So Dads is the other sitcom to begin this season that I've paid regular attention to (I sadly haven't seen more than the pilot of The Crazy Ones, but I do intend to catch up). From the people who brought us Family Guy, Dad's is a live action sitcom marketed as the funny interactions between two young men and their oddball fathers. This is really well set up in the Pilot, where one of our lead characters, Seth Green (I know he has a name, but he's Seth Green to me now and always) has to deal with his lazy, too-open father coming to town and eventually moving in with him. Meanwhile our other lead, Phoebe from Friends' Brother (I genuinely don't remember this character's name, or the actor's for that matter), has to put up with his quirky wannabe businessman father who already lives with him and his wife.
I wanna say first off: I don't like the Pilot much at all. Yeah it follows the premise of the show to a t, but it just isn't very good. Seth Green's father ruins it for me. He is just too unlikeable in this episode. The best thing about this episode is the best thing about the series so far by a wide margin: our third lead, Brenda Song, who has probably been in other stuff, but who I know as London Tipton from The Suite Life of Zach and Cody, where she was also usually the best thing. Whereas I often find the father's unremarkable and unmemorable (Phoebe's Brother's father being worlds better than his counterpart), Brenda Song, and her interactions with Seth and Phoebe's Brother are memorable and enjoyable. Seth Green and Brenda Song are both great deadpan actors with really good comedic timing, and their obvious future potential romantic relationship is credibly set up.
The two characters are both very cynical, but despite the similarities between the two, there are enough differences that their interactions are always very interesting. This is the kind of show that I like, but that I don't like enough to give my full attention to in every scene. It's the kind of show that I put on in the background while surfing the web, or writing, or building a deck for one of the Trading Card Games I enjoy, but I always pay attention to the scenes where Seth Green and Phoebe's Brother are being irresponsible at their video game creation job, and Brenda Song steps in the put things back on track, or where Seth Green says something horribly inappropriate, and Brenda Song steps in to put him in his place. These scenes are great, with plenty of variation. In fact, I really wish that the show were about these three, and kept the fathers in reserve for guest roles, like other sitcoms do. The interactions between the fathers and their sons aren't bad, but they aren't great either, and I really question if the show can even survive under it's original premise. Still, I think it is decent overall, with some great dialogues, and deserves a shot. I give Dad's 6 out of 10.
Monday, October 28, 2013
Saturday, October 26, 2013
TV Reviews - The Goldbergs
Been a while since I've posted here, again *sigh*.
Anyway, The Goldbergs. When I talk about the classic sitcoms from my past that I really love, this is what I'm talking about. The single-camera series based on the youth of series creator Adam F. Goldberg, pulling inspiration from the video he took of his family as a boy (the way the Adam character does in the show) is a classic sitcom masquerading as a modern sitcom. It reminds me of several family sitcoms of the '80's and '90's (as it is clearly designed to do) with a splash of The Wonder Years (which is not a sitcom as far as I'm concerned, but a dramedy) thrown in for good measure, in that it takes a look at a time one generation behind today, and is narrated by the main character. There is not a character in this show that I don't like. The mother, Beverly, is an evil genius with a heart of gold, meddling in the lives of her family, married to Murray, an outwardly loud and uncaring but inwardly loving working man who does everything for his kids, just not so intrusively as his wife. Adam's sister Erica is just like her mother, in a more reserved way, always playing a part in events from the background. Adam's brother Barry is delightfully odd. Adam's grandfather (Beverly's father) is an aged ladies man with so much style and some of the best lines on the show. Adam himself is the perfect narrator, always watching the world around him and taking stock of everything in it, while still growing and dealing with the issues of youth, his perspective still changing and evolving before the viewer's very eyes.
The elements of this show come together astonishingly well. I have been thoroughly entertained, tickled, and touched by every episode of the show so far. The acting is impeccable (Wendi McLendon-Covey has never been better as Beverly), and the chemistry between these on-screen family members feels real. Absolutely nothing is forced. There has hardly been a scene which felt unnecessary, from Pilot to present. I love this show more than I can find the words to describe here. In fact, after Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., this is my top pick for best new show of the season. Could this show be better? Yeah, there are still a few elements which need to be refined. While I like Erica, I often feel she could be even more involved in things. Yes she's always there, playing a part, but she has gotten far less screen time devoted to her character than I feel anyone else has, despite the second episode focusing on her pretty heavily. Also some of Barry's antics are less funny and more awkward. These, however, are barely complaints, and based on the quality of the show so far, I expect these issues to be hammered out pretty fast. I award The Goldbergs a well-deserved 8.5 out of 10, and recommend that anyone with a love of the situation comedy check it out before they fall too far behind.
I know, I know, this was a short review, but don't be so sad! I'll be posting a review of either Dad's or Sleepy Hollow within the next few days, maybe even tomorrow!
Anyway, The Goldbergs. When I talk about the classic sitcoms from my past that I really love, this is what I'm talking about. The single-camera series based on the youth of series creator Adam F. Goldberg, pulling inspiration from the video he took of his family as a boy (the way the Adam character does in the show) is a classic sitcom masquerading as a modern sitcom. It reminds me of several family sitcoms of the '80's and '90's (as it is clearly designed to do) with a splash of The Wonder Years (which is not a sitcom as far as I'm concerned, but a dramedy) thrown in for good measure, in that it takes a look at a time one generation behind today, and is narrated by the main character. There is not a character in this show that I don't like. The mother, Beverly, is an evil genius with a heart of gold, meddling in the lives of her family, married to Murray, an outwardly loud and uncaring but inwardly loving working man who does everything for his kids, just not so intrusively as his wife. Adam's sister Erica is just like her mother, in a more reserved way, always playing a part in events from the background. Adam's brother Barry is delightfully odd. Adam's grandfather (Beverly's father) is an aged ladies man with so much style and some of the best lines on the show. Adam himself is the perfect narrator, always watching the world around him and taking stock of everything in it, while still growing and dealing with the issues of youth, his perspective still changing and evolving before the viewer's very eyes.
The elements of this show come together astonishingly well. I have been thoroughly entertained, tickled, and touched by every episode of the show so far. The acting is impeccable (Wendi McLendon-Covey has never been better as Beverly), and the chemistry between these on-screen family members feels real. Absolutely nothing is forced. There has hardly been a scene which felt unnecessary, from Pilot to present. I love this show more than I can find the words to describe here. In fact, after Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., this is my top pick for best new show of the season. Could this show be better? Yeah, there are still a few elements which need to be refined. While I like Erica, I often feel she could be even more involved in things. Yes she's always there, playing a part, but she has gotten far less screen time devoted to her character than I feel anyone else has, despite the second episode focusing on her pretty heavily. Also some of Barry's antics are less funny and more awkward. These, however, are barely complaints, and based on the quality of the show so far, I expect these issues to be hammered out pretty fast. I award The Goldbergs a well-deserved 8.5 out of 10, and recommend that anyone with a love of the situation comedy check it out before they fall too far behind.
I know, I know, this was a short review, but don't be so sad! I'll be posting a review of either Dad's or Sleepy Hollow within the next few days, maybe even tomorrow!
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Happy Anniversary Peanuts!!!
That's right, today in 1950 the comic strip Peanuts first graced society with brilliant and heartwarming humor-laden social commentary told through the innocent and relatable eyes of some of the greatest child characters in history. With over 17,000 total strips, Peanuts is easily one of the longest-running and most influential comic strips in history. It set a standard for daily comics which still affects how such comics are produced to this very day. Thank you Charles Shultz for so many wonderful years of laughter and heart, and bittersweet-ness and nostalgia. Oh, and for Snoopy. That dog is awesome.
Peanuts continues to rerun, rightly so, in newspapers to this very day, and I sincerely hope that it always will. We love you, Peanuts. The world would be a little darker without you.
Peanuts continues to rerun, rightly so, in newspapers to this very day, and I sincerely hope that it always will. We love you, Peanuts. The world would be a little darker without you.
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