Why am I here? Why do I watch shows like SNL?

Those of us who watch TV on a regular basis have probably found themselves asking why they are watching something that is terrible.

I'm not talking about "guilty pleasure" terrible, where something is enjoyable, even though it is lowbrow. I'm talking about deliberately sitting down to watch a show week after week, even though it consistently disappoints, out of sheer loyalty, a desire to not miss a potential great moment, or some other reason. While this semester has left me unable to follow as many television shows as I'd like, I still have this relationship with Saturday Night Live.

Rarely can I say that I enjoy a full episode of SNL, where I can recall sketches, recall laughing at them and find more hits than misses. Most weeks, SNL is filled with painfully unfunny skits that drag on far too long with only the occasional chuckle, which is how this season has been for me. Last night's episode, hosted by Anne Hathaway, was probably tied with the Amy Poehler-hosted season premiere for the best episode of this season, but sadly, that's not saying much.

Yet, every single week, I sit down, put aside whatever I'm doing, open up the ONTD discussion posts for the episode, and sit complaining (or occasionally expressing amusement) at the episode with fellow commenters. I usually don't enjoy the episodes enough to warrant spending 90 minutes watching them in real time.

So why do I do it? Well, the aforementioned discussion posts are a big reason. They help me get excited about the episodes, even though I'm eventually disappointed by them. As ONTD user "whop__dedooo" (that's a perfect username given the discussion) said, "the formula for our snl posts is pretty much: soo excitied --> ehh this skit is boring --> the writers dont know what to do with them ---> why did i watch again." I'd like to add a fifth step: "Oh yeah, I watch because it's better than homework."

For me, even the most painfully unfunny episode is better than toiling away on a Word document for hours and hours on a paper I care little about. It's a chance to complain about something other than my procrastination and my schoolwork. It can also assure I don't miss a potentially funny moment (I still remember watching "Dick In A Box" live, thinking it would be a hit, and going online immediately after the episode to be proven correct). But mainly, it's a chance to procrastinate, quality or not.


Does anyone else have similar relationships with shows?

Misfits is one of British television's finest

The above image explains exactly why Misfits, a sci-fi dramedy airing on Channel 4 in the UK, is so engaging and addicting.

The show centers around a group of young delinquents who are performing community service in London. During an electrical storm, the group is given superhuman powers and must deal with the outrageous fallout that results (it sounds familiar, yes, but unlike Heroes, it doesn't take itself too seriously). I would give the rundown of their powers, but I think it's more fun to discover them as the episodes unfold, because it creates a sense of suspense and intrigue. These characters are not the only ones who are affected by the storm, and, without giving too much away, as the above gif hints at, at least one of their probation workers ends up dead, and the gang has to work to cover up the death.

The fist six-episode season aired last fall/winter in the UK, and season two began on Thursday, and it came back with a solid episode that reminded me exactly why I enjoyed the first season. I'm not normally a fan of sci-fi shows, but I love this. I think my love partially stems from the fact that it's not simply a sci-fi show. The mythology of why the characters got their powers is fairly secondary to their subsequent dealings with them.

There are numerous moments of hilarity from the sharp-tongue characters, especially Kelly and Nathan. There is high drama from start to finish. Simon (otherwise known as Barry) is a character that is just so down on his luck, you can't help but feel sympathy for him. There's plenty of violence and sex, suspense twists and turns. And the second episode is incredibly heartbreaking. The show does a fantastic job of running its audience through the emotional gamut.

I realize my synopsis may be vague, but I have a feeling that the majority of regular readers have never even heard of the show, and I don't want to give much away. I began watching the show fairly blindly, and I'm glad I did. It made the experience so much more rewarding.

With Dexter falling short of its previous season, my own schedule preventing me from watching Chuck and Breaking Bad off the air until July (yes, I know AMC's Walking Dead is supposed to be great; I have not had time to watch it yet), Misfits is providing me with my drama fix. It won the prestigious 2010 BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series for a reason.

For those of you who are in the UK, or have an IP proxy, Channel 4 has each episode on their website. How I wish I could recommend NinjaVideo to everyone as a means to watch the episodes in high-quality. Since that's no longer possible, I'll recommend Sidereel to get the links (MegaVideo is my source now, but zshare and wisevid are good, too, if possible).

Anyone else familiar with Misfits?

Conan O'Brien returns to television

Once I see a few more episodes of Conan O'Brien's new show, I'll be able to critically evaluate it, with more coherent language and maybe a little criticism (hopefully, not much). In the meantime, I am giddy knowing that I cracked up many times during his show tonight. Of course, if my brain explodes due to the amazing pairing of Tom Hanks and Jack McBrayer, it'll be a bit difficult to update.

Anyway, it's just so nice to see Conan back on television. I missed his interactions with Andy, I missed his rapport with guests, and I miss him singing! His performance tonight with Jack White had me dancing in my seat like a crazy person (in other words, thank God I was watching it alone in my room, because that would have been too embarrassing for anyone to see). I remember the euphoric high I had in May after seeing Conan at Michigan State University; just being reminded of how amazingly funny and how big of a smile he brought to my face. I have that same high again, and it's nice to know that my exposure to him won't be limited to that one tour date, but now, he'll be on my TV four nights a week.

I think the highlight was, no doubt, the Halloween mask, even if it will likely haunt my dreams:


(via jenpero on LiveJournal)

I think David Sims of the AV Club gave a really well-stated review of the episode. I would highly recommend reading it.

So, what did everyone else think? Overall, I think his "Tonight Show" opener was more entertaining, but that show was so good, it would be difficult to top it. This was certainly a fun show. List your likes/dislikes in the comments!

Big Love set to end in 2011 ... good riddance?

Thursday, HBO announced that the fifth season of Big Love, beginning Sunday, Jan. 16, will be its last.

I used to be a fan of Big Love in its first and second season (I'm one of the only people who did not really enjoy season three, minus the amazing "Come Ye Saints" episode), in which the Henrickson/Grant/Heffman family faced the extensive issues that come along with hiding their polygamist family from society, and attempting to deal with a traditional polygamist compound.

And then, suddenly, I found myself reacting like this when watching it:


It became just so complicated; too many characters were in play, and Bill Paxton's character, Bill Henrickson, became more unlikable than Michael Scott. Big Love was good at making us love to hate characters (Daveigh Chase's Rhonda still makes my blood boil when I think about her), but with Bill, they simply ruined him.

In terms of increasing the show's quality, ending the show may be the best option. Hopefully, they'll use their remaining episodes to leave the show with a good legacy. Actually, I hope Bill dies or the wives leave him.

Anyway, Big Love, along with Entourage (also ending next year), needed to end. I'll add the Office to that list as well. Anyone else have shows that they only watch out of habit, because they're still on TV? Ones that you don't really enjoy? Leave a comment.

30 Rock listens to Bill O'Reilly and does it live, Will Arnett remains a god

(Context for this is below.)

I have been neglecting this blog, but not by choice. School and the "real world" have completely taken over my life, sadly.

So, here's a quick update:

30 Rock took a cue from their fellow Rainbow Room tenants and performed a live show Thursday, one version for the Eastern and one for the Pacific time zone. While it was not their funniest episode, it was a nice change of pace for the show. In recent seasons, the fact that 30 Rock is about a "show within a show," TGS with Tracy Jordan, is often overlooked for Liz and company's personal issues.

This episode was a fun reminder that TGS exists, that people have to worry about Tracy's antics, and that the Robot and Bear Talk Show should have happened. Now, if only Josh Girard could still be on the show ... oh well, at least Rachel Dratch was back. Her crazy characters are always welcome, especially when they have a Fonzie fetish like this one did (God, if only Henry Winkler could have made an appearance, that would have been fantastic). Chris Parnell's Dr. Leo Spaceman serenaded the audience in only a way Dr. Spaceman could. Both of these former SNL stars are incredibly underutilized in the world of comedy.

The episode also featured guest spots from Julia Louis-Dreyfus, playing Liz Lemon in "flashback" scenes that were impossible to stage life, along with Matt Damon (and Bill Hader as his co-pilot). And then there was Jon Hamm (pictured above), who complimented his hook hand with an executed inmate's hand or a horny middle-aged Josh Groban fan's hand, depending on which coast you live on. It was silly, but it was still worth a laugh.

For what it's worth, the biggest laughs, for me, came when TGS' Fox News sketch introduced Jenna's character simply as "Blonde," and, upon speaking about her birthday party in a disjointed way, Jack asking Liz, "Why are you speaking like a Persian immigrant?" Differences between the two episodes are here, and both versions of the episode can be found on Hulu.


In other news that no one will really care about, but I will share anyway, this happened:



Will Arnett replied to me on Twitter. I realize this isn't that big of a deal, it's not like we had a deep conversation or anything. But I like seeing "arnettwill @MacysDayMar" and not the other way around. I just think it's cool that someone I adore so much even took a second to acknowledge fans, especially when that fan is me. Anyone else have similar exciting Twitter moments?

It feels like 2006 all over - The Office is hilarious again

We have a shocking development:



It is so nice to be able to say that Thursday's episode of "the Office" was quite funny. I rarely say that these days, but there were some great moments throughout the episode.

The vocal inflection Steve Carell would put into Michael's voice when talking to Toby was genius, as were some of his facial expressions, such as when he rested his head on his folded fists and told Toby to "take two of these and call me in the morning" ... and by "these," he means two quick and hilarious flips of the bird. His saccharine smiles were killer. Plus, his "confessions," such as "I was sitting the other night, eating my penis. I mean, peas ... I was probed," were just pure Michael.

Dwight "was taking Mose to get his blood pressure taken at the Rite Aid." I don't really know why I found this line so funny, but I do. Only because I can't see Mose and Dwight going into a drugstore for ANYTHING. They probably create their own homemade Vicodin. Actually, Dwight's entire description of his so-called discrimination was hilarious (even if that scenario wasn't so great, it didn't bring the episode down).

The best moment? Dwight hiring Mose to make a day-care center in the Scranton Business Park. His decoration? AN INSANE CLOWN POSSE POSTER. For those of you who know me, I am amused and horrified by Juggalos, so this was just brilliant. I rarely laugh very loud, but I was cackling at that moment. That moment alone was better than anything in season six for me.

Pam's "Office Administrator" plot could backfire on her, but due to the messy bureaucracy in an office, it could very well work. Gabe is timid enough to let it go on, so long as he can feign ignorance if Jo were to find out.


It's strange, it was the weird nuances by the actors that made this show. The way Kelly did not hesitate in saying that she talks so much, she no longer listens to herself was genius. Sure, there were some great one-liners, but it was the simple things that made it work. I was worried Steve had "checked out" of being Michael Scott this season since he's leaving, but I think he delivered a great performance.

I sure hope they can keep up the momentum.

SNL under-utilizes former all-stars in season premiere

The Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time-Players were back last night, with former cast member and current Parks and Recreation star Amy Poehler serving as host. Her return allowed for some fun cameos and overall joyful moments, even if the episode itself didn't serve up to its full potential.

After a cold open featuring some chuckle worthy if predictable jokes about Delaware Senate candidate and part-time witch Christine O'Donnell, Amy used her monlogue to express her nervousness about hosting and the stress dreams she had about the show. This segment brought out the who's-who of SNL of the last decade: Tina Fey, Jimmy Fallon, Rachel Dratch and Justin Timberlake all taunted Amy during her "dream." It was clear that the cast and guests of the show were incredibly excited for Amy to return to the show, and this helped to create an incredibly supporting atmosphere throughout the episode.

While the episode itself was far from perfect, that supportive nature showed to the home audience, and even if I wasn't laughing at a sketch, I could tell that the cast was having fun just being with everyone. When Maya Rudolph reuninted with Amy for their "Bronx Beat" sketch (featuring Katy Perry's boobs clad in an Elmo T-shirt as a wink and a nod to her recent controversy), you could tell that the women were having great fun bringing them alive.

Seth Meyers seemed to enjoy having Amy at his side during "Weekend Update," and they had fun laughing at the awkward meeting of the real New York Governor David Paterson and Fred Armisen's clueless parody of him. I can't even recall many specific jokes and moments that made me laugh, yet, because of the electricity and chemistry Amy had with the cast and guests and the respect they had for her, it was a joy to watch.

Yet, while these moments were fun, I couldn't help but feel like there were many wasted opportunities in the show. I would have absolutely loved to have seen another installment of "the Barry Gibb Talk Show," the ridiculous and hilarious faux talk show with Jimmy and Justin. How often can you get both of them in the same room ... this should have been the highlight of the evening, but instead, it was woefully missed.



Now, I'm willing to recognize the fact that many, if not all of the special guests last night were last-minute additions, which is why they couldn't participate too much, especially in the pre-recorded Digital Short (which, unfortunately, featured Katy Perry attempting to sing), but it was still a shame they couldn't do more. A lot of talent was wasted.

And then, Katy Perry. I wish I could give her kudos for NOT lip syncing, but she was so terrible, screeching her way through every single note in her overplayed songs that it was unbearable. Listening to her perform truly made me cringe.


So, it wasn't the best SNL premiere, but it wasn't the worst. Let's hope next week's Bryan Cranston-hosted episode can improve on the formula. May I make a suggestion? Could Tracy Morgan make a guest appearance reading tweets from next week's musical guest, Kanye West? I love the SNL writers, but I don't know if they could write anything better than Kanye's genius tweets, and since many of his statements sound like something Tracy (both Morgan and his fictional 30 Rock character) would say, so this would be a wonderful inclusion.



Also, as a side, NBC-related note: in a brilliant act of karma, Jeff Zucker, the man who oversaw the collapse of NBC and played a major part in the Conan O'Brien debacle, has left NBC (before he could be fired by Comcast once they take over NBC ... his words, not mine). He complained how hard of a decision it was to leave the company he has worked for all of his adult life, much like Conan complained how hard it was that he was so mistreated by a company he worked at for much of his adult life. I enjoy schadenfreude.


What was everyone's favorite (or least favorite) moments from SNL? Thrilled about the latest corporate shakeup at NBC?

30 Rock and Community shine, while the Office phones it in

Thursday nights are traditionally the best night for television. It would have been so much better had NBC not pushed Parks and Recreation to midseason (which is something I won't harp on, since I have done that plenty already), but it is what it is.

And what it is is not what it used to be, at least when it comes to "the Office." Tonight's episode just proved that it is a shell of what it used to be and should have been put out to pasture. Keep in mind, this is coming from a die-hard fan of the show.

Last night's episode, "Nepotism," was easily the show's weakest season premiere and did not set the season off on a high note.

Here's a recap: The show left off last season with ... wait a second. The events in "Nepotism" had absolutely nothing to do with the events of the closing of season six. It's not known what came about after the printer recall. They made it such a major deal at the end of last season and it was dropped in this episode.

Anyway, suddenly, Dunder Mifflin hired an assistant, something they hadn't needed before (and where did they get that money to pay him?) and Michael hired his nephew to improve his strained family relations. He's your stereotypical douchebag that everyone else hates, and long story short, Michael ends up spanking (yes, spanking) him in front of the whole office, while his co-workers cheer him on. Really? The same people who would be frustrated by Michael's sexually explicit comments and mindless office pranks would cheer on such an awkward and inappropriate gesture? Sure, he was annoying, but I don't even think that would be an appropriate reaction from anyone - and I'm referring to both Michael's gesture and his subordinates' reactions.

Also, in a throwaway talking head, Jim mentioned that Dwight bought the office building. Wait, what. Why? What use would that have? Another question - what was with Dwight's water-filled backpack? Did it have a purpose? I know, it's Dwight, and very few things Dwight does often make sense, but even that seemed outrageously pointless. Can someone help this confused viewer out?

Overall, this episode had maybe one or two chuckle-worthy moments, but nothing to write home about. It's a shame that such a brilliant show has become so slapstick (no pun intended) and unfunny. I wasn't a fan of the cold opener, either. Why is that they have to constantly reference or parody viral Internet videos? Is this Tosh.0 now?



So, thank God for "Community" and "30 Rock." Both shows returned strong last night, especially "Community's" incredibly meta episode (Donald Glover/Troy campaigned to play Spiderman! So Troy wears Spiderman pajamas!). It followed up on last year's romantic drama by creating truly funny moments between Jeff and Britta, yet it also developed a nice satirical flair by making fun of CBS' latest attempt to seem cool, "$#*! My Dad Says" (look how cool they are ... swear words!). You know this is a fantastic episode when Betty White's role was the weakest part, and I mean nothing bad by saying that. She was brilliant and outrageous, especially performing Toto's "Africa" with Troy and Abed. Way to go, "Community," for utilizing her well.

"30 Rock" had some brilliant one-liners ("The Harry Potter theme park is a hit with both Anglophiles and pedophiles"). Matt Damon's previously one-dimensional character was given a funny backstory and made Ina Garten cool. It wasn't their absolute funniest episode and had some awkward plots (I have trouble believing Jenna would be such a brilliant and ruthless producer, even though she's a sociopath), but they did not let them take away from the enjoyment of the show.

"Outsourced," the show NBC bumped "Parks and Rec" for, was incredibly offense, both on a cultural sensitivity level and a "so unfunny it's 'Two and a Half Men'-bad" level. Sure, "Parks and Rec" was weak when it started and it overcame its pitfalls. But it didn't have the offensive premise and execution to overcome. I don't see it laughing.


To be honest, I think "the Office" is a lost cause and that's why Steve Carell has turned in his notice. I'm only watching out of habit, not hoping for quality. However, I do hope "Community" and "30 Rock" stay on their hot streak.

Agree, disagree? Have opinions about any other shows? Leave a comment!

MTV Video Music Awards are the definition of lackluster

Last week, I blogged about how Lady Gaga would make the VMAs great. Well, Gaga's impressive eight wins last night, including Video of the Year, did yield some highlights in the show, including her so-called "meat dress":



Sadly, the rest of the show was fairly boring. Gaga did not perform, which took away some of the mystique in the evening. Justin Bieber sounded off-key, and nearly every other performance involved Auto-Tune and lip syncing. Not to mention, they were fairly boring.

Was Taylor Swift's performance really necessary? I understand that it would have been awful for something like that to happen to her. However, I just feel as though it was completely tacky to compose and (poorly) perform such a maudlin song over something that, in the grand scheme of her career, didn't exactly hurt. I feel like a cover of Natalie Merchant's "Thank You" would have been more fitting, because Kanye West's interruption of her speech made everyone elicit an outrageous amount of sympathy for her. Then again, why fault her for believing the hype?

However, no matter whether one thought harping on the past was necessary it's difficult to argue that she didn't sound great. Which is what is sad about the VMAs and music as a whole: we complain that people lip sync and use AutoTune. But why do they do that? Because they sound like Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift. Minus the very talented and charismatic Florence and the Machine and Robyn, each performance was rather lacking.

Host Chelsea Handler wasn't give a whole lot to do, but when she was on stage, she had some good one-liners. I think Kanye West's Twitter account should have hosted the show.

Usually when it comes to late summer-early fall award shows, the Emmys are far superior to the VMAs. Last year with the travesty of Jon Cryer winning an Emmy and the overall boring nature of the presenters, the VMAs were quite entertaining. However, this year things went back to normal. MTV just can't capture the magic they used to have. The show wasn't terrible like June's Movie Awards, just boring.

Amy Poehler will host the SNL season premiere; NBC remains idiotic

It's once again time to highlight the failure of NBC.


Seth Meyers announced on his Twitter page that the Sept. 25 season premiere of Saturday Night Live would feature Amy Poehler as host and Katy Perry as the musical guest. Putting my strong dislike for Katy aside, the musical guest choice is a smart one, in the sense that "California Gurls" not only dominated the summer while SNL was off the air, but "Teenage Dream" is taking off now as well.

In terms of picking a quality host, I think SNL hit the nail on the head. Amy was one of SNL's standouts during this last decade and she is incredibly likable. Plus, I find it pretty impressive that she will be taking on such a daunting task less than two months after giving birth to son Abel.

However, due to NBC's moronic move to push her series, Parks and Recreation back to a midseason premiere, she will have virtually nothing to promote. SNL hosts should not be picked on the sole basis that they have an upcoming movie or TV show. However, it would have been a fantastic way to drum up publicity and buzz about Parks and Rec. The ratings for the show are dismal, likely because people wrote the show off after a sub-par season one. For the record, it is currently the funniest show on television; season two was hilarious.

Of course NBC did not know SNL would have Amy host, but that isn't the point. The point is that they took a now critically approved show with a low audience share and decided to push it to midseason, so that people would forget about it. Now, with Amy hosting, it's another wasted opportunity for them to promote their show.

On that note, maybe Amy could invite her husband, Will Arnett on the show (God, I hope this happens) so he could promote his new show, Running Wilde.


Also, in addition to Jane Lynch hosting on Oct. 9, fellow Emmy-winner Bryan Cranston will host the Oct. 2 episode. Given his background in comedy with Malcolm in the Middle and his hilarious interviews (such as his Daily Show clips), this should also be great.