Considering the writer strike that cut short this year’s television, there are a couple of things worth mentioning.
I got into what The Sopranos means to television when that ended early on this year and though the failure of John From Cincinnati was substantial fodder for the fire following the end of The Sopranos there wasn’t anything that wasn’t the gold mine from this year.
I came into Mad Men late, but the couple of episodes that I did watch I didn’t think were particularly ground breaking in concept or character, but then again neither was the Sopranos at first viewing. What began to develop was the under pinnings of great characterizations and that eventually bled through with Mad Men. Though, yeah, there were the stereotypical conformity of how people were in the early 60s, the relationships coming through were fantastic. Yes, the concept is not interesting at all: 1960s advertising firm and the people in charge of it, the concept wreaks of what doomed Studio 60 that only people who are actually in that industry or worked there during that time would get the intricacies of the show. Though this is why I find it fascinating, because I don’t know anything about the advertising industry but plenty about the 60s, not to mention it being nice to see Christina Hendricks (of Firefly) doing something regularly. The costumes are top notch, and the factoids in between commercial breaks are fascinating.
The best comedy on television is Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I got the season one and two set for Christmas, and my brother and I were watching it all this week. These guys are utter dirt bags. As IMDB, puts it: “Its Seinfeld on crack.” My friends and I aren’t exactly like these guys but I can see a lot of us in them. And I think that’s what generally appeals to people about this show. You can relate to these guys, but never actually do anything they do. Like the episode where Charlie tells his friends that he has cancer to get them to feel bad for him, so they in turn pay off the waitress he’s been crushing on all season one to sleep with him because they think he’s dying. In turn, he’s been lying the whole time just to get laid. Doesn’t sound like much but it is good stuff, but really a guy show.
