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.

Turtles Forever (Review)

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and they've been celebrating the occasion by releasing special action figures, re-releasing movies, and updating classic Ninja Turtles video games. The celebration concluded about a week ago with premiere of a special animated movie that I had been looking forward to since it was announced. Turtles Forever has the 1987 cartoon cast ending up in the dimension of the 2003 cartoon show. When the 87 Shredder figures out that if are a different set of Turtles, then there probably is a different Shredder, it results in the revival and return of Ch'rell, the Utrom Shredder. Ch'rell is more insane then ever and he takes over and modifies the Technodrome from the 1987 cartoon with Utrom tech and upgrades it to pretty much the equivalent of the Death Star. Both the 87 and 2003 Turtles end up in a fight to save themselves as well as all other dimensions, while learning to put up with one another.

Overall, as a Ninja Turtles fan, the movie is really satisfying. It was a real treat to see the 1987 characters in new detailed animation that still remained true to their original character designs.
The main theme in the film seems to be to show off just how different in tone the two series really are. The 87 series was light-hearted ,and like most 80s cartoons, corny as hell, while the recent series is dark, serious and closer in tone to the original comic book. If I had to chose one over the other, I'd have to say that I prefer that recent series to the older one which is good because the story seems to be more focused on them and giving their series a proper conclusion and their version of the Shredder takes the lead as the main antagonist. If anything, this movie goes out of its way to show just how insane the Shredder of the 2003 series is. He truly is the most heartless and dangerous Shredder ever created and he steals the show.

The only major downside to the film is that here the 1987 series is treated almost as a parody of itself. The movie overplays their stupid and comedic sides from the original show rather then their more serious sides. There is some great humor in the 2003 cast's reactions to the 87 cast's horrible puns and childish attitudes, but at times it really felt like the movie was just one step away from saying "Can you believe anybody ever watched this show?" I have only seen a handful of episodes of the 87 series (as opposed to the 2003 series where I've seen almost every episode) and while I can agree that it can be pretty groan worthy and "kid-friendly", I don't think it ever was or became as juvenile and looney tunes-esque as this movie makes it out to be. Despite this, the movie wasn't perfect but it was still pretty awesome. It had a lot of fan service for the comic fans, the 87 fans, and the 2003 fans. Nickelodeon's acquiring of the Ninja Turtles license has turned this movie into a send-off for an era of the TMNT franchise and as such, it doesn't disappoint.

Frasier - Season 3 (Review)

Three seasons in and Frasier is still constantly hilarious. The show still features sharp, witty writing that is never too smart or insanely stupid. The cast is still able to find the right niche for their characters and allow them to develop naturally as the show goes on. The big change to this season is that this time around the show starts to introduce a few story arcs that pop up between the standalone stories. The first arc sees Frasier butting heads with - and later sleeping with the new boss over at his radio station, while the second arc sees Niles separating from his wife Maris and dealing with the single life. This arc in particular in entertaining because of the amusing reactions Niles undergoes when believes that he's been shunned from the high society parties he and wife usually attend. The storyline also leds to one of my favorite episodes of the series, "Moon Dance", where Daphene goes with Niles to a winter dance and Niles have quite a time trying to keep his long standing feelings for her hidden. Another brilliant episode has Frasier and Niles go head to head in competitive psychiatry when they see an outside shrink together to get their brotherly relationship back in order after a disagreement. This season also has a memorable appearance from Frasier's snobby ex-fiance from Cheers, Diane Chambers, who comes to town to debut an unflattering (but funny) play based her life from Cheers. I'm actually having difficulty finding the fourth season on dvd, but I can't wait to dive into to more comedic genius.

South Park - Season 13 (Review)

South Park's 13th year was a tad better than the last few years in some aspects. The show's best years are clearly behind it and the show kinda feels like its just there, but its still able to be highly entertaining and this season was able to do so much more consistently than last year. As usual, the season's episodes featured celebrity and headline news parodies and more stories about how frickin retarded the citizens of South Park are. Something interesting that I noticed is that the first half of the season largely features references to the Obama administration, particularly "The Coon" episode, which was a brilliant stab on people who expected Obama to change things right off the bat, while the second half of the season featured a surprising number of jabs at obscure reality shows (Whale Wars, Ghost Hunters and some crab fishing show). One thing I'm glad they toned down this season was the constant feuding between Cartman and Kyle, which had nearly dominated the series in the last few years and was starting to become rather irritating. The show is still pretty good and is going to go on for at least other two seasons and they've said they'd like to finish the show with another proper movie. Though I'd probably keep watching the show if they continued for another decade, I think it best if they start wrapping things up.

Frasier - Season 2 (Review)

Okay, so season two of Frasier is just as amazing as the first. The stories have become a bit stronger and at this point the characters are becoming richer and more detailed. The cast really hit there stride in this season. Kelsey Grammer is just unstoppable as Frasier Crane, a given considering he played the character for roughly seven years prior to this. John Mahoney as the father Martin Crane is still a hardass but likeable...to a certain extent, there are times where it seems like Martin delights in his son's various failures. Frasier's brother Niles is still my favorite character with all of his neurotic quirks and his infatuation with Daphne, which becomes a lot more pronounced in these episodes. Jane Leeves is still sexy and funny and very British as Daphne, her recurring stories about her life back in Britain are some of my favorite bits.

Since he is my favorite character, it's not much of a stretch that my favorite episodes from this season involved Niles. One episode sees him carrying around a bag of flour to see if he really wants to have a child and he has a extreme spaz out moment when his "child" is eaten by the dog. Another one has him learn of his wife possibly having an affair and he engages the other man in a sword fight. My favorite episode has Frasier and Niles purchase a restaurant which appears to be an immediate success on the opening night, but as the case with most sitcoms, the entire staff walks out and havoc is unleashed. I'm kinda rambling at this point since I didn't really have much to say, though at this point it should go without saying that I have thoroughly enjoyed my viewing experience of season two and can't wait to jump into season three.

Frasier - Season 1 (Review)

There aren't too many multi-camera, laugh track-filled sitcom in that I watch or actually like. I think at most there about five and Frasier is the most recent entry on that short list. I've seen most of the latter end of the series in syndication earlier in the year and have enjoyed it enough to pick up the first season on dvd and see how it all started. Frasier is a spin-off of the popular sitcom Cheers, here Dr. Frasier Crane leaves Boston (where Cheers took place) and heads for his hometown of Seattle to start his own psychology radio show. He settles into his new ritzy apartment until he's suddenly surrounded by his family. Fraiser and his brother Niles decide that their disabled father Martin Crane and his dog Eddie should move in with Frasier. This does naturally causes a culture clash as Frasier is accustomed to a higher standard of living than Martin. After that, Frasier decides to hire a live in physical therapist, Daphne Moon ( to help with his father's disability and from there the hijinks ensue!

I've never seen a show hit it's mark right off the bat as quickly as Frasier does. From the pilot episode to the season finale, the humor, writing and acting are firing from all cylinders and almost never dips below the above average mark. Most of this can be attributed to the fantastic cast. Kelsey Grammer's comedic timing is impeccable, and is complimented by a very likable, though at times, grating personality. David Hyde Pierce is truly outstanding as Niles and he and Grammer compliment one another perfectly using their strong timing to play the high society humor and contrast between themselves and their working-class father. Speaking of the father, the show's supporting cast is equally captivating in their roles. Jane Leeves as the health care worker Daphne Moon provides more then her fair share of laughs in every episode and John Mahoney as father Martin Crane manages to come off as stubborn but likable. The first season of Frasier is witty and well-written and consistently entertains and I can't wait to get through the second season.

King of the Hill - Season 13 (Review)

And so one of the longest running animated sitcoms comes to an end, even though there’s still four episodes left unaired...I guess it doesn’t matter as long as the series finale was aired. King of the Hill had been facing impending cancellation since season 10 and with knowledge that the show wouldn’t have much time left, the creators spent the last few seasons wrapping things up and showing major changes in the lives of the Hills and their Arlen friends. Luanne got pregnant and married in season 11, while Hank’s father, Cotton, passed away in season 12. This final season was a nice send off for the show and Hank and Bobby’s characters in particular.

The series has always been relatively consistent in its quality over the years, although the last few seasons were somewhat weaker than what came before. This last batch of episodes are surprisingly and thankfully stronger and feature some pretty funny and engaging outings for the Hills, most notable being Luanne finally giving birth to her daugther and Hank performing the degrading tasks featured in his father’s will. Something else that was real treat was all the callbacks to previous episodes, The Order of the Straight and Arrow reappear, Luanne resurrected her Manger Babies act(my favorite episode), and we finally meet Buck Strickland’s son. The final episode is wonderfully heartwarming as it sees Hank finally discovering that he and Bobby have something in common: A love for good beef. The finale didn’t try too hard to tug on the heartstrings, it just kept the characters honest and true in their own unique ways and even though we won't be seeing these characters anymore, they'll continue to grow and live their lives like normal people. I generally liked what they did with everyone, and it seemed like a natural way to wrap up the show. King of the Hill has been a great series, and while it's declined in the last few years, I'm going to miss it now that it's gone.

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.

Hung - Season 1 (Review)

I guess any show whose opening title sequence features someone stripping naked is worth a look. Hung is about Ray Drecker, a high-school teacher in a mid-life crisis. His wife left him for a another man, and his house caught on fire and his insurance policy just lapsed. With no other options, Ray takes the advice of Tanya, a woman he just slept with, to use his god given gift of a big penis to whore himself out with Tanya as his pimp. Hung feels like a combination of three fairly recent shows: Secret Dairies of a Call Girl mixed with Weeds and just a little pinch of Californication. Hung had a lot going for it before it premiered, mostly do to its casting. Thomas Jane is fine lead actor despite appearing in rather forgettable films like The Punisher, while Jane Adams in the role Tonya gives the standout performance and it took me a while to figure out that I recognized her from her brief stint as Niles' second wife on Fraiser. Sadly, while the casting and premise are solid, the execution is very lackluster.

The overall arc of this season basically sees Ray and Tanya adjusting to their new lives as prostitute and pimp. The story arc remains rather stagnate and repetitive for the whole season. Time is constantly wasted either reminding Ray and Tanya why they need to stick it out in their new line of work or watching Ray have sex with lots of pretty women. There's not much difference in plot between the first couple of episodes and the last few and the sole diversion we get during this time is a completely pointless love story between Ray and Jemma, his best client. Nothing is gained from the romance in terms of character development and the revelation of Jemma's intentions for Ray are unbelievably asinine.

Even worse is that a lot of the supporting characters have genuinely interesting stories to tell, like Ray's supposedly gay son Damon who has some complex and twisted emotions hiding beneath his surface. He gets an unresolved storyline at the end of the season that shows that he could be just a straight kid with pretensions of being gay. It would have been nice to see this aspect of his personality explored a bit more, but apparently the show was more interesting in watching Ray have sex, continually contemplate his situation and do other things we've seen him do multiple times throughout the season. There was so much opportunity for Hung to be more than it wound up becoming which was an an underwhelming debut season. The show was inexplicably renewed for a second season early in its run and I hope the show becomes a bit more engaging next year. Hung isn't a bad show, its just not what it was hyped up to be.

Penn & Teller: Bullshit (Review)

I've always enjoyed the work of the Las Vegas based performers Penn & Teller. The illusions and comedy that they preform have always been incredibly entertaining. I've also come to respect them as advocates of science over superstition and acceptance of facts over wishful thinking. Their television show, Penn & Teller: Bullshit is a documentary series that has run on Showtime for 7 seasons (it's the network's longest running show). Penn and Teller are known for revealing the secrets to their magic acts on stage and in this show they basically do the same thing to hot button topics like gun control, paranormal research, or even the Bible. Every episode has them trying to debunk some common misconception or expose the truth of a well known organization. The camera crew interview people who support the different sides of the arguments and Penn and Teller tape linking studio segments that provide commentary to what was filmed in the field. Penn usually expresses his opinions in a loud, brash, and extremely abrasive manner, the irony being that his arguments are more specific, reasoned and sensible than most of those on the opposing side.

I find the show to be entertaining, informative and able to display a refreshing amount of critical thinking for a television show. I was genuinely surprised that they actually got me to think about some of the issues that were brought up. The guys research is extremely well done and they show an appropriate amount of respect for the topics and still get their arguments across eloquently even with all the profanity they use. The slight downside is that the show's arguments are always one-sided, though, as Penn and Teller get to edit the interview segments however they like and provide plenty of snarky voice-over, while the opposing side never gets a proper chance at a rebuttal. Also as the show has gone on over the years, they seem to have inevitability started running out of topics to debunk as a lot of the recent episodes feature a few subjects that seem an awful lot like those covered on past episodes. Having said all that, I think Bullshit is still an entertaining watch. Whether you agree with their opinions or they outrage you, they'll certainly make you laugh and think, and maybe take a fresh look at what you know.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 1987 Series - Season 1 (Review)

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They're the world's most fearsome fighting team, they're heroes in a half-shell and they're green. Master Splinter taught them to be ninja teens, Leonardo leads, Donatello does machines. Raphael is cool but crude and Michaelangelo is a party dude. When the evil Shredder attacks, these turtle boys don't cut him no slack! Those reordered lyrics from the theme song pretty much explains the premise the show. The TMNT was one of the most successful franchises of the 80s and 90s and of course, the most remembered of the Ninja Turtles' adventures came in the form of their 80s animated series which ran for 10 seasons and over 200 episodes between them.

The first season, which spans 5 episodes, was actually created as a self-contained mini series with the series proper being produced after this run proved to be really popular. The season details the turtles meeting news reporter April O'Neal and the turtles' first encounter with their arch nemesis Shredder. After Shredder's foot soldiers and goons are defeated he creates two mutants called Bebop and Rocksteady, and along with the exiled warlord Krang, Shredder tries to open a portal to Dimension X so Krang's army can conquer Earth. The thing that surprised me about these episodes is how how well they've held up over the past 20 years. Most 80s cartoons are horrifically dated and usually only loved now for the nostalgia factor. Ninja Turtles definitely falls victim to this problem (most of Michelangelo's dialogue to be specific), but not enough as to completely deter from any enjoyment of the show. The show's chock full of corny one-liners and memorable characters and features a surprisingly well done mixture of action and comedy that most other 80s cartoons were fairly inept at preforming. While the parts of the show that are dated are cringe-worthy, the rest manages to show-off why the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was one of the most popular cartoons ever and for people like me, it's a a fun and entertaining trip back to childhood.

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.

The Whitest Kids U Know - Season 3 (Review)

The Whitest Kids U Know's third year changed the format by airing 20 15 minute episodes instead of 10 30 minute shows. This allowed the season to last much longer (running from January 27th to June 2nd) while basically giving us the same amount of content. I didn't care too much for this change since the show always ended too soon for me, but I guess when a show leaves you wanting more it's doing it's job.

Season 3 wasn't as clever as the show's first two years, which I personally considered both to be nearly flawless. One thing that kinda bugged me with this season was an over reliance on visual shit jokes...none of which made any of the sketches they appeared in any funnier. They mostly appeared early in the season and by the end the kids wisely decide to leave the poop to your imagination. Luckily the season usually manages to entertain more than disappoint as there were still some really funny sketches like Superdog, The homeschool kid who mocks his teacher mother, The fashion show, and the woman who really, really wanted to see the movie "The Loveliest Bride.

I'm not sure if the show will continue for another season, normally someone in the group would have announced something by now. I hope it does come back, as it's still easily one of my favorite current shows.

Make Me A Supermodel - Season 2 (Review)

I don't normally watch Bravo or reality shows in general, but I started watching Make Me A Supermodel largely out of curiosity and found myself tuning in every week to see who would be eliminated. The show doesn't really do anything differently in it's premise than most of the other garbage reality game shows, it largely how the contestants behave that varies from show to show. What I like about this show was that everyone was respectful of one another (except for stupid Jordan who bitched about everything, especially fellow model Amanda), and there was non of that get drunk and have sex with everything that I normally associate and despise with the reality genre.

Perhaps I only really enjoyed the show because the guy I was hoping would win actually did. Branden Rickman was my favorite from the start even though it really was long shot for him to win. He reminds me of people I normally hang out with. The super sexy british adonis Jonathan Waud was the person everyone including myself expected to walk away with the modeling contract , but the judge's unpredictable nature won out in the end (apparently last season's winner Hollie was also highly expected to win). It was admittedly surprising that in the end it came down to 3 male constants and I fully agree with the judge's decision to choose Branden over Jonathan and Sandhurst. Branden wasn't as good as the other 2 had been throughout the season, but he showed that he was slowly growing as a model and he proved that he was only going to grow even stronger from then on out. Besides I think the judges also saw that Jonathan was hot and talented enough to get a modeling contract without their help.

I don't know if there will be a third season of this series and I don't know if I'd watch it, but at least this season was a pretty good diversion for a couple weeks.