Wednesday, November 23, 2005
tuesday night titans
So can we all agree that, if anybody else played the three main characters in My Name is Earl, the show would probably suck? Most of the laffs come not from the situations or lines but the performances therein and thereof. The last two episodes are the first two I’ve watched in succession, and both times I’ve come away liking the show a little bit less. There’s too much traditional sitcom here, which is maybe why it’s one of the few single-camera shows to do relatively well in the ratings. But, damn, Lee, Supplee, Pressley, and even the Office Max guy are all really great in their roles, as was Beau Bridges last night. Anyway, I guess it was alright enough last night, and I’ll probably still watch the show, but not buy the eventual DVD’s, or anything.
The Office was pretty great, again. At the beginning of the season they seemed to be making Michael Scott a little more sympathetic, and maybe too much so. The last two episodes, though, he’s back to being simply pathetic, and in almost as cringe-worthy a fashion as David Brent. I can handle the slightly lightened tone, but it’s nice to see the extreme discomfort of the original return every now and again.
I overheard a bit of SVU while dicking around on the internet. I like how they occasionally have their characters reinforce their one main trait through simple declarative sentences, like when Fred Thompson stated he was pro-life in his thick drawl, reminding us that he was not just the show's designated Southerner, but also, of course, it's official Conservative. Next week I hope to hear B. D. Wong start a sentence with the clause, "as a gay Asian man...".
So can we all agree that, if anybody else played the three main characters in My Name is Earl, the show would probably suck? Most of the laffs come not from the situations or lines but the performances therein and thereof. The last two episodes are the first two I’ve watched in succession, and both times I’ve come away liking the show a little bit less. There’s too much traditional sitcom here, which is maybe why it’s one of the few single-camera shows to do relatively well in the ratings. But, damn, Lee, Supplee, Pressley, and even the Office Max guy are all really great in their roles, as was Beau Bridges last night. Anyway, I guess it was alright enough last night, and I’ll probably still watch the show, but not buy the eventual DVD’s, or anything.
The Office was pretty great, again. At the beginning of the season they seemed to be making Michael Scott a little more sympathetic, and maybe too much so. The last two episodes, though, he’s back to being simply pathetic, and in almost as cringe-worthy a fashion as David Brent. I can handle the slightly lightened tone, but it’s nice to see the extreme discomfort of the original return every now and again.
I overheard a bit of SVU while dicking around on the internet. I like how they occasionally have their characters reinforce their one main trait through simple declarative sentences, like when Fred Thompson stated he was pro-life in his thick drawl, reminding us that he was not just the show's designated Southerner, but also, of course, it's official Conservative. Next week I hope to hear B. D. Wong start a sentence with the clause, "as a gay Asian man...".
