Undeclared is the best show about school ever made. Cliqueclack Flashback = DONE.

Judd Apatow’s quickly-canceled college follow-up to his quickly-canceled high school series, Freaks and Geeks, was released my junior year of college. I hadn’t seen Freaks and Geeks at the time, so I had no idea who Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, or any of the other now-familiar faces in the cast were. I just knew that it was the funniest and most painfully-realistic portrayal of college life that I had ever seen.

The cast looked, dressed and sounded like actual college students– not 30-year-old hookers, which is a feat that has not been accomplished since. The guys were odd looking– a fact that was freely mentioned, and even the hot girls looked like normal hot college girls, not model/actresses. It was this realism that allowed the writing to shine and allowed the viewers to identify with every single thing these people were going through.

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“Sometimes you want to go, where everybody.…” No? Sorry! I think it’s something about “tossed salads and scrambled eggs.” That sounds more like it.

I actually wasn’t a Cheers fan, so there’s little that I could say about the broader evolution of Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer), except for this: man did he look young in Boston! And trim, with more hair…. But Frasier also wasn’t himself when he was a member of a large ensemble. The character actually only evolved once he settled in Seattle on his own show. And what happened afterwards is one for the history books.

Frasier was one of the smartest shows on television; there’s no denying it. Just because every other show out there has made a thousand jokes to that effect doesn’t negate the truth. But it wasn’t necessarily a show meant just for high-brow people, nor was it comedy that only those types of people could relate to. With a core group of superbly fine actors, and a constantly rotating cast of great guests, Frasier was just plain funny. Read the rest of this entry »

Ah, the post that started it all. The West Wing Week is an outgrowth of this here weekly feature; the series was simply too mammoth to be contained in just one post. Either that, or I figured it was a good way to get everyone else to carry the load for me (a thought that has merit to it) — I could just refer back to another post instead of actually dissecting a topic.

Seriously though, The West Wing was a show with so many strengths in so many different areas, not to mention so many faithful amongst our writers and readers, that we felt the need to not only share a lot with you, but also to do so from various perspectives.

The point being that a lot of ground has been covered already, with some yet to come. As a result, I figured the best way to flash back on The West Wing was to just look back, retrospective style, at the highlights that came together to make season after season, all adding up to one phenomenal series. Let’s see what we’ve got. Read the rest of this entry »

If you were around in the ’80s, you watched this goofy, likable show, even if you don’t want to admit it. The Greatest American Hero appealed to the kids, crazy about the super hero aspect and crushing on either Michael Pare or Faye Grant, depending on which way you swung. The adults got to enjoy the relationship between William Katt’s Ralph Hinkley (or Hanley, after the Reagan assassination attempt) and Connie Sellecca (who was less than understanding at times) but probably more appreciated the fun banter between Robert Culp’s secret agent man Bill Maxwell and the bumbling super hero.

What I’m trying to say is, it was something for everyone.

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No context needed for us fans. Take it away, Crane and Kaufman….

“Who’s FICA? Why’s he getting all my money?” – Rachel

“What do you know?! No one’s going up to you and saying, ‘Hi! Is that your nostril? Mind if we push this POT ROAST THROUGH IT?’” – Carol

“Dear God, this parachute is a knapsack!” – Chandler

“We’ve gotta get some sleep.” – Julie
“Yeah, it’s really 6:00 tomorrow night our time.” – Ross
“Well, listen, don’t tell us what’s gonna happen though, ’cause I like to be surprised.” – Chandler

“You’re over me? When were you … under me?” – Ross Read the rest of this entry »

We all have friends. We know what that’s all about. But, Friends? I’m willing to bet that not many of us have cliques quite like them. Incestual dating? Marriage? Plus, non-twin siblings in the same group? College roommate this and former-homeless that? Safe to say that our friends on Friends were an unusual bunch. And, you know what? That’s why the show worked.

Even for those of you who have, or are, living this life, there was nothing “been there” about this simple premise. Particularly not for me, as I started dating my wife before you could include the word “teen” in our ages. And yet, in the age of Seinfeld, and post-Cheers, Friends was a wild success that you can’t escape from even now, five years after they said goodnight. Why? It’s all about the characters. And the jokes! Read the rest of this entry »

All throughout my life I’ve been a basement/garage tinkerer. You know, the sorta Jobs-Wozniak thing, stitching together old electronics, auto parts and pieces of wood to make “the next greatest invention.” I think there were a hell of a lot of kids like me in the ’80s who built (or at least tried to build) what I call “Frankenstein devices” — things build from discarded other things, just to see if you could do it.

For about the first two seasons of Sliders, I was completely hooked. That’s because this kid, Quinn, was the ultimate basement tinkerer and nerd, making this incredible machine right under the noses of everyone, including his parents. As hokey as many parts of the show were, I was actually rather impressed at some of the scientific details behind how the sliding machine worked. Dare I say that some of it made actual sense?

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