Leo's spring TV awards

Television is not dead, but more often now, it comes in doses. Very few of the shows I watch are made into full seasons. Of course, a lot of them are on cable and don't have to follow the old fall-to-spring timeline. Of those, only a few have more than 10-15 episodes. TV is going niche, and there just aren't that many people getting 22 or so episodes a year to spell out things. You have to do it in a few months. Thus, it makes sense for this armchair critic to hand out awards for the first half (or second half, if you go by seasons) of the year.

Well, what a half it was! A lot of shows I had been eagerly anticipating came back. Most did not disappoint. I don't know what I'll do in the fall, but then, there's this thing the Americans call football. I suppose I'll just have to get used to it, because it's clear that great shows only come so often.


I will mention a few year-round comedies that have my attention. 30 Rock is finally living up to the critical hype. How I Met Your Mother is goofy and a bit cliched but still enjoyable. The Office became the unlikeliest landing spot for some former Wire stars, but they helped spark some life into it. That's pretty much it. Most everything I like comes in spurts.

Onto the winners...


BEST COMEDIES

1. Delocated - Adult Swim decided to support a few live-action shows that fit their particular (stoner/slacker/college) sense of humor, and it paid off. This mock-reality show about a man in witness relocation (which is a hilariously stupid premise in itself) is great for Jon Glaser's awkward humor, especially with his assigned protector / timid buddy. Eugene Mirman is great as a Russian assassin, and there were some great cameos.

2. Eastbound & Down - Danny McBride's sudden appearance on the comedy scene comes from the cult success of The Foot Fist Way. He & his pals behind that created this show with the same kind of dark humor. Basically, they're taking the approach of a lot of recent Apatow & Will Ferrell movies and then putting it into series form.... which is great. Being on HBO frees them to be dark and vulgar, and they use that. Personal fave Andrew Daly is great as the uptight principal.

3. Important Things with Demetri Martin - I always liked Demetri's stand up, and I was curious to see how he would translate it into a full show. It works because he mixes sketches with some stand up and weird tidbits. He brought in Adult Swim veteran Jon Benjamin to be his go-to guy, which was smart. John Oliver of The Daily Show also added some great moments.

4. The Mighty Boosh - Yes, I know, it doesn't quite count as a regular entry because it was already on TV for several years in Britain. A lot of people have already seen it, and Adult Swim is replaying episodes from a span of several seasons. Still, this is a new revelation to some, and having it on a regular screen (and not having to rely on YouTube clips) makes my day brighter.

5. Flight of the Conchords - Bret and Jemaine's second season was filled with more star appearances, but maybe not as good as the first. They are most likely finished with this show. No matter, though, because their live shows are great and they have a growing fan base now. That's the way to see them.

BEST DRAMAS

1. Lost - Look, either you like it or you don't. I'm not trying to convince anyone. I just love it. I wish that it was on all year... they could have used more episodes to flesh out the mile-a-minute story and better add to the new characters. It's still my number one addiction.

2. Damages - This is a show that people need to watch. It's replaced The Shield as FX's showcase, intense drama. Last season was a dive into paranoia and the powerful, unseen forces that drive society. This season, it focused more on a great story, while still building on the existing troubles. A lot of great actors joined the cast. Watch it.

3. Big Love - HBO's polygamist drama has gone in some weird places, but it's worth it. It took a while to find a proper tone, but it mixes family drama with cultish conspiracy.

4. Dollhouse - Joss Whedon is gold. His new project takes sci-fi but adds a deep emotional core. He plays with the idea of self and identity as people become objects. It picked up steam as the season went along and thankfully got a renewal.

5. Fringe - OK, this was actually on all year. It took a long break, however, and the spring session was much better than the fall. It separated itself from an X Files ripoff to become a fascinating sci-fi epic.

MOST DISAPPOINTING

1. Life on Mars - This was the ultimate borderline show for me. I was on the fence about keeping up with it all year. It had some really cheesy moments, but the cast was impressive and they had cool music. Once I learned it was going to wrap everything up in one season, I decided to stick it out. Big mistake. It ended with one of the most confusing and infuriating finales ever. It wasn't a thoughtful ambiguous ending, it was an ending that had no place and completely undermined the emotional pull that the whole series was trying to build. ABC, you wasted many hours of my life and I want them back. You're lucky you have Lost.

2. Heroes - Do I even need to say anything? I do have some questions. Hey, remember how Sylar was tricked into believing he was one of the Petrellis last year? Did that have any importance at all? Why won't they just get rid of Ali Larter? Am I a bad person for really hating Masi Oka now?

3. Scrubs - I still kinda like this show, but its supposed end has been dragged out and apparently still isn't happening yet. They could have ended on NBC, but signed on for another half-year at ABC, then tried to end it, but now are coming back. This show is okay, but it's not good enough to keep on this long.

4. Parks & Recreation - It's too early to tell, but a show with this many good people in it should be funnier. I'm hoping it gets better.

5. Sit Down, Shut Up - Perhaps the most bizarre of shows to get a run. It didn't look great on its own in previews, and it isn't. But the talent level behind this is amazing - Mitch Hurwitz assembled writers from AD and even prime-era Simpsons, then coaxed a strong name cast to do voices. Still, it sucked. Why was THIS his big return to TV? Did he do this just to stick it to FOX? I'm perplexed.

That does it for the spring session. There are a few summer shows coming up that will hopefully bridge me to another season. Of course, I don't have The Wire to get me through those lonely summer days this year. Oh well.

Sundance-ified: Hannah Montana (the movie)

Recently, The Onion's AV Club presented a way to make any blockbuster movie into a Sundance movie with just a few changes. Since I get to see many previews for the broadest of broad films, I thought this would be a great thing to play with. Every so often, I will be taking popcorn fluff and making it into dark/offbeat indie kernels.

Watch the Actual Trailer

Actual Premise: I guess Billy Ray thinks his daughter needs to go back to the farm and find her roots, since she's so spoiled. I suppose there's nothing in this about shutting down Disneyland for half a day to celebrate her 16th birthday before it even happens, but, hey, she fights Tyra! For shoes! She learns her lesson, solves her secret identity, and meets a gay cowboy.... err, cute guy in the process.

My thoughts to make it a festival hit: Ironically, this movie is very reflexive, one of my favorite tools of late for adding layers to films. Her dad is played by her real dad, she's a teen pop star as like real life, and her name is Miley Stewart. Art imitating life... or more likely, they have no acting range. This might be the dumbest movie ever to be so reflexive. Damn you, Disney! That trick should be reserved for things like THIS!

[Even more ironically, as much as I like to tease the Cyruses about their wholesome family act, her dad already owns me in the artistic cred department with his cameo in Mulholland Drive. Maybe it's just a testament to how crazy David Lynch is, but he was in there.]

Fortunately, I can get around that because of a great story point that Joel McHale has been using as a running joke for a while: she's got multiple personalities. IT'S A SERIOUS MEDICAL CONDITION! Miley Stewart, simple Tennessee farm girl, merely thinks that she is secretly a Hollywood star but is just delusional. And poor.

You know, she and her dad seem awfully close in this... maybe a little too close? Ruh-roh! I smell an inappropriate relationship! That'll give it indie cred. So as daddy tries to get his daughter and to realize that her true life is working on the farm and secretly pleasuring him at night, she struggles to cope with what is real and what's in her mind. Those dance sequences become a little more tragic when she realizes the ugly truth, Dancer in the Dark-style. She cries herself to sleep and works for hours on the farm with her dad watching her sweat, then imagines the fanciful beach parties where she is the star.

But the more her dad tries to get her to realize what is true, the more detached she becomes from reality. She can't cope with her two lives and dives further into madness. This is where the love interest comes in. She meets this boy riding horses and believes him to be some kind of white knight, but he's gay. Really gay. He's so gay, he's even gayer than John Wayne. He woos her because he's actually interested in breaking in her younger brother. But she refuses to believe that. Meanwhile, her brother lies about getting into college and sneaks away to make sweet, sweet love with the cow wrassler.

Oh, and her best friend gets an abortion. Almost forgot that.

In the end, Miley will have a breakdown when she discovers that her big concert at the Hollywood Bowl is just the local hootenanny. She runs away crying and goes up to the roof of the chicken coop to kill herself, but falls through and gets paralyzed. She ends up stuck in a chair in a special room her dad has built, forced to forever be his secret slave, just like Sarah Polley in "The Sweet Hereafter." Festival gold.

Next time on Sundance-ified: Ice Cube's Janky Promoters

I watched two movies last night....

.. Oliver Stone's W and The Foot Fist Way.

One is a bizarre, ridiculous comedy with over-the-top characters and a story that focuses on an idiot redneck who thinks he's awesome.

The other is Danny McBride's breakthrough film.

I'll be here all week.

The year in review, 2008

Yes, I know, I haven't written much lately. This is a good thing. I used to blog in free time, and I have been working more. I am crossing my fingers this will keep up. I didn't even make the trek East for Christmas because N and I used up lots of vacation time at our party (thanks for all who attended!) and expected to work through the end of the year. Well, I have some time this week, although much of it is Rose Bowl preparation.... I couldn't resist. I guess I should look back on this year.

I think I will remember this as the year I somewhat restored my faith in television. I used to hate TV except for a few sitcoms and sketch shows, but over the past few years, I discovered some old and new shows that used the format well. I think some people figured out at the beginning of this decade, with all the different channels, that niche audiences were a new key and that there was space (mostly on cable) for shows that utilized a season format. They could tell stories over a longer period of time and really develop characters rather than the typical new-adventure-every-week! standard. HBO really jumped on this, and they've been very successful in making TV artsy in the way my beloved indie films do. Meanwhile, my favorite variety shows rode the political excitement wave to good reviews.

Even though the writers' strike probably killed some shows, including a few I liked, it also gave me some time to review some series on DVD. I continued that during the summer. I found a lot of great things, most notably The Wire. I can't get over how good this show is, or was, and I don't even usually like cop shows. It has stuck in my mind more than almost any movie I've seen in the past few years. Even though I missed the first season of each, I decided to jump into Damages and Mad Men while they are still alive, and I'm glad I did. I started paying more attention to 30 Rock and How I Met Your Mother, which are better than I thought. I also started on some new shows. Fringe is cool, though I can't help thinking it's the X Files with a few tweaks. Not that that's bad. True Blood is weird, but I think it's worth watching.

It's not as good, though, as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I had always snickered at that show, but my wife kept telling me there was an odd mix of camp, humor, and some genuine emotion, along with a creative take on monsters (it's not just vampires, thankfully). It's been a solid addition to my lineup of DVD rentals. I also revisited the first season of The O.C., which was also a pleasant surprise. Too bad they used up three seasons' worth of stories in it. Then, right before I started working again, I re watched all of Lost, which I hadn't fully devoted myself to until last year. Seeing it as a whole really made me realize what was going on. I encourage Lost and The Wire to be watched in bunches.

So now I have a new appreciation in TV, and I didn't really have the same zest for seeing movies. Part of this is because I saw so many last year, even in theaters, and didn't have as much to catch up on before the Oscars like I usually do. This year, I waited. I only went out for big summer blockbusters, and to my surprise, they were good. I usually don't care about the bigs and get pumped for late year indies, but Iron Man, Dark Knight, Hellboy, and Tropic Thunder all lived up to hype. (Indiana Jones did not, but I wasn't really all that excited for it anyway and waited for rental). Step Brothers, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Smart, and Pineapple Express were solid comedies. And that's pretty much all I've seen on the big screen. I haven't been in a theater since August. I am kind of ashamed, and yet, I just haven't felt like it. Meanwhile, the indie/loved autuer flicks I was really looking forward to (Be Kind Rewind, Choke, Synedoche New York) came and went quickly without any fanfare.

Eventually, I will see the contenders, but I can't even begin to give a top list of movies this year. I need to see much more. Two recent viewings I did like: The Visitor and Burn After Reading. The Visitor is a great character piece. Burn After Reading was funny and proved the Coens are getting back in gear - not as good as Lebowski or Fargo, but better than the last two attempts at humor. Brad Pitt nailed the stupid comedy in this.

While I cannot give a list of best movies, or music, since I haven't heard any albums lately and someone (ahem) never gave me a collection of things I asked for before the party (it's not too late!), I can continue my annual additions to my personal hall of heroes. This has expanded greatly in the past few years, and there are a lot of great people to add. These are the entertainers - athletes, artists, actors, and all - who have made my year.

First, I would like to give congrats to people who made the list already and have cemented their status. Ricky Gervais and Joel McHale were already awesome, but seeing them live was even better. I nominated J.J. Abrams last year for all his work, and he continues to do good things. Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow kept it up. Christian Bale didn't disappoint. Darren Aronofsky should reach a new level with the success of The Wrestler. I already loved David Fincher, and I hope they recognize him now in awards season, as they finally did with PTA last year.

Oh, and did I mention Phish is coming back?

Here are my inductees for this year:

Robert Downey Jr. - too obvious. Now I'm going back and seeing how good he was before (and maybe during) troubled times. He could tackle pretty much anything.

Heath Ledger - alas, just as I (and many) realized how great he was, he left.

Paul Newman - another in memoriam. I didn't have him listed before. Shame on me. Every book on film I have says that Paul Newman was one big star who was always gracious off camera. No one, NO ONE in film didn't love him.

Andrew Daly - I already wrote a post about how much I loved him. I haven't seen him in a while, though I hear he's in charge of rebooting The Match Game.

Jason Segal - he'll always be welcomed as part of the Freaks and Geeks crew, but he proved he could write and hold a lead role in a movie. Plus, he's an underrated part of How I met Your Mother.

James Franco - same deal as his boys Segal and Rogen.

Adam Carolla - I always thought he was good in bits, especially his duels with Bill Simmons, but I didn't realize how funny he was until I started listening to his radio show. It's a nice way to start the day off and a great showcase for him. Then, despite little experience, he wrote and starred in a decent movie, The Hammer.

Sarah Silverman - I don't think I had her on here before. Slowly, she's been building up to slacker comedy domination.

Tina Fey - along with Silverman, is making the case for more female comedians. I was meh on 30 Rock at first, thinking it was trying too hard to be Arrested Development, but it has gotten a lot better. She's able to be as self-deprecating and nerdy as the boys while still being attractive, I have to say. She also showed she could hold a movie. And how did I not know until now that she was from Philly??? WTF!

Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, & Kristen Wiig - they've brought SNL back into prominence, along with lifetime member Amy Poehler (who carried that show at times, but she's gone). It's not perfect, or still near where it was, but they at least have the potential to create some laughs.

The Mighty Boosh and Snuff Box - I don't know who first started pushing these British sketch geniuses, but they've really taken over our year. All these guys combine a wicked sense of humor and no fears about being strange to create some of the most interesting comedy of this decade. They need to be more available in the States, but that should be coming.

Jon Hamm & everyone involved in Mad Men - really great show, and Hamm came out of nowhere to OWN. Plus, he's married to indie fave Jennifer Westfeldt and is friends with Paul Rudd and Jimmy Kimmel. He's got a good life ahead.

Damon Linedlof, Carlton Cuse & everyone involved in Lost - stop taking the fall off! ABC just cancelled everything! I need you in my veins right now!

David Simon & everyone involved in The Wire - the easiest choice of the year.

Tom McCarthy - as an actor, part of The Wire brilliance. As a filmmaker, has made two great indies and is one of my favorite people to watch for from now on.

Joss Whedon - I always saw the legions of rawkus Whedon fans and the cult hits and I wondered why people loved him so much. Now I know.

Christopher Nolan - I guess I never put him on here because I forget about filmmakers once they get huge deals. I sometimes forget that Memento was one of the important mindfarks I watched in school, and his very first film was full of suspense and shot on NOTHING. Other guys have risen up from indie ranks and lost their soul. I have to remind myself to recognize him.

Guillermo Del Toro - here's another guy I didn't appreciate at first when I saw him doing big horror and action flicks. I went back and saw his early stuff and he's fantastic.

Alton Brown - the first chef I ever added to my list, he's a strange mix of Mr. Wizard, Bill Nye, and someone's goofy dad... and I always get hooked watching him late at night. Cooking shows have really come in handy this year, and I broke my no-reality rule to watch Top Chef and a host of other competitions in food. I say he's the best personality, and always informative.

Lastly, I should declare a winner for 2008:

The 2008 Philadelphia Phillies

Yes, I have to. I listed all the great Philly athletes who never won anything, so I ought to include the ones who did. It was beautiful. It was joyous. It was much needed. During this drunken rollercoaster of an Eagles season, I have been ready to throw things and declare that we can never win anything... and then I stop and remember, like I was born an amputee and just got a prosthetic leg and are just coming to terms that I can finally walk, that we did win something. I remember Bill Simmons talking about how, after the Red Sox finally won, he would get upset and frustrated like he always had, and then suddenly have this moment of clarity after a few seconds of frustration, that it's over. It's not true anymore.

We are a tortured bunch.

Happy New Year, and I'm looking forward to 2009!

Things are looking up.

I didn't want to jinx it too much last time, but with Philadelphia ending the curse of titles and all of us ending the curse of Bush, it's good times all around. It's been an emotional few weeks, eh? Or is it just me? And it's better from here out: wedding and anniversary celebrations and holidays.

Things are looking up. :)

THE RETURN!!!!

http://phish.com/videosplash/

Yes, Phish is coming back. In the entire time of the blogosphere for me, which would be all West Coast living, all blood problems, all courtship and marraige, they have been dormant. But that's over. This couldn't come at a better time. I was just thinking how musically dead I've been this year. In these financially tough times, music was the first luxury to go. I haven't been to any shows in more than a year, and I am in dire need of a fresh infusion of sounds (Paul? I need this more than any gift...) to keep me going. Iwas really down about this recently, especially with the nation looking like it's going in the toilet.

But there is hope anew now. Trey and the boys will be back next year, and with my employment status, maybe I can get out again. Obama will soon be in the white house and I won't have to stab myself everytime I see something in the news about politics.

IT'S A NEW DAY, PEOPLE!

IT'S A NEW F-----G DAY!!!

TV deadens the core of my inner being... sometimes

Yes, I haven't updated in a while. I'm working full time. Isn't that good? I don't even know if anyone is reading this anymore. Please tell me if you are. I may not update in a while, or maybe just little tidbits. But I did have to write, because this blog is often useful for my own record keeping, for all the things I've seen.

Usually, I write a little about TV and then go into movies, but it seems like TV is more dominant in my life right now. In the past few years, I have discovered a lot of shows that I overlooked this decade: some that rank amongst the greatest ever - Six Feet Under, The Wire, and Lost; some cult faves I ignored like Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which were promoted as too girly and underground, when they were enjoyable for all (hell, I even found myself enjoying The O.C. for a little); and after catching on late, I'm now hooked on Heroes, Damages, and Mad Men.

When I first started thinking about trying to make it in Hollywood, I was focused on movies, and thought little of TV other than a few (mostly animated) comedies. But now, I think some people are finding out new ways to use it as a strong medium, not just repetitive stories. HBO and some other cable outlets are leading the way, but even the networks have delivered some gold, even if they don't always keep them going. It's funny because I was sure that reality TV would be the end of the world (well, it still might) and scripted shows would either die or go too broad. Now, however, I think it's created a shift where many people are cashing in on reality but living short lives, while serious artists go the other way and build followings. It seems like more shows are created for niche audiences. This is much easier on cable, but even networks have listened to ardent fan bases. Sometimes. I thought it was the worst of times 5 years ago, when I thought about pursuing a film path, and in a way it is, but it's also the best of times. There are so many channels, that, despite loads of crap, there's enough space for people who care.

So now I find us using our Netflix queue for a lot of recent TV and not just movies. My movie viewing will also go down now that shows are on. If I keep this up, I should be writing more about TV. Now is the time, with new seasons and the Emmys just underway.

As for those Emmys, may they never do that hosting jumble again. Awful. As for the actual wards, I can't complain about most of the winners. I was shocked, as I think most were, with Bryan Cranston, but he's always been a cool guy. I'm more concerned with the last few years of ceremonies - nothing for The Wire? Now that I've finished the first 4 seasons, I'm even more perplexed by its constant snubbing. I wrote about it before, but man... for an industry trying to help themselves and point out their progressiveness, they just ignored one of the most diverse casts ever, not to mention a fantastic show. They liked the other HBO productions... WTF? This is the first time I ever really cared about the Emmys, but the fact that they overlooked this undermines everything they do. I was looking at all the nominees in the past, and all I saw were popular sitcoms and dumb cop shows. They've come so far! They notice good things now. Why not this?

Anyway, smart casting people have taken notice, and you'll see a lot of Wire people in shows and movies now. Including the ones I will watch this fall. Here's a list of what I will be tuning in for:

Heroes - Couldn't be more excited, especially after they admitted last year was a mistake. So much Sylar! ... and other villains, including Marlo Stanfield. And maybe Bubbles is in it???

How I Met Your Mother - cute and funnier than I expected.

Fringe - J.J. Abrams comes back with his own X Files, with a little more humor. More Wire: Lt. Daniels is the new Agent Skinner, apparently.

SVU - the only non-Wire cop show I can stand. Two likable leads plus a wild list of guest stars help.

Dirty Sexy Money - will watch Peter Krause in anything, and they're cutting down the annoying rich kids.

Pushing Daisies - last year's surprise obsession has a great flow and strong, eccentric cast.

The Office - getting old? Amy Ryan can help.

30 Rock - I don't know if I like it as much as critics do, but it's solid.

True Blood - Alan Ball has been getting mixed reviews for his vampire epic. So far, I'm not sure either.

Dexter - For the record, my vote was for Michael C. Hall, who makes a serial killer without feelings or humor somehow empathetic and dryly funny.

*Mad Men - I'll include it, but its season might be over soon.

In addition, there are the usuals: new stuff on Adult Swim, the Soup (saw Joel McHale live, he was great), Daily Show and Colbert. I will also wait for Lost, Big Love, and Flight of the Conchords to return. Maybe the world isn't ending.


Conversely, I don't have much to say about movies. I've seen a lot since I last worte, but I don't feel like going into much. I'll just grade them.

Grace is Gone - not that good, muddled take on war, C-

The Hammer - funny, great if you like Adam Carolla, B

Fast Food Nation - very good, overlooked Traffic-like web of the American system, A -

Tropic Thunder - hilarious, A

Pineapple Express - pretty funny, B +

The Grand - unfunny Christopher Guest ripoff, D

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - cute, sweet period piece, B

Bernard and Doris - strange HBO indie, C+

The Asassination of Jesse James - slow, but then the last half is great... Caffleck and Pitt are good, and Sam Rockwell adds to that, B+

21- horrible Hollywoodization of an interesting true story, D

Martian Child - meh....Cuse is trying too hard... C

Penelope - cute fairytale romance, B-



Now if you'll excuse me, they put every episode of Lost online.