Midseason Television Roundup, Counterpoint

Logan, you ignorant slut. Maybe if you spent more time watching television and less time engaging in autoerotic self abuse you’d be able to piece together a logical argument about the merits of the long form narrative that is an American network series.

My Name Is Earl: Your right about one thing… Earl does share a few things with Arrested Development. But very few. Aside from the single camera format, I honestly don’t see many thematic similarities between the two shows. Whereas Arrested Development revels in mocking a group of awful narcissists, Earl revels in an endearing use of its imperfect characters attempts to better the world around them. And it STILL manages to be funny. Darnell, the Crab Man, is great. But equally so are Catalina, Ricky and Joy. And Earl is just so Jason Lee likeable, it’s the perfect role for the man who has been miscast before in crap like Stealing Harvard. This is easily my favorite new show of the year and it will be a perfect fit on Thursday night.

The Office: So Logan, you’re finally coming around. The Office has been better than its British counterpart for most of this season. I like Martin Freeman as Tim, but I find John Krasinski’s Jim to be slightly more… well… American. (Although you’re wrong about Carrell… he’ll never be able to match Gervais, whose new podcast is brilliant.) Then there’s Dwight. Rainn Wilson’s Dwight is one of my favorite characters of all time. And he feels unique to the point where I have never ever thought about comparing him to Gareth. What I don’t like so much about The Office. It’s too mean spirited at times. The Halloween episode was a good example of how nice and real it can be. Likewise was the Party episode. Where Michael shamelessly crashes Jim’s party, and Jim responds by helping Michael save face after a dying, embarrassing Karaoke incident. But these subtle, charming moments are hidden amongst that “real” restrained viciousness of the show’s depiction of the American workplace.

Arrested Development: I’ve come round. I think Arrested Development peaked in season one. Season three has had a few good moments, but the show is so nasty and cruel now. I don’t blame the cast or the writers. If my boss threatened to fire me continuously for three years, I’d end up negative too. But that doesn’t mean I like it. My favorite moment of this season was last Monday’s episode where Buster taught everyone a lesson about teaching lessons using the disabilities of others. Now, if only Arrested Development could apply that lesson to its (mis)treatment of the Bluths it might not feel like it’s talking down to it’s audience.

Lost: Logan, you’re too critical of Lost. I think you should try to remind yourself that it’s basically just a dramatic version of Gilligan’s Island. Honestly, as much as I like Lost, I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it. Not anymore. The show sets its own rules for how the narrative will proceed and the creators clearly aren’t worried about how the audience will react. I sort of feel, anymore, like I should just go with Lost’s flow and enjoy what I can. Otherwise, I’ll be lost myself. (That’s my NPR moment for this entry.) As for Shannon’s death: I thought that was one of the best moments of the show. She was such a cliché character anyway. The poor little rich girl. Big whoop. I wanted her killed last season.

The shows you entirely ignorantly ignored:

How I Met Your Mother: It has the funniest supporting cast on television… after Earl (of course). Sure, it suffers from a poignancy problem (as in too many moments that it tries to make “profoundly moving, touching”). But it’s still worth watching if only for Doogie’s scene-stealing brilliance.

Two-and-a-Half Men: There’s something appealing about a show that has no qualms about using unredeemable yet self aware characters for laughs. Then too I love the way that no show ever resolves anything. Yeah, I know I just criticized Arrested Development for doing the same thing, but there’s a major difference. Men NEVER tries to be anything more than a shallow, mean-spirited comedy. It doesn’t want to mean anything.