Season Analysis: I did not laugh as much during Season 4 of Archer as I did during Season 3. I generally do not like that line of criticism, because it is about as subjective as one can get it, so I will also say that this season did not feel as significant as the last one. But the decrease in laughs comment is significant, since Archer is so much about the construction of comedy, and I was not as impressed with that construction this year. I still enjoyed it, though. And looking over the grades I gave to the episodes this season, I’m not really sure what the hell I’m talking about when I say I didn’t like it. And that bit about not laughing as much – turns out, that may or may not be true. But the lack of significance thing, I’m sticking with that.
“The Honeymooners”
I am tempted to just list the best quotes I wrote down while watching this episode of Archer, because it is the hilarious banter that makes the show what it is. The plots are usually beside the point; they’re just settings for the ISIS crew to have conversations that are infuriating for them and delightful for us. So, “The Honeymooners” worked particularly well because it teamed up its characters in ways that are particularly electric. Honestly, any character combination on Archer is electric, but those of “The Honeymooners” were especially so, at least for this instance. There’s the classic duo of Sterling and Lana (which leads to Archer sarcastically that he sarcastically climbed the building that Lana was scaling just so that he could find out how much her bonus was worth), and Pam and Cheryl stick themselves into Cyril’s situation, which is perfect, because Cyril is easily egged on and Pam knows how to egg him on (leading to such exchanges as “They are on a mission.” “-ary position!”).
Season Analysis: This was my first season watching Justified, and the large cast was difficult to keep track of, and I am not sure watching the first three seasons would have necessarily all helped all that much in that regard. I ultimately figured that the best way to enjoy the show was to focus on the strong character moments, which there are plenty of, especially because of two excellent leads in Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins.
“Get Drew”
There was a lot to keep track in Justified Season 4, for both the audience and the characters to the point where the Marshals eventually did not care if Shelby was really Drew Thompson or Drew Thompson was really Shelby – all they needed to know was that there was someone who had they take into custody. So considering all the time that was spent on staying on top of things, it was nice that the end of the season was mostly things just happening, and that really started to kick into gear with the anteantepenultimate episode, “Get Drew.” Boyd and Ava try to keep Drew stashed away until the Detroit toughs can pick him up, Johnny gives up Boyd to the Marshals, the Marshals show up just as the Detroit crew is touching down, and then it’s off to the races!
Season Analysis: At least stuff happened in Season 3, unlike in Season 2. So why did I so regularly feel disengaged? And if I felt that way, why did I keep watching?
“Clear” Midway through Season 3, I had pretty much given up hope that anyone on The Walking Dead besides Daryl (and Hershel, I guess) would ever really be interesting. But surprise, surprise, TWD actually took a page out of the TV Show Improvement Playbook and mixed things up a bit. “Clear” told a more or less self-contained story but managed to actually have the most significant developments of the season. With the three of them on a run for supplies, Rick gets his own subplot, while Carl and Michonne get their own as well. The latter sounded like a recipe for disaster, but its moments of genuine pathos and dark humor actually managed to work wonders on the show’s two most problematic characters. Isolating Rick didn’t sound all that promising either, considering his motivations had become as fuzzy as his mental state. It certainly helped that the return of Morgan ensured Rick wasn’t the craziest one around this week. And a revisited piece of Season 1 like that made it clear how wise the show would be to restore some hopefulness to these characters – however desperate that may be, there has got to be something to fight for.
Season Analysis: Raising Hope was not complacent in Season 3, but it never felt like it was pushing anything forward, which isn’t that big a deal because I don’t think it ever said that’s what it was trying to do.
“Making the Band”
Reuniting the cast of one show on the creator of the old show’s new show sounds like a stunt, and in the case of reuniting the My Name is Earl cast on an episode of Raising Hope, it is a stunt, but this episode proves that that is not necessarily a bad thing. Luckily, Jason Lee, Jaime Pressley, Ethan Suplee, and Eddie Steeles had already played guest characters on Hope, so their presence on another episode did not feel shoehorned in. The idea that their characters (along with those of Nadine Valezquez and Tim Stack) would team up with the Chances to form a rock band that flirts with the brink of success does not make a whole lot of sense. Honestly, though, the idea of anybody teaming up with the Chances to find success as a rock band doesn’t make sense, but who cares when the results are this fun? Besides, when life most seems to be working out, that is when life seems to be making the least sense. That is what “Making the Band” demonstrated. Raising Hope is a positive show of its era, one of optimism despite (constant) hard times – that is to say, hope.
Original Version
1. Ed Sheeran – “Lego House”
2. Demi Lovato – “Heart Attack”
3. Justin Timberlake – “Mirrors”
4. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis ft. Ray Dalton – “Can’t Hold Us”
5. Emeli Sandé – “Next to Me”
6. Phillip Phillips – “Gone Gone Gone”
7. Icona Pop ft. Charli XCX – “I Love It”
8. P!nk ft. Nate Ruess – “Just Give Me a Reason”
9. Fall Out Boy – “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)”
10. Jason Derulo – “The Other Side”
11. Goo Goo Dolls – “Rebel Beat”
12. Olly Murs ft. Flo Rida – “Troublemaker”
13. Mariah Carey ft. Miguel – “#Beautiful”
14. Imagine Dragons – “Radioactive”
15. Rihanna ft. Mikky Ekko – “Stay”
16. Robin Thicke ft. T.I. and Pharrell – “Blurred Lines”
17. New Kids on the Block – “Remix (I Like The)”
18. Gin Wigmore – “Black Sheep”
19. Bruno Mars – “When I Was Your Man”
20. Florida Georgia Line ft. Nelly – “Cruise (Remix)”
Jmunney’s Revision
1. Radioactive
2. I Love It
3. Mirrors
4. Stay
5. Blurred Lines
6. Heart Attack
7. Black Sheep
8. #Beautiful
9. Troublemaker
10. Can’t Hold Us
11. My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)
12. Next to Me
13. Just Give Me a Reason
14. When I Was Your Man
15. Gone Gone Gone
16. Cruise (Remix)
17. Lego House
18. Remix (I Like The)
19. Rebel Beat
20. The Other Side
Season Analysis: It feels like The Neighbors slipped through a portal from the 80’s, looked around, realized it was the 2010’s, and decided to stay the same anyway. After a rough start of inconsistent storytelling and characterization, it eventually figured itself out and utilized one of the best casts around (believe it or not) to become the most consistent comedy on television.
“Halloween-ween”
Precocious children are a staple of television, and while precocious children also exist in reality, their small screen counterparts may sound just a little bit too much like adults. But lack of believability can be okay as long as the hilarity is delivered in abundance. In the case of Dick Butkus, The Neighbors easily takes care of the latter and actually may have an explanation regarding the former. Dick is an alien, and perhaps it is natural for a Zabvronian to talk as he does at his age. Perhaps he is even actually older than he appears to be, considering that his parents are apparently hundreds of years old. Whatever the explanation for Dick’s precociousness, his Halloween costume of Debbie Weaver with Marty Weaver puppet was a perfectly clownish representation of his neighbor’s marriage. Ian Patrick’s performance in “Halloween-ween” had me laughing more than just about any other sitcom moment from the 2012-13 season.
Season Analysis: Newsreaders is adequately amusing, but it feels a lot less significant than its fellow Adult Swim Abominable Pictures brethren.
“Hair Razing”
I am definitely in favor of openness when it comes to sexuality, but too much openness can lead to unintended consequences. This is often represented by the spread of STD’s that occurred in the decades following the sexual revolution of the 1960’s. In that vein, too much openness and willingness regarding grooming one’s pubic hair can lead to something like a huge chunk of pubes polluting the ocean and threatening the life of the great tufted warbler, in a silly sort of way. To explain why “Hair Razing” was more amusing than the rest of the premiere season of Newsreaders, it may be more relevant to mention that this was one of the episodes that featured Kumail Nanjiani reporting as Amir Larussa. Seriously, any time Kumail has appeared on my TV screen the past few years, it has been a good deal. His naturally incredulous but also fantastical voice makes him THE natural to report the fake news on a fake newsmagazine.
Season Analysis: Girls consciously remained unlike most anything else on TV, and it was fitfully successful in doing so. This season, I often found myself fascinated by the show instead of enjoying it. This isn’t to say that Girls is that bad … in Season 1, I know I liked it; in Season 2, I’m not always so sure what I thought.
“It’s a Shame About Ray”
Shoshanna Shapiro has been the most consistently strong character on Girls, and Ray Ploshansky was the most improved in Season 2, so it should be no surprise that an episode that featured a major plot development regarding Ray and Shoshanna’s relationship stood out as the best of the season. “It’s a Shame About Ray” was already looking like a great episode before Zosia Mamet and Alex Karpovsky even had any screen time. Hannah was hosting a dinner party at her apartment with a group of friends who currently were not on the best terms with each other – getting a group like that together in a room is always a recipe for entertaining drama, and this episode did not disappoint in that regard, as Charlie’s new girlfriend Audrey spits fire upon Marnie, and the Charlie and Marnie confront their lingering feelings for each other. When Ray and Shosh show up, it’s not clear how well they are working as a couple, but there is definitely something there. At least they communicate more openly than all the other characters on the show (with the possible exception of Adam). I always appreciate when people talk openly about sex, so it was a nice moment when Ray clarified that their reason for lateness was lovemaking. And the discussion about Ray’s homelessness goes about as well as that discussion could possibly go, because, even though there is a lot of work to get through Ray’s insecurities, these two actually talk and actually listen to each other.
Remember that SNL sketch in which they kept cutting to a clip of Lou Diamond Phillips laughing?
Original Version 1. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis ft. Ray Dalton – “Can’t Hold Us” 2. P!nk ft. Nate Ruess – “Just Give Me a Reason” 3. Selena Gomez – “Come & Get It” 4. Justin Timberlake – “Mirrors” 5. Icona Pop ft. Charli XCX – “I Love It” 6. Imagine Dragons – “Radioactive” 7. Bruno Mars – “When I Was Your Man” 8. Fall Out Boy – “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)” 9. Mariah Carey ft. Miguel – “#Beautiful” 10. Rihanna ft. Mikky Ekko – “Stay” 11. Ariana Grande ft. Mac Miller – “The Way” 12. Robin Thicke ft. T.I. and Pharrell – “Blurred Lines” 13. will.i.am ft. Justin Bieber – “#thatPOWER” 14. Avril Lavigne – “Here’s to Never Growing Up” 15. Zedd ft. Foxes – “Clarity” 16. Demi Lovato – “Heart Attack” 17. Emeli Sandé – “Next to Me” 18. Pitbull ft. Christina Aguilera – “Feel This Moment” 19. Taylor Swift – “22” 20. Jason Derulo – “The Other Side”
Jmunney’s Revision 1. Radioactive 2. I Love It 3. Come & Get It 4. Mirrors 5. Stay 6. Blurred Lines 7. Heart Attack 8. Can’t Hold Us 9. My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up) 10. Next to Me 11. #Beautiful 12. Just Give Me a Reason 13. Clarity 14. When I Was Your Man 15. Feel This Moment 16. #thatPOWER 17. The Other Side 18. The Way 19. 22 20. Here’s to Never Growing Up
Season Analysis: Billy on the Street still makes me laugh more than anything else, and it shows no signs of slowing down.
Best Episode: Episode 6 (1/25/13)
I was not planning on picking a best episode of the season for Billy, because it is not exactly a show that makes sense to think of on an episode-by-episode basis. But then Episode 6 of Season 2 happened, and it was undoubtedly the most satisfying half hour thus far of the entire series. It featured excellent editions of “For a Dollar” and “Lightning Round,” as well as the best “Quizzed in the Face” contestant of the season – Samantha, who likes black guys – as well as the best celebrity guest – Nas, who stopped by for a round of “Media Mogul or Rabbi.”
Here are some other highlights from the season:
“Quizzed in the Face” contestant runner-up: Elena, who really needed to get on the subway
Best prize: A big picture of James Franco and Anne Hathaway hosting the Oscars
“Miss, miss, for a dollar are you gonna miss the show Weeds?”
“What?”
“Weeds.”
“What is that?”
“Weeds.”
“What is Weeds?”
“Weeds, with Mary-Louise Parker.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“It’s going, it’s ca-, it’s going off the air.”
“Ohhh, so I give you a dollar?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, all right.”
“Okay, yes.”
“I don’t know-”
“Give me a dollar because Weeds is going off the air, and-”
“Where does this goes, oh the dollar?”
“Yes, I’ll give it to Mary-Louise Parker.”
“Ah, all right.”
“Thank you.”
“Sir, for a dollar, do you consider Bethenny Frankel our Golda Meir?” “I don’t even know who the f*** that is.”
“Miss, Hobbit got you down?” “Get down, yourself, ma-”
“Miss, for a dollar, who farts more: Whoopi Goldberg or Blake Shelton?”
“I don’t know.”
“Take a guess.”
“Guess?”
“Whoopi Goldberg or Blake Shelton.”
“I don’t like burgers.”
(to an Indian family) “Are you guys Mumford & Sons?”
“Sir, sir, for a dollar, imagine Kathy Bates on a bicycle.”
“Miss, I hate Claire Danes!”
(takes off headphones) “What’s that?”
“I hate Claire Danes.”
“Why?”
“She’s scary.”
“Why?”
“She is.”
“You want some pizza?”
“NO! GOD, NO! I’M LACTOSE-INTOLERANT!”
“Miss, for a dollar, can you be intelligent and be named Cheryl?” “No.”
(cut to next clip)
“Miss, for a dollar, scream the name of your mother.” “CHERYL!”
“Sir, do you love Leonardo DiCaprio?”
“What?”
“Leonardo DiCaprio.”
“Yeah?”
“You love him?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“He’s okay.”
“For a dollar, who do you love better: Brad Pitt or Leonardo DiCaprio?”
“Neither.”
“Why neither?”
“They don’t turn me on.”
“Who turns you on?”
“A friend of mine sent me, put a Valentine-”
“Yes. I’m so glad I’m hearing this story.”
“And with a piece of chocolate, he must have given out 30, he must have given out 300-”
“Such a good story.”
“And it had a picture of Superman on it.”
“I love Superman.”
“And he said, and it said on the thing, ‘May you have a Super Valentine’s Day.’ In other words, if I’m gonna find someone, it’s gonna be from another f***in’ galaxy.”
“According to the TV show, what city is it always sunny in?
A) San Francisco
B) Sunny von Bülow
C) Philadelphia, or
D) (turns to camera and smiles) Louie!”
“Miss, miss, for a dollar, would you leave your family just to be able to smell Ryan Gosling’s balls?”
“Miss, for a dollar, who do you think is more sophisticated: Daniel Tosh or the stork from the Vlasic pickle commercials?”
“Miss, here we go, for a dollar: Do me baby
Do the Humpty Hump
Watch me do the Humpty Hump
Sing. Sing. Do me baby
Do the Humpty Hump”
“I don’t speak Eng-”
“‘Humpty Hump.’ ‘Humpty Hump’”
“Humpty Hump?”
“Yes. Do me baby
Do the Humpty Hump”
“Humpty Hump”
“Watch me, watch me, watch me do the Hu-umpty Hump.”
“Humpty Hump”
“Yes, do me baby
Do the Humpty Hump
Watch me do the:”
“Watch me do the.”
“Hum…”
“Humpty Hump.”
“Yes, here you go (hands dollar), th-thank you.”
“Sir, for a dollar, who’s the most famous ugly person?”
“Sir, do you think Gwyneth Paltrow will ever be happy.” “No, she’s too thin.”
“Sir, for a dollar, do you think Gisele Bündchen understands the jokes on Portlandia?”
“Sir, seriously, isn’t it time for an ABC Family original movie starring Anna Kendrick called WPE: Worst Passover Ever?” “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” “Thank you very much.”
Jmunney's Blog 