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CaptainHollywood posted:I think that's a lot less true today than it was even 10 years ago. Before the most serialized a show would get would be in a two-part episode, and rarely would there would be any advancement of character growth. I really the whole "TV can be as good as movies" movement started with the advent of the Sopranos. Even American-made comedies started to get 'smarter'. Yes, that's true. I think HBO and other cable shows (and the West Wing) are kind of exempt from what I said about most American TV, as they're completely devoted to putting lots of money into very high quality viewing. It's not quite as much of a ratings grab as people are paying for their service anyway, so they can take risks and make a show about gangsters in a family situation or a serial killer who murders bad people (the Showtime example). I wouldn't say American-made comedies are getting that much smarter across the board, and when I say this I talk about success. Compare According to Jim's eight seasons to Arrested Development's two and a half. People have often said this about the BBC, i.e. they get a licence fee from the population every year so in theory they should be making the most ambitious programs on television, but they don't really do this. That said, they're clearly comfortable putting a sci-fi of wildly varying quality as their Saturday Night flagship.
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Sep 2, 2009 07:39
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Burnt through Sons of Anarchy fairly quickly, and I really really want to like it. My problem with it is the same as my problem with The Shield, in that I just don't believe it, and there's not enough violence or cursing. I should stop hoping every crime based TV series is as perfect as The Wire or Phoenix I guess.
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Sep 2, 2009 14:51
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glasnost toyboy posted:I should stop hoping every crime based TV series is as perfect as The Wire or Phoenix I guess. You should stop doing this, you'll only be disappointed until you die. I assume you're still relatively young and that's a very long time to not enjoy TV. Mitthrawnuruodo posted:Compare According to Jim's eight seasons to Arrested Development's two and a half. Different networks - FOX has a history of cancelling shows with a cult following. Furthermore, Arrested Development wasn't as accessible as According to Jim. Not that According to Jim is that funny either, but that's besides the point. As an aside, I hated AD and really don't understand why all of you love it so much. Usually, I can see why people like a show even if I don't (case in point - the US Office),but I watched the entire first season of AD and didn't enjoy it in the slightest. I kept waiting for it to get good and then just gave up. As for comedies getting smarter - I could put up How I Met Your Mother, but one show doesn't make a trend. Also - all of you go watch HIMYM.
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Sep 3, 2009 01:18
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Just watched the first series of Dexter. loving hell.
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Sep 3, 2009 15:37
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Jedi posted:As an aside, I hated AD and really don't understand why all of you love it so much. Usually, I can see why people like a show even if I don't (case in point - the US Office),but I watched the entire first season of AD and didn't enjoy it in the slightest. I kept waiting for it to get good and then just gave up.
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Sep 3, 2009 16:00
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Nate RFB posted:HIMYM aside, what other comedies do you like? AD is in a way liked so much because it's completely different other sitcoms and very much breaks the mold. No laugh track, a writing staff that is completely self-aware, loads of referential humor, and an ability to build up jokes up episodes before they happen (seriously probably the the best humor-based continuity you'll ever find)...that type of "smart" humor is the kind goons would just dig the hell out of it. It's not that hard to imagine, is it? There's also shows like Californication, Entourage, Weeds, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. 15 years ago the only comedies on television people watched were Friends and Seinfeld.
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Sep 3, 2009 16:05
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Nate RFB posted:HIMYM aside, what other comedies do you like? AD is in a way liked so much because it's completely different other sitcoms and very much breaks the mold. No laugh track, a writing staff that is completely self-aware, loads of referential humor, and an ability to build up jokes up episodes before they happen (seriously probably the the best humor-based continuity you'll ever find)...that type of "smart" humor is the kind goons would just dig the hell out of it. It's not that hard to imagine, is it? HIMYM aside, I watch mostly stuff on cable or British stuff (Coupling, Extras, The OFfice). About the only other comedies I watch on regular TV is Family Guy and American Dad, and I don't really watch that stuff all that often anymore either. I enjoyed the first 2 seasons of My Name is Earl, but hated the last two. AD seemed almost a little too over the top for me. I got the impression, whether this was intended or not, that the writers were going "LOOK OUT KIDS! HERE COMES THE WACKINESS!!" Anyway, I don't begrudge anyone for enjoying it, I just find it categorically unfunny. I know I'm in the minority around here and I'm fine with that. Also, in re: laugh tracks - both The Honeymooners and I Love Lucy are two of the greatest comedies ever written and both hadw laughter. I'm not one of those people who flips out over hearing one. I can tune it out and it doesn't diminish my enjoyment of a program one bit.
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Sep 3, 2009 19:46
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When it comes to laugh tracks, I think HIMYM is the only show that seems like it's impervious to its problems. It will probably stand the test of time. The only other show I think I'd include in this conversation as well is Seinfeld. I've read plenty of threads, some even here, about why the laugh track is necessary, but every single time I hear it in any other show I'm immediately pulled out of it and don't like it. A lot of sitcoms I used to love when I was younger aren't nearly as enjoyable now as a result. I don't know what is the biggest influence or reason for it (US Office, 30 Rock?) but whatever started the trend for some sitcoms to abandon the laugh track was probably the best thing to ever happen for me, television-wise. AD was actually one of the shows, along with Firefly, that got me back into television.
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Sep 3, 2009 20:15
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Malcolm in the Middle was one of the first ones that I remember not having a laugh track and it really benefited from it. I have also been catching a lot of reruns and I still think it is every bit as awesome as it used to be.
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Sep 3, 2009 23:17
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I finished Harper's Island fairly recently. There was a lot I liked about it and a few things I didn't. I thought it stayed pretty consistently good throughout, although I was a little disappointed in the survivors. The ones who lived were kind of predictable. I was hoping there'd me more people you wouldn't expect to live, like Tank from The Matrix. Now I'm binging through The Venture Brothers. I have no idea why, but this show is way funnier to me than it has any right to be. No matter how much I watch it it never gets old. Meow Cadet posted:Ugh. I just finished episode 6 of Carnivale. I know I'm going to be upset when it ends, but I hate hearing it. On the upside, I thought it was only 1 season long, so when I recently learned it was 2 seasons long, I was pleasantly surprised.
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Sep 3, 2009 23:42
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CloseFriend posted:Now I'm binging through The Venture Brothers. I have no idea why, but this show is way funnier to me than it has any right to be. No matter how much I watch it it never gets old. I have watched "The Lepidoptorists" in season 3 and, like every ep of season 2 a ridiculous amount and I still laugh my rear end off every time. I freakin love it, there is something about that show where it just stays funny forever. For content, after I got hooked on Veronica Mars, I got my roommates hooked on it too. They were a little skeptical after the first episode, what with her getting dumped, her friends abandoning her, her dad getting fired, her mom leaving, her best friend's murder, and her getting raped, they were a little concerned that the show would be a little too dark. Fortunately they got sucked in pretty quickly and are so sad that my season 2 hasn't gotten here yet. We won't be watching season 3 though, after the advice of everyone here. I'm content with pretending the end of s2 is the end of the show, and I think they will be too. My biggest concern, other than them not liking the show cause it's too dark, was that they'd hate Logan forever after the bum fights episode. I kind of agree with them hating him for that, because really, even as messed up as his life is, there's really no excuse for what he did there. But they quickly started liking him after that amazing kiss on the balcony. 
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Sep 4, 2009 07:46
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Jedi posted:AD seemed almost a little too over the top for me. I got the impression, whether this was intended or not, that the writers were going "LOOK OUT KIDS! HERE COMES THE WACKINESS!!" Anyway, I don't begrudge anyone for enjoying it, I just find it categorically unfunny. I know I'm in the minority around here and I'm fine with that. I can understand how you'd get that impression from the third season, but the first two have so many subtle jokes that people are still catching them during their 3rd and 4th run-through of the series. Even still, the "wackiness" that inevitably arrives is funnier and better thought-out than 99.9% of television comedies. I'm a little over halfway through the first season of Six Feet Under. It is certainly interesting and pretty quirky oh god Nate's GF possible incest alert christ, and I'm also shocked by the fact that it came out in 1999. Definitely ahead of its time.
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Sep 5, 2009 00:44
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Leviathan posted:I'm a little over halfway through the first season of Six Feet Under. It is certainly interesting and pretty quirky oh god Nate's GF possible incest alert christ, and I'm also shocked by the fact that it came out in 1999. Definitely ahead of its time. Prepare for the greatest ending in any series I have seen. If you don't cry you have no heart. 
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Sep 5, 2009 03:00
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Leviathan posted:I'm a little over halfway through the first season of Six Feet Under. It is certainly interesting and pretty quirky oh god Nate's GF possible incest alert christ, and I'm also shocked by the fact that it came out in 1999. Definitely ahead of its time. Hey fellow Six Feet Under virgin!  I just wrapped up episode 10 of the first season. I'm absolutely all over this show. I thought it was going to be completely overrun with sadness and drama but when they pull out the funny, its hilarious.
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Sep 5, 2009 03:09
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calandryll posted:Prepare for the greatest ending in any series I have seen. If you don't cry you have no heart. drat everyone keeps talking about the ending and I want to see it now...5th season is so far away at this point. Also, unless the ending is sadder than Life is Beautiful + Schindler's List + What Dreams May Come + Of Mice and Men put together, I'm probably not gonna be shedding any tears. LoudLoudNoise posted:I thought it was going to be completely overrun with sadness and drama but when they pull out the funny, its hilarious. Totally agree. Leviathan fucked around with this message at 06:23 on Sep 5, 2009 |
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Sep 5, 2009 06:06
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calandryll posted:Prepare for the greatest ending in any series I have seen. If you don't cry you have no heart. It sort of had an emotional impact for me, but Ball somehow made pretty much every character on the show annoying as hell so it didn't do much. VV Yeah, he was the only tolerable character left. spooky wizard fucked around with this message at 09:01 on Sep 5, 2009 |
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Sep 5, 2009 06:28
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RoryGilmore posted:It sort of had an emotional impact for me, but Ball somehow made pretty much every character on the show annoying as hell so it didn't do much. Pretty much this. I also hated the ending because the death montage shows that Keith, the one tolerable character, dies from getting shot while on the job. It's like the writers just wanted to sneak in one more punch to the nuts even at the very end.
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Sep 5, 2009 06:40
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I just finished season 2 of Chuck. One of the best shows I've seen and I can't wait for more!
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Sep 5, 2009 09:53
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Oh man, the SFU scene in 1x11 where Rico is eyeing the baby with the scalpel and it makes him puke...the thought of what he had to do even made me uncomfortable, and to give you some reference I completely dissected an old lady's arm in anatomy this past summer. That illustrious class included activities like: skinning the drat thing manually, removing all the subcutaneous/muscular fat (which has a tendency to liquefy as the cells rupture), and using a surgical saw to separate the hand from the forearm. Also, I'm hoping I'm way off on the foreshadowing of Rico's wife's death after the OB says she has preeclampsia. It just seems way too cheap and contrived for this show. Leviathan fucked around with this message at 10:05 on Sep 5, 2009 |
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Sep 5, 2009 09:55
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Just finished It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - what a funny show. I think it might even beat out Arrested Development for me. Anyone know other good comedies that are similar to those two? they're by far the best tv comedies I've had the chance to see. I love watching completely despicable people for some reason.
Salt Block Party fucked around with this message at 03:08 on Sep 6, 2009 |
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Sep 5, 2009 12:11
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Newsradio is awesome and all the characters pretty much do horrible things to each other, especially Phil Hartman.
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Sep 5, 2009 12:14
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Oh I know. News Radio was my favorite show when I was a kid. At least until Hartmann died. It was still ok with Lovitz on it but the first few years were gold.
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Sep 6, 2009 03:08
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^^^Check out Andy Richter Controls the Universe if you haven't already. More on the surreal end, but I didn't realize until rewatching it years later that most of the cast were total dicks to each other. Jedi posted:Also, in re: laugh tracks - both The Honeymooners and I Love Lucy are two of the greatest comedies ever written and both hadw laughter. I got used to it in HIMYM after the first handful of episodes or so, and I barely notice it anymore, but I still could do without it. Even if I don't notice it or mind it, it doesn't add anything to the show. Leviathan posted:drat everyone keeps talking about the ending and I want to see it now...5th season is so far away at this point. Also, unless the ending is sadder than Life is Beautiful + Schindler's List + What Dreams May Come + Of Mice and Men put together, I'm probably not gonna be shedding any tears. The 4th season premiere in particular is completely gut-wrenching. Everyone harps on the finale, which IS excellent, but the final scene of 401 and something else that happens a few episodes before the finale make for some of the most unfathomably dark TV I've ever seen.
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Sep 6, 2009 08:17
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Jedi posted:AD seemed almost a little too over the top for me. I got the impression, whether this was intended or not, that the writers were going "LOOK OUT KIDS! HERE COMES THE WACKINESS!!" No one I've ever showed Arrested Development to has gotten this vibe at all. Maybe smoke some  and try not to over analyze it the goony goon way? If you can't laugh at "Pier Pressure" (arguably in the top 3 best episodes) there is something seriously wrong.Just finished Harper's Island a few days ago and thought it was pretty good. Surprised at the amount of gore they got away with on a CBS show and I'm hoping the DVD shows a little more (especially the kill at the end of the first episode). The reveal at the end felt a little weak but maybe it'll be better if I rewatch the series knowing the reveal ahead of time. Been binging through Lost since the first 4 seasons showed up on Netflix and I'm just now starting the 3rd season. The first 2 were pretty awesome and intriguing, not without it's share of clunkers though. I still can't really stand to see Charlie flashbacks and pretty much tune out whenever it's a Charlie-centric episode. Season 3 has started out pretty good so far though I'm not really liking how they've just kind of dismissed what exactly happened when they stopped pressing the button. Hopefully it'll be addressed as the season goes on? The Duke fucked around with this message at 08:49 on Sep 6, 2009 |
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Sep 6, 2009 08:44
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After finally catching an episode of 30 Rock, I went out and bought season 1 and watched it through basically in one go, and have been re-watching it regularly.
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Sep 6, 2009 09:08
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The Duke posted:Just finished Harper's Island a few days ago and thought it was pretty good. Surprised at the amount of gore they got away with on a CBS show and I'm hoping the DVD shows a little more (especially the kill at the end of the first episode). The reveal at the end felt a little weak but maybe it'll be better if I rewatch the series knowing the reveal ahead of time. I did notice one thing, though. All the major characters who live are people whom Wakefield gave a reprieve at some point. Jimmy got to live in exchange for the sheriff. Madison got to live because nobody left the island while she was kidnapped. Wakefield agreed not to kill Shea because Madison did what he said. Then, of course, Abby was being saved for Henry.
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Sep 6, 2009 11:52
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Bonk posted:The 4th season premiere in particular is completely gut-wrenching. Everyone harps on the finale, which IS excellent, but the final scene of 401 and something else that happens a few episodes before the finale make for some of the most unfathomably dark TV I've ever seen. I forgot about that part of it. That is also a really excellent episode, well the majority of them are really excellent. Best beginning death scene is the crazy Christian lady who sees the blow up dolls go into the air thinking it is the rapture.
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Sep 6, 2009 14:52
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Nate RFB posted:I don't know what is the biggest influence or reason for it (US Office, 30 Rock?) but whatever started the trend for some sitcoms to abandon the laugh track was probably the best thing to ever happen for me, television-wise. AD was actually one of the shows, along with Firefly, that got me back into television. To the best of my knowledge, Curb Your Enthusiasm was the real influence here, starting in 1999 with the fake documentary, improv heavy no laughtrack comedy style that seems to be emulated in many, many comedies since (Office, 30 Rock, Always Sunny..., etc). It is also the best.
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Sep 6, 2009 16:19
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The Duke posted:No one I've ever showed Arrested Development to has gotten this vibe at all. Maybe smoke some I don't think I should need weed to enjoy a program. Secondly, the goony goon thing seems to be to fellate the creators for blessing us with the show, so I'm not sure how not enjoying it makes me even more goony. I don't like the show - I don't think you're nuts for liking it, it's just not for me. I also can't stand any of the original shows on Adult Swim. Bonk posted:I don't really think this is an apt comparison. Nobody cared in the 50s, especially since in the TV market they were more or less the only game in town. Both also had live studio audiences, where HIMYM is taped on soundstages and location shoots, then shown to an audience whose reactions are recorded. Fine - Cheers and Frasier then. All I'm saying is that unlike most the people here, I can look past a laugh track. The way most of the people in this forum talk about a laugh track, you'd think a Hollywood sound editor raped their grandmother's corpse while fingerbanging their mother at the funeral. I don't think it adds anything either, but I hardly think it detracts.
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Sep 6, 2009 18:10
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Jedi posted:Fine - Cheers and Frasier then. All I'm saying is that unlike most the people here, I can look past a laugh track. The way most of the people in this forum talk about a laugh track, you'd think a Hollywood sound editor raped their grandmother's corpse while fingerbanging their mother at the funeral. I don't think it adds anything either, but I hardly think it detracts. Seriously, there are a ton of good shows that have laugh tracks. It's just a different style, really. mostlikelyme posted:To the best of my knowledge, Curb Your Enthusiasm was the real influence here, starting in 1999 with the fake documentary, improv heavy no laughtrack comedy style that seems to be emulated in many, many comedies since (Office, 30 Rock, Always Sunny..., etc). It is also the best. The Office is the only one of those shows that is a fake documentary (and very loosely, I might add).
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Sep 6, 2009 18:18
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Nate RFB posted:I don't know what is the biggest influence or reason for it (US Office, 30 Rock?) but whatever started the trend for some sitcoms to abandon the laugh track was probably the best thing to ever happen for me, television-wise. AD was actually one of the shows, along with Firefly, that got me back into television. I didn't regularly watch any sitcoms since Seinfeld ended, simply because I just didn't find any to be especially funny. Then I got addicted to the early seasons of Scrubs, then I discovered Curb, then AD and The Office came along, and finally 30 Rock, which might be my current favourite. Overall, I'd say the state of television comedy has gotten a lot stronger in the last ten years. They may not reach an audience the size of "Friends" or "King of Queens" or whatever, or even last as long, but I think they'll be much more fondly remembered in the future. Jedi posted:Fine - Cheers and Frasier then. All I'm saying is that unlike most the people here, I can look past a laugh track. The way most of the people in this forum talk about a laugh track, you'd think a Hollywood sound editor raped their grandmother's corpse while fingerbanging their mother at the funeral. I don't think it adds anything either, but I hardly think it detracts. Matter of preference, I suppose. I generally don't mind/notice when it's a show from 10+ years ago, but it seems odd to me when a show purposely uses a laugh track now. The main thing that bothers me is it seems like wasted time, as every time the actors pause and gawk at each other waiting for the laughter to die down, they could be setting up another joke. The settings are also generally more limited, since shooting on location is still generally rare for four-camera sitcom setups. (And often I find the acting will be more hammy in live-studio-audience setting than it is in single-camera format, but that's not always the case.) And of course, there's always the point that I'd much rather not be told when to laugh. I do like HIMYM, though. I don't love it or watch it regularly, but I enjoy it enough, and think it generally works in spite of the laugh track. I think I'd enjoy the show more without it, but I'm not accusing the producers of performing illicit acts on family members' corpses either. 
Fantabulero fucked around with this message at 21:33 on Sep 6, 2009 |
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Sep 6, 2009 21:24
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Few episodes into the second season of SFU  . Claire must be one of the dumbest characters in the history of TV, I just wanna slap her upside the head.e: please tell me there are episodes as good or better than "In the Place of Anger" cause that one was incredible ee: Brenda is a vapid, shallow, pretentious whore Leviathan fucked around with this message at 21:51 on Sep 7, 2009 |
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Sep 6, 2009 22:22
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Just started on House. I've caught the odd episode here and there and thought of it as a decent but standard medical procedural, but watching it in order I'm realizing it's actually quite a great little character drama. I'll probably be blitzing through this pretty quickly.
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Sep 10, 2009 00:07
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A month ago I was going through The Tudors off the Netflix instant queue. I can't wait for season 3 to hit. Now I'm going through Rome. We have the cheapest version of Netflix available so I'm currently stuck getting 1 DVD at a time. I'm thinking of bumping it up to the next level for a month so that I can have 3 DVDs out at a time and thus enjoy more TV seasons.
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Sep 10, 2009 01:09
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Been binging through Six Feet Under like a mofo and I'm almost done with season 3. I can pretty squarely say that I have not been a fan of this season...please tell me it gets good again. edit: also, i think brenda looks like dennis from 'it's always sunny' in drag Leviathan fucked around with this message at 07:53 on Sep 11, 2009 |
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Sep 10, 2009 22:16
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jeffersonlives posted:Just started on House. I've caught the odd episode here and there and thought of it as a decent but standard medical procedural, but watching it in order I'm realizing it's actually quite a great little character drama. It veers off the procedural stereotype and really develops as a show in the last 2 seasons. Can't wait for the next one to start.
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Sep 10, 2009 22:36
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Bombajio posted:I just finished season 2 of Chuck. One of the best shows I've seen and I can't wait for more!
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Sep 10, 2009 22:53
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For the two or three of you currently watching Six Feet Under keep on trucking! I finished it about a month ago and it is beautiful. Things change, things stay the same, things get worse and they get better. Season 3 lulled a bit for me, but it kicked back up again.
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Sep 10, 2009 23:47
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Bombajio posted:I just finished season 2 of Chuck. One of the best shows I've seen and I can't wait for more!
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Sep 11, 2009 19:49
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Minimaul posted:For the two or three of you currently watching Six Feet Under keep on trucking! I finished it about a month ago and it is beautiful. Things change, things stay the same, things get worse and they get better. Season 3 lulled a bit for me, but it kicked back up again. Holy poo poo, the I Brake for the Rapture opening in 4x02 was brilliantly hilarious.
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Sep 11, 2009 20:11
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