TV Draft (Round 4) [draft]

Y: 19) The Office (UK)In the end, it’s really pointless to engage in the “US vs. UK” debate. They’re both really fucking good shows. I prefer the British version because, at the time, the style of comedy was a revelation. No laugh track, no setup…punchline delivery. In 2003, when I saw season 1, the top comedies were Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, Will & Grace, and Two and a Half Men. Network comedy was shitty. So when I got this DVD and proceeded to watch the entire season 1 in one sitting, I was hooked. I can’t explain how funny it was at the time.

So we can go back and forth about which one is better, but I am telling you that this show is great.

N8: Once again work is rankling me a bit, but I will pick today asap. I would say skip me, but there are some good ones I don’t want sucked up.

I have internet access now. It’s like coming up from holding your breath.

I will pick shortly.

90 minutes later…

Y: God dude, you’re such a tease.

LD: Next round, N8’s going to send us one letter at a time, to build anticipation.

N8: Oh, I should definitely do that. I’m actually sorry it’s taken so long. I suck, but you will all be able to drink OJ tomorrow.

I struggled with this pick (and not just because work is busy). I debated between Veronica Mars, Angel, Dexter, House, Supernatural, Family Guy and Angel (ed. note: See, he LOVES Buffy so much he mentioned Angel twice). In the end, I am taking

20) Scrubs. It’s uneven and occasionally inane and it went on for far too long, but I think the show manages to cohere around some really funny kernels with a playful zaniness that’s an exaggeration of actual reactions people have to situations and each other. It’s over-the-top without leaving the “I learned something today” focus that keeps it from being just downright stupid (Family Guy’s ultimate pit-fall a lot of the time). I would pick and choose my moments in this show, but it’s unequivocally one of the best comedies when it’s firing on all cylinders.

Y: The first few seasons were great. It got derailed towards the end of season 4, and never got a proper final season because of the writer’s strike. But it was a great show.

LD: Never got a proper final season? It’s still going! Man, I hate Scrubs. I’ve never watched it religiously, but I’ve run into plenty of episodes running in syndication. If it’s ever been funny, I haven’t seen it.

Y: It wouldn’t still be going if not for the writer’s strike. Lawrence wanted to end it this season, but NBC screwed with him. So now it’s going to ABC and will hopefully wrap up soon.

N8: Exactly. I think Y agrees with me that Scrubs suffers from The Simpsons Disease, which results in a gradual wasting away of the body and mind of the show until nothing is left but the husk. Still, the first few seasons were great until Scrub’s comedic immune system was shot and it began to devour itself from the inside as it struggled its reason for being and the impossibility of keeping its zaniness fresh.

E: Scrubs suffers the unfortunate luck of having that douche nozzle Zach Braff as its leading man. The show itself is genius, mostly cuz of Donald Faison (seriously, Turk is one of the all time great modern TV characters) and Bill Lawrence’s writing (Spin City was amazing) (ed. note: what about CLONE HIGH?). It fell apart in late Season 4 and Season 5 was not very good (other than the Air Band and Turk’s Poison dance).

Seriously, I would consider buying season 5 on dvd just to have the Poison Dance and the More than a Feeling performance.

SN: I caught the Poison dance the other day. Its kind of like when that doctor listens to ‘Desperado,’ it’s just mesmerizing. I was actually driving at the time and crashed into a Farmers Market, killing 9.

LD: Oh, that was you? Nice work on the triplets.

E: Wait, you were watching the Poison dance while driving a car?

SN: Yes, yes I was. You don’t have a flatscreen fixed to your windshield? Insurance rates go up,but its well worth it

E: “This sticker is dangerous and inconvenient. But I do love Fig Newtons.” Sorry, I watched Talladega Nights last night.

SN: John Stamos! Did we just become best friends?

E: 21)

So anyway, my pick? Y’know, it’s tough to say, because at this point I want SO BADLY to say two other shows, but I am going to go with ……HUMAN GIANT.

Sketch comedy is such a hard thing to do well, most of the time it’s either done too bland or safe (SNL) or done so out of the box that it alienates most of the audience shortening its life by years (The State). Comedy is such a subjective thing, where do you draw the lines between satire, slapstick, absurdist theater, and straight up jokes? Human Giant, a show that’s not even 20 episodes old, manages to blend all of this together in sketches and characters that have pleased both the comedy snob and the regular MTV viewer beyond all imagination. But it’s how PREDICTABLE their sketches are that brings with them a certain level of innocence and comfort, you can’t help but feel like it’s your friends just goofing on an idea that wouldn’t die in the conversation. Plus, it introduced the world to Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel, and Aziz motherfucking Ansari, men destined for greatness.

LD:
With no shame, I will make what might be viewed as the single worst pick in the draft. No, not Greatest American Dog - which, despite being the greatest show in the history of television is reality, and thus not something I feel comfortable picking. So, my pick is the truly deranged comic genius of…22) Frisky Dingo

To everyone who believes that anything can be summarized, congratulations: here is the exception that proves your rule. This show is about a selfish billionaire (who is a superhero that we’ve never actually seen do anything heroic) and his arch-nemesis (who has never actually fought the superhero) in much the same way that the entire run of Seinfeld was a gripping drama of one woman’s quest for the perfect bowl of soup. Frisky Dingo throws the standard rules of storytelling right out the window, with plot developments that come and go and get retconned at a pace that other shows can’t even begin to imagine. Hands down the most quotable and often the funniest show on television, I get visibly excited for each episode’s premiere. BOOSH!

E: I’m so ashamed that I didn’t even THINK of Frisky Dingo, but even if I did I would’ve deferred it to you. LD told me about this show when I was visiting during the summer, so I bought the first season, loaded it on to my iPod, and watched it in the airport and on the flight home. I’ve been hooked ever since. We used to sit around friday afternoons and wait for the new ep to be posted on Adultswim.com. I think we even watched the ep at his place before going out to drink, it was that much of a priority to us.

Congrats in trying to summarize the show, this show is beyond description, it’s hilarious, satirical, and utterly entertaining. And to that I say bravo to that pick. BOOSH!

SN: 23) Aight, y’all knew this day was coming (but later, thanks to that early restart).* I am a big fan of Entourage. It’s a great show to watch with the guys. Maybe not the smartest show out there, but it does a fair job lampooning Hollywood insiders (someone really doesn’t like Harvey Weinstein). Ari Gold? Come on, how can he not entertain? And you gotta love Billy Walsh. But what I truly enjoy are the nonsensical exploits of Turtle and Drama, the two lovable losers. Vince and E’s exploits aren’t too shabby to boot. VICTORY!

LD: Take us home, Grimbil.

Grimbil: Ladies and gentlemen, I’m declaring myself the winner. The Colbert Report. G’night, thanks for playing. (ed. note: Grimbil was unaware that we had 5 rounds for this one. Round 5 tomorrow).

*(We started drafting shows starting in or after 2000, but every pick had a lengthy complaint that 1999 wasn’t included, so I changed it. - Y)