TV Roundup Endgame: Part Eine
My Name Is Earl: Okay, I lied. Five months ago, I claimed that My Name Is Earl could ride its formula to Kingdom Come and I would be content. While the show is still as charming and genial as ever, I find myself less and less motivated to watch it. The general moralizing [that is not the right word] structure of each individual episode is certainly getting tiresome, but I think it has more to do with the overall humor of the series. I smile a lot, but I rarely laugh. I will probably continue watching the show in the coming year, but the show could probably benefit from some revamping. Am I alone in this growing disinterest in Earl Hickey?
The Office: We all know that Mark has been championing [a href=every Mark post ever/a] The Office since the beginning (except for the pilot - which I feel like I should re-watch for contrast) and, you know, for the most part I have been humoring him. Surely an American remake of a flawless British series couldn't possibly be that good. I repent! Looking back on the 2005-2006 television year, I cannot think of a show that I more looked forward to seeing each week. The character dynamics are so sharp, and the interactions so subtle; while the hand-held camera makes the show look effortless, those actors are operating on so many emotional registers - Carrell best of all. The clincher: Jim's unconscious revelation at the tail-end of the Drug Testing episode of the symmetry between his relationship with Pam, and Dwight's connection with Michael [which of course speaks to so many larger issues of gendered and platonic interrelations, but I will spare you the academic posturing as it would do such a disservice to the show's incredibly light touch].
And then there was the season cliffhanger. What a gutsy call. Probably the biggest deviation from the British series. Personally, I would have preferred some more source fidelity (that one scene between Pam and Jim was gut-wrenchingly perfect), but what do I know?
Sidenote: NBC is throwing down the gauntlet next year. Thursdays are going to be loaded with not only My Name Is Earl and The Office, but also Sorkin's [who pretty much started the non-laughtrack trend] new series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. It looks promising and NBC must have confidence in the show as they are placing it in next year's most heating time slot: opposite Grey's Anatomy, CSI, and The O.C.. NBC's flagship night was usurped, and now they are fighting back.
The Office: We all know that Mark has been championing [a href=every Mark post ever/a] The Office since the beginning (except for the pilot - which I feel like I should re-watch for contrast) and, you know, for the most part I have been humoring him. Surely an American remake of a flawless British series couldn't possibly be that good. I repent! Looking back on the 2005-2006 television year, I cannot think of a show that I more looked forward to seeing each week. The character dynamics are so sharp, and the interactions so subtle; while the hand-held camera makes the show look effortless, those actors are operating on so many emotional registers - Carrell best of all. The clincher: Jim's unconscious revelation at the tail-end of the Drug Testing episode of the symmetry between his relationship with Pam, and Dwight's connection with Michael [which of course speaks to so many larger issues of gendered and platonic interrelations, but I will spare you the academic posturing as it would do such a disservice to the show's incredibly light touch].
And then there was the season cliffhanger. What a gutsy call. Probably the biggest deviation from the British series. Personally, I would have preferred some more source fidelity (that one scene between Pam and Jim was gut-wrenchingly perfect), but what do I know?
Sidenote: NBC is throwing down the gauntlet next year. Thursdays are going to be loaded with not only My Name Is Earl and The Office, but also Sorkin's [who pretty much started the non-laughtrack trend] new series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. It looks promising and NBC must have confidence in the show as they are placing it in next year's most heating time slot: opposite Grey's Anatomy, CSI, and The O.C.. NBC's flagship night was usurped, and now they are fighting back.
posted by d l wright at 5/18/2006 04:22:00 PM
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