Portlandia: Season One

                If you had ever told me that Fred Armisen could have held his own in a sketch comedy show, I would have disagreed with you based upon his roles on SNL and bit parts in other shows.   Along with the help of Carrie Brownstein and a bevy of guest stars, this show manages to become one of my favorites amongst the SNL alumni.  (Dare I say that I even like it better than “Parks and Rec”?)

                The first season consists of only six episodes, but what episodes they are.  The premise of the show is based around Portland, Oregon, which is a somewhat major city that is stuck in the 1990’s.   You know, the time of grunge and CDs. 

                This makes for a great amount of material, some of which is probably not that farfetched but some which is also not as true to life but that’s what great comedy is all about anyway.   Though it may sound trendy, this show does make me want to visit Portland. 

                The six episodes each have their own unique plot with little bits of fun mixed in.  I really feel like I want to write a review for each episode one day, but sadly, today is not that day.

                This show is just so clever and funny I don’t know how everyone isn’t watching it.  I mean, Portland, right?

Bored to Death: Season 1

                When you put Jason Schwartzman, Zach Galifinakis and Ted Danson in any show, you know you can count me in.   Heck, I’m willing to give a show a try just based on Jason Schwartzman being involved.

                Bored to Death does not disappoint on any level.   Struggling writer Jonathan Ames (Who helped create the show and is a real dude) has problems after his first book is published and so he puts an ad out on Craigslist as an unlicensed private detective. 

                With Ted Danson as his mentor, George, and Zach Galifinakis as his best friend, Ray, Jason Schwartzman engages in hijinks a plenty as Ames in this comedy that can get pretty vulgar but doesn’t have that much sexuality in it.

                It’s just a straight out funny show and not only what it was I expected it to be in terms of how funny it is, but it even exceeded that level a little bit.   I immediately watched Season Two after I finished this season.  

Come Fly With Me

                This short lived BBC comedy takes what reality shows like “Airline” are about and takes them to that next level.    Only six episodes in length (sadly) I was uncertain what to expect going into this, but after seeing it I now only want to watch it again to look for things I might have missed the first time around.

                The comedy in this show is best described as the “one step above what you’d expect”.   Essentially, they have a skit like where they ask a guy about his luggage, if he packed it himself, if there’s anything flammable in it, if he’s carrying anything for anyone else, etc., and when he seemingly answers all of the questions wrong he still gets to go ahead and board the plane.

                The majority of these characters are also portrayed by the same two actors, which just makes it that much better.  (Those Brits love to dress in drag)  As I re-watch these episodes, pretending that they have more than just one Series of six, I will most likely adding more insights and thoughts, but for now, just do yourself the favor of viewing this wonderful series.  

Girls: Season One

                Maybe it’s because I subconsciously knew that this show won all sorts of awards, but I went into it expecting it to be a lot funnier.  I’m not trying to say that it isn’t funny, because it has its moments; it just isn’t as funny as I thought it was going to be.

                There is quite a bit of drama within this comedy, and I imagine it to be a sort of like a cruder version of “Sex and the City”, thought I’ve never watched that show so don’t take my word for it.

                I also read somewhere that this was supposed to be some sort of great insight into the female mind, but no matter how hard I try to rationalize with that notion I can’t help but feel this show is somewhat stereotypical.   Needless to say, I do not believe all women solve their problems by putting on pop music and dancing.

            This show is also very sex heavy.  It’s not necessarily a lot of nudity, per se, but it’s what the censors refer to as “sensual content”, which means people having sex with their clothes on.   This is one of the factors that make me not really like this show as much as I feel like I should.

            A lot of questions were left sort of unanswered at the end of the first season, and yes that has piqued my interest in the second season.   However, I am not going out of my way nor am I in any real hurry to see more episodes, which is a feeling I should probably have.  

Children’s Hospital: Season One

                This show is about ten minutes long, which includes all of the ridiculous recaps so it comes out as being something like four minutes of new content in each episode.    The first season is a whopping five episodes, so yes, you can finish it in about the same amount of time as it takes to watch a single episode of “House” or “Grey’s Anatomy”.   Only this doesn’t feel like forever when you watch it.

                Rob Corddry leads an all star cast in a hospital spoof because, well, the more I think about it the more I realize that there really are a lot of shows about hospitals for some reason.

                It’s funny in an odd way, a perfect fit for Adult Swim, and I guess I really did enjoy it after all because I’m ready to dive in to Season 2.

The League: Season One

                While this show has a fairly funny cast, it isn’t all that funny.   I found parts of it to be funny, but basing an entire show on the concept of fantasy sports is just silly to someone like me who has no interest in them.   Sure, this could be funny no matter what it was about, but isn’t that supposed to be the point?

                I remember watching this around the same time as “Workaholics” (and a lot of “It’s Always Sunny”) and afterward just thinking that I’d like to see more episodes of “Workaholics” but not this show.

                So even though this show wasn’t terrible, it’s not something I’m actively seeking out the second season for, nor would I watch the second season should the opportunity present itself somehow, so I guess that pretty much sums it up for me.

Orange is the New Black: Season 1

                The easiest and I believe to be the simplest way to describe Orange is the New Black is simply by saying that the people who made this show, simply took every element of every show you’ve ever liked (All of the good, none of the bad) and they put it all together to form this.

                OITNB follows main character Piper Chapman’s life in prison.   Once a normal, sort of spoiled rich girl from Connecticut, Chapman is named in a crime, confesses and feels as if she must do the time before she can move on with her life.

                The show goes back and forth between inside jail and outside jail, allowing it to not only flashback but show the things going on in her life that she is seemingly missing.   I’ve got to say it keeps the story going and also seems to reveal more than it really is. 

                From comedy to drama, suspense and just the idea of being in prison and getting caught up in the fish bowl, this show really does have it all. 

                For that, and other reasons, the concept of this show reminds me a lot of “Lost”.   It has that sort of quality where you will almost always be left on a cliffhanger, if not in the traditional sense then in a way which at least does make you want to watch the next episode immediately.

                I really honestly cannot wait for a Season 2.

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***BELOW THIS LINE OF TEXT CONTAINS SPOILERS***

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                We end Season 1 with Piper beating the ever-loving crap out of her nemesis and this makes for an interesting Season 2 concept.    I really don’t like Jason Biggs and it might not just be his character on the show either.   I’d love to see Season 2 focus more on the crazy inside and less of the drama outside, but I have a feeling they’ll stick with the formula that has made this show so successful in the first season.

                People have compared this to “Oz”, which I’ve never seen, but really, how many other shows have taken place in jail?     

                I really loved every aspect of this show, with the characters you love and those you hate.  I wasn’t the biggest fan of “That 70’s Show” and thus never really cared for Laura Prepon following the series.   However, in this show she is simply brilliant.    If nothing else, this show will potentially start a hugely successful career for Laura Prepon.

                So what happens next?   Does Pornstache go away and we get another guard to deal with, or do we get to keep him somehow?   I think I’d feel robbed if we didn’t keep him next season, as he added a certain element of unintended humor. 

                Will new inmates enter the fray, giving Crazy Eyes a new romantic interest?   One can only hope, as I feel like Crazy Eyes was one of the better characters on this show.

                All I know is that I am eagerly awaiting a second season and Netflix may have just perfected television viewing.

New Girl: Season 1

                It’s not that “New Girl” isn’t funny… Wait, no, it isn’t really funny to me. 

                When I first watched the pilot episode, I couldn’t help but think how awful “New Girl” is.  I wondered why it had such a following and multiple seasons.   Did people really find this funny?  Am I losing my touch or what?   Perhaps it comes down to one of those “Am I just getting slower or are you just talking faster” ideas.

                “New Girl” follows the story of Zooey Deschanel, who basically finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her, so she moves out and has to find a new place, so she ends up living with three guys.   Her character has this off beat, sort of what you might call the quirky form of comedy, only it is painfully unfunny.

                I was trying to explain to my wife what I didn’t like about this show.   It’s not that the timing is off or the acting is bad, it’s just a combination of everything that makes this one incredibly terrible television cliché that, bottom line, is not funny.

                I was hoping that after the pilot it may have found its groove and decided to pick up more of a rhythm.   It did not.    Losing Damon Wayans Jr. was a major blow and, well, nothing about this show hasn’t been done before only those who did it first did it better.

                I understand what Zooey Deschanel is trying to do with this character: somewhere between some of her movie roles and maybe Liz Lemon, but it is simply not working. 

                Stick with movies because “Yes Man” was right on.

American Dad!: Series 1 (Season 1 & Season 2)

                I used Netflix to catch up with Family Guy (as well as re-watch some episodes) , Bob’s Burgers and The Cleveland Show.    Feeling like I should give this a second chance, I began watching American Dad again from the beginning.

                Back when American Dad first aired on Sunday nights on Fox with Family Guy and The Simpsons, I still had cable.    I remember watching the first season in “real time” (I DVR’ed them before that was cool) and thinking that this show just wasn’t very funny. 

                Now when I look at this on Netflix, it shows me the first 23 episodes of this series as being “Season 1”.   However, Wikipedia seems to believe that the first seven episodes are Season 1, while the next sixteen episodes are Season 2.   I’m not sure which is correct, but to keep things clear for this review and this review alone, I will stick with the words of Wikipedia.  

                So, from here on out, what Netflix calls “Season 2”, I will review as “Season 3” and so on, just adding one to what Netflix claims.   To see the complete list of American Dad episodes as chronicled by Wikipedia, my source on this for some reason, click here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_Dad!_episodes

                Being that the first seven episodes of American Dad create the first season, I must stick with my original gut reaction and claim that these episodes are still not that funny.   Truth be told, I am in the middle of Season 5 (via Netflix, Season 6 via Wikipedia) and this show does get better as it goes on, but it just seems like these first few episodes are typical of the animated comedy.

                Also, with the characters and timing it just feels as if American Dad hadn’t really found their groove yet.    The first episode I really like comes on in Season 2, which is “All About Steve”.   Maybe it’s the sci-fi nerd in me or the way that Roger interacts with the guy he abducted once, but this is the first episode I really found to be worth watching in the series.

                The Second Season has some other bright spots near the end (Steve gets boobs, Steve and Klaus get locked in Hailey’s closet, that little dog and George Clooney), but overall, you know, I feel like these first 23 episodes are a one hit wonder at best.   In the world of music, you would not buy this album because there just isn’t enough overall good.    But as someone who has watched a number of episodes past this point, just remember:  It gets better.