Monday, September 15, 2008

Comedy Night Done Right

Now that NBC dropped Scrubs, they are down to three regulars in the 8-10 spot...Office, Earl and 30 Rock. These are without a doubt the three best comedies on tv. I don't know why other networks can't compete with NBC in sitcoms, but they definitely cannot. ABC likes now take its scraps, as they are picking up Scrubs for midseason.


My Name Is Earl is now coming into its 4th season and it kind of dragged along for me last season. Jason Lee is good, Ethan Suplee was great, and Jaime Presly is always great as Joy. I have two big things on this show. The guest stars are really hit or miss with me. There have been some great ones (Norm MacDonald, Craig T. Nelson, Beau Bridges) but there have been a lot of hated (Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Rapaport, Jon Heder). The part of Earl that I feel is always good is the music. They seem to always have great classic rock songs at the perfect moments in each episode.


Kath & Kim is the new comedy replacing Scrubs. It stars Molly Shannon and Selma Blair as mother and daughter.
From Wikipedia--Kath & Kim details the chronicles and misadventures about the family matters and relationships of the title characters, a dysfunctional mother and daughter, living in a suburban community in Florida. Their family bonding, like in the Australian version, is different as night and day.
Kathleen "Kath" Day is the mom, a foxy, 40-something divorcĂ©e who finally has time for herself and her valiant search for love. Her daughter, Kimberly "Kim" Day-Fattibene, is in her mid 20’s but dresses like a child, constantly eating as a way to console herself, and is obsessed with celebrities. When Kim decides to move back home after separating from her husband, Craig, who works at a Best Buy, Kath reluctantly agrees -- but to Kim's chagrin, Kath is not about to cater to her every whim as she has in the past.


The Office comes into, wow, its fifth season. The Office is really the first show I started watching religiously, five years ago. I have come to find that Steve Carrell really should live as Michael Scott because everything else I've seen him in I haven't enjoyed him. Michael is hilarious, but most of the time it is Dwight or Creed that are cracking me up the most. The very end of season 4 showed great promise with the addition of Amy Ryan as Holly. She was awesome in the final episode and I hope her greatness continues this fall.


30 Rock beat out The Office on a couple of my power rankings at the end of last year. It is definitely more laugh out loud funny than the office for me. Tracy Jordan is my favorite comedic character on television. As you know, I don't think females are funny, but Tina Fey pulls it off. As opposed to My Name Is Earl, I think the guest stars on 30 Rock are always great. From David Schwimmer to Will Arnett, Jerry Seinfeld to Chris Parnell and my personal favorite Dean Winters as Dennis Duffy...

1 comment:

Andy McKenzie said...

I liked Carell in Anchorman and Little Miss Sunshine and when he was on the daily show. Kinda hard to believe that segment "steve and steve" they used to have has now spawned such famous actors. But yeah, he needs to start being more selective in his roles.