Quality vs. Quantity: The Making of Good TV

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Kris M.

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We’ve lamented before over the loss of Firefly, Joss Whedon’s sci-fi western epic which was tragically cut down in its first and only season. Even though we eventually got to see the ending as a movie, fans continue to wish for more adventures with Captain Mal and the crew of the ship Serenity.

However, if fans did receive their wish and Firefly had lasted for multiple seasons, would we still consider it one of the finest sci-fi shows on television? Would the romance between Simon and Kaylee have been drawn out for a ridiculously long time, only to fizzle out when they did get together? Would actors leave the show halfway, making us hate their replacements? Would Firefly have eventually jumped the shark?

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In a perfect world a television show would play only as long for as long as it was still engaging and the last episode would air right before the show became tired and boring. Once-quality shows like The Simpsons and The Office would be put out to pasture while at the top of their game, instead of suffering for years. Is it even worth having so many episodes of The Simpsons that the show could support its own cable network when fans only care about the earlier seasons?

Maybe we should take a cue from across the pond and set up our shows the way they do in England. That would mean only a few seasons of a show, and only a handful of episodes per season.Spaced might have had a small run by American standards, but it’s a work of pure genius that similar shows like The Big Bang Theory couldn’t hope to reproduce.

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Smaller shows mean smaller budgets, allowing networks to take greater risks on weird shows like The Mighty Boosh. Given the same limitations over here, there’s no doubt that we’d see a golden renaissance of American television and terms like “jump the shark” would be obsolete.

On the other hand, consider how different shows like Parks and Recreation or Community would be if they were cut off after only six episodes. Many television shows don’t hit their stride until the second or third season as the actors further develop the characters and writers weave a complex world. We’ve all found ourselves telling a friend “Once you get past the first couple of episodes, this show is really great.”

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Maybe the creators of Arrested Development were the only ones who got it right. Although the show only aired for three seasons, it was enough time for the cast to develop an amazing chemistry and for the writers to build up a number of inside jokes and catch phrases. The show was taken off the air just before it began to show any flaws and is now scheduled to return to TV once again.

In the battle between quantity versus quality, the winner may in fact be both. The ideal TV show would be one with unlimited episodes that are always consistent in quality.

Snap Judgment: The River

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Kate W.

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Horror movies of the found-footage variety have risen and fallen in popularity in the dozen years since The Blair Witch Project took the world by storm. In the wake of recent buzzy movies in this genre (including The Devil Inside and Chronicle) it should be no surprise that the trend is finally making the jump to television.

ABC’s The River (co-created by Oren Pelli, creator of the found-footage juggernaut Paranormal Activity franchise) follows a family as they search for their missing husband and father. He happens to be a famed Steve Irwin-esque explorer who traveled the world looking for amazing creatures. This enables the show’s conceit; they are funding the search through a documentary with an accompanying crew filming their search. Think The Office, but with missing people, and ghosts.

Continue reading →

When Bad Characters Ruin Good TV Shows

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Kris M.

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Nobody’s perfect. Even if your TV show is cooler than a hotel made out of ice, you’re still bound to have that one little flaw that otherwise spoils a perfect series. Scooby-Doo had Scrappy-Doo, Saved by the Bell had Screech and Lost had Ana-Lucia. It’s too late for these shows to polish off their blemishes, but there are still characters on TV right now that are ruining perfectly good shows.

Gabe Lewis – The Office

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I like to rag on how much The Office has slipped in quality over the years, but you know —Gabe is a big part of that. Gabe was introduced as Jo’s brown-nosing assistant but after Kathy Bates left the show for her failing drama Harry’s Law, Gabe is just a leftover creepy little worm. The only thing that could redeem him is if they revealed that he was the Scranton Strangler all along—but even that would be a shark-jumping moment for the show.

Vince Masuka – Dexter

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I get why Masuka is a part of the show—you need the other lab tech guy to be a complete idiot in order for Dexter to get away with killing people. The problem with Masuka is that he’s just so gosh-darn unlikeable. In a real police department he’d be out on the streets after countless sexual harassment charges. The worst thing about Masuka is that he’s always a one-note sex freak, like a 13-year-old boy. Every time you think he’s matured, he goes out of his way to prove you wrong.

Tara Thornton – True Blood

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The end of Season 4 saw Tara and her partner driving off into the sunset, possibly leaving Bon Temps behind forever. We can only hope. The problem with Tara is that the writers never know what to do with her and every attempt to reexamine the character just makes you hate her even more. This last season was the straw that broke the camel’s back as Tara was partially responsible for the whole witches-VS-vampires fiasco going out of control.

Joffrey Baratheon – Game of Thrones

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I know you’re supposed to hate Joffrey, but I just can’t stand the sight of this little twerp anymore. Whether he’s picking on little girls or running home to mommy, this sniveling coward of a king is always annoying. However, Joffrey crossed the line when he had Ned Stark beheaded instead of sparing him. I can only hope he gets his comeuppance soon.

Ben Chang – Community

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It might seem sacrilegious to put Chang on this list, but really there hasn’t been anything for the character to do since Season 1. Ken Jeong is a hilarious guy and he made Chang the perfect crazy college professor in the first season—but after losing his job, Chang’s just been hanging around because he’s got nothing better to do. His weird Gollum act is no longer funny, just creepy. If Community needs to trim the budget in order to stay on the air—Chang should be the first to go.

Four Supporting Actresses Who Deserve Their Own Show and One Who Actually Got It

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Kris M.

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You probably know who Judy Greer is, even if you don’t know her name. This funny gal has made a career for herself playing supporting roles such as Kitty from Arrested Development and “Fatty Magoo” from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. If you don’t recognize her face, you might recognize her voice as clueless secretary Cheryl on the animated comedy Archer.

Even if you don’t know Judy Greer by now, you will get to know her soon enough. Greer has her own sitcom in the works over at ABC called American Judy, in which she plays a city gal who moves to the suburbs with her new husband and his family. For those of us who have been following this talented comedic actress, it’s about time she got the recognition and starring role she deserves.

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Judy Greer isn’t the only supporting TV actress to be recently promoted to a starring role. Mindy Kaling, who plays vapid customer service rep Kelly on The Office, is in talks to star in her own sitcom at Fox. We love both these funny ladies and wish them all the success in the world on their new shows.

We also can’t help but wonder which other supporting sitcom actresses deserve the chance to step into a starring role. These four actresses are poised to hit it big, if and when their chance to star in a sitcom ever comes along.

Kristen Schaal

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Kristen Schaal is best known for her portrayal of obsessed fan Mel on HBO’s Flight of the Conchords, but the actress has also provided commentary on The Daily Show and the voice of Louise on Bob’s Burgers. Her next gig will be playing a reoccurring NBC page character on 30 Rock. Schaal has a knack for playing oddball characters, which would translate well into a single-camera comedy.

Ellie Kemper

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Even after eight seasons on the air, The Office is still pumping out comedy stars. Ellie Kemper joined the cast in 2005 as Erin, the happy-go-lucky but incredible naïve secretary. Since then, she’s gone to play a memorable supporting role in the hit movie Bridesmaids. Kemper plays innocent-yet-stupid with an effortlessness that almost makes you wonder how much she’s faking it.

Aubrey Plaza

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Audiences know Aubrey Plaza as Ron Swanson’s sarcastic assistant April on Parks and Recreation. This stand-up comedian turned actress has also had memorable roles in movies like Funny People and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. We love her dry, deadpan sense of humor and would love to see this young actress rise to prominence over the next few years.

Jane Lynch

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We all know who Jane Lynch is by now—her Sue Sylvester character on Glee is practically infamous at this point. She’s done it all—she played an actress turned waitress on Party Down, she made memorable cameos in a number of films including The 40-Year-Old Virgin, she even hosted the Emmy Awards. Lynch can only get bigger from here and it’s time prove that with a starring role.

Fictional TV Awards We Think We Have a Shot at Winning

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Kris M.

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Television actors and actresses are awarded with a number of accolades each year, from the prestigious Emmy Awards to the slime-covered Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards. For all the praise we heap onto television actors, the characters that they portray rarely get the recognition they deserve.

So when a TV character does receive an honor, it’s a triumphant occasion worthy of an outrageous award that could only exist in TV land. However, if these TV awards were real, we think we’d have a really good chance of winning one of them—if not all of them.

The Dundies – The Office

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The Dundies aren’t just your run-of-the-mill office awards, they are a extravagant event emceed by uber-boss Michael Scott. There are jokes, music, an excessive amount of drinking and then there’s the prize–a glorious golden statuette known as a Dundie. Each Dundie is unique to the person who wins it, with categories that include “Cutest Redhead in the Office Award,” “Show Me the Money Award” and “Spicy Curry Award.”

Sure, everybody in the office gets a Dundie, so it’s not exactly hard to win one—the real trick is winning a good Dundie and not something slightly offensive. It’d be really easy to win the “Whitest Sneakers Award”, but also really easy to accidentally win the “Don’t Go In There After Me Award” too. Our safest bet? The “Fine Work Award.” You really just need to show up to work to win it.

The Shiva – The League

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Some fantasy football leagues play for money, others play for fun—but the league from The League play for a much more sacred award—the legendary Shiva. Named after the guys’ sexy high school classmate Shivakamini Somakandarkram, the Shiva is a sacred shrine adorned with items swiped from the real Shiva.

Even if we’d rather watch the Puppy Bowl than the Super Bowl, we still think the Shiva could be within our grasp—afterall, Taco has come close before and he doesn’t even try to play right. Winning the Shiva takes the ability to backstab, to psych out your opponents and to cheat if necessary. All we have to do is turn off our natural instinct for empathy and the Shiva will fall into our laps.

Most – 30 Rock

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NBC executive Jack Donaghy is an accomplished man with nearly superhuman qualities—so when he graduated from Harvard Business School, his classmates voted him “Most.” Forget “Best Hair” or “Most Likely to Succeed,” this is the senior class award we wish we could win the most.

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It wouldn’t be easy to achieve such an extreme level of excellence, but Jack worked his way up to the top of the food chain from a childhood of impoverishment. Who’s to say we couldn’t do the same? Granted we’d need his charm, his wit and Alec Baldwin’s good looks—but anything is possible if you pull yourself up by your bootstraps and psych yourself up in the mirror using advertising slogans.

Laugh Tracks: You’re Killin’ Me

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Anni M.

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There is nothing more annoying, more nail-screechingly appalling, than a sitcom laugh-track. I’m not a fan of sitcoms in general—they’re formulaic, predictable, fake-as-heck and just plain boring—but a sitcom with a laugh-track is like a fat-free frozen yogurt “sundae” with carob chips. It was disgusting already. Now it’s repulsive. Did you think I’d be fooled by “delicious morsel” imposters? Did you think I’d be all, “oh wow, this is totally chocolate!” Um, no.

Laughing is supposed to be the reward for a clever joke. It is supposed to be the delightful product of a job well done, erupting organically from an involuntary reaction to something funny or fun, like an amusement park. When a laugh happens, a real laugh, an angel baby gets its fairy wings… or something. A devil fairy gets its baby feet? Whatever, the point is: there ain’t no substitute for actual laughing. Period.

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The first laugh track appeared on the Hank McCune Show in 1950. I can only imagine the television executives being like, “Wait a second… fake laughter? Do you know what this means? We never have to write an actually funny joke again!” It’s like when Hormel invented Spam. In America, we have a long and storied history of replacing perfectly good real things with significantly less good fake versions of those things. It’s big business.

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I can’t watch a show with a laugh track. It doesn’t matter how funny the show is, how much I love the actors or how drunk I am. I tried to watch an episode of The Big Bang Theory and, for the first time in my life, I thought Blossom totally sucked. Yeah, I know, Blossom had a laugh track too. See, back when Blossom was popular, I was a kid. It may be hard to believe, but back then I wasn’t as super smart and wise as I am today. I heard a laugh track and I thought, “Oh look, there’s an audience, and they’re laughing.” I probably also thought, “huh, Spam, is that like some kind of chicken?”

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It may be a controversial opinion, but I think it’s good writing, good acting and good old-fashioned showmanship that make a show funny. My favorite comedy shows on television today—The Office and Parks and Recreation—don’t have laugh tracks. They don’t tell me when I’m supposed to crack up and I don’t need them to. The jokes stand alone, proud and tall, monuments to that old-timey, nearly forgotten television art: comedy.

The Strained LOTR/Office Analogies Continue as Mindy Kaling Signs on for New Show

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Bailey C.

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Carrying on the noble (dorky) tradition of my previous Office Breakup post, Mindy Kaling has decided to desert the Fellowship and remain in Rohan to be the wife of Eomer, the horse-lord. And by Rohan I mean Fox. And by Eomer, I of course mean a solo show in which she plays a struggling OB/GYN attempting to “balance her personal and professional life.” Continue reading →

Is It Too Late to Save The Office?

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Kris M.

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The original British mockumentary, The Office, had a total of only 12 episodes, plus a two-part Christmas special. In comparison, the American version of The Office has run for eight seasons and has shown 164 episodes to date. Every episode of the British version is a classic, while the American version has had a healthy mixture of amazing, okay and terrible episodes. However, the show has recently been a dud and without Michael Scott, it’s quickly losing ratings and fan-interest. Is it time for Dunder-Mifflin to go out of business?

What’s Wrong With The Office?

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Michael’s departure is not the only factor to blame for the downfall of The Office. The show had been getting stale even before he left and much of what we loved about it in the first place has been slowly buried over the last few years.

The Jim and Pam romance, which was the crux of the show in the earlier seasons, fizzled out completely when the characters actually got together. After marriage and two children, the romantic tension has been dropped for a “happily ever after” vibe that just doesn’t make for good television. We’re supposed to believe that this married couple works together and they never have any serious conflicts?

Romantic Redundancy

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Without Jim and Pam’s relationship to keep the story going, the writers have been desperately trying to replace them. Andy and Erin are the new Jim and Pam, except nowhere near as interesting. Lately, Erin has been trying to get back with Andy, despite the fact that he’s in a serious relationship—which is just like when Pam wanted to get with Jim when he was dating Karen. However, Karen was actually a developed character whereas Andy’s girlfriend Jessica is basically set dressing.

Remember When They Actually Worked?

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The original charm of The Office was how well it reproduced the workplace setting, with all of the inherent comedy and drama that it entailed. With a recession raging, many real-life workers have to worry about job security, but the staff of Dunder-Mifflin doesn’t seem to do anything but have fun anymore. The latest episode, “Pool Party,” featured the gang partying it up in Robert California’s luxurious indoor pool. When was the last time you and your co-workers went to a pool party at a mansion?

Who’s The Boss?

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James Spader was brought in to replace Michael as Robert California, but has since moved up to the CEO of the company. Although Spader’s performance is fascinating to watch, the character just doesn’t jive with the rest of the cast, who spend each episode following him around hoping to gain his approval. Although Andy has stepped in to fill that gap as the new boss, his lack of confidence makes him the complete opposite of Michael. Andy’s played up as a straight man to the rest of the office’s hijinks, which completely flips the dynamic we’re used to.

Can It Be Fixed?

As much as we still love these characters and want to believe the show can be saved, it’d take a miracle to do so. The first step would be to restructure. The supporting cast has a lot of extra baggage, so maybe a round of layoffs would inject some life into the show. After that, keep Robert’s appearances as CEO to a minimum and replace Andy with a boss that is a little goofier and a lot more interesting to watch.

Seven Compelling TV Characters That Deserve Their Own Spin-Offs

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Kris M.

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Does The Cleveland Show leave you wondering what makes Cleveland so interesting that he got his own series? Were you outraged when Joey was picked out of all the Friends to be the star of his own show? Does the thought of a Snooki spin-off make you want to cry?

If so, you’re probably suffering from spin-off fatigue—the inability to enjoy a mediocre TV show just because it was spun-off from a show you love. The only cure is to watch plenty of Frasier and Angel reruns as you wait for any of these compelling TV characters to star in their own spin-off series.

Troy Barnes and Abed Nadir - Community

Yes we’re including Troy and Abed as a pair—you just don’t break up a great comedy duo. With Community possibly on its last legs, this might be our only chance of seeing six seasons and a movie. The series would follow Troy and Abed as they make movies and rip on pop culture.

Lafayette Reynolds – True Blood

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Lafayette has gone from drug dealing short-order cook to magical spirit medium. He continues to be one of the most interesting people in Bon Temps. We want to see him reunite with the spirit of his dead boyfriend Jesus as he guides Lafayette around the south, helping restless spirits to find peace.

Gus Fring – Breaking Bad

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The Machiavellian meth dealer was the most mysterious, meticulous and powerful character we’ve seen on TV in a long time. Even though Gus was recently killed off, we’d still love to see a prequel series that tells the story of how he became the southwest’s biggest drug kingpin and fried chicken restaurateur.

Joan Harris – Mad Men

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Even when she didn’t work at Sterling Cooper, the cameras couldn’t help but follow Joan. She has a red-hot personality but underneath is a complex woman who wants to be both desired and respected. We want to watch Joan as part of the women’s lib movement in the 70s, finally achieving the success she deserves.

Michael Scott – The Office

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We know Steve Carell wants to focus on his movie career, but if that doesn’t pan out we’d welcome Michael Scott back with open arms. The series could give us a peek into the married life of Michael and Holly, the dorkiest couple in the world. Add some adopted children to the mix and that awkward humor pretty much writes itself.

Artemis – It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Artemis is Sweet Dee’s friend, Frank’s former sex partner and one of the most interesting reoccurring characters on the show. She has next to no shame, zero class and a raging food fetish—stick her into any premise and we’re watching.

Andy Botwin – Weeds

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The Showtime series Weeds has gotten a little long in the tooth lately and Andy has always been one of the funniest, clever characters on the show. The best plan for moving forward would be to ditch Nancy and her drama and focus on Andy and Doug, getting stoned and planning their own schemes.

Three Unanswered TV Show Questions That Everybody Forgets to Ask

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Kris M.

When you become invested in a TV show, you have to accept the rules of the world that the characters inhabit. However, TV show concepts often present a conundrum to viewers when certain aspects of a TV world haven’t been fully explained. These three unanswered TV questions involve important plot points that are for some reason always overlooked.

1. The Office – Who is Filming the Employees of Dunder-Mifflin and For What Reason?

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For the past eight seasons we’ve watched the employees of Dunder-Mifflin through the lens of a documentary crew—yet we’ve never been told who is shooting the documentary or why. Are the employees of Dunder-Mifflin all reality show celebrities and if so, how come we never see any of that on screen?

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There have been a few fan theories floating around, with the most logical being that the filming is done every year for a local film class—which would expect why the documentary crews don’t film what happens during the summer or holidays. However, when Jim temporarily moved to the Utica branch in season three, the cameras followed him. It seems like a stretch of the imagination to think that local students would follow him to another town on the off-chance that he might return to Scranton one day.

2. True Blood – Why is Synthetic Blood a Beverage Instead of a Miracle Cure?

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The vampires in “True Blood” make their identity known to the world when Japanese scientists create a synthetic blood substance that is identical to real blood. Bottles of synthetic blood, called Tru Blood, are sold alongside beer and spirits at liquor stores and bars. Vampires can even order it by blood type.

Tru Blood beverage advertisement

It’s great that Tru Blood makes it so vampires don’t have to feed on humans, but there are better uses for a blood substitute—like saving lives. Tru Blood could put a stop to many blood-borne illnesses and blood drives would become a thing of the past. There would never be concern about finding the right type of blood in time, since it’d always be readily available. Every ambulance, hospital, doctor’s office and nurse’s station in the world would be fully stocked with Tru Blood.

3. Family Guy – Who Understands Stewie?

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Stewie might be the baby of the Griffin Family, but he’s smarter than all of them combined. Even though he’s hyper-intelligent, the rest of the Griffin Family often hear his eloquent ranting as baby gibberish and react to it as such. Only the dog Brian is able to communicate with Stewie as a peer.

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However, Stewie is often shown doing outrageous things like hosting his own morning radio show or writing songs for Miley Cyrus. It used to be that no adults could understand Stewie, but if that was the case he wouldn’t be able to do half the things he can. Even worse, sometimes the family acts like they can understand what he’s saying and other times they treat him like the toddler he is. It seems Stewie is a baby whenever it’s convenient for the writers.