Anything Good On TV?

[isfet]

into disc 2 of of season 2 of Twin Peaks.  thus far, it doesn't seem too bad, despite what i'd been warned. honestly, i think i'll just watch it all the way through, because...well, for consistency i suppose.

i can no longer tolerate Officer Brennan; he is such a terrible character.  i understand that the mildly-retarded deputy is supposed to provide some kind of inane comic relief, but all i can think of when i see him is how much i hope that in the final few episodes he is brutally sodomized and left to die.  it's the only retribution for a character that grating.

i'm simultaneously watching Paranoia Agent.  i can't help but draw comparisons and feel like the show is at least partially inspired by Twin Peaks.  it's really nothing more than a coincidence, though, that i decided to start renting these at the same time.

and, after a few recommendations, i've decided to give the show "Dexter" a shot.  hell, anything on Netflix instant play that seems remotely interesting to me deserves at least 20 minutes of a shot, i think.  i'm actually enjoying it a good deal; it's not the best thing ever or anything, but it's something of a cop drama with a bit more depth and personality to it.  to be honest, i was actually expecting Ichi: The Killer style violence in this (as someone had made a comparison between the two), so its tameness is a little blah.  still, though, the characters are all pretty fun to watch.

[FortNinety]

Larry Sanders truly is an amazing show, provided you have a serious interest in the world of Hollywood backdoor nonsense and late night television, circa the early 90s. But Garry Shandling is just awesome, as is the rest of his cast. As for Garafalo, she was hardly the star or anything, but decent nonetheless, though her best work was easily the Ben Stiller show. Then I saw her shitty stand up and became like some weird talk radio personality after 9/11 and have not been able to stomach her ever since.

Hey Mike, speaking of Adult Swim, thoughts on Tim and Eric?

[dmauro]

I made it through maybe four or five episodes of Dexter before I was just so fully bored that I gave up. It started out seeming like it could be good, but it's just not.

Right now I'm watching the first season of SVU. I was worried that I would have seen all these because I've watched plenty of this show on TV, but I guess I missed all the first season. It's awesome though. They do a tiny bit too much of the personal life of the two main officers, but you get plenty of Munch being awesome. The bad boyfriend from 30 rock is there instead of Ice T, and he doesn't fill those shoes, but I don't mind him.

[Fitz]

rip torn (who was awesome)

You mentioned him which means I'm compelled to post this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AzmhorISf4

[dhex]

i've heard that mailer was hard on nerves and all but a hammer strikes me - har har - as a bit much.

speaking of crime dramas and det. munch, homicide: life on the streets is pretty good. (i'm up a lot at 2 am these days so i catch weird reruns of stuff)

Hey Mike, speaking of Adult Swim, thoughts on Tim and Eric?

i pretend they don't exist.

[FortNinety]

stoic is just about the last word i'd use to describe you, bruh!

Well, I'm stoic about certain things.

]all i can think of when i see him is how much i hope that in the final few episodes he is brutally sodomized and left to die.  it's the only retribution for a character that grating.

I guess the only reason why I don't find him so offensive is because I have personally know officers of the law that are just like the guy. Why is a major reason why I like the show in the first place; Washington State itself is somewhat of a weird place. But I grew up near an insane asylum, so what do I know.

And Paranoia Agent is indeed awesome, but then again, I'll watch anything Satoshi Kon is involved in.

SVU

Infinitely watchable, but if no Ice T, no sale.

You mentioned him which means I'm compelled to post this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AzmhorISf4

That clip never fails to fascinate (I've never seen the full thing, so thanks).

And yeah, best camera person ever. He's one of the primary reasons why it feels fake, given his excellent framing afterward.

i pretend they don't exist.

Guess I shouldn't be surprised!

[dmauro]

SVU

Infinitely watchable, but if no Ice T, no sale.

The other guy actually fills a pretty awesome role. He's kind of the dumb newbie that has little flashes of brilliance. Ice T is nice, but I think I kind of like it better when, for instance, in one of these early episodes they needed a real badass tough guy to intimidate some perps so they got this Jesse Ventura looking narcotics officer involved and it was pretty awesome. And I mostly watch it for Munch (his exchanges with Warner are really great, it's like a modern take on Cary Grant/Catherine Hepburn), Benson and Stabler anyways.

[dhex]

Well, I'm stoic about certain things.

heh. as are we all. but stoic as a descriptor isn't generally an on/off switch type of deal.

Guess I shouldn't be surprised!

well, there's funny and there's funny. the few seconds i've seen hit my die in a fire buttons pretty hard.

[loopback]

When someone tells me they like Tim & Eric, and think the show is really funny, I worry. I have such a hard time imagining a world in which that show is funny, that I start looking for organic or psychological damage in someone to explain why they like it.

[FortNinety]

lol

Whatever dude, whatever.

[dhex]

i have loopback's problem, but about seinfeld.

i figure that, like seinfeld/curb your enthusiasm/the office/arrested development, tim & eric is part of the theatre of discomfort. there are moments of that particular school of comedy i like - mostly the horse apples episode from wondershowzen season 2 - but for the most part it is very much not my thing.

[dhex]

speaking of tv, liz's newest thing is mad men. as in "we just bought the third season today via amazon on demand" newest thing. which, i'm sort of surprised, works fine across the wd media player we bought, as it can access amazon accounts to play video.

[FortNinety]

I hope you're talking about the British Office, cuz that show is amazing, due primarily to it's level of uncomfortableness. Which I just don't find funny per say, as do most its fans I'd like to believe. Its just a gigantic trainwreck, that many of us cannot help by gawk at. Then again, we all find different things funny, even those of us with supposed major psychological damage.

The American Office on the other hand I just can't get into. At least it's not nearly as bad as Scubs when it comes to silly white people humor.

And I was just going to point out that Tim & Eric is not a whole lot different than Wondershowzen. The later is just a wacky send-up of kids the shows, the former of cable access and shit television as a whole.

[dhex]

Then again, we all find different things funny, even those of us with supposed major psychological damage.

see, this is why you and stoicism are not kissing in a tree.*

the british office was what i had in mind. i've seen about four episodes total. tuda made me watch some way back in the day. at the time, i was baffled that it'd be considered entertainment.** but overall i think it's cubicle rat humor that i simply do not understand, a hallmark of generation veal and its passive ressentiment.

which may be putting too fine a point on it. or not, considering the stories i've heard.

request for clarification: what's silly white people humor? my first instinct would be to put almost anything discussed in this pages in that general category. (i.e. it's silly, the audience is largely white, and it's humorous in intent)

tim and eric may very well have a huge ethnic audience/urban market mindshare that adult swim is going to capitalize on at any moment, but i would bet against that being true.

actually, on that particular note, i think i can make a convincing case for metalocalypse as a honky revenge fantasy.

* kissing would likely be out of bounds regardless.

** disclaimer - at this time i was most likely completely high out of my mind, and thus more susceptible to grand unifying cultural narratives as an explanation for something i found unpleasant. similarly, the great aching sorrow i felt after watching that cable access "best of" tape at your place that one evening; a little too boulevard of broken dreams-y for my tastes. i prefer to forget the lonely people.

[Fitz]

"Strident" perhaps works better than "Stoic" in this case.