Weekly Bad TV Round-Up 9/25 - 10/2

This season, television has a lot to offer in terms of bad shows. It’s fun to watch, but there’s too much to keep up with (and besides, the human brain can only watch so much Jersey Shore and shows full of jokes culled from anonymous comedy writers’ bags before… um, I’ll think of it later). This isn’t meant to be a comprehensive survey by any means. A lot of shows slipped through the cracks because they weren’t worth sitting through just to watch Buffy speak to her twin or hear Ted whine about girls. Also, the list will change each week depending on what CPT’s brave enough to sit through or stupid enough to write about. The round-up is simply skeet-shooting a few bad shows into blog oblivion while the rest of them thud onto the network floor.

Two and a Half Men 9.02

2 Broke Girls 1.02

Happy Endings 2.01

Whitney 1.02

Jersey Shore 4.09

Here we go:

Fringe 4.01: "Neither Here Nor There"

Where's Peter? After last season's explosive finale, it's on everyone's minds.

To be fair, there's a lot on everyone's mind these days, what with the melding of alternate universes and such. But apparently Fringe didn't want to jump right into that at the moment, so we only get the snide remarks of Fauxlivia at the beginning of the episode. A single frame shot of Peter Bishop appears on the screen, and Boss Observer tells Friendly Observer that he needs to completely eradicate Peter from everyone's memories. Then we jump right into a typical episode. I WANTED ANSWERS THOUGH (residual Lost pain).

Whitney 1.01 "Spicing Things Up"

Please join The Couch Potato Tribune in welcoming Eldis Sula to our writing team! Eldis is a small-brained Albanian Elvis impersonator with a chest of fur and a heart of gold. He'll be covering Whitney sporadically (for as long as it lasts), Project Runway, and possibly more as the fall schedule resumes. Welcome Eldis!

Alex, please stay down.

Sweeps week came and went, and what a triumph it was for network sitcoms. You know, you’d think in 2011 people would be too smart to fall for the rusty laugh-track format, and well, they kind of are. But something’s been going on the past few years. Sitcoms have updated themselves to accommodate our increasing self-awareness. Awful shows like Two and a Half Men show us that primetime slots can contain more than transparent saccharine sweetness, but cynical plotlines revolving around characters who love to drink all the time and nonchalantly get prostitutes. So how do networks proceed after their sitcoms establish that it’s acceptable to portray ironic, imperfect people and families? They put on a show like Whitney.

The Office 8.01 "The List"

Fair or not, the first episode of The Office without Steve Carell was going to determine whether or not viewers stuck around for a little while longer. Think about it: who are you watching the show for now? It's of course a great ensemble cast, but the whole 'Let's just throw in some guest stars and let them riff with our regulars' tactic can't last forever. This episode had to establish a new direction and comedic tone that we could enjoy for the rest of the series.

The verdict? Looks like the the eighth season may be the last. The cast just can't survive without Michael Scott, because he was the focal point of each relationship and storyline. Just think about all the ways he dominated that show:

-We don't get to see him romping around the office and warehouse anymore, and if someone else were to try that it'd just be stale. Andy Bernard has none of the stupidly charismatic charm of Michael Scott, so when you install him as the boss, you shouldn't try to make him that guy. Too bad. The writers make Andy just as insecure in his position as Michael was, and now he has to deal with the in-house threat of CEO Robert California (James Spader). Didn't we already see this when Michael had to deal with Stringer Bell? It was the same storyline, down to the upper-management guy breaking down and trying unsuccessfully trying to make friends with everyone. It doesn't just work as well when we have to see Andy Bernard on-screen for more than 90 seconds. Strike One.

Parks and Recreation 4.01: "I'm Leslie Knope"

This week on Parks and Recreation: dick pics. 9 toes. Traegerisms. We've got it all here on The CPT:


Parks and Rec is back, and not a moment too soon. I missed you Leslie. I couldn't do without you April. And you Ron, sweet sweet Ron I just could not survive a second longer without that mustache.

So when Leslie and Ann started celebrating her impending candidacy, I was jumping for joy. Right off the bat P&R broke out the goofy humor, with the two ladies yelling "Yay!" over and over as if Leslie won't have to break up with Ben. Oh but she will.

Right then, the ultimate Ron-is-Fonz moment! Running from his ex-wife Tammy Uno, Ron (hey remember he didn't have eyebrows?) burst in and needs Leslie's help. He casually makes a stepstool out of a shoehorn and the wall, and gets his emergency pack from behind an air vent. Kind of like Dexter, except I'm sure Ron's killed more people. Our rugged hero has some 200-odd vacation days, and he's taking them all now. Ron wraddles (portmanteau indicating characteristic running style) down the hallway and is gone. Cue music.

Community 3.01: "Biology 101"

It’s hard to believe a show that dedicates itself to making pop culture references could be decent, let alone exceptional. But that’s exactly what Community has become. It’s a cornucopia of bliss and laughter. So as you can imagine, when 8 p.m. struck last night and the Season 3 premiere was upon us, I became giddier than a 6-year-old in Toys “R” Us (do kids still go to Toys “R” Us?)

The opening to the premiere was delightful. It epitomized what Community is all about. It seemed like a wacky spoof of a choreographed Glee scene, a show that’s been poked fun at before by Dan Harmon’s cast of crazies. “We’re gonna be more fun and be less weird than the last two years combined.” False. The whole thing turned out to be a Jeff daydream.

No time was wasted in addressing the only thing that could qualify as a cliffhanger from the Season 2 finale: whether Pierce would return to the study group. Just over two minutes in, we had our answer.

“I’m back,” Pierce said nonchalantly, as he stood in the doorway of the study room, literally a second after Jeff said Pierce was never coming back. To me, this was flawless execution. This is not the type of show for a dragged out reveal. Pierce is not The Smoke Monster.

Belated Introduction

Oversaturated market. That's what we're about to enter.
-Source Unknown
--Source made up


Hello and welcome to The Couch Potato Tribune!

What we've got here is a site dedicated to pop culture, mainly in the visual media form. We are young men with too much time on our hands, and most of that time is spent occupied with some program or another. It behooves us, as rugged individualists with internet prowess, to give you some form of commentary on what is hip and happening. By that we mean to say you're going to get some insight into what television is about, with some indelible internet nuggets along the way. Additionally, we promise never to use the phrase "hip and happening" again for as long as we live.

Just who are we? Lets find out:

Justin Tasch: A recent Philosophy, Politics, and Law graduate from Binghamton University, Justin is a sweetheart on the level of a Zach Braff or an Adam Scott. In fact, he's so beloved that he's known as 'Nice Guy Tasch' throughout the Eastern seaboard. A self-starter always looking to reach new heights, Justin wrestled Abe Lincoln in his previous life (and won), and created Cheetos a la mode. He will not watch anything that is not in HD.

David Rifkin: Another recent graduate with an equally useless degree, David is what you'd call a real go-getter. In fact, he's created at least four other blogs in the past year alone. Never you mind that they're all defunct now. David is a founding member of the Illuminati, and drives an environmentally friendly car. Also, he is quite cuddly.


As a brief introduction to our source material, here's what you can expect to be covered by the Couch Potato Times (midseason= January or February return):

NBC:
Community
Parks and Recreation
The Office
30 Rock (midseason return)
Awake (midseason replacement)

FOX:
Fringe
New Girl

ABC:
Modern Family
Lost (a painful retrospective)

CBS:
How I Met Your Mother


FX:
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
The League
Archer (midseason return after 3-episode September arc)


Showtime:
Californication (midseason return)
Dexter


HBO:
Boardwalk Empire
How to Make It in America
Eastbound & Down (sometime in 2012?)
Bored to Death (retroactive postings starting with the first season)


AMC:
Breaking Bad
Mad Men (midseason return)
The Walking Dead

USA:
WWE Raw Supershow
(It's a scripted television show, sorry to burst your bubble. Also, Santa Claus doesn't exist.)



It's possible that we'll add more writers and shows as the fall continues (think Project Runway or Treme). If you have a favorite show that you want us to comment on, leave something for us in the comments. Until then, enjoy!

Preview of Tonight's Shows

TONIGHT! An important day of season debuts and already-exciting shows. I'll be watching the NBC comedy block with my CGI puppy, Justin Tasch, and then jumping over to FX for the Always Sunny/Archer duo. It's shaping up to be a great night already. Tonight, it's all about Debuts Debuts Debuts!


Community and Parks and Recreation are my two favorite comedies on TV right now, and I'd wager to say they're also the best (if you have an IQ high enough to avoid The Big Bang Theory).


Community is returning with some cliffhangers (why is Chevy Chase still around? Do we get to see more Furry-loving from Dean Pelton) and new cast members ("Omar comin'!" says everybody), but the show will probably stay true to form and just move on to new, unrelated issues. Creator Dan Harmon has a sly way of resolving conflicts without ever getting explicit about them on the show, and I expect more of that tonight.

Parks and Recreation, on the other hand, is your pretty typical sitcom, and it looks like they're going to proceed as planned with the whole "Can Leslie have it all?" storyline as she tries to date Ben Wyatt and play politics at the same time. Also, Ron Swanson, Chris Traeger, Andy Dwyer, April Ludgate (Ludgate-Dwyer?), Tom Haverford. An amazing set of characters that could each carry the show separately.

There is also the much-less anticipated Office debut (<>*), where hopefully they decide who the new Boss is so we can decide if we're bailing on the show. Also, Whitney, about Whitney, except watered down.

*<> is the now-universal symbol for sarcasm

Switching over to the FX set, Always Sunny is going to have Fat Mac back for more. Last week's season debut was vintage early-season Always Sunny, with hijinks all around and Charlie at the very top of his game. Hopefully this is a sign that the show won't lag like it did last season.

Archer is around for only a three episode set before The League begins, and this extended adventure is quite obviously an excuse to use Patrick Warburton as a voice actor. Not that I mind, can't wait for more tonight.

We'll check in after the shows tonight. See you then.