There can only be one: The Walking Dead kills one black dude, replaces him with another. 

Tags: the walking dead television

I think the biggest issue, though, is that they’ve crossed the line and made Mindy not just screwball, but kind of an unpleasant and legitimately obnoxious person. She never seems to have any real interest in being a good doctor or caring for her patients, she’s rude to everyone, and again, she frankly doesn’t seem very bright. Again, there’s nothing wrong with that on its own — comedy is filled with the wretches and the jerks and the fools. Michael Scott, after all, despite flashes of heart, was the same way for most of Steve Carell’s run on The Office.

But that’s why there were other characters who were in place to give the audience a surrogate. They existed to see Michael from the outside, to see him as he really was. If The Office had been pitched from the start as Michael Scott’s story and told entirely from his point of view with an angle on making you invested in his journey as a quirky leading man who happened to regularly say things that were racist, sexist, and generally clueless, I doubt it would have worked.

Continued…

Tags: television mindy kaling

What are we supposed to do? Go to the library like the common masturbator?

Jon Stewart (paraphrased) on Wikipedia’s black out.

Tags: The Daily Show SOPA Television

Looks like The AV Club beat me to it. I also noticed the favorable air surrounding Fallon lately. It reminds me of the “golden years” of Late Night when Conan O’Brien started to evolve and grow momentum from his rough earlier years. What worries me though is if all the young people are watching Jimmy, Jon and Stephen, who’s left to watch Conan?

Tags: Jimmy Fallon Conan O'Brien Late Night Television

The Simpsons Take On Procrastination

Last night’s Simpsons episode was actually good! In the episode, Lisa tries to write her own novel. She quickly realizes that writing is easier said than done.

Behold, the following clip is every writer’s greatest struggle:

Tags: Television The Simpsons procrastination

5 Things to Help Improve Conan

Last year there was an almost fanatical obsession with supporting talk show host Conan O’Brien. After being kicked off The Tonight Show millions of fans rallied beside him, supported him on his “The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour” and then followed him to his new home on TBS. But now it feels like the Team Coco machine is running out of steam. TBS’ Conan is doing poor in the ratings and doesn’t seem to be satisfying the less hardcore Coco fans. Even Conan himself seems to be stifling a sense of frustration and boredom with his own show, something that’s almost painful to watch. Although most shows tend to go in and out of slumps, if Conan continues like this the future of the show seems shaky. Below are five tips that can help improve the show:

5. Less monologue

Conan isn’t a “stand-up” type comedian, and he never was. Even the monologues on Late Night were weak, but at least the monologues on Late Night were only 5-10 minutes long. The monologue on Conan is about 20 minutes long, which is way too long to watch Conan awkwardly struggle through jokes that even he himself doesn’t care for. Instead, that time could be spent on….

4. More remotes/desk sketches

The reason Conan’s monologue has always been weak is because Conan is funnier when he’s unscripted. That’s what made the remote pieces of Late Night so hilarious. Conan is best when he’s placed in weird situations, is forced to speak to random/non-celebrities and, most importantly, is forced to ad lib jokes. Any fan of Late Night can list some of Conan’s best remote pieces; so far Conan has none. It’s as if Conan is literally chained to the Warner Brothers lot. Even though the budget for Conan is probably significantly less than Late Night and The Tonight Show, the show should try harder to think of creative skits, which means…

3. Think outside the standard “talk show” format

Monologue/skit/first guest/second guest/musical guest — this might have been the standard at NBC, but now that Conan is on TBS he should try taking advantage of the freedom he has. Sure this is the format he’s used to, but the show should try harder at shaking things up a bit. Conan’s core audience are young people, usually in that important marketing category of 18-24. Young viewers are more likely to accept change and would probably prefer it. After all, the reason Jay Leno does so well is because his show appeals to older viewers, the kind of viewers who still watch late night talk shows. Most young people are busy watching shows like The Colbert Report and The Daily Show — talk shows that aren’t typical. Although Conan isn’t much of a political pundit, one of his biggest strengths are…

2. More interviews with the common folk

Watching Conan interview Khloe Kardashian is almost as painful as Conan probably feels. When Conan is stuck interviewing a celebrity he doesn’t care for the more likely he is to resort to his cards and be less spontaneous, making the interview feel stilted and boring. Conan is more animated when he’s interviewing everyday people who are doing interesting and sometimes bizarre things. In the past, some of these interviews have been his best because he’s less likely to follow his cards. Basically, one of the major factors that would improve Conan is…

1. More spontaneity, less writing

During the writer strikes of 2008, Late Night carried on without its writers. This resulted in some of the best episodes Conan has ever done. From spinning quarters on his desk to creating a German disco in the studio, Conan was like a kid in a candy store. When the writer’s strike was over, suddenly the excitement was gone and the show returned back to its regular routine. This spontaneity/excitement should be used in every episode, even if it means shelving a couple of writers. After all, the success of Conan is much more important. Long live Team Coco!

Tags: Conan Television

Extreme Couponing vs. Hoarders

Yeah, so about my Jodorowsky challenge….I failed. Instead I spent most of my weekend getting caught up on TV shows and, at the moment, I would much rather write about that than Jodorowsky (plus, I still haven’t written a post for the “television” category yet). Anyway, TLC’s newest reality show Extreme Couponing definitely had the most lasting impression on me (for all the wrong reasons). The show glorifies the lives of stay-at-home moms who devote their time to bargain hunting. But because this is “extreme” couponing, obviously these moms are going a little above and beyond from just clipping coupons out of the Sunday paper. These moms treat couponing like it’s a full time job. They drive around town buying newspapers so that they can have the latest coupons, check online for sales and then compile super concise excel charts for their shopping day.

The “My Preciouuss” of every couponer….the stockpile.

Each extreme couponer has a stockpile, which is basically a mini grocery store the couponers store inside their home in inconvenient and bizarre places, like underneath their beds or in a shower stall. The couponers are proud of their stockpile, and I mean extremely proud. So proud in fact that you realize their devotion to finding the best savings has little to do with the actual savings and more to do with how big they can get their stockpile. Kind of reminds me of another guilty pleasure show of mine, Hoarders. The major difference with Hoarders is that the “hoard” is usually dirty, crawling with rats and spilling out into the front yard. But besides that, I can’t see what else sets the extreme couponers of Extreme Couponing apart from the weirdos on Hoarders. The couponers are just cleaner. Below are four other similarities I found:

Cashiers close their lanes when they see her coming.

1. Place their stockpile/hoard above their loved ones

In episode 2 of Extreme Couponing, couponer Jessica says, “I love my stockpile almost as much as my family!” She then continues talking about her stockpile as if she was describing her favorite piece of art. She explains how she’s proud of her stockpile and loves showing it off. In episode two, couponer Tiffany chastises her husband every time he complains about their large assortment of food they’ll never be able to eat all on their own. Tiffany elbows him, name calls him and pretty much forces her lifestyle on him regardless if he likes it not. Hoarders also seem to have a problem with misplaced priorities. Judith from season two said stony-faced that she didn’t care if her daughter never talked to her again all because her daughter had the nerve to suggest that all the dirty diapers piling up around the house might possibly be unsanitary. For both couponers and hoardrers, the logic simply escapes them.

2. They store food in places where food don’t belong

But piggy backing off the subject of “cleanliness,” exactly how clean can your house be when you’re storing dozens of potato chips in the garage or in the closet? That’s not where cereal belongs! All the food will do is attract roaches and mice.

What a couponer’s house might look like in 20 years.

It reminds me of Jill, a food hoarder from season one of Hoarders, who loved buying food, especially if it was on sale. Unfortunately, because she would buy more than she would consume, the food piled up and eventually began to rot. And of course, since Jill was a hoarder, she desperately tried to convince friends and family that her food was still perfectly edible and berated a professional organizer for making her throw out a rotting pumpkin. Sound familiar?

Mmm, but it looks so tasty!

3. Buy irrational things that can’t be explained

In the first episode of Extreme Couponing, J’Aime (her real name) buys 61 bottles of mustard. Why? She explains how she has 61 coupons, which made each mustard bottle only cost .37 cents. J’Aime’s husband glumly looks into the camera and says he doesn’t even like mustard. When has there ever been a time in one’s life where 61 bottles of mustard was needed?

This will go great with my 61 packs of hot dogs.

Chips are the last thing this couple should be eating.

This is an example of how an extreme couponer’s mind works. They’re so preoccupied with getting the most stuff for the best deal that they rarely stop to think if 61 bottles of mustard is even worth the trip to the grocery store . This is classic hoarder behavior, too. You know you have a problem when you’re diving into dumpster trucks to retrieve sacred items, like 7-11 Big Gulp cups.

Which is exactly what this lady did.

4. Get a “high” from acquiring stuff

The obsession people have with acquiring stuff is one I’ll never understand. I hate that the extreme couponers seem to get away with it while the hoarders are forced to go into counseling, get help and throw all their rotting crap away. Sure, the extreme couponers know how to keep their hoard organized, plus they have the extra added bonus of being able to gloat about the thousands of dollars they saved, making their addiction seem like some kind of honorable talent. But a hoard is a hoard. The “high” the hoarder gets from bringing home crap from the dump is the same high the couponers get when they get to the check out line. Several of the couponers describe being nervous, shakey and fidgety when checking out, you know, like an addict.

Once the couponers finish checking out (a process that takes usually over an hour) they are elated when they see their grand total and realize how much money they saved. You get a sense these people devote so much of their lives to couponing just so they can re-experience that moment over and over again.

Tags: Television Hoarders Extreme Couponing