Archer - Season 1

Archer comes from some of the same people who worked on Sealab 2021 and Frisky Dingo (the latter more apparent through the character designs). Archer has the typical style of humor that Dingo established and its concept actually reminds me of The Venture Bros in that it's that kind of show where most of the stories revolve around the bureaucracy of adventurers as opposed to the actual adventures. The difference is that Archer trades out the Johnny Quest-like world for a James Bond-like one. Sterling Archer is a James Bond-ish spy, but mostly he's a jerk, a liar, and a sociopath with extreme mommy issues. The recurring cast of characters includes his mother, who runs the spy agency (played wonderfully by Jessica Walters), and his ex-girlfriend, the sexy black-ops agent Lana Kane, along with other members of the agency.

Archer manages to be a pretty good character-driven comedy that's able to mesh well with some genuinely interesting plotlines. The quality of the writing jumps about from time to time. Sometimes there's the string of intelligent dialogue and show effortlessly combines tight story-writing with the improvisational rhythm that most of the voice cast (Jon Benjamin in particular) are known for. But other times the writing can drop to "worst episodes of Family Guy" levels of crassness for crassness' sake. They manage to get things back on track often enough though and there was enough clever material and a few moments where I really have to give these guys some credit. The show could be better, but I'll be waiting to see where the show goes next season.

Best Shows Of 2009

Its that time of the year where people talk about what their favorite shows, movies, etc were this past year. I decided to do the same. I don't watch a lot of the most popular television series because they don't interest me, so most of my picks are based more on my own personal interests than what everyone else is watching. Shows qualify by having a season that ended during the year of 2009 and at least one of my picks are of a show I haven't talked about yet. But first...

Notable Exception

Futurama (Comedy Central/Direct to DVD)

The direct to dvd features of Futurama are officially considered the fifth season of the show. Each movie is divided up into four parts and aired on Comedy Central which ran from roughly mid 2008 to late this year (the dvds were released late 2007 to early this year). As a whole the movies never reached the peak of excellent that the series did, but they're still at least 3 times better than most of what's on TV now-a-days. Their exclusion from this list is largely do to the fact that despite airing on television, these films count more as dvd releases then television premieres (if that makes sense).

Best Television Shows of 2009

5. The Real World: Brooklyn (MTV)

Yeah...you know I haven't watched a lot of television shows when The Real World manages to make it on a best of list. The Brooklyn season managed to do everything that the series has failed to do in the past decade: Interesting cast members with interesting stories to tell and people who could make valid arguments without being intoxicated. There were still a lot of those trivial fights over dumb crap but it was actually really entertaining. The show proved that reality shows can still have conflict but have enough brains to respect each other and remain great television...it's a shame that the Cancun season couldn't follow suit.

4. Glee (FOX)

The season's not over due to Fox extending the season, but it's clear that what has already aired was supposed to be a contained season. I'm not as big of a fan of the show as the self proclaimed "Gleeks", but it's still a very good comedy/drama with a great cast, music, and production values. I can't tell where the story is going to go when the season concludes in April, but as far as being a well put together program, it succeeds.

3. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)

As I stated before, Sunny's fifth season didn't reach the peak of genius that's come before, but the show is still pretty funny every week. I guess they're just running out of sensitive topics to make fun of, but I'm glad that the writers have at least been trying to come up with new ideas for the cast the work with. Despite all that, this show still made me laugh out loud.

2. The Whitest Kids U'Know (IFC)

Much like Sunny, the Whitest Kids 09 season wasn't as fresh as the previous years, but it was still a lot of fun to watch. The new shorter running time of the episodes allowed the show to run the same amount of content in a longer time period. Something I love about the show that other skecth comedy shows don't do very well is the ending of the skits. The cast often find a good punchline to end things on, and when they don't they're not afraid to just let a bit end or completely turn it on its head to finish it. A fourth season is coming and I can't wait.

1. Dexter (Showtime)

I haven't talked about Dexter on this site yet and I haven't talked about it's newest season because I wanted to talk about the first three beforehand. Just know that the fourth season of Dexter is extremely strong and the storyline reaches an extremely tense conclusion. The cast really up their game, Julie Carpenter in particular, and there are moments in the season that rank among the most emotionally affecting things I've seen on television in a long time. The season seems to indicate the series is finally setting things up for the show's grand finale and I eagerly await more greatness.

A Very Sunny Christmas (Review)

It's pretty annoying that the Always Sunny Christmas special is only avilabile on dvd. We all know that the episode is probably going to air next Christmas and there's been talk of it being included on season five's dvd release. Either way, this special is very funny and a bit stronger than most of season five. The story finds Charlie and Mac trying to recapture the magic of Christmas by reminiscing about the happiest experiences of their childhood. However, they discover that their Christmases suck and they set out to recapture the Christmas spirit. Meanwhile, Dee and Dennis are bitter towards Frank for all of the crappy Christmases he's given them over the years, so they attempt to stage their own version of A Christmas Carol in the hopes of making Frank re-examine his life.

Without spoiling to much, the special manages to be full of memorable moments. The flashbacks the gang as children and how horrible their Christmases were is delightfully spiteful (Mac's flashback in particular). There are some nice cameos from recurring characters and an "interesting" tribute to the old Rankin-Bass Christmas specials. Though I've never given him praise before, I've always found Danny Devito to be hilarious as Frank and he's really the star of the show here (a particular scene involving a couch comes to mind). Despite being a bit more vulgar then the show, the episode still manages to embrace that sense of Christmas tradition and highlights the importance of friends and family(well friends anyway), no matter how retarded they are. It's a fun little episode that I might have to include on my yearly Christmas television list.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Season 5 (Review)

Sunny's fifth year was a little weaker than what's come before, although its still one of the best shows on television. This season I found myself really appreciating what the writers have been doing with the gang but I'm not laughing nearly as much as I should. The episode where Dennis explains his six step system for hooking up with and then getting rid of girls and the one where the gang deal with the recession are prime examples, though in all fairness they're the only two episodes that fell flat for me. This season had some real great outings with The Kitten Mittens episode,"The Waitress Is Getting Married," and my favorite of the season "Mac and Dennis Break Up" all of which managed to show of the excellence of the show and the chemistry between all the characters.

The cast is still sharp and my favorite is still Charlie with his general ineptitude and severe lack of any basic social skills. Sweet Dee has a nack for making strange faces and hilarious reactions to the way the gang treats her. Dennis actually manages to get some good laughs out of me, most notably his idea for the prefect action movie. While I always found Dennis to be funny, I also always found him to be the most annoying member of the gang, so I was pleasantly surprised to find myself warming up to his character. Despite my earlier nitpicking, this is still an endlessly quotable show and top notch in its ability to entertain, and I'll be watching again next season.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Season 4 (Review)

Okay, the second half of this season was the first batch of episodes I’d ever seen of this show and now that I’ve seen the complete season on dvd, I’m officially caught up on this show just in time for the 5th season which is currently airing. Sunny’s fourth season is pretty much exactly the same as all that’s come before, which is to say it’s very funny. I’ve actually kinda run out of things to say about this show. Charlie continues to steal the show and is still my favorite character with Dee as a close second and they both have plenty of great moments throughout the season. The gang still hasn't run out of social issues to make fun of or stupid things to go on ludicrous rants about.

However, after three seasons of this, it seems that the crew has decided to mix things up a little and it mostly works out for the better. Some of the episodes are parodies of others shows, Sex in the City, Extreme Home Makeover, and America’s Next Top Model (along with other competitive reality shows) are lampooned with great gusto here with the extreme home makeover episode probably being my favorite of the season. Other episodes change the basic format like the bizarre mystery of who pooped in the bed, the flat but admirable period piece episode, and of course the hilarious fan favorite musical finale “The Nightman Cometh”. The show’s still wonderful and even the weakest episode can’t go five minutes without something funny happening. Season five is airing right now and I’m glad that I’ve caught up.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Season 3 (Review)

The third season is really just more of the same and considering that the last two seasons were pure brilliance, that's actually a pretty damn good thing. The main characters still manage to make me laugh out loud by trying to one-up each others, taking advantage of innocent people, and just being all around douchebags. The continuity is even stronger this time as supporting characters from the past become more prominent like the tranny from season one, Rickety Cricket (my personal favorite), and the McPoyle family. The McPoyles in particular get a lot of screen time this season which is unfortunate as I don't really find them to be that funny.

The cast continue to play off each other wonderfully. Charlie continues to be the standout character, but this season sees Dee (Kate Olsen) really step into the spotlight with some truly hilarious comedic moments. The area she seems to excel in most is her reactions to either the gangs actions or their constant belittling of her life. The episodes still covers a range of topics like abandoned babies, handicaps, and sexual predators. It's all handled very well and it's all very funny, but my favorite episode this season is the finale, where the gang find themselves in a dance marathon with ownership of Paddy's Pub at stake . The episode is a joy as it has the cast at the best and it features my favorite line of the season spoken by Charlie ("I'm about to show you the white hot cream of an 8-year-old boy."). The show is still crass, insensitive and funny as hell, I want more.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Season 2 (Review)

The second season is just as good, if not better than the first. Still showcasing that brand of cynical comedy that I love so much. The most notable thing about the second season is the addition of Danny DeVito as the father of Dennis and Dee. I was worried that he wouldn't quite work in this show as he is a completely unnecessary addition, apparently suggested by the FX network to get a famous name in to gain viewers. Luckily, my concerns were put to rest as DeVito fits right in with the gang, playing Frank as a crazy, shallow douche just like his children and their friends.

The other change is that there's an extra bit of continuity thrown in this time around. This usually entails the gang getting into trouble for something at the end of an episode and later on they'll deal with the consequences and other stuff along those lines. The show is still covering a variety of topics in dickhead ways and there really aren't any bad episodes in this run. "Mac Bangs Dennis' Mom" is one of my favorites, it's all enjoyable stuff. This seasons a tad longer than the first which is wonderful because its incredibly funny.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Season 1 (Review)

I finally go around to watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia last year while it was in it's fourth season and I fell in love with it after watching only 2 episodes. Since then I've gotten around to watching the earlier seasons on dvd and I found them to be just as hilarious. The show's about four friends who run a failing bar in Philadelphia and frequently get themselves in crazy schemes that usually involve some kind of controversial topic, like abortion, molestation or religion and of course they handle these situations in the most dickheaded ways possible.

Where the show shines is in its strong writing and characterization. Somehow the show is able to take a bunch of selfish, petty, vindictive people and make them somewhat likable. My personal favorite is Charlie which great because he seems to slightly dominate the storylines. The actor, Charlie Day, is hilarious and he knows how to use his short stature and scrappy look to his advantage as the more pathetic and desperate of the characters. His hopeless crush on The Waitress who works at the coffee shop across the street is used frequently and its one of my favorite recurring bits. The other characters all have their own personalities and share a sense of humor and real chemistry that make the show entertaining regardless of the topic and as long as they keep things funny I'll keep watching.