Stiffy's Guide to Summer '09 TV
Summer is almost here. And there's nothing better to do after a long hot day in the sun than sit on your butt and watch the tube. So what should you be watching?
Generally speaking, there ain't much on the networks. Most of the innovative/shocking/interesting stuff is on cable. First and foremost we have Rescue Me, which airs every Tuesday night on the FX channel. Here we have a top quality drama-comedy about a bunch of dysfunctional NYC firefighters and their screwed up lives. This product of Dennis Leary is just about the best drama on TV. It's gritty, honest, and very funny. Plus it's loaded with the appropriate amount of foul language and realistic not-so-pc talk you'd expect from bunch of guys in a frat house environment. There's also plenty of R rated sexual content that we all really prefer to watch, especially after the kids are asleep.
The actors portray the characters like real people, which is why the show is so good. I'm glad I'm not related to any of them mind you, but it makes for a good show. Did I mention it's also just about the funniest show on TV? You will laugh your butt right off the couch several times an episode. Dennis Leary is a genius.
Another favorite show is Operation Repo which airs on Mondays and a few other times during the week on Trutv.com. Supposedly the show is a reenactment of actual repossessions, but you'd be hard pressed to convince me it isn't actual repo footage. It's a show based on a family run repo business, and follows their misadventures throughout the LA area, taking back cars and trucks from deadbeats behind on their payments. Each encounter with the debtors follows the same script, but each has it's own hysterical twist. First the repo team finds the vehicle and starts hooking it up to the tow truck. Next, the confused and very pissed off owners demand to know what's going on. Then there's a few minutes of screaming and pushing and shoving (and sometimes wrestling, fighting or macing), followed by the car being towed away with the distraught owners chasing the truck and cursing and screaming some more. It is very funny. You have to see the episode where they repossessed a hearse...
TLC has a great line up of shows some of which we are all familiar with. Personally, I like to watch a bit of Say Yes To The Dress, if only to appease my lovely wife, who can't bear to watch another show about aircraft carriers on the military channel. It's all about the drama at a large bridal gown shop somewhere in the city. During a typical episode, several brides-to-be try on a number of gowns in hopes of finding the dream dress. As guys you might naively think it's an easy process, but I assure you it isn't. It's very entertaining to watch the women try on dozens of dresses, all the while being bombarded with opinions from friends, families, fiances and aggressive sales people, and after finding the perfect dress, find out it's 25 thousand dollars. Time to elope!
Finally, classic episodes of Spongebob Squarepants are perfect for when the kids are staying up late on the weekends. Actually, you can catch Spongebob at almost any hour of the day, as it has become so popular with grown ups. I emphasize classic episodes, because as anyone who has watched the show for the last several years knows, the new episodes from roughly 2006 to now are absolutely horrible.
The original show was edgy and hip, with a level of humor that appealed to adults. There were lots of subtle pop culture references no kid under the age of 20 would get, and the scripts were funny and somewhat subversive. The show was never only intended for kids, just like the Simpsons are and the Flintstones were back in the day.
Right after the movie came out, things went downhill in a hurry. The sharp witted scripts and edgy dialogue has been dumbed down or removed all together. The original writers and directors left, taking the heart and soul of the show with them. Worst of all, the voice of Spongebob, done by Tom Kinney, has changed from a rather raspy mid octave male voice to a high, tinny and altogether unbearably annoying to listen to whine. Tom, whatever you've done to change your voice, please change it back.
I can watch any number of the original episodes and laugh at them over and over again. Even my kids aged 9 and 6 get how lousy the new ones are. The show has become a very bad imitation of the original version. It's time to end it before any more damage is done to the franchise.
Generally speaking, there ain't much on the networks. Most of the innovative/shocking/interesting stuff is on cable. First and foremost we have Rescue Me, which airs every Tuesday night on the FX channel. Here we have a top quality drama-comedy about a bunch of dysfunctional NYC firefighters and their screwed up lives. This product of Dennis Leary is just about the best drama on TV. It's gritty, honest, and very funny. Plus it's loaded with the appropriate amount of foul language and realistic not-so-pc talk you'd expect from bunch of guys in a frat house environment. There's also plenty of R rated sexual content that we all really prefer to watch, especially after the kids are asleep.
The actors portray the characters like real people, which is why the show is so good. I'm glad I'm not related to any of them mind you, but it makes for a good show. Did I mention it's also just about the funniest show on TV? You will laugh your butt right off the couch several times an episode. Dennis Leary is a genius.
Another favorite show is Operation Repo which airs on Mondays and a few other times during the week on Trutv.com. Supposedly the show is a reenactment of actual repossessions, but you'd be hard pressed to convince me it isn't actual repo footage. It's a show based on a family run repo business, and follows their misadventures throughout the LA area, taking back cars and trucks from deadbeats behind on their payments. Each encounter with the debtors follows the same script, but each has it's own hysterical twist. First the repo team finds the vehicle and starts hooking it up to the tow truck. Next, the confused and very pissed off owners demand to know what's going on. Then there's a few minutes of screaming and pushing and shoving (and sometimes wrestling, fighting or macing), followed by the car being towed away with the distraught owners chasing the truck and cursing and screaming some more. It is very funny. You have to see the episode where they repossessed a hearse...
TLC has a great line up of shows some of which we are all familiar with. Personally, I like to watch a bit of Say Yes To The Dress, if only to appease my lovely wife, who can't bear to watch another show about aircraft carriers on the military channel. It's all about the drama at a large bridal gown shop somewhere in the city. During a typical episode, several brides-to-be try on a number of gowns in hopes of finding the dream dress. As guys you might naively think it's an easy process, but I assure you it isn't. It's very entertaining to watch the women try on dozens of dresses, all the while being bombarded with opinions from friends, families, fiances and aggressive sales people, and after finding the perfect dress, find out it's 25 thousand dollars. Time to elope!
Finally, classic episodes of Spongebob Squarepants are perfect for when the kids are staying up late on the weekends. Actually, you can catch Spongebob at almost any hour of the day, as it has become so popular with grown ups. I emphasize classic episodes, because as anyone who has watched the show for the last several years knows, the new episodes from roughly 2006 to now are absolutely horrible.
The original show was edgy and hip, with a level of humor that appealed to adults. There were lots of subtle pop culture references no kid under the age of 20 would get, and the scripts were funny and somewhat subversive. The show was never only intended for kids, just like the Simpsons are and the Flintstones were back in the day.
Right after the movie came out, things went downhill in a hurry. The sharp witted scripts and edgy dialogue has been dumbed down or removed all together. The original writers and directors left, taking the heart and soul of the show with them. Worst of all, the voice of Spongebob, done by Tom Kinney, has changed from a rather raspy mid octave male voice to a high, tinny and altogether unbearably annoying to listen to whine. Tom, whatever you've done to change your voice, please change it back.
I can watch any number of the original episodes and laugh at them over and over again. Even my kids aged 9 and 6 get how lousy the new ones are. The show has become a very bad imitation of the original version. It's time to end it before any more damage is done to the franchise.
posted 6/09/2009 01:18:00 PM
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