state of television

i watch a lot of tv. i don't have a ton of shows that i love...and yet i still find myself watching a lot of it. this is besides the point. the issue i am currently thinking about is this writer's strike and how it affects my television viewing. i have read up on the issues surrounding the strike a little, but am in no way knowledgeable on any of it. (ir)regardless, as a fellow writer, i side with the writers. ok obviously i cannot put myself in the same category as the s.a.g writers since i think my writing is generally awesome 100% of the time. also, i still have it rooted in me that i am for the people and against the big evil corporation (or whatever entity), so i had really chosen sides before i knew anything about it.

so yeah, i guess the strike is serious stuff....but as i mentioned before, in the kevin-centric blog, i wanted to discuss how this affects me. i have 3 situational comedies that i truly enjoy.

• the office (version americana) - they stopped showing new episodes at least a month ago and with it they leave a gaping hole in my comedic heart
• 30 rock - there is apparently one episode left where i can be amazed by the crazy stuff that comes out of tracy morgan's mouth
• it's always sunny in philadelphia - their season is over and they were unaffected by the strike

there is only one dramatic show that i love.

• friday night lights - this is the show that nobody seems to be watching...but it's so good that i would watch it even if connie britton wasn't in it...well i think they also have one more episode left...and with their shitty ratings, who knows if it will ever come back...

late night shows are also affected. while snl is usually lame, it was generally a decent diversion if wasn't doing anything else. last night most of the late night talk shows came back after about 6 weeks of being off the air. conan and letterman sported the strike solidarity beards. i saw a little of conan's show and it was funny, if not a little more awkward, but equally retarded. didn't watch leno, but i heard he's in trouble with the guild. apparently, the hosts could perform, but couldn't prepare any material beforehand. they had to just make it up as they went. lamo admitted to writing his awful schtick before the show. he's so fucking lame. bwe.tv summed it best:

Late Night talk shows returned to the air waves last night, with Conan O’Brien and David Letterman demonstrating their “Guildy Consciences” with two very impressive strike beards on display. Jay Leno, however, refused to grow a beard, as it disguised his single recognizable feature: Having no sense of humor.

so now what does that leave me with? you guessed it...reality tv! i am a little ashamed by my enjoyment of certain reality shows. i get real excited when american idol starts airing. i believe it was last season where i was introduced to the yellow-shirted singer/entrepreneur flawless, who i thought was awesome. instead of enjoying the office and 30 rock, tonight will be the premiere of the apprentice. while the apprentice has been lame since the second season, this season the players will be "celebrities". while it looks like the use of "celebrity" to describe these contestants is very liberal, tito the apeman ortiz is on the show. and while i am not particularly fond of him, he actally seems pretty smart and i guess i will be rooting for him...at least initially. upcoming we also have the new american gladiators with mma beauty gina carano.
hopefully the writers' strike will be resolved soon so i can get the most out of my tv viewing. in the meantime, i think these reality shows will help ease the pain. we'll see.

that's not funny part 1

i was considering compiling a list of celebrities that i hate, but soon realized that most of the celebrities that are targets of my hate tend to be the ones that think they are very funny but are clearly not. other hateables include too-obvious celebrities that erryone else hates as well as most politicians, but i am focusing on "entertainers" who so desperately want to be funny, but alas are not.

jay leno

why?
this horribly unfunny dynamo has hosted the tonight show and done so with the most vanilla, obvious jokes, spinkled with some random issues of manhood and not being gay. his high-pitched, nasally voice reads joke after joke that anyone under the age of 60 should be ashamed to laugh at.

well on the other hand...
he seems like a genuinely nice guy. i have a feeling that if he was some guy that you worked with, he wouldn't try to force his "comedy" and actually be an ok guy. he tries so hard, which makes everything seem kind of sad and much more amazing in it's spectacle, sort of a comedy train wreck where many viewers are stuck in channel surfing rubbernecking.

hatred level - 6

dane cook

why?
if i was a biologist, he would be classified as douche-sapien. he steals jokes, is a spaz on stage and along with leno, tries so hard, but strikes out every time. his comedy is a combination of dumbed-down frat guy stylings, mixed with completely random "observations" that have the approach that they are so "out there", that they become funny. not clever. awful.

well on the other hand...
he made it happen via myspace, and was probably the first one to do so with this level of success. it's tough to come up with too much positive. i will let the fake video below sum things up.


hatred level - 8

carlos mencia

why?
this guy is awful for a number of reasons. he uses his "mexican" heritage as a way to make incredibly racist and insulting jokes. he's half german and his real name is ned holness. it's one thing to have jokes that are racially insulting, but his comedy tends to also insult the intelligence of his audience. along with dane cook, he has been known to steal jokes from lesser-known comics.

well on the other hand...
science has proven he's just not funny, plain and simple.






hatred level - 9.5