Community/Parks & Recreation (NBC) – The second funniest hour on TV, behind any episode of “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” You can have your “satire,” and your “social commentary,” and your precious “plot.” I’ll take a chimp hitting a big fat guy in the ding dong with a wiffle ball bat. I’m very refined.
The Office/Whitney (NBC) – [notices these two shows across the room] [looks the other way, tries to act casual]
It’s Always Sunny/ The League (FX) – Here’s the thing about “The League”: I like the show. I do. But the football talk in it seems really forced to me. I understand that they have to make the references generic enough when they’re filming that things don’t end up stale or irrelevant when the show actually airs, but it always ends up sounding like a foreign movie where people are trying to talking about American stuff. “Did you guys see that foot ball game last evening?” “Yes, the runners scored many touch downs and the fans celebrated raucously.” “Raymond Rice of Baltimore is an excellent carrier of the of the old pig skin, to be sure.” My point is this: I am a jerk who pokes holes in perfectly nice shows and ruins them for everyone else. Hi!
Bones (FOX) – The seventh season premiere. Hey, did you guys realize that, between “Buffy,” “Angel,” and this show, David Boreanaz has been on network television almost non-stop since 1997? Think about that.
Burn Notice (USA) – USA’s flagship drama thingy is back tonight. Has he found out who or what burned him yet? I hope it was a koala in a baseball cap. I would definitely start watching if there was an evil koala.
Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand-up Revolution (Comedy Central) – The commercials for this show look terrible. I heard one joke, which I have apparently blocked from my memory as some sort of self-preservation mechanism, that was so bad I actually groaned out loud like a cartoon. It’s a nice reminder that stand-up comedians aren’t necessary the funniest people in the world, just the ones who decided to do it for a living.
Beavis and Butthead (MTV) – Yeesh, there is a lot on TV tonight. My DVR is over in the corner doing pull-ups and listening to Slayer to get ready for the workout it’s going to get.
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I like everyone on the league and it makes me laugh harder than most shows, but a lot of the themes on that show are very forced. My friends and I are into good-natured ribbing and pranks and whatnot, but these guys should take a step back and say to themselves “why am I friends with these assholes?”
YES. That’s exactly the problem with The League. You’ve crystallized my thoughts perfectly. Now do the one about why airplane food isn’t good.
I suppose you could say the same thing about It’s Always Sunny, but those guys have each other’s backs and support each other (except for Dee) and you could believe that those guys would be friends. The League, not so much.
If you celibate, I’ll buy a bit!
@ Taco – THAT WAS THE ONE! AHHHHHHHH THE PTSD, IT BURNS!
I forget what the Carson Palmer line from the other week was, but I think it can all be summed up by Josh Cribbs being treated like a star.
Re: The League, you guys are too young. When you get old, you stay friends with people who were your friends, no matter how annoying they become, because it’s not worth it trying to make new friends. At least, that’s the only explanation I can come up with for why I still have friends.
True, but occasionally, the League’s references are timely. They had a joke earlier this season about Mike Tolbert being a touchdown vulture that aired a few weeks after he stole three from Mathews, and last season they had a nice bit on Frank Gore going down and the rush to get his backup, complete with the real-life confusion over who it was.
But if that’s the most implausible part of the show for you, you might want to consider how Taco hasn’t swallowed his own tongue yet.
I believe the line was “Why I got to be borderline diabetic, because I’m Mexican”.
Fully agreed DG. The football talk on The League is grating. Although it does help that Paul Scheer delivers the football lines the worst, it fits with the character
Totally agree about the League. They should either make the league more plausible (who the hell would care so much about a league in which two of the members don’t even seem to care, and three others are never seen?) or abandon the premise entirely. Otherwise the show is solid.
I like that they pick on Paul Scheer, but its a bit too assholish at times. They need to redeem his character every once in awhile.
Bobby Big Wheel nailed it. The best line from Season 1 is when Ruxin slapped Kevin in the cock and ran away, and Kevin yells out “I HATE MY FRIENDS.”
My only beef with The League is that they tend to over-explain their planned jokes, like Taco’s niginta song… “Those black people don’t know he’s talking about the sword!”
television needs more evil koala
@ Otto – I really do like the show, and there are definitely times when the football talk works and makes sense, it just seems like sometimes they’re saying “DON’T FORGET THIS IS A SHOW ABOUT FOOTBALL THINGS SO THIS IS WHERE WE TALK ABOUT FOOTBALL.” That said, I have no real solution to propose. I am, after all, a blogger.
I guess I enjoy it more because I do follow the NFL, I don’t play fantasy football, so I just ignore the football references.
I think we can all agree that the football analysis on The League was spot on last year, when Ruxin was rosterbating and he referred to Eli Manning as a mouth breathing dummy. An insight that remains insightful and relevant to this very day.
Niginta, please!
Sorry.
I’ve been calling Eli a mouth-breathing dummy ever since I saw that episode.
/the more you know
Some of the stuff is also outdated, although there isn’t much you can do about that – a few weeks ago they were talking about Carson Palmer possibly retiring rigth after he went to the Raiders in real life.
I know The League isn’t REALLY about fantasy football, but taping the show before the season starts is why any football references come off stale, and why the show has largely ignored football this season; it’s really about 5-6 sociopaths trying to ruin each other’s lives now. Also, my appetite for fantasy football is sated by actual football, so it might be a good idea to tape the show right after the season ends, and broadcast during the summer; If thousands upon thousands of people show up in the suffocating heat to watch their team PRACTICE, they’ll watch The League. Especially if (most) of their football references are no longer painfully dated.
I think they tone down the actual football on The League just so there’s only about 3 times per show when my girlfriend will ask “who’re they talking about?”
I’ve tried to get into “The League”, but they are all cocks. Apart from Kevin and his wife, who are just very obsessed with fantasy football. They are all supposed to be normal people who are in a league, but they just act like dicks.
Its Always Sunny is different because when the show started, we just saw the guys together, being dicks to each other, but they choose to spend their time and workdays together. They are all evil sons of bitches, but as the show has grown we have had other characters introduced, and then leave quickly. It’s about the four young ones and Frank. They spend all their time together, so that is all we want from the show.
No, see, the reason The League is the League is that someone wanted to pitch an average “edgy” (meaning “PG-13 Apatow”) sitcom about a bunch of guys and their goofy interactions, but it wouldn’t sell without a hook.
Pitch going badly: “Oh, and uh…they’re all in a fantasy football league.”
Exec perks up: “Oh. Those are big business now. Is that what the show is about?”
“Uh. Yes. Yes it is.”
I like The League, it’s the appearance of NFL players I can’t stand. Did anybody here get the actual guys from their fantasy teams to make Super Bowl Shuffle parody video? How many players came to your Vegas draft?
DG:
That’s fair enough. Personally, I think what’s important is that they get the general vibe of fantasy football right, like in one of the later episodes of season one where they’re trying to catch the Eagles game because Pete needs a McNabb TD and Ruxin needs DeSean Jackson to score, and they get the emotion right with Kevin’s call of a “touchdown to NOT DeSean Jackson!”
That said, yeah, the show is mostly about a group of friends being cocks to each other.
When just the name of the episode makes you almost piss yourself with laughter you know it’s good.
Community – “Advanced Gay”
slow clap
Rich Eisen did an interview with the league’s creator / headwriter a few weeks back- definitely worth checking out since the guy also works on curb and with sascha baron cohen as well. In the interview they talk about how they do their best to guess at what will be relevant by the time the show airs and it’s interesting to hear their thought process. I think they do well all things considered. They also maintain exact rosters for each of the characters including ‘the out of town idiots,’ one of whom will be played by will forte this season.
That said, they do go over the top in explaining any joke that might not go over with someone who’s never seen actual football or heard of fantasy football and it definitely feels forced at times. My biggest problem remains the Pete character.
I really enjoy The League, but like Chazz mentioned I hate Pete. All this terrible shit happens to everyone in the group (minus Taco, but hes a saint) and nothing happens to Pete. The closest bad thing to happen is him almost getting to golden gate the au paire.
So we’re not counting Pete getting a divorce?
@heemoy- exactly. Pete started off written as the guy who’s WAY to into fantasy football. Every league has that guy so it was great to see but there should be consequences for that- the first season was different but now he’s simultanously an expert on fantasy football but also too cool to care.
Let’s say there’s a Television Emotional Resonance Spectrum, where on one end you have a compelling drama like The Wire or Sons of Anarchy (where you care deeply for the characters involved, even if they do bad things) and on the other end you have Itchy & Scratchy. Every week on The League the characters seem to inch closer and closer to Itchy & Scratchy Land, where they commit horrible misdeeds against each other….and every time I care about the characters less and less. I still like the show and thinks its very funny…..but there’ll come a time when I’ll stop giving a fuck about these characters, and the most heinous prank in the world won’t even register.
What about Big Bang Theory?
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@Floyd- yeah Pete got that divorce from Ricky Bobby’s wife, but he didn’t seem to give a shit. Just meh. Though that does remind me of how Andre got to see his home made sex tape. All his stuff seems minor. No pubes on fire, porno shot in his condo, or being outed as a Nazi-Jew.
I’ll still watch the show, but I’m just hoping something big fucks him over.
Ray is short for Raymell not Raymond.
Nothing bad happens to Pete because the actor that plays Pete has to watch the actor that plays Kevin make out with Pete the actor’s real life smokin’ hot wife every week.
The Sports; and so began the third Penthouse letter in the January issue…
Oh man, this episode of Conan is so gay right now.
Rafi aka El Cunado is awesome, that is all.
Was going to say what Scott Huh said.
Maybe I would have add a semi-racist joke about stupid african-american names like Raymell.