Jmunney's Blog

Best Episode of the Season: Hello Ladies Season 1

July 3, 2014

jmunney Best Episodes of the 2013-2014 Season, Best Episodes of the Season, Hello Ladies, Television Leave a comment

Season Analysis: Stephen Merchant’s semi-autobiographical take on the single life in L.A. struggled with its tone in its first and only season, but it was quite lovely when it embraced its heart, and whenever Kyle Mooney was on screen.

“The Drive”
I tend to be wary about unresolved sexual tension that is present right at the start of a new show. It is not that I don’t like romance on my sitcoms, nor that I don’t think it should be drawn out. I like both of those things – when done well. But when there is a mildly combative platonic relationship in a pilot episode, it just screams, “These two are going to end up together, and that is that!” Inevitability – entertaining inevitability – cannot be forced. Luckily, Stephen Merchant and Christine Woods (as Stuart and his roommate/tenant Jessica) had plenty of chemistry right from the start, with a mildly teasing repartee serving as a feature of a real friendship. The problem with Hello Ladies was that Stuart’s shallow ladykilling attempts always felt like an act forced in to ramp up the cringeworthiness. There was clearly a sweet guy underneath all that bluster, and “The Drive” finally allowed that sweetness to shine through. Instead of pursuing a model who was legitimately into him, Stuart chose instead to comfort Jessica after she was devastated by the news that her role on NCIS was being recast, because he simply knew how important it was to be a good friend at that moment. The pathos shined through as Merchant let Hello Ladies settle down and allowed Stuart to just be who he really was.

Best Episode of the Season: The Eric André Show Season 2

July 3, 2014

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Season Analysis: I didn’t watch Season 1 of The Eric André Show, mostly because I wasn’t aware it existed. From what I know of it, Season 2 was more accessible, though not by much. After watching one episode, I wasn’t quite sure how to process it, but soon enough, its insane blend of nihilist television felt just like home.

“Scott Porter; Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake”
Every episode of The Eric André Show begins with André screaming like a lunatic as he destroys his own set. While this orgy of chaos lasts longer than rationality would dictate, he does eventually settle down and sit at his replacement desk. But in the Season 2 finale, the destruction lasts the entire episode, allowing the show to ramp its incomprehensibility up to 11. While André remains “busy” with his anarchy, an earlier episode from the season is fast-forwarded and overlaid on top of the video of the current episode. Ultimately, what is achieved is nothing less than the fullest realization of Eric André’s pure comedic unpredictability in the barest of structures.

Segment of the Season: “Ranch It Up”
Eric André, dressed in a green tank top, plaid shorts, and a backwards pink hat, confronts random people with a series of made-up, college campus-based slang terms, such as “Oriental background actresses,” “Cherokee chicks on the Trail of Beers,” “’Sup Mello,” and “buzz me, mulatto,” delivering it with the conviction of the fearless lunatic that he is.

Interview of the Year: James Van Der Beek
Joining Eric, Hannibal, and Eric’s former Bitch 23 co-star are lookalikes brought on to mirror their every move.

Best Episode of the Season: High School USA! Season 1

July 2, 2014

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Season Analysis: Dino Stamatopoulos’ animated high school sitcom satire by way of Archie was the perfect atonal mix of taboo issues tackled with a straight face.

“Adoption”
Maybe the major reason High School USA! never really captured a sizable audience (besides the fact that it aired in the 11 o’clock hour on Saturday night and was often preempted by sports) was its cognitive dissonance. When Mandy Moore-voiced Cassandra, who is clearly Asian, is shocked to discover that her white and quite old parents adopted her, it is obviously nonsensical, which can work in mainstream comedy, but nonsense tends to confuse when a nonsensical reaction is accepted as a perfectly understandable reaction. So when the rest of the gang are only mildly surprised that their friend doesn’t realize she looks quite different than her parents, it is a strange viewing experience. A world that operates by insane logic isn’t for everybody, but for those who like it, High School USA! hit its insane sweet spot with “Adoption.” A trip to China to find Cassandra’s birth parents results in the gang essentially being treated as visiting dignitaries. That is because in the type of clean-cut shows that HSUSA! takes aim at, the main characters are super-famous and conveniently talented whenever the plot calls for it. To that end, Cassandra and the rest of the gang are, of course, the members of a band. And just for good measure, even though they clearly are wielding instruments like a guitar and a tambourine, the music they play is inexplicably dubstep.

Best Episode of the Season: The League Season 5

July 1, 2014

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Season Analysis: The League is no longer just about fantasy football (not that it ever really was), and Season 5 was at its best when it most purposefully broke away from its normal routine.

“Rafi and Dirty Randy”
“Rafi and Dirty Randy” has the structure of a backdoor pilot, insofar as it focuses on a couple of ancillary characters removed from the show’s regular action. It begins with a connection to the main characters, with Rafi stealing Kevin’s car for his and Dirty Randy’s trip of vengeance to L.A. But this is a nightmare version of a backdoor pilot. While this episode certainly piqued my interest enough to get me to check out a theoretical Rafi & Dirty Randy series, I do not think that was ever the intention. Maybe this was an actual backdoor pilot in an alternate universe in which psychopathic logic such as “take care of it” meaning “set it on fire” is the normal logic of FXX characters. Although, come to think of it, the characters on The League, and of course It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia as well, have various degrees of psychopathy. So, come on FXX, let’s get on a spinoff of The League’s two best side characters! Jason Mantzoukas is ready to be a star!

Fuse Top 20 Countdown – 7/1/14

July 1, 2014

jmunney Fuse Top 20 Countdown, Music, Television Leave a comment

Each week, I check out FUSE’s Top 20 countdown, and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Ed Sheeran ft. Pharrell – “Sing”
2. Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”
3. Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea – “Problem”
4. Nico & Vinz – “Am I Wrong”
5. Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX – “Fancy”
6. Jason Derulo ft. Snoop Dogg – “Wiggle”
7. Charli XCX – “Boom Clap”
8. Calvin Harris – “Summer”
9. Disclosure ft. Sam Smith – “Latch”
10. Pharrell – “Happy”
11. DJ Snake & Lil’ Jon – “Turn Down For What”
12. John Legend – “All of Me”
13. Paramore – “Ain’t It Fun”
14. OneRepublic – “Love Runs Out”
15. 5 Seconds of Summer – “She Looks So Perfect”
16. MKTO – “Classic”
17. Sia – “Chandelier”
18. Kongos – “Come With Me Now”
19. Rixton – “Me and My Broken Heart”
20. Nicki Minaj – “Pills N Potions”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Chandelier
2. Summer
3. Fancy
4. Happy
5. Come With Me Now
6. Latch
7. Turn Down For What
8. Stay With Me
9. Am I Wrong
10. Ain’t It Fun
11. Boom Clap
12. Problem
13. Love Runs Out
14. Sing
15. All of Me
16. Pills N Potions
17. Wiggle
18. She Looks So Perfect
19. Classic
20. Me and My Broken Heart

2014 Emmy Nominations Preview: What If There Were a Sketch/Alternative Category?

July 1, 2014

jmunney Awards Shows, Emmys, Television Leave a comment

Recently, Comedy Bang! Bang! creator Scott Aukerman penned an op-ed directed to the TV Academy asking for the potential creation of a new Emmy category. As it stands now, the Outstanding Variety Series is a catch-all that includes late night talk shows, sketch series, and most other breeds of comedy programs that do not fit in the Comedy Series field. This category’s nominees are almost invariably filled by late night talk shows (and Saturday Night Live). Aukerman proposes that, in light of the recent boom of critically acclaimed sketch and alternative comedy series, Variety Series be split into two categories: variety/talk program and sketch/alternative program. If that split existed, what nominees would I be calling for this year in the Outstanding Sketch/Alternative Series category? And would there be enough candidates to fill up four new acting categories: Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress in a Sketch or Alternative Program? Or would there just be one or two acting categories? Or would the performers, somewhat ill-fittingly, remain in the Comedy performing fields?

Here are the sketch/alternative nominees that would make my wishlist:

Sketch/Alternative Series
–Comedy Bang! Bang!
–Key and Peele
–The Eric André Show
–Kroll Show
–Inside Amy Schumer
–Portlandia

Lead Actor
–Eric André, The Eric André Show
–Keegan Michael-Key/Jordan Peele, Key and Peele
–Nick Kroll, Kroll Show
–Scott Aukerman, Comedy Bang! Bang!
–Nathan Fielder, Nathan for You

Lead Actress
–Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer
–Carrie Brownstein, Portlandia

Supporting Actor
–Reggie Watts, Comedy Bang! Bang!
–Kyle Mooney, Saturday Night Live
–Hannibal Burress, The Eric André Show
–Taran Killam, Saturday Night Live
–Beck Bennett, Saturday Night Live
–Tim Kalpakis, The Birthday Boys

Supporting Actress
–Aidy Bryant, Saturday Night Live
–Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live

Looking over the makeup of the acting categories, I think I would advocate for a single Sketch/Alternative Performer category, or a split of Sketch/Alternative Actor and Sketch/Alternative Actress.

2014 Emmy Nominations Preview: Animated Series

June 30, 2014

jmunney Awards Shows, Emmys, Television Leave a comment

The Emmy nominations will be announced on July 10, with the ceremony then taking place on August 25. I am going to be running through my wish lists in most of the major categories, as well as offering predictions of the likely actual nominees.

As I mentioned in the Comedy portion of my Emmy preview, in years past, I have considered animated sitcoms alongside their live-action counterparts, but this year I decided to consider them separately, because there really are enough fundamental differences between the two mediums. But the Emmy categorization isn’t really conducive to honoring animated shows in the same way that live-action shows are. The nominees in Outstanding Animated Program are for single episodes, as opposed to the series as a whole. But for the purposes of this wishlist, I am imagining what nominees would be deserving if the category were Outstanding Animated Series instead of Program:

Among the animated series I watched regularly in 2013-14, Rick and Morty set a hefty standard for itself in Season 1; Bob’s Burgers continued to be one of the most satisfyingly optimistic shows on television; Archer was mostly successful with its season-long Archer: Vice storyline; American Dad! remained a shining beacon of absurd experimentalism; and Futurama delighted hearts and minds with its second final season.

What Won TV? – June 22-June 28, 2014

June 29, 2014

jmunney Television, What Won TV? Leave a comment

In this feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best.

Sunday – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Monday – Whose Line is it Anyway?, because who doesn’t hate the smell of stale popcorn?
Tuesday – Jeopardy!
Wednesday – Jeopardy!
Thursday – Comedy Bang! Bang! Attaboy, Scottles!
Friday – The Half Hour: Ron Funches
Saturday – I missed the penalty kicks, but I caught some tennis.

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 6/28/14

June 28, 2014

jmunney Music, Television, VH1 Top 20 Countdown Leave a comment

Each week, I check out VH1′s Top 20 countdown, and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX – “Fancy”
2. Nico & Vinz – “Am I Wrong”
3. Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”
4. Calvin Harris – “Summer”
5. Rixton – “Me and My Broken Heart”
6. Katy Perry – “Birthday”
7. Paramore – “Ain’t It Fun”
8. Sia – “Chandelier”
9. Ed Sheeran ft. Pharrell – “Sing”
10. Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake – “Love Never Felt So Good”
11. Magic! – “Rude”
12. Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea – “Problem”
13. Disclosure ft. Sam Smith – “Latch”
14. Lorde – “Tennis Court”
15. Ingrid Michaelson – “Girls Chase Boys”
16. MKTO – “Classic”
17. Kongos – “Come With Me Now”
18. OneRepublic – “Love Runs Out”
19. Phillip Phillips – “Raging Fire”
20. Sara Bareilles – “I Choose You”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Chandelier
2. Summer
3. Fancy
4. Come With Me Now
5. Latch
6. Stay With Me
7. Tennis Court
8. Am I Wrong
9. Ain’t It Fun
10. Birthday
11. Love Never Felt So Good
12. Problem
13. Love Runs Out
14. Sing
15. I Choose You
16. Girls Chase Boys
17. Rude
18. Raging Fire
19. Classic
20. Me and My Broken Heart

This Is A Movie Review: How to Train Your Dragon 2

June 28, 2014

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews Leave a comment

How to Train Your Dragon 2, like its predecessor, is not concerned with pop-culture spoofiness or all-around goofiness. Instead, it is all about the storytelling, and every element that is worth recommending about it comes through in said storytelling. Now that Hiccup (Jay Baruchel, using his nasally whine to precise effect) has convinced his father and the rest of his Viking village to live in peace with their fire-breathing neighbors, he discovers that the surrounding areas are not equally progressive. The plot turns upon a dragon army controlled by the villainous Drago (a menacing Djimon Hounsou). The villainy could be more nuanced, but I always appreciate when a film like this one trusts its young target audience to handle the intensity, particularly when the heroes have to muster their courage to do just that. Ultimately, HTTYD2 is a sort of throwback, insofar as it is a simple tale told well. It is most winning with the care placed on its details, with subtly effective animation (dragon Toothless is especially expressive) and strong vocal performances all around – the characters who are meant to be kind of annoying are not too overbearing, while the best performance comes from a hardly recognizable Cate Blanchett (as Hiccup’s previously presumed-dead mother), the weight of so many emotions imbued in her voice. B

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