FOX Sunday Night. Throughout my formative years this was the last entertainment stop before the school week began. Even throughout college, homework was put aside for a little while as The Simpsons entertained me with their hilarity. The lights were dimmed as The X-Files presented me with the continued adventures of Mulder and Scully. Okay, enough with the nostalgia. Rant time:
What in de blue hell is wrong with FOX? The following great shows were prematurely cancelled over the last few years: Futurama, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, Undeclared, and Family Guy (and probably more that I'm forgetting ...). Why? Because FOX totally SCREWS with their scheduling. The latest victims of this idiocy were perennial favorites King of the Hill and Malcolm in the Middle. Okay, they KNOW football ain't gonna end at 7:00 pm, yet these shows are scheduled from 7 to 8 pm, just as Futurama had been in years past. The result? All too often, football preempts said shows, causing them to fall off the viewing public's radar and dooming them to programming hell, only to later be resurrected on DVD when everyone rediscovers them and wonders why such great shows were never on in a consistent time-slot. See example A - the sales of Futurama on DVD and example B - Family Guy on DVD. So now FOX is gonna screw over two more of its most consistently popular shows, just so it can show some lame Apprentice-parody at 9pm, the once-hallowed time-slot of The X-Files? Damn you FOX, for teasing us with kick-ass TV shows and then sending then off to the slaughter. Oh, and get some new writers for The Simpsons (aka, ME!). That is all. Now, my grades for FOX's big season premieres?
King of the Hill: Another solid episode that actually has something which The Simpsons has lacked for about 6 years now - heart. Hank Hill remains one of the greatest TV characters of all time, who seems all the more relevant now as we enter a new, Red State-dominated era. Hank is a personification of our Culture War, and rages this internal struggle each week with hilarious results. B+
Malcolm in the Middle: This show seems to be getting increasingly further away from its original premise, but its quirky sensibilities still make it stand out. For example, just when I was getting annoyed at the absurdity of Reese's military subplot, he starts hallucinating about a giant waffle-man, and it was SO absurd that it was awesome. And Malcolm and Dewey comparing lists of brotherly offenses was a bit of classic Malcolm. Still, there's smomething missing. B-
The Simpsons: There's something about horror and comedy that can go together like peanut butter and chocalate. And the Simpsons halloween episodes are a great example of that perfect blend. But, as in the last few years, we get the Treehouse of Horror a week after halloween, and lacking much horror. And, as is now typical, lacking much comedy as well. What's so painful about nu-Simpsons is that each episode still contains at least 2 or 3 gags that, even if just for a second, are so funny that you think you're watching vintage Simpsons. But then the lack of plot, characer, or story structure remind you otherwise. Since most regular episodes are kind of like three different episodes rolled into one, the traditional 3-act THOH episode seems much more standard than usual. Still, this one did have some great lines, and overall, had much cooler storylines than the last few year, particularly the first, Flanders-as-psychic story (even if it treaded familiar ground). And seeing the great voice actors do Simpsons in Victorian English was kinda cool. It's too bad that what was once a brilliant sci-fi/horror parody is now mostly self-parody. Oh well, despite it all I'm glad the show is still on. At least we can be sure this bankable show will never be preempted by football. P.S. - props on the use of the PERFECT STRANGERS THEME SONG .... C+
Arrested Development: By some miracle (and 2 Emmys) this show is still on, and thank god for that. The humor is so different and so sharp that many people won't get it, but its cast is go talented and the writing so intelligent that who knows, it might just catch on. The 2nd season premiere lacked the usual number of laughs in favor of a plot that was even more tightly-packed than usual, but when the big laughs come on this show, they are big (Gob impressing the boardroom with magic, a blue David Cross, anything Buster says). Watch this. A-
RANDOM NOTES:
- Is it sad that I actually got a little emotional watching the last Surreal Life? Oh Flav and Bridget, we hardly knew ye. And someone give David Coulier a new show! He's Uncle Freakin' Joey! Man, the cast on this show did seriously rule, making it a guilty pleasure that ya just can't resist. FLAVA FLAV~
- Please, watch VERONICA MARS. This is THE BEST NEW SHOW OF THE SEASON and it kicks all kinds of ass. This show is DARK. It mixes that Freaks And Geeks, teen-outcast vibe with some kind of twisted film noir, ongoing serial mystery. Kristen Bell is great in the title role. Who killed Lilly Kane? Please let this show stay on long enough for us to find out. Oh, and it's theme song ("COME ON NOW SUGAR ...") rules.
- LOST is awesome. That much is sure, but the last few episodes have been slightly lacking when compared to the first few and most especially the AMAZING episode featuring Locke, already one of the coolest, most complex characters I've seen, anywhere, in a while. The problem is that this show could go in any number of directions, many of those directions containing much potential to be highly lame. Still, if you're not watching, you're missing out on the water-cooler show of the year.
- Despite its repetetive plots (mind-control, again?), mind-boggling cheesiness, and increasingly annoying characters (cough*LANA*cough), I remain a fan of SMALLVILLE. Why? Tom Welling is growing into the role of Superman to be. The villainous Luthers remain as awesomely villainous (or potentially villianous in Lex) as ever. Erica Durance as Lois Lane is a great spark to the show. And despite all its faults, its a FUN show, which nowadays is a rare thing indeed.
- THE OC is back, and all hail the show that turned nice Jewish boy /comic geek Seth Cohen into a teen idol, thus giving new hope for all nice Jewish comic geek-boys everwhere.
Yes, I watch too much TV. But it's what I majored in in college, and I make good use of the VCR, and I'm stuck at home looking for a job, so don't judge me, foo'.
NEXT: The political rant of doom.
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