Good news! Someone pointed out the other day that The IT Crowd is now airing on US TV! Set your DVRs and Tivos to record it from 3-3:30 am on Wednesdays, on IFC (which apparently is the "Independent Film Channel").
And stay tuned... in a week I'll have more to say on this topic! :)
Hooray for fall television! Shows I like are back in season, and I've found a few new shows to love. So far...
Old shows:
- Heroes is off to a strong start. New twists and turns... though there are still some slightly annoying plotlines. At least we haven't had to deal with the Las Vegas psycho woman plot yet.
- Top Chef is almost over. Only a few weeks 'til Project Runway!!
- Doctor Who is almost over as well. This latest season has been EXCELLENT! What a creative show. And a hot Doctor.
- Beauty and the Geek. The geek kicked off this week was cute... he didn't even need a makeover to help him out! It's a shame he's gone.
- House? Hmmm... it doesn't seem to be improving. I'm not terribly optimistic.
- The IT Crowd, Season 2. Over already....
New shows:
- PUSHING DAISIES! What a bizarre, random, hilarious show! Ever since I saw the first commercial I've been looking forward to seeing it. It lived up to my expectations. It may even have exceeded my expectations... FAAAN-tastick!
- Kid Nation - Kid logic is great. That show is highly entertaining. It's all about kids living off the land exactly as people lived in the Old West. It's true -- they have to rely on outhouses, water pumps, and microwaves. It's seriously bare bones.
- Bionic Woman - You never know with remakes, but this one looks promising.
- Life, Moonlight, and Journeyman - BOOOORING. Sorry, writers and producers, but they're complete snoozers.
I think it's about time for a TV recap. The summer show season is ending, and the fall season is about to begin. I've noticed that a lot of the reality shows are starting to be compressed... shows that took dozens of weeks last year have shrunk to numbers of episodes you can count on only one, two, or three of your hands.
What have I been watching? Let's see...
- Who wants to be a superhero? This show scores high on the ridiculous factor... and yet I continue to watch it. Possible alternate titles include "who wants to get inside Stan Lee's head?" or "who wants to be a follower?" It's all about Stan Lee's inconsistent application of heroic logic. It doesn't matter how well you justify what you do, because if it doesn't match Stan Lee's predefined expectation, you're gone. Statements like "I'll take that into consideration" translate to "you're as good as out." Don't try to game the system, because his logic and yours probably won't match. For instance, the episode in which everyone nobly rescued the people but got yelled at for not rescuing a dog. Um, okay? Oh, and can you say PRODUCT PLACEMENT?? Sony, esurance, blah blah blah. ECW star "superhero training"??? Yech. "Wrestling, stunt fighting... it's REAL." Double yech. That's exactly what makes me annoyed with the SciFi channel. In a way, it's kind of like those model shows, where people get kicked off for things like getting hypothermia during a photo shoot in freezing cold water. "REAL models don't give up even if they're about to die." It's all about willingness to sacrifice your life for your art. See my old "fashion conspiracy" posting for more info on that.
- Movies featuring winners of Who wants to be a superhero? Those Saturday 9 pm movies also make me annoyed with the SciFi channel. Yeah, so I recorded Mega Snake, which was supposed to "feature" the winner of Who wants to be a superhero, season 1. Oh, my. Fast forward through cheese... fast forward through cheese... fast forward through cheese... I passed through the first quarter of the movie. Then the middle. Then the last... Around 7/8 of the way into the movie I saw Feedback... and his role as a public service announcement guy, telling kids about the dangers of electricity. In all, it lasted about 2 minutes. Maan, I can only imagine what Season 2's superheroes are thinking. "All that work, and THAT'S my main prize???"
- A model life. Reinforcing the stereotype that models aren't the brightest stars in the daytime sky. For example, there was the Brazilian girl who thought she might know photographer's grandmother, who lived in Brazil approx. 50 years before the model was born. "No, I don't know her." Or Michelle, when told she was going to London: "I've never been to London. I guess I'll like it. They do speak English, for most of the part, except for a few of the words." Niice. And the most model-like, Angelika, was let go for mouthing off. Yeah, she deserved it.
- The new Bravo show, Flipping Out. Very funny!! That guy is seriously messed up.
- On The Lot. Will won! Yaay! He was my favorite. Do you think the end part (him walking up to the gates of his new studio) was staged? I have a feeling it was filmed before the actual finale.
- The IT Crowd. They're already halfway through the all-too-short season!! Season 2 has been funny, but not AS funny as Season 1. I just haven't found as many quotes that I want to integrate into my everyday life... like "getting on like a big house on fire" or "you stole it? but that's stealing!!" Hmm... I wonder how the US version will turn out...
- Chuck. I saw the pilot episode on a recent United flight. My response? As Roy's shirt said during IT Crowd Season 2 Episode 3, "Meh." It reminded me a lot of Jake 2.0, except for the electronics superstore part. It just wasn't that funny... But I'll let you make your own call. I think the pilot is officially showing next Monday.
- Without prejudice. Interesting show, but it doesn't live up to its name. A group of five people decide to give $25,000 to one of another group of 5 people for pretty much whatever reason they select. Take the "without" out of the title and you get a lot of what is used in the decision-making process. It's not a bad show to have on as background noise, though...
- Doctor Who. I like this show more and more every season!! I didn't think they'd be able to find a good replacement for Rose, but I was wrong. The most recent two-part episode shown on SciFi, "Human Nature/The Family of Blood" was excellent!! And Baines (the actor also plays Will Scarlett on Robin Hood) made a fantastic psycho bloodthirsty alien. The DVD comes out in a couple months...
OK, I think that's enough TV discussion for one night!!
The IT Crowd, Season 2 has started! The first episode aired on BBC on Friday night. I found it here. It was pretty funny (yaay for Richmond and Moss!), but based on my calculations, the next episode will be funnier. Why, you might ask?
Well, it all started with Season 1. Episode 1, pretty funny. Episode 2, extremely funny. Episode 4, really funny. The rest were funny, but not quite as funny. Following the pattern, that means the 8th episode will be very funny. Using some really tricky math that is way too complicated to explain to mere mortals, I have concluded that this means the 2nd episode of the 2nd season will be very funny.
And yes, I hyperlinked as many things in this blog as I possibly could.
It's that time. Time for a recap of current TV shows! Yaay! These are the ones I consider noteworthy right now:
- Food shows. Three of them, to be exact. The Monday night boring pointless yelling one on Fox, and then the two I like. Let's contrast them. Next Food Network Star ends on Sunday night. I'm all for having guys pluck unruly eyebrows, but this guy is outta control. Put the tweezers away! Oh, right--the show. I'd prefer to have Amy win. In contrast, there's Top Chef, featuring this season's TALL GUY. Best line:
Guest Chef Judge: Wow, you're really tall.
CJ: Thanks for noticing.
- On The Lot. It's an anagram for Hen Lotto. Despite my Hollywood brother-in-law's feelings on the show, I've found the show to be entertaining. I like Will and Zach best. And I can't believe America has already voted all the girls off! Anyway, these are the films I've liked the best:
* Lucky Penny
* Nerve Endings
* Die Hardly Working
* Spaghetti
* Polished
* Dough: The Musical
* Danger Zone
* Worldly Possessions
* Broken Pipe Dreams
* Dr. In-Law
- Pirate Master. It's an okay show. They do have some interesting strategery going on. For instance, the current captain magically acquired a really fake British accent as soon as he put on his captain's jacket and hat. Plus they've already kicked off all the hot guys. Shame. UPDATE: I like the twist they added in today's episode, because it negated a significant portion of the strategery used by the captain and his mates. They brought back the eliminated players as "ghost pirates," and raced them for the treasure. Considering that they've been eliminating all the people they determined were their strongest competition, they've ended up creating quite a competition for themselves. Hmm, the show may be getting more interesting...
- Last Comic Standing, the International Version. Best line so far, from the Sydney tryouts:
I was watching a DVD the other day, and it had all this anti-piracy information at the beginning of it, you know? It was saying things like, “You wouldn’t steal a car, would you? You wouldn’t steal someone’s wallet, would you?” And I was thinking, “You know, that’s right! I wouldn’t steal a car.” But you know, if a mate of mine called me up and said, “Hey, I just got this new car, would you like me to burn you a copy??” I reckon I might consider it...
- Doctor Who. Creative as always. And, thankfully, I do like his new companion! Better than Rose? We'll see...
- Psych. It's back on! Hooray!
- Eureka. Nerd humor. Ridiculous and infeasible, but typically entertaining.
- Just for Laughs. I'm not impressed. It's an identical copy of the Just for Laughs that they show on BBC America periodically (though I think the show is originally Canadian).
- I almost forgot: Traveler! I watched the first few episodes of this show. It was painfully boring. Dumb plot line, and the frat boy main characters aren't interesting or cute. Even the dark haired blue eyed one (my favorite combination) isn't that attractive, with his googly eyes and perpetual confusedness. The show is now on my "please cancel" list. I never had a "please cancel" list before now.
Things that will be on soon:
- Dressed Up Crazy People and a Cheesy Host. Last season prompted much eye rolling. I haven't decided whether I'm going to watch this one yet.
- The IT Crowd. I love this show enough that I'm kinda expecting a disappointment. They're recycling British Moss. I wonder if he'll use an American accent for the show, like House. I bet his unique fashion sense will overtake the US IT community. Heck, it even makes ME want to wear a short sleeved checkered shirt with an ugly tie!
And I'll end on an IT crowd note. This is one of the reasons I love the show:
This is the point at which I admit to being a nerd. Yes, I have a degree in Computer Science. It's true. So here's the caveat: I think that the main topic of this entry--a British comedy called The IT Crowd--would be funny to non-nerds and non-geeks... but I can't entirely be sure. I'll give you the details, and you can be the judge.
I came across this show by accident, and was instantly convinced that I should purchase the DVD. It was worth every £.
Reasons I like this show:
1. A catchy opening sequence.
2. Maurice Moss. Is there a fire in the office? No problem--just e-mail the fire department.
3. Richmond Avenal--a.k.a. "The Goth Guy." Incidentally, when I researched the name (I figured it must be an anagram or something) I learned that Avenal, CA is "...the smallest city of approximately 16,187 people." Can anyone tell me where I can find the largest city of approximately 16,187 people?
4. The DVD lets you display l33t subtitles!!
