It's Only People Pretending: New TV thread

[Ignatius]

Zero Cool?! This sounds more like Cheers than Sherlock Holmes.

[Thermofusion]

Maybe they can make Mycroft ("Mike") a higher-up in Homeland Security or something

[cold before sunrise]

That's a solid, classic book they are messing with. One of my faves. Does this signify that TV is trolling me now?

[dieblucasdie]

I mean, they did make her a disgraced former medical worker with an addiction problem

[milly balgeary]

Man so 30 Rock this season is as good as it's been in years. Last week's episode was fucking killing me; it's probably one of the best of the series.

I agree!

And dangit I'm into The New Girl now. I hated on it so hard in the beginning!

I'm into it too. I love me some Schmidt. Best character on a TV show in AGES.

[milly balgeary]

I like Up All Night. When Applegate says "I like you in a nice jean" and the guy from Arrested Development says, "Please don't call it that, in the singular. I don't like that." And he winces.

[nonotyet]

I watched the season finale of Parenthood last night. While everything but Mae Whitman's haircut made me want to barf all over everything, there was a point where they were all "Billy's in town!" and then the guy who played Billy on Friday Night Lights showed up, and I believe he was playing his exact same character from Friday Night Lights, ie Billy was in town FROM TEXAS.

This made my night. 

[elpollodiablo]

I think I'm going to write my seminar paper this term on Homeland.

[FreddyKnuckles]

fuckin' eastbound

[dieblucasdie]

I like Up All Night. When Applegate says "I like you in a nice jean" and the guy from Arrested Development says, "Please don't call it that, in the singular. I don't like that." And he winces.

Up All Night is pleasant and funny, for sure. I can't think of anything other than AD that I've found Arnett even tolerable in, but the writers strike the right balance between letting him make smarmy observations and humiliating him for the lulz, and wisely leave the real scenery-chewing to Maya Rudolph. Applegate has long been underrated and could bring cutesy-but-relatable charm to almost anything.

Everyone thinks of good network comedy in terms Community, Parks & Rec (with 30 Rock, Office, New Girl, and maaaaybe HIMYM on the bench), and rightfully so, but with Cougar Town returning, Up All Night improving episode-by-episode, and Suburgatory and Happy Endings chugging along, it feels like we're in a really great spot for pleasant, unchallenging-but-funny comedies. Laundry-folding days are here again!

edit: I changed "minor renaissance" to "really great spot" just because I saw GI was online

[Good Intentions]

Because you were afraid I'd say that comedy scriptwriting is intellectually bankrupt and its audience miseducated?

[dieblucasdie]

Ha, no, because your very presence made me mindful of making exaggerated claims. Your work is done!

[Thermofusion]

but with Cougar Town returning, Up All Night improving episode-by-episode, and Suburgatory and Happy Endings chugging along, it feels like we're in a really great spot for pleasant, unchallenging-but-funny comedies.

Cougar Town is good? I've never seen any of these four shows

[dieblucasdie]

Cougar Town is a show where Bill Lawrence and company tried to make a cheap buck off the fact that in 2009, mainstream audiences inexplicably found the whole "cougar" thing hilarious. After 8 episodes of Courtney Cox indiscriminately bangin' young dudes, they were like "Fuck, we're still on the air?"

They threw up their hands and started making a sweetly existential show about lonely, desperate people living at the end of a cul-de-sac, fumbling to inject meaning into their lives, and often, just trying to fucking pass the time by making in-jokes, manufacturing conflict, and drinking red wine. Like LPTJ, but everyone is prettier. It's of a piece with "Scrubs," but with the underlying sadness amped up, with no fantasy sequences, and with Courtney Cox becoming increasingly likable instead of Zach Braff becoming increasingly insufferable.

The other three are, like I said, pleasant, unchallenging, but still well-done and funny--Cougar Town is the only one I'd rep hard for.

[Thermofusion]

That sounds a lot more watchable than the title suggests, I'll check it out!

[peacocks]

yeah you sold it pretty hard for me too but I don't have time in my one night a week tv viewing for any new shows. I rolled my eyes through most of the one episode of Suburgatory I watched but my mom likes it.

Like LPTJ, but everyone is prettier.

well excuuuuuuuse me!

[dieblucasdie]

I haven't watched all of them, but Suburgatory's mainly interesting because they fucked-up the will-they/won't-they chemical balance somehow, such that you get the weird impression that the father and daughter are going to start making out any second.  It's a flawed show, but Jane Levy's cute and funny enough that she mostly holds it together.

[elpollodiablo]

My buddy wa talking about Misfits last night at the bar. Worth checking out?

[peacocks]

YES

[Greg Nog]

I watched the first episode, and found it pretty boring.

[dieblucasdie]

I liked it a lot; not sure if it's the sort of thing pollo would get into, though.

[elpollodiablo]

How come?

[G.C.R]

I watched the first episode, and found it pretty boring.

My experience too. Though I think as well as peacocks Anne and Ashley have repped for it pretty hard.

[Anne the Man]

It gets better. Season 3 isn't great; they trade in their slightly annoying rude yet witty guy for one who's basically just an asinine twat. But yeah, it's fun.

[elpollodiablo]

Man, I kinda wish Seinfeld would've gone another couple seasons with Jerry as showrunner. Se. 8 & 9 aren't better than the David golden age episodes, but they are extremely weird and dark and absurd.