So to start things off, there are two current TV shows that I love but I’m catching up on DVD.
Archer
Game of Thrones
So, I’m not sure if they were as great in 2012, but I’m hoping they were.
And here are a few shows that I talked about last year that I still love this year –
The Big Bang Theory
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
New Girl
South Park
Before I get to my new shows, a few thoughts on some of my faves and non-faves from last year. The Simpsons is still consistently good, it just didn’t feel as revitalized as it did last year. Family Guy used to one of my favorite shows, but last year I criticized it for running out of ideas. This season’s episodes have been much better, largely because the writers have finally started exploring the characters personalities more.
Two of my favorite shows from last year Up All Night and Happy Endings are still enjoyable shows, but have ruined what made them special. In the first season Up All Night was about a powerful working mom, a stay-at-home Dad and their struggles raising an infant. That’s a premise that’s not often seen on TV. This year, the Mom is staying at home, the Dad is working and the baby is hardly in the show. We see those kind of shows all the time. Happy Endings used to be a great show about a group of friends that the writers didn’t stereotype. There’s a black character and a gay character that are fully-rounded characters, not the typical caricatures you see on TV. But for some reason the writers decided this year to change two of the lead female characters to the dumb blonde and the fat train wreck. Using an actresses who isn’t fat and an actresses who’s not very believable as a dumb blonde. It’s incredibly disappointing when the other 4 leads have much more depth.
But enough talk about old shows, here are my favorite show of the year I haven’t talked about yet.
Key & Peele
Sketch shows are usually very hit and miss, but almost every bit on this show is a killer. Maybe it because both the episode and season length are much shorter than a typical sketch show so they don’t have to create filler. Maybe it’s because as two biracial comedians on a cable channel, Key and Peele are willing to push the boundaries more. I don’t know why but I’d much rather watch this show than SNL.
the Mindy Project
I really didn’t think this was going to be good. It stars one of the writers and co-stars on the Office, a show I find incredibly annoying, and is a show about a doctor, which I think there are about 500 too many of. But this ended up becoming one of my favorite sitcoms. Mindy Kaling is a likable, flawed lead and the show strikes just the right balance between ridiculousness and believability. The sitcomy things that happen in this show could actually happen to the character, even if they probably wouldn’t. It’s also nice how Mindy is treated as a legitimate leading lady, not a stereotypical Asian or chubby girl.
The Soup
This has been one of my favorite shows for years, so I already should have mentioned it. It’s a clip show of some of the dumbest stuff on TV. What makes it so fun to watch is how mean host Joel McHale is. He’s not afraid to say what you’re thinking, no matter how horrible it is. You would feel bad, except the people being made fun are willing to sacrifice their dignity just to be on TV.