Honey Boo Boo says BINGO!

To contact us Click HERE

In honor of this Wednesday's Here Comes Honey Boo Boo episode "Ah-Choo!," wherein Mama takes the girls to Bingo, we've created a very special Bingo Card for you to play with at home.  Print it out, get your dobber and cover the squares as the Thompson family events unfold on the screen.

The rules are simple.  The center square, "Subtitles," is your free space.  Get five in a row in any direction and yell, "BINGO!"  If someone gets BINGO before you, don't worry; as Mama would say, as long as you're real competitive, you'll be all right.  If you happen to get a cover-all, then you will have won your very own Grand Supreme title.  Congratulations!  You're crown is in the mail.

2012 Emmy Predictions

To contact us Click HERE

The Primetime Emmy Awards will be given out this Sunday night on ABC.  After careful consideration here are my picks for what I think will win and what should win.  I anticipate live blogging the affair on Sunday, but wanted to get my official picks out well in advance of the event.  

Some framing thoughts:

• I'll try not to bitch too much about what wasn't nominated, but some things still stick in my craw.  
• I'm gonna ignore the writing & directing categories, but expect Parks & Rec, Louie, Mad Men and Breaking Bad to win there in the comedy and drama categories respectively.
• The Academy voters are old.  They like to honor either people they know from movies (Kathy Bates) or people that have won in the past (Michael C. Hall).  They can be affected by buzz (many Girls nominations) by prefer things that remind them of the good old days of television (many, many, many nominations for Downton Abbey).

Anywho, without further ado...  


COMEDY SERIES

"The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)
"Curb Your Enthusiasm" (HBO)--SHOULD WIN
"Girls" (HBO)
"Modern Family" (ABC)--WILL WIN
"30 Rock" (NBC)
"Veep" (HBO)

There's no reason to think Modern Family won't win.  Girls is too edgy and divisive; Veep is too caustic; 30 Rock's time has come and gone.  Big Bang Theory and Curb have a shot to dethrone the two time champ, but I fear Modern Family is unstoppable.  I choose Curb, because of Palestinian chicken and Susie riding in a car and because I couldn't choose Louie, Parks & Rec or Happy Endings.



COMEDY ACTOR

Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper in "The Big Bang Theory"--WILL WIN
Larry David as Himself in "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
Don Cheadle as Marty Kaan in "House of Lies"
Louis C.K. as Louie in "Louie"--SHOULD WIN
Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy in "30 Rock"
Jon Cryer as Alan Harper in "Two and a Half Men"

Parsons will win his third award though Baldwin could sneak in.  I don't see the Academy awarding someone playing a version of themselves, but I chose Louis CK because his is the most honest performance out of the bunch.


COMEDY ACTRESS

Lena Dunham as Hannah Horvath in "Girls"
Melissa McCarthy as Molly Flynn in "Mike & Molly"
Zooey Deschanel as Jess Day in "New Girl"
Edie Falco as Jackie Peyton in "Nurse Jackie"
Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope in "Parks and Recreation"--SHOULD WIN
Tina Fey as Liz Lemon in "30 Rock"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer in "Veep"--WILL WIN

Louis-Dreyfus is a genuine TV star and so very good here.  I almost picked her, as well, but I am still moved by Leslie getting to vote for herself and the panorama of emotions she displayed as Ann told her the results of the election.  Those moments overshadowed any of the slower spots of last season.
 

SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTOR

Ed O'Neill as Jay Pritchett in "Modern Family"--WILL WIN
Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell Pritchett in "Modern Family"
Ty Burrell as Phil Dunphy in "Modern Family"
Eric Stonestreet as Cameron Tucker in "Modern Family"
Max Greenfield as Schmidt in "New Girl"--SHOULD WIN
Bill Hader as various characters in "Saturday Night Live"

I'm okay with an O'Neill win here.  His dancing in the recital with Lily is one of the best Modern Family moments of last season.  I am partial to Greenfield simply because Schmidt hit early and hit hard.


SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTRESS

Mayim Bialik as Amy Farrah Fowler in "The Big Bang Theory"--WILL WIN & SHOULD WIN
Kathryn Joosten as Karen McCluskey in "Desperate Housewives"
Julie Bowen as Claire Dunphy in "Modern Family"
Sofia Vergara as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett in "Modern Family"
Merritt Wever as Zoey Barkow in "Nurse Jackie"
Kristen Wiig as various characters in "Saturday Night Live"

Mayim Bailik (and especially the unacknowledged Melissa Rauch) saved the popular CBS series 18 months ago.  Bailik however was given the best material of any of the women on this list, and she played the hell out of it.  She was always funny and always in the moment.


DRAMA SERIES

"Boardwalk Empire" (HBO)
"Breaking Bad" (AMC)--SHOULD WIN
"Downton Abbey" (PBS)--WILL WIN
"Game of Thrones" (HBO)
"Homeland" (Showtime)
"Mad Men" (AMC)

I think lots of voters will want to have Breaking Bad win, especially when you consider it is the excellent fourth season featuring the removal of Gus Fring that is nominated.  But it's up against Downton Abbey and the voters nominated everyone they could nominate from this series.  Even though the second season is subpar it will clean up at least in this category.


DRAMA ACTRESS

Glenn Close as Patty Hewes in "Damages"
Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Crawley in "Downton Abbey"
Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick in "The Good Wife"
Kathy Bates as Harriet Korn in "Harry's Law"
Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison in "Homeland"--WILL WIN & SHOULD WIN
Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson in "Mad Men"

If there's one bit of concensus everywhere it is that Claire Danes is absolutely terrific in Homeland.  If there's a spoiler here, it has be Michelle Dockery, because people love the Downton Abbey.


DRAMA ACTOR

Steve Buscemi as Nucky Thompson in "Boardwalk Empire"
Bryan Cranston as Walter White in "Breaking Bad"--WILL WIN & SHOULD WIN
Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan in "Dexter"
Hugh Bonneville as Robert, Earl of Grantham in "Downton Abbey"
Damian Lewis as Nicholas Brody in "Homeland"
Jon Hamm as Don Draper in "Mad Men"

I can't imagine a world where Bryan Cranston doesn't win for Walter White each time he's nominated, though I may be saying something else next year.  If there's a spoiler here, it has to be Jon Hamm, because he has to win sometime.


SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTRESS

Anna Gunn as Skyler White in "Breaking Bad"
Maggie Smith as Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham in "Downton Abbey"--WILL WIN
Joanne Froggatt as Anna in "Downton Abbey"
Archie Panjabi as Kalinda Sharma in "The Good Wife"
Christine Baranski as Diane Lockhart in "The Good Wife"
Christina Hendricks as Joan Holloway Harris in "Mad Men"--SHOULD WIN


I can't imagine Maggie Smith not winning, even people who have never seen the show understand her role and its significance.  Hendricks should win because the episode where she prostituted herself for the company was a harrowing and powerful piece of work.


SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTOR

Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman in "Breaking Bad"--SHOULD WIN
Giancarlo Esposito as Gustavo 'Gus' Fring in "Breaking Bad"
Brendan Coyle as John Bates in "Downton Abbey"
Jim Carter as Mr. Carson in "Downton Abbey"
Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister in "Game of Thrones"
Jared Harris as Lane Pryce "Mad Men"--WILL WIN

I think the love for Mad Men will be shown here and also in a win for best writing.   Harris was always so good as the doomed Lane, so I won't be disappointed.  Paul, though, is always aces and his work as his girlfriend's son lay dying in a hospital room was palpable and urgent.  He is often the emotional anchor on that brilliant series.


MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE

"American Horror Story" (FX)
"Game Change" (HBO)
"Hatfields & McCoys" (History)--WILL WIN
"Hemingway & Gellhorn" (HBO)
"Luther" (BBC America)
"Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia" (PBS)--SHOULD WIN

Once upon a time this was a thriving category, but over the last decade it has merely become a way for HBO to add to its total Emmy haul.  As recent as last year, the Academy started playing fast and loose with the category; it allowed an obvious ongoing series, Downton Abbey, into the category, and the members voted that series the winner.  Cut to this year, where there are two movies (Hemingway & Gellhorn and Game Change), one miniseries (Hatfields & McCoys), and three ongoing series masquerading as other forms.  American Horror Story, which is ready to start a second season, entered as a miniseries.  As did Luther, which just finished its second season.  Sherlock submitted a single episode from its second season as a movie.  I think the Academy will want to honor and honest to goodness miniseries that was insanely popular (Hatfields & McCoys), but I prefer Sherlock to most other things in any genre.


LEAD ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE

Connie Britton as Vivien Harmon in "American Horror Story"--SHOULD WIN
Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin in "Game Change"--WILL WIN
Nicole Kidman as Martha Gellhorn in "Hemingway & Gellhorn"
Ashley Judd as Rebecca Winstone in "Missing"
Emma Thompson as She in "The Song of Lunch"



People love the Julianne Moore, and many found her performance the best part of a tepid version of a great book.  I would agree, but I would never vote against Britton.  She made the ludicrous real and grounded in American Horror Story.


LEAD ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE

Woody Harrelson as Steve Schmidt in "Game Change"
Kevin Costner as 'Devil' Anse Hatfield in "Hatfields & McCoys"--WILL WIN
Bill Paxton as Randall McCoy in "Hatfields & McCoys"
Clive Owen as Ernest Hemingway in "Hemingway & Gellhorn"
Idris Elba as John Luther in "Luther"
Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes in "Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia"--SHOULD WIN

I think Kevin Costner is the biggest movie star of this list in the minds of an aging Academy.  I however think Benedict Cumberbatch has not only the coolest name in television, but one of the best performances.





SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE

Frances Conroy as Moira in "American Horror Story"
Jessica Lange as Constance Langdon in "American Horror Story"--WILL WIN & SHOULD WIN
Sarah Paulson as Nicolle Wallace "Game Change"
Mare Winningham as Sally McCoy in "Hatfields & McCoys"
Judy Davis as Jill Tankard in "Page Eight"



If you saw one episode of American Horror Story, and probably even if you didn't, then you know that there is no stopping the Jessica Lange train, nor should there be.


SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE

Denis O'Hare as Larry Harvey in "American Horror Story"
Ed Harris as John McCain in "Game Change"--WILL WIN
Tom Berenger as Jim Vance in "Hatfields & McCoys"
David Strathairn as John Dos Passos in "Hemingway & Gellhorn"
Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson in "Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia"--SHOULD WIN

I picked Freeman because I love the Sherlock.  I think voters will pick Harris because he's the biggest star.

VARIETY SERIES

"The Colbert Report" (Comedy Central)--SHOULD WIN
"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central)--WILL WIN
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" (ABC)
"Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" (NBC)j
"Real Time With Bill Maher" (HBO)
"Saturday Night Live" (NBC)





The Colbert Report should win if only because of the stellar series about Super PAC's, but The Daily Show will win, because it's The Daily Show, and that's okay.


REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM

"The Amazing Race" (CBS)
"Dancing With the Stars" (ABC)
"Project Runway" (Lifetime)
"So You Think You Can Dance" (Fox)
"Top Chef" (Bravo)--SHOULD WIN
"The Voice" (NBC)--WILL WIN

It was a terrible year for reality competition series, and the only one to be moderatley engaing, Survivor, wasn't even nominated.  The Voice will win because of the buzz and the goodwill, and its emphasis on superstar talent behind the judging table has changed the face of singing competitions.  I prefer the Top Chef classic out them that's nominated, but I loves my cooking competitions.


HOST FOR A REALITY OR REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM

Phil Keoghan, "The Amazing Race"
Ryan Seacrest, "American Idol"
Betty White, "Betty White's Off Their Rockers"
Tom Bergeron, "Dancing With the Stars"--WILL WIN
Cat Deeley, "So You Think You Can Dance"--SHOULD WIN

Betty White?!?  Deeley is great, and so is Bergeron, but I like looking at and listening to her more.

NBC Thursdays: They Peacock Comedy

To contact us Click HERE

NBC, trying to take advantage of a massive Olympic promotional platform, is launching 9/10ths of its fall season in advance of the traditional Fall TV start, which is typically the first Monday after the Emmy awards.  This is a pretty smart move for the 3rd place (but barely) network:  they get people to try out their series well in advance of the onslaught of returning favorites and promising newbies.  I know it has at least fostered my interest in Go On more than I would have initially thought.

With the start of all new programming on Thursday of this week, NBC has only four shows left to debut this fall:  Law & Order: SVU and Chicago Fire on Wednesdays (starting over the next two weeks) and Whitney and Community on Fridays (starting in October).  Every other series has either started it run or at least had a sneak peak episode.  A majority of the new series premiering this fall (4 out of 6) are comedies, and the network renewed 6 of their comedies from last season.  They are so loaded with comedies (there are still 4 in the wings for mid-season) that they have branded their promos with the above logo ("We [NBC Peacock Logo] comedy").  One can argue the etymological advantages that come from turning an animal to a verb--wolfed, lionized, and moused have served us well--but peacock?  Is this a verb that means to strut around, look pretty, and be the moving lawn ornament of the profanely rich elite?

Actually that sums up the NBC comedy brand of the last few years pretty well.  Until The Voice, NBC's most popular prime time series was The Office.   But in the last few years, Saturday Night Live regularly beat even The Office in the key demographic ratings.  NBC has had a continued Thursday slate of really great series that failed to connect with large audiences but still managed to entice the wealthier demographics and the praise of critics everywhere.  30 Rock, Community and my beloved Parks and Recreation never generated large audiences but won the hearts of a small but insanely dedicated base of viewers that treasured the shows' unique comedic stylings.

This past Thursday saw the returns of three of the regular Thursday comedies (30 Rock will be premiering in October) and a special edition of SNL that they resurrect for the presidential election years.  The evening was a successful one.  The traditional comedies were much improved over their output last season, and SNL Weekend Update Thursday had one killer sketch that made the rest of the uneven show bearable, kind of like the regular Saturday edition.  If I had any doubts that I would follow any of these shows this season, these premieres would have wiped them away.  There was also a nice growing quality as the night progressed; each series was slightly better than the one before it, building not just a great hour of television but a great night.

SNL Weekend Update Thursday is in the unenviable position of kicking off the evening and coming off the surprising good season opener with Seth MacFarlane last week.  Fortunately the cold open sketch, the always brilliant parody of FOX and Friends, is better than anything in the SNL premiere last week.  The formula for this one never changes, but Taran Killam, Vanessa Bayer and especially Bobby Moynihan always kill it as the affably dim-witted, malaprop-inclined, conservative lapdog  hosts of the popular FOX News' morning show.  With this sketch they skewered not only FOX News but Mitt Romney.  If I have one beef with SNL (both versions) is that they refuse to make fun of the Democratic party and instead go for easy targets in the Republican party; this does weaken the brand, making it so myopic that you can't help but feel squeamish regardless of your party affiliation.  This is especially evident in the extended "Weekend Update" sections of the show, where Seth Meyers has become so shrill it is hard to laugh.  I find myself wanting to cover my ears from all the indignant yelling which at least Stephen Colbert softens with a smile not a smirk on his similarly delivered "news" program.  Bringing in Bill Hader as James Carville or Bobby Moynihan as Drunk Uncle helps only to keep some of the focus off of Meyers, as both of these bits were just extended character pieces with little purpose.  Both were brilliant character bits, but only Hader's joke about Clinton tugging his ear twice and saying "Magnolia" really worked in textual context in either one.  Both spots refuse to present a point of view or even an idea that could be riffed on.  This is what worked so well in the FOX & Friends sketch.  The idea that progressively more damaging hidden Mitt Romeny videos couldn't shake the pandering hosts is really funny on its own but delivered a comedic coupe de grace in the found footage that would make two of the three hosts back off from their apologist, attack-dog stance.  Then to end the sketch with the usual  DVR friendly crawl of the fact-checkers' corrections of the first two hours of the show kills.  My favorites:  "The Keystone Pipeline is not filled with Keystone Light" and "Benedict Arnold is not a character on Diff'rent Strokes."

Up All Night got a sort of cosmic redo with its premiere episode of the second season.  Gone are the crazy work place antics of "The Ava Show" and Jennifer Hall's pleasantly frazzled yet attentive assistant, Missy.  Enter Reagan's (Christina Applegate) contractor brother Scott, played with a Zach-Galifianakis-lite charm by Luka Jones.  The interpersonal dynamics will change little; Reagan will need to mother both the baby Amy and the immature Ava, played by the always welcome Maya Rudolph.  The wholesale abandonment of the work vs. motherhood conflict for Reagan is uncomfortable right now, but I have no reason to suspect that that won't be a renewed focus later this season.  Chris (Will Arnett) will be going back to work but his job will keep him close to home, giving plenty of opportunity for him and Reagan and baby Amy to interact.  That dynamic is really what the show is all about; it's warm and gooey and sweet--the cinnamon roll of comedy.  I hardly find myself laughing aloud (though "Hawk-like fashion balls" and "Don't let that lady kiss you baby!" were solidly funny) during the show.  Tonally, its an awkward fit between either SNL Weekend Update or 30 Rock (which will have the 8:00 slot in October) and The Office, but it still brings me joy.  It's a slight show, and I'm a little concerned that the switch to a more traditional home structure will make it feel even more slight, but I can't help but be charmed and amused.

And really, it's the tonal shift of The Office that's most remarkable there.  The series built its popular core by emphasizing the squee-ing romance between Jim and Pam (John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer); they were a genuine bit of realistic land in a sea of audacious and often mean-spirited buffoonery.  This trope was so popular that other comedy series soon aped it, including The Office itself.  They had some success with Michael Scott and Holly (Steve Carrell and Amy Ryan) but less so with Andy and Erin (Ed Helms and Ellie Klemper) or Dwight and Angela (Rainn Wilson and Angela Kinsey).  As the show introduced more and more romantic subplots, while still maintaining the Jim-Pam plot, the acidic level of the show dropped.  There was little bite to the series anymore.

That has changed.  Andy is back from a mandated Outward Bound trip and is desperate to humiliate and destroy his former rival Nellie (Catherine Tate). Most shocking of all Oscar is having an affair with Angela's closeted (even to her) husband.  While Angela has always shown nothing but disdain for Oscar and his homosexuality, this seems so out of left field for Oscar, a character that has often been the voice of reason and good citizenship.  At times he may have seemed overbearing in his intellectual righteousness but never was he villainous.  Sleeping with you desk partner's gay husband, and agreeing to take his favorite cat in is more than a bit villainous.  That they have decided on this darker and malignant path as a part for the final arc of the show is intriguing and brings to mind the much more balanced first few seasons of the show.

This is unsurprising, as Greg Daniels who developed the show for NBC and acted as show runner through its glory days has once again returned to the helm.  He wrote and directed this first episode of the show's last season, and almost right away course corrected and set the path for this last run.  He let the documentary crew behind the camera be a more visible character for one brief moment thereby changing the focus of the show and giving us the reason for the show to end.  Pam asks don't they have enough footage by now, and the off-camera response is that a decision was made long ago to follow Pam and Jim and see how they turn out.  Couple this with a fevered, late night college dream possibly becoming a financial reality in Philadephia, and an endgame is set.  Also, Daniels admirably, albeit a little creakily, tried to make the episode about something (taking risks, jumping off to start anew).  This had been missing for the past few years as episodes became about more events instead of themes.

If The Office was better than Up All Night which was better than SNL Weekend Update Thursday, then it's fitting that Parks and Recreation was the artistic highlight of the evening.  As complete as the last season finale felt, it took only a few moments for me to be fully re-immersed in the story of Pawnee's favorite public servants.  Ben (Adam Scott) has moved to D.C. to work on a congressional campaign and taken April (Aubrey Plaza) to be his intern; the season premiere opens with Leslie (Amy Poehler) and Andy (Chris Pratt) visiting their loved ones.  The Leslie plot sets forth an interesting if familiar course for the rest of the season:  you may not always like what you get when you get what you want.  Leslie is maniacally delighted being in the ultimate seat of bureaucracy, and Poehler sells it.  Her look of unabashed glee as she says "Romantic reunions, government meetings, self-guided museum tours?  I mean--am I living the dream?" is positively infectious.  She soon finds that the river beautification project proposal with its own CD soundtrack that she was going to personally give the bureaucrat in the Department of the Interior  will just be thrown into a pile of many.  To add insult to injury, her beloved Pawnee is just one of many.  This shakes her to her core, and causes her to blow her cocktail party meeting with Olympia Snowe and Barbara Boxer--two of her idols.  She is so down that she fails to notice John McCain.  Where other shows might mine these beats for compelling drama, this is Parks and Rec.  They are eternally sunny and hopeful.  Leslie turns this psychological setback into a fire in the belly for local reform and change.  The position that centralized government is bloated and ineffective and that localization is key is positively libertarian for the series.  

The B-plot this episode goes a long way to rectifying the most egregious misstep last season, i.e. not enough Ron Swanson.  Nick Offerman has long been my favorite part of the program, and last season, as Leslie was moving beyond the walls of the Parks department, Offerman's Swanson was lost in the shuffle.  Last night he moved back to the fore with a plot hinging on him organizing Leslie's annual employee appreciation barbeque.  Ron will not be having a puppet play re-enacting the most interesting e-mail chain of the last year nor will he be allowing any effing vegetables, instead the focus will be purely on "good, shared meat."  The look of contempt and disgust at Jerry's suggestion of corn on the cob should win Offerman an Emmy.  What ensues is a hilarious series of riffs involving a pig named Tom, a trailer hitched smoker and a warm rebuke from Rob Lowe's Chris Traeger.  This last part was used to soften the usually abrasive Traeger, but it serves to undermine Ron's libertarian position on self-reliance and contempt of bureaucracy.  This is fascinating to me as the series normally uses Ron's viewpoint as a joke, yes, but also as the measured voice of reason and authority.   I think in the ensuing weeks I may be writing Thursday night posts on the government building policies of ABC's Last Resort and Parks.

All told NBC Thursdays looks like a far more affective night of programming for the surging network, and I know I will be watching as long as they will let me.

SNL: Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Mumford & Sons

To contact us Click HERE

Saturday Night Live is coming of a fairly good episode last week and a fairly good special edition episode on Thursday.  Tonight, Joseph Gordon-Levitt who hosted a fantastic episode two years ago is back as host, and Mumford & Sons who have a new album out on Tuesday are the musical guests.

Cold Open:  Live with Kelly & Michael

Nasim Pedrad and Jay Pharoah play the new morning show co-hosts, while Bill Hader is in as Robert Pattison.  This was awful.  All three are fine impressions but the skit went nowhere fast.  There wasn't even a good KPat joke to be found.  I wonder at the decision to lead with this or even do it at all.  Does the target audience of SNL know the show that the sketch is parodying; do they care?

Monologue:  Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Last time, he sang "Make 'Em Laugh" complete with the Donald O'Connor choreography.  This time it's Magic Mike and "It's Raining Men".  Bobby Moynihan was in with a great double vest bit.  Gordon-Levitt attacking Pedrad was over the top and gross.  I don't have a good feeling about tonight's episode.

Low Information Voters of America Ad

This was a funny ad.  I loved the plaintive earnestness; that was great parody.  Plus Cecily Strong got another large speaking role, and there was an Asian-American, "Albert."  Is he the first in SNL history to have lines?

Tres Equis Ad

Gordon-Levitt is the ultimate Hispanic douche in an ad for Tres Equis, a beer created by the son of an interesting man who created Dos Equis.  It's a funny character bit that he plays well.  How odd is it that a commercial opens a sequence, instead of ending one?  Perhaps there will be more pre-filmed bits this week because of the Thursday show.

Caricature Detective

This was just silly, but an essentially fun silly.  Hader plays a detective that presents evidence to his clients in the form of a street artist's fare. Then it ends in Little Armenia.  Huh.

Tres Equis Ad Dos

More silly fun.  The taped bits are working best this week.  Loved the multiple twitter parody accounts. Jason Sudekis is in as his father, the owner of Dos Equis, and then the bit goes to a whole new level.  Bravo.

Tommy Bergamont, Master Hypnotist

Gordon-Levitt is out as the title hypnotist and Taran Killam is playing his victim, who isn't really hypnotized.  This is silly, but Killam is one of my favorites of the cast.  He's game for anything, including running around in his tightie whities acting like a dinosaur.  Is humping people in the audience a thing now?  God, I hope not.  There's two great payoffs here, both the expectedon and especially the unexpected one.  Great skit led by a great performance by Killam.

G.O.B. Tampons

Hysterical.  Search this out.  The tampon that only the G.O.P. could invent.

Mumford & Sons:  "I Will Wait"

This is a great song.  I liked several tracks off their first album Sigh No More, especially "Little Lion Man" and "The Cave."  But a lot of the album album left me cold.  I felt that they were aping Fleet Foxes too much.  I much prefer the sound of the British folk stomp, which "I Will Wait" delivers in spades.  Very much looking forward to the release of Babel this Tuesday.

Weekend Update

Seth Meyers isn't yelling as much, which is a good thing, but he started with three Romney jokes and then onto Paul Ryan at AARP.  Fortunately next was an extended bit on Obama, telling him to shut up, which actually was pretty good.  But there were still two extended Romney riffs within it.  The thought that Meyers and the SNL writing staff can't figure out a way to make fun of Obama is distressing.  President Assad's Two Best Friends are out next, with Vanessa Bayer and Fred Armissen resurrecting a bit from last season where they play two folks who are afraid to really tell the truth about whatever Middle Eastern dictator is in the news that week.  It's, in theory, a great bit but they may have gone to that well one too many times.  Seth Meyers always sells the ending; he should be in more skits.  Kate McKinnon is out as Ann Romney.  I like McKinnon a lot, and now I would like to go to Mormon Mardi Gras.  "I would kill that horse if I could meet Beyonce."  McKinnon, in a sudden realization that she needed to hit hard because she may not get the chance again anytime soon, threw everything that she had at the bit, and I can't believe it worked this well.  Brava.  Let's bring her back, and soon.  She reminded me of some of the classic SNL parodies of politicians that weren't so much impressions but great characterizations of a one or more personality traits.  Here it's her passion for her husband and her plain talking attitude, and it connects.  Pharoah is out now as Stephen A. Smith.  Almost every inside baseball joke here is lost on me, and the audience, too, it appears.

Hey Dude!

Mumford & Sons play a Beatles cover band while four men tell stories about themselves and sing along to "You Got to Hide Your Love Away."  This is one of my favorite recurring bits on the show.  The use of sentimental pop music (and beer) to bring out confessions in men is funny because it's true.  This time it seems a little too rote.  Only the first confession was personal in the least or at all self-revealing, which is the real trick with the bit, especially with this particular song.  I did like them leaving through the audience, maybe that was sign that this is the last time they will go to this well.  If this is what the future of this skit holds, then that would be best.

The Finer Things

Pharoah and Keenan Thompson play two rappers, Fort Knox and Suede, who are enjoying the finer things in life.  These rappers have never lived the thug life, and their raps title reflect that.  Gordon-Levitt is out as Jay Thriller a hip hop fashion reporter, or I should say a fashion reporter who is hip hop.  This is definitely a sketch that is growing on me.  The interplay between the three is great as is the thug-speak delivery of upper class material.  It's the inverse of when I squarely use the language of youths.  I like it.  I also like Moynihan doing a Street Report on Wine Charms.

Mumford & Sons:  Below My Feet

A ballad.  Great.  If I were in bed watching I'd be asleep before the chorus.  Wait, it's starting to build.  Is it wrong that Marcus Mumford reminds me of Arcade Fire's Win Butler?  This song reminds me of Arcade Fire, as well; all it's missing is a lot more instrumentation.  Not a bad song by any stretch of the imagination, but I was already sold on the album.

Evelyn's Set-Up

This defies description.  Two parents (Fred Armissen and Kate McKinnon) are desperate to set up their daughter Evelyn (Gordon-Levitt) with Tom (Tim Robinson) a guy who works in Receiving at Dad's office.  They are so into the promise of their daughter finding love that they have written a song extolling all of her virtues and more importantly her warts.  This is an odd skit, befitting the final full skit slot of the night.  Armissen hasn't had a lot tonight, but at least McKinnon is getting another feature.

Powers' Realty

The show ends again with another live commercial featuring Tim Robinson.  That's an interesting pattern for the show to have this season.  This time a husband and wife team take to the airwaves to get people to stop vandalizing their ads all over town.  Now, I wonder did the skit end when it was supposed to, or did Gordon-Levitt playing the vandal son of the married real estate agents jump the gun a bit early.

Final Bows

Well this was a bit of a let down.  All of the taped bits were very good.  Both Tres Equis segments, the G.O.B. Tampon ad and the Low Information Voters Ad were pointed, well produced and well-written.  The show didn't play Hide-The-Host this week as Gordon-Levitt was used in almost every sketch.  That should be a good thing as he's game for almost anything and capable of much.  He was very much a part of the two sketches that worked:  "Tommy Bergamont, Master Hypnotist" and "The Finer Things."  Plus McKinnon, who had a walk on as Ann Romney in the Romney Cash Cab bit on Thursday's show, got to flesh out her new persona a lot more here.  Beyonce and I want to see more of McKinnon's Ann Romney--right away.

But everything felt rushed and haphazard.  There was a let's-throw-everything-to-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks attitude at play here.  Far too much reliance on older bits and many of the new ones weren't thought out completely.  Do we need a poor parody of a morning talk show that no one watches?  Or a sketch about a private detective that does street art and ends in Little Armenia?  If we're going to do the guys sing-a-long sketch again, then shouldn't it be a little more pointed and not so silly?  Do we need to bring in the dictator's best friends again?  How about Stephen A. Smith?  It's as if the extra show on Thursday distracted everyone and then they realized, "Oh, shit.  What are we gonna do now?"  "Oh, I know!!  Let's write a song about setting a problematic daughter up."

But it's been a great night.  My thanks to Joseph Gordon-Levitt...Mumford & Sons...and the cast and crew.  You guys are the best.  Good night, everybody!!

Louie: The Three Rules

To contact us Click HERE

I've been letting the third part of Louie's "Late Show" trilogy marinate in my noggin for a while now.  It's not because I didn't like it.  On the contrary, it was one of the most fulfilling episodes this season.  Instead I couldn't think of way to approach the material.  I continuously draw parallels to what Louie is going through, because of similarities to not only age but disposition.  Yes, we're both forty-something but I also find myself to be a selfish individual who prefers to take the easy and familiar path.  I love ferociously but find it difficult to make strong interpersonal connections.  I am content in my work and hunger for new challenges but lack the confidence to explore possibilities.

This "Late Show" arc seems tailor made for me, and now I struggle to embrace the "lessons" within.

The episode starts with Louie still under the tutelage of Jack Dall, again made obliquely great by film director David Lynch.  Dall is at the end of his rope, because of Louie's fear of success.  Echoing what Louie's ex-wife Janet told him in last week's episode, Dall says, "If you wanna get a big thing in life, you gotta make a big effort.  You gotta try hard.  You gotta do things you're not used to doing."  He's pushing Louie to admit what he want, and get him to shake the fear.  Where Janet used guilt as velvet hammer in Part 2, Dall attacks with shame, calling him "a rookie" and pointing out his fear is controlling him.

It's an intense and difficult scene to watch, and Louie is ready to give up before he says what everyone feels when faced with the potentially life changing choice:  "Look, I can't give up on this.  I don't...This is either a door or a wall for me.  It's either the beginning or the end."  One of the greatest things about Louie is that it achieves a universality by relishing the specific.  There's no possible way that anyone other than comedians can begin to understand what it would mean to be offered one of the late night hosting spots on broadcast television, but by fully exploring what this means to the world of Louie we can draw our own parallels to our lives.

Fortunately there's still some great comedic bits here:  Jane's calling him a Fat Daddy, Louie's infantile outburst that buys him another week of Dall's time, Louie interviewing a cleaning lady until she cries, Louie's profanity tirade as he is trying a private screen test at home.  These are balanced by the heartwarming moments:  the girl's "Daddy Night Live" homemade card, Janet's belief in him and the three boys that follow him as he's running down the street (one of many homages to the Rocky franchise that this arc has provided).  

Then comes the showcase bit of the episode--the test show.  Obviously nervous before going on Louie gets one last bit of advice from Jack Dall.  Dall imparts the Three Rules of Show Business:

1. Look them in eye and speak from the heart
2. You gotta go away to come back
3. If someone asks you to keep a secret, their secret is a lie.

The first two are pieces of good advice/rules for any business, but the third one has special meaning for this episode and this arc.  Immediately following Dall's exit, Jerry Seinfeld appears not to wish Louie luck before his test show, but to crash his spirit.  Jerry tells his friend that Jerry was offered the Late Show gig that morning.  Louie is devastated until Jerry says as he is exiting, that the offer is a secret and not to tell anyone.  Knowing now the third rule, Louie is invigorated and finds the confidence to give the show of his life.  He is confident, relaxed, warm and in control.  He's charming with Susan Sarandon and witty with Paul Rudd.  It's such a success that even Lars Tardigan is impressed, and thrilled to have "an option."

But here's the thing, in "Late Show (Part 1)" Lars Tardigan (played by Garry Marshall) started this whole plot in motion by telling Louie that Letterman was retiring, and asking him to keep it a secret.  A secret to be kept which is a lie.  Tardigan was using Louie as a negotiating tactic against Letterman, and the successful test show gets Letterman to sign a new ten year deal for less money.  To add further insult to injury, Louie learns that he is now dead to the Letterman show, eliminating one of the most important outlets for his line of work.

Is Louie devastated?  Yes.  But he's also triumphant.  For Louie the journey wasn't just an outward one to financial and professional success, but an internal one where he overcomes his demons, examines himself and finds himself worthy.  His barbaric yawps at the Lettterman marquee is one of the most gratifying moments of the entire series to date.  Even in losing, Louie wins.

This "Late Show" arc has been inspiring and ultimately troubling personally.  I don't know if I have it in me to get up and try.  I'd be lying if I didn't say that resurrecting this blog is an attempt to change the professional pattern of my life, but do I have the balls to shake the familiar and do the things that I'm not used to doing?  To "make the big effort?"  Hmm...right now it's all I can do to get up mow the grass.

The Emmys 2012:

To contact us Click HERE

The Emmy Awards are underway.   I like to think not as a parade of winners, but a celebration of the great, common American art form. With winners, lots and lots of winners.  Earlier this week I picked winners here, but I will undoubtedly bat around .400.

We start with a pre-taped bit, with various and sundry television women, beating the crap out of host Jimmy Kimmel.  It's worth it just to hear Kathy Bates say, "Out of the way, Yoga Pants," to my beloved Mrs. Coach, Connie Britton.  Kimmel is a great comedian and he usually has great taped bits.  This was a little forced, perhaps another rehearsal would have helped.

Jimmy's monologue is a little staid but his joke comparing Obama watching Homeland to Charlie Sheen watching Breaking Bad was funny.  As was his bit about Jon Hamm not winning tonight.

A two minute taped retrospective of the year in comedy leads to Amy Poehler and Louis C.K. announcing the Best Supporting Actor in Comedy.  They'd be my picks later for Best Actress and Best Actor.  I'd love to see Greenfield win for New Girl, but the award goes to Eric Stonestreet.  He seems suitably humbled and appreciative of the fans.  I'm sad for Ed O'Neil, who may go without ever winning an Emmy for this role like Jon Hamm for Don Draper of Steve Carrel for Michael Scott.

We're back after a commercial for The Neighbors which makes The Kid smile and laugh.  I'm frightened.  Jim Parsons and Zooey Deschanel are out to present for Writing for a Comedy Series.  I'm hoping for a Poehler win, but Louis C.K. wins for the season premiere last year last year about his pregnant sister who goes into false labor.  He won an Emmy award for one great, long fart joke.

Kat Dennings and Jon Cryer are out after a killer Breaking Bad/Andy Griffith Show mash up to present Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy.  I'm hoping for a Mayim Bailik win here, but it goes to Julie Bowen who last year.  I think Bowen is often the undersung best part of Modern Family, and I won't argue that she had great material last year with the election for town council.   I do like that Bowen has sister wives.  I'm a little taken aback by the paparazzi stop for the winners ontheir way off stage.  Is that a real thing or just a staged bit?

You know, I don't really like this whole behind the scenes thing that the Emmys has been doing for the last several years.  The multi-cam backstage shots, the real/fake paparazzi.  It helps destroy the inherent magic of the event/medium.  I appreciate the desire to get people involved on a higher plane, but I don't know that in this internet drive, how-the-sausage-is-madeage, that it is necessary in the least.

Matthew Perry is out to announce the winners for Guest Actor and Actress in a Comedy.  The winners were announced a week ago and Perry's bit didn't work either.  Kathy Bates and Jimmy Fallon are the winners and they're out to announce Best Directing for a Comedy Series.  Steve Levitan wins for the season finale of Modern Family.  And at this point if you still think Modern Family won't win Best Series, then you be crazy.

This Baby Lily bit from Modern Family is hysterical.  Yes, they should win lots and lots of awards.

Melissa McCarthy and Mindy Kaling are out to award Best Actor in a Comedy Series.  McCarthy is so, so funny.  I wish she were on a better show.  I'm hoping for a Louis C.K. win, but the award goes to Jon Cryer.  JON CRYER!  WTF!!  Cryer is as stunned as the rest of us.  Is this a manifestation of a long held affection for Ducky or a final F.U. to Charlie Sheen?  Holy cow.  I have not gotten one prediction or one hope right all night.  I suck.

We're back and Kimmel introduces Stephen Colbert to award Best Actress in a Comedy Series.  Last year the winners took the stage in a very funny bit.  This year not so much.  I want Poehler to win, but Julia Louis-Dreyfus wins.  I picked one winner right.  A great bit with Poehler and Louis-Dreyfus in exchanged acceptance speeches.  Leave it to Poehler to be a part of the one great, natural bit of the evening so far.  Too bad a long shot at the end had us viewers at home miss one last bit with Colbert.

Another two minute clip package for the year in reality is incomprehensible narratively to me, and I watch a lot of those shows.  The Outstanding Reality Competition Series is The Amazing Race, which had a less than amazing year.  We do love Bertram Van Munster, or at least saying his name, at The Homefront.  I had no real favorite in this race, but was holding my nose and hoping for Top Chef.  I was certain The Voice would take it, but alas I'm wrong again.

The show has been moving a brisk clip, and that's a great thing.  The winners seem to be not necessarily the standards but the old favorites.  The filmed bits are working best, as the live patter seems to really being falling flat.  The introduction of the accountant bits with the cast from Big Bang Theory is a perfect example of this:  prepared bits are rehearsed and landing better.

Seth MacFarlane is out to announce Best Reality Show Host.  Go Cat Deeley.  Go Cat Deeley.   But Tom Bergeron wins.  I would never dismiss what he does, as he does it masterfully just like his acceptance speech.

The last two minute clip package.  This time for the year in drama.  There's a heavier reliance on the ABC stable of dramas.  It has been a great decade for the television drama.  Here's to celebrating a lot of different shows.

Claire Danes is out to announce Best Supporting Actor in Drama.  I'm hoping for Aaron Paul and he wins.  Yay!!!!  I was certain that he couldn't win because of the great, great pool here.  He's totally surprised.  It makes me love him more.  Maybe Breaking Bad will win Best Drama.  Here's to hoping.

The Kimmel/Tracy Morgan twitter bit bores Claire Danes.  Connie Britton and Hayen Panitiere are out to announce Best Writing in Drama Series.  The Homeland pilot wins against three terrific Mad Men episodes. Okay.  Maybe they all cancelled each other out.  Perhaps Homeland will win Best Drama.  They're played out a little early, but they were breaking the rules by having more than one person talk.  I like Homeland a lot; the new season starts next Sunday.

Britton and Panitiere stay out to announce Best Supporting Actress in a Drama.  This is a great category, with no bad choices.  I'm hoping Christina Hendricks wins for Mad Men, which would be that series first Emmy win for acting ever.  Maggie Smith wins, because she should.

Giancarlo Esposito is out to announce the winners of Guest Actor and Actress in a Drama Series who were awarded last week.  Jeremy Davies and Martha Plimpton--them that won--are out to announce Best Directing in a Drama Series.  I'm expecting Breaking Bad to win here as "Face Off" was one of the finest hours of television produced in a while but Tim Van Patten wins for Boardwalk Empire, which is a beautiful show to look at.

Kimmel introduces a faux in memoriam piece complete with Josh Groban singing One Direction and featuring Kimmel in every clip.  Very funny.  As he said, "I will be missed."

Julianna Margulies is out to announce Best Actor in a Drama Series.  Cranston has to win, right?  He always wins.  He's just that good.  But Damian Lewis wins for Homeland.  I am shocked but thrilled.  Claire Danes gets all the accolades for the series, but the show would never work if he weren't spot on in every moment he is on the screen.  Brilliant choice.  My guess is now that Homeland definitely wins Best Drama.  Huzzah.

Tina Fey and Jon Hamm are out to announce Best Actress in a Drama Series.  Hamm and Fey give the best patter of the evening, centered on Fey forgetting her glasses.  This is Claire Danes' to lose, but I don't see how she can not with all the Homeland love on display tonight.  I am digging the extended clips for these women.  Danes wins.  I've loved her since My So Called Life, and I'm glad to see her finally getting the accolades she deserves.  She's funny and warm and generous in her acceptance speech.

I guess I was wrong.  There can be more two minute clip packages.  This time it's for variety series, which included Olympic clips I think which couldn't be nominated.  This is a set of awards I care little for.  Especially the Best Variety Special.  Lots of awards shows and Betty White are the nominees and Louis C.K. wind for his Live at the Beacon Theatre special.  I think I need a run around the block.  Be right back.

What'd I miss?  Ricky Gervais is out to make people squirm and give out award for Best Directing of a Variety Special.  He and got a great bit in with C.K.  He also got to announce Best Variety Series which went to The Daily Show for the tenth year in a row.  Ten years in a row.  Colbert (who should have won) and Jimmy Fallon (who could have won) had a great bit about holding Stewart back.  He did a funny sandwich card joke about the ten wins, and was bleeped out when he tried to point out "how predictable these fucking things are."

Kimmel is out with a great bit about throwing his parents out of the theater because he hasn't won an Emmy.  They believed in him too much.  This I love.

And the last clip package--I hope.  This time for miniseries and movies, which is a category that I care about less than variety.  all I want is lots of awards for Sherlock.  Please more Sherlock.  I like to say Benedict Cumberbatch's name aloud.  Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie goes to Jessica Lange for American Horror Story, which doesn't surprise me in the least.  I find it fascinating that they aren't playing the theme song from that show, but that might be a bit too freaky.  I like it that acting winners go towards the paparazzi and the behind the scenes winners are led off the other way.  Fascinating.

Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie goes to Tom Berenger for Hatfields & McCoys.   I won't be disappointed if H&M sweeps this category.  There should be more actual miniseries in production.  Berenger is very generous to the rest of the supporting cast for the series.

Ron Howard gives a warm and loving tribute to Andy Griffith that starts the real In Memoriam tribute.  These are always delicate moments, and this one was handled well.

Lucy Liu and Keiffer Sutherland are out for Outstanding Writing in a Miniseries or Movie which goes to Game Change.  Uhhhh...yuck.  I hate being the guy that says the book is better, but in this case the book is totally different and much, much better.  Palin and McCain, the focus of the movie, are barely in the book.

Liu and Sutherland stay out for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Movie which goes to Julianne Moore for her Sarah Palin in Game Change, which is terrific and deserving.  Moore transcends even mediocre material.

Best Directing of a Miniseries or Movie goes to Jay Roach for Game Change.  I officially don't care about this category ever again.  I'm almost ready to switch on The Great Food Truck Race.  Best Actor in a Miniseries or Movie goes to Kevin Costner in Hatfields & MacCoys.  I hope he rambles as much as Tom Berenger.  Alas, he didn't, but he did in best post-hippie style forget his tie.  You know I like Kevin Costner in almost everything he is ever in, why doesn't he do more.  I take it back the Olympic moment was pure Berenger.

Best Miniseries or Movie goes to Game Change.  All righty then.  With Tom Hanks and Bill Paxton's mustaches, are we prepping for a whole bunch of 1920's set movies?

Julianne Moore is out for Best Drama Series.  Breaking Bad?  Homeland?  Mad Men?  Homeland for the upset.  I find it fascinating that for dramas, voters went for the new shiny choice.  I can't disagree a whole lot.  All of the nominated drama series are terrific and it's really like choosing your favorite child.  Television dramas have come of age in the last ten years, and its an embarrasment of riches.

Michael J. Fox is out for the Best Comedy Series to a standing ovation.  Is there anyway he doesn't win Best Actor in a Comedy after his series debuts next season?  My three favorite series aren't nominated, so I'm non-plussed that Modern Family wins.  It's not a horrible show by any stretch of the imagination.  I will never miss an episode.  I like the show, but there are a lot of comedies that I love, namely Louie, Parks and Recreation and Happy Endings.  Steve Levitan is played off, and then blacked out so the show could end on time.  That's a tad disrespectful to say the least, especially since ABC was footing the bill.

All in all it was a well produced show, that galloped at a brisk pace to its inevitable conclusions.  I was taken aback by the "paprazzi" walk for the acting winners and the exciting cryons announcing "Nine minutes to Andre Braugher."  Kimmel was a game host who kept things hopping and delivered (other than the opening sequence) a series of strong taped bits.  He got off some fairly good one liners, but he wasn't the focus after the first five minutes, and that's not a bad thing.  His live bits were a mixed bag (Tracy Morgan passing out bombed but throwing his parents out of the theater was gold) kind of like the presenters.  You can't beat the spontanaiety of a Louis C.K and Ricky Gervais, nor the sheer skill of a Tina Fey and Jon Hamm.  The winners felt rushed with far too many being played off, but then none of them were terribly memorable.  Jon Stewart fared well here thanks to a little help from his friends Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon and his ability to cut to the quick.  Julia Louis-Dreyfus got a great assist from Amy Poehler, proving that they are the two funniest women on TV.

I did, as always, prove that my prognostication skills are considerably lacking.  Of the 18 categories I named in advance, I got 9 right in the Will Win category and 3 right in the Should Win category.  That would make my batting average at .500 for Will Win and .167 for Should Win.  If I count the writing and directing categories for drama and comedy (al of which I guessed worng on) then my averages drop to .409 for Will Win and .136 for Should Win.  Sigh.

CBS Mondays: Everytihng Old Is...Still Old

To contact us Click HERE

CBS is taking a pretty big gamble on Mondays this season.  They have moved the aging Two and a Half Men to Thursdays to shore that night up.  In it's place they put sophomore sensation 2 Broke Girls, which last year became the most watched new comedy on television and the most divisive.   Stalwart How I Met Your Mother is entering its ninth season, bigger than ever thanks to stripped syndication deals, but it is still looking towards its end game.  Mike & Molly is an appreciated comedy that can't seem to attract enough eyeballs, losing a lot of its lead-in audience, and delivering a smaller number to the 10:00 show, Hawaii Five-O.  They have sandwiched their only new comedy this fall, Partners, between HIMYM and 2 Broke Girls, hoping that it will catch on like so many other comedies haven't in the recent past.  Now that they've aired their first full night, how was it?  Not horrible but not anything that I feel obligated to watch every week.

The evening starts with my old favorite How I Met Your Mother.  I have always found at least one thing to love in every episode, and there have been many times where I felt it was the best thing on.  At one time I felt it was the natural inheritor of Friends.  That time is long past.  For eight years we have been teased, tricked and thwarted by Ted as he told the interminable story of how he met his kids mother.  I thought I had long since given up caring about who the mother is, but then in this premiere episode I was immediately drawn in as we saw a more tantalizing glimpse of the unseen title character only to have my hopes dashed to the ground by that damn yellow umbrella.  If you fool me once, I know it's shame on you, but if you fool me 43 times, what does that make me other than a moron?  I am tired of the time jumps and the fake-outs, but then...then...there's something like Neil Patrick Harris recapping the entire show in one minute (complete with a countdown clock) or Marshall and Lily having zombie senses due to a lack of post-natal sleep.  They always suck me back in.  At one point a never before seen character tells Ted, "You're maddeningly inconsistent," and I dropped my pen and yelled, "Yes!"  I can't imagine Mondays without HIMYM, even if it drives me crazy.  I love these characters and I want to see them through until the bitter end.

I don't hate Partners, but I never have to watch it again.  A fast and furious comedy about two architects (one straight and one gay) who have been best friends and now business partners is smartly directed, beautifully produced and filled with engaging performers.  Michael Urie is Louis, the gay architect, and the part is tailor made fro him.  He's so comfortable here that he is holding nothing back, threatening to overpower the subtle shadings of David Krumholtz and the entire production. Sophia Bush and Brandon Routh also star as the architects significant others but both are barely given a chance to register.  The series is created by David Kohan and Max Mutchnick (of Will and Grace fame) and is said to be based on their real life.  I fear for the sanity of Kohan and Mutchnick's loved ones if that's the case.  Bush's character Ali says in the very painful stinger, "We need to realize that while there are four people at this table, there are three relationships."  This would be obvious enough but then there's a middle school pun that everyone knowingly and congenially laughs about as the cameras fade to black.  If this sounds old school, it is; the entire series is a throwback to the classic comedies of 15 years ago.  CBS should be commended for trying to singlehandedly keep the classic sitcom alive.  I just don't have to watch them all.

2 Broke Girls is another show that I don't have to watch, but I will undoubtedly check in on it every once in a while.  I watched more of the first season than I care to admit; I stopped because I couldn't stomach the poorly written dirty jokes.  The grotesque racial stereotypes were disturbing sure, but going blue just because you can I find unbearable. I was hoping that there was a little course correction over the summer but there wasn't.  In the premiere there were jokes about a kindergartener breast feeding, golden showers, vaginal secretions and breaking hymens.  So why will I check in from time to time?  I love Beth Behrs who plays Caroline; she's terrific.  I also like Kat Dennings a lot; she was very good playing the smitten kitten when she met Caroline's charming father, Martin, masterfully played by Steven Webber.  I love their core relationship, and wish the show would focus on them more.  They play the heartfelt moments so well and so realistically that it makes the crassness even more grotesque.

God, do I love Melissa McCarthy, and how I wish she was on a better show.  Mike & Molly isn't bad by any stretch of the imagination, it's just that few shows would be able to match McCarthy's energy.  She's unafraid of a physical bit and makes even the most innocuous line reading funny.  She is also the most generous of performers with lots of warmth to spare and share.  The rest of the cast does their best to keep up with her; she and Billy Gardell have developed an easy warmth, which has gone a long way to softening his performance into something unexpectedly nice.  Swoozie Kurtz and Katy Mixon are the other standouts even if they go a bit over the top.  I'm also fond of Louis Mustillo.  There is too heavy a preponderance on ribald humor, but that is typical of the Chuck Lorre/CBS brand.  Right now, adult romantic comedy is defined on television by Mike & Molly and FOX newcomer The Mindy Project.  I'd certainly like to see this show be more successful because I like that genre.

I understand the appeal of the CBS Monday comedy block, and for the most part I think it is fairly good.  It is a series of old school programs that appeal to a wider spectrum of the audience; I want to like it more than I do.  I wonder if there isn't a better programming flow here.  I'd like to see Mike & Molly and Partners switch places.  M&M's warmth is a natural lead out of the mostly sentimental HIMYM.  That would play into the strong emotional core of 2 Broke Girls.  The broadness of both Girls and Partners would be a great pairing as well.  It's nit picking I know, but maybe I'd just prefer to fill my 8:00 DVR hour with M&M, which also would make Partners easier to ignore.