Show Review: Two and a Half Men

     
         Do you know what show on television has won the most awards? I do. It's Two and a Half Men. Now ask me if I know how Two and a Half Men has won the most awards? I do not. If I had to describe this show in one word it would be: average. I am an equal opportunity viewer, if a show racks up awards I like to see why, and last year I watch 6 seasons of this show and these are my thoughts.
        Another word for this show is gutless. The best shows are not afraid to change up the dynamic of the show to keep a fresh perspective and keep the jokes new. Granted I have only seen up to season six, in those seasons of Two and a Half Men: Alan still lives with his brother and is struggling financially, Charlie is still a swinging bachelor, and his son is still stupid, food guzzling and clueless.
        I'll be honest, this dynamic worked for about 4 seasons. A show can't win all these Best Comedy Emmy Awards without being at least slightly funny, which it is. My complaint is that if they change the dynamics of the show you find areas where your characters excel that you didn't know they could. What if Alan found his way into money and Charlie went down on his luck and had to depend on him? Or maybe Alan getting on a hot streak with women while Charlie had a icy spell. I'm not a writer for Two and a Half Men so those are the best ideas they're getting.
        To sum up my problem with the show simply: wasted potential. It's a funny show with good writing. The problem is the style hasn't changed. Charlie finds a gorgeous woman, in the morning the son Jake asks a question about something he overheard them say or do and his father Alan lies to him awkwardly. Sprinkle in an ex-wife, alimony, and an overbearing mother and you found yourself an Emmy winning formula.

Likelihood that Two and a Half Men gets tivoed week to week:  0.     Even in its prime this show was wayyyyy over rated, now it's past its prime and still wayyyyy over rated.

Show Review: 30 Rock

        This post is not going to be an episode review, as it was the last 2 weeks of the semester and I had a ton of work to, I am about 2 episodes behind. Instead I will review what has to be one of the top 5 comedies on TV right now... 30 Rock.
        Headlined by Tina Fey this show features a rotating carousel of A-List guest stars (Al Gore, Seinfeld, Matt Damon, Elizabeth Banks, Selma Hayek just to name a few) and past and present SNL stars to deliver witty dialogue a clip of a joke per 5 seconds.
        Usually shows have to decide early on what kind of comedy they are going to do. Their is fast witty comedic dialogue that keeps viewers interested but fails to deliver too much storyline (Seinfeld would be the most prominent one of these). Then there are shows that sacrifice non-stop wit for a hilarious payoff in the last 5-10 minutes of the show (How I Met Your Mother). Then there is the rare breed of show that can do both simultaneously. They have both an episodic and seasonal goal. The only three shows off the top of my head that do both of those things are: Arrested Development, Friends, and 30 Rock.
        Using a wide variety of cast to make fun of pretty much every demographic, 30 Rock spares nobody. From suave uber rich billionaires (Jack Donaghy), lonely people on the dating scene (Liz Lemon), and completely out of touch actors/actresses (Tracy Jordan/Jenna Maroney) with plenty of other stereotypes in between. The real key to this show is it's touch. They don't hit on the same characters more that 3 or 4 times a season, keeping each characters prospective fresh and new each time they are in the focus of an episode.
        People have been calling for the end of 30 Rock, but their fresh delivery style and fearless wit have made me a firm believer. I say season 6 seasons be damned (currently on number 5)... SHOOT FOR 20! I'll keep watching.

Show Review: Fringe Season 3 Episode 9: Marionetta

       Thursdays episode was the first of the season where everyone was back in their proper universes. That is a sentence I never thought I would have to type. It didn't do much to advance the plot in leaps and bound, but it brought you deeper into the psyche of someone (Olivia1) who had trouble readjusting to her old environment after a traumatic experience. I'd saying being kidnapped, brainwashed, and taken to another universe is pretty traumatic.
        Let's take a minute to talk about Anna Torv (Olivia) and her acting this season. I very clearly watch a lot of tv, and besides the perennial great lead acting (Dexter, Hose, Law and Order), Anna Torv has really set herself up as a potential Emmy nominee. Not only has she played the lead role in a show where she has to play 2 people, hers is the only character on both sides that is only subtly different and gets far and away the most airtime. So you have to know which one is which just by how she smiles or walks or laughs. It's been an incredible job in my opinion.
        For those who actually do watch Fringe, this episode had that standard "What the fuck?" moment, when a man tried to reanimate a corpse. Pretty wild stuff goes on on this show from week to week, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Episode Rating 1-10:  6.5    Nothing to phone home about, just another good episode from a good show. It was one of those filler episodes that usually leads to something awesome happening next week, so look for a high score on the next Fringe post
Clean Slate Rating: 4.5       This show is probably never going to score well in this category. If you don't watch it week to week, or Netflix the dvd's from the beginning you are just going to be lost. This episode featured a lot of emotional moments, which was hallmarked by Olivia feeling (rightfully) betrayed.

The Top 5 Best Sarcastic Characters on TV (Right Now)

No introduction, lets get straight to it.

5. Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) 30 Rock

Jack is one half sarcastic and the other half the man. He runs the GE company, oversees TGS with Tracy Jordan, and is also the head of GE's most financially viable department: Microwaves. He is not as overtly sarcastic as the rest of this list, but his whole delivery is one that says "I'm smarter than you and I know it"... and that counts in my book as sarcasm.

4. Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) Community

Jeff is the smooth talking former lawyer of the sophomore comedy Community. His biting sarcasm is delivered so quickly that may times it takes an extra 5-10 seconds to actually get the joke. I call this syndrome "joke lag" and it's a good thing, it makes re-watching episodes better.

3. Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) The Office

Jim has been the best main character on The Office since its inception. His pranks on Dwight carried the show throughout the slow season one, and brought in viewers during the exponentially better seasons two and three. His sarcasm is less biting than Winger's, his style is more egging Michael and Dwight on to even more ridiculous behavior. Can you say Gaydar?

2. Hank Moody (David Duchovany) Californication

Hank is incapable of treating people the way they deserve to be treated. Whether they are his subordinates, his superiors, women, men, people who help him or hurt him, they all (except his daughter) get the same callous overtly perverted sexual treatment. He says whatever he wants and pays for it, and that is why he is not number one on this list. He gets punched in the face on average once in every 3 episodes, unlike the top spot...

1. Greg House (Hugh Laurie) House

Everybody loves House. He thinks 3 steps ahead of everyone he knows, and through those means usually gets exactly what he wants. It is often pretty hard to tell the difference between what is sarcastic and what he's saying just to burrow deeper into peoples head. Good example of sarcasm: he uses a cane, when he needed a new one he asked the store owner "what do you have in bitchin'?" And when he finally settled on one he settle on the "one with the flames on the side, so it looks like I'm going faster."  or this one from season one. The show is full of about 20 of these moments an episode, and it makes it one of the best shows on television.

Show Review: Community Season 2 Episode 11: Abed's Uncontrollable X-Mas

        You have to respect Community for one thing, when they do something, they commit. Last night's episode was entirely in clay animation that the old school Christmas special used to do. The episode followed no seasonal plot, instead they decided to do a full on Christmas special.
        Apparently in the beginning of the episode Abed had gotten some news that drove him crazy, and because of that news he saw everything in clay-mation. They called in Professor Ian Duncan, John Oliver's (from the Daily Show) fame obsessed shrink to get everyone to play along with Abed Christmas fantasy to see where the root of the problem was, which led them all to take up roles of toys from the Island of the Misfit Toys
        Like I said at the beginning of the post, when Community does a gag episode they commit like no other show I have ever seen. Perfect example is their season one episode Modern Warfare, here's a clip of a fan made trailer. Community has a way of filling every stereotype that television shows usually fill, except when they do it they say they are doing it and somehow that makes it even funnier.

Episode Rating 1-10: 5      Despite all the good things about this show week to week I don't like Christmas specials
Stand Alone Episode Rating:    4    Once again I have a bias, as I do not like Christmas specials. However if you have a 10 year old kid and they saw this they might want to tune in week to week. I wouldn't let them though. This is for adults.

Predictions: Survivor: The Final 6... who I think will win

        Let me say right off the top for the 12 people left in America who still watch like I do, this season has had what has to be the dumbest group of Survivors ever. The only smart one was Marty (and maybe Brenda), and the only smart thing they ever did was get rid of Marty. Apart from that this season has been a strategically bungled mess of really good looking people making really bad decisions. None of these people think long term game strategy. They can't see past their alliance and into people lying to them, and none of them think about who votes for who in the final tribal council. It is a joke. But on the other hand, it's pretty interesting tv watching these dumb people bungle around.
        With last night's elimination of Benry (really dumb name by the way) there are 6 castaways left: Holly, Sash, Jane, Chase, Fabio, and Dan. Out of those six, Jane beats anyone she faces off with in the finals, Holly beats anyone but Jane, Chase and Sash beat anyone that aren't women, and if it's those two its a coin flip, Fabio and Dan can beat nobody except each other.
        That said, I think that Holly is going to beat Chase for $1 million dollars. Sash was just lied to by Chase (that's what I saw at least) to get him into their alliance to make it 4 strong with Holly and Jane. Immunity challenge pending, Fabio is next to go (since Sash has a hidden idol they will fake a vote for him and force his idol out), followed by either Sash or Dan (probably Sash). That puts Chase, a 20something in shape car mechanic in the final 4 with a woman over the age 40, a woman over 60, and a man over 50 who had knee surgery and is a no-show in every challenge. In that final 4 as long as Dan doesn't win immunity Chase and the 2 ladies get rid of Dan. Then in the final challenge which is usually a physical test of wills Chase wins and takes Holly because nobody can beat Jane.
        The only way this won't happen is two ways: 1. if these incredibly stupid people decide to rip up their alliances in the final 6, which is ridiculous and unheard of, but like I said, this is the dumbest cast yet. 2. If either Fabio or Sash go on an immunity run. Sash is the wild card, because if he wins the next immunity challenge he is guaranteed in the final 4 due to his hidden idol. That and if they are dumb enough (they probably are) to not vote for Sash in the next vote, he only needs to win one more challenge to make the final 3, and in the final 3 anything can happen. It will be an interesting end, and I'm sure something will go wrong with this prediction along the way, but there are only 2 episodes left.

Show Review: How I Met You Mother

        I realized something after I completed my Top 10 Shows of All Time list: there are just so many god damn shows that it was impossible to give each show that may have deserved a spot in the honorable mentions and debatable in the top 10 its due coverage. As a result, I'm going to give some great shows their due... and How I Met Your Mother is first on that list.
       If I had to describe this show in one word it would be: Awesome! The overuse of the word awesome, the tacky high fives, pick up lines and intricate story telling set this show apart from most others. It has the tangled storytelling of a drama with the heart of a comedy. A interesting combination of new star: Jason Segel, old star: Neil Patrick Harris, and Alyson Hanigan, and Unknowns: Josh Radnor and Colbie Smulders.
       The show is the tale of architect/teacher Ted (Josh Radnor) telling a "love story in reverse". The show is based on Future Ted (never seen, voice of Bob Saget) telling his kids the story of how he met their mother. The show also follows his group of friends, including his best friend/college roommate/lawyer Marshall, his fianace/wife/kindergarten teacher Lily and fellow friend/corporate cronie/Uber womanizer Barney and finally the newest member of their group/Canadian/Ted & Barney's ex/news reporter Robin.
      The only bad thing about this show is the title. If it weren't named "How I Met Your Mother" people would not expect the mother to be in each season. It created an artistic limitation on the show because it's not called how I married your mother, or how your mother and I had kids, it's how I met your mother, which implies that once they meet and start dating that the show will end. It has also created a level of expectation that each girl Ted dates will be the mother. For the first two seasons viewers enjoyed the comedy, but come season 4 or 5 people (including me) started getting pissed off. They give you all these cryptic hints about the mother, and her whereabouts through the show, in Season 3 St. Patty's Day episode they say the mother was in the same bar, and they did not meet but Ted accidentally left with her umbrella, hints like these are littered throughout the six seasons. At a certain point they have to decide what is going to happen, as Ted is 31 (at least) and the show needs to end for its own good.

Overall Series Rating: 8.5/10