I Just Read About That…

I usually try to do a TV post once a season, just to remind myself of what I watched.  For some reason I didn’t write one in the beginning of the year, so I’m catching up now with season enders and mid-season replacements.  And yes I am pointedly writing this just after finding out that several shows (four of them brand new) that I enjoyed quite a bit were cancelled for good.

So I’ll start with the shows that we watched (or tried to watch) that have been cancelled.

Better with You (ABC)
This show was not very original.  At all.  And yet there was something about the cast that was fresh.  Ben (Josh Cooke) could deliver even clichéd lines with an original manner that always makes me laugh.  The main guy, Casey (Jake Lacy), was really weird and quirky but never really went over the line into unbelievability.  And the main woman, Mia (Joanna Garcia-Swisher), while guilty of the ridiculous sitcom trope of always holding your stomach because, you know, she’s pregnant, was usually good for a funny delivery (no pun intended).  And of course, the awesome Debra Jo Rupp (Kitty from That 70s Show) is well, awesome.  It even had a great theme song by Ben Lee.  I’m not sure where they would have gone with the show since she had the baby, but it’s a shame to see it go.  Cancelled after 22 episodes.

Breaking In (FOX)
This mid-season show starred Bret Harrison of the delightful but cancelled Reaper.  And, just like Tyler Labine (Reaper’s awesome Sock) whose Mad Love was just terminated, Harrison strikes out with this show, too.  Is it worth saying that this was a really enjoyable show?  That it was clever and funny and crammed an hour’s worth of drama into a 30 minute comedy.  There’s something about Harrison that rubs me the wrong way, and yet I liked both of these shows and am bummed that they are gone.  Cancelled after 7 episodes.

Lie to Me (FOX)
Watched an episode of this and liked it but it never fit our schedule.  It’s cancelled now anyhow (after 3 seasons).

Life Unexpected (CW)
I can’t believe this show lasted as long as it did–two seasons!  We watched two episodes.

Mad Love (CBS)
This show should have been called How I Met Your Mother, Too. It was the same in so many ways, they could have even shared sets. Jason Biggs looks and acts so much like Ted, it’s crazy.  The show plays with every single sitcom trope ever made, there’s barely anything original about it and yet I still like it.  The cast is great, Tyler Labine is hilarious, Judy Greer is (always) wonderful (see Archer, below), Sarah Chalke is perfect in the role of “the Sarah Chalke character” and Jason Biggs is funny as well. There were plenty of pitfalls ahead for this show if it was picked up again (but they had access to a whole database of sitcom situations to work with), nevertheless, it made me laugh. Cancelled after 13 episodes.

Mr Sunshine (ABC)
I didn’t really like this show very much, but I LOVE Andrea Anders who also has a history of failed shows (poor Better Off Ted). She is absolutely hilarious and deserves a show with a chance of survival.  The rest of the cast was really questionable and it wasn’t all that funny, but I’d watch Andrea in anything.  Cancelled after 9 episodes.

Outsourced (NBC)
This show started out pretty  poor. Then it got progressively better and better.  By the end of the show the characters were developed there were no Indian stereotype jokes and everyone found their footing very well.   So they cancelled it.  Cancelled after 22 episodes.

Running Wilde (FOX)
No surprise here.  Yet another quirky show that Fox picked up only to kill it after a few episodes. Why do they keep doing this to us? cancelled after 13 episodes.

Traffic Light (FOX)
This show seemed doomed to fail from the get go and yet I thought it was very funny.  The three male leads were delightful: Roy from The Office (David Denman, in a likable role; that guy from Love, Actually (Kris Marshall, very funny import there) and the guy with glasses (Nelson Franklin, who had a great cameo in Scott Pilgrim vs the World and who I hope gets another sitcom soon–maybe with Andrea Anders).  It was offbeat and funny and just weird enough to not be boring.  It wasn’t brilliant, but it always made me laugh. This show was adapted from an Israeli sitcom (!). Cancelled after 13 episodes.

The Paul Reiser Show (NBC)
I’ve always hated Paul Reiser.  He’s always felt like a poor imitation of Jerry Seinfeld (and his sitcom was like the married version of Seinfeld).  So when I saw he was doing a new comedy (which was basically a rip off of Curb Your Enthusiasm) I was annoyed.  This is a show I was happy to see cancelled (and after two episodes–really that’s not fair, but it’s still funny).

Barely hanging on:

Chuck (NBC)
Evidently Chuck was renewed for next season but with only 13 episodes, instead of a whole year.  That’s a shame as I think it’s a good show.  Of course, I used to think it was a great show, but I feel that it has really drifted this season.  It’s missing something (perhaps it’s missing the very premise that Chuck the non spy becomes a spy.  Now that he’s a spy (and getting married–bleagh, lame sitcom plot) the show just isn’t the same).  So maybe it’s good that they get 13 episodes and can go out with  bang.

Back for another season:

Archer (FX)
This is possibly the funniest show on TV right now.  It is vulgar and clever and witty and just funny as shit (and they say “shit” a lot).  And it’s a cartoon (H. Jon Benjamin is awesome as Archer and Jessica Walter (from Arrested Development) is outstanding as his mom.  Judy Greer is here as well and, oh hell the entire cast is great.  If you haven’t seen it, you must.

The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
I’ve enjoyed this season quite a bit.  Then someone pointed out that it was quite a different show than when it started (since the cast is almost half female now).  And that’s true.  I guess in many ways it’s not just about a bunch of dorky scientists anymore.  It’s nice that there are so many funny women on the show, so if it had to change I think it changed for the better.  As long as it doesn’t lose the science-speak.  Geek-speak is fun, but I don’t want it to become lazy.

Community (NBC)
Easily my favorite show on TV.  Consistently playing with convention and just breaking tropes all over the place.  I never would  have guessed that this little show would have become so fantastic.

Glee (FOX)
Once I accepted that this show does not follow any rules of reality anywhere, I was much happier with it.  I find that if I have a magazine to read during the (uniformly bad) songs, I’m even happier.  The plots this season were far less preposterous than last season, and I’m pleased to see some of the previously minor characters get some screen time. I’ll be back next year, but I don’t understand why people are so crazy for the show.

How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
This season was a lot darker than pervious seasons, what with Marshall’s father dying and Barney’s quest for his father.  And I have to say it wasn’t quite as funny either.  That Zoe character was a major drag and having a baby is never the sign of a healthy show.  Nevertheless, the cast is wonderful, and if they’re transitioning into a more serious comedy, I think they can pull it off.

Mike & Molly (ABC)
This is a pretty simple comedy that I like but which we haven’t watched in a while (Tivo is holding 4 episodes). I love Melissa McCarthy, but this show just seems too uneven to really pursue.  Her whole family is just too over the top, and painful to watch.  And, it really bugs me that his partner’s grandmother (Cleo King) is in real life only 7 years older than the main character.

Modern Family (ABC)
Consistently funny, and probably deserving of the Emmy.  This show has enough praise that I don’t need to say any more.

The Office (NBC)
The departure of Steve Carell is a big moment on the show. I hope they can turn it into a new kind of show with as much great humor.

Parenthood (NBC)
This show is consistently good drama.  I love Lauren Graham, and she is always spot on.  What I am surprised about is how much I like the grandfather who I feared would be a caricature of the angry pater familis.  The show gets me mad sometimes, (which I think is the mark of strong characters, if you care enough to get mad at their poor decisions), but I find I am always willing to root for them.  What I really like about the show is that the overly dramatic downer moments don’t usually get dragged out for multiple episodes.  And I like that the family is supportive of each other–I don’t like too much conflict after all.  My only complaint is that there is no compelling reason for Crosby to want to be with Jasmie.  True they have a son together, but they have made her so unlikable, what could he possible want to do with her?

Parks and Recreation (NBC)
I really didn’t like this show when it started.  It was really flat.  We watched about three episode and gave up.  But now, several seasons later, it’s quite a clever and funny show.  They’ve added new characters, changed the relationships of other characters and removed the really dull (and mocking) aspect of the show.  We’ve watched about 5 of the last episodes and they were all really good.  And that’s what happens when you don’t cancel a show.

The Simpsons (FOX)
Always forget this is on, but Tivo keeps recording it.  I don’t know why I don’t watch every episode as every time I watch one I think it’s just as fresh as I remember.

Tosh.0 (Comedy Central)
Back for more–although the season opener wasn’t his best work, it’s always funny to laugh at internet idiots.

30Rock (NBC)
There are weird flights of absurdity that I dislike about this show–I find Kenneth so unbelievable that it hurts me.  And I don’t like the Jenna or Tracy storylines all that much either.  But I like DotCom and Grizz and Liz and the writers and of course, Jack is awesome.  So for me it’s a mixed bag show.  But I understand it’s very popular.

And then there’s:

America’s Next Top Model (CW)
We have managed to get this show down to about 15 minutes there’s so much fast forwarding.  FF anytime Tyra talks, FF anytime anyone talks.  Just show us the pictures and the judging.  I don’t even know what half of their names are.

Cougar Town (ABC)
I will not watch this show because I hate the title so much.

Happy Endings (NBC)
This title is so lazy, that I can’t even bring myself to watch it.

Wipeout (ABC)
Just seeing the commercials for the show is enough for me now.  We watched a few episodes last season.  Every one is the same, and the “comic banter” is god awful.  So now, we watch the commercial, see the big balls and the giant boxing glove and it’s like we’ve watched the whole episode and laughed about it.