tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6678481478994191244.post4573164330309130694..comments2024-03-24T03:19:39.745-04:00Comments on Just About Write: Report Cards Are In! (Grading This Season of My Favorite Shows)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6678481478994191244.post-57222179971146222202014-05-08T13:56:10.083-04:002014-05-08T13:56:10.083-04:00Since I've only seen the Crazy Ones, I will co...Since I've only seen the Crazy Ones, I will comment on that. I watched all 22 episodes of the show, and that in itself is unusual for me since I rarely watch any of the new shows that come out every year. When I found out that Robin Williams was headed back to TV after 32 years, I must admit that I really didn't know if TV would be a good fit for him. Since he left Mork and Mindy so many years ago, (One of my all-time favorite comedy series), the TV comedies genre has really changed, and making movies is very different from making weekly TV shows, but I decided for myself to see Robin once again do a weekly series, and I'm overjoyed that I did. To me, the Crazy Ones is the best comedy show to come along in a very long time. Funnier than Friends, funnier than Seinfeld, The Cosby Show, and as funny as M*A*S*H*.<br /><br />From the first show, the Crazy Ones had me hooked. Happy to say that Robin hasn't lost anything, and his rapid fire antics are just as funny today as it was 32 years ago. But Robin isn't alone. He has with him I believe the best cast in TV. We all know Sarah Michelle Gellar's credentials. At first, Sarah needed some work to get the nuances down with her character of Sydney Roberts. As the show went along, to me, she found her footing, and was just simply marvelous. James Wolk and Hamish Linklater work off each other really well. Their chemistry is great and the "bromance" is funny to watch. Amanda Setton is very much underrated. She and Sarah are not quite Zach and Andrew, but very solid and has good potential. And of course, Robin leads the way and is just brilliant'<br /><br />But as good as the cast is, it's the guest stars that add the icing on to the cake. Imagine having Brad Paisley, Josh Groban, Brad Garrett, Ed Asner, Marilu Henner, Kelly Clarkson, Pam Dawber, and so many more. These people made the show even better. I wish more people could have watched the show because what they were missing was quite good. I hope CBS gives the show a 2nd season to prove that this is a show that could be around for years to come. I will be very disappointed if it is cancelled. Everything about the Crazy Ones is great.<br /><br /><br /> Gary Sartorihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00189364377716438610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6678481478994191244.post-76078869498657412402014-05-07T13:18:07.190-04:002014-05-07T13:18:07.190-04:00Hi Ann! You always know I love your well-thought-o...Hi Ann! You always know I love your well-thought-out comments. You're actually basically the me of TMP fandom, lol. (Also, it's Jenn with two 'n's' so you got it right! :D)<br /><br />Ugh, I wish I could have loved this season of Community. I really do. It pains me that I loathed it by the end of the season because it could have really been something great. *sigh*<br /><br />Okay, time for the discussion of The Mindy Project/New Girl. So, most people in the fandom, from what I can tell, disliked this season of New Girl because of Schmidt's arc (fair, though I disagree) and the Nick/Jess breakup (fair, though I - again - disagree). But what I've always admired about New Girl is parallelism, which is a bit different than what you've mentioned above with Mindy. I think with TMP, the earrings were more of a "planting a clue," like Community does with throwing stuff like Annie's Boobs stealing the pen in "Cooperative Calligraphy" into the background. It's clever work, because it makes the audience members feel like sleuths.<br /><br />With New Girl, it's a little bit different and the coin thing could very well have been something Nick had in his pockets (the ones he wore in "Cooler" had pockets, after all). I don't think New Girl was intending sleuthing here, like TMP did with the earrings, and looking at it as such would lead to disappointment. BUT what I DO think New Girl did fantastically in "Mars Landing" was parallel "Cooler" intentionally, right down to the way the episode was shot and the color of Nick and Jess' clothes. THAT is where the show finds the opportunity to tie the loose ends together. It takes significant moments from various seasons and brings them back later, in slightly different ways, so that the audience can go: "OH. Look at how these characters have changed" or "Look at how their circumstances have changed."<br /><br />I think the alcohol thing can be summed up with what I said in my "Mars Landing" review: "My belief is this: people are really bad at expressing their feelings when they’re sober. They think through their actions with such meticulousness and intensity so that they do not damage a relationship or shift a status quo. Those unspoken fears and doubts and irritations surface only when you lose the ability to completely process your actions, i.e. when you’re drunk or intoxicated. What Nick and Jess cannot allow themselves to express sober for fear of losing each other, they manage to convey when they’re hungover. Those truths bubble to the surface because the intoxication breaks down the part of their brains that over-think actions and consequences. That is why Nick kissed Jess in “Cooler.” That is why they slept together in “Virgins.” That is why they drove off together in “Elaine’s Big Day.” Their judgment wasn’t impaired, really. Their fears simply shrunk. In “Mars Landing,” we see how Nick and Jess’ respective hangovers make everything about their relationship more real: how they recognize the fact that they cannot pretend to be fine when they’re hungover; they cannot laugh away their flaws and differences like they do when they’re sober. Those issues, much like themselves, are laid bare – cold and illuminated."<br /><br />I really do love TMP, and I think it's hilarious and has developed very nicely in this season. I also think it's amusing that we're essentially the same people, but just on different "sides" (not sides necessarily and, sidenote, could you imagine if Liz and Mindy could somehow combine their super powers? They could take over the world!) with our shows.<br /><br />Thanks as always for your comments, Ann! :)Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11696902354009598893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6678481478994191244.post-73131953029174103322014-05-07T13:01:15.339-04:002014-05-07T13:01:15.339-04:00Hi, Jenn! (Jen? Tell me what to do). You know that...Hi, Jenn! (Jen? Tell me what to do). You know that I love your reviews because your rationale behind loving or not loving a show is well-thought-out. I watched 4 of the 13 episodes of Community this season and have been AV Club researching it (ha, fair) and I love the conclusion that you came to, because I love thematic arcs (hi, Mindy) and did not love the finale of Community at all. So thank you for that.<br /><br />You know that I love Mindy and I know that you love New Girl and I respect you and hope that you respect me. I give you that disclaimer because I just have to debate with you a little, little bit.<br /><br />My credentials with New Girl this season are mostly trolling the AV Club (ha, sense a theme?), the first four episodes, Mars Landing, and parts of Birthday, Bad News, and Cruise. So here is what I have to say: I think it was so wise for the "Goodnight, honey" to be a thing and I hope that these two characters become better for each other before their inevitable reunion. I would love this sort-of friendship to continue and I would love for their relationship to reignite in a way that isn't arbitrary and is long-term. You only get one breakup per couple, after all.<br /><br />But here's my issue with New Girl--you mention that f*cking coin in Nick's pocket, and I just...That is probably one of the first examples I would point to in why I can't like New Girl as much as you do or why I prefer Mindy (and yes, I know it is a sin to compare the two, but bear with me). Here's why I dislike it so much: Mindy's "coin" was those earrings that she wore. To set up that plot point, Mindy wore the earrings in "Be Cool" (and then did not by the end of the cold open), had them referenced many times in "Think Like a Peter," and then finally returned them in "Danny & Mindy." I love that because those little hints show me when writers are cognizant of episodes in advance and respect their audience enough to remember. So my problem with New Girl is that -- did Nick have a coin on his person during the episode "Cooler" to be referenced in "Birthday"? (this is a real question I honestly don't remember hahaha) And in either case, shouldn't that detail have been made more significant?<br /><br />I guess my other big problem w/ New Girl is their using alcohol to fuel literally all of their emotional moments. Even in Cruise, Mars Landing ('you get so emotional when you're hungover!'), etc. Which to me means that the writers don't have enough faith on their characters/their judgment that the only way to make them vulnerable is to put them under a substance that makes them that way.<br /><br />But yes. Just had to put in my 2 cents. (I loved what you had to say about TMP, btw--and I really think the office will be more utilized, but I think Mindy's second season had a thematic arc that was Mindy and Danny's romantic relationship, and it was glorious, and I'm so excited about where this show takes us!)<br /><br />Anyway, as always, thank you--and I mean nothing but respect and hope I don't piss you off by talkin' smack, because I feel like there is a secret I have just missed out on!Annnoreply@blogger.com