Last year brought us breakout hits like Modern Family, Glee, and the equally hilarious but terribly underrated gems Community and Cougar Town. This year, we got $#*! My Dad Says. A most unfortunate turn, I know, but even though this comedy season didn't bring us many outstanding new shows (though one newcomer did make my list), it was a great season for many returning ones. Let's review what top five comedy shows that tickled my funny bone (and plucked at my heart strings) in 2010...
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Week in Review: Lighthouse Rocket Ships, Conspiracy Theories, and the Return of Robin Sparkles11/21/2010 This week's TV lineup featured a surprising number of hookers/porn stars (see House, Raising Hope, and arguably How I Met Your Mother), conspiracies (see Castle and Community), fake guns (see Modern Family and Community), and crying (see Modern Family, Terriers, and Cougar Town), which are always fun plot points. Throw in some exciting guest stars, and it was a pretty great week of television. Here's the rundown...
This week in television was ripe with new faces (Darren Criss on Glee), old faces in new roles (Amber Tamblyn on House), old faces in old roles (Taylor Momsen back on Gossip Girl...barf), and rotting faces (the zombies on The Walking Dead). All in all it was a quality week of November sweeps, with some shows faring better than others. Let's dive in...
The leaves are falling, the temperature is dropping, and the creepy mannequins in the Old Navy commercials have changed out of their swim suits and into their scarves. That's right, people. It's November! And you know what that means: November sweeps. Sure, there were plenty of repeats and sub-par episodes this week (with some exceptions, like the ever-stellar Terriers, and The Vampire Diaries, which somehow seems to maintain the quality and excitement of sweeps every week), but that's just the quiet before the storm, laying the groundwork to pave the way for the wonderment of sweeps, which should kick in this coming week. Until then, let's recap this week's TV highlights (and some medium-to-low-lights)...
This week brought good news for some shows and ambiguous-but-probably-foreboding news for others. CBS surprised everyone by ordering full seasons of all five of their new series, including the critically scorned Twitter-based sitcom $#*! My Dad Says, Tom Selleck's new hit Friday night cop drama Blue Bloods, and Hawaii Five-0. The CW also announced which shows they'd be picking up for a full season: the eight season wonder One Tree Hill (the show that won't die), and freshman series Hellcats and Nikita. Notably absent was Life Unexpected, whose hopes for a full second season are not looking good. But let's move on to some recaps of this week's noteworthy shows, only two of which were mentioned above (yes, that was a shot at all the stupid shows that got full season pick-ups CBS and The CW)...
It was another week of great TV, darkened only by the news of what we'd all feared: ABC will be premiering their new reality competition Skating With The Stars this November, allowing them to continue wasting three hours of air time a week on has-beens and celebutantes making fools of themselves to music, even after this season of Dancing With The Stars has ended (God willing). If this premise sounds familiar to you, it's probably because it's nearly identical to Fox's Skating With Celebrities which only aired for one season in 2006. But by all means, please try it again, ABC.
But enough bad news, let's discuss the good news, namely the winning shows of the week... Another exciting week of television has come and gone, and it seems that the new shows are starting to distinguish themselves as either "keepers" or "soon-to-be-canceled." The first new show to get a full season pickup, I'm happy to say, was Fox's comedy Raising Hope. The outlook isn't as good for some other new shows (Chase, The Whole Truth, and Running Wilde, for instance), but more on that later. Let's start from the beginning...
First of all, let's have a moment of silence for a fallen TV gem: Lone Star, Fox's critical darling slash ratings vacuum, was canceled this week after airing only two episodes. Meanwhile, Outsourced and three Chuck Lorre sitcoms are still at large. Is there no justice? Let's not dwell on the negative, though. There were plenty of entertaining moments in television this week...
What did we learn on TV this week? Well, we learned some valuable life advice from Raising Hope: Don't piss off the guys who's not afraid to pick dead birds out of the pool. On How I Met Your Mother, we learned that the concept of "dibs" was invented by Sir Walter Dibs. This week's Bones taught us that, a) Brennan is the person you want by your side when you come upon a group of armed guerillas (who knew she could wield a shovel like that?), and b) fleas have faster reflexes than any jungle cat. Chuck taught us, "don't mess with a repo man." From Parenthood, we got a lesson on playdate etiquette and the surprising complexities of kindergarten politics. And even though we kind of already knew this, The Vampire Diaries reinforced the law of supernature (is that the noun form of supernatural?) that where there are vampires, there must also be werewolves. All in all it was a very educational week of television. Here's a brief (not really) overview of everything I have deemed worthy of your time (be warned, my standards are not tremendously high).
Fall is here! Which means there's a slew of new and exciting TV shows for us to watch while we sit in our dorm rooms not doing our Spanish reading. And let's not forget the returning shows that can't be missed. However do I manage to watch 24 shows without a DVR? It's not easy, I'll tell you that much. So let's review what shows are required viewing for this television season:
NEW SHOWS: My Generation - Thursdays at 8 on ABC (Premieres Sept. 23rd) Let's be honest, this show will most likely be canceled before Christmas. Why? Because I will watch it. Sadly, I am the Angel of Death of television shows, so please, for my sake, watch this show. It's a mockumentary dramedy following a group of friends ten years after graduating from high school. I'll give you candy if you watch it. Hawaii Five-0 - Mondays at 10 on CBS (Premieres Sept. 20th) What's that you say? They already made a show called Hawaii Five-0 in the 70s? Wow, you're sharp. Like many people, I rolled my eyes when I heard CBS was remaking the hit series (can't anyone come up with an original idea these days?), but I was won over by the compelling promos and the positive buzz that has been surrounding this show. Although the theme song is faithful to the original, there are some changes in the cast: Kono is now a woman (played by Grace Park), and Danny is now Scott Caan (TWIST!). And did I mention Daniel Dae Kim (Lost) is maintaining his Hawaii residency to take up the part of Chin Ho Kelly? The other main cast member, Alex O'Loughlin, is probably the one person with a worse track record than me in shows getting canceled. The star of one-season wonders Moonlight and Three Rivers is playing Detective Steve McGarrett, so here's hoping the third time's the charm for this charming Aussie and that he can finally get a second season out of a show. Terriers - Wednesdays at 10 on FX (Premiered Sept. 8th) This quirky buddy cop noir dramedy has a special place in my heart because the premise and setting is similar to that of the late great Veronica Mars: Unlicensed private investigators uncover the seedy underbelly of Southern California while exchanging witty dialogue and toting along a lovable canine. Ring any bells? Stars Donald Logue (Grounded For Life) and Michael Raymond-James (True Blood) have a beautiful bromance blooming, so tune in if you like funny, well-written shows with cool people and dogs. Running Wilde - Tuesdays at 9:30 on Fox (Premieres Sept. 21st) I shouldn't have to say anything more than "From the creator of Arrested Development," and "starring Will Arnett" to make you squeal with joy (ARE YOU SQUEALING YET?) about this new Fox comedy. Keri Russell costars as the yin to Arnett's yang, the straight (wo)man to his clown. Oh, and Arnett's former Arrested Development costar David Cross will be showing up, too. Hilarity is sure to ensue. Other new shows of interest: Lone Star, The Event, Raising Hope, Better With You, Outsourced, Nikita RETURNING SHOWS: Cougar Town - Wednesdays at 9:30 on ABC (Premieres Sept. 22nd) For the last time, this is not a show about a forty-something Courteney Cox dating younger men. The unfortunate name has given this show a bad reputation, but I assure you it has blossomed into a sharp, funny, well-oiled ensemble comedy about a group of friends/family/neighbors and their respective idiosyncrasies (for a rundown of these quirks, watch my favorite scene from the first season here). Former Friend Jennifer Aniston will be guest starring as Jules' (Courteney Cox) therapist, so that should be fun. I mean, come on, we all know you're watching Modern Family anyway, so how hard is it to not change the channel for thirty more minutes? Find out and you won't regret it. The Good Wife - Tuesdays at 10 on CBS (Premieres Sept. 28th) I'm going to be honest with you, I'm still on a Good Wife high after watching the entire first season in one week, so I'm a little overly excited for the premiere of this perfectly-executed legal drama. Here's all you need to know about The Good Wife: (1) It was the only network show other than Lost to earn a nomination for Outstanding Drama Series at the Emmys this year, alongside cable powerhouses like Mad Men and True Blood, (2) Michael Ealy (FlashForward) and Scott Porter (Friday Night Lights) will have recurring roles in the upcoming second season, and (3) it's awesome. Chuck - Mondays at 8 on NBC (Premieres Sept. 20th) This show is the Little Engine That Could (Get Another Season), and by some miracle it's still on the air, despite its (undeserved) lack of stellar ratings. Season four promises more excitement, Chuck and Sarah going strong as a spy couple, a baby on the way for Mr. and Mrs. Awesome, and a visit from Chuck's estranged mother, played by Linda Hamilton. How can you say no? Community - Thursdays at 8 on NBC (Premieres Sept. 23rd) Another one of my favorite underrated comedies returning for its second season, Community follows a group of misfits at a community college who form a study group led by Joel McHale, who plays a former lawyer walking the line between sleaze and sincerity like a pro. The cast of this show is pure brilliance (Troy and Abed could easily have their own spin-off), and the pop culture references alone are enough to keep you laughing throughout the whole half-hour. And everyone should be positively giddy to hear that Señor Chang (Ken Jeong, who you may know from Knocked Up and The Hangover) is coming back as a series regular. Can you say "fiesta"? Other returning shows you should watch: 30 Rock, The Office, House, Castle, Parenthood, Survivor, Bones, The League, Modern Family, Life Unexpected, How I Met Your Mother, Gossip Girl, Glee |