Key & Peele: Season 1 Sketch of the Year

June 11, 2012

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“Obama’s Anger Translator”


Like many classic comedy sketches, Obama’s Anger Translator germinated from a simple seed of an observation: Barack Obama practically never betrays a hint of heated anger, even though his job has given him plenty to get worked up over.  Jordan Peele’s virtuosic Obama impression and Keegan-Michael Key’s talent for portraying the unrepressed id were the perfect combination for illustrating this point.  One could argue that this was a partisan bit tailor-made for Obama supporters, but whenever your opinion of the President or the job he has done, it ought to be admitted that he has faced an intense amount of disagreement, enough that it would be understandable if he started nonsensically spouting out random Michael Jackson lyrics.

Best Episode of the Season: Key & Peele Season 1

June 11, 2012

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Season Analysis: Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, with their astute social and personal insights inspired by their biracial backgrounds, delivered the best new sketch comedy series since Chapelle’s Show.

“Episode 1”
Key & Peele’s first season included an impressive number of sketches that were instant classics or at least very amusing.  However, there was no episode among the first eight that was made up entirely of those sketches that fit those categories; on the other hand, there was also no episode in which it felt like Key and Peele had taken the week off.  Thus, we ended up with a collection of good-to-great episodes, in which none stood out much more than any other, except for the first episode, thanks to its novelty.  Their targets and routines were established quickly and decisively: the roles black/biracial people take on depending on the situation (two black men on their phones toughening up their demeanors as they walk by each other), gender politics (husbands going to great lengths to make sure their wives are out of earshot when they call them bitches), their friendship-based stand-up interstitials, the pop culture parodies for the hell of it (the parody reality cooking show Gideon’s Kitchen), and of course, their take on our first black – but actually, like them, half-black/half-white – president (Obama’s anger translator).  Key and Peele’s comedic voice is practically required listening for members of the American present day.

Best Episode of the Season: The Walking Dead Season 2

June 9, 2012

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Season Analysis: Was that farm that our survivors spent season 2 stuck on some sort of Möbius strip?

“Beside the Dying Fire”

If it wasn’t clear from the series’ beginning, then Season 2 of The Walking Dead made it abundantly clear that a zombie TV show is a very different beast than a zombie movie.  To be able to maintain a reasonable degree of serialization, having a massive zombie attack with the same level of momentum week after week is simply not going to work. So, while The Walking Dead does not have frenetic, claustrophobic horror every single second, it does have decent acting (though spotty characterization) and philosophical explorations of the disintegration of society (though those questions often only scratch the surface).  But when a major zombie horde actually does overrun one of the survivors’ temporary strongholds, it tends to be entertaining.  Hershel’s farm had felt like a town that could not be exited after entering it, so it was a hugely necessary kick in the pants to have it destroyed.  The best moments of “Beside the Dying Fire” – Rick revealing that everyone is infected as well as losing his shit by declaring that this group is “not a democracy”, Andrea getting separated and being saved by the hooded figure with the katana – were satisfying mostly in that they promised new directions for Season 3.  But after a season that chased its own tail, I was happy to have exciting previews.

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 6/9/12

June 9, 2012

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It was NOT time for Calvin Harris to leave the countdown!

Original Version
1. Carly Rae Jepsen – “Call Me Maybe”
2. Maroon 5 ft. Wiz Khalifa – “Payphone”
3. Jason Mraz – “I Won’t Give Up”
4. Gotye ft. Kimbra – “Somebody That I Used to Know”
5. Nicki Minaj – “Starships”
6. Ellie Goulding – “Lights”
7. Train – “Drive By”
8. fun. ft. Janelle Monáe – “We Are Young”
9. Gym Class Heroes ft. Ryan Tedder – “The Fighter”
10. John Mayer – “Shadow Days”
11. Ed Sheeran – “The A Team”
12. Daughtry – “Outta My Head”
13. Carrie Underwood – “Good Girl”
14. Rihanna – “Where Have You Been”
15. Karmin – “Brokenhearted”
16. David Guetta ft. Sia – “Titanium”
17. Pitbull – “Back in Time”
18. Demi Lovato – “Give Your Heart a Break”
19. Neon Trees – “Everybody Talks”
20. Grace Potter & the Nocturnals – “Never Go Back”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Somebody That I Used to Know
2. Starships
3. Titanium
4. Lights
5. Where Have You Been
6. Good Girl
7. We Are Young
8. Call Me Maybe
9. Never Go Back
10. Brokenhearted
11. Back in Time
12. Give Your Heart a Break
13. Everybody Talks
14. Payphone
15. Shadow Days
16. The A Team
17. Drive By
18. The Fighter
19. Outta My Head
20. I Won’t Give Up

Portlandia: Season 2 Sketch of the Year

June 7, 2012

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“Sanitation Twins”


Marcus and Madeleine Harris – the Sanitation Twins! – are here to tell you, Portland, about all the new and exciting recycling bins!  Like many an attempt to ease and simplify, this effort becomes comically complicated, as seemingly everything and anything (broken umbrellas, lotion, fingernails, eggshells, etc.) can be recycled, a bewildering array of colors (periwinkle, fuchsia, rose, canary, chartreuse, cobalt) are required for each particular recycled group, and each individual element of a whole (coffee cup, sleeve, stir stick, and lid – and lids with lipstick are treated differently than lipstick-less lids) must be separated.  The humor of “Sanitation Twins” does not let up for a second, as it is not just about the bizarre complications that can arise from good intentions.  Fred and Carrie have created thoroughly well-thought out characters in Marcus and Madeleine, as demonstrated by their back-and-forth banter when they go off-script – lack of timing issues such as when they fail to say “We’re twins!” in unison, yeller vs. yellow, Marcus holding onto some old tapes that Madeleine is trying to force him to get rid of, and the discussion about whether or not the fingernails could be Einstein’s.  The ending punctuates another joke to the whole affair, sparking the question of, “Isn’t this all so pointless?”, as the recyclables can only become clean air, fresh water, or good vibes, while the other NINETY-SEVEN percent is dumped into the ocean.

Best Episode of the Season: Portlandia Season 2

June 7, 2012

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Season Analysis: Is hipster culture in Portland too narrow a scope for one show?  Well, that was exactly my fear when I first heard about Portlandia, and Season 2 did not alleviate that fear completely.  So, while Fred and Carrie may struggle to consistently put together great episodes, they still have plenty of great sketch ideas up their sleeves.

“Cat Nap”

A male-female indie rock duo that dresses like Devo is struggling to break out when they discover success by incorporating their cat in their act and adopt the name “Catnap.”  JAYDE from the band “JAYDE speaks sevYn” uses Kickstarter to ask for donations for her next music video (which features, among other things, “the wise man who knows nothing”) while an ad for Catnap’s album pops up.  Guest star Miranda July stops by to play the co-owner of a boutique shop with only two shirts in its entire inventory.  That band with the cat is kidnapped by an obsessed fan (played by guest star Kristen Wiig) named Gathy.  That’s Gathy, not Cathy.  Gathy with a “G.”  Could there be a more Portlandia-esque episode of Portlandia?  Well, that last part is more of a goofy Kristen Wiig-ism, but otherwise, this episode was so hipsteriffic it hurt.

Best Episode of the Season: Napoleon Dynamite Season 1 (First and Only Season!)

June 7, 2012

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Season Analysis: Napoleon Dynamite the movie was already cartoonish enough, so the development of an animated series was a natural and pleasant enough transition for the citizens of Preston, Idaho.

“Ligertown”

There is plenty of potential for a momentous occasion when someone finally meets the object of one’s affection.  Ligers had pretty much been Napoleon Dynamite’s favorite animal, believing as he did that they were bred for their skills in magic.  Obviously when actually meeting ligers for the first time, he would discover that they were not in fact magical, but for the sake of good enough television, the ligers needed to be even more disappointing than just “not magical.”  Thus, Napoleon discovered them in an environment in which they were allowed to lie around all day and get their heads stuck in empty chicken buckets.  This episode of the short-lived Napoleon Dynamite TV series is a minor example in the canon of stories of children growing up and learning the sad truths of life, but it did have an enjoyable Napoleon Dynamite-esque oddness that made it a somewhat memorable half hour of television.

Fuse Top 20 Countdown – 6/5/12

June 7, 2012

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What are Juliya and Allison’s deals?

Original Version
1. Carly Rae Jepsen – “Call Me Maybe”
2. Gotye ft. Kimbra – “Somebody That I Used to Know”
3. Maroon 5 ft. Wiz Khalifa – “Payphone”
4. fun. ft. Janelle Monáe – “We Are Young”
5. Calvin Harris ft. Ne-Yo – “Let’s Go”
6. Justin Bieber – “Boyfriend”
7. One Direction – “What Makes You Beautiful”
8. Flo Rida ft. Sia – “Wild Ones”
9. Pitbull – “Back in Time”
10. Nicki Minaj – “Starships”
11. Train – “Drive By”
12. Nelly Furtado – “Big Hoops (Bigger the Better)”
13. Karmin – “Brokenhearted”
14. Rihanna – “Where Have You Been”
15. Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull – “Dance Again”
16. The Wanted – “Glad You Came”
17. Jason Mraz – “I Won’t Give Up”
18. Wiz Khalifa – “Work Hard, Play Hard”
19. Ellie Goulding – “Lights”
20. B.o.B – “So Good”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Somebody That I Used to Know
2. Starships
3. Lights
4. Where Have You Been
5. We Are Young
6. Call Me Maybe
7. Brokenhearted
8. Wild Ones
9. Back in Time
10. Big Hoops (Bigger the Better)
11. Boyfriend
12. Work Hard, Play Hard
13. So Good
14. Let’s Go
15. Payphone
16. What Makes You Beautfiul
17. Glad You Came
18. Dance Again
19. Drive By
20. I Won’t Give Up

Best Episode of the Season: The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret Season 2 (Final Season)

June 5, 2012

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Season Analysis: More so than even its decidedly idiosyncratic first season, the second and final season of The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret was thoroughly unpredictable from scene to scene, which was generally maddening, but occasionally satisfying, and led to a conclusion that felt like it was planned all along but also felt like it came from out of nowhere.

“The Crime Scene, The Storyteller, and the Sanctimonious Tower of Morality”

I got the sense about halfway through Todd Margaret’s first season that David Cross did not really know how long he wanted this passion project of his to last.  He had enough ideas to last a few, if not several, seasons, but it seemed to have a small-scale structure appropriate for a one-season miniseries.  Thus, season 2 did not feature any particularly great episode of television, and “The Crime Scene…” was not really an exception, but it is an episode worth highlighting, thanks especially to Graham Duff’s impressively committed performance as Todd’s peculiarly English pedophile cellmate.  Also, there was Spike Jonze getting all Sherlock Holmes-ian.

Jmunney’s 2012 MTV Movie Awards Prediction Scorecard

June 4, 2012

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I correctly predicted 8 out of the 13 winners.  My successful categories were Male Performance, Female Performance, Comedic Performance, Music, On-Screen Transformation, Gut-Wrenching Performance, Fight, and Hero.  I was off with Movie (I picked Hunger Games over Twilight), Breakthrough Performance (Melissa McCarthy when it was Shailene Woodley), Kiss (Tatum-McAdams ,but alas, KStew-RPatz), Dirtbag (Bryce Dallas Howard, but then Jennifer Aniston), and Cast (Hunger Games did not beat out Harry Potter).  I guess I let Twilight‘s lack of nominations overall lead me astray.  I’m not sure why I didn’t pick Jennifer Aniston.  Harry Potter over Hunger Games?  Well, I guess the Potterphiles found a way to have at least one win.  I’m a bit confused at Shailene beating Melissa, but since that category wasn’t picked by viewers, I’m not sure what way exactly I should be confused.

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