The Tick (live action), 2

it's true, i watched all 6 episodes. it's an absolutely ridiculous show. very over the top, but that's what you want. i promise. it's bizarre and funny- i some how liked it and didn't like it at the same time. i think i got a little bored because i wasn't dedicating my full attention to the show. this is definitely something to watch with friends. comic dork friends if you have them. (i say that lovingly.)

i am going to agree with jessica- batmanuel is the best. maybe it's the sexy accent, maybe it's that he's a womanizer and kind of a dick, but i fell for batmanuel. even if his outfit was ridiculous.


did you see captain liberty's outfit?


yeah. that star is cutout for cleav. amazing. certainly just more of a demonstration of the hilarious satire that is The Tick. there was actually an episode about not donning the costume and wearing normal clothes. turns out superheros should stay in their outfits so they don't freak out their dates. long story.

i'm into it though.

the tick (live action)

the best part of this show is batmanuel. seriously. if you watch it for any reason, let that reason be batmanuel (& yes, he does have a batmanuelmobile). i promise that you will not be disappointed.

though apparently, america at large WAS disappointed by this one. it lasted only nine episodes, a far cry from the successful three year run of the animated series in the mid-90s. maybe adults simply don't understand the tick as well as children do? in the first episode alone, i remember sham turning to me & saying "oh, sad, is he just stupid?" as the tick began babbling about his duty to protect his bus station (apparently in the original comics, he actually escapes from a nearby mental institution). but we caught on fairly quickly.

he's not stupid, it's actually brilliant parody.

i only watched three of the six episodes on disc one, but i didn't not finish due to boredom or lack of interest. my DVD player sort of tricked me & stopped playing after three episodes. sham did finish the whole disc though, so let's wait for her entry with bated breath.

with only three episodes of the tick under my belt, i liked it enough to write this entry. i know, i know. what did i learn from two guys, a girl, & a pizza place? if anything, not to judge a whole show by less episodes than are actually on disc one. but, for this one, i'll have to make an exception.

i mean, the show certainly makes very little sense. there's almost no backstory & the characters are little more than goofy caricatures of superheroes. but, that's exactly what makes this show work.

it takes place in a world where superheroes do exist, though they are considered by society to be insane & in need of severe therapy to right their mental problems. they have to make their own costumes (except for the tick, who never seems to take it off) & they don't really have super powers aside from their bravery (except for the tick, who apparently is pretty damn strong). batmanuel is even shown with his arm in a cast in one episode. these are superheroes, but they are also real people.

which makes me like this show. a lot. it's pretty zany & out there, but it's certainly a lot of fun. it's what superman, batman, & the like would be if they ACTUALLY existed in the world we live in now. which, in theory, is cool. in practice, perhaps just not mainstream enough for society. but in theory, still very cool.

it's always sunny in philadelphia

if you aren't already watching this show, you should be.

i've seen a good number of episodes in the past, mostly with danny devito (who joins the cast in season two). i've always enjoyed what i've seen, but sort of brushed the show aside because i don't really have time to be watching another show (that, & i don't get FX). but, i did finally sit down to watch season one (thanks comic-con, for giving us the first two seasons for free) & i had a really fucking good time.

first off, the entire season is on disc one, so i was lucky that i liked this one.

secondly, the music/ditty/theme song is so amazing. no matter how many times it plays in an episode, i never get tired of it.

thirdly, i just all around love this show.

i mean, it's funny. i laugh out loud while watching this show. which is, admittedly, RARE for me. after wading through the many unfunny sitcoms on television these days, this show is a find, a GEM. the characters are fucked up, demented, &, most importantly, very real. it's like what seinfeld would be if it was set in the new millennium & the characters drank more alcohol.

it's always sunny in philadelphia is continually pushing the limits of what society is ready to see on television, & that's what really makes it great. they jump in headfirst & they aren't afraid to piss people off. fantastic stuff.

i'm not going to start analyzing the comedy of the show or start comparing it to other comedies i've seen. because really, it's unlike any other comedy currently on television.

good work, it's always sunny in philadelphia.

do yourself a favour & watch this one.

two guys, a girl, & a pizza place

i do remember this show from when it first aired in the late 90s. it's about, you guessed it, two guys, a girl, & a pizza place. apparently in later seasons, they get rid of the pizza place & the show is renamed (appropriately) two guys & a girl. i don't really have any memories of the show, apart from thinking its name was cool when i was thirteen. so i didn't really know what i was getting into with this one.

i have to admit, i very nearly stopped watching after two episodes & posted this review:

"this show (later renamed two guys & a girl) is basically a one trick pony. every episode is the same. berg (ryan reynolds) does something stupid to piss off his roommate, pete. their friend sharon says something negative about her job. pete & berg go to work at the pizza place, where an annoying customer tells movie plots as if they were stories that happened to him. pete forgives berg.

the end.

it does take place in boston though, so it gets some cool points."

i even gave it only one record as a rating (wish i'd never watched this one at all).

to be fair to the show, & to the rules of the game, i agreed to watch at least another few episodes. since i couldn't actually find information on the DVDs, i decided that five episodes would be a fair number to allow me to judge this one accurately.

i'm actually quite glad that i muddled through the next three episodes. it's certainly not a great show, but it's not NEARLY as bad as i almost posted saying it was. the first review is pretty true for the first two episodes, but beginning in episode three, the show began to have more involved plot lines that weren't only about berg & pete pissing each other off. & by episode five, there were some complex ideas being introduced into pete's relationship with his girlfriend.

all in all, the show improved. immensely.

i still say that it's not really for me. it's a little too simple, & it still does heavily rely on repetitive humour (that pizza customer continues to tell movie plots as if they are stories that happened to him), & the characters are still a little two-dimensional.

but i'm honestly glad that i stuck to the rules & gave this show a fair review. i guess that is part of the point of watching all these season one, disc ones, anyway. to give a fair review to the birth of a television show. pilots do not represent the whole series. characters come, go, grow, & mature. writing improves.

two guys, a girl, & a pizza place - you served some purpose in the late 90s & i was wrong to judge you so quickly. & hey, i STILL think your original name is cool.

saved by the bell

sadly, i don't really have any interesting points to mention about saved by the bell. thanks to sham & wikipedia, i did learn that it's actually a spin-off/re-packaging of an earlier show called good morning, miss bliss. but that's about it.

i mean, this show's not great. there's almost NO back story (probably due to the whole spin-off thing) & i can't really figure out if any of the characters actually LIKE each other.

but it's all fun & quite enjoyable, as long as you can sort of space out or multi-task while watching it. i like to catch this one on saturday/sunday mornings when i'm hungover & there's nothing else on TV. i even own the high school seasons on DVD, & i admit this isn't the first time i've watched them.

but really, there's not much to this show. perhaps i only like it cos it reminds me of my childhood. i'm not really sure.

it's a good time, definitely, & i do like watching it. but it's honestly no gem.

edit: actually, i did think of one other thing to mention. normally, i can't stand tiffani-amber thiessen, & i would never consider her a "good" actor. but here's something to consider: from saved by the bell to beverly hills: 90210, she seems like a completely different person. in fact, i have trouble believing that kelly & val ARE the same actress. so, my hat is off to you, tiffani. perhaps i underestimated your television abilities.

scrubs

i never watched scrubs when it first aired. from what i've seen of the show when i manage to catch it randomly on television, i've been less than impressed. it seems immature, goofy, & sort of direction-less. so, while i tried to keep an open mind for season one, i didn't have the highest of hopes.

but i have to admit, i was pretty into disc one. on the pilot, we were introduced to every single main character (& most, if not all, of these characters remained throughout every season, which is a good sign). all of the characters were really solid & strong, which is typically not the case with most of the pilots i've watched so far. the humour was pretty well-defined (& i actually LAUGHED!). & the show, in general, was a lot of fun.

it seems as if, through the years, scrubs has lost a lot of what made it great in the beginning. the humour perhaps lost something, or the characters have maybe become caricatures of themselves. i'm not completely sure, but i do know that something happened over the years. something bad.

i did enjoy the first seven episodes of scrubs, but knowing what it becomes within a very few years, i'm not totally sure i'm willing to dedicate any more time of my life to this one. but i did enjoy what i saw & i won't be so quick to bad-mouth the show from now on.

alf; 2

i don't have much to say about this one. i mainly agree with sham.

i have fond memories of this show from when i was a kid. i don't know if it just didn't hold up, or if i'm just a completely different person now. but, i was bored to tears by this show.

there was, admittedly, one gem on this one (though, as sham explains below, it's from disc two).

i'll save you the trouble of watching ALF at all.

watch this instead.

alf

so first let me say that we fucked up a little. well.. i did. or, if i feel like passing the buck, the designer of the dvd case messed up. we decided to watch alf because jessica already owns it and i hadn't ever seriously tried to watch it. when i opened the dvd case, there was one disc visible and another disc behind it. normal. totally normal. so we sit through a whole disc and are confused and complaining about the fact that the show just jumps right in, the family is totally comfortable with alf, and clearly we are missing out on something. so, of course, the next day jessica brings it to my attention that we were watching the second disc! that whole time! chuckles all around, and then it is realized that the second disc i had seen before in the case is disc number three. the little paper insert that always comes in dvds? the first disc is BEHIND that. really now? i mean, i know i should have just looked at the disc numbers and figured it all out to begin with. but seriously. poor design.

disc two involved a lot of not-so-funny jokes and a lot of me groaning. now that everything has been straightened out, here we are watching disc one. but you know what? we're cheating. we're watching the pilot and the original un-aired pilot (which are apparently VERY similar)... and that's it. honestly, i don't think i could handle much more alf.

i don't really understand how this show got picked up. nevermind how it made 120 episodes. i love the muppets (or other comedic puppets), and would probably think this would have been a great show premise. i absolutely have to be missing something. i think i laughed twice through all the footage i watched. the laugh-track was painful to hear because i had no idea what they were laughing at. i really can't think of much else to say here. maybe i'm tired. maybe i don't full grasp alien-related humor. and maybe... just maybe... this show isn't funny and america was wrong.