Goodbye 30 Rock... Hello Community!

SIGH

Last Thursday was the series finale of 30 Rock, and rather be sad that another very high quality show that I love, but very few other watched, has left the air, I am just going to be glad that I got 7 seasons of enjoyment.  Considering that it was so low rated for most of its run and was often up against the juggernaut CBS shows (either Survivor or Big Bang Theory, depending on the season), its a miracle that it lasted that long.  Well, not so much a miracle but rather the good fortune to be on during a period that NBC's ratings were in such dire straights that they had nothing else better to put on.  The fact that 30 Rock realized how low NBC was and constantly took shots at them was one of the things that I loved about that show.  They generally didn't give a fuck about biting the hand that fed them, mostly because their jabs at NBC were pretty spot on (and most often hilarious - my two favorites being MILF Island and America's Kidz Got Singing as terrible fictional NBC shows). 

The best part of 30 Rock, however, was the relationship between Jack Donaghy and Liz Lemon.  Just about every TV show in history, when finding themselves with male-female leads that have tremendous chemistry, have tried to build a "will they or won't they" tension which, when ultimately resolved on the "will they" side, results in poorer stories.  Not 30 Rock.  They managed to resist that throughout the entire run (other than the periodic Joke from Jack about how unattractive he is by Liz).  That restraint in storytelling allowed Jack and Liz to develop one of the best friendships in TV history, allowing them to play off each other and grow more alike than either would have thought was possible at the beginning of the series.  I would hope that future shows would realize that they don't have to take the lazy way out and always force a relationship on their leads, but who am I kidding?  Not enough people watched this show to make a difference (even with all the Emmy wins). 

The only bight spot in 30 Rock leaving is that NBC has finally agreed to air the new season of Community in its place.  Community is even less watched than 30 Rock, so I have to believe this is the final season for that show as well (meaning in 6 weeks I'll probably be writing a "Goodbye Community" piece).  I want to be really excited for Community to be back, but since they are working with a brand new creative team, I am trying to temper that excitement.  Oh well, it still has to be better than that stupid "Whitney" show...

So, I say good bye to 30 Rock and  say thanks for all the laughs.  Here are some of my favorite Jack quotes (always the most consistent quote machine on the show even in down  episodes):

[to Liz] I like you. You have the boldness of a much younger woman

Jack: That's a sharp tie you've got there, Dennis. 
Dennis: That douchebag up front made me wear it. 
Jack: Does he know you're the Beeper King? 
Dennis: I don't think so.

Liz: Why are you wearing a tux? 
Jack: It's after six. What am I, a farmer?

Never go with a hippie to a second location.

[to his Mother] Are you sure that life is short?  Because yours seems ENDLESS.

Lemon, the grown-up dating world is like your haircut. Sometimes, awkward triangles occur.

You're Liz Lemon, damn it. In certain lights, you're an 8! Using East Coast, over-35 standards, excluding Miami.

Lemon, I want you to get better because, and I mean this, I’m tired of talking this much to a woman I’m not having sex with.

2012 Year in Review - TV Pt. 2

SIGH

I just had a huge error that erased this entire post.  I am not going to try and re-write it from memory, mostly because it is already January 7 and I want to get through these year end reviews and get to some different subjects.  Instead, I will just try and recover my thoughts on the top 5 only:

Drama

10. Downton Abbey
9. Sherlock
8. The Hour
7. Fringe
6.  The Walking Dead

5. Justified
  As I write this, I am one day away from the season 4 premiere, and I am incredibly fired up.  Raylan Givens is such a badass on this show, and Boyd Crowder is a tremendous foil for him.  Justified is a great modern western that makes me always want to drink bourbon and never visit Kentucky.

4. Boardwalk Empire
  I was very concerned with where this show was going to go after the way season 2 ended, but I should have known better.  Adding in Gyp Rosetti as the new bad guy, pitting him against Nucky in a season long mob war and bringing in Al Capone as Nucky's ace in the hole was a super winning formula.

3. Game of Thrones
  As good as the first 2 seasons of this show have been (and they have been fantastic), anyone that has ready the Song of Fire and Ice books knows how unbelievably ape-shit awesome this upcoming season is going to be...

2. Breaking Bad
  This continues to be the most intense show on TV, maybe of all time.  Watching more than one episode in a row actually takes something out of you and may actually shorten your life span a little. 

1. Mad Men
  Once again, Mad Men is the best written and best acted (from top to bottom) show on TV.  While Breaking Bad is has the intense drama covered, Mad Men manages to be more emotionally engaging while just being a frigging show about an ad agency!

Up next (hopefully this week) - my favorite music of the year!

2012 Year in Review - TV Pt. 1

I originally was going to just publish one combined top 10 list of my favorite TV shows of the year.  I thought, "I really don't watch that much current TV, and I don't think I will be able to come up with enough shows to fill two different lists."  Yeah... Once I started compiling the first run shows that I watched throughout the year, it became apparent that I watch way more TV than I thought and that there was more than enough to come up with both Comedy and Drama lists.

Comedy

10. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
     Having just completed it's 8th season, it's understandable that Sunny isn't as funny as it once was.  However, week in and week out, it's still pretty damn funny (and just as wrong as ever).  This last season was particularly good for long time fans as there were call backs to episodes from previous seasons (selling gas door to door, Maureen Ponderosa, faking cancer) that could have seemed like recycling of ideas but instead offered fresh takeson the story lines.

9. The Daily Show/The Colbert Report
   Normally, I would say it was a cheat to tie these two series together as one entry.  However, since Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert teamed up on what was not only one of Colbert's funniest ongoing stories of the year but also perhaps the best journalistic expose (albeit in Colbert's signature over the top style) of how ludicrous our Super PAC regulations are, I am doing it.  Election years are always kind to both of these programs, and this time was no different. 

8. The League
  The League has taken the crown from Sunny as the show that makes me laugh the hardest each week at such wrong behavior.  Pretty much anything involving an appearance by Rafi is horrifying and hysterical at the same time, but the rest of the gang holds their own in that regard - the circumcision of poor Baby Chalupa Batman is a fine example. 

7. Eastbound & Down
  Other than an INCREDIBLY strange plot decision at the end of the finale, Eastbound seemed to be going out in a blaze of glory with a very funny concluding season.  However, in a very odd twist of its own, there will be more episodes to come.  I am not sure whether I think they should have left well enough alone or not.  I guess more Kenny F'n Powers can never be a bad thing.

6. Children's Hospital
  If you have never seen this show before on Adult Swim (which would be understandable as its on Thursdays at midnight, and only for 15 minutes), just describing the premise as "it's a spoof of hospital shows like Grey's Anatomy" doesn't nearly come close to conveying the show's lunacy to you.  For starters, they have done episodes about how it is really supposed to be a TV show, but all the actors on it aren't real either, and they also did a British version this season.  Trust me - just set your DVR and enjoy the insanity.

5. 30 Rock
  I can't believe that we are in the final episodes of this show, and that soon I will no longer have my weekly fix of Jack Donaghy wisdom.  I am sad just typing that.  To make it worse, this final season so far has been spectacular, highlighted with Liz' wedding (which was just as Liz Lemon-y as it should have been).   Really, I am now depressed.  I was barely able to drink my morning shower scotch today just thinking about it.  (I will probably do a blog after the 30 Rock finale that will consist of nothing by Jack quotes...)

4. Louie
  Louie is the comedy that really defies description.  Some weeks it is so funny that I am in tears.  Some weeks it doesn't contain a single laugh out loud moment but it is so heartwarming or heart wrenching.  Other weeks it is so (enjoyably) uncomfortable to watch that I almost want to hide my eyes.   Louis CK is not only the funniest dude on the planet right now, he is presenting a show that is unlike anything else on TV right now (and probably at anytime before it).  I am sad that he is taking all of 2013 off to recharge his batteries, but that just means that Louie will be that much better when it returns. 

3. Community
 That Community has fallen from its position as my second favorite (and, depending on the episode, tied for first favorite) comedy is not so much a result of a drop in quality last season as it is due to the next show on the list.  Community continues to week in and week out push the boundaries of how you can use different pop culture references to tell stories that have real heart.  While I am sad that this upcoming fourth season will probably be the last, the fact that we got 4 seasons of a show this quirky, funny and enjoyable that no one is watching is was an accomplishment.
  
2. Archer
  Archer is probably the most consistently funny show on TV right now, but it doesn't get the top spot (see below).  Rather than go into all the reasons why this show rules, I will just tell you to watch the new season premiere in January and you will learn. 

1. Parks & Recreation
  Once again, Parks & Rec remains my favorite comedy on TV.  Its not just because it is fucking hilarious every week (it is).  It's not because it has some of the greatest characters of any comedy (it does - everyone that has seen this show knows how awesome Ron Swanson is, but seriously they all are fantastic, from Andy to Tom all the way down to the random crazies of Pawnee that pop up).  It's because it takes these characters, tells incredibly funny stories about them and makes me care about what happens to them at the same time.  Seriously, the episode where Ben proposed to Leslie was so amazing and emotional.  No other show on TV makes me just feel good and happy after watching it than Parks does.  That's why its the best. 

Coming soon... Pt.2, Dramas!

Year End and New Beginings

Looking at my blog archives, it has been almost an entire year since my last blog post (it was a February 8 post of a review of an episode of "Justified").  That is unacceptable, especially when I have been feeling the need for a creative outlet a lot lately. 

To resolve this situation, I am going to post a few year end lists - favorite CD's, TV, other stuff - over the next week or so just to get back into the swing.  After that, I will try to get back on a regular posting schedule.  I think my problem previously has been that trying to write up TV reviews on a weekly basis (which was all I was doing) was seeming too much like work.  I took a look back at my blog history and see what I was posting back when I was really enjoying what I was doing, I was just writing about whatever topic came to mind.  In 2013, I am really trying to get back to that. 

So, consider this a preview of what I hope is a ton of posts to come (which of course no one will read).

Up next... Favorite TB shows of 2012!

Tues TV Roundup - February 7: Justified

I want to expand my TV reviews beyond just Thursday nights going forward (and get back in the groove so I stop skipping Thursdays too) .  The reason for this is that Justified is on Tuesdays, and the badassery of that show definitely needs to be discussed.  Once The Walking Dead gets back, I'll add that one too (mostly to get into the habit of writing about a Sunday show for when Mad Men returns in March).  Since I didn't get around to doing Justified earlier, I am doing a comprehensive review of the first 4 episodes this week, and hope to pick up episode 5 next week.  

Episode 1 - Jan. 17I am sooooo glad this show is back.  This season has a lot to live up to.  Season 2 was a fantastic mix of great stories and compelling characters -Mags Bennett is one of the all time great TV villains.  Mags left some big shoes to fill, and it looks like Season 3 has decided to compensate by upping the number of bad guys.  Between what happened this week and what I read about the next episode, there will be 2 (and maybe 3, depending on how big a roll Wynn Duffy ends up playing) major baddies that Raylan will have to deal with.  Add in that he still has issues with Boyd Crowder (and whatever trouble his gang - which includes Raylan's own father - gets into while Boyd is in jail), its not a good time for Raylan to be at less than tip top shape.  Unfortunately, he's still feeling the effects of his gun shot wound from Season 2's finale.  Luckily for him, he still has hits wits to rely on, which serve him well in a superbly tense final scene involving a showdown with an assassin sent by the Dixie Mafia to take him out.

This was a really good start to the season.  It set a lot of pieces in motion for the season, while still being an action packed, intense episode on its own, with some fantastic dialogue (my favorite verbal exchanges were with Raylan and Boyd in the Marshal's office and between Raylan and Wynn outside his trailer).  This episode had everything I expect from Justified and it seems like we are once again in for a hell of a ride this season.

Grade -> A-

Episode 1 - Jan.24A big deal was made this week that Carla Gugino was appearing in this episode as essentially Karen Sisco (without being able to be called that due to rights issues), the character from Elmore Leonard's novel that she played on a previous, little watched TV series.  Since I have never read one of Leonard's novels, nor watched an episode of that show, it wasn't a big deal to me.  However, she meshed so well in this episode that I hope she shows up again in the future.  Its always good to learn about Raylan's time spent away from Kentucky, and it was also nice to find out that he was previously involved with a woman that could hold her own on the job right along side him. 

However, this episode really belonged to Raylan's boss, Art.  Art has constantly been on Raylan's case about the methods he uses in the course of his job.  That's pretty much a given for any action-oriented cop show/movie: the hardcase boss.  However, I don't think I have every seen a show actually explain to you why the boss is like that they way this episode does for Art.  It turns out that back in is earlier days as a Marshall, Raylan's way of doing things was not so uncommon, and Art was no stranger to that behavior.  It's just that now he knows better.  His old school interrogation of the Witness Protection turncoat (its always good to see the guy who played Bill Guarnere in Band of Brothers getting work) was fantastic.

Much like the first episode, this one was a really good standalone story, while at the same time nicely putting the pieces into play for the overall season story.  This time, we get introduced to Big Bad #2, Limehouse, in a really well done short scene that lets you know exactly what type of formidable foe he might be for Raylan.  Plus, we also get a little more info as to what Boyd is up to in jail (turns out he is after Dickie for money, not revenge).

Grade -> A-

Episode 3 - Jan. 31
Three episodes to start the season, three really, really good ones.  This week's episode is less standalone and more about the overall story.  We learn a little bit more about Quarles (Neal McDonough) and what he is planning.  Specifically, we find out his dad used to make him watch Taxi Driver as a young kid (that's fucked up) and that he wants to turn Harlan County into a pill factory.  We find out that Limehouse is involved in drugs, in addition to his role as safekeeper of the Bennett family's ill gotten gains.  Lastly, we see what Boyd plans now that he is out of jail - he wants his gang to run all the crime in Harlan County. 

All the forces on the other side of Raylan are starting to establish themselves, and it remains to be seen whether he will have to deal with all these threats one at a time, or if he will find himself besieged at on all sides by the end of the season.  Based on how things have transpired the last 2 seasons, I am betting in the latter.  Even if it does turn out the way I expect, I have utter faith that it will be a thrilling ride to get there.

Grade -> A-


Episode 4 - Feb. 7
I thought this episode was just a tiny step down from the first 3.  That's not surprising in that the previous episodes have been excellent, but its a little surprising since it  prominently featured Jeremy Davies' Dickie Bennett - a character and an actor that I really like.  Davies plays "squirelly" better than just about anyone else out there today.  I still really enjoyed the episode, but it really didn't move the Season 3 plot forward much.  Boyd is still sitting in his brother's bar, hatching his schemes, although the gang is now down 1 member.  I am sad to see Devil go - I am currently working my way through Friday Night Lights, and the actor who played Devil was really good as Jason Street's buddy Herc.  We also don't have much more going on with Limehouse, other than that we learn he doesn't have as much of Mags' money left as everyone thinks, and that there is a brief bit of history between he and Raylan (specifically with Raylan's dad, Arlo).  And there was no sign of Quarles at all.

However, even without much forward momentum, there were a lot of the things I love about Justified.  The dialogue was as snappy as ever, with the highlight being the confrontation between Raylan/Rachel and Limehouse.  That interrogation soon devolves into a discussion between Limehouse and Rachel about her upbringing, and then quickly transforms into Raylan and Rachel discussing which southern colleges have the best looking women.  There was also some very good action.  Raylan continues to find ways to use his wits instead of his gun to get himself out of scrapes - this time he simply runs over a guy (TWICE) trying to shoot him instead of pulling his own weapon.  

Grade -> B+

Favorite Albums of 2011

(Here is the link to the previous post where I listed my favorite CD's from the first half of 2011).

I know its a little late for this kind of 2011 retrospective, but if they can stretch the college bowl games out until January 9th, I can do a year end music review on January 3rd.

Here are my favorite CDs from the second half of 2011(these are records that were released from July 1 - November 30 or that were from earlier on the year, but I didn't get them until after I already composed the earlier list).  Since 11/30 is always the cutoff date that I use in order to give me time to come up with the list, The Black Keys' El Camino and The Roots' Undun both are missing.  They will be on the 2012 list (which is a guarantee because both are fantastic).  I know my early 2011 list had 15 discs, but there were more records from that part of the year that I liked than there were in the 2nd half, so I am sticking with 10 this time. 

10.) Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
9.) Los Campesinos! - Hello Sadness
8.) Low - C'mon
7.) Wilco - The Whole Love
6.) Yuck - Yuck
5.) The Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
4.) Loney, Dear - Hall Music
3.) Fruit Bats - Tripper
2.) Feist - Metals
1.) Jay-Z & Kanye West - Watch The Throne

The last few times I have tried to write a post on music rankings, I have had a pretty hard time, and I think its because I am just not very good at articulating my music critiquing.  Everything comes out as "This was really good" or "I just didn't care for this" - I know what I like, but have a hard time coming up with words to describe WHY I like it.  So, I think I am just going to stop (surprisingly, I have a much easier time critiquing movies and TV, so I will keep up with that).  I believe that is one of the reasons that posts related to music take me so long to put together, and then I fall behind on what I want to write about.  Going forward, I am going to limit my music related posts to, "Ok, HERE is some music I like", and maybe throw in a few anecdotes or personal experiences related to whatever music I am writing about and leave it at that. 

Here is my overall Top 10 album list for 2011:
10.) The Raveonettes - Raven In the Grave
9.) Vivian Girls - Share the Joy
8.) Bill Callahan - Apocalypse
7.) Loney, Dear - Hall Music
6.) Fruit Bats - Tripper
5.) Wye Oak - Civilian
4.) Feist - Metals
3.) PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
2.) TV On The Radio - Nine Types of Light
1.) Jay-Z & Kanye West - Watch The Throne

THERE!  That closes the book on 2011.  I had thought about also writing a year end TV recap like I did last year, but I really don't watch that many current TV series, so a Top 10 list would pretty much just be the shows I watch regularly.  I don't really watch any shows that are only ok  - ALL my shows are good and I  believe are the top shows of the year.  So, I think instead I will be expanding my weekly TV reviews beyond just Thursday night.  I will definitely add recaps for Justified and Mad Men when they premier, plus anything else I like that is coming back soon. (I am also going to make a real effort to come up with more posts that are not just reviews, like I did back when I started this blog, but I may have made that promise before, so we'll see). 

Top 25 Favorite Songs of 2011

This was an incredible hard list to put together.  I had already decided on my top album list for the year before I attempted this list, and that was so much easier on which to decide.  I guess that means that I loved a lot more individual songs this year than I loved albums that I heard.  I had originally only wanted to pick 20 for the list, but after agonizing just to get it down to 25, I couldn't find 5 more songs that I could eliminate.  So, I decided to just say screw it and stick with 25.  Also, other than the top 3, I am not actually ranking the songs - I had a hard enough time just coming up with these songs, let alone ranking them.  Away we go!

1.) Jay-Z and Kanye West - "That's My Bitch"
  The best song from one of the best hip hop albums I have heard in along time (granted I don't listen to a lot of new hip hop, but still) - even better than Kanye's record from last year.  I could have probably put 2/3 of the songs from Watch The Throne on this list if I wanted to.

2.) TV on the Radio - "Repetition"
  TV on the Radio continues to be one of the most unique sounding bands out there.  This song is rocking and funky all at the same time.

3.) PJ Harvey - "The Words That Maketh Murder"
  This CD came out in the early part of 2011 and it remained one of my favorites all year.  This is another disc that could have the majority of its songs on this list.

Here are the rest (in alphabetical order) with occasional thoughts:

Beastie Boys -"Long Burn The Fire"
  While "Make Some Noise" was the song from Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2 that got the Beasties the most notice this year (and rightfully so for its epic, 30 minute video), this is the best song from that CD.  It has a great grinding kind of beat and it's amazing that these guys are still doing it like this in 2011.

Beirut - "Vagabond"

Bon Iver - "Towers"
  Yes, "Holocene" from this record earned Bon Iver a Grammy nomination.  And that is a very good song, but I just like this one better.  "Holocene" almost made this list as well, but it was a last minute cut (and will be on my "Honorable Mention" list.


British Sea Power - "Living Is So Easy"

Death Cab For Cutie - "Doors Unlocked & Open"


The Decemberists - "Dear Avery", "January Hymn", "Rox in the Box"
  I said earlier that I could have put multiple selection on this list from Jay-Z & Kanye and PJ Harvey, but I was able to limit myself to 1 song each since the 2 I selected were far and away the top songs on those discs.  That was not the case with The King Is Dead by The Decemberists.  When I got down to these 3 songs, I couldn't see eliminating any of them, so I just kept all 3.  Hell of a comeback year for The Decemberists after how crappy The Crane Wife was.

Destroyer - "Chinatown"

Feist - "Anti-Pioneer"

The Fruit Bats - "You're Too Weird"

Kurt Vile - "Jesus Fever"

Loney, Dear - "What Have I Become?"

Low - "Especially Me"

My Morning Jacket - "Holdin' On To Black Metal"

The Mountain Goats - "Age of Kings", "Beautiful Gas Mask"
  This was another case where I couldn't see picking one song over the other, so I didn't.  Maybe I need to be more decisive next year, but if I did that this year, this post would be coming out in January...

The Raveonettes - "Forget That You're Young"

Vivian Girls - "I Heard You Say"

Wilco - "I Might"

Wye Oak - "Holy Holy"

Yuck- "Get Away"

Since I can post an actual playlist from Spotify to go along with this blog, I decided not to say something about each song in an effort to get this damn post finished.  If you are curious about any of these songs, they'll be on the playlist that I am posting on Facebook.

Coming Soon: I will post an "Honerable Mention" playlist of the songs that just didn't quite make the cut.  Then, more year end blogs, including the top albums of the 2nd half of 2011 and the overall album list.