Jmunney's Blog

My Emmy Thoughts 2011, Part 1: Comedy

July 12, 2011

jmunney Awards Shows, Emmys, Television Leave a comment

The Primetime Emmy Award nominations will be announced this upcoming Thursday morning, July 14, so here are my annual thoughts on who and what I believe deserve to be nominated. As always, I will only include picks from shows that I regularly watch, but I suggest picks from shows that I don’t watch that I have heard may be deserving as well. Today, the comedy categories; tomorrow, the dramas. (Picks are listed in order from most deserving to least deserving.)

Best Comedy
Parks and Recreation was good as usual, and 30 Rock felt reenergized this year, but it was Community that met its fullest potential. But I’m struggling to find anything else truly worthy of a nom. The Office, Modern Family, and Family Guy were all okay. Is Futurama eligible in this category?
1. Community
2. Parks and Recreation
3. 30 Rock

Lead Actor
Joel McHale is the realest actor on TV right now, as he leapfrogs over Alec Baldwin and Jim Parsons to the top of the lead acting heap.
1. Joel McHale, Community
2. Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
3. Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
4. Steve Carell, The Office
5. Will Arnett, Running Wilde

Lead Actress
Leslie Knope remains slightly more indelible than Liz Lemon. Also, I am happy that Martha Plimpton was entered for lead, which allows me to round out my picks in this category a bit more and opens up supporting.
1. Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
2. Tina Fey, 30 Rock
3. Keri Russell, Running Wilde
4. Martha Plimpton, Raising Hope

Supporting Actor
Before Community came along, Tracy Morgan deserved plenty of Emmys for 30 Rock. He has yet to win, which is doubly unfortunate, now that Community is on, and Danny Pudi is now the one who deserves multiple Emmys. Apparently, SNL cast members are nominated in the supporting categories, so Bill Hader ought to end up with a nom for one of the best seasons ever. And how do you stand out in a cast filled with wackos? Apparently, play it understated, as Adam Scott did on Parks and Recreation.
1. Danny Pudi, Community
2. Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live
3. Tracy Morgan, 30 Rock
4. Chris Pratt, Parks and Recreation
5. Adam Scott, Parks and Recreation
6. Chevy Chase, Community

Supporting Actres
Jane Lynch’s screen time on Glee was, strangely, diminished, which would have made room for Aubrey Plaza to deserve to win here, except that Alison Brie became even more essential to Community. Meanwhile, Mayim Bialik was upgraded to main cast member status, and Olivia Munn stood out on the sadly short lived Perfect Couples.
1. Alison Brie, Community
2. Aubrey Plaza, Parks and Recreation
3. Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
4. Jane Lynch, Glee
5. Olivia Munn, Perfect Couples
6. Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock

Guest Actor/Actress
Kevin Corrigan is one-of-a-kind, especially in his appearance as Professor Professorson on Community. He ought to edge out James Spader’s frighteningly, hilariously creepy appearance on The Office. The guest ladies were a mixed bag this year. The youngest contender – Chloë Grace-Moretz – had the most room to do plenty with her role and she did all that she could with it. And let’s throw in a couple of folks who also deserve noms in the main acting categories (Will Arnett, Aubrey Plaza).
1. Kevin Corrigan, Community
2. James Spader, The Office
3. Jim Carrey, Saturday Night Live
4. Zach Galifianakis, Saturday Night Live
5. Will Arnett, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret
6. John Lithgow, How I Met Your Mother

1. Chloë Grace-Moretz, 30 Rock
2. Parker Posey, Parks and Recreation
3. Catherine Tate, The Office
4. Amy Sedaris, Raising Hope
5. Aubrey Plaza, Portlandia

Best Episode of the Season: Happy Endings Season 1

July 10, 2011

jmunney Best Episodes of the 2010-2011 Season, Best Episodes of the Season, Happy Endings, Television Leave a comment

“Dave of the Dead”

Three words: nineties bat mitzvah.
Happy Endings is about a group of friends who hang out and talk to each other, their conversations occasionally peppered with cultural references. In other words, it is hardly any different than a great number of other sitcoms, but its cultural references are tangier than those of most sitcoms. Despite this, there is no great overarching idea behind all the mentions of early nineties nostalgia and Chicago trivia. This changed, at least for an episode, when Penny started dating a hipster, someone who actually does have a purpose behind any and all cultural references. This difference in purpose or lack thereof came to a head when the gang was invited to a hipster party with “nineties bat mitzvah” as the theme. The hipsters played cheesy mid-nineties dance-pop like “I’m Too Sexy” while doing their best impressions of bored upper-middle-class Jewish teenagers. Hipster humor is generally hilarious, but it is often indulgent, so it was healthy that the disaffected hipster elements were tempered by the overeager Penny.

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 7/9/11

July 9, 2011

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

Here’s a comment for Philly-area radio listeners: “Pumped Up Kicks” is the most Radio 104.5-ish song that has ever cracked the countdown.

Original Version
1. Train – “Save Me San Francisco”
2. Jason Derülo – “Don’t Wanna Go Home”
3. Taylor Swift – “The Story of Us”
4. Katy Perry – “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)”
5. Andy Grammer – “Keep Your Head Up”
6. Bruno Mars – “The Lazy Song”
7. David Cook – “The Last Goodbye”
8. Christina Perri – “Arms”
9. OneRepublic – “Good Life”
10. Foo Fighters – “Walk”
11. Pitbull ft. Ne-Yo, Afrojack, and Nayer – “Give Me Everything”
12. Adele – “Rolling in the Deep”
13. Lady GaGa – “The Edge of Glory”
14. Steven Tyler – “(It) Feels So Good”
15. The Civil Wars – “Barton Hollow”
16. Britney Spears – “I Wanna Go”
17. Linkin Park – “Iridescent”
18. Foster the People – “Pumped Up Kicks”
19. Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull – “On the Floor”
20. Coldplay – “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Rolling in the Deep
2. Pumped Up Kicks
3. Walk
4. Barton Hollow
5. Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)
6. The Story of Us
7. Every Teardrop is a Waterfall
8. I Wanna Go
9. On the Floor
10. The Edge of Glory
11. Good Life
12. Save Me San Francisco
13. Give Me Everything
14. Iridescent
15. (It) Feels So Good
16. Don’t Wanna Go Home
17. Keep Your Head Up
18. Arms
19. The Last Goodbye
20. The Lazy Song

Best Episode of the Season: Modern Family Season 2

July 9, 2011

jmunney Best Episodes of the 2010-2011 Season, Best Episodes of the Season, Modern Family, Television Leave a comment

“Caught in the Act”

What works best for Modern Family and just about any show with large main casts and multiple storylines in one episode is when everyone crashes into each other. That did not quite happen in “Caught in the Act” (Cam and Mitchell’s storyline remained separate), but it was close enough. Phil and Claire already had enough going on without Jay and Gloria showing up at their door. So of course it would all end up becoming a comedy of errors with misunderstandings galore, and of course Phil’s crush on Gloria would come into play, so much so that he nearly passed out. The other highlight of this episode was Claire and Phil’s handling of their kids walking in on them. In a meta moment, the Dunphy kids were right on in predicting the sort of family meeting their parents would have to explain what happened. And their explanation was actually quite reasonable and sweet, in its own potentially uncomfortable way.

Next (and last) up: Happy Endings

Best Episode of the Season: Glee Season 2

July 9, 2011

jmunney Best Episodes of the 2010-2011 Season, Best Episodes of the Season, Glee, Television Leave a comment

“Rumours”

The most entertaining character in Glee is, of course, Sue Sylvester, but her presence was inexplicably tamped down a bit for Season 2. Thus, while my pick for last season’s best episode depended on Jane Lynch’s most memorable moment (the rant against Spanish as a “dead language”), this season’s pick was determined more by the music. The Fleetwood Mac-centric “Rumours” was the best themed episode so far, in that the theme did not feel so very forced. The internal strife affecting New Directions was, in fact, not unlike the strife that Fleetwood Mac endured before and during the recording of Rumours. A triumph of editing was at play as well, as the right songs came at just the right moment, particularly when a confrontation between Finn and Quinn that was reaching a fever pitch led right into a duet by those two of “I Don’t Want to Know.” There was an appropriate song for every moment, as this was just about the best album choice for Glee to build a themed episode around, with nine of the eleven tracks from Rumours still receiving significant classic radio rock airplay today.

Next up: Modern Family

Best Episode of the Season: Family Guy Season 9

July 8, 2011

jmunney Best Episodes of the 2010-2011 Season, Best Episodes of the Season, Family Guy, Television Leave a comment

“Brian Writes a Bestseller”

The most essential aspect of the success of “Brian Writes a Bestseller” was not the cynicism that fueled Brian’s writing of Wish It, Want It, Do It. While many self-help books certainly deserve the treatment that Family Guy gave them, this was an easy target and one that has come under fire before. What really made this episode work – and what makes most great Family Guy episodes work – was the way in which the satire was melded into the framework of the show’s own particulars. The foundation of Family Guy is its vast reservoir of cultural references, but there has to be something going on with the Griffin clan as well, or else those references are meaningless and often grating. As Stewie becomes Brian’s publicist, “Brian Writes a Bestseller” ends up being a Stewie/Brian buddy episode, and the nonsense of an infant working as a dog’s publicist is completely ignored. It is sensible, though, that that nonsense is ignored, as Family Guy has developed a shorthand for all of its ridiculous elements. But most viewers must surely have a moment at which they stop and realize the ridiculousness, and that is a moment of laughter when everything in the episode comes together.

Next up: Glee

Best Episode of the Season: Bob’s Burgers Season 1

July 8, 2011

jmunney Best Episodes of the 2010-2011 Season, Best Episodes of the Season, Bob's Burgers, Television Leave a comment

“Sacred Cow”

The setup for Bob’s Burgers does not seem too different from any other family sitcom: a dad whose wife is just too good to him and who is overwhelmed by his wacky kids. But these are not your standard wacky sitcom kids. The kids of Bob’s Burgers are more akin to Statler and Waldorf of the Muppets than they are to any other wacky sitcom kids, in that their dialogue tends to act as a running commentary on the plot action, as opposed to normal conversation. They are, though, still in fact ensconced in the world in which they inhabit, but they bring their own wacky perspective to their family’s situation such that the only way to make sense of them is to think of them as inhabiting their own weird worlds through which they observe everyone else. When a documentary filmmaker pulls the stunt of leaving a cow out in front of Bob’s restaurant, his children react in ways that could in no way be considered supportive. Louise lambasts him with cries of “Murderer!” and then encourages his disturbing crush on “Moolissa,” Tina believes that Moolissa is sending her messages through her (actually his – Moolissa turns out to be a bull) feces, and I don’t remember exactly what Gene’s reaction was, but I’m sure it was strange and unhelpful. The children of the Belcher clan are ultimately so lovable because they are so confident about themselves, despite inhabiting their own strange little worlds.

Next up: Family Guy

Best Episode of the Season: The Simpsons Season 22

July 7, 2011

jmunney Best Episodes of the 2010-2011 Season, Best Episodes of the Season, Television, The Simpsons Leave a comment

“MoneyBART”

“MoneyBART” represents a foreign element in a new environment two times over: Lisa Simpson in the world of baseball and the language of sabermetrics in America’s pastime. Just as baseball “purists” cried foul when Bill James, Paul DePodesta, and Billy Beane ushered in the era of moneyball, Bart bemoans what happens to his Little League team when Lisa becomes the manager, even though the Isotots move up to the top of the standings. Lisa knows nothing about baseball until she becomes enamored with sabermetrics. “It’s a triumph of number crunching over the human spirit!” Bart wonders what happened to the game he grew up with, and as with real-life baseball traditionalists, it is not clear that he really knows what makes baseball great, bemoaning as he does the “misty ballparks” of corporate-owned Enron Field and “Pac-Bell, then SBC, now AT&T Park.” There is a good deal of yin and yang to baseball, and the ability of the writers of The Simpsons to recognize all of its diverse elements make “MoneyBART” one of the most joyful episodes in a while. The Simpsons-specific gags weaved into the baseball moments were on target as well (Milhouse reveals that his parents are brother and sister, he thinks; Nelson reminds Bart that they are no longer cellar dwellers – “well, at least the team isn’t”; and this gem from the baseball announcer – “speaking of Homer, Bart’s father’s name is, you guessed it, not on my fact sheet”).

Next up: Bob’s Burgers

Best Episode of the Season: American Dad! Season 7

July 7, 2011

jmunney American Dad!, Best Episodes of the 2010-2011 Season, Best Episodes of the Season, Television 1 Comment

“A Piñata Named Desire”

The great thing about bad acting is when it is presented as such. It takes talent to be a bad actor on purpose, and when that talent is present, hilarity ensues. As this is a plain truth, it is fun when it is presented in an unusual way, as was the case in the best episode of this season of American Dad! Stan is a bad actor, and this has made him a liability when he is undercover for the CIA. This bad acting manifests itself in – of all things – the way in which he carries a glass of water. Thus, bad acting is presented in an unusual context and rendered absurd. As the story develops with Roger helping Stan with his acting, American Dad! becomes further and further involved in its strange little self, which is what the best episodes of this strange little show tend to do. It is ridiculous that Stan and Roger are playing parts in “Piñata Man” that really do not fit them, let alone the persistently ridiculously fact that Roger is an alien who looks clearly different than the humans he is surrounded by, and the ridiculousness is amped up by Stan and Roger’s one-upmanship game of sexual acts, but that is the world of American Dad! for you.

Next up: The Simpsons

Best Episode of the Season: Saturday Night Live Season 36

July 6, 2011

jmunney Best Episodes of the 2010-2011 Season, Best Episodes of the Season, Saturday Night Live, Television 1 Comment

“696 – Miley Cyrus/The Strokes”

The guest host may be the face of any given SNL episode, and he or she may make a big difference in terms of how successful the episode is, but ultimately it is up to the cast and the writers to determine if any particular episode is going to be a classic or not. Hosts on the level of Jon Hamm and Zach Galifianakis can wring a few laughs out of mediocre premises, but it helps if the material is good in the first place. Miley Cyrus was not among the very best hosts of the season, but she was perhaps the luckiest, arriving as she did on a week in which the cast and writers were clearly invigorated. There were essentially no duds in the sketch lineup, and several strong performances were delivered from across the cast: Kenan as apl.de.ap and Raven Symoné, Andy as Taboo, Fred as Richie Inez, Jr., Bobby as Anthony Crispino, Bill as Charlie Sheen, Vanessa as Miley Cyrus, and Taran as Francois.

Next up: American Dad!

Categories