Friday, September 16, 2005
tv ain't always for suckers
Man, digital cable is nice. I've spent like seven hours this week watching VH1 Classic. Their alternative hour takes me back to '91, staying up 'til 2 am on Sundays watching a bunch of flouncy pouty Brits on 120. Watching Showtime kind of takes me back to the same time, and the same curfew-busting situation, but for, um, entirely different reasons.
But so, cable is not necessary to enjoy television. No, sir. For the last two years we've done just fine with our antenna, which is all you'll need to watch one of the better shows I've seen recently. Last night my wife and I were fortunate enough to become one of only... uh... however many people got this week's Entertainment Weekly, and thus caught an early sneak preview of the first episode of the new UPN/Chris Rock sitcom, Everybody Hates Chris. We've both been looking forward to this one, and, for the most part, it didn't disappoint. It's a bit sloppy at times, relying too much on asides that are just lines from Rock's stand-up routine. It is a pilot, so some sloppiness is expected. The kid playing Rock is likable, though, and the parents were both very good, especially Terry Crews. There are the well-noted similarities with The Wonder Years, yes, but there's also a bit of Malcolm in the Middle, with the whole "befuddled, smart-ass thirteen year old living in a crazy family" dynamic happening. I don't believe Malcolm has ever had to deal with racism or a neighborhood crack epidemic, though, but I've only seen like fifteen episodes of that show, so who knows, maybe. Overall, not a bad way to spend twenty-two minutes; we'll probably even waste the extra eight it'll take to watch it on the tv.
Actually, while writing this up, I realized for the first time that it's a single-camera, laugh-trackless show. I mean, it's obvious there's no braying jackassery while you're watching it, but that fact never registered as anything distinctive or noticeable. Even though every active sitcom but like five still follows the boring, predictable old format, we're so far removed from those shows that what once seemed slightly novel is now the standard. Maybe if a couple of these shows would actually do well in the ratings we as a society could kill the laugh-track off once and for all. Even though it's on the UPN, I'd think Chris has a better chance of doing that than any of the other recent single-camera shows.
Man, digital cable is nice. I've spent like seven hours this week watching VH1 Classic. Their alternative hour takes me back to '91, staying up 'til 2 am on Sundays watching a bunch of flouncy pouty Brits on 120. Watching Showtime kind of takes me back to the same time, and the same curfew-busting situation, but for, um, entirely different reasons.
But so, cable is not necessary to enjoy television. No, sir. For the last two years we've done just fine with our antenna, which is all you'll need to watch one of the better shows I've seen recently. Last night my wife and I were fortunate enough to become one of only... uh... however many people got this week's Entertainment Weekly, and thus caught an early sneak preview of the first episode of the new UPN/Chris Rock sitcom, Everybody Hates Chris. We've both been looking forward to this one, and, for the most part, it didn't disappoint. It's a bit sloppy at times, relying too much on asides that are just lines from Rock's stand-up routine. It is a pilot, so some sloppiness is expected. The kid playing Rock is likable, though, and the parents were both very good, especially Terry Crews. There are the well-noted similarities with The Wonder Years, yes, but there's also a bit of Malcolm in the Middle, with the whole "befuddled, smart-ass thirteen year old living in a crazy family" dynamic happening. I don't believe Malcolm has ever had to deal with racism or a neighborhood crack epidemic, though, but I've only seen like fifteen episodes of that show, so who knows, maybe. Overall, not a bad way to spend twenty-two minutes; we'll probably even waste the extra eight it'll take to watch it on the tv.
Actually, while writing this up, I realized for the first time that it's a single-camera, laugh-trackless show. I mean, it's obvious there's no braying jackassery while you're watching it, but that fact never registered as anything distinctive or noticeable. Even though every active sitcom but like five still follows the boring, predictable old format, we're so far removed from those shows that what once seemed slightly novel is now the standard. Maybe if a couple of these shows would actually do well in the ratings we as a society could kill the laugh-track off once and for all. Even though it's on the UPN, I'd think Chris has a better chance of doing that than any of the other recent single-camera shows.
