What You Should Have Watched #11

TV Schedule for the 2011/2012 Season

It’s that time of the year again, when thoughts turn from reruns and reality TV to new episodes of scripted comedies and dramas. USA and FX have kept me happy with new episodes of Covert Affairs, White Collar, Burn Notice, Louie and Wilfred, but now were back to REAL prime time.

Keep in mind that I’m a single father of three kids, so I really don’t watch anything “live.” My DVR is in heavy use, and I also rely on Hulu and network websites for some stuff.

Here’s what I’m planning on watching:

Sunday

6:00 – The Simpsons (Fox/Sept. 25)

7:00 – Family Guy (Fox/Sept. 25)

7:00 – Once Upon a Time (ABC/Oct. 23)

7:30 – Allen Gregory (Fox/Oct. 30)

9:00 – Breaking Bad (AMC/current)

9:00 – The Walking Dead (AMC/Oct. 16)

I haven’t really been blown away by The Simpsons in a LONG time. I usually let episodes pile up on the DVR and the end up falling asleep halfway through episodes. I very rarely rewind what I’ve missed before deleting the episode. Sad. I saw a trailer for Once Upon a Time when I went to see Captain America: The First Avenger. It looked pretty awesome with a Fables (comic book series) vibe. Comparisons will be made to Grimm, surely, but in subject matter only. Their executions are different, which is good. It kind of reminds me of a few years ago when Surface, Threshold and Invasion all premiered at the same time. Similarities could be found in all of them, but they were all vastly different. Too bad none of the actually survived their first seasons. I’ll give Allen Gregory a chance based on Jonah Hill. I wonder if Family Guy will move on to making fun of a new movie franchise since they finished with the original Star Wars movies last year or if they’ll move onto the first three episodes. I’d like to see them tackle Indiana Jones. There’s some good material there. Or maybe Back to the Future. Since it’s on well after my kids go to bed, I should be able to watch The Walking Dead live.

Monday

7:00 – How I Met Your Mother (CBS/Sept. 19)

7:00 – Terra Nova (Fox/Sept. 26)

9:00 – Castle (ABC/Sept. 19)

I caught a rerun of HIMYM last week, and it was the one where Marshall’s dad dies. The way they addressed it was WAY too heavy for a sitcom like this. I kind of hope we actually meet the mother this season. I mean, Ted is my least favorite of the characters, but I’d like to see some headway made on the title. I’ll give Terra Nova a chance. I’m most looking forward to Castle. Nathan Fillion is an actor I’ll watch in anything, and I’ve enjoyed every episode of this show.

Tuesday

7:00 – Glee (Fox/Sept. 20)

7:30 – Man Up (ABC/Oct. 18)

8:00 – Ringer (CW/Sept. 13)

8:00 – New Girl (Fox/Sept. 20)

8:30 – Raising Hope (Fox/Sept. 20)

9:00 – Parenthood (NBC/Sept. 13)

9:00 – Sons of Anarchy (FX/Sept. 6)

I’m just about done with Glee. Man Up gets a couple viewings because of Dan Fogler. Ringer gets a view because of Sarah Michelle Gellar, but after watching the trailer I’m guessing that one view is ALL I’ll give it. The preview I saw of New Girl looked funny. What bothers me, though, is that Damon Wayans, Jr. is still listed as a cast member on Fox’s website, even though he’s also in Happy Endings on ABC. Oh noes! And thank you Wikipedia. Looks like all is well…well, for Happy Endings, that is. I got into Raising Hope REALLY late into the season last year, but I’m glad I finally gave it a chance. Garret Dillahunt, Martha Plimpton and Shannon Woodward make this a must-see for me. I loved the first season of Parenthood, but I missed every single episode of the second season. I should probably watch those before jumping into season three. And do I really need to say anything about Sons of Anarchy? It’s the most badass show on TV. Oh, I guess I did need to say something about it.

Wednesday

7:00 – Up All Night (NBC/Sept. 14)

7:30 – Free Agents (NBC/Sept. 14)

7:30 – Suburgatory (ABC/Sept. 28)

8:00 – Modern Family (ABC/Sept. 21)

8:30 – Happy Endings (ABC/Sept. 28)

8:30 – I Hate My Teenage Daughter (Fox/Nov. 23)

Will Arnett has a new show? SOLD! What’s that? Anthony Head does too? DOUBLE SOLD!! Holy crap! Alan Tudyk too? Who is answering all of my prayers? Is it TV Jesus? Modern Family is probably the most solid sitcom on TV right now, and Happy Endings was a pleasant surprise last year. I’m giving I Hate My Teenage Daughter a try because Jaime Pressley was good on My Name is Earl, and she’s nice to look at. I think I saw a preview earlier in the summer that I laughed at, but I could be wrong about that.

Thursday

7:00 – Big Bang Theory (CBS/Sept. 22)

7:00 – Community (NBC/Sept. 22)

7:30 – Parks and Recreation (NBC/Sept. 22)

8:00 – The Office (NBC/Sept. 22)

8:00 – Person of Interest (CBS/Sept. 22)

8:00 – Bones (Fox/Nov. 3)

8:00 – Burn Notice (USA/current)

9:00 – Wilfred (FX/current)

9:00 – It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX/Sept. 15)

9:30 – Louie (FX/current)

9:30 – The League (FX/Oct. 6)

Out of all of the shows I plan on watching, only four of them are on CBS. Two of them are on Wednesday nights. The Big Bang Theory is a well-written sitcom that panders to the nerd in me. Person of Interest has Ben Linus from Lost, so that’s why I’m tuning in for an episode or two. NBC’s Thursday night comedy block (well, ¾ of it) is some of the smartest comedy that I’ve been fortunate to watch. Community seems fresh and new every week, Parks and Rec has some of the best characters to ever fill a show, and The Office is solid comedy that (to me) hasn’t gotten stale yet. I’m really interested to see what kind of dynamic James Spader will add to the show for however long he’s on. My eight o’clock hour seems pretty full, but Burn Notice will probably end its summer season soon (Sept. 8 according to Wikipedia), and Bones doesn’t start until November, so I’ve got plenty of time to lose interest in Person of Interest (pun…intended?) by the time it starts back up. The FX sitcoms are some of the funniest I’ve ever seen. Not necessarily the smartest and usually pandering to the lowest common denominator, but, hey, look how far that’s taken Two and a Half Men. Right now, Louie is my favorite show this summer. It speaks truth without talking down to the viewer. I’m enjoying Wilfred, but it’s darker than I anticipated. Always Sunny is probably the most crass and unredeemable show on TV, but it’s so much fun to hate the leads. The League is just solid comedy, and when talking about great characters, one always has to mention Jon Lajoie’s Taco.

Friday

7:00 – Chuck (NBC/Oct. 21)

8:00 – Grimm (NBC/Oct. 21)

8:00 – Fringe (Fox/Sept. 23)

8:00 – Supernatural (CW/Sept. 23)

Chuck has been my popcorn show since it started. I watched it because of Adam Baldwin and continued to watch it because of Yvonne Strahovski. They don’t even try to make any of their stories even slightly believable, but they’re incredibly fun to watch. It looks like I’ll be DVRing Supernatural and Fringe (these two will ALWAYS be priorities for me) and catching up with Grimm on Hulu.

Saturday

7:00 – Rules of Engagement (CBS/Sept. 24)

A show on Saturday that isn’t a rerun? Sometimes I don’t like to admit that I like this show. It’s not original or very clever, but the acting really sells it. Patrick Warburton is another guy I’ll watch in anything, and I really like the characters played by Oliver Hudson (relationship to Kate aside) and Bianca Kajlich (so so SO pretty). If this show were up against anything else, it would lose, so putting it on a Saturday is a pretty good idea on CBS’s part. Also, I may have included the wrong picture.

Mid-Season Shows of Interest

Alcatraz (Fox)

The Finder (Fox)

Touch (Fox)

Covert Affairs (USA)

Psych (USA)

White Collar (USA)

Southland (TNT)

American Horror Story (FX)

Archer (FX)

Justified (FX)

Cougar Town (ABC)

Apartment 23 (ABC)

I know nothing about Alcatraz or Touch except that one has Jorge Garcia in it and the other has Keifer Sutherland. That’s enough for me to at least give it an episode to grab me. I’m slightly pissed at The Finder, but it’s not the show’s fault. I have a problem with backdoor pilots. I was all prepared to watch an episode of Bones last season, but instead it’s The Finder with Bones and Booth thrown in every now and then. I liked Geoff Stults and Michael Clarke Duncan, but Saffron Burrows just seemed like a poor-man’s Fiona (from Burn Notice), bad first season accent and all. Speaking of Burn Notice, USA has some really top-notch original programing, most of which has been entertaining me during the summer. I know that Covert Affairs and White Collar will be returning some time later in the fall, but Psych starts sometime in October. I’ve given up on straight-ahead cop shows (no more CSI or Law & Order for me), but a friend talked me into watching Southland over the summer and I fell in love. I have no idea when the fourth season will start, but I’m looking forward to it. I am not a fan of horror movies, so American Horror Story wouldn’t usually interest me, but Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights) is one of the stars, so I’m in for a bit…at least until I can only watch it with all the lights on. Justified and Archer are two more top-notch FX shows. I’m glad that Justified received some well-deserved Emmy nominations. I’m also glad that H. Jon Benjamin has Archer to fall back on since Jon Benjamin Has a Van was such a bad show. I was disappointed to see that Cougar Town was not on the schedule for this fall. Despite its misleading title, it’s a funny show. And what little I saw of Apartment 23 made me laugh, but it was a great scene with James Van Der Beek cashing in on his Dawson fame to have sex. Simple but funny.

So, I think that’s everything. Isn’t it enough? I’d embed some trailers, but there are just too many, so I hyperlinked all the shows to their official web pages. It’s a little more work on your part, but you can do it. I believe in you, you lazy bastards!

Massive Constitutional

I've got nothing against beer in a can, but I collect bottle labels, so that hurts me. But after reading the article, I might start collecting cans. Otherwise, I'm okay with them. They seem less classy, but I've never been accused of being classy.

Canned Beer

Let's keep an alcohol theme going. Need a reason to continue drinking moderately? You just might live a bit longer.

Beer Good

Any possible news on either of these two comic books makes me squee with delight.

Sandman TV Show!?!?!?!

I only watched the comedy part of the Emmys, and I loved this Modern Family skit. The Clooney stuff at the end is great.



When I DVR shows and skip commercials, I miss gems like these Infiniti ads with the cast of Community.







Jimmy Fallon's musical tribute to "three shows we lost this year."



Okay, here's my last Emmy video. This was a great intro to the Emmys that stared most of the Glee cast, Tina Fey, Jon Hamm, Joel McHale, Jorge Garcia, and others. The only thing that could have made this Glee-tastic cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" would have been to have Jimmy Fallon to pull Courtney Cox on stage. I know she was in a different Boss video, but with her "Cougar Town" success, it would have been entertaining to see. I liked the diss of Kate Gosselin and I loved that Hamm was getting dance lessons from Betty White. From what little I saw, I liked Fallon as a host. I liked the little songs that introduced the comdey and drama categories with Amy Poehler and Juliana Margulies. I could have done without the Twitter stuff, but that's just me. I kinda wish I would have been able to see the whole program.



I originally thought this was a little longer than it needed to be, but it's worth it in the end.



Since I'll be announcing at TWO marching band competitions this year, I expect to see this used in a show at least twice.



I loved the text video for Cee Lo Green's song, "Fuck You," but I've got to say that I like the official video better, especially the beginning with the kid lip-synching.



I don't like Sean Penn. As an actor or a two-faced "humanitarian." So I was already expecting to like his appearance on Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis. But this episode is guest hosted by Zach's twin brother Seth. Oh God, I love it even more. Penn is just an afterthought to the wonder that is Seth Galifianakis.

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis: Sean Penn from Between Two Ferns

Here's the latest trailer for Due Date, and no matter how hard he tries by just being in the movie, I don't think even Jamie Foxx will make me dislike this movie.

What You Should Have Watched #6

2010-2011 Season

It’s mid-August, so that means it’s time to take a look at the upcoming television season. Looks like I’ve got everything mapped out with only a couple of new shows in the mix. NBC is coming out strong on mid-season replacements, though.

Here’s what I’ve got. Click on any of the shows to go to their official pages.

Sunday

Saturdays and Sundays are going to be my catch-up days. I’ve got three kids I’ve got to feed, bathe and put to bed, and then I’ve got to go about the business of cleaning up from the evening and making lunches for the next day. I’m lucky if I get to start watching TV at 8:00. 9:00 seems like a better target. So with absolutely nothing to watch on Saturday and only two shows on Sunday, my DVR is gonna get a workout.

I’m pretty blasé toward the Simpsons, but every now and then they can still deliver a good episode. Family Guy, though, I am all over. Even the mediocre episodes are pretty damn funny.

7:00     Simpsons (Sept. 26)

8:00     Family Guy (Sept. 26)

Monday

We’ve got the first of new shows with The Event. I’ve heard nothing about the show except for the vague promos that NBC is running. I’ll give it a chance; it could be good. Chuck is my guilty pleasure. It’s not really that great of a show, but I love the actors and the characters. And Castle, well, it’s Nathan Fillion. I’ll watch him in anything.

7:00     Chuck (Sept. 20)

            How I Met Your Mother (Sept. 20)

7:30     Rules of Engagement (Sept. 20)

8:00     The Event (Sept. 20)

9:00     Castle (Sept. 20)

Tuesday

New shows here include a new superhero show and something from the creator of Arrested Development. I like Michael Chiklis and love love LOVE Julie Benz. This could be decent, but it’s also got me worried that it’ll turn to crap. Then we’ve got Will Arnett in Running Wilde, the new show by Mitch Hurwitz. Those are two names who will get a pass for anything.

I’ve just started catching up on Parenthood via OnDemand. I swear to God I teared up at the end of the 4^th episode of the first season when the daughter brought her boyfriend to a family get together. It hit me that I’m going to be the father of a teenager in a decade, and I’m going to have to meet boyfriends. Ugh.

The nine o’clock hour shows the first time when I’ll have a show I can’t DVR. That’s okay, though, since any of those three shows is either available OnDemand the next night or on the shows website.

Sons of Anarchy is one of the best shows on TV, and I’ll give the finger to anyone who says otherwise.

7:00     No Ordinary Family (Sept. 28)

            Glee (Sept. 21)

8:00     White Collar

8:30     Running Wilde (Sept. 21)

9:00     Parenthood (Sept. 14)

            Sons of Anarchy (Sept. 7)

            Covert Affairs

10:00   Louie

Wednesday

Right now Wednesday has the biggest amount of possible drops. The Middle was mildly entertaining for a bit last season, and I’m going to do my best to catch up, but I won’t be disappointed if it doesn’t happen. Undercovers is a spy show by J.J. Abrams, so I’m sold right there. I’m sick of standard cop procedural shows, but I like Benson and Stabler too much to give up on SVU. We’ll see if that attitude lasts through the season.

The biggest surprise of last season was how much I enjoyed Cougar Town. This and Modern Family gave Community a good run in the best new comedy race last season.

7:00     The Middle (Sept. 22)

            Undercovers (Sept. 22)

7:30     Better with You (Sept. 22)

8:00     Modern Family (Sept. 22)

            Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Sept. 22)

8:30     Cougar Town (Sept. 22)

9:00     Terriers (Sept. 8)

            Psych

Thursday

This brings us to my first conundrum. If I could, I would watch Big Bang Theory and Shit My Dad Says online, but CBS never posted BBT last season, and I don’t expect it to this one. So that means I HAVE to DVR those shows. I love Community and 30 Rock so much that I have to watch them as close to their live airings as possible, so waiting the watch them on Hulu the next day is out of the question. That means Bones doesn’t get DVRed, and that makes me a little sad.

Fringe WILL be DVRed, and in HD no less. I’m going to give Nikita a chance, even though I’ve never seen La Femme Nikita, Point of No Return or the French film Nikita. Maggie Q, man, Maggie Q. So I’ll Hulu The Office and the new offering, Outsourced.

7:00     Community (Sept. 23)

            Big Bang Theory (Sept. 23)

            Bones (Sept. 23)

7:30     30 Rock (Sept. 23)

            Shit My Dad Says (Sept. 23)

8:00     The Office (Sept. 23)

            Fringe (Sept. 23)

            Nikita (Sept. 9)

8:30     Outsourced (Sept. 23)

9:00     It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Sept. 16)

9:30     The League (Sept. 16)

Friday

I hate myself for watching Smallville, but I can’t bring myself to stop. I feel like, as a rabid comic book fan, I HAVE to watch it. But it’s SOOOOOOO bad. The plots are bad. The acting is bad. The writing is bad. But the girls are so very, very pretty, so at least there’s that.

7:00     Human Target (Oct. 1)

            Smallville (Sept. 24)

8:00     Supernatural (Sept. 24)

Mid-Season Replacements

ABC    Mr. Sunshine

It’s a comedy with Matthew Perry, so I’m in.

NBC    The Cape, Friends with Benefits, Perfect Couples

The Cape is superhero show but looks corny as hell, so there’s a good chance I won’t make it past the first episode. Friends with Benefits looks like a generic 20-something comedy, as does Perfect Couples, but PC has Olivia Munn in it, and she’s my new girlfriend (just don’t say anything to her about it…she wants to keep it on the down-low).

CBS    Mad Love

Another generic rom-com, but it’s got Sarah Chalke in it, so I’ll give it a try.

FX       Lights Out, Justified, Archer

Lights Out is the only new show, but I’ll watch it without even knowing a thing about it. FX gets my viewing for anything.

Modern Family

Assuming anyone actually read this blog before September, hopefully you're back now that something new has been posted. Life has rudely gotten in the way of any recreation I've been meaning to do, and that includes this blog. Things are starting to return to normal now, and I will hopefully be back to making regular posts to this damn thing again. Comic book reviews will be returning. Exciting new movie trailers and funny/awesome videos will be posted. Maybe every now and then I'll do a movie review. And I can't forget the TV reviews. The season was just starting as I made my last post, and we're already into November sweeps. And really, it's TV that's brought me back.

Have you been watching Modern Family? No? Shame on you. It's the best new comedy on TV, surpassing my original candidate, Community. It stars Julie Bowen, who was probably most recently seen in Weeds and Boston Legal; Al Bundy; that hot Latina woman from that Donal Logue show from a season or two ago that was originally about robbing Mick Jagger; and some really excellent child actors.

The show is shot documentary style, a la The Office or Parks and Recreation. It follows an extended family. You've got your nuclear family of Julie Bowen, her husband and their three kids. Then there is her gay brother, his partner and their adopted baby daughter. Finally, Al Bundy is Julie (I'm really bad about character names at this point. I think I'm watching too many things to keep every character straight) and the gay guy's dad, and he's married to the hot Latina, and she's got a son from a former marriage. This kid steals every scene he's in, whether it's kicking a girl's ass in a fencing competition of just drinking a pot of coffee with his breakfast because he's got a rough day of second or third grade ahead of him.

There was absolutely no draw to this show other than curiosity. Community was the only new sitcom that I was looking forward to. Nothing else looked remotely interesting, not even a show about a family in Indiana with the janitor from Scrubs (which, by the way, is mildly amusing...the youngest kid has an interesting oddness about him). But I read a few good reviews, and I decided to check out Modern Family on Hulu. Wow. It's just...damn...funny. There's nothing particularly new about it and it can be a little predictable, but the acting is just spot on and you can't help but to laugh.

And now I'm going to do my best Levar Burton impression by saying, "But don't take my word for it." I'm embedding the 4th episode, available on Hulu (the site gets the last five episodes). This one involves Ed O'Neill's (THAT'S his name!) ex-wife, played by Shelly Long (not Katey Sagal, sadly, because she's being awesome over on Sons of Anarchy) stopping by and making everybody crazy. Watch it, see if you don't love it, then catch up via Hulu. It's how I get my fix.