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.

The Muppet Show: Season One

The Muppet Show: Season One

                What you can find unbelievable now, looking back at the success of The Muppets, is that it isn’t until about halfway through the second season that they really get people coming on that want to be guest stars, so much as they have people coming on as favors to them because they happen to know them for some other reason within showbiz.    This is most obvious when someone like Paul Williams gets to host an entire show, as he did the music for The Muppet Movie (and appeared on screen in a cameo) and little else that I can remember.

                A lot of these guest star names are what older people will tell you “are lost on the youth of today”, but I honestly just believe that some of them just flat out did not live out the test of time.   Sure, they may have been popular back then but I doubt they had any real staying power and thus have been forgotten by most today.

                Stand outs for guest hosts include Vincent Price (of course), Mummanshanz (SPELL CHECK), Twiggy and Florence Henderson.

                In the third episode of this season, Scooter introduces himself to Kermit as being the nephew of the theater owner.   Yet, we are introduced to Scooter before that with some sort of angle about his dog wanting to be in the show.    What’s going on there?

                You can still get to hear a lot of music, even with the band going on strike, and Jim Henson is also a Muppet as part of one of the bands that plays in a few episodes.     They also do the song “I’m My Own Grandpa”, which I know nothing about other than it being sung by Tom Arnold in the movie “The Stupids” (And apparently it was older than this show, since they used it here and a lot of The Muppet Show music was not original) 

                I really did enjoy this season because not caring about most of the guest stars made it feel really special when someone I  did care about was the guest host and it also gave me a chance to focus more on the Muppets themselves.    If you don’t like this season, don’t worry—season two gets better.

<Cross-posted on eeveet and Not Quite A Mop>

Mike and Molly Season One

Mike and Molly Season One

                This show feels like a spinoff or some other show, but I’m pretty sure that it isn’t.   Mike and Molly are an overweight couple who meet via Overeaters Anonymous and go through the steps of any relationship only with a lot of humor mixed in.

                I heard that people don’t like this show because they feel that the two main characters are not attractive.    Sure, they may not live up to Hollywood standards of attractive, and one could even argue that this show is just a way for Fat America to not feel so badly about themselves, but really, this show is a comedy first and foremost.    Aside from that, we also have them going to OA meetings still and diets are always in the background of this show, which I think is healthy. 

                To me, saying “I don’t like watching fat people make out” would be like saying “I don’t like watching black people make out”.   So if you can judge someone by their weight, then where do you draw the line and say it based on skin color, sexuality or whatever else that the PC police immediately get offended by?   Some people need to think before they speak out on such matters.   This show is a half hour comedy and it’s funny.   That’s all that should matter.  

Family Guy Volume Nine

Family Guy Volume Nine

                The only reason why I wanted to review Family Guy- which continues to be funny, but also do more and more things that The Simpsons have done- is because with this being their ninth volume, I’m wondering why anyone watches it on Fox any more when the DVDs are uncensored.    It’s just become so second nature to hear them say the f-word that I’m wondering what it’s like when people hear it edited and why they choose censorship over the art in its true format.    Okay, gotta go.   Peter’s farting again.

United States of Tara: Season 3

United States of Tara: Season 3

                This third and final season did a lot of jumping the shark.   I didn’t like it as much as the first two (The first was still the best in my mind), but there are definitely worse things still being shown on television.

                Not only did we introduce a new character- played by Eddie Izzard, who had a forgettable failed show on FX- but they killed off Marshall’s first love.   Whilst I generally tend not to care about such things as being “jumping the shark”, the fact remains that something about Lionel’s death just fell flat.  It wasn’t the big tear jerking moment that they might have been hoping for when filming it.   In fact, it felt a lot like what I imagine the meeting going through, in the producer’s office with the actor who played Lionel.    Although one could argue that’s what life is anyway:  Being called into a producer’s office and being told “I’m sorry, we don’t have any story ideas left for you.   You will no longer be receiving financial support from us, but we wish you the best in your future endeavors”.  

                What’s more interesting than this season itself is what this season could have lead to had the show not been canceled.    At the conclusion of this season, we found Max driving Tara to Boston to get the best professional help possible.   On some levels, yes, that is as close to a happy ending as one could expect.    At the same time, though, just think of all of the doors that could possibly open for another season.   Forget seeing Tara and Max in Boston and the rest of the family members scattered—I want to see what happens after that.

                We’d start the fourth season with Tara and Max returning from Boston, fully believing that all of Tara’s alters are finally dead, her traumatic past left behind her and she is ready to move on and start anew.   Of course the family would have to come back for moral support.    Kate could break up with her older boyfriend who has an obnoxious child that isn’t hers.    Marshall could move back home, as could his Aunt and Uncle (and cousin) that he was living with in Texas.  

                With Kate having broken up with her boyfriend, she would come to the realization that she didn’t dislike children; she just disliked that particular child.    This would leave Kate feeling like she wanted a child.    With the kids growing up and moving on in their own ways, this could also lead to Tara wanting to have another baby since she seems well.    Marshall would need some kind of storyline having to do with movies or his sexuality or death or whatever, but he could be the voice of reason in ways, having spent three months with his infant cousin.  

                What would happen?  Would Tara transition again?  Would she get pregnant, and then transition to Buck while having the baby?    The possibilities are certainly there for them to have the breakout season they seemed to be searching for, but alas it doesn’t seem to be in the cards.