TV Review (long overdue)

Thanks to the impact of Tivo on my life, I've never been more focused in my TV viewing.  I'm going to discuss all the new shows that I've started to watch since last fall (along with some older ones).  The list is fairly extensive, so prepare yourself:

Pardon the Interruption: I used to be so anoyed at the timeslot for this show; it comes on either too early (5:30), or when I'm in the middle of something (6:30).  Now that I have Tivo, the timeslot is irrelevant.  In fact, I'm glad PTI doesn't have any competition - not that it wouldn't have priority over any show besides 24.  Watching Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon verbally spar about sports and pop culture back and forth not only never gets old -- it's actually improved over the years.  In about 20 minutes each weeknight (with commercials subtracted out), I get caught up on all the major sports stories of the day.  I on't even bother to watch Tivoed SportsCenter anymore.  There's no point, because Tony and Mike give me everything I need and want.  

The Colbert Report: I like Stephen's show better than The Daily Show.  In fact, when I have to choose, I always watch my recordings of the Report before I decide whether or not to watch Jon Stewart.  And that's saying a lot.  The Daily Show is more educational, but The Colbert Report is funnier and will make you laugh out loud more.  The question is, how long can Colbert continue to drive this show forward?  He says that it's exhausting to stay in character the whol 30 minutes every day.  Let's hope you can figure out a way to hang on, Stephen.    After all, "The Word" might be the single funniest ongoing comedy bit on TV today. 

The Boondocks: This show comes on late Sunday nights on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, and is indeed based upon the comic strip bearing the same name.  I never imagined this show would be good at all, as often comic strip adaptations can be underwhelming (then again, maybe I feel this way simply because Garfield just plain sucks in general).   But The Boondocks is always funny, and occasionally brilliant.  They use the word 'nigga' on that show like it was going out of style, and they also get beeped a lot.  Almost all the characters are well-developed.  Huey and Riley are the main focus, but there have been episodes based around Granddad Freeman, Mr. Wuncler (yes, I know it's a blatant Lorax pastiche), Jasmine, Jasmine's dad and Ruckus.  No racial or societal issue is too sensitive to tackle.  Think of it as the black South Park, only with better animation, drawing and music.

Everybody Hates Chris: Speaking of darkies, this show proves the K.I.S.S. theory of programming.  Everybody Hates Chris succeeds precisely because it doesn't try to be everything to everyone.  It's just a cute show that will make you smlie throughout - and occasionally laugh out loud.  It also proves that Chris Rock is capable of penning effective humor without being obscene.  He narrates every episode in true Chris Rock fashion. 

My Name Is Earl: I can't explain why this show is good, nor can I even explain the show's premise without turning off a majority of people.  This is another show that simply makes you smile most of the time and keeps things simple...except it's based upon white-trash characters in a rural/trailer-park setting.  It may sound odd that a black man would like such a show, until you remember that Married With Children was one of the most popular shows in America amongst blacks.  My Name Is Earl is a lot more clever and sophisticated than MWC, King of the Hill or any other show it might draw comparisons to.  For one, it's much more contemporary; for another, the production values are far higher; finally, the actors (Jason Lee, Jamie Pressly) are of a higher caliber.   Again, I can't explain why a redneck's discovery of karma and a creation of a list designed to pay back all the people he's wronged works as a TV show concept.  It just does.

Black.  White. :  This reality show proved to be as depressing as it was compelling.  Executive-produced by Ice Cube, it forces two families, one black and one white, to live together for a set period of time under the same roof.  In addition, each family must learn how to act like a member of the "oppposite" race.  And the kicker is that each family member, utilizing the magic of modern makeup, must change their skin color and go out into the world as a member of the other race to get a sense of what things are like for the other family. 
The setting is L.A.  As is the case with most reality shows, everyone ends up looking weak, malicious or both.  The white dad is completely unwiling to see anything but what he wants to see; he basically gets nothing out of the experience because he is determined to not change his mind.  At the same time, he's definitely a racist.  The white mom means well, but is completely ignorant and incredibly sensitive.  She makes horrible comments without realizing it, then gets very upset when called out on those comments.  The black dad is pretty normal, but his frustration throughout the process is evident; both he and the white dad continuously butt heads because both of them are confrontational and abrasive.  The black mom is a biatch.  Yeah, I said it (and she'd probably get pissed at me, considering her reaction when the white mom called her the same thing while practicing "black slang").  The black mom seems relatively normal at first, but then you realize she simply cannot forgive people...and she holds onto grudges way past their expiration date.  She continues to bitch about the white mom's 'bitch' comment.  I wanted to scream at her through the television to get over it.  You know, like we should just get over slavery.  Just kidding.  I'm a horrible person.

The kids end up seeming okay, and Rose (the white daughter) comes off as the saintliest of all of them.  She seems genuinely sensitive to the black experience and isn't as set in her ways as her parents.  The black son is a knucklehead -- the kind of kid Bill Cosby would  probably throw things at out of spite.  His parents have the same reaction, but they don't throw things.  Actually, they go to a great deal of effort to try to teach their son how important the straight and narrow path is.  By the end of the show, you get the feeling that their lessons are starting to rub off on him.  Despite the awkwardness and pain of many of the show's interactions, I recommend looking for the reruns on F/X. 

So that's my take on recent TV.  These shows are pretty much all I've been able to make time for lately; they represent maybe 5% of my total Tivo recording volume during a given week.  But I can deal with that.
 

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