This week, and for a number of the weeks to follow, we will be doing Summer Television Secret Santa. We each “randomly” chose a name and were given the job of gifting a television show to that person. This week we will be discussing the person we drew, the show we chose for them and why. In the coming weeks we will be pairing down our roundtable to two and interviewing our Secret Santa about the show they were gifted (or forced) to watch. The rules state that you may watch as much or as little of the show as you like and that the gift giver must have seen at least a portion of the show as well.
Comedy
In The Name of the Father
In my Giller award-winning previous post, I went on various tangents and stumbled upon one that drew the consternation of the Twitter-verse and blogosphere. I lamented the unoriginal thought about the lack of basic competence amongst the TV dad. I talked about Carl Winslow of Family Matters fame being the last solid dad. I got some blowback, as others talked about other dads, which came from dramas and dramedies. So I went on a quest, I knew that they must be out there. A good half hour sitcom dad. Ty Burrell does not count. He sucks. I recently went on vacation, and amongst the whirlwind of activity (the ballad of Eddie Gilbert, but that’s a whole different kettle of fish inside a ball of wax) I visited my deadbeat brother. Rather than actually interact, my brother loaded up my computer with some content he thought I would like. This is always a gamble. I also think watching TV on computer is cheating. I don’t think Arrested Development should be nominated for Emmy’s. It’s a webisode. A big budget one, but its not TV, it’s a web show. Respect the box. Continue reading
Will They? Won’t They? Will They Again?
I have devised a scientific method of predicting whether two actors on a sitcom will end up together. In the words of one of the all-time great TV lovers:
“If you have chemistry, you only need one other thing: timing. But timing’s a bitch.”
– Robin Scherbatsky, How I Met Your Mother
I used to hate Nathan For You, but now I think about it daily
To my fellow bloggers, Kerri and Graeme, you were right. Nathan For You is brilliant TV.
If you haven’t seen Nathan For You, it’s a half-hour comedy show on Comedy Central, where comedian and business school graduate, Nathan Fielder offers advice to business owners. The advice is always unique (unorthodox… silly… dumb… negligent…) and it always leads to awkward and funny results as the owners gamely try to follow Fielder’s suggestions. The first episode of season one features a segment where Fielder suggests that a yogurt shop introduce poo-flavoured yogurt to bring in curious clientele. Continue reading
There are Bugs and People Out There
The spring has brought with it summery weather and with the end of the endless winter comes cries of celebrating the outdoors. But why would I go outside? Is there TV outside? Nope. No TV at the “lake”. No TV at the worthy causes walk-a-thon or worse yet marathon. So, I stay inside to honour (if not worship) my 22 inch Sanyo sanctuary. So let’s see what I have been up to as you have been getting skin cancer and adding to the weather beating of your decks. Continue reading
Worker Bees
I started a new job last week. To celebrate other women in the workplace, here are five amusing/impressive/strange TV scenes/episodes/moments that involve women and working, listed in order of when I last watched them, because damn it, I’m busy! There’s no time to be creative – I just started a new job!
Everybody Dance Now: How Dancing on TV Fixes Everything
If there is one thing I’ve learned from TV it’s that dancing fixes everything (at least temporarily). There is something irresistible about watching your favorite characters let loose and break into uninhibited dance parties! Continue reading
“Moving Up”
Parks and Recreation
Season 6, Episodes 21 and 22
“Moving Up”
In the season finale of Parks and Recreation, everyone is “moving up”, just like the title suggests. Leslie leaves the Pawnee Parks Department and takes a job with the National Parks Department, Tom opens up Tom’s Bistro, and Ben is suddenly cool in the least cool way possible. (The super dorky, super complex board game that Ben invented, “Cones of Dunshire”, has become an unexpected hit.) Continue reading
Dynamic Duos
I love great pairings on TV so I set out to write a post about all of my favorites. However, upon discussing TV’s dynamic duos with others, I found that I was much more interested in what they had to say so I asked some of my favorite writers and TV watchers to help me out this week. Continue reading
Channel Surfing 3 – My Week in TV : Justified, Comedy Central’s Review, Music Videos and other odds and ends
A quick collection of things that I’m finding fascinating, frustrating and fun on TV this past week.
What the heck happened to Justified?
When I think about Justified in its prime I think fondly back to season 2 when a shrewd Mags Bennett and her bumbling sons tried to expand their marijuana business with Raylan Givens breathing down their necks. Season 2 expanded on the world of Harlan County while also creating a central, overarching storyline that all but did away with the more standalone cases of Season 1. Season 2 felt fresh, exciting and created characters as rich and complicated as the central ones. By establishing a criminal family that had a history in the area as well as a past that crossed Raylan’s own, the show found a groove that it hasn’t found since.
The Golden Age of Television 