So, here begins my non-music related sidelists. I'll first start off with the TV stuff then get into Movies at the end.
Comedies are my favorite type of TV shows. They are what takes up the majority of my TV watching time, and they are what I care the most about. Since I care so much about comedies i'm also a harsh critic on what I think is great. These 5 shows are the cream of the crop of comedies in my opinion. I also list 5 most shows at the bottom which are worth your time as well.
Top 5 Comedy TV Shows
01.30 Rock
Channel: NBC
Is there really a better picture this year than the one above? Not since Arrested Development won the Best Comedy Emmy for season 1 has there been such a deserving winner.
man, where to begin with 30 Rock. I saw the premiere episode back when it aired in October of 2006, and I thought it was passable. It didn't blow me away, but I knew it had promise.I continued watching the show and it steadly got better and better with each new episode. I think the turning point of the show was when it got moved to NBC's Thursday Night Comedy Block (AKA The NBC 2 Hours Of Power). I believe the first episode aired there was the tremendous "Jack-Tor". It was then followed by the sublime "Tracy Does Conan" episode which introduced the character that inspired my current SN: Dr. Leo Spaceman (played brilliantly by Chris Parnell). Dr. Spaceman for my money is the best recurring character on TV today.
So from those two episodes on it just became a comedic juggernaut, and it was regularly outshining The Office (which was still great, but more on that at #3). with Season 2, it became even better, and the quality just continued to grow like wildfire.
30 Rock is on such a mind-blowing roll right now that people are comparing it to Arrested Development, and I can't fault those comparisons. Personally, I think it's more a mix between the mad-cap hillary, insane-Jokes-Per-Minute ratio of Arrested Development and the workplace setting in New York of Newsradio, two of my all-time favorite sitcoms. This quote from a recent review of a 30 Rock episode explains it so well:
Quote:
Originally posted by Onion AV Club
30 Rock has gotten into a borderline transcendent groove this season where brilliance is commonplace and barely a minute goes by without a big-ass laugh.
|
I would argue to say it's been like this since the end of 2006, but close enough.
It's a shame with all of this praise, and the show winning the Best Comedy Emmy this year, that people aren't watching it. I don't understand why. Do people not like laughing? Would they rather get their yuks from the CBS Monday Lineup (besides How I Met Your Mother, which is the only good live audience sitcom around today)? I just hope that eventually people start flocking to the show the same way people have been flocking to The Office this year.
Best Episodes from 2007:
1. Greenzo
2. Fireworks
3. Cleveland
02.Extras
Channel: HBO/BBC
Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant: The best creative team in comedic television today. They have not only made one of the best comedies ever in the original BBC Office, but with Extras they try something completely different and succeed just as much as they did back on The Office.
It's a shame thet Extras hasn't gotten as much attention as the BBC Office got, because it's consistently gotten better. I liked Season 1 of the show, but Season 2 is when I knew they hit the show out of the park. the Daniel Radcliffe episode especially was not only off-the-charts hilarious, but a great satire on the mainstream media.
Ricky & Stephen ended the series this year the same way they ended The Office: with a 90 minute special. Of course, The Office special was too perfect for words so the expectations were really high. I personally think they really delivered. It had great comedy, great dramatic moments, and just told an amazing story. as my favorite TV critic Tim Goodman (no relation) said in his review of the Extras special:
Quote:
Originally posted by Tim Goodman of the San Fransisco Chronicle
"Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale" will ultimately be known for several impressive elements. First, it's one of the truly great finales to a television series - smart, true to the original vision but creatively challenging; satisfying without being pat or predictable. Secondly, at a full 80 minutes, it's thrilling in its ambition, attaining closure with artistic triumph.
But perhaps most important, Ricky Gervais gives a tour-de-force dramatic performance and serves notice that he has the ability to go beyond comedic genius (of which he surely has buckets) and into the realm of convincing character actor, not unlike Bill Murray, Robin Williams and Jim Carrey.
The "Extras" series finale is painfully hilarious, and Gervais gets ample opportunity to take his Andy Millman character to sadly funny depths. When he needs a truly searing comedic moment, Gervais takes it - and nails it - but it's what he accomplishes in the difficult dramatic moments that is most impressive. Beyond the level of superb television it achieves, the "Extras" finale is a coming-out party for Gervais, as he confidently steps into a broader acting world.
|
Well said, Tim. Well said.
Ricky & Stephen are planning another series sometime in the future that will be set in the 1970's, and won't have Gervais as the lead. I can't wait to see it.
Best Episodes from 2007:
1. the Extras Extra Special Series Finale
2. Daniel Radcliffe
3. David Bowie
03.The Office
Channel: NBC
Funny how this is back-to-back with Gervais/Merchant.
2007 is the year when the world finally caught on to The Office. It won the 2006 comedy Emmy, and was gaining new fans everyday. It was very well deserved. However with 30 Rock on at the same time, The Office was getting overshadowed. Did the show decline in quality? that's the weird question, cause I really don't know.
On the plus side, the addition of Ed Helms as Andy Bernard to the cast was ****ing brilliant. As my hero in life Judd Apatow said about Ed Helms, "He's a National Treasure, but the nation does not know it yet". Also another plus for The Office was giving Craig Robinson who plays Darryl more to do. Every scene Darryl is in he completely owns it. Likewise with giving Creed more lines who always brings the funny.
I would of course be remiss to not mention Steve Carell and Rainn Wilson at all who have been constantly bringing it since Diversity Day. The fact that either don't have an Emmy yet is insanity (especially Carell).
the negative? uhhhhhh. I guess the only complaint I would have is that the Hourlongs at the beginning of Season 4 (besides Money) were not cohesive at all. They had a great 30 minutes but then had a sharp downward turn when they ran out of things to do. It's not that the Office doesn't work in the hourlong format. Quite the contrary. One of my all-time favorite episodes of The Office is Season 3's A Benihana Christmas directed by Harold Ramis. It not only works as a perfect episode of The Office, but I think it also works as something that should be played every year at Christmas for years to come. Also my favorite Office episode of 2007 is the Producer's cut of Traveling Salesman and The Return. The episodes kinda work on their own, but edited together and it turns into an amazing story with fantastic humor and great dramatic scenes. One of The Office's very best episodes imo.
With all that negative stuff said, The Office in it's final episodes of this season (before the Writer's Strike cutoff) was starting to get back into what made the show so great in the first place. Also I heard the final supposed episode of 2007 had the best table-read of the entire series with the episode plotline being Jim and Pam going to Michael's house. When the strike does end, I really can't wait to see it.
Best Episodes from 2007:
1.Traveling Salesman/The Return (Producer's Cut)
2. Business School
3. Safety Training
04.Flight Of The Conchords
Channel: HBO
The surprise TV show of the year for me. I had heard of the Musical comedy group of Flight Of The Conchords before their show was out, but I didn't really pay attention. Ever since episode 1 of the series, i've been completely hooked.
The humor is so very dry. Bret and Jermaine of the New Zealand group are really so funny in it. As great as they are, the star of the show is Rhys Darby who plays the band's manager Murray. Everything that comes out of his mouth makes you laugh so hard, and he utters probably the funniest two words on television this year: Band Meeting. You would get it if you watched it.
The show is very subtle, and I love everything about it. From the great musical numbers to the subtle humor, it never leaves you bored. You are always left with a big smile on your face.
If you don't get HBO, you need to either rent the series on DVD or download the episodes. It will be worth it for you all to check it out.
Best Episodes:
1. What Goes On Tour
2. Mugged
3. Bowie
05.My Name Is Earl
Channel: NBC
This show has always been one of my favorites since it premiered. Some people don't like it, but I think they are crazy. Earl tried a lot of new things this year, and they mainly all worked out. They moved away from the List format, and did episodes like Our Cops Is On where the whole episode is an episode of COPS with the My Name Is Earl cast. it was really funny.
The show also has some of the best callbacks on TV today, and they really offer tons of goodies in the episodes for the fans to figure out. In season 3 of the show Earl Hickey was in jail and offered up a whole new dynamic to the show.
I think it's great that Greg Garcia and the writing staff are constantly trying new things out with the show to keep it fresh. I think they really know what they are doing, and know what to do to satisfy their fans. I hope it's on the air for years to come.
Best Episodes from 2007:
1. The Trial
2. Our "Cops" Is On
3. Kept a Guy Locked in a Truck
Honorable Mentions:
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (FX)
How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
Californication (Showtime)
Weeds (Showtime)
#5 up either later tonight (30% chance) or tomorrow (80% chance)
thanks for the comments!