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                                                                            A+

What I've Watched This Week (November 21)
      Yes, there's been a lack of reviews this season, I know that. The reason? Besides the last year of university dragging on, tv seems so tired to me. Everytime I watch anything, it's seems like I just saw it. But I've tuned back in this week as the essay load has gotten lighter (except two 8 pages essays for Spanish film- if anybody out there is an expert on the spanish director Luis Buñuel, email me. Seriously) and I was actually impressed. 
       I started off on Tuesday with "Bonnie" and "Less Than Perfect," two shows which recently seemed to be headed in opposite directions, in quality and in ratings. "Bonnie," which started off so strong, has really been lacking in laughs lately. the last few weeks have almost been laugh free as the guest stars seem to be taking over the show. But this week the guest was David Duchovny, whom I am told was not very funny the first time around. But this time he was funny, the show had alot of laughs, and it gave me enough faith to tune in for next week. But this show is on a short leech with me.
        "Less Than Perfect," on the other hand, is not. This show seems to get funnier and funnier by the week. This week had Claude's parents coming, who were played to hilarity by Martin Mull and the one from "Laverne & Shirley," not Penny Marshall. What's her name? The show, however, just is not sparking the Nielen's, even though it has caught up with "Bonnie," or rather fallen less rapidly than said show. The only problem with this show is that is not on NBC- on Thursday. It would make a great 9:30pm show, much better than the constantly preempted "Good Morning Miami."
        On Wednesday I only manage to catch "The Amazing Race," which has become my new favorite show. But even this show has been off. The couples are still interesting, yes, but the eliminated team has been so far behind in the last two episodes that it's not really that entertaining. But it's still pretty damn good, especially those old parents who seem to bicker at every turn. The episode airing two weeks from now should be better considering that all the teams are on top of each other for the next leg.
      Thursday at 8:30pm AST brought "Friends." After seeing too many mediocre episodes this season, I was ready to give up. But somehow (save the Brad Pitt episode), "Friends" always manages to pull out something funny with the annual Thanksgiving episode. This one was simply hilarious as Rachel's "other" sister (Christina Applegate) comes by. She's immature, and eventually her and Rachel get into a fight about why she wouldn't get the baby if Ross and Rachel both died. This led to a larger fight as Chandler and Monica got to keep the baby, only so long as Monica was alive. The episode was the best that I've seen in a long time and everybody had a plotline, and Applegate was hilarious, unlike Reese Witherspoon form a few years back. Here's to hoping she stops by more often.
       Then at 9pm, I watched "Survivor," which has been off as of late as we're waiting for one tribe to finish picking off the other. There's been some hilarity in the episodes, but it's still not great. Hope it gets better. Soon.

 Life With Bonnie: B     Less than Perfect: B+           The Amazing Race:  B         Friends:  A                 Survivor:  B-

Life With Bonnie / Less Than Perfect  (October 22)
      And my nomination for the best comedy block on tv is.... no seriously. With sitcoms getting less and less funny, ABC's 9-10pm block thoroughly impressed me. To be honest, I find sitcoms less and less funny lately. Watching very little tv, coming back to it is a real eye opener. "Friends" isn't that funny. I'd much rather watch old repeats of "All In The Family," "The Golden Girls" and "Roseanne" on Prime, Canada's answer to Nick-at-Nite. Compared to thsoe classics, today's shows just seem stupid.
       But there is an exception to every rule, and I seem to have found it in ABC's Tuesday 9-10pm block. The skinny on "Bonnie" is that there really isn't a plotline, every episode is a day or a few in Bonnie's life. Though the home life tends to drag on (but there are some sparkling scenes between her and her husband), she really shines at work. She's the host of a morning talk show, and boy can she talk. The talk show is so authentic that I forgot what time of the day it really was. The banter (alot of it 
improvised) is funny, but not grating (as in the other morning show based sitcom "Good Morning Miami.") The highlight of this episode was the cooking segment, which was such a gem that I forgot they were just acting (which is SUCH a rarity nowadays). What made it even better was that they jokes weren't at all setup and punchline. If you haven't watched "Bonnie" yet, make an appointment next Tuesday.
      Then at 9:30 came "Less Than Perfect." It entirely conventional, and unlike "Bonnie," there's not a ounce of innovation involved. But that doesn't mean the show isn't well done, because it's very well done. Sarah Rue brings her bouncy "Popular" persona as the main character, and she's actually really funny. From the two episodes I've seen I would love to see her get a "Golden Globe" nom, but I know it won't happen. The jokes are mostly set-up + punchline, but when the jokes are good, that's not necessarily a bad thing. 
      And finally, an important thing about both of the shows: the cast looks like they're actually having fun. In an age when so many actors view a show as simply a paycheque, a cast that clicks and has fun is an invaluable commodity.

                                                      Life With Bonnie:  A                         Less Than Perfect   B+

Some Thursday Show (October 3)
      To be honest, I've watched only 5 shows from the new season. All different. So I've haven't been on the ball. I watched "The Amazing Race 3" on Wednesday, which was simply amazing. The 12 teams started in Miami, and quickly caught a flight to Mexico City. That particularly interested me, since I consider myself a honorary Mexican, and I've been the the world's second largest city (which was a polluted as you can image. After only 2 hours, I could feel my nose and throat burning). I screamed when I say the contestants taking a VW cab (which are extremely dangerous), and expecially after the twins left their bags in the cab (anywhere else in Mexico you can do that, but not in the DF). "The Amazing Race" is the one series I look forward to on a weekly basis.
      And that certainly didn't change the next night, when I watched some Thursday series. Starting off at 9pm AST, I caught "Survivor Thailand." To put it simply, it's not as good as the first or Marquesas, but it is better than aFrica and the Outback. This episode centered on sexual overtones, as two married contestants (and not to each other) got a little hot and heavy. Not really hot and heavy, but he did grind on her, which I did not need to know about, especially with the physical state of both of them. But it was at least interesting, which is more than I can say for the show on NBC.
       At 10pm, I caught "Will & Grace, which wasn't very interesting at all. In this one, Jack stalks Kevin Bacon and becomes his assistant, while Grace and Harry Connick Jr.flirt. Meanwhile, Grace and Will wait for her pregnancy test. It turns out she's not pregnant. The writing wasn't great, and the only funny scene was Will and Kevin flashdancing. Maybe the show was funnier than it seemed, maybe I find it less funny because the original charm of the show has worn off. Jack is grating, Will & Grace are pathetic and there wasn't enough Karen.
       At 10:30pm, I watch "Good Morning Miami," which is not as bad as the critics make it out to be. In this episode, the producer guy tries to make big changed on the show, much to the dismay of everybody. He also tries to get with the makeup girl, but nothing comes of it, much to his dismay. The jokes on the show are old, yes, but it feels sort of fresh. It feels kind of like a younger "Just Shoot Me," only without an annoying presense like David Spade.
       During the commercials, I caught "CSI," which was simply compelling. While trying to put away a movie star for murder, the CSI team has their own demons come out of the closet. The defending lawyer slams each of them for their pasts and presents, making them look foolish. Then they try to pull the same trick on Grisson, playing on his hearing loss. But Gris keeps his cool, and the bad guy ends up losing. More than the writing or acting, the entire episode had a high "cool" factor, most I think due to the supberb light used. It's so rare that a series uses something so subtle as lighting to effect a tone that when one does, you have to give credit where credit is due.

The Amazing Race 3: A             Survivor: B+        Will & Grace:B-              Good Morining Miami: C               CSI:A

The RERUN Show (August 20)
        Over the summer, I rarely feel compelled to write reviews. But after seeing "The RERUN Show" last night, a show whose arrival I actually anticipated, I felt that I had to. For this, NBC's only summer sitcom offering, is the most vile piece of puke I've ever seen. Starting with the credits, "Welcome to the RERUN Show! Where we reenact classic scripts...." or something like that, a pounding, enthusiastic voice tells us. I thought this was cute, before I saw the show.
       First up, a parody of "The Partridge Family," which I've been told they do every single week. The basic joke of this 11 episode? Mama Partridge is horny and lonely. Sure, there's something insignificant about they group performing at a feminist rally, but a) it's not funny, b) it's not interesting and c) most young viewers have never seen "The Partridge Family." So I waited, because "Married With Children" was next. And I grew up on that show. As my 17 year old brother saif "who was watching with me) "They can't screw this one up."
        Little did he know. Set 4000 years in the future, "Married With Chimps" or something like that is the most popular show on the United Primate Network. That would be funny, had the average viewers had a clue that they were badmouthing the hapless UPN- or had a clue that the UPN is an industry laughingstock. My brother has no clue, so it wasn't funny.
        The only thing remotely funny about this parody was the opening credits, which they had to a tee. Then the episode started, and everything went to shit. While I give them credit for trying to think up new things, having the cast don ape suits was sinking to the lowest common denominator, which in this case, is nothing, and still coming up short. My 12 year old sister, who would normally fall for this stuff, simply asked, "Can we watch "That 70s Show." And me, no fan of the "70s" flicked over to Fox, no questions asked.
       When examining the rating for this show, I was wondering why it lost nearly half it's audience in only two weeks. Now it's obvious. Despite an interesting concept, the producers and NBC have gone the extra mile to make sure this show is as pathetic as it can be.
                                                                       F 

What I've Watched (April 22-25)
      Rather than go through each show individually like I usually do, I've decided to recount and grade every single show I've watched this week. And it's actually been quite a few. If you're in university like I, you know that you never watch more tv than you do during finals. At least that's my case... (and hey, it doesn't hurt: I'm finishing off the year with a 3.9 GPA).
      Starting out on Monday night, I took a break from studying Spanish grammer by watching "Everybody Loves Raymond." And I must say, I just love this show. This week was a repeat, but it was a strong repeat. Ray takes Allie to her Guide meeting, gets a piss poor spot to sell cookies, and decides to do something about it. This means goign head to head against the troop leader, a women who looks like she has a stick stuck you know where. It was a good episode, but the best part was at the end when the troop leader was beating up on Ray, then Debra walks in and takes over. Patricia Heaton's cool as a cucumber attitude in this scene was a killer, and the throw away scene of her knocking the cookie table off Ray as she made he way to the leader was priceless.
       After "Raymond," I caught the last half hour of "Ally McBeal." This one, as Fox probably let you know (assuming you still watch Fox, looking at the ratings, you don't), was the one with Heather Locklear as, get this, a man eater! Talk about playing something out of character. Locklear, at least on series like "Spin City" and "Ally" gives a comfortable, if not particularly great atmosphere. She's not really a comedic actress, dramas are where she shines, obviously. And this episode was no exception. Now, one last thing. Granted I did miss the first half of the episode, but where the hell was Ms. McBeal? This show is not called "Boston Law," there's only four episodes left, so give Calista a scene for godsakes.
      Tuesday night brought the regulars. "Andy" came first, which is an increasingly funny series. I didn't like it at first, but it seem to get getting funnier every week. The early comparisons to "Seinfeld" may have been unearned, but certainly last night's episode earned them. In this one, Andy ends up worrying that he's gay, leading to... well you know the drill. The only thing that I find annoying about the series are the "Ally McBeal" like scenes. On "Scrubs," they're good. On "Andy," they're a distractions.
At 9:30pm (AST), I watched "Watching Ellie," which hit another series low in viewers on Tuesday, assuring it's cancellation. The show was not particualr funny, the vet guy wants to sing on stage, Ellie doesn't want him to. The funniest part was when Ellie came up against the girl from Vancouver who didn't like swearing. Swearing as in "crap." Sure, it wasn't great, but it was somewhat funny. And on this sometimes dry series, laughs are a precious commodity.
      On Wednesday night, I watched a whole lot of tv. Finished my final at 4pm, I was all done school and just ready to let my brain melt. Being at my mother's house for the the time in ages, she made me sit through a half-hour of "That 80s Show" after I managed to talk her out of "My Wife & Kids." Let me just say this- "80s" is still not funny, and worse than that, it's not not funny. It just exists. On this one, the kids try out for Star Search, or something like that. Pat Benetar showed up at the end. The actors on this show have no chemistry whatsoever, something that keeps "That 70s Show" alive and kicking. And the cancellation clock is ticking- it racked up only 4.9mil viewers on Wednesday.
      At 9:30pm, I took in "According To Jim." Already renewed for next season, this show has just come back from a month long hiatus. And I must say, the month must have done something, because what I saw last night was a vastly improved show. The jokes, yes, while sometimes too cute-sy, were funny. The actors clicked. In this one, Jim tried to return a broken DVD player, but her doesn't have the receipt. Turns out Courtney Thorne Smith (her character anyway) took it. I can't believe I laught at the show. And with it, not at it. My only gripe: Jim Belushi. He's just not a good actor. But the show is called "According To Jim," so unless they can get another Jim to come in (tried to think of a famous Jim, sorry, just not up for it tonight), he's probably on for the duration.
      From 10-12am, I sat down to the special two hour edition of "The Amazing Race 2." What a show. I simply do not know what to say about it. The teams started off in Hong Kong this week, then raced off the Austraila. It's nice to see team "chachacha" (Danny & Oswald) back into it after seeming so out just a few weeks ago: they arrived at the first pit stop first, And it's just awesome to watch them go. While the other teams agonize over flights at Hong Kong international, Danny & Oswald go to a travel agent, book a flight, then head out to shop for a few hours. The result? They get to Australia first. But thanks to a fast foreward, another team took first place at the Australian pit-stop, while "D&O" tumbled to fouth thanks to Danny's weak wrist (he couldn't throw a boomerang). But a few more things. Is that all Tara and Wil do is yell at each other? I want to shoot them both. I really like the brother and sister team (although when he said "If I had met a girl like her, I'd be married right now," it did feel a little creepy), and thanks go those former room mates got the heave ho. The guy who looks like Andy Dick is as annoying as Andy Dick.
      At 12am, I flicked over to Prime, a Canadian version of "Nick at Night," and watched two shows that I absolutely love. First up, "Roseanne." This was one of the ones from the beginning. If you're a "Ro" fans, you'll know it. The one where Roseanne and the gang take a stand at Wellman and quit. The episode seemed a bit corny at times, but I had to realize thet epic. This was the last 80s. Series weren't doing what "Roseanne" was doing. More groundbreaking than funny, this was a gem. And Roseanne's portrayl of the lower middle class woman caught in a life she really can't win at should have won her more emmy's than she got.
      12:30pm brought yet another ground breaking episode of a ground breaking series, "All In The Family." In this one, Archie has to decide who to fire at work. Emmanuel, the one legged Puerto Rican, Elmo the coloured guy, or the white guy. And no, "coloured" is not a word I use, but Archie did, which is why I put it here, so don't fire off any emails to me. Countersceting this was the insurance company how dropped Archie's house because he lived in a "bad neighbourhood." "All the coloureds" live down by the water," Archie explained. But it didn't matter her was told, it was the way the system worked. Emmanuel argued that he was a hard worker. It didn't matter, Archie said, it was the way the system worked. And he was fired.
       I cannot explain how incredible this episode was. Watching "All In The Family" is amazing. The stuff they did on that show would NEVER, EVER get on tv today. Which is amazing, considering it's almost 30 years later. When I lived with my best friend last year, she would never watch "Family" because she said Archie was a bigot and she was black. But being recently unemployed, she picked the show up and now can't stop watching it. After watching it, she realized that the show is not about racism or bigotry, it's about something so much bigger. It's about making racism and bigotry seem ridiculous. It was about inacting change in society.
       Certainly a let down, at 1am I watched an old "Will & Grace." Compared to "Family," this show is nothing. This one was from a few years back, when Will was trying to sign Karen up to his law firm. In the meantime, Grace and Jack go on the "Antiques Roadshow," and proceed to make asses out of themself. Funny yes, but memorbale, no. Ditto for "Dharma & Greg," which I caught at 1:30am. In this one, which will likely be the penultimate episode of the series, Dharma and Greg take in a girl who keeps coming back to them. Kitty volunteers at Abby's used goods store. And none of it was funny. Nothing. I used to love this series, but everything that I love is gone. Jenna Elfman is no longer the bolt of energy she was in the first two seasons, Kitty just seems ridiculous, and the series is obviously choking on its own fumes. In a sad comparison, today I watched an episode from the first season called "Instant Dharma." In that one, Laurie Metcalfe guest-stared as "Spider," a woman who teaches self defense and proceeds to steal all of "Dharma"s yoga students. The best part of the episode is the dream sequence, which lasts something like five minutes, but is a non-stop laugh riot. Definitely try to catch this episode in syndication next season. It's one of the funniest things I've seen on tv in recent years.
        Now for today, Thursday April 25th, 2002. I started off tonight with "Friends," which seems to get less funny every week. This one had Rachel's baby shower. Monica forgets to invite Rachel's mom, and ends up apoligizing to her for the rest of the episode when she shows up. Mom decides to move in with Rachel for a few weeks to help with the baby. In an unfunny sideplot, Joey uses Chandler and Ross as guinea pigs for his game show audition. Compared to the last baby shower episode I saw ("Murphy Brown," was back when), this was a entire let down.
       And now I will conclude this loooong review with "Will & Grace." This one had Michael Douglas as a gay cop trying to get close to will, and Molly Shannon as the crazy lady trying to steal Grace's business. And this was funny stuff. MD was hilarious. And that's when I realized something. "W&G" is just an ordinary sitcom. It's not particularly funny from week to week. It just isn't. But throw a guest star in there and pow! It's one of the best shows on tv. And that's not a good thing. When you rely on guest stars for laughs, you know you're in trouble.

Raymond: A-   Ally McBeal: C    Andy Richter:  B    Watching Ellie: C+          80s: D               According To Jim: B
Amazing Race:  A            Roseanne:  A+             All In The Family:  A+++    Will & Grace 1: C+             Dharma & Greg 1: C-
Dharma & Greg 2:  A     Friends:  B-         Will & Grace 2: A-

Saturday Night Live (March 16)
     Finally, an excellent episode. After weeks of virtually nothing to laugh about, Saturday night's show came roaring back, much thanks to guest Ian McKellen. The show started off witht he hilarious skit from Always maxi pads, with a throw back to the fifties. From there it only got better. I loved Maya Rudoph's version of  Donnatella Vesace's Oscar party. The guests to the partry weren't anything special, but Maya's whaling "Get out!" had me in giggles.
     I also like the way the show took potential nothing skits and made them funny. Like "Hot Air Ballon Mysteries." this could have been an unfunny piece of crap, but the SNLers took it and made it delightful. Some goes for Ian McKellen's skit about the like of Charles Dickens. He's an excellent comedic actor, why isn't he in more comedies?
     As usual, Weekend update was a riot, but the best part was when Ian McKellen, playing Dame Maggie, kissed Jimmy Fallon dead on the lips. It was so unexpected, and obviouls not planned- Jimmy looked stunned for about a minute afterwards, and couldn't even start the next story. All he could say was "Dame Maggie should really shave."
     All in all, a shining example of what this show can and should be.

                                                   A

The Mathew Shepard Story (March 16)
      I wanted to love this movie, I really did. I wanted to watch it and feel a great sympathy for Shepard, but the movie was so poorly acted and written that I just couldn't.
      Starting off witht he acting, it was minimal at the very best. Sam Waterson was stonefaced throughout the whole thing, and Stockard Channing looked like she was going to break down and cry. This was understandable before Mathew's death, but before? And the guy who played Mathew himself, a good performance, but lacking in a certain je ne sais quoi.
If they get any emmy nominations, I'll be shocked and saddened.
      The movie was very, very slow to start out with, then slowly got into the months and years before Mathew's death. I found his life in Denver quite interesting, as weel as his friends (especially Romayne), but by the time they got to this, my attention had already waned. The ending was excellent, especially his friends dressing up as angels to drown out the hate mongerers who gathering around the sentencing.
      But despite the message of the movie- hate against gays has got to stop, this movie will have probably done more harm than good. Instead of telling youg gays that it's okay to be gay, the movie tells them that their life will be tortured, and they will be constantly harassed after they come out, even in a major urban centre like Denver. Perhaps the movie was trying to give a realistic view of what they real gay world is like, but for me, the weak acting undid whatever realism the movie tried to portray.

                                                           C

Saturday Night Live  (March 2)
     Just one question: what the fuck was this all about? Where all of the writers are home sick? Nope, Tina Fey, the head writer was on Weekend Update as usual. Starting from the beginning, the show was hosted by Johnny Mosely, who I'm told won fourth place in the men's freestyle moguls, robbed of a gold medal because he spent too much time doing "the dinner roll." Actually, the show told me this, over and over and over again. What, SNL, couldn't you actually get somebody famous to do the show, like Sale & Pellitier (who did pop up on the show, played by Rachel Cretch and will Ferrel), or maybe some of the snowboarders who actually WON medals? Chances are they'd be high or something, so at least you'd get some laughs out of that.
     The worst skit of the entire show (and there were oh so many to pick from) was Mosely doing his "never ending dinner roll," going around and solving world problems. This wasn't funny, it was way too long, and it distracted from the main players of the show, like Maya Rudolph and Rachel Dretch, who are actually funny.
     Even WU was horrible- usually the best part of the show has me in stiches, this time I couldn't believe how horrible it was. and Chris Kattan playing that Hollywood gossip guy? It was one the most annoying, unfunny things I've seen on tv all year.
     The reason why this show isn't getting an F was for one of the sketches near the beginning, a rip on a dating show. Maya Rudolph and the blond girl were hysterical in this sketch. But did Mosely really have to be in this one too? I thought Ferrel or Fallon would have been even better. Here's a hint, SNL-guest stars are just that- GUESTS. They don't have to take over the entire show. And certainly not take anything away from the fine group of players that you're currently abusing.

                                                         D

NBC Thursday (February 28)
      NBC's Thursday night line-up is back after a two week "Olympic" induced hiatus, and it's as a mixed bag as ever. Let's start with "Friends," the linch pin of the night. Tonight was the conclusion of the Joey-Rachel question, in which Rachel turned Joey down, but in a very nice way. Meanwhile, Phoebe meets Monica's "soul mate," much to Chandler's chagrin, and Ross tried to make Joey believe he's not mad at him. I like how this episode integrated the entire cast, which is a rarity these days, but Ross' increased screen time only makes me want there to be a special "Weakest Link" with the "Friends" castmates. I would hope that David Schwimmer would be voted off first, because he is this show's lamest link.
      Anyway, I really enjoyed the scenes between Rachel and Joey, they were sweet, but not sacharine. And funny, the most important part. And Chandler freaking over Monica's connection to her "soul mate" was good tv, there was even talk of a cheese house. I wonder if I could get a time share on that....
      At 8:30pm came the series premeire of "Leap of Faith," which I'm told is a knock-off of "Sex And The City." I've never seen that show, so I won't be biased in this review. But I can't exactely give this show a good review either. Like NBC's other series premiering this week, "Watching Ellie," this one goes laughtrack free. But it doesn't have the same feel as "Ellie." While I didn't know what to make of "Ellie" the first time around, leading me to watch it again, I know what to make of "Leap" right away, so I probably won't be watching it again. It's not that it's particualarly bad, it's just that it's, well, there. It's not really funny, the scenes aren't original, and there's way too much frank talk about sex. (I like the more ambigious talk, such as on "Will & Grace." It's just funnier when you're left to draw your own conclusion, and not have the word "layed" shoved in your face). The series does seem to try to be funny, and it's really not. More cannon for the fodder, I believe, almost making me want to start a count of exactely how many flop series have premiered behind "Friends." There's "Inside Schwartz," "Cursed," "The Naked Truth," "Jesse" blah, blah, blah....
      9pm brought a typically funny installment of "Will & Grace." This one revolved around the titular couple looking for a new apartment, and Jack and Rosario making a video of Karen's like for her birthday. Karen's mom shows up, and aparently they don't get along (to be continued... if you care)
      I really laughed when W&G where looking at an apartment they loved, only to recognize it from somewhere. Who walks in? Sandra Bernhart, who, by my count, should be made the sixth regular on the series. I've loved her since "Roseanne," which I think was her best role to date as Nancy, the loopy partner in the diner. How many stars came through that show over the years? Jenna Elfman, Sandra Bernhart, George Clooney, Sharon Stone, the cast of Gilligan's Island... and this was back when doing tv wasn't cool, which only attestifies as to how much of a cultural icon "Roseanne" was. I could go for a good "Roseanne" marathon right now. Nick at Night, where are you?
     Off track again... Botton line, it was a good show, getting good mileage out of Karen's life, as always. Come to think of it, she's probably to most interesting character on network tv. A complete parody of a socialite, she could have her own spin off that would run for years.
     And then came "Just Shoot Me." To be honest, I only watched the first 10 minutes, and that was enough. This show still isn't funny. I still like Nina Van Horne, but she never gets a storyline, they all go to Maya and Finch, the two least funny characters on this show. Horne is like W&G's Karen, only there the potential is used thoroughly, here it's not even touched. Hey, how about Karen and Nina team up for a spinoff? They both live in New York and they're both socialites.... they should have met by now. NBC, are you listening? And now that all four of NBC's Thursday sitcoms are set in NYC, the peacock could hit ratings gold if they did a massive cross over night. and it could be as funny as hell. Wait, off track again....

              Friends:  A-              Leap Of Faith: C+     Will & Grace: A-             Just Shoot Me:D+ 

Survivor (February 28)
      CBS was looking for a way to make this series exciting again, and I think it has found it: set it on an island. The permiere of the fourth installment was as interesting as the first, IMHO. I don't know what it is, but an island gives it a certain feel that an outback or a savannah can't match. Maybe its the whole island paradise thing, maybe it's because its more interesting to look at.
And the immunity challenge seems more interesting when it's on an ocean, for some reason.
      Overall, I think this is the best move CBS could have made with the series to keep it near the top of the ratings heap.
Here's for keeping "Survivor" on island- hey, there's plenty. What about "Survivor: Baffin Island" ? Sure the bikinis are nice and the bare chests are fun, but what would be more exciting than hypothermia? Maybe not.
      But one thing's for sure, "Survivor" is back.
                                                        A

Scrubs  (February 26)
      Now that I haven't seen more than one episode of "Dharma & Greg" since last spring, and since the show's gotten really stale, its time to pick a new favorite comedy. And this is it. I find myself liking this show more and more every week, which is such an easy thing to do.
      This week the action revolved around the black guy (sorry, still not up on their names) trying to get JD and Elliot to at least talk to each other. Elliot was doing a research project for the black guy, until she felt she was being used. And that's all I can remember, but this episode was not particualrly important.
       What is important is the feeling the show gives when watching it. I couldn't quite place the feeling when I first watched it, but now I realize it reminds me of the first few seasons of "The Drew Carey Show." The great interaction between the characters, the ensemble cast (JD is the star, but he's no more important than any of the other castmates), and the sterling scripts. The show never feels heavy, despite the fact it's set in a hospital, just as "Drew Carey" never felt heavy, despite the fact it mined mostly lower-class "Roseanne" situations. And the way the head doctor antagonizes JD and Eliot is very reminicent of the relationship between Drew and Mimi.
       I especially like the "Ally McBeal"-ish adds ons. Like in the last episode, Elliot was digging heself a grave by taking back an apology she made to a nurse- represented by Elliot literally digging herself a grave. I love this kind of stuff. And its so nice to see Sarah Chalke in something funny again. She was hilarious as the second Becky on "Roseanne," but disappeared from the radar for a few years (not in Canada- she stared in the CBC series "Nothing Too Good For a Cowboy." Sounds lame? It was.) She's perfect in her role, and really brings her part to life.
      But I see a quick fall for the series. It's mining territory very quickly- JD and Elliot's sexual chemistry has already been explored, and we're only half-way through the season. And as the characters as doctors get along in their careers, you have to wonder where the writers will go. The scary doctor's sharp as a tack edge will be softened, unfortunately, but if it isn't, viewers will complain the he's not developing as a character. Ultimately, I think this show will have a gangbuster first two seasons, then quickly slide into oblivion. Kinda like "Dharma & Greg." Why do I keep loving these shows?

                                                         A-
 

The Drew Carey Show (February 27)
      Is this show still on? Apparently yes, because it's still scheduled Wednesday nights at 9pm (Tuesdays at 9pm in Canada). Is the show still funny? In a way, yes, but in a bigger way no (more on that later).
      In this one, Drew realizes that he never sees his frinds anymore, so he tricks them all into coming over. They all get trapped by wild dogs, end up spending the night together, then realize how much they miss each other... awww... yuck.
      Back to the funny part, there are funny jokes in the series. The banter between Drew and Mimi is still first class writing. But here's the rub. The show feels stale. The characters haven't changed in seven seasons. The only sets are the Warsaw, Winfred Lauder and Drew's House. At first that was a good thing, but now it's quite tired. So even when the script is humming, the atmosphere of the show makes it stink. And plus, this one wasn't all that funny.
                                                                  C-
Watching Ellie (February 26)
      After watching the show, I'm not really sure what to think. Of couse you've heard by now how novel the show is: no laugh track, 22 consecutive minutes of Ellie's life, a little clock ticking in the corner. So it should be good, right? Well, it is, in a way, but it's not particularly funny. In the premiere, Ellie tries to get to her singing job, but keeps getting distracted. First her toilet floods, her landlord knocks himself out, she meets her ex on the street, then finally arrives at the club. The only problem was, there were no jokes. It's not that I need a laugh track to tell me what's funny (I did write the entire "Rutlanders" series, to read it click the link on the side), but I do need jokes to make me laugh. And the timer turned out to be more of a distraction than anything- I kept watching it rather than watching Ellie. Hey, maybe that's why they named it "Watching Ellie." The creators are trying to remind you, you're "watching Ellie," not the time counter.
      I will give it this: the show is novel. I will tune in next week because I'm just not sure what to think about it yet. The show will probably do well in its second week for this very reason- viewers didn't quite understand it at first, but will be curious enough not to be turned off. 
      And one last thing, the way the show ends (when the timer reaches zero, it expands to cover the whole scene as everything fades to black) reminds me too much of Super Mario. Maybe that's a bit too picky...
                                                            B

That 80s Show (February 20)
      Finally, Fox gives us something... to make fun of. A mess if ever I've seen it, this show is a pale shell, one that makes "That 70s Show" look like comedic genious (which is sometimes it, but more often than not, its a smut fest). The writers try to throw us every 80s cliché imaginable- the main guy works at a record store, his comedic foil has high spiked hair... but none of it sis funny. The characters try to talk in 80s speak, which, if you really think about it, wasn't as bad as the show makes it. While "70s" gets the 70s mostly right- the comedic situations are just as they would be today, just set in the 70s, "80s" tries to throw us 1980s things, then make then funny for todays viewers. But they don't succeed. No wonder ratings are crashing, this is an insult to viewers with a memory.
                                                            D-

NBC Thursday (Again)  (January 24)
     The only comedy line-up I get to watch in full is NBC's Thursday night juggernaut, the reason being the staggered way American series air in Canada. (ie, "Dharma & Greg" aired against "Millionaire" for two seasons up here, stateside, they complimented each other)
       Anyways, enough babbling. The reason reason why I'm here is to review NBC's Thursday night line-up. Not very impressed with any of the four sitcoms airing on the night, to say the least. Starting off with "Friends," easily one of the worst episodes of the season. In this one, Rachel goes out with an actor from Joey's soap gig, somebody keeps calling Chandler "Toby" and Monica and Phoebe try to beat each in the game to break the heart of some guy. Meanwhile, Ross whines about Rachel dating, and Joey pines over... Rachel. The only thing that made me laugh in the enitre episode was Joey saying "I'm an actor too!" (with accompanying arm action). And that ain't saying much.
      8:30pm and 9pm brought back to back "Will & Grace"s. While there were some very funny one liners, there wasn't much plot to either episode. In episode one, Grace proposes to whoever Woody Harrelson was playing, and he turns her down. Well, this comes after she turns him down. The second episode shows the aftermath, with Grace unable to get out of bed. It was okay, I suppose, but nothing spectacular.
      9:30pm brought yet another yucky episode of "Just Shoot Me." To be honest, by that time I had already tuned out and started studying my Spanish Lit. From what I gathered, Nina's best friend died, she decided that she would keep her alive by carrying the urn around with her. And Finch wanted to go to university, relying on a company scholarship. Nina was funny. Her character is so interesting, with such a past and so much to explore. Finch is not. He annoying, a nothing. Why does the show spend so much time focusing on him?

                               Friends: C                 Will & Grace: B              Just Shoot Me   C-

The Drew Carey Show (January 23)
      How bad has "The Drew Carey Show" gotten? So bad that the episodes are indistinguishable. In an episode that I swore I've seen fifteen times, Winfred-Lauder is being sold off, Drew and Wick have to convince some Brits to buy it. Only problems is, Wick is an alcoholic who's fallen off the wagon. Yeah.

                                                               C-

Scrubs (January 22)
      What I think is the best new comedy of the season (but what do I count?), this is like "ER," only funny and good. This one sees JT's (or JD) trying to get close to his MRI girlfriend, only to make Eliot jealous. The black girl (what's her name?) becomes good friends with the head doctor (what's his name?), sharing their mean streak in common. Meanwhile, her boyfriend,  the black guy (you know, the one from "Felicity") tries to get closer to the mean doctor (John whatshisname), only to discover that he's in love with his girlfriend. In the end, everything seems to get settled out, and Eliot and JT seem to have started a relationship. And I do know that this review is incohernt.

                                                               A-

Undeclared (January 22)
      In my last year of my undergraduate degree (which means I've been in university for 8 years now), I've avoided "Undeclared" because I haven't seen a show yet that's given an accurate portrayl of what college life is really like. "Felicity" was supposed to be realistic, or so said the 45 year-old critics who reviewed it. Sorry, I entered college the same year "Felicity" did (1998) and never one have I dwelled for years on end about two guys... or girls... whatever. I don't even have friends for more than two weeks at a time.
     So anyway, back to "Undeclared." No, its not realistic. These kids look like they're still in junior high. Most first year college kids try to do something drastic to set themselves apart (me, I parted my hair the other way.... walking on the edge). And their problems were a little to stereotypical (Mom's coming! Flush the condoms! Hide the cigarettes!). One girls sets out to lose their virginity. Why is this such an issue? What's wrong with virginity? At least you're guaranteed to be gonorreah free. I do have to admit that the show was kind of funny, even if I was a bit irritated with all the stereotypes protrayed. But certainly not funny enough to warrant all the critical acclaim it's gotten, nor the screams of "crime!" at the thought of Fox cutting its season order back and most likely cancelling it.
      Since this is from the same creator as "Freaks and Geeks," and that shows was as critically accliamed (if not more) thank this show, I have to wonder how good that show really was.

                                                             C+

Everybody Loves Raymond (January 21)
      Yes, I am convinced that this is the best comedy on tv. After watching shows like "Friends" and "Will & Grace," the only plae in comparison to the deep, in depth laughs that come from this show. This one starts off simple (as they all do), with Marie giving Ray and Debra a piece of art in gratitute for them giving her the gift of a sculpture lessons. Simple, until Raymond suddenly sees a very "feminine" side to the sculpture. Eventually everybody sees this side, and the main objective becomes getting this statue out of the house without upsetting Marie. Well, they do upset Marie, so she send for some nuns to pick it up to give to a church auction. Now here are the two funniest scenes I've seen on tv in years. 1) The nuns come in, Ray tries to block them from the statue. They see it, and know exactely what it looks like. The look from the short nun was priceless. 2) When Marie shows up and one of the nuns tells her what it looks like, she screams "Are you insane!" This, and her line a few minutes later "I guess this makes me a lesbian" should be enough all on its own to win her a second emmy next September. Truly golden.

                                                               A+
Becker (January 21)
     I had never watched much of this show (usually turning the tv off after "Raymond"), and I never quite got its appeal. After sitting through a whole episode, I suppose it's comfort tv. Not that its all warm and fuzzy, it's quite the opposite. Becker is offensive, rude and not a very likeable guy. But the jokes are pretty tame, the plotlines sublime (in this one "Becker" tries to quit smoking), and reminds me an aweful lot of "Empy Nest"- the hilariously funny early 90s series starring Richard Nelligan, only "Becker" doesn't have all the laughs. I guess what makes the show is its cast. Ted Danson no longer seems liek Ted Malone, I can only identify him with Becker. The rest of the cast clicks very well, and it just happens to be one of the most multi-ethnic cast on tv to boot. But that doesn't make it great tv.

                                                              B

Survivor Africa: Finale (January 10)
     So, it wasn't as good as the first one. No. I didn't see the second one. But this finale was good nonetheless. The show manages to tug at the heartstrings of viewers by refering to the outcasts as "fallen comarades," actually making it seem liek the had died or something. While some of it did seem hokey, especially the music and the tribal dancers, I really appreciated the fact they they brough up alot of issues about AIDS in Africa (Kenya has one of the highest infection rates in the world). The part that left me feeling a little cheated though, was the end. As Jeff read the sixth and deciding vote for the ultimate Survivor, the crowd went wild. That's right, the crowd. "Tribal Council" was recreated and shot live in Los Angeles. But then again, the very first "Survivor" finale seemed a bit anti-clamatic, so maybe this was the best way to handle it. After all, I'm no Mark Burnett.

                                                       A

Will & Grace (January 10)
     An increasingly funny seriesm this oen has Will visitng a physic (Camryn Manheim), who tells him that he will spend the rest of his life with a man named... Jack. (A scene that included the funniest line of the night- Physic "I'm getting a letter.... J. Just J."
Will- Now who could I know who's name starts with just J?). Much freaking-out insues, including a hilarious scene with Jack in a wedding dress.
     Grace, meanwhile, hires a guy who sells pot of of her office, and Karen, is, wll, Karen. Oh, bonus points for the surpise guest appearance by Cher at the end of the episode. Jack giving Cher lessons on being Cher was hilarious, leading up to her slapping him at the end of the scene.
                                                       A-

Friends (January 10)
      "Friends" has clearly not been at the very top of its game this season, but it's been funny nevertheless. This episode was a classic example. The bane of the show was Joey and Rachel going out on a date to make Rachel feel better, only for Joey to develop real feelings for her. It was a sweet, but not sacharine plotline, but not too funny. It was nice, though, to see Joey given something to do that wasn't all stupid, to actually experience real emotions. In the second plotline, Phoebe, gets Monica and Chandler a Ms. Pac-Man for their wedding present, which sets off a competition to see who can get the best score. This brought about the funniest scene of the whole show- Monica losing a game only to yet- "Well you're just a little bitch, aren't you?" This was funny because, of those of us who have played video games, we all know how angry we get when we make it so far only to get "killed." The second funniest scene was watching Phoebe almost breaking top score, only to lose. Her flipping out was a bit crass, but it was funny. All in all, a good episode, but nothing spectacular
                                                       B

Scrubs (January 8)
      NBC's funniest series in years, this show is an enteraining alternative to everything else that airs Tuesday nights at 9pm. This one has Eliot deciding wether or not her should date the women stuck in the MRI machine, while "Barbie" tried to get the attention of the main doc. Sorry if I don't know their names. Why doesn't NBC permanently move this ot Thursdays? Viewers would eventually come around, realizing that there is somethnig good airing at 8:30pm. But then again, this is NBC we're talking about, the network that thought "Imagine That" would be a good replacement for "Emeril." But I suppose it is a good replacement- it's taking up "Emeril"s spot at the bottom of the ratings rather nicely.

                                                      B+

Third Watch (January 7)
      I once hated this series, then love it, but I am once again not so fond. It seems a different character goes through a crisis every week, this time Faith has cancer (hasn't she been through enough already?). Doc gets followed by a camera crew, Ty and the other one heat up their relationship, and the only reason I kept watching was for the priceless Molly Price.

                                                        C

Fox's Sunday Funnies- Part II (January 6)
      On the first Sunday of 2002, Fox's Sunday night line-up was some what different than what was presented on the last Sunday at 2001. This week it was almost like a  nice sandwich with some rotten meat in the middle. The nice part was, of course, "King of The Hill" and "Malcolm," the rotten part "The Simpsons."
      "King"s premise was simple enough- Bobby and Connie pretend to break up so they can see each other secretly out from under the watchful eye of Connie's dad, Khan. Not overly funny, but not overly sweet, the episode explored the naivety of their relationship- they rent a hotel room so they can hold hands. While the two do ultimately break up by the end of the episode, these two cartoon teens make you hope that some real teens out there are still like this. Oh- bonus points for Dale's radio station, reaching out ofver the "tri-home" area.
     "Malcolm" was well done too, not overly funny, but not overly sweet. In this one, Lois goes to dance class with Reese, Hal goes to poker with Stevie's dad and Malcolm and Stevie do a project ultamtely dependant on each other. Turns out Hal's horrible at poker, Lois is a great dancer (or so she thinks), Malcolm and Stevie can't work together without fighting and Reese has a knack for ripping off old people. No, it wasn't the best "Malcolm" ever, but it was a funny diversion.
     On the other end of that spectrum was "The Simpsons." As I've been noticing with the series so far this season, the show is increasingly coming up with funny jokes and just throwing them in without a plotline- or a weak one at best. This one starts off with the family fighting, then getting assigned a social worker. Half-way through the episode, the action stops. The show does a 180, and brings back some characters from the ill fated trip to Las Vegas episode. Turns out Neddy and Homer didn't get a divorce from the two hookers they drunkenly married, and they want it. They were some funny jokes yes, but the sloppy style was in excusable. Marge (or was it Lisa?), in the middle of the episode said "After 286 adventures, is it possible that the Simpsons don't have any left?" I think you're right- it's time for Fox, Matt Groening & Co. to realize this.

                  King of The Hill  B             The Simpsons C-                   Malcolm B+
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