Shows I'm Already Watching: Yup. I'm still watching The Simpsons. No one disputes how far the show's fallen from its apex*; but the last few seasons have been perfectly watchable and still capable of producing an infrequent gem. I remain onboard with the rest of FOX's "Animation Domination" line-up, too. The Cleveland Show had an uneven first season, but rallied nicely after its unimpressive pilot. Meanwhile, the infrequent funnies on Family Guy and American Dad! are trumped by my need to bash something in my infrequent Sunday Night blog recap.
* -- Has there ever been a definitive ruling on WHEN the peak years of The Simpsons were? I prefer the broad brush
New Show to TiVO: I guess I'll half-heartedly endorse HBO's Boardwalk Empire. I dunno, though. Steve Buscemi in the lead role of a $65 million (and counting) roll of the dice to recapture that "thinking man's serial drama" spirit of The Sopranos? In Entertainment Weekly's write-up of the show, one of the executive producers is already administering damage control by hinting that it may be too smart for audiences and tamping down TV ratings expectations. I make no promises here.
New Show with No Chance: (Tie) The Walking Dead (AMC) and Sarah Palin's Alaska (TLC). OK, would an "Enough with the zombies and vampires, already!" joke be too "Jay Leno" or too "George Lopez"? Really? Even though she IS the walking undead!
Nosferatu!
Das Wampyr!
[Readers look at screen blankly.]
A vampire!**
** -- The above dialogue was lifted from The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror IV episode (original airdate: 28 October 1993). And, we've come full circle.
I'd give The Walking Dead a chance. It's only a six-episode season and the comic book it's based on is one of the best in the industry.
ReplyDeleteComedy Central has a show called Futurama that i like. It's by the same Simpsons people.
ReplyDeleteTo add a personal anecdote to what Jag said; my sophomore year I had a friend loan me the first two trades. At the time I was smoking and when I finished the first two trades I went out on to the balcony of my apartment and chain smoked half-a-pack and contemplated whether life was worth living. The comic was that good.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside for the "golden era" of the Simpsons I don't think it's as simple as one unbroken string. IMO the best seasons were 4-6, where it's the funniest show that has ever been on television. Season 7 and 8 are still great but have a misfire in each season. Seasons 9 and 10 are still very good, but not great.
ReplyDeleteFollowing up, I don't know about the comic but the fact that Frank Darabont is behind it and the amazing trailer I saw will get me to watch Walking Dead.
ReplyDeleteWow...it didn't take that many people to shame me into giving "Walking Dead" a try. Fine, I'm tentatively onboard.
ReplyDeleteAnd, with apologies to Futurama fanatics JP and Sam, I *tried* to get into the show during it's first run on FOX. It just never clicked with me, for some reason.