Watching Sitcoms

Back To You was pretty funny last night. I actually yelped out loud when the last couple of fish bought it. Even though it was to be expected, it still caught me a little off guard. Which is good. The funniest part to me, two weeks in a row now, is the character of Gary Crezyzewski, played aptly by Ty Burrell. He’s just so hilarious. I thought the whole taser thing was so perfect, too, since they are a news team, and what with all the hubub about tasering (is that a word?) right now (”Don’t tase me, bro“). But getting back to Gary Crezyzewski, we have the same guy in our nightly news, you know what I mean? I’m guessing everyone has someone like him. An anchor with a name no one can spell or pronounce properly, and who always gets the weird assignments, like standing out in the rain at night in front of the empty courthouse type of thing.

At first, as I was watching last night, I wasn’t sure. Some of the jokes just seemed too low comedy for me. But suddenly it seemed to get funnier. I don’t know, maybe I was just getting tired.

Another thing I also really like is how tightly the cast works together. It’s like they’ve been working on this show for a lot longer than two episodes. There was quite a bit of what I consider slapstick, very physical humor, and it was all very precise, seamless and flawlessly done. While it’s not necessarily my favorite form of humor, I can appreciate it if it’s done properly.

The show is definitely worth watching. I think it will only get better. And I hope Ty Burrell gets even more air time.

Back To You, Kelsey Grammer, Patricia Heaton, Ty Burrell, taser, slapstick

Here’s a really great article from Relish Now! (it appears to be some sort of Entertainment mag from North Carolina), that outlines every new show on the air this season. Since most of them are starting next week, you’ll want to get the run down on what to watch.

After reading the article, it’s made me rethink a couple of shows, like I think I will check out Reaper. I’ve always liked Ray Wise. Especially since his Leland Palmer sang Mairzy Doats on Twin Peaks. Am I the only one who remembers that? It was great.

What I don’t get is why everyone is praising Back To You and dumping on poor Cavemen. Well, no, I do get that last part, but still won’t it be funny if Cavemen turns out to be a hit and Back To You doesn’t? I mean, really?

Just some reminders about what shows are starting soon. At least the ones I’m interested in seeing.

Tomorrow night (Wed 9/18) we have Back To You on Fox at 8 pm. That’s really the only show I’m even remotely interested in that’s starting this week. Well, that’s cause I’m not counting America’s Next Top Model, which is also starting at 8 pm on Wed 8/19 on the CW, cause I won’t ever admit to watching it.

Next week is better. On Monday 9/24 at 8:30 pm on CBS we have The Big Bang Theory. On Tuesday 9/25 on Fox there’s Bones at 8 pm and House at 9 pm. Then at 10 pm on NBC, Law and Order, Special Victims Unit. I have some small interest in Reaper, on the CW at 9 pm, but I’ll have to tape it and watch it later.

I may deign to watch Moonlight, which airs on CBS on Friday 9/28 at 9 pm. Or I may not. I’m a Joss Whedon snob and I’m not sure if I’m ready for another vampire-detective yet. We’ll see.

So, what will you be watching?

I just saw that some of the DVD’s I want are on sale at Amazon. You should hurry over there and look.

Here are some examples:
Moonlighting, Season 3 is $18.49 (down another dollar from just the other day).

Barney Miller, Season 1 is only $13.49

Remington Steele,Season 1 is $19.49

What’s Happening, Season 1 is $14.99

I know I’ll be buying stuff this weekend. Plus, I’ll have them for those long cold, winter weekends when I just wanna roll up in a blanket on the couch and watch TV.

I’m excited.

Here’s a little sitcom fun for those of you, like me, who miss the good old days. Jason Alexander, George from Seinfeld, will be starring in an episode of The New Adventures of Old Christine with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Seinfeld’s Elaine.

They will actually play a dating couple, which is even more fun, as they never really had that kind of interaction on Seinfeld.

Christine won’t air until mid-season, but so far, it’s the only post-Seinfeld sitcom to last past one season for any Seinfeld alum.

We interrupt this blog to bring you the following: Happy Maroulis day!! Constantine Maroulis, who finished in sixth place on American Idol’s fourth season, dropped his CD today. I ran to Wal-Mart and bought it at lunch and it’s been playing non-stop ever since.

Even my husband, who was not a big Constantine fan, says it’s really good. And unlike the albums of some other AI finalists who will remain unnamed, the songs don’t all sound the same. So you should run out and get it. Right now. The blog will still be here when you get back, I promise.

Now back to our regularly scheduled blog . . . CBS is offering us just one new sitcom, The Big Bang Theory, airing Monday, September 24 at 8:30 pm, between How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men.

This is their blurb:

Meet two brainiacs with a lot to learn. Leonard and Sheldon can tell their quarks from their quantum physics, but have no clue how women add up. Leave it to their pretty new neighbor, just off a messy breakup, to teach them a thing or two in THE BIG BANG THEORY.

I watched the clip and it was almost funny. The laugh track was annoyingly loud, anyway.

The chatter I’ve seen online seems generally positive, although I did see where some questioned whether or not the actual scientific issues they discuss will have any basis in fact or just be gibberish. I wouldn’t know the difference, but I can see how it might bother people who do know. I can say that I get a little perturbed when writers bend time or storylines to fit their purposes without taking the show’s history into consideration. Like years ago, there was this British show I watched, Robin Hood. At one point, they wanted to make Sir Guy be Robin’s long lost brother, but there was no way to make that work, based on their ages and the year it was supposed to be. Disregarding all that, they just backtracked the years and pretended it added up. OK, that’s a little hard to explain, but the bottom line is, I lost all respect for them.

Clearly that isn’t the same thing here, especially since most of us wouldn’t know one scientific equation or principal from another, but still there are smart people out there watching sitcoms, right . . . right??

My major issue? The guys are just not cute. Sorry, I’m shallow and I need cute guys. Well, OK, Johnny Galecki (from “Roseanne”) is kinda cute, but he’s so geeky looking in this, it’s hard to tell. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Plus, don’t we already have a show called Beauty and the Geek? How much more of that do we need?

I realize that so far I’ve been pretty hard on these shows, so I guess I’ll give this one a try and hope for the best.

The 34th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be on tonight! Friday night, June 15th, at 9pm/8c on CBS

Nominees include: Rachel Ray, Ellen Degeneres, The View, and Oprah, just to name a few. For a complete list, Please Click here

Personally, I want Ellen to win every award in every category she has been nominated for. But, if someone else has to win another award, I am routing for Rachel Ray.

Congratulations to all the nominees, you are all winners (except that you’re not).

Tina Fey, my all time comedy writing hero, was recognized by New York City’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg, this past Monday with a Made In New York Award.

Congratulations! Tina!

Click here for the full TV Guide article and the Interview with Tina!

Tina Fey is well known for her work on SNL, movies like Mean Girls, and the sitcom (featuring my imaginary husband Alec Baldwin) 30 Rock. It is so nice to see her receive such a well deserved award.

Summer Fun On NBC Hmm… maybe? Let’s just see about that, heh!

America’s Got Talent Two Hour Season premiere, Tuesday June 5th 9/8c

The second season premiers with a new host, Jerry Springer, joining the judges Piers Morgan, David Hasselhoff and another new addition Sharon Osbourne, for an exciting season where you help decide the winner! Who is the next talented American?

Okay wait, David Hasselhoff… Why? And Jerry Springer…. No way. I do not have a good feeling about this. Not. Even. A. Little. At least there is one non-objectionable judge on the panel, and that is Sharon Osbourne. Oh my g-d! Yes! I like her.

But, I can’t even begin to imagine what will happen when the American public who manages to land on this show, doesn’t have any …um, er… how you say….talent. (Because c’mon, let’s face it, most of us don’t.)

With Springer at the helm…I wonder, will the live audience members be given metal folding chairs to hurl at the failing contestants? Or, will Hasselhoff decide to go off the booze free wagon on raw footage again? Maybe, Ozzy Osbourne will be making guest appearances? Wow. I hope Ozzy decides to follow any voted, or kicked off, contestant to their homes, only to taunt them and throw hams in their pools.

Because then, we’d have a show. Seriously, I would rather watch a show called, “Just Sharon Osborne�?. Mkay….

Sorry NBC, you know I love you, but you sadly, missed the mark on this one.

Everyone loves Raymond, but I love the Emmy Nominated actress Jamie Pressly. No one in the history of television has played a white trash talking, trailer park living, ass kicking, scam artist, better than she. I hadn’t heard much about her before the glorious sitcom My Name Is Earl hit the TV hard and has been running strong ever since September 20th 2005. (more on that sitcom another day)

With the success of the show, the launch of her clothing line, and now featured in this month’s issue of Redbook Magazine I have no idea how she manages to stay looking so spectacular. I can’t even manage my own hair.

I am happy to announce the birth of her first baby Desi James who came into this world Friday May 11th at 7:31am.

Congratulation! And wow….what a Happy Mothers Day to you!

Hello Everyone!

My name is Nicole and I will be your guide thru this vast land known as Watching Sitcoms.

Who am I?
Well.

I was born watching tv. I smacked the doctor who delivered me because he wouldn’t hand over the remote. Well, that’s a lie, as there were
no remotes when I was born. You had to drag your fat behind over to the dial and flip around. But still….you get my metaphor.

I have a soft spot in my heart for sitcoms (a medical condition thats treatable…). I love anything that can make me laugh whether intentional or not. What makes me mad is a show that doesn’t even try, that sleepwalks thru it’s seasons for one reason or another (network interference, bad writers, conflicts, whatever).

I stand for:
Shows out there that never got the attention they deserved and shows out there that got attention that they didn’t deserve.
Box sets of new shows. News that needs to be out there.
Actors that need a spotlight (and ones that should be drug out of it).
Behind the scenes people who you see the names of but never really get to know that are the lynch pins of the series, and much more.

I hope all of you out there will join me in laughing and….maybe a little learning.
Because learning…is half the battle.
(Go Joe.)

PS,
Please feel free to go to town in the comments sections!
If I am right, let me know, if not, let me know that too!
If you remember a show you want info on, or whatever, let me know!
Mostly because, well, my tinfoil hat is in the shop.