Category Archives: Good Humor

2010/10/08 · 3:41 pm

‘The Office’: Fleet Week

[note: not sure if that title will have anything to do with our reaction to last night’s Office.  We just liked it.]

Week 3 of the Michael Scott death march brought us “Andy’s Play,” which slots below last week’s Michael Scott – Toby Flenderson tete-a-tete “Counseling” but above the season premiere “Nepotism.”  It exhibited many of the symptoms that have plagued the show in recent seasons, but also demonstrated some encouraging signs, some beats that harken back to the show’s roots.  Uneven, sure, but with a strong finish.  And as some porn star was probably once told, it’s better to finish strong than start strong.

Read on: Michael is up, couples are down, and the wine is going all around.

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2010/10/01 · 7:04 pm

‘The Office’: Mindgames & Makeovers

We won’t say that The Office is entirely back on track, but this week was definitely a marked improvement over the season premiere.  While we were at first disappointed to see that they were going to carry over the Michael spanking his nephew storyline – or as Michael refers to it, “corporate punishment” – because we rejected the ridiculous premise, this episode showed that perhaps in this instance there will actually be consequences to Michael’s actions.

(one quibble, however: the dictum that Michael would need to complete counseling with Toby came at the end of last week’s episode, in the final closing segment usually reserved for gags or non-essential content (or, on Community, raps), so the veracity of the punishment was in question.  We’re happy that they followed through with this plotline, but it shouldn’t have been introduced so offhandedly.  But we digress…)

The Michael-Toby dynamic has remained relatively stable over the course of the series, and by returning to and exploring this relationship “Counseling” was a success, allowing Toby to obtain a small victory over Michael by tricking him through children’s games into opening up emotionally, and by permitting Michael to continue his crusade against Toby, but not because he harbors a completely unjustified vendetta, but because, in a way, Toby is his arch-enemy, the Joker to his Batman.  “Counseling” sets them up as worthy competitors, not just petty rivals.  And while we hate to belabor the point that we’ve made on this blog over and over again that defensive, vulnerable Michael = good, and horrible, viscous Michael = bad, this episode certainly follows that pattern and supports that argument.

More: Who are these people and what have they done with the employees of Dunder Mifflin? A side-by-side comparison…

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2010/09/24 · 6:11 pm

Apparently Even Preschoolers Watch ‘True Blood’ And We Still Don’t

And apparently three-year olds can’t be exposed to breasts but they can watch a parody of a show that is ostensibly an excuse for soft-core porn.  I guess this spoof of True Blood is one of those segments that’s really for the adults, because it’s be a sad state of affairs if today’s parents let their kids see Stephen Moyer’s penis, but not the suggestion of Katy Perry’s cleavage.

To be fair, this follows in the proud tradition of Sesame Street’s 30 Rock and Mad Men parodies, two series that are also NSFC.  And they really captured Anna Paquin’s essence.

(what a few days for Sesame Street, ehhh?)

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2010/09/24 · 5:09 pm

NBC Thursday Night: Respect Your Friends, Respect your Coworkers, Respect Your Lovers, Respect Your Characters, Respect Your Viewers

Yesterday we gave our brief thoughts on the then impending return of the NBC Thursday night comedies, reflecting on the last season while looking forward to the next.  And on the morning after, how do we feel?   Impressed, pleased and disappointed, in that order.  With the night going from Community to 30 Rock to The Office, we found that the first continues to improve, the second is showing encouraging signs of life, and the third is still struggling to return to its glory days.  Taken has a whole, it was a good night, and two out of three ain’t bad.  But really, we don’t want “ain’t bad.”  We want great, we want three out of three.  And, unfortunately, that just didn’t happen.

Continue: We will follow Community down a long, dark alley…

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2010/09/23 · 7:29 pm

Gentleman, Start Your DVRs: Quick Thoughts On The NBC Thursday Night Comedies

It seems like May sweeps was just yesterday, but here we are on the cusp of the return of Thursday night TV-pocolypse.  Luckily for our DVR, Survivor was shifted back to Wednesday nights, and Parks and Recreation is (egregiously) on the shelf until mid-season (of course, while that might be good for our DVR, it’s terrible for our collective well-being).  But we’re still left with what is now the NBC comedy old guard, The Office & 30 Rock, and the returning sensation, and probably the best of the bunch, Community.  And later we have a little cable fun with It’s Always in Philadelphia and Delocated (if you’re eyeballs aren’t bleeding by then).  But, for now, let’s quickly focus on the NBC line-up.

The big story on NBC Thursday nights, as we noted above, is not what’s on, but what’s not, that being Parks and Recreation, benched in favor of the already critically reviled Outsourced.  Sure, NBC has the right to air whatever it wants, and if it thinks another show will be more successful, and has the potential to be an anchor the way that The Office is and shows like Friends, Seinfeld, Frasier and Cheers were, then we can’t begrudge them that.  But Outsourced hasn’t even aired yet and it seems the verdict is already in: it’s a waste of valuable space.  One has to wonder if NBC, who proved with the Jay Leno Show that they’re willing to sacrifice quality programming for profit, chose to promote Outsourced because it’s an in-house production, even knowing its an inferior program.  Because even if it pulls in rating as low as Parks and Rec, maybe even lower, NBC will still grab a bigger slice of the pie.  That’s just conjecture at this point, but there’s certainly a precedent for it, and we know that TV, network television in particular, is a business above all.  Let’s just hope that Outsourced is so terrible that it’s yanked sooner than planned and Parks and Recreation can reclaim its rightful place (especially since they rushed the show back into production for its third season to accommodate Amy Poehler’s pregnancy).

More: ‘Community’ is up, ‘The Office’ is down, and ’30 Rock’ is still here.

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2010/09/03 · 4:12 pm

Nostalgia Corner: Any Time I Hear The Words “Several Options” I Think Of This Sketch

Similar, and just as good:

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Thank you, VHS copy of “SNL Goes Commercial” that my brother taped on off TV in 1991.

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2010/09/03 · 3:45 pm

‘Delocated’: Another Best Show You’re Not Watching. Unless You Are. In Which Case Nevermind.

We talk a lot about the best show you’re not watching on this blog (Friday Night Lights, Community, Party Down before its unfortunate demise).  To that list we now proudly add Delocated.

If you’re a fan of Adult Swim you might have caught Delocated on a random night/morning around 1:45am.  The show was created by and stars Jon Glaser,  longtime NY comedian and former writer (and performer) on Late Night with Conan O’Brien.  If you’ve been around comedy in NY you probably know him, and if you own a TV you’ve probably seen him and not even known it, with appearances on 30 Rock, Human Giant, and Cheap Seats.  In his early days he was also a writer on The Dana Carvey Show, which was basically to up and coming comedians as The Outsiders was to young, hunky, male actors (The line-up included Carvey, Glaser, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Louis CK, Robert Smigel, Dave Chappelle and, curiously, Charlie Kaufman.  It was pretty much the ’27 Yankees of comedy).

The first season of Delocated comprised six 10-min episodes (and an amazing Paul Rudd cameo), and features Glaser as “Jon,” a member of the Witness Protection Program who agrees to move his family to NY and turn their life into a reality show, despite the fact that this requires wearing masks and using voice modulators.

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The show also stars Eugene Mirman as Yvegni Mirminksy, an aspiring stand-up comedian who happens to also be a member of the Russian crime family that Jon ratted out.

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The second season has been expanded to twelve 22-min episodes, and with the added length the show has broadened its scope, increased the violence, heightened the drama, and upped the absurdity.  It’s a dumb-smart, surreal, brilliant show, capable of silly comedy, and, as we find out in the season two premiere, silly drama.   It’s one of TV’s best kept secrets, but unlike “Jon’s” identity this is one secret that should be revealed to all.

Catch up on season one on the Adult Swim website, and then move right onto the new season (below!).  Also, catch new episodes Sundays at 10pm, just before Childrens Hospital (which, now that we mention it, is another best show you’re not watching).

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Bonus features:

Jon Glaser on Jimmy Fallon last night!

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Also, Jon Glaser reads letters from his deceased father, Dave Glaser, to his father’s former band mates ZZ Top.  One of the funniest things I have ever heard.

And finally, for extra credit check out the Delocated Blog and the PFFR website.

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2010/08/26 · 4:17 pm

In Memoriam: Will Forte (Sort Of)

Well, it’s the end of a weird, absurdist, hit-and-miss era, as Will Forte and SNL announced their amicable separation today, after 8 years of professional bliss and uneven comedy.

As for Will and this blog, it’s no secret that our relationship has not been so smooth.  We’ve often voiced our objection to some of the more outrageous, off the wall sketches that seemed to spring forth from the Forte womb, most often found in the 12:50am dead zone, or sometimes only in dress rehearsal (see: skeevy stalker Hamilton, the bizarre Falconer, and the lyrical stylings of Jackie Snad and Clancy Bachlerat, which literally consist of just random words thrown together in random orders).  In many cases we’d rather see Jason Sudeikis elevate a simple premise or a lame idea to something spectacular, rather than a Forte sketch that was just too far out there.

But, to his credit, Forte willingly flew too close to the sun.  Sure, he got burned a time or two (certainly in our eyes), but we have to respect his ambition.  And beyond the odd sketches and one-note “Weekend Update” characters, we have to begrudgingly admit that his MacGruber was often brilliant, and even more impressive, it never got old.  And while Forte’s George W Bush never managed to escape the shadow of the definitive Will Ferrell version, he really never had a shot, but he still soldiered on and made it work in its own way.  We can certainly salute him for that.

So, Will Forte, we’re going to miss you challenging us.  The show is going to be a little more dull without you (if that’s even possible.  Riiiiight???). We didn’t always like what you did, but we (usually) respected it.

In honor of Forte’s departure we’re going to leave you with what we consider his grand opus, a sketch from another planet; strange, baffling, completely dead in the water and with the impression that it was made on a dare, but, yet, oddly compelling.  Will Forte, for better or worse, this is your legacy:

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(on another note, can you believe it’s already been a whole year since that whole uproar over the firing of Michaela Watkins and subsequent hiring of Jenny Slate and Nasim Pedrad?  Time sure flies when you’re occasionally offered sharp and/or funny sketch comedy).

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2010/08/25 · 3:34 pm

The State Continues Its March Towards Dominating All Forms Of Media, Just 14 Years Later

From 1993 – 1995 The State was the premiere sketch comedy show on MTV, if not of all of cable.  In the fall of ’95 they crossed over to network television into the pantheon of classic variety shows with the well received if little-seen one-off “The State’s 43rd Annual All-Star Halloween Special.”  They then followed up their assault on television with the release of their somewhat legendary, thoroughly inaccurate and mildly successful travel guide State by State with The State.

And then, like that, they were gone.

Sure, members of the troupe would soon pop up in things like Ed, Men Behaving Badly, and Game Boy commercials.  And then, of course, they all basically found various degrees of success with other efforts, such as Stella, Reno 911, Party Down, and, in the case of Joe Lo Truglio, playing the creepy guy in Judd Apatowian films, and now they have wallets made out of money.  But, with the exception of a somewhat recent appearance at Sketchfest, there have been no projects featuring the whole team, just our grainy VHS tapes, our oft-removed YouTube clips, our creased paperbacks, and, after what seemed like an interminable wait, our glorious DVDs to sate our appetetite.  But, even with the DVDs, and their extensive special features and informative commentaries, there remained a void, a void created by a long-rumored, never been heard State comedy album.

Well, that myth is now a reality.  Fourteen years later Comedy for Gracious Living will finally see the light of day.

Sketch comedy, variety shows, travel literature and now, after many years, The State officially enters the hallowed ground of comedy albums.  What’s next?  Who knows?  But if I were you, Broadway, I’d watch out.

To celebrate, let’s go to the zoo and watch the monkeys do it.

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2010/05/19 · 7:52 pm

He’s Good Enough For Michael Scott And He’s Good Enough For Me

We don’t post enough (or any) Mr. Bean on this site.  That’s going to change.  Starting now.

The Charlie Chaplin of our time.  I mean it.  For reals.

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