February 2009 Archives

Some great news for fans of semi-obscure and long cancelled shows everywhere- It looks like Ed is coming to DVD at long last. Ed really started my obsession with television. It was the first show I followed on a weekly basis. I even taped it so I could rewatch episodes in those quaint days before Hulu and DVD. From there, my fascination with T.V. grew to the obsessive peaks that I have now reached (gotta give Tivo its due as well). 

One of the highlights of every episode was the $10 bets between Ed and his best friend Mike.

Nothing was out of line for these guys when $10 bucks were on the line: 

chugging an entire bottle of syrup, ordering a shirley temple on a first date, or even asking where the lettuce was in a super market (only catch was Ed had to pronounce it as "letoos"). I would never do any of those things for $10 bucks, but it was a ton of fun to watch Ed and Mike do it every week. 

I loved the things that these guys would come up with simply to try and find their best friends point of no return on the embarrassment scale. The whole thing felt like something two friends would do, which was kind of the whole point. 

What set Ed apart was that the characters laughed with each other like real people while having conversations that felt genuine. It did not feel like actors reading from a script waiting to get to a punch line. I have to say I am a sucker for shows that can do that. 

All the bizarre stuff they did on Ed, including the bets, wouldn't have been nearly as funny or memorable if the characters hadn't been "real" enough to be embarrassed about having to do something really stupid for $10 bucks. 

A guy ordering a Shirley Temple on a first date is not funny unless he is really uncomfortable doing it. Actually, I guy ordering a Shirley Temple is funny anytime but I am thinking you get my point. 

Comedy is always important but you have to create great characters for any of it to work. For 4 years, Ed was an awesome example of what happens when great characters and great comedy meet.

 

Scrubs has been awesome this year. Its been great to see the show return to form after a couple of down years. Love the new interns. Jo/Denise and her obsession with "chubbsters" (Because she says "they are so grateful that they try harder"). And then there is Ed, who is quite the trendsetter.

Ed is the kind of guy that is happy with being in the middle of the pack. When other interns are busy studying their medical textbooks, Ed is busy setting up a Matrix movie marathon or listening to the "Da Vinci Code" audiobook.

I know what you are thinking- An audio book, "The Da Vinci Code" really?  I guess Dan Brown's brilliant twists and turns (I wish there was a sarcasm font) are too confusing to read on the page. Seriously, Dan Brown sucks. My next blog may be about how much he sucks, but I digress. 

I like that writers on Scrubs are using Ed to make that point. That is awesome and one of the reasons I love the show. They will go after anybody. Like with Ed and his Dan Brown tapes, they do it in ways that tell you something important about the characters.

Thanks to yet another Presidential Address, no new episode tomorrow but these clips of Big Ed are an acceptable substitute. I particularly love his work with the bear claw. The whole bear claw thing has to make you at least a little curious.

Friday Night Lights is my favorite show. Unfortunately it is always on the edge of cancellation thanks to low ratings. The show tracks the life of several beautifully drawn characters in Dillon, Texas, a small town obsessed with its high shool football team. Every week, the show deals with faith, love, family and friendship in an honest and extremely entertaining fashion. The characters are what make the show special. Not to mention the depth and humanity that characterize them all. To introduce the uninitiated, I thought every Friday I would write a profile on a character from the show.

I decided to start with Tim Riggins, who is probably the fan's favorite. Riggins has been the biggest surprise of the show. The first few episodes he seemed like he was going to be there as window dressing. A guy who only seemed to care about the latest rally girl in his bed and where his next beer was coming from. 

As the show progressed, Riggins like all the other characters, began to show a depth not often found on network television. His relationship with his best friend Jason Street and with his best friend's girl, Lyla Garrity, showed their was a complexity beneath the surface. As the show continued Riggins who never expects too much from himself, always managed to stay on his feet no matter how hard he was pushed. As he survived hardship after hardship Riggin's carefree attitude and sense of humor emerged as a kind of poignant bravery.

Riggins generates a lot of laughs to go along with all that complexity. The humor is always based in reality and is consistently true to the characters. That is another great strength of the show. 

  

season three has been a real showcase for Taylor Kitsch, (Who is destined to be a movie star) the actor who plays Riggins. His character's romantic relationship with Lyla Garrity has given Riggins a whole new emotional depth. His decisions effect someone else now and it has been fascinating to watch a character so set in his ways, try to bend to be the kind of guy his girlfriend needs him to be. Their odd couple romance has been a real treat. That may be the best thing about Friday Night Lights. These fictional characters constantly surprise you. They change and grow in ways that make them as human as the people that make up the shows small but dedicated following.

Friday Night Lights is finishing up what will most likely be its final season Friday's at 9 p.m. on NBC. I understand that it isn't the coolest time to watch T.V., it is Friday after all. But maybe some Friday before you go out surf over to NBC while you are getting ready to go out. Or you can watch all the show's episodes for free online here. I encourage you to take a trip to Dillon, you may just find yourself wanting to go back. Tim Riggins is just one of many great characters you will meet.

Next week I'll be talking about the indelible Landry Clarke.

A couple of months ago, 10 p.m. on Tuesday night would mean a new episode of Eli Stone.

Eli Stone showed a lot of promise from the get go. The title character, played by a very solid Jonny Lee Miller, is a lawyer living in San Francisco who has a fairly normal life until he has a vision of George Michael performing "faith" on his living room coffee table. It turns out that Eli has a brain aneurysm that often leads to visions of a musical variety. Visions that may be God's way of telling Eli he is a modern day profit.

If that all sounds quirky, well it was. It was also original and often times very moving. Not to mention that the show featured a stellar ensemble including the always great Victor Garber and Loretta Devine.

Besides its emotions, the show wore its politics on its sleeve. Eli's cases varied from a mother suing a pharmaceutical company because she believed that their vaccine caused her son's autism, to a case involving prisoners' rights. Most focused on topical "liberal" issues, but all the cases approached the politics respectfully and thoughtfully.

The show last aired an episode December 30th. The episode ended on a cliffhanger, with Eli's aneurysm bursting after an argument with his brother. However it was not the last episode produced. The show received a 13 episode order after its first season and there are four episodes waiting to be aired. The financial realities mean the episodes will most likely be burned off this summer. They will air though, and there is always a likely season 2 DVD release. 

Eli Stone got a decent shot at survival, but like many shows, just couldn't find an audience. That is a reality for most shows. In a time when more and more procedurals are replacing shows that attempt to create anything that is different or challenging, it's important to remember what can be accomplished when show runners go for unique and not just more of the same old stuff (CBS, I'm talking about you). 

If you are looking for something a little different, or if you just really like George Michael (you will find no judgements here), the first season dvd set available on amazon.

Watching last night's episode, I couldn't help but think about why Chuck isn't more popular. It has a procedural aspect, which is a format designed to attract casual viewers, while providing enough mythology that makes tuning in on a weekly basis highly rewarding.

Welcome to my first blog post.