Brace yourselves, because I’m about to get extra-nostalgic. I remember stumbling out of the theater one afternoon in September of 2004, feeling more excited and wired than I thought humanly possible, not because I had just went to my first rated R movie, but because every part of Shaun of the Dead still rattled in my brain. In the ensuing days, I had to learn everything I could about the creative team behind the film, and one of the things that kept popping up in my endless research was a British comedy called Spaced. Mind you, this was in the age before YouTube, so it’s not like I could just hop online and check out a clip.

For the purposes of this post, I delved back into my high school blog and I see that I made a point of celebrating that Trio had decided to start airing Spaced in conjunction with Shaun’s release. I also see that past-me was so goddamn hooked on Spaced that, two episodes in, she (I?) had already got it in her head to buy the DVD box set. And a region-free player to play said DVD box set.

Needless to say, I really freaking love Spaced. And I want you to love it too.

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It’s only been three years since Malcolm in the Middle went off the air, and yet it feels like much longer. Why? Well, I suppose it doesn’t help the longevity of the show that high costs for music rights have hampered a number of TV on DVD releases, including Malcolm’s. A release can sell well, but if it’s not predicted to be a big enough hit to recoup costs and make a tidy profit…. And so, unlike most shows today, Malcolm essentially died when the show went off the air.

Which is why I’ve so been enjoying re-watching the show. Ever since Nickelodeon announced its syndication agreement with the series and began airing re-runs this past summer, I’ve been catching episodes left and right on a bunch of channels. In fact, only the playoffs and the World Series prevented me from watching the entire series before sitting down to write this — overrun on FOX led them to preempt Malcolm on the nights that baseball was on.

The series as a whole stands out more for moments than for anything overarching. I was actually a big Frankie Muniz fan while watching the show, but looking back, he doesn’t really blow me away as an actor. And, in fact, it was Jane Kaczmarek’s Lois who was really the center of the show by season two (I still can’t get over her being married to Bradley Whitford). Read the rest of this entry »

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 »