In MTV, The Real World on March 26, 2009 by thetvmanifesto Tagged: Cast achievement awards, MTV, The Real World
After last night’s twelfth installment, which included a trip to Atlantic City and the fallout from Ryan’s news that he is being re-deployed to Iraq, only one episode of this Brooklyn-based season remains. As we prepare to bid good riddance to another batch of easily manipulated, carefully edited roommates, perhaps the gang has earned some recognition for their achievements.
Most redeemable, after initially seeming unlikable | Ryan
Least redeemable, after initially seeming likable | J.D.
Most likely to be dancing on a subway platform for rent money | Katelynn
Most likely to be successful and/or benefit from the career opportunities explored while in the house | Scott
Most likely to always take themselves too seriously | Sarah
Least likely to grow up and be responsible, but most in need of it | Devyn
Most likable female roommate, but least likely to be remembered | Baya
Most in need of a chance to grow up and figure out which of his ideals he actually believes in, which ones work in real life, and whether he actually likes boys or girls | Chet
Suggest your own achievement awards or dispute my choices in the comments.
The season finale of The Real World: Brooklyn airs next Wednesday, April 1, at 10p/9c on MTV, following the premiere of “Pedro: The Movie” at 8p/7c.
In DVD Wish List on March 25, 2009 by thetvmanifesto Tagged: Ed, Gilmore girls, Julie Bowen, Justin Long, Tom Cavanaugh, Worldwide Pants
The same fall that Stars Hollow crept into the television consciousness, the midwestern hamlet of Stuckeyville, Ohio, came into my life. Ed was the story of a big-city lawyer who was fired from his job and arrived home early to find his wife in bed with the mailman. His solution to these problems was to return to his hometown, buy the bowling alley, and pursue his high school crush.
Tom Cavanaugh (Trust Me) was Ed. Julie Bowen, who’s been in everything lately, was his long-suffering love interest, Carol Vessey. Others among the rich supporting cast who have gone on to greater prominence include John Slattery as a principal, Justin Long as awkward student Warren Cheswick, and Michael Ian Black as comic foil Phil Stubbs.
The bowling-alley lawyer premise on which the show was built, coupled with its heavy reliance on the grand romantic gesture, gave the show a whimsical tone and an often hopeful message. A supporting cast of quirky small-town folk included Ed’s best friend, now married with a child, and two bowling alley employees that stole nearly every scene they were in (Rachel Cronin’s non-sequitur-y goodness was criminally underrated).
The critical romantic premise was a tortured one, and of course a parade of boyfriends and girlfriends of the month paraded through Ed and Carol’s lives. And the show kind of wandered off somewhere during its middle seasons before ultimately putting Ed and Carol together at last in a circus-themed wedding that would only not seem ridiculous on Ed.
But Ed was less afraid than Gilmore Girls to let its plots stray away from the leads and take advantage of a phenomenal supporting cast. Best friend Mike (Josh Randall) was a doctor about to inherit a practice from a near-senile retiring colleague (Martin Chatinover) who was always undermining his successor. Warren (Long) and his schoolmates were often confronting one existential crisis or another. And there was an implausibly endless stream of clients showing up each week with no qualms about trusting their legal fates to a man whose practice was also a bowling alley. In the hands of a team from David Letterman’s Worldwide Pants production company, the humor and pathos were gentle and good-natured, resulting in some feel-good TV.
This one falls into the pack of shows that paradoxically straddle two seemingly mutually exclusive cliches: “it was ahead of its time” and “they don’t make shows like that anymore.” Ed enjoyed a brief syndicated run on TBS a few years back, and hasn’t been seen in the U.S. since.
DVD status: Debatable
Prognosis: Fair. Cavanaugh claims DVDs are coming eventually, though not before his terrible 2006 outing Love Monkey.
In ER on March 24, 2009 by thetvmanifesto Tagged: ER
I was in fifth grade when I first started watching ER. It hardly seems this way fifteen years later, but a lot about it was game-changing. Television was a lot different when this premiered in 1994. Now innovation and creative storytelling have become the norm and ER seems commonplace, a relic of the past after a decade and a half at County General.
I admit I bailed on the show shortly after Anthony Edwards’ Dr. Greene died depressingly on that beach, but once in awhile during college I’d catch a classic episode on TNT in the morning and remember why and how much I once loved this show. With the exception of Maura Tierney, I was never intrigued by any members of the new class.
Because many original cast members were set to return for this long-ass swan song, I put ER on series record and plodded through the first few Angela Basset episodes last fall. Man, is she unlikable in this show. I caught Abby’s goodbye episode before I let the DVR create a backlog several months long. This weekend, I started plowing through the last eight or so episodes, looking for familiar faces or, failing that, compelling plot threads.
Mostly what I found was that the ER’s support staff is exactly the same, just fifteen years older. And also that ER and Grey’s Anatomy are plagued with such egregious plot overlap that a South Park-style “Simpsons Already Did It” episode would seem to be in order. Meanwhile, William H. Macy’s drive-by guest shot was soggy with sentimentality and the directing in Noah Wyle’s kidney dialysis storyline could be politely called overbearing.
I’m still two weeks behind going into Thursday’s penultimate episode, and while I realize that Hathaway, Benton, and Ross loom in my near future, I have stopped wondering why ER’s three-hour finale blowout is being kept out of a sweeps period. (In fact, the series’ final night actually misses the March book by a single day.) This is not the show it used to be; neither is its presumptive successor to the medical drama throne, Grey’s. Come April 2, at least someone at County will have the decency to pull the plug and put us out of our misery.
Rest in peace, ER. I will remember you for your good years.
In Predictions, Weeds on March 4, 2009 by thetvmanifesto Tagged: Predictions, Weeds
With a preorder listing on Amazon and a rumored June 2 release date for the season four DVDs, The TV Manifesto is ready to project a June 8 premiere for the fifth season of Weeds on Showtime.
In Jimmy Fallon, Late Night, Lorne Michaels on March 3, 2009 by thetvmanifesto Tagged: Jimmy Fallon, Late Night, Lorne Michaels
It’s almost more fun reading others’ wildly varying reactions to Fallon’s debut than it is writing about my own. It’s not like anyone involved is setting out to reinvent the talk show, and various articles in recent weeks have discussed how overblown, manufactured, and carbon-copied the entire late-night landscape is.
I’ve also been amused by the groundswell of dislike Fallon seems to have created, from every corner of the nation and the Internet. I enjoyed Fallon as part of Saturday Night Live’s regularly scheduled resurgence in the early 2000s, when he and Tina Fey ran the Weekend Update desk. Acting in sketches was never his strong suit. Fey graduated from SNL head writer to 30 Rock star and showrunner; she’ll be dropping by her old pal’s new show tonight.
Career maker Lorne Michaels was a creative force behind getting Fey off the ground. Michaels was the one who plucked Conan O’Brien out of the relative obscurity of The Simpsons‘ writers room and thrust him into the spotlight in the early ’90s. Look how well that worked out, after some initial hiccups. Michaels’ new choice for the Late Night chair is at least familiar to a national television audience, in the same daypart even.
Fallon and showrunner Michael Shoemaker have been practicing online for a couple months already, but no amount of practice will acclimate you to the reality of doing a first show. Sure, Fallon was nervous last night. Who wouldn’t be? And perhaps “Lick It for Ten” is not for everyone (though, again, reaction to this and everything else has been mixed). The premiere numbers were good, according to NBC. I enjoyed The Roots (especially during “Slow Jam the News”). The Timberlake interview went well. Where the sweaty interview with DeNiro is concerned, anyone in any new job takes a little time to find their comfort zone.
I suspect talk show critics have found a new punching bag, but my opinion of Fallon has always been that he is, at worst, harmless and inoffensive. Those who think he ruined ever week of SNL that he showed up for probably won’t be swayed by this old show with a new coat of paint. But it at least has all the makings — I’d give it a few months to see how things coalesce.
In Talk Shows on March 3, 2009 by thetvmanifesto Tagged: Talk Shows
Lesbians make great talk show hosts.
Rosie O’Donnell. Ellen DeGeneres. Rachel Maddow. And now Jane Velez-Mitchell.
In 30 Rock on March 2, 2009 by thetvmanifesto Tagged: 30 Rock
Not a spectacular episode, but there were some good laughs here and there. I’m glad Salma Hayek’s storyline has wound down, so maybe now Jack will actually have something to do. As often happens, Kenneth was the best part of the episode, not only for his inter-borough journey with Liz, but also as the answer to Tracy’s riddle. Looking forward to more Jon Hamm. Also, by this point in the season, it’s obvious that Lonny Ross is out as Josh, but I think it’s weird that they’re just never going to even mention that he’s gone (unless I missed a one-off reference at some point; commenters?).
In Dead Like Me on March 2, 2009 by thetvmanifesto Tagged: Dead Like Me
I really wanted to enjoy the Dead Like Me movie sequel, but man was it terrible. No wonder they held onto it for so long after completing it in 2007. What a betrayal of a great series that would’ve done better to remain dead and buried. If you want gory details, my roommate’s got ‘em.
