Posted Jan 22nd 2010 1:02AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Community
(S01E14) This one actually hits a little close to home. Through most of my childhood, and into my teen years, I took dance classes. I even got pretty good, performing with the St. Louis Ballet Company for a brief time. But, like Troy, there was that element of shame and embarrassment in being a male dancer, primarily based on the negative response most people still seem to have to it.
However, while I've been to plenty of recitals in my day, I've never seen adults perform routines anything like the weird teapot-flower dance Britta found herself in. It was so goofy and hilarious, that I felt almost as horrified and mortified for her as Pierce did. Actually, I think Pierce was having a blast.
Continue reading Review: Community - Interpretive Dance
Posted Jan 15th 2010 3:15AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Community
(S01E13) I'd like to give thanks to the Executive Producer Associate Supervisor Supervising Executive for being the man, or woman, behind the new semester at
Community. When the gang returned from the break they discovered a new member in their group -- he snuck in during the group hug.
Jack Black basically plays one type of character, and that's who we got this week. There were some genuinely funny moments, but this definitely wasn't one of the stronger episodes of the series to date. With the community college setting, it's pretty easy to slip in a guest star here or there and even, as in this case, pretend they've been there the whole time. I just don't think it's necessary right now for
Community.
Continue reading Review: Community - Investigative Journalism
Posted Dec 20th 2009 9:24AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, Industry, Programming, OpEd, Lost, Celebrities, 30 Rock, Friday Night Lights, Ratings, NCIS, TV Squad Lists, Emmys, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Burn Notice, The Big Bang Theory, Parks and Recreation, Nurse Jackie, Glee, Community, Cougar Town, Modern Family
What a year! Once we got over the WGA strike, the networks kicked it into high gear and got busy making TV. Except for NBC. Even
Jeff Zucker has admitted that NBCU has failed to respond to the need for new programming.
Fortunately, the other channels have been busy and there's been a lot of great television... and some that's just plain awful. But I'm a half-glass full kind of person and I have good feelings about 2009. However,
since I don't want to repeat my list from last year, I'll just mention that I could put these 2008 best choices --
Breaking Bad, Friday Night Lights, NCIS, The Big Bang Theory and
Mad Men -- on my list again. But I'm going to go for an all new list and, thankfully, I had plenty of 'bests' to choose from.
Best
1. Glee. If there was ever a show that was made just for my personal taste, this is probably it. I love the singing and dancing. I get the characters. It even tickles me that I had just as much angst with bullies in high school as these kids. Every episode hasn't been perfect, but it's perfectly fine that they keep striving.
Continue reading Best and Worst TV of 2009: Allison's list
Posted Dec 18th 2009 2:09PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, 30 Rock, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory, Parks and Recreation, Community, Cougar Town, Modern Family
I'm always amazed at how people haven't learned from TV history. Back in the early eighties, everyone and his mother was saying that comedy was dead, mainly because of then-cutting-edge dramas like
Hill Street Blues were dominating the air, while the best in comedy that the networks could come up was crap like
Pink Lady and Jeff. Then
The Cosby Show, Cheers, Family Ties, and
Night Court came around, and all of a sudden comedy was back.
So it's not a big surprise that comedy is making a big comeback a quarter-century later. Times are tough, and people want to laugh. It also helps that on a few networks (NBC, of course), low ratings and little inventory have given shows like
The Office and
30 Rock a chance to find and grow an audience. The seeds sewn by those shows have grown in a major way, as three of the four networks now have successful comedy lineups.
Continue reading Top TV Stories of 2009: The return of the sitcom
Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:03AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Supernatural, Watercooler Talk, Festivus, Dexter, NCIS, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free, Mad Men, The Big Bang Theory, Community, Modern Family
On the seventh day of Festivus, TV gave to me... Seven shows a-thrivin'.
The 2009-2010 season is a great one to be on TV-- especially for returning dramas and new comedies. If we had 20 days of Christmas, I probably could have filled the list with shows that were either thriving right out of the gate or making a resurgence after being on the air for several years. As it is, we just have seven slots, so here are some noteworthy series that are thriving this year.
Dexter
I've always liked
Dexter, but it's never been appointment TV for me. I've generally been content to wait until the season came out on DVD and knock all of the episodes out in a weekend. However, after a creative dip in season 3, I've found myself positively glued to my television every Sunday night that season 4 has aired.
John Lithgow absolutely made the season as the creepy Arthur Mitchell. Plus the finale? I know some of you saw
the big twist coming at the end, but I certainly did not. Who doesn't like to end a season with their jaw on the floor?
Continue reading The Twelve Days of Festivus: Seven shows a-thrivin'
Posted Dec 16th 2009 11:25AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, Festivus, Celebrities, Chuck, Breaking Bad, Reality-Free, Community, Modern Family
If anyone has followed our Festivus festivities for the last four years, you'll remember that
every year I ask for certain gifts to appear under my aluminum pole, and it never happens. So if I were to air any grievances this year, that would be it.
But 2009's a new year, so I have a new list of gripes and wishes that I hope get fulfilled in 2010:
- That I get the power to bend space and time. That's the only way I'll be able to watch and/or record the coming Monday slate: HIMYM, House, and Chuck will all be on at 8 PM. Maybe I need to wish for a couple of TiVo HD XLs to appear under my pole.
- Speaking of Chuck, I hope they follow up last year's bang-up finale with a great third season. And I hope people watch.
- That season two of Breaking Bad comes out on DVD soon so I can catch up in time for season three.
- That more people discover that Conan's actually doing a good job on The Tonight Show.
- That Comcast gives Jay Leno his own show... in daytime.
- Southland does better ratings on TNT than they ever would have on NBC.
- Continued laughs from rookie comedy sensations Modern Family and Community.
- Alison Brie's phone number.
Posted Dec 11th 2009 1:01PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: OpEd, Scrubs, How I Met Your Mother, Festivus, The Office, Project Runway, 30 Rock, Dexter, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory, Parks and Recreation, Glee, Community, Cougar Town, Modern Family, V
I finally, and with great difficulty got the tree up, I've somehow gotten roped into holding a cookie exchange at my house this weekend, and I have glitter in places where glitter should not be. What's that smell? It smells like Festivus to me. While the main thing I want this year is to just lie very, very still in a dark room for a week or so, this is a TV blog, so let's talk about what TV could do to make me happy!
- Stop with the long hiatuses already! I don't get to see a new episode of V until March, and I'm being forced into leading a Glee-less existence until April. Give it up already! If you have 3 months between new episodes, it's a new season, why not call it that? You know what I have been doing for the past 11 weeks? Watching the first 11 episodes of Dexter. This week, I will be watching episode 12, and then the season will be over. It's efficient and satisfying. The networks need to get on board.
Continue reading All Kona wants for Festivus
Posted Dec 11th 2009 10:02AM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, OpEd, Lost, Stargate, Festivus, Dexter, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free, Fringe, Dollhouse, Joss Whedon, Community, V
In honor of the great Frank Costanza, and to ring in the holiday season, we're celebrating Festivus here at the Squad by sharing our personal TV wish lists. This year, I'm wishing for ...
- An awesome end for Dollhouse. I know its cancellation was inevitable – the series was forever tanking in the ratings, and even Joss Whedon devotees were sometimes underwhelmed by it – but I really loved the experimental nature of the show. Dollhouse was a weird, funny and sometimes very dark playground where Whedon could try out new ideas and put new spins on old ones. I'm looking forward to watching the final episodes.
- More sci-fi stuff on Stargate Universe. I love the slow burn character arcs, but would it kill the writers to shake things up a bit with a little action and some fantastic science fiction-based stories?
Continue reading All Mike M. Wants for Festivus
Posted Dec 11th 2009 2:37AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Community
(S01E12) The Christmas, er *ahem* the ... uh ...
Holiday spirit hit Greendale Community College, and brought with it one of the funniest episodes of
Community yet. It's the end of their first semester together, and Shirley decides to throw a Christmas party in the study group room. The only problem is, not everyone in the group is Christian. In fact, none of them are the same religion at all, and Pierce may be something else entirely.
What's more, Anthony Michael Hall showed up to bully Abed, and wound up having to face off against Jeff in a bully smackdown! The dilemma for the gang: show up at Jeff's fight or show up for Shirley's party. What to do?
Continue reading Review: Community - Comparative Religion
Posted Dec 4th 2009 3:05AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Community
(S01E11) Annie's a unicorn! Well, sorta. Actually, it's more complicated than that. And after Annie explained things, I was even more confused.
Another solid episode; this show is really in its groove right now. The new relationship Jeff has established with Britta; the one without him trying to get into her pants every week, or her accusing him of it every week; is really working for me. I like this group more as a bunch of friends than a group of potential hook-ups. At least for awhile.
Pierce took center stage in one of the three stories juggled this week, revealing to Jeff that he can score a hot chick. Even better, challenging Jeff to do the same. Annie got involved in helping Greendale throw its STD Ball, which went as well as you'd expect. And Troy and Abed -- this may be the best comedy duo on TV since J.D. and Turk.
Continue reading Review: Community - The Politics of Human Sexuality
Posted Nov 26th 2009 3:06PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: OpEd, Video, The Office, 30 Rock, Dexter, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free, Parks and Recreation, Glee, Community
It's Thanksgiving morning as I'm writing this. I've got five pounds of potatoes boiling for our mashed potatoes, the turkey is in the oven, and the butternut squash is cut up for the risotto I'm making. My baby is playing ball with his dad, and the dog is on the couch trying to sleep and just remaining thankful that said baby isn't trying to pet her eyeball right now. I have a lot of things to be thankful for, but as others have said before, me, this is a TV blog, so let's talk about television-related things I'm thankful for.
As we're getting close to the mid-season point, I feel more and more that this is an exceptionally strong season of television-- even with the whole Leno debacle. There are several new shows that I'm quickly falling in love with, and some returning shows that are better than ever. In no particular order, here are things that I am thankful for.
Continue reading What Kona is thankful for
Posted Nov 25th 2009 5:04PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Smallville, Stargate, 30 Rock, Dexter, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free, Glee, Community
To paraphrase
Dexter's Trinity Killer, traditions matter because they give us a sense of history. They also teach us who we are and what's expected of us.
So in celebration of that fiendish character's warped but delightfully old-fashioned worldview, I'm happy to take part in this little Thanksgiving Day tradition we have here at TV Squad. Here are a few things I'm thankful for this TV season ...
Year four of Dexter – Well, duh ... Sure, the Batista-Laguerta relationship is a little dull, and Quinn is a poor stand-in for Dokes, but Dexter's dealings with Trinty and his Dark Passenger are fascinating to watch. John Lithgow's complex and unnerving portrayal of suburban serial killer Arthur Mitchell is sure to earn him an Emmy nod, if not the win.
Community - Here's the thing: It's just so damn funny. And it has the best and weirdest cast of characters on TV. I can't get enough of Señor Chang and Abed.
Continue reading What Mike M. is thankful for
Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:04PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, How I Met Your Mother, Reality-Free, Mad Men, Community, Cougar Town, Modern Family
You know, it's funny. When I started here I was a lowly IT guy with no girlfriend and lots of time on his hands to watch TV, even on Thanksgiving. Now I'm engaged, the editor of this site, and have to run around to so many family and friend-related events this weekend my head's already spinning just thinking about it. So I have a lot to be thankful for (and I just realized how friggin' long I've been here... wow).
But TV has always been a part of that equation, and it had no less of a role for me this year. So, in the TV world, here is what will make me thankful as I dive into the turkey tomorrow:
ABC's Wednesday comedy line-up: Against all trends, ABC rolled the dice and started a whole new night of comedy on Wednesdays. And while
Hank flamed out,
The Middle, Modern Family, and
Cougar Town look like they have staying power, both from a quality and a ratings standpoint.
Continue reading What Joel is thankful for
Posted Nov 20th 2009 11:16AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Community
(S01E10) Hey, Jeff was kind of a selfish douche and then at the end he became a good person and did the right thing. Quick game: which episode am I describing?
I know I've complained about the predictability of this plot procedure in every episode, but for some reason it worked this week. Probably because even in the execution of it, you could see that Jeff had at least gained a sense of loyalty to his study group. In other words, he felt bad about what he was doing from the beginning. He still did it, but somehow that made all the difference.
I think the more shocking development was that Pierce offered to help Shirley with an upcoming speech she had to give, and she actually accepted. He also learned the "secret" to Jeff's power over the group, though I still think it's just confidence.
Continue reading Review: Community - Environmental Science
Posted Nov 13th 2009 2:01AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Community
(S01E9) Do you think the fact that this was the ninth episode of the first season had anything to do with that number in the episode title? I'm sure there could be a Debate 109 class in college, but I don't believe in coincidences that big. I do, however, believe that I really enjoyed this outing. It was nice to see Jeff buckling down and doing some work.
It's odd that he wouldn't have done that in the legal profession. Or maybe he was just used to his Legal Assistant doing all the research for him and just hitting him up with the highlights. Either way, I can't believe that he thought singing in a debate would work. Come on, Jeff.
The rest of the episode featured the return of Abed's student films. Only this time, there's something a little eerie about them, and it's freaking everybody out. And it's not just that he found people in the school who look incredibly similar to every member of the study group.
Continue reading Review: Community - Debate 109
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