Watching Sitcoms

Here’s an interesting article from the LA Times about Aliens In America and the state of the sitcom today.

It does sound as though they expect this show to do well, but I’m still not convinced. I really think that we’re not quite ready for this kind of humor. Don’t get me wrong, I think the humor in the average sitcom is in totally bad taste already, but this just seems to take it to a new level.

American television is certainly tamer than Canadian or British tv in some respects. Generally we have less nudity and foul language, something they seem to take for granted in a way we don’t. Clearly, some cable shows are atrocious in that respect, and in a way, I think when we get a chance to use foul language or be crude, we take it to a whole new level. Like little kids let loose to do whatever they want. Maybe that’s the difference. British or Canadian tv will show something off-color (or colour, for the Brits), but it’s just a normal thing, not something they feel they have to hit you over the head with. But here, we want to make sure you know we’ve gotten away with something.

Of course, the humor in Aliens in America seems to be about bigotry and terrorism. Not something that I find particularly funny.

What do you think?

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.

Here is a roundup of Fox sitcom news for the fall:

The sitcom “The War At Home” (which, in my opinion, should have never made it to air. THIS they keep and “Arrested Development” they cancel?) will be moving back to Sundays, but at a new time of 7:30. The show premieres in it’s new slot on March 4th.

New sitcom “The Winner” (with Rob Corddry from The Daily Show) from Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane premieres Sunday, March 4 with 2 episodes at 8:30 & 9:30 and it will air for 3 consecutive Sundays at 8:30 and 9:30 finishing it’s 6 episode order in just 3 weeks.

“King Of The Hill” will return to 8:30 on March 25 after 3 weeks off as well as “American Dad” at 9:30 PM.

On Fox’s midseason docket but still looking for a timeslot is the offkilter “The Loop“.

The CW has announced that it will end the long (ish) running sitcom “Reba” with a two part finale. The final date has not yet been set but I am sure they will announce that shortly.

The show started on the WB to smallish ratings but gathered a fairly devoted group of viewers. When UPN and the WB merged to create the CW, the new network decided to renew the show. I had not seen the show for quite awhile but managed to catch a few episodes and I have to say that Reba McEntire plays a pretty funny straightman (or, woman, as the case may be). Catch a few episodes before the show disappears. Quite a few laughs are packed in there.

Jenna Elfman, 35, best known as Dharma Finkelstein Montgomery on the hit show “Dharma and Greg” is expecting her first child with husband of 16 years, Bodhi Elfman and are both “elated about the impending birth,” her publicist, Jenni Weinman, said in a statement Friday.

“Jenna looks and feels amazing. She is certain to be one hot mama!” Weinman said.

Indeed! Congrats to Bodhi and Jenna!

From The TCA Winter Tour:

CBS is retooling “The Class” to focus more on the 3 couples and it is unclear if the show will return next season. The show will end it’s first season in March.

From the “Duh” Tour:

The Class is a great idea on paper, however, fitting all those characters into a 30 minute show was not good in reality. I am not taking anything away from the actors, as they are all pretty funny (I could watch Lucy Punch as Holly Ellenbogen get hit in the head with a stop sign every day, that was some funny stuff), but come on now. A good way to fix “The Class” is to have these extra characters be players in their universe, like, supporting characters that pop up now and again in regards to moving the plot forward. I think creator David Crane thought they could pull it off after all the success with “Friends”, but it is hard to have lightening strike twice. The only thing working for “The Class” is that they just did win a People’s Choice award for best new sitcom. Will they get any nominations for the Emmy’s? The nomination committee is known for it’s extensive crack smoking (the list of shows shut out is ridiculous), so who knows. It’s not a bad show, just a show that needs reworking. It’s all up in the air what will happen in the end.

When Chris Rock announced he was going to create a sitrcom based on his life growing up in the 80’s, people either thought it would be hilarious or thought it would be a flop. When it was announced that it would air on the “now merged with the old WB” UPN, people shook thier heads. These days, “Everybody Hates Chris” does great in the ratings and the young Chris, Tyler James Williams, is getting great reviews! In fact, he just made his big screen debut in the kid’s Christmas movie “Unaccompanied Minors”.

As the show is in the middle of it’s sophomore season on the new CW network, it is one of the most buzzworthy shows this year. Friday it will be the first official fall pickup for the CW, to be announced at the CW’s portion of the Television Critics Assn. winter press tour in Pasadena.

Congratulations to Tyler, Chris Rock and the whole cast & crew! It really is the little show that could! Look for next season to be the breakout season for Chris and the whole gang!

The Super Bowl might air on Sunday, Feb 4 on CBS, but the network has taken on Monday as well with the cleverly titled “Super Bowl Monday” where NFL players invade How I Met Your Mother and The Class.

On “How I Met Your Mother“, Emmitt Smith (boooo) plays himself as Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) recognizes him on the street and is instantly starstuck. Why they picked a washed up Dallas Cowboy is beyond me. Anyway. On “The Class“, Duncan (Jon Bernthal) is awestruck when he comes to work at Yonk’s (David Keith) house and find’s him and Jerry Rice working on a charity event together. Jerry Rice works better then Emmitt. Ugh.

I HATE blatant stunt casting (Hello last few seasons of Will and Grace?), so I hope the writers can work well with the network’s demands.

Thanks to SitcomsOnline.com:

Nick@Nite has announced it will NOT be premiering Growing Pains this coming Sunday. Instead, it will launch Monday, Feb. 12th instead. Next week will be a Roseanne week instead, all week, nothing but Roseanne.

So, those of you who are still infatuated with Kirk Cameron should mark your calendars!

From NBC:

NBC has ordered six one-hour episodes of “Thank God You’re Here,” a new improvisational comedy series from FremantleMedia North America, producers of “American Idol.”

Hosted by David Alan Grier (”In Living Color”), and presided over by judge Dave Foley (”News Radio”), each episode of “Thank God You’re Here” showcases the improvisational skills of a group of fearless celebrities as they compete in a battle of wits and laughter to outdo each other’s performance in various unexpected situations. The announcement was made today by Kevin Reilly, President, NBC Entertainment.

“This series is basically every adventurous performer’s dream and we think the viewers can vicariously enjoy how they respond to their unforeseen predicaments,” said Craig Plestis, Senior Vice President, Alternative Programming, Development and Specials, NBC Entertainment. “It has a daring, seat-of-your pants feel that’s proven to be a big hit in its original Australian version.”

Launched at MIP-TV in 2006, “Thank God You’re Here” has swiftly become the most popular comedy entertainment format in less than a year. FremantleMedia currently produces versions of the hit series in 10 territories, including The Netherlands, Germany, Russia, Sweden, The UK, Portugal, Belgium, Norway, Israel, Denmark and Australia.

“This format has proven a comedic phenomenon in many countries both on-air and online, where clips from the show are frequent popular downloads,” says Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of Fremantle North America. “We’re very excited to be working with NBC, David Alan Grier and Dave Foley in bringing this highly-successful, irreverent comedy format to American audiences.”

Originated in Australia by Working Dog Productions, where the show earned blockbuster ratings and is now in its third season, “Thank God You’re Here” is based on a simple premise: challenge celebrity guests to enter a door into their own comedy sketch they know nothing about. Whether it’s an operating room, an Egyptian tomb, an executive boardroom, a far-flung starship or any other scenario, the only thing each celebrity can count on is their quick wit and a desperate greeting upon their arrival, “Thank God you’re here!”

At that point, each celebrity must individually improvise their way through a comedy scene along with a talented ensemble cast in front of judge Dave Foley and a ‘live’ studio audience. Jennifer Coolidge (”American Pie”), Bryan Cranston (”Malcolm in the Middle”), Joel McHale (”The Soup”) and Wayne Knight (”Seinfeld”) star in the pilot episode. Production on the remaining episodes is expected to resume in February.

This show sounds a bit like a game in “Who’s Line Is It Anyway”, but as that show is a riot, it could be a fun addition to the NBC Lineup. Plus, Dave Foley is a comic genius, so anything he is involved in has GOT to be good (don’t believe me? Watch Newsradio.).

Let’s face it, everyone who watches TV watches some sort of syndicated TV shows at some point in thier week. Usually it is during the 5 PM to 8 PM coming home from work/dinner time. I used to watch lots of shows in syndication as a kid. Those usually included shows like “What’s Happenin‘”, “That’s My Mama“, Welcome Back, Kotter”, “Laverne and Shirley” (which, for awhile was still on while it was in reruns), “Happy Days“(again, on while in reruns), “Three’s Company“, and all sorts of old shows like that.

These days, shows are sold into syndication as soon as they hit the 100 episode mark, if not sooner (usually reserved for hit shows). Every year at NAPTE (The National Association of Television Program Executives) has a convention in Vegas where all sorts of shows are sold into syndication by thier distributors and bought by various stations around the country. There are dramas, game shows, judge shows and of course, sitcoms!

For 2007, here are the shows that will be popping up in your neck of the woods:

Since I have only recently started watching Two and A Half Men, I am looking forward to that one in reruns, mostly because how much Malcolm In The MIddle can you watch? I am a little bit surprised TBS hasn’t picked it up to add to thier comedy block. However who knows what will happen come spring time when stations change thier lineups. Family Guy is great, but I have seen all of them between TBS, Fox & Adult Swim. I am not too familiar with the rest of them. I guess that is the nice thing about syndications, it allows you to discover a new show like it’s brand new!

In the 1970’s, Norman Lear ruled television. He created “All In The Family“, “The Jeffersons“, “Maude“, “Good Times“, “Sanford and Son” & “One Day At A Time“. Not a bad listing of shows. He had an iron grip on the Neilsen ratings and was CBS’s golden child.

In the mid 70’s, Lear had an idea for a spoof on soap operas. They called it “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” and hired Louise Lasser to play the title role. The show’s title is repeated because the writers believed that everything on a soap is spoken twice. The show, like all of Lear’s shows, talked about many taboo topics such as sexual perversion, serial killers, and a lot of other topics that were way out there to be on tv in the 70’s (even on a Norman Lear show). When no major network would pick it up, it was sold into syndication and aired 5 nites a week. Most stations aired it way after the 11 PM news, but it turned into a ratings and critical hit (even earning Lasser an Emmy nomination!)

The show was part soap opera and part spoof. Let’s put it this way, to sum it up: she was the the pigtailed, gingham-frocked Ohio housewife who lived in a world where television commercials were as meaningful as personal experiences, and who tried to remain calm while her daughter was held hostage by a mass murderer, her husband was impotent, her father disappeared, and her best friend was paralyzed. Unlike “Soap”, that played itself more like a sitcom, MHMH did not have a studio audience and had a lot of those dramatic soap opera closeups that were so very popular on soaps in the 70’s.

After 325 episodes, and her character having a nervous breakdown on a television talk show, Louise Lasser decided to leave the show. She has been reported as saying that people were only recognizing her as the title character and not as an actress. I suppose she did not want to be typecast. She went on to do a ton of guest roles and currently teaches acting at NYU.

MHMH also spun off 3 shows: “Fernwood 2Nite” (a less then serious talk show spoof that stars Fred Willard and Martin Mull), “Forever Fernwood” (which was MHMH after Louise left and it also ran about a year) and “America 2Nite”. Occasionally these shows pop up on TVLand.

As for MHMH, there was a videocassette release years ago, but besides that, there has not been any real home releases of the show. UNTIL NOW. Sony has announced that on March 27 they will be releasing Volume One of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman!

Congrats to Alec Baldwin for his Golden Globe win in the category of “Best Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy”.

For tose of you who do not watch “30 Rock”, the how stars Alec, Tina Fey & Tracey Morgan and is a peek at the backstage goings on at a sketch comedy show. Alec’s character is hilarious as the deadpan Jack Donaghey, the head of the network, who takes a weird liking to the show and is always getting involved where, well, he shouldn’t. The man OWNS the deadpan delivery.

There are a large number of people who seem to think that Steve Carrell should have won for his character Michael Scott from “The Office”. While I agree, Steve is hilarious, the fact is that Alec, in my opinion, plays crazy better in this role. With Jack, you never know which direction he is coming from, and it is always funny. With Michael, it’s not always funny, sometimes they have him say things that are just uncomfortable. I like to laugh, not squirm for 30 minutes. Maybe that is just me. I don’t know.

Two of HBO’s best shows are finally letting us in on their premiere dates!

The Sopranos, coming back for the second part of their sixth and final season with 9 episodes, is coming back Sunday, April 8 @ 9 PM. Following that at 10 PM is the second, 8 episode season of Entourage.

The Sopranos recently received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama (Edie Falco). Entourage recently received two Golden Globe nominations, for Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical and Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Jeremy Piven).

Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence has said that “Scrubs will be back for a seventh season either on NBC or ABC.”.

You see, Scrubs airs on NBC but is owned by Touchstone, which is a subsidiary of ABC/Disney. So, While NBC makes some money, ABC/Disney makes a lot of money (think of the syndication sales). However, apparently NBC is really happy with thier numbers (I am sure the syndicated reruns are helping the show pull in new viewers), and wants them to keep on keeping on.

While I think this season of Scrubs isn’t quite as strong as the previous years, it is still head and shoulders above the rest of the wasteland of shows out there. Plus, the lineup of thursday nite shows puts forth the idea that quirky, well written shows have a place in the world! Too bad it is too late for Arrested Development.
Sigh.