Mon, September 19, 2005
Returning Shows, Week 1—1:47 PM
Oops, I forgot about the quickie blurb for returning shows, which remains an integral part of the Annual TiVo Gauntlet of New Fall Programming. In the future, this will be part of the weekly update, but for now here's the catch-up:
Returning this week are The Simpsons, Survivor, House, and the Seth MacFarlane Guy/Dad Hour which is the only way to look at the block that kicks off with Family Guy and slinks to a finish with American Dad. The two shows are strikingly similar in all the ways that make them good and different in all the ways that make American Dad disappointing (except the Paul Lynde alien – that's fucking genius). But, squish them together and you've got a pretty damn decent hour of animation. Remember, most of the humor from both shows comes in the form of whiplash-inducing non sequiturs, which have little to no relationship to the characters – so basically the ones in the second half hour are just a little more political.
We reserve all the Survivor-based rantery for the Survivor columns, which will be airing on Tuesdays during the ATGoNFP, so nothing remains to be said except the show is back, and it's as Survivory as ever. House seems great, looks great, and, from everything I hear, is great. I still haven't seen a second of it, but I think I've got most of last season on TiVo from the summer reruns. (Conflicted with The Amazing Race and Veronica Mars last year – enough said.) So far, I've been lucky enough to schedule recordings of its new episodes this year, too. I hope to catch up at some point.
The Simpsons is exactly what we all know it to be at this point. The disappointing final throes of a once-great legacy. There was a lot of Groening-generated hype that this might be the year of its return to glory, but so far no glory is forthcoming. Will this finally be the year I quit watching it altogether? It probably depends how many flashy musical acts du jour show up for guest roles.
The Simpsons
Guy/Dad
House (speculatively)
Survivor
Brandon — Tue, 9/20/05 3:53pm
Another instantly-forgettable Simpsons episode this weekend, though there was a museum docent sign joke that should've been enjoyed by all patrons of this site.
Family Guy was hilarious, especially the game of "I never." I gave Dad another try on opening weekend, and once again promptly removed it from my "to be recorded" schedule.
And please tell me you've watched the season opener of Arrested Development from last night. A thing of comedic beauty.
Bee Boy — Tue, 9/20/05 4:26pm
That it was. I was wondering if the show has gotten better or if I'd just forgotten how great it was over the summer. AD has always excelled at packing the most comedy into a half hour, but last night's episode was like a comedy iPod nano – they're fitting jokes into the tiniest of gaps, with no room to spare. Truly spectacular.
(And don't forget to visit imoscar.com.)
Bee Boy — Tue, 9/20/05 6:59pm
Ugh, just had a chance to watch Sunday's Simpsons – what a dud. (Docent references aside.) It seemed like a rejected Treehouse of Horror vignette, hastily stretched to fill a whole show. And what the hell do they have against Maurice Sendak?