In continuing with yesterday's trend . . . in no particular order:
30 Rock (NBC). Trying to describe this show to someone who hasn't seen it is like trying to describe the beauty of some one's face using only their hand for reference. Alec Baldwin has finally embraced his comedic talents that he used to flaunt so wonderfully on Saturday Night Live; it also helps that he's now kinda fat and old, so no more action movies with ex-wife Kim Bassinger. Tina Fey makes me fall in love with poor Liz Lemon every episode, mainly for her archaic 1980s pop culture references. And unlike other shows (both animated and live-action) that use cut-away gags for laughs, 30 Rock uses them correctly, that is to say briefly. Their cut-aways last no more than twenty or so seconds, and when your show is only twenty-two minutes long, seconds count. But the show's greatest achievement was this past season's live episode.
Community (NBC). When I first heard about this show, I had two thoughts. I figured it was going to be either the worst thing on television, or the funniest thing I'd ever seen. Luckily for me, and every one else, it was the latter. I really gave this show a chance because of my devotion to Joel McHale on The Soup (E!), but I am now grateful for the chance to have been introduced to Donald Glover, who plays Troy. Apparently the guy is a comic busy-bee, doing everything from stand-up, to hilarious raps, and even putting on a campaign to play Peter Parker in the new Spider-Man movie that will be out next year (he did not get the part). But like so many other shows on my list, it is the ensemble cast that makes this show work. Without all of them sitting around the study table in the library, the balance would be tilted and dull. It's also good to see Chevy Chase back in comedy where he's actually funny. Another highlight is the girls, for those of you into that sort of thing. First there's Gillian Jacobs who plays Britta, cast as the hot one, but isn't. And there's Alison Brie, the hot one cast as the one who isn't. To see what I mean, check this out.
Parks & Rec. (NBC). The third of the NBC Thursday night lineup to make this list. When I first hear they were doing a spin-off of The Office, I cringed. Then I saw Parks & Rec. and I laughed until I cried. Amy Poehler is at her comedic best, even if they spent most of last season trying to hide her pregnancy, as Leslie Knope, the well-intentioned, hard-working second-in-command (but really the head) of the Parks Department for the fictional Pawnee, Indiana. Again, it is the supporting cast of soon-to-be-superstar Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Chris Pratt, and Aubrey Plaza that ease this show along. Another thing that makes this show watchable is how quotable it is. There is at least one line per episode that should be used as a Facebook status update.
Psych (USA). A fake psychic and his best friend hang out in Santa Barbra, CA and solve murders. This is another one of those rare shows where the humor and drama balance out nicely. The truly great part of this show is that James Roday and Dule Hill make you want to hang out with their characters Shawn and Gus. They'd be awesome to go to the taco stand with, as long as you're buying, because on the way you'll probably get sucked into some horrible crime where you life will probably be on the line. This was another one of those shows that I had to be talked into watching, and now I'm glad I listened. It's far from perfect, but it has all the 80s and 90s references you could want, and some great one-liners.
Rake (Audience). I'm guessing that most of you don't know anything about this show because it airs on a Direct TV-only station--and because it's Australian. Here's the gist: it's about a hard-living lawyer in New South Wales, Australia. He does drugs, drinks gallons, and sleeps with just about every broad he can come across, all while defending the most detestable lot of clients he can come across. It's vulgar and coarse and I love it. Just as a taste, the first episode featured Hugo Weaving (The Matrix, Lord of the Rings Trilogy) as a cannibalistic economics professor. And yes, it was awesome.
Being Human (BBC America). A vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost . . . stop me if you've heard this one . . . This is seriously one of the best TV concepts that's come around in the last decade or so. Here's this trio of supernatural beings trying to live a normal, human life. Like that's ever going to work. The first season was light-hearted with some darker spots, as we learned a little more about the characters and how they interacted with one another. The second season went darker, but retained some of that humor that made them "human." And the third season went balls-to-the-wall dark, but not in the horror kind of way, more in the Seven kind of way. There's George, the squeaky-voiced, child-like werewolf who is quickly growing up; Mitchell, the sociopath vampire who's just trying to survive; and Annie, the ghost who loves everybody. I don't think this show would work if you removed any of the elements, because it is about people who have no family trying to live like one and the hardships they deal with. Oh, and you can see an American version on SyFy network, but it isn't as good and seems to be vampire-focused--imagine that.
Dr. Who (BBC America). The longest running sci-fi show on television (though there have been large gaps at times) has been on since the 1950s. I'm not going to spend hours relating all the information about this show, you can check wikipedia for that information. The truth is that this show didn't really pick up a ton of steam until 2005, when Stephen Moffat redesigned it for the new millennium and it was rebroadcast in the U.S. on the Sci-Fi network on Friday nights. After the departure of David Tennant as the title character, Matt Smith took over. Personally, I like Matt as the Doctor. The newer season (in which I actually cried during the season finale), was powerful and well-done. The Smith episodes continue with the darker themes presented in the final Tennant shows where the Doctor was alone and a little depressed. But then the next Doctor picked up Amy Pond, played by the too-damn-cute Karen Gillan, and was off on new adventures. While most of the show retains the original lightheartedness of the other Doctors, the newer episodes are much darker, I think reflecting the slow degeneration of the Doctor's psyche as he gets older and contemplates all that he has seen and done. I don't think we'll lose the Doctor any time soon--besides, how do you kill a character that can regenerate his physiology while dying as a form of preservation?
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