Midweek comedy revue

Raising Hope, Tuesdays at 9pm on Fox
This show has so far not managed to exceed the precedent it set up in its pilot.  It is a serviceably funny and cute show, and probably fills the role of being today's Married...With Children or Malcolm in the Middle.  There are usually one and a half big laughs per episode, and I wish that number were higher, but it remains a very sweet sitcom that shows a family of people who really do love each other and want to work together, so I just like seeing that on TV.  I love puns way more than I should, so when a character mentions that he plans to name his boat "Cirrhosis of the River," I got a big guffaw out of that.

Running Wilde, Tuesdays at 9:30pm on Fox
I've read that Mitch Hurwitz is trying to balance network demands with what he and Will Arnett want to do with this show.  Haven't we learned this lesson before?  And always with Fox?  This week's episode in particular was a terrible rip-off of the Arrested Development episodes "S.O.B.s" and "Afternoon Delight," and even had David Cross referring to his genitals as his "blue man group."  Come on!  Yes, AD fans are hoping that this show will fulfill our post-cancellation needs, but our needs for a smart good comedy, not our needs for callbacks.  So far the character of Fa'ad is the only consistently funny thing on the show, and I am disappointed that everyone else seems to not be getting used at all.

Modern Family, Wednesdays at 9pm on ABC
This has been the weakest episode I can remember on this show.  When an earthquake hit Los Angeles, what followed was Cam and Mitchell interacting with their friend (a cameo by Nathan Lane), Jay not wanting to go to church and sending Manny mixed messages about religion, and Phil trying to trick Claire.  I liked all of these things better when done on Sex and the City, The Simpsons, and earlier episodes of Modern Family, respectively.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The Girls

So, while I am a newcomer to the world of comic books / graphic novels, it is a medium that I have really enjoyed getting to know a little bit about, and that I am eager to spend more time acquainting myself with. I have never read an issue of Bryan Lee O'Malley's Canadian nerd saga, so I went into the Edgar Wright film adaptation with no expectations. I cannot really review the movie in the context of whether or not it was a good adaptation, but watching the movie definitely raised some questions about the series.

I'd like to first say that I really liked the casting choices - for all of the supporting characters. Mary Elizabeth Winstead was completely believable as the gorgeous and supercool mystery girl Ramona that guys fall in love with after just seeing her across the room. Kieran Culkin, Alsion Pill, Anna Kendrick, and Aubrey Plaza made a great team as Scott's long-suffering friends, and were entertaining whenever onscreen. Ellen Wong was adorable, annoying, and impossible to hate as Scott's scorned teenage girlfriend Knives Chau. And finally, all of Ramona's seven evil exes (well, the ones who had lines, anyway) fleshed out their caricatures well - Brandon Routh was a particularly nice surprise.

Arturo R. García wrote about the film's portrayal of Asian-descent characters on Racialicious, and I will quote the following as it pertains to Ramona's other evil exes:

"...other characters fare a lot worse ... the first of Ramona’s League of Evil Exes, Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha) gets turned into a Bollywood joke during his fight sequence ... and the Katayanagi Twins (Shora and Keita Saito) go from being tech-savvy villains in the comic (they lure Scott into battle by kidnapping yet another ex of his) to their own QAS Daft Punk pastiche, complete with (ugh) dragons shooting out of their turntables."

Anyway, Jason Schwartzman will always have a place in my heart (did I tell you that I totally shook his hand once? It was awesome), Chris Evans was a well-played parody, and it was awesome to see Mae Whitman battle her former flame from Arrested Development.

Which brings me to Michael Cera. I guess he was well-cast? I don't know, you tell me. My friends who've read the comics did say that so much had to be condensed into the film, but I'd like to know if Scott Pilgrim is as devoid of personality in the source material as he is in the movie. Yes yes, Cera plays the same role in every movie. We loved it about him in AD and Superbad, and then immediately got tired of it. Wasn't he quitting acting or something? Whatever. I miss George Michael (not the singer-songwriter).

I guess if you strip away the flashy and cool fight sequences and just look at the story presented in the movie, it makes more sense. Boring unemployed 22-year-old in a band who lives across the street from his parents is believably edgy enough to impress a 17-year-old overprotected schoolgirl. And rightfully should incur the derision that it does from all of his friends. And while it's difficult to imagine that Ramona would want anything to do with this loser, I guess given the high drama of her past relationships, someone with absolutely nothing going on in their life might appeal. I'm just over the trope of an average-looking dude with very little to offer being the main obsession of multiple women who have a lot of promise.

Anyway, the fight scenes were exciting to watch, even for my parents and I who have extremely limited experience with video games and comics, where most of the stylized inspiration seemed to come from. I felt engaged throughout the movie with its frills that were surely culled from the pages of the comics. That said, Winstead and Wong were on a "Girls Who Kick Ass" panel at Comic Con, and given that they basically learned a limited amount of fight choreography for one movie, I do not think that title should necessarily be applied to those actresses.

So, the movie was just...fun enough. I would like to read the comics to see if there is more material there to be entertained by. Also I want Brandon Routh and Chris Evans to have a douchey buddy comedy, please.

This is not going to go well...

Very belated, I would like to share a few thoughts on this years "most anticipated new show," Fox's Wednesday night addition, Glee. I quite liked the pilot, when it aired at the beginning of the summer, but I wasn't really sucked in until the second episode which aired last week. Glee is created by Ryan Murphy, who brought us Popular and Nip/Tuck, and a lot more of his biting humor was present in the second episode than in its PG predecessor.

The adult roles on the show are Will Schuester, played handily by Matthew Morrison (whom I recognize only from an episode of Ghost Whisperer that I watched by accident) as a passionate and optimistic loser. He has a lot going for him, but many obstacles between him and happiness. One such obstacle is his neurotic wife Terri (played by the always-welcome Jessalyn Gilsig - another Nip/Tuck presence), whose financial woes, hysterical pregnancy, and controlling behavior make me wonder how she and Will ever got together in the first place. I think they were supposed to be high school sweethearts, which just makes it even more tragic.

In stark contrast to Terri, there is Will's coworker Emma, the school's obsessive compulsive guidance counselor. The adorable Jayma Mays (Heroes! Ugly Betty!) is wonderful in this tight-lipped but hilarious role of the girl who's hopelessly in love with a married man, but adult enough to know better.

Will's ultimate foe is Sue Sylvester, as played by Jane Lynch, whom I want to accompany me everywhere in my daily life, I am such a fan of hers. She is absolutely wicked to the core, and brings her negative energy to her job as the "Cheerios" cheerleading coach. As the school funds are balanced precariously between her team and the fledgling Glee Club, her one mission is to bring Will down, but I think he is hardy enough to hold his own against her. Sue also has about 90% of the show's best lines, and I heard Jane Lynch (who is a wonderful improviser) say in an interview that she never feels the need to improve on the script.

The kids are, frankly, less interesting. Our main girl is Rachel, who is awesome. She's played by Broadway star Lea Michele, who originated the role of Wendla in Spring Awakening, which I think is inspired casting. She's so much more talented than most of the primetime teen show actors, and her voice is incredible. Her character is such a hilarious exaggeration of an archetype that it's just like a giant wink to the audience the whole time. She's desperate to become famous, and in her mid-teens, feels she's almost too old for success (embarrassingly, I totally empathize). She'll be ruthless in her pursuit of fame, but is dealing with nerdiness, insecurity, and a desperate crush on Cory Monteith's Finn, the bumbling jock with a bitchy Cheerio girlfriend and a wonderful voice.

The other kids in the show are just cookie cutters, and I really think that this needs to be worked on. Mercedes, the plus-sized black diva; Artie, the paralyzed nerd; Tina, the stuttering Asian-American Hot Topic customer; Kurt, the effeminate gay kid; and Quinn, the Christian blonde Cheerio who is Finn's girlfriend. There is pretty much no depth to these supporting characters beyond their stereotypes, and if any one of them is going to get fleshed out, it is likely to be Quinn, which I think is a disservice to the rest of the diverse cast.

I am very excited to tune into the show's third episode tonight, which I think will feature more of Gilsig. Also, I would like to remind everyone of last week's best exchange (paraphrased):

Emma: Rachel, are you throwing up in there?
Rachel: No.
Emma: Then what's that next to you?
Rachel: The girl who was throwing up in here before me left that there.
Emma: Rachel...
Rachel: I tried throwing up, but I couldn't! It's like I have no gag reflex or something.
Emma: You may find that comes in handy later on.

I hate to laugh at bulimia jokes, but I do anyway.

Finally, if you are wondering about this post's cryptic title, I am worried about this show. It is unique, and hilariously well-written, and has a rabid fan base. And it's on Fox. If that network does to this show what it did to Arrested Development, Firefly, Futurama, and Family Guy (for a time), then I think many "Gleeks" will be very disappointed. It's currently on just before SYTYCD, but in a few weeks, that show will be switching to a 2-hour format, so where will that push Glee? Friday night at 10pm or something horrible, I'm sure. I am not optimistic about it's chances if it moves around without a solid lead-in.

Glee airs Wednesday nights on FOX at 8pm.

series finales

So, I can't really write about it as I don't have cable at the moment, but I know that everyone is talking about The Sopranos series finale, and from what I gather, everything was left up in the air. On KROQ's Kevin and Bean show this morning, a lot of people were calling in either glad or concerned that the fate of Tony was not revealed to us. I used to watch The Sopranos pretty regularly for a couple of years somewhere in the middle of its run, and someday I'd like to rent all the seasons and just follow all of the characters' story lines, but as of now, I don't have a lot to say. I am very curious, though, what everyone else thought about the series finale, so please comment!

Also, I was thinking about series finale styles in general. What were your favorite series finales? Your least favorite? Is it better to cauterize every hanging question there was, or allow each viewer to decide what sort of ending will make them the happiest? Certainly I think the success of a series finale is tied to the timing of it. If the show's creators let the show go on too long, the finale may be a dud because no one cares about the outcome anyway. If the show got cancelled before its time should have been up, fans may find the ending to be rushed.

Arrested Development was a show that was certainly canned before its fans wanted it to be. I was there with the Bluths from the beginning, and I could have stayed with them until George Michael (and Maeby?) had kids of their own. The third season was a mixed bag for me, because though I loved it, the creators and the viewers were so painfully aware of the show's fate. Self-referential in-jokes are at once genius and saddening. In the end, we find out all we wanted to know about George Bluth, Sr., George Michael and Maeby, and the Bluth Company itself. Despite the cruel cruel trick of teasing us into thinking a movie was in the works, everything was wrapped up, which I appreciated. I think when audiences are invested in a show, and they don't have a chance to follow them as long as they'd like, the least the show's creators can do is answer the outstanding questions.

Six Feet Under was my favorite series finale by far, though. Like a lot of HBO shows, this one was difficult for me to follow because with going off to school and everything, I couldn't always keep up with the random placement of seasons. But I made sure to tune in for the series finale, which still haunts me when I think about it. Every episode of the show had begun with a character's death, a fade-to-black, and a title card displaying their name and years of life. The finale began with a birth, which was a beautiful tack to take anyway, but it was the final sequence of the show that threw me for a loop. Audiences always regret missing out on what happens to the characters of a show they love after the final credits. Six Feet Under showed us how each of the main characters would die years into the future. These scenes were intercut with a shot of Claire driving across the country to start life fresh. For a show about death, I thought it was very smart that we got absolute closure. We got to see where life would take each of our characters. Years later I was in a sort of a funk, driving around the L.A. freeways and listening to Indie 103.1 when Sia's "Breathe Me" came on the radio. I had to pull over to the side of the road because the song was so beautiful. I didn't remember at the time, but that was the song playing during the final sequence of Six Feet Under, and it was magical. Watch the clip below...

Clearly these two finales stuck with me, and while I'm sure there are others that I have enjoyed or appreciated, I am curious what it is you look for in a series finale, and what your favorite have been!