Garfunkel lady was all naked in it, and now I think I’ll be uncomfortable watching her sing the cute funny songs. Or maybe not.

Tim and Eric’s Bedtime Stories (Adult Swim) I thought this was supposed to be a sort of spoofy Twilight Zone thing, and a couple of episodes were, but then others were just Tim and Eric being “Tim and Eric” and sometimes that’s really funny and sometimes they think it’s funny but it kind of isn’t. The Heart, She Holler did a much better job of blending genuine scares with offbeat humor.

DIDN’T LIKE

American Horror Story: Freak Show (FX) I’ve generally enjoyed this series quite a lot, but this season has been a definite disappointment. It’s like they put so much emphasis on having “crazy” characters that they forgot an important little step: writing a story. And having 1950s people sing modern-day songs seems like they really don’t trust the audience’s intellect. So that’s disrespectful, but more importantly, it takes me right out of the mood the show hopes to evoke.

Mulaney (FOX) I wanted this to be good. There’s a Mulaney-fan woman in California who I wanted to text and say “oh this show is so good.” I’d seen John Mulaney do stand-up and he is a very funny fellow. And Martin Short is on the show, truly one of my favorite human beings ever. But the thing is, the show is terrible. Not funny, not good. It is just another bad sitcom. Suffice to say, I have not sent any text messages.

Mike Tyson Mysteries (Adult Swim) Clever in concept, crummy in execution. It’s a Scooby-Doo-style animated show with the actual voice of Mike Tyson. And kudos for casting Norm MacDonald as the voice of a sassy pigeon. The only problem with this program: It is not funny whatsoever.

TWO AND DONE

Welcome to Sweden (NBC) Oh my god this show was so boring! And also, weirdly European. A guest spot from a bloated Will Ferrell couldn’t save it, and I watched a second episode, just to see him. I guess if you’re Amy Poehler’s brother, you get a network show, even though the guy has no noticeable comedic talent. He is a poor man’s Greg Kinnear.

ONE AND DONE

Gotham (FOX) I forgot to set the DVR for this one, which was maybe my brain sending me some sort of message. But I did tune in on-demand, and the first disappointment was that it’s set in the present day. So that’s no fun. And then it was, I don’t know, just not very good. Felt like one of those half-assed made-in-Canada shows with third-rate actors. But it was when I realized We are never going to see Batman in this series that I decided I would not tune in again.

Working the Engels (NBC) I do have my SCTV loyalty (see Martin Short comment above), so I figured I’d give Andrea Martin a shot on this summer-replacement series. Oh, it was bad! Terrible writing, clumsy acting, and worst of all, not funny. Sorry, Mrs. Falbo.

TURNED IT OFF 42 MINUTES INTO THE 1 HOUR, 41 MINUTE PREMIERE AND DELETED FROM THE DVR

The Strain (FOX) Ooh, Guillermo del Toro! This is going to be spooooooky! Except, no. It was stupid and poorly-made and cheap-looking. Shame on you, del Toro. Man, no wonder you got fired from The Hobbit.

JACK, ARE YOU STILL WATCHING THE SIMPSONS?

Yes, yes I am. The hour-long crossover with Family Guy made me hate both shows, congrats.

AND YOU WATCHED THE KILLING AGAIN, EVEN THOUGH YOU REALIZED THREE SEASONS AGO THAT IT WASN’T ANY GOOD?

Yeah, I did. Sue me. And… it sucked again.

NOT REALLY A SHOW

Olive Kitteridge (HBO) And it wasn’t even a miniseries, even though HBO told us it was. It was a two-part movie! After this year’s Emmys, I’m on to you networks and your jockeying for nominations in categories with less competition! But anyway: This was good! I kept thinking, if this was a series, I would watch it. Frances McDormand was terrific as a pretty unlikable character who McDormand makes us root for nonetheless. John Gallagher Jr. from The Newsroom plays against type as Olive’s unlikable son. The great Richard Jenkins as her husband is likable but also sad and a little creepy. Life is difficult, folks! Even in small-town New England. And yes that motherfucker Ann Dowd is in this too.

THANK YOU AND GOODBYE

Boardwalk Empire (HBO) OK, it was never quite as good as The Sopranos, or the first four seasons of The Wire, but it was solid, with some great performances (Michael Shannon, Bobby Canavale, and the Half-a-Face Guy especially stood out). For those who gave up on the show a couple of years ago, consider watching this final season, as it was really done with care. Frequent use of flashback (with fine young actors taking on familiar roles) added a whole other layer to the series and made for a very satisfying conclusion.

LOOKING FORWARD TO

Not very much. Thank you, HBO, for airing Hello Ladies: The Movie on November 22; Stephen Merchant’s hilarious sad-sack series was cancelled too soon and I’m glad they get to tie things up. Definitely upping my Letterman viewing as we inch closer to his final shows. I’ll definitely get verklempt during this year’s holiday show. I’ll miss you, Darlene Love. I’ll miss you, Lone Ranger story. And football toss at the meatball atop the Christmas tree, I think I’ll miss you most of all.

WHAT I USED TO WATCH AND IN MANY CASES STILL DO

Links to Edition I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII.