In sitcoms populated by large casts of diverse characters everyone is on screen at any given time to perform a specific function. The job the characters perform is to A.) Move the plot along in (hopefully) an organic, character driven way and B.) To be funny. Usually, there is a character in these sitcoms (sometimes more than one) that serves as the moral epicenter for the rest of the characters. Without these “Stick in the Muds” (or S.I.T.M’s as they will be known through the rest of this post) these worlds would function without boundaries or, at the very least, without the reminder that boundaries exist. How would Homer know that stealing cable was wrong without Lisa protesting outside the house? How would Jenna and Tracy ever get anything done without the guiding hand of Liz Lemon? Would the town of Pawnee function without Leslie Knope? S.I.T.M.’s are usually women who act as the moral center of the show; they are sometimes motherly figures, while the world around them functions solely on the id.
Comedy
Sunny in a Bottle
Best Episodes
We investigate our favorite episodes of our favorite TV shows. Be warned: these articles will contain spoilers!
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – Season 7, Episode 7 – “Chardee MacDennis: The Game of Games”
At it’s best, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is imaginative, grotesque, and always hilarious. Episode 7 of season 7, “Chardee MacDennis: The Game of Games,” is like a sweet little nugget of golden Sunny, glazed in alcohol and blood, stuffed into a bottle. It is loveable and vile, inventive but true to its characters.
“Chardee MacDennis” is a typical sitcom “bottle episode.” It all takes place in one location, the bar (the bottle), and the only characters involved are the stars of the show. Placing the characters of Sunny in a bottle and shaking really hard leads to explosive and hilarious results. Like shaking up tequila + orange juice + grenadine + gas. The accelerant in this episode is the gang’s homemade boardgame, Chardee MacDennis. And it is not a game. It’s a war.
Zombies and ABBA and Dragon-Turtles, Oh My!
When Community is at its best it is almost a magical experience and Epidemiology from Episode 6 Season 2 is utterly enchanting. The episode is able to blend humor with horror at the same time advancing character development all in the span of 22 minutes. Epidemiology is one of my favorite Halloween specials and here’s why:
Costumes: In most other series’ Halloween episodes, writers throw characters into crazy Halloween costumes for an easy laugh. The Fresh Prince’s Carlton dressing as Macaulay Culkin and Kevin from The Office dressing as Michael Moore come to mind. While hilarious, it makes me wonder why the characters chose those specific costumes. Community never has me questioning its characters costume choices. Of course Jeff chose to be “accidentally handsome” as David Beckham. If the situation arose where he didn’t want to be dressed up anymore, he would simply toss away his soccer ball and strut around in his $6,000 suit. Britta tries to be fierce and unsexy as a T-Rex, but instead is darling and helpless, looking more like a “Dragon Turtle”. Is she really that disappointed that she must rely on Jeff to feed her because her mighty claws are too short to reach her mouth? Annie (as usual) treads a fine line between naughty and innocent as Little Red Riding Hood. Shirley’s Glenda the Good Witch costume is again “unwittingly ambiguous” just as her good intentions often are. Troy and Abed start off as Ripley and The Alien but Troy changes into “a sexy Dracula” which brings their friendship into question and is the set up for a solid Troy character arc, but more on that later. My favorite costume of the episode goes to Chang dressed as Peggy Fleming who gleefully corrects assumptions that he is Kristi Yamaguchi or Michelle Kwan by proclaiming “you have just been proven racist by the racist prover.” Continue reading
Rooting for the Good Guys: Thoughts on Unsupervised
There are few shows I’ve found as immediately gratifying despite a wildly inconsistent, sometimes downright disappointing, first season as Unsupervised. In its inaugural season, Unsupervised found its footing only a few times but it was a goofy underdog that I’ve been rooting for from the start. The reason for my immediate enjoyment is that (and this is likely an unpopular view) I’ve always found myself far more fascinated by what makes kind people kind in the face of evil than what makes evil people evil in the face of kindness. It is easy to make a character like Hannibal Lecter exciting to watch because he’s so different from “normal” people. But when a show or movie can make nice characters interesting, I get very excited. It is refreshing to see a show that knows exactly who its characters are right from the start even if it doesn’t always seem sure what to do with them. There are few characters on TV like the ones on Unsupervised and the show manages to make them nuanced and fascinating in their own right without changing their underlying, unswaying kindness and love. Anger is easy, happiness is hard. Continue reading
Girls
Finding a new TV show is a very tall order and I’m picky. I don’t mean to be. But If I’m going to invest time, emotion, and thought into a group of people throughout the course of 2, 3, 4, sometimes 5+ seasons I need to be able to connect with them. I want to worry about them when they are in trouble, laugh at their silly mishaps, and happy-cry when everything goes the way it should. Yes, I realize that a TV show is made up of more than just its characters, but if I can’t make a connection with somebody then it’s usually on to the next show. And let’s be honest, it’s fun to be picky. Where exactly will I find my next Roger Sterling, Stringer Bell or Annie Edison?
Maybe Girls? My friend Mike (who I consider a TV expert) highly recommended this show to me so I’m going to give it a try. Here is what I know going in. The show focuses on four 20-something woman living in New York City. It is a coming of age story starring, directed, produced and written by a lady named Lena Dunham and executive produced by Judd Apatow. (Creator of one of my all time favorites, Freaks and Geeks.) So already I think it could be a winner. Continue reading
Naughty Night: The Best Way to Watch Saturday Night Live
As a kid, there was something delightfully naughty about watching Saturday Night Live. I can remember watching the show as a pre-teen and my grandma, who was babysitting me at the time, freaking out at particularly off-color boob joke. The show was on late, past my normal bedtime, and the zany, recurring characters were broad enough that it hardly mattered that I didn’t understand all of the punch lines. Yes, it was cool to watch Saturday Night Live as a 10-year-old.
And then, I got a bit older and slogging through the marathon session of television on a precious Saturday night didn’t seem worth it even if, as was most often the case, I didn’t have anything better to do. There was a long stretch of time that I didn’t bother with the show at all or would watch it on occasion or a few sketches here and there.
Well, I’m here to report that I’m back on the SNL bandwagon and it has little or nothing to do with the quality of the show. It has absolutely everything to do with the way that I am watching the show and having lower, or to be more precise, adjusted expectations (more on that later). And it has yet more to do with humankind’s all time greatest invention: the PVR.
Watching “My Stories”
My stories are beautiful creatures. They remind me of my mother, who used to kick my brother and me out of the living room when Coronation Street came on. “Get out or be quiet. My story is on.” I used to think that was a stupid phrase, “my stories.” It was a phrase associated with soap operas and weepy women. As a child, I knew that I would watch shows, programs, specials – but never stories. And I would never demean myself by watching Bore-nation Street!
But sometime between then and now I found myself happily blubbering at a 22 minute comedy. “I’m…so… happy… they got… MARRIED!!!!” I had become my mother and picked up a couple stories of my own: not just television shows that I enjoy watching, but series that delight and surprise me. Episodes that I anticipate, then watch and re-watch. Programs that I consider part of my life. I am that weepy woman and I feel no shame about it. Continue reading
The Golden Age of Television 