Notes on life, art, photography and technology, by a Danish dropout bohemian.
When you drink the water, remember the river.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
No new sitcoms?
Aargh, Will and Grace has also ended now, like Friends and Frasier. Somebody please tell me there are new American sitcoms being made? Good ones? (Not like "Martin" or "Roseanne" please.)
8 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I was never a fan of will and grace because they pushed the gay thing too much, but there is a new sitcom that is airing now which seems quite tasteful and funny. It's called Class Reunion or something like that. It's about these bunch of third graders who are now young adults adjusting to being in their 20's and trying to make new lives for themselves. I watched one episode and it seemed rather refreshing. Hope this helps. Terry
There are lotsa big TV series now celebrating gays and lesbians. Personally I am waiting for for a sitcom with a positive view on the S/M lifestyle. :)
Sit coms? You actually care? I found "Will and Grace" obvious and predictable, about as low on the mental stimulation scale as "Everybody Loves Raymond" or "Three's Company" or "Freaky Friday."
I do like some TV -- the Ken Burns things, for example, and some of the smarter documentaries that you can get on the wildlife and history channels now. Many of my friends thought I would like "The Office" (either the BBC version or the US version that ruined the original concept). I have to admit, I got the joke and was glad to see that a miserable cubicle-bound existence was being lampooned, but I still didn't want to invite those annoying whiny people into my living room for half an hour.
My parents are addicted to "good" television, and, funny thing is, they almost inevitably end up watching British shows to get their TV fix -- "Cracker" and "Mystery" and all those other gritty cop dramas in which people with Yorkshire accents have secrets to hide and it takes three episodes (at 1.7493 hours each) to find the culprit. I wonder if it's just the accent that makes them think they're watching something smart.
If you have HBO, I highly recommend "The Wire," a cop drama in which the law enforcement officers have conflicting jurisdictions and issues about not getting to work on time and office-type difficulties, and the drug dealers have as many economics majors as any major corporation. Also, "Carnivale" is a fascinating creation. And of course, "Sex and the City," not because I agree with the idiotically frivolous world-views of the childish women involved, but because it's important to know the enemy.
Or better, read a good book. "Will and Grace" is right up there with a Harlequin paperback.
I enjoyed The Wire (season one) (I only watch DVDs), and Sex In The City. Carnivale was amazingly produced, but the whole first season passed without the main enemies ever even meeting!
Thing is though, I am addicted to comedy, it has to be pretty bad for me not to enjoy it hugely.
The Sopranos is fantastic. And in my view it actually is a comedy, it's a realization I had.
"I am waiting for a sitcom with a positive view on the S/M lifestyle." I sure hope you're a patient guy then! S/M is way too close to the Hollywood Itch Zone. Already, I ask you, how much acceptance do gays really get, compared to "normal" couples? How often are they shown tenderly kissing in daily life ("Hi, hon!"), or together in bed (say, just talking in bed)? Come to think of it... lots of sitcoms display what can only be described as an S/M relationship between two characters. But without the sex.
"Sit coms? You actually care?" Like all humour, sitcoms should be taken very seriously. But not too seriously! ;-P I can enjoy subtle as well as simple humour. Although the antics of the Jackass nuts team are really demanding on my tolerance capacities. And currently, French TV is displaying the latest craze : zero-degree humour. Basically, the more stupid you are, the more likely you'll "get it". I managed once or twice to crack half a smile, but the boredom of that Dumb and Dumber style overcame my patience. Sure, american sitcoms are often predictable, with repetitive theme gags. You should try and look at what the Third-World is... "producing". You civilized people don't know how lucky you are.
Me, I am part French. So I'm fully allowed to state just how über-lame french sitcoms are. [Anybody else resents laugh tracks as a personal insult, even in good sitcoms and with a live audience?] Quebec Canadians, on the other hand (or the other vein) seem to be just brilliant, very fresh in their sitcoms. And BBC's Mork-and-Mindy-like Thermoman was quite acceptable, I think. The originality of weirdness. (Consider it as a "Lois and Clark" sitcom.)
My parents are addicted to "good" television too. The REAL stuff : nature and world documentaries, the stuff that actually teaches you something, and in a pleasant way. I thought I had overcome my own childhood addiction, but I feel they're initiating a relapse in me. As one proverb said : "Reading is an unpunished vice." Because it is an addiction to knowledge! I still read a lot. Mostly books with no more than a single picture (on the cover!).
Today's Domai quote : "I cannot live without books. -- Thomas Jefferson" Ooh, yeah, Tommy, you tell 'em!
I like the show "Coupling" that I get on BBC-America sometimes. French farce taken to modern young-adult relationships. Scripting those mistaken identity misunderstanding conundrums must be very complicated.
I find Canadian film and TV to be delightfully fresh. Generally it's not hung up on the typical American "system" so it's free to stand outside the requirements and just make a good movin' pitcher. Sometimes a Canadian film-maker takes himself too seriously, thus eliminating the advantage of being Canadian. Atom Egoyan's movie about the young stripper is a case in point -- ponderous and pompous and boring, AND it lacked Hollywood's major production values of expensive sets and flashy effects. I.E., absolutely no reason to watch it. Canadian animated shorts are great fun -- when I lived in Toronto I'd regularly go to the cartoon festivals. That's where I first met Wallace and Grommit. Also, I liked Reg Hart's "Cineforum Ontario" (which is just his front living room!) and his "Sex and Violence Cartoon Festival." I'll bet you've never seen Bugs Bunny's little furry weenie when he flashes Elmer!
New Zealanders are pretty good at movin' pitchers, too.
"I find Canadian film and TV to be delightfully fresh." Must be the weather they have? I hope the quality doesn't go down as the global temperatures rise...
"That's where I first met Wallace and Grommit." I sure hope you had the smarts to get an autograph. These guys are near-impossible to come across! The downside of being painstakingly animated in clay. Takes half an afternoon just to shake a hand...
"Sex and Violence Cartoon Festival." I'll bet you've never seen Bugs Bunny's little furry weenie when he flashes Elmer! I've seen web sites showing this kind of "Adult Cartoon" stuff. I must confess, I find it rather okay. Hey, toons have love lives and make babies too, don't they? Not to mention their notorious tendancy to go around in the buff. I never quite understood how puritan Disney could let Donald and the other ducks go around totally pantless for decades. :-)
"New Zealanders are pretty good at movin' pitchers, too." Oh yeah? Well, for your info, buddy, Lebanese are without equal when it comes to movin' whole GALLONS! (Hic!) "Show th-there!"
8 comments:
I was never a fan of will and grace because they pushed the gay thing too much, but there is a new sitcom that is airing now which seems quite tasteful and funny. It's called Class Reunion or something like that.
It's about these bunch of third graders who are now young adults adjusting to being in their 20's and trying to make new lives for themselves.
I watched one episode and it seemed rather refreshing. Hope this helps.
Terry
Thanks, I'll keep an eye out for it.
There are lotsa big TV series now celebrating gays and lesbians.
Personally I am waiting for for a sitcom with a positive view on the S/M lifestyle. :)
I think this helps me understand some of my own behavior. Thank you.
Sit coms? You actually care? I found "Will and Grace" obvious and predictable, about as low on the mental stimulation scale as "Everybody Loves Raymond" or "Three's Company" or "Freaky Friday."
I do like some TV -- the Ken Burns things, for example, and some of the smarter documentaries that you can get on the wildlife and history channels now. Many of my friends thought I would like "The Office" (either the BBC version or the US version that ruined the original concept). I have to admit, I got the joke and was glad to see that a miserable cubicle-bound existence was being lampooned, but I still didn't want to invite those annoying whiny people into my living room for half an hour.
My parents are addicted to "good" television, and, funny thing is, they almost inevitably end up watching British shows to get their TV fix -- "Cracker" and "Mystery" and all those other gritty cop dramas in which people with Yorkshire accents have secrets to hide and it takes three episodes (at 1.7493 hours each) to find the culprit. I wonder if it's just the accent that makes them think they're watching something smart.
If you have HBO, I highly recommend "The Wire," a cop drama in which the
law enforcement officers have conflicting jurisdictions and issues about not getting to work on time and office-type difficulties, and the drug dealers have as many economics majors as any major corporation. Also, "Carnivale" is a fascinating creation. And of course, "Sex and the City," not because I agree with the idiotically frivolous world-views of the childish women involved, but because it's important to know the enemy.
Or better, read a good book. "Will and Grace" is right up there with a Harlequin paperback.
I enjoyed The Wire (season one) (I only watch DVDs), and Sex In The City. Carnivale was amazingly produced, but the whole first season passed without the main enemies ever even meeting!
Thing is though, I am addicted to comedy, it has to be pretty bad for me not to enjoy it hugely.
The Sopranos is fantastic. And in my view it actually is a comedy, it's a realization I had.
"I am waiting for a sitcom with a positive view on the S/M lifestyle."
I sure hope you're a patient guy then! S/M is way too close to the Hollywood Itch Zone. Already, I ask you, how much acceptance do gays really get, compared to "normal" couples? How often are they shown tenderly kissing in daily life ("Hi, hon!"), or together in bed (say, just talking in bed)?
Come to think of it... lots of sitcoms display what can only be described as an S/M relationship between two characters. But without the sex.
"Sit coms? You actually care?"
Like all humour, sitcoms should be taken very seriously. But not too seriously! ;-P
I can enjoy subtle as well as simple humour. Although the antics of the Jackass nuts team are really demanding on my tolerance capacities. And currently, French TV is displaying the latest craze : zero-degree humour. Basically, the more stupid you are, the more likely you'll "get it". I managed once or twice to crack half a smile, but the boredom of that Dumb and Dumber style overcame my patience.
Sure, american sitcoms are often predictable, with repetitive theme gags. You should try and look at what the Third-World is... "producing". You civilized people don't know how lucky you are.
Me, I am part French. So I'm fully allowed to state just how über-lame french sitcoms are. [Anybody else resents laugh tracks as a personal insult, even in good sitcoms and with a live audience?]
Quebec Canadians, on the other hand (or the other vein) seem to be just brilliant, very fresh in their sitcoms. And BBC's Mork-and-Mindy-like Thermoman was quite acceptable, I think. The originality of weirdness. (Consider it as a "Lois and Clark" sitcom.)
My parents are addicted to "good" television too. The REAL stuff : nature and world documentaries, the stuff that actually teaches you something, and in a pleasant way. I thought I had overcome my own childhood addiction, but I feel they're initiating a relapse in me. As one proverb said : "Reading is an unpunished vice." Because it is an addiction to knowledge! I still read a lot. Mostly books with no more than a single picture (on the cover!).
Today's Domai quote : "I cannot live without books. -- Thomas Jefferson"
Ooh, yeah, Tommy, you tell 'em!
I like the show "Coupling" that I get on BBC-America sometimes. French farce taken to modern young-adult relationships. Scripting those mistaken identity misunderstanding conundrums must be very complicated.
I find Canadian film and TV to be delightfully fresh. Generally it's not hung up on the typical American "system" so it's free to stand outside the requirements and just make a good movin' pitcher. Sometimes a Canadian film-maker takes himself too seriously, thus eliminating the advantage of being Canadian. Atom Egoyan's movie about the young stripper is a case in point -- ponderous and pompous and boring, AND it lacked Hollywood's major production values of expensive sets and flashy effects. I.E., absolutely no reason to watch it. Canadian animated shorts are great fun -- when I lived in Toronto I'd regularly go to the cartoon festivals. That's where I first met Wallace and Grommit. Also, I liked Reg Hart's "Cineforum Ontario" (which is just his front living room!) and his "Sex and Violence Cartoon Festival." I'll bet you've never seen Bugs Bunny's little furry weenie when he flashes Elmer!
New Zealanders are pretty good at movin' pitchers, too.
"I find Canadian film and TV to be delightfully fresh."
Must be the weather they have? I hope the quality doesn't go down as the global temperatures rise...
"That's where I first met Wallace and Grommit."
I sure hope you had the smarts to get an autograph. These guys are near-impossible to come across! The downside of being painstakingly animated in clay. Takes half an afternoon just to shake a hand...
"Sex and Violence Cartoon Festival." I'll bet you've never seen Bugs Bunny's little furry weenie when he flashes Elmer!
I've seen web sites showing this kind of "Adult Cartoon" stuff. I must confess, I find it rather okay. Hey, toons have love lives and make babies too, don't they? Not to mention their notorious tendancy to go around in the buff. I never quite understood how puritan Disney could let Donald and the other ducks go around totally pantless for decades. :-)
"New Zealanders are pretty good at movin' pitchers, too."
Oh yeah? Well, for your info, buddy, Lebanese are without equal when it comes to movin' whole GALLONS! (Hic!) "Show th-there!"
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