A couple of weeks have gone by since
my initial post on the new season of television and naturally I have more to say. I know, exciting right? So here are Shelly's super updated hits and misses for the fall TV season...
Show I like the most: The New GirlRight now, my fave is Zooey Deschanel's breakout hit
The New Girl. Yes, I know they are playing it up a little too much. I feel almost irritated at myself for hyping it. OMG! Look! Jess, she is so quirky and unique! She doesn't understand what a treasure she really is! Isn't she adorable!? etc. But man, she is likable. Damn you, show. Despite the loss of Damon Wayans, Jr, the cast is solid and they have excellent chemistry. I think over time, Jess could potentially be
the girl on television to watch. Even when you're being manipulated by pop culture references or the show gets caught up in
romantic comedy tropes, yo
u don't care. Because Zooey as Jess makes you smile. And sometimes I want to smile when I watch TV, you know?
Show I thought I'd love but I don't: 2 Broke GirlsOne liner, one liner, one liner, snarky comment about boobs. Laugh track. One liner, one liner, offensive ethnic joke. Laugh track. One liner, poop joke, one liner about sex to offset the poop joke, one liner. Laugh track. One liner again. WHAT IS HAPPENING?
2 Broke Girls is what's happening. And all the Kat Denningses in the world cannot get me to stick with this show if it remains more interested in an onslaught of zingers than actual plot. It's not even the laugh track that bugs me. It's the inability to write any realistic dialogue. Note to the creators: every line doesn't need to be "funny," okay? Let's do crazy thing where we try for relatable characters? We understand that Max had it rough. We don't need an accidental pregnancy joke every five minutes to remind us that she's "trashy" compared to Caroline. How about characters who occasionally respond to each other without referencing a childhood trauma and then making a self deprecating joke out of it? It happens. Really, it does. It's easier to stomach that way. And this is from a girl who adores Kat Dennings.
Show I thought I'd hate but I don't: RevengeRemember when I said that this show wasn't actually very good? Well, I still stand by that. What I didn't realize was how
utterly enjoyable it is. Oh
man, this is some fun to watch.
Revenge reminds me of the heyday of
Melrose Place (the first one, not that atrocious reboot) where Heather Locklear and Marcia Cross were wicked, slightly insane and completely fabulous. Emily Vancamp still sucks, don't get me wrong. She's definitely vapid as all get out. But it's all so...delicious. I know that's a gross word, but I can't think of a better way to describe it. Murder, betrayal, sex, political scandals, terrorist plots, more murder, more sex...oh, the fun! Plus, Madeline Stowe really brings the cheese. She delivers every line like she's in a
Dynasty parody. It's truly amazing. If you're looking for the television equivalent of beach reading, you've found it in
Revenge.
Biggest surprise: SuburgatoryI didn't really have a lot of expectations for
Suburgatory and watched it more on a whim. I have since been pleasantly surprised. While Jane Levy in the lead role of Tessa is pushing the sarcastic but vulnerable Emma Stone chick thing a
little too hard, she's generally delightful as the teen forced from the city to the 'burbs for a "better life". Even more delightful is the extended cast, which includes Ana Gasteyer, Alan Tudyk, Allie Grant (Isabelle Hodes from
Weeds, who is just hilarious and I
love) and Rex Lee, better known as Ari Gold's assistant Lloyd on
Entourage. This show actually makes me laugh out loud (I spelled it out, so you know I really mean it) and pushes the whole Stepford vs. City thing just far enough to be a great parody without coming off too desperate for laughs. Yes, I'm still looking at you,
2 Broke Girls.
More shows I like: Parenthood - The most underrated show on television, hands down.
Up All Night - Still loving this! Will Arnett can basically do no wrong in my book.
Happy Endings - Think
Friends meets 2011 with a lot more hipster jokes.
Ringer - Still adore Buffy, cannot help it, no matter how silly this show is.
American Horror Story - Maybe too soon to tell, but I liked the pilot. Do not watch if you scare easy or cannot handle gross shit like baby heads in jars. No, seriously.
Heart Of Dixie - Only watchable if you're a Rachel Bilson fan. Otherwise this show will annoy the shit out of you.
You can probably skip:Whitney - Horrid, horrid, horrid. Utterly awful writing. Was wrong to give this a chance. Stab yourself instead, it'll be more fun.
The X Factor - Not horrible in terms of reality competitions, but life-suckingly long and overblown.
Pan Am - I didn't think it was possible to dislike Christina Ricci, but hey it is!
Mad Fashion - Sorry Chris March, but your show is kind of stupid.
