VAGUE SPACE

TV Madness Round 3 - The Active Shows

1 - Curb Your Enthusiasm vs. 9 - Modern Family
4 - Parks and Recreation vs. 5 - Nurse Jackie

Curb has a 6-4 lead over current favorite Modern Family in the voting, while Parks & Rec is dominating against Nurse Jackie, 9-0.  That matchup is a little surprising, although despite the fact that Parks & Rec barely gets ratings on NBC for unknown reasons (too funny?  Americans are busy watching the horribly unfunny "Two Broke Girls"?), it still dwarfs the ratings for a show on Showtime, even an award-winning and popular one like Nurse Jackie.  I do love Nurse Jackie, and it was the Vague Space show of the year of 2010, but I also love Parks & Rec, which was show of the year in 2011.  Honestly I could go either way but I'll give the win to what the crowd is supporting, a show that is just non-stop hilarity from start to finish for the 4 year length of the show, Parks & Recreation.  In the other matchup, we have Curb, which has been around since 2000 or so on HBO, and Modern Family, only in its third season.  They have been 3 brilliant seasons (although not quite as good as the first three seasons of Parks & Rec or Nurse Jackie, in my opinion), but it's not going to beat Curb.  Pretty much every season of Larry David's show has featured bunches of episodes that were instant classics, particularly in the first 4 or 5 seasons.  But even in later years, including this past Season 8 that was rather weak by comparison, the show still has moments of absolute brilliance that no other show on the air today can match (ie. Bill Buckner at the shiva).

Winners:  1 - Curb Your Enthusiasm vs. 4 - Parks and Recreation (vote below)

2010-11 TV Season in Review Nominees

For this version of the annual Vague Space TV season review, I've decided to change the format a bit and make it similar to an Emmys or awards nominations process, with my panel of judges (the voices in my head) announcing the nominations first and the winners in a second post.  Mostly, this is so that I can get two columns out of this one bit.  But also because I found it really difficult to figure out which shows to include and which not to, particularly since many of my favorite programs appeared on the air last summer (True Blood, Weeds, Entourage) and haven't since.  I can't even remember what happened on True Blood (something about werewolves?) so it's really tough to rank it among all the shows in my annual list, particularly against shows with new episodes airing right now.  It's easier to just say True Blood is among the top 5 best dramas of the year and move on.  Of course, this opened up another can of worms, particularly how to categorize the Showtime shows that will dominate these year-end awards -- Nurse Jackie and United States of Tara and Shameless, for instance.  All are certainly more drama than comedy, but all are funny at times, and I know that Edie Falco won the Emmy for comedy actress last year so the Emmys consider it a comedy even if her character really doesn't do a whole lot that's remotely funny.  But as a default, I'm calling half-hour shows comedies and hour-longs drama and moving on.  It's not like anyone is still reading this introduction at this point anyway.  Without further ado, click through for the nominations for the 2010-11 TV Season in Review.

2009-10 TV Season in Review

I have to say that despite my lack of time this year to watch a whole lot of television -- or perhaps because I didn't have time to waste it on guilty pleasures that have populated my lists in years past (The Real World/ Road Rules Challenges, The Hills), this has been one of my favorite television seasons in recent memory.  I'm pleased with every single one of the shows in my top 10 and would recommend them to anyone, even as the season winds up in the coming weeks.  I had a hard time even keeping my list to a recommended 10 as there were a couple shows that had solid seasons (The Office, The Big Bang Theory, South Park, 30 Rock) that didn't quite make the list.  In fact, I also excluded HBO's The Pacific, a great 10-part miniseries on World War II, mostly because I've only made it through 3 or 4 episodes so far, but also because I didn't want to bump any of the following shows from the list.  The top 10 has comedies, dramas, reality shows, and several shows that seem an oddly wonderful combination of the three.  There are network shows, cable shows, and pay cable shows.  But mostly, it was just a great season for television.  Maybe it's good that I couldn't watch more of it.

Business Ethics

Holly gives a corporate-required "Business Ethics" lecture that has a lot to do with Ryan's downfall last year and leads to bigger drama involving Meredith and a Hammermill paper salesman who was giving her a bulk discount for sexual favors.  And Outback coupons.  I'm not sure what's more pathetic -- that Meredith was giving it up for Outback coupons, or that the Hammermill guy was willing to give up Outback coupons for sex with Meredith.  It really is an ethical dilemma.  And it really was an excellent episode. 

Pam appears via voice in the opening scene only, when she gets Jim to announce to the office that they are engaged.  As Jim fears, this does not go as well as Pam hoped.

Dwight: She’s not a virgin, you know.

Everyone else already thought they were engaged, or could otherwise not care.  Except of course, Michael, who comes in late and asks what's going on.

Creed: The tall guy got engaged.

Michael immediately tackles Jim as a way to hug him.  And the intro credits roll...

The Office Season 5 Premiere

The Office premiered this week with "Weight Loss," a rather ingenious episode that handled the hour-long structure of the show with brilliance while also exploring "what happened this summer" at the offices of Dunder-Mifflin.  With title cards beginning with "Week 1, June 30" and extending through the episode, we see the company's attempts at a group weight loss program while also watching what happens to everyone during those months.  When we last left the gang, Michael found a new love in HR rep Holly (Amy Ryan from Gone Baby Gone) but also found out old love Jan was pregnant; Jim wanted to propose to Pam but Andy stole his thunder with Angela; Angela was cheating on him with Dwight; and Ryan went to prison.  All those stories were touched upon, in pretty hilarious fashion, along with a new storyline - Pam no longer works at Dunder-Mifflin!  She's quit (temporarily?) to attend a graphics design course at the Pratt Institute in NYC.  Which means Jim is left alone, at least at the office, and the temp agency sends over a middle-aged woman named Ronnie to replace her.

Jim:  I don't really know Ronnie. But I have a feeling I will get to know her in the next few years, and eventually declare my love for her.

2007-08 Season in Review

An abbreviated disaster of a television season is receiving an abbreviated disaster of a blog post from me, due mostly to the fact that there was basically one good prime time show on television and a bunch of massive disappointments.  The writer's strike was obviously a factor and most of the returning shows -- really, all except one -- did not return to anything close to their previous heights.  The Office was probably the biggest disappointment for me.  After shooting from nowhere to my #1 favorite series in last year's season review, the show seemed to be decidedly less funny, with decidedly less memorable lines than last year.  It was still my #2 favorite show of the year, which kind of gives you an idea of how disappointing the season was overall.  But I guess it is what it is.  Read on to see the full list.  And believe me, a top 10 was a difficult number to reach.  Even with a 50" plasma screen television.

Job Fair

Jim: "I am about to do something very bold at this job, that I've never done before... try."

Jim takes his job somewhat seriously for the first time, taking a potential client out for a golf outing/sales effort as a way to get himself off his Ryan-imposed "probation" (due mostly to Jim telling Ryan's boss that Ryan's website effort went horribly wrong, which it did).  As a result, we see an unflattering image of (a) Jim groveling for a sale, (b) Andy's blisters from a day of driving range practice, and (c) a dick of a business owner ignoring Jim's requests for his business, even though he's getting a free day of golf out of it.  Fucker.  I hate the business world.  Did I mention that before?  Anyway, in the meantime, Michael, Pam, Oscar, and Darryl go to Pam's old high school to try to attract an unpaid intern for the summer at their annual Job Fair.  Not surprisingly, no one is all that excited at working for free at a paper company.  Michael refuses to give up though.

Michael:  "Yes, I'm trying to lure kids into my booth, but kids are very wary of being lured these days.  Thank you, Dateline."

Did I Stutter?

Daryl: "Mike. I'm very busy here." (Daryl is playing Rubik's Cube)
Michael: "Have you ever been in a gang?"
Daryl: (pretending to be serious) "I have."
Michael: "I knew it."
"Which one -- the Crips or the Bloods?"
Daryl: "Both.  And the Lap Kings.  The Warriors.  Newsies."
Michael: "Wow."

Gang warfare gets a nod on this week's episode of The Office, a sporadically funny episode in what is becoming a sporadically funny show.  I haven't posted much about television since the strike and the reason probably has as much to do with the somewhat shaky quality of the returning series as with a dropping level of interest due to the extended break.  Ratings are generally down -- way down -- over the same period last year, with even the highest rated shows struggling.  I can't say I'm any different than the regular public with regard to that.  I'm watching a grand total of three scripted network series at this point, and they are all on Thursday night.  Lost, The Office, and 30 Rock.  Lost has been its same infuriatingly wonderful self.  The Office has yet to find its mark, and 30 Rock has been hit or miss, but I've always found it hit or miss despite almost universal praise from the blogosphere.  So that's it.  That's it for my TV world.  Not that I'm watching any less actual television.  I mean, with the new TV and DirecTV, there's a seemingly infinite variety of choices, including first and foremost a nightly broadcast of every single Mariners game in Hi-Def, and every single Phillies game (some in Hi-Def).  That was something I never, ever got on Comcast (which only showed up to 8 MLB package games a night and the Phillies were rarely part of the package, and none of it is or was in HD).  So believe me, I'm loving TV, but as for scripted prime time shows, I'm watching 3 right now.  Including on cable actually, since I think South Park's spring run is over (there was a re-run on this week).  Pretty sad state of affairs for the future of television, I think.  Although I guess it's a good thing for those who think television ruins the soul.

The Office DVDs

So I've been working my way through The Office Season 3 DVDs, which are conveniently available for viewing now that the actual show is off the air thanks to the strike (support the writers!) and I stumbled upon the deleted scenes for the "Product Recall" episode, which just happens to be one of the funniest episodes I've ever seen on any show ever.  Or maybe it was just that I was drunk while watching it again, but the parts where Andy Bernard (love Ed Helms!!) joins Jim on a trip to the local high school to apologize for the obscene watermark that went out on the paper Dunder Mifflin sold to them and Andy runs into his high school student girlfriend are just some of the funniest scenes ever filmed.  I even blogged about it back in May, as follows...

• Andy: Why is my girlfriend here?
• Jim:  Oh, is she that teacher in the white?
• Andy:  No, she's a part-time frozen yogurt chef.
• Jim: Which one is she?
  Andy: The one in the green hoodie.
  (camera pans to what is clearly a high school girl opening her locker)
• Andy: Maybe she's a guidance counselor?
• Jim: No.
• Andy: A tutor?
• Jim:  No.

But the deleted scenes contain an even funnier part, at least to me, which is amusing on oh-so-many levels.  Too many to explain, but after the jump is the conversation between Jim and a female friend of Andy's "girlfriend." And no, the writers did not consult with me first before writing this scene.  Not even the cigarette part.  Or the part about The Hills.  Or the age thing.  Just read on...

The Irrigation Room

On this week's episode of the Office, Michael runs out of money, Dwight opens a bed-and-breakfast, and Jan's breasts continue to be huge.  Oh, and Ryan makes another appearance, Kelly hooks up with Darryl from the warehouse (seriously, guys!), and Andy finally gets Angela to agree to a date, much to Dwight's chagrin.  And of course, there's a whole lot of Jim and Pam shipping, starting with their first overnight stay somewhere - a date at the Shrute Farms Bed & Breakfast... which doesn't go exactly as Jim planned for his first vacation with Pam.

Jim:  "I always imagined less manure.  I mean, some manure.  Just less."