Spoilers, I've come to the conclusion that NBC's half hour sitcom Community was at the very least the best new comedy show of 2009 and it's possible that it was the best sitcom of that particular year. The show completely caught me by surprise last Autumn with just how good it was and most recently I caught up with the entire season in a marathon weekend session that solidified the shows place amongst my all time favourites.

The premise behind Community is based on the creator/writer Dan Harmon's personal experiences in community college. He found himself gradually becoming attached to a group of disparate people who had very little in common apart from the subjects they were studying. "...I was in this group with these knuckleheads and I started really liking them," he explains, "even though they had nothing to do with the film industry and I had nothing to gain from them and nothing to offer them." (read more here).

In the show it's currently disbarred lawyer Jeff Winger (Joel McHale - The Soup) who plays Dan's analogue. Jeff is a cynical, independent, disdainful, womanizing individual who's only come to Greendale community college in order to gain a proper law degree and return to the job he loves. The attractive Britta (Gillian Jacobs - Choke) catches his eye and he invents a Spanish study group in order to get close to her. Unfortunately for Jeff Britta invites Abed (Danny Pudi - Greek) to the group and he in turn invites Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown - Drake & Josh), Troy (Donald Glover - writer, 30 Rock), Pierce (Chevy Chase - you should know where he's from) and Annie (Alison Brie - Hot Sluts - seriously, check it out here, it's in the category 'so intentionally bad it's kinda good' and of course Mad Men). This study group is not what Jeff wanted from community college, he was looking to just coast through on the bare minimum, sleeping with hot women and avoiding as much human interaction as possible. Instead he finds himself the head of a group of people devoted to passing Senor Chang's (Ken Jeong) Spanish class together.

Community is a phenomenal comedy show, it's a creation that's partially driven by the excellent cast, partially driving be pop culture references that are both nostalgic and on the pulse, partially by excellent plotting (especially in the genre of sitcom) - but it's mostly driven by a layered core of morals. Jeff is an excellent protagonist lead and the show plays up to his faults and strengths with exceptional skill. The show delivers moment after moment that at first appears hopeful and optimistic, but then you realise Jeff is doing it for selfish reasons, so it becomes cynical, but then he can turn around and just do something selfless that compromises his original intentions. It's rare you find a character who can turn around on the spot and alternate being sympathetic followed by being a complete arse without feeling like a flip-flopper or a detestable shrew. Joel McHale nails the role and gives you an exceptionally complete and rounded character with a lot of complexity.

But, whilst Jeff is the lead, Community is an ensemble show and without great performances from the rest of the cast and the supporting characters the show just wouldn't hold up. Fortunately just about every other character in the show is memorable and fun to watch. Abed is a wonderful portrait of Asperger's Syndrome and just a fantastic character and possibly my favourite (I also adore Jerry Espenson from Boston Legal, but I myself display many traits of Asperger's and fall just short of 'qualifying' - so it's no wonder I have such a connection with these two characters). Abed is a lot of fun, especially thanks to his film knowledge resulting in close to fourth wall breaking moments, describing situations in the form of television tropes and even saying that he was going to 'lay low for an episode' at one time.

Donald Glover's performance as Troy is one that takes a little time to warm up, he's a character that is very controlled and almost prim due to his lack of experience amongst people who don't idolise him. Now it did take a bit for me to warm up to Troy, but his connections with Piece and Abed really shine out and the various end of episode sketches he performs with Abed/Danny are without exception brilliant. Yvette Nicole Brown is instantly adorable as Shirley, she displays a mixture of mother-ish traits combined with an almost girlish glee that comes from someone reconnecting with the world and themselves. You can often count on Shirley to provoke the unexpected response from others (and herself) and when she squeals in delight at something you just can't help but smile.

Britta and Annie are two other characters that take a while to bloom, Annie grows a lot faster than Britta and thanks to Alison Brie's obvious talent. Annie's repressive and barely restrained nature results in some excellent inappropriate outbursts and she's a character who just grows in strength from one episode to the next. Britta on the other hand is a little uneven, she's fun and snappy but she's stuck mostly in the role of the group's spoil sport/kill joy - functioning often as the 'straight man' of the show, but the occasions where she gets to go off the page are great and Gillian Jacobs shows her comedy chops well at times.

The huge piece of the puzzle is Chevy Chase's role as Pierce, Pierce is outright the funniest and most outrageous member of the group. He's set in his ways, closeted, inappropriate, mildly racist, delusional and at times downright offensively ignorant. But there's a vulnerability to him that keeps him from turning into a complete toad, he genuinely wants to connect with other people - he's just lacking the right tools at times to do so (a bit like Michael Scott from The Office). His outbursts are almost always hilarious and the moments where he genuinely connects with other members of the group helps humanise him. The most impressive thing is his total lack of fear about making a fool of himself, he makes a lot of poor choices and then commits to them wholeheartedly (something he has in common with Chevy himself) and it's this trait that's the most endearing part of him.

Edit: Matt Murrell (@mattmurrell) quite rightly pointed out that I've done Senor Chang a crime by not writing about him in detail. Senor Chang rocks very hard and is frankly hilarious, I could go into this with more detail, but instead I shall share the youtube video Matt used to educate me with a gentle reminder on why Senor Chang rules.


In the supporting cast there are three notable members who deserve a great deal of praise, the first is Jim Rash as the sexually ambiguous and often inappropriate Dean Pelton, John Michael Higgins as the brilliant Professor 'seize the day' Whitman (John is almost always great in everything I've seen him in, I love his performance as Mentok the Mindtaker from Harvey Birdman) and John Oliver as Jeff's friend Professor Ian Duncan.

The episodes are often brilliant, considering it's a show about the low end of the education system and a small group of disparate individuals there's a remarkable scope in the situations and style of episodes that are employed. The show even manages to lampoon Die Hard and war movies in one excellent episode in a way that hasn't succeeded since Spaced did it. It's a show with some genuine talent behind the writing and it's always a delight to see each new episode.

Community has fast become one of my favourite shows, one of my top ten sitcoms and the best new show I saw in 2009. It's a quality piece that deserves to be trumpeted from the rooftops and I hope it runs for many years to come.
You'll enjoy Community if you like Arrested Development, The Office, Spaced, Black Books, How I Met Your Mother and 30 Rock.
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Breaking Bad is a relatively young show, with just two seasons behind it (and a third coming soon) - it stars Bryan Cranston (Tim; King of Queens, Dr Tim Whatley; Seinfeld and most famously Hal; Malcolm in the Middle) as Walter H. White - an ex-researcher turned chemistry teacher. He has a relatively normal life, and by that I mean the whole mundane domestic thing, complete with his beautiful wife Skyler (Anna Gunn - Deadwood) and son Walter Jr (RJ Mitte). He's a pretty average teacher, average husband and well an average guy all round - but his world is rocked to it's foundations when he finds out that he has lung cancer.


Walter soon runs into an ex-student of his, one Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul - Big Love) who now makes his living dealing meth. And from here the show charts Walter's path as he begins to 'break bad' and the pilot episode pans out in a pretty spectacular fashion with some vivid and iconic moments for the viewer. I'm not going to go into major specifics any further here, instead I'm going to write about what it is that makes the show so good.

The centrepiece of the entire show is of course Walter himself - he's a character who's been driven off the road by a mixture of the unfairness in life/society, his own impending demise, his desire to see his family provided for once he's gone and what can only be described as "the straw that broke the camel's back". Now as Bryan himself has a background mainly in sitcoms you could be forgiven for assuming that he might struggle a little with such a turnabout character. Instead of playing a supporting, lighthearted fun character he has instead taken on a heavyweight role with depth and darkness to it.

It sounds like quite a challenge, but it's one which has been achieved before by none other than Michael Chiklis who transformed himself from the happy go-lucky Commissioner Tom Scali in The Commish and Chris Woods in Daddio (both shows light sitcoms) into one of the darkest and most complex individuals to grace our screens Vic Mackey. Now I draw this comparison for a good reason, Breaking Bad has many parallels with The Shield and the two characters - Walter and Vic - have similarities in their characters as well. I also draw this comparison to express the respect I have for Breaking Bad, being compared to The Shield in a favourable fashion is a high compliment from myself as that show is pure gold.

So, as I think you've guessed, Bryan Cranston is more than up to the task - giving us a character who has depth and strength to him as he travels further off the road of society and into territory which is quite frankly criminal - overtly so at times. It's one of the biggest draws of the show and Bryan nails it. Giving us a compelling portrait of a man who's got nothing left to lose and is willing to embrace and follow his desperation. He's also a character with duality to him, on one side you have this loving family man who is struggling with his illness and trying to do what's right for his wife, son and upcoming baby. But sat on the other side you have a man who doesn't seem to have any boundaries left, you push him and he shoves back all the way - he'll just keep going in his desperate search to provide for his family. He is a bit like Paul Kersey in that respect (Charles Bronson in Death Wish for those of you who don't recognise the name) there's no telling what he'll do to achieve his goal.

So the core of the show is a solid lock, Bryan delivers the performance he needs to (and then some), which is absolutely vital because if he wasn't good the rest of the show would crumble. Still, no show is a one man band (except for this film) and the supporting cast are just as important. Fortunately they deliver and in spades. RJ Mitte is great as Walter Jr and I hadn't even suspected his lack of acting experience until I checked his entry on the imdb and Anna Gunn is so fantastic as Skyler that I fell in love with her a little. But the two people who really nail things down for me are the aforementioned Aaron Paul as Jesse - Walter's semi-streetwise (in his own mind) "partner in crime" and Dean Norris as Hank the DEA Agent. They're both fantastic characters, Jesse for bringing a little lightness and fun into the deeds he and Walter perform and Hank for giving us a solid extra piece of the world to follow - he's loosely connected to Walter both as law enforcement and as his brother-in-law. Something which just has to lead to a confrontation at some point, and who knows what will happen then.

Tonally Breaking Bad is a dark show, it's filled with quite visceral moments and some memorable scenes which push the boundaries at times. Things like bathtubs, RVs, removing your pants and even good old boring high school chemistry just won't seem the same after you watch this show. I know a few of the moments from the first season (I've not seen the second at this point) have stuck with me and will do for quite a while. It's a show which isn't afraid to go to unpleasant places and bring you along with it, it's a show which greatly reminds me of my perennial favourite - The Shield.

And that is close to the highest level of praise I can give it.

Breaking Bad, if you haven't seen it - you should.
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Back in April 2002 a controversial young show named The Shield aired it's fifth episode, a piece titled "Blowback", featuring one disturbing Armenian foot fetishist hit man named Margos Dezerian. The actor portraying this memorable villain was also the writer of the episode - one Kurt Sutter - a man who would go on to pen the truly heartbreaking episode "Of Mice and Lem" and the incredible jaw dropping penultimate episode of the season "Parricide".

The same year that The Shield's amazing swan song came to a close (2008) a new show arrived on FX, penned by this same aforementioned Kurt Sutter. A show purporting to be something of a spiritual successor to The Shield in style if not in content.

Sons of Anarchy is that very show, revolving around the lives and experiences of one chapter in the titular outlaw motorcycle gang this is a brutish show about men who live and die by the motorcycle (but more often by the gun). The show stars Charlie Hunnam (Undeclared, Queer as Folk) as Jax Teller the Vice President, Sons of Anarchy: California. Katey Sagal (Futurama, 8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter and of course Married with Children) as Gemma Teller Morrow - Jax's mother and wife of Club President Clarence "Clay" Morrow - played by Ron Perlman (Hellboy and hundreds of other things I mean come on, you know who Ron Perlman is!) Also joining these three are Mark Boone Junior, Johnny Lewis, Maggie Siff, Kim Coates and Tommy Flanagan.

The Sons live in the sleepy town of Charming, California and through an agreement with Police Chief Wayne Unser (Dayton Callie) they keep their business out of town and as such ensure that the streets are (relatively) safe. Well as safe as it can be when there is a gang of gun running motorcycle enthusiasts riding about with impunity...

Sons of Anarchy has been touted as the show to fill the void that The Shield has left behind, and there's no disputing that Sons is a spiritual successor in many aspects. It's even (tentatively) set in the same universe as The Shield and though there's little chance the indomitable Victor Mackey would make an appearance (especially after the events of The Shield's final season) the 1'9ers do indeed feature in the show, as does a familiar looking Los Angeles.

Likewise the show has that same brutish, action packed throttle to it. It's a show which brings macho to the table and isn't afraid to sit about grunting, scratching itself and drinking beer while strangling a bear. Similarly the show is about the good in bad people, really bad people in fact, but people with a code (no women, no innocents).

But that's sort of where the similarity ends, because while Kurt Sutter had significant input into The Shield he wasn't the guiding voice and as such he didn't shape the tone of the show. Sons on the other hand is entirely his baby and as such it brings differences in story telling and pacing. The show feels more immature than The Shield, while Kurt has the lofty (and commendable) ideal of basing the story around a retelling of Shakespeare's Hamlet - the first season does feel a little rough at times, it's lacking the same gravitas and edge it's parent show had.

At least, it's like that for a while. But the final few episodes of the first season do indeed kick things into a higher gear, setting the stage for what promises to be an enjoyable and gripping second season. Many of the cast give exceptional performances from the start (especially Ron and Katey), while others grow into their roles (as much as allowed by their characters anyway - I'm very fond of Theo Rossi as "Juice" for example). Many of the guest star performances are also great; amongst the notable ones are Ally Walker, Jay Karnes, Drea de Matteo and Taylor Sheridan. Ally in particular is fantastic as Agent Stahl, giving the show a character with surprising depth and menace for our erstwhile "heroes".

But the bottom line is this - Will you enjoy Sons of Anarchy? Well if you watched The Shield previously then I think it's safe to say that you'll be positively predisposed towards enjoying it. Just don't expect to be watching The Shield² and things should click with you. For everyone else; if you enjoy dramas with a sense of humor and a bit of unreality to them - like say Rescue Me. Or prefer things to have a mix of action, motorcycles, guns, Americans, Scottish and Irishmen then you're in luck. Sons of Anarchy could be right up your street, so take it for a ride.
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Supernatural fully arrived on my radar around this time last year when I discovered the first two seasons were available for very reasonable prices and that I was able to get my hands on an advance copy of the third season. For a long time it was a show I was hesitant about watching due to the exceptionally photogenic duo who star in this, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. I was concerned that the show would be shallow and filled with eye candy moments for the ladies (and the more discerning gentlemen), or be little more than 'Buffy with blokes'.

But I dug around a little more and noticed one name in particular, Ben Edlund was involved with the project. The same Ben Edlund who gave us The Tick (or The Tick) and also worked on The Venture Bros., Angel and Firefly. This is class as a "good thing" and when combined with the low price tag it was enough to tip the balance across into 'worth a try'.

Upfront disclosure, I really like Supernatural (as evidenced in this short 3rd season DVD review). It's a show which genuinely surprised me in many directions. While the lads are very pretty and an obvious draw in themselves they are also very likable, down to earth and just fun. In fact the entire show is fun, it effortlessly mixes traditional horror along with schlock and B-Movie. Simultaneously parodying and honouring the genre at the same time while also providing an exciting ongoing story to follow.

Sam and Dean Winchester are monster hunters, their father John is also a monster hunter. When they were young their mother was killed by a demon; Dean embraced the life of hunting, Sam attempted to flee from it and until the pilot episode he succeeded. In the world of Supernatural demons, vampires, zombies, werewolves and much, much more are all very real. They lurk in the shadows and prey on the unsuspecting. Only the hunters know the truth, only the hunters know how to deal with them.

Supernatural runs with a mix of one off episodes combined with an on going storyline which grows from season to season and often provides huge almost unthinkable moments at the end of each. It's a show which grips the viewer with the constant danger these boys live in, but lightens the mood with a wry, knowing comment or an episode which pastiches another classic horror story.

The show has homaged a variety of other films, books and even TV shows in it's existance, and it's some of these which really raise the bar. Just about all of my favourite episodes come from this category and they've referenced things like Most Haunted, Evil Dead, Ghost Busters and even in my favourite episode Groundhog Day. Last season they also ran an episode which was rendered entirely in black and white and homaged the old classic hammer horror style films of the past. It's called "Monster Movie" and it's sheer genius.

In many ways Supernatural is the ideal show to watch for people who are fans of either horror movies or Josh Whedon's Buffy/Angel series. It's similar in tone but different enough to warrant watching and the humour in the show is so sharp and at times black that it really takes the experience of watching the show to another level. It's well performed, action packed, witty and just plain old cool.

And that's enough to make it worth watching...
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Yes, that's right. In today's Why You Should Watch I'm actually writing about a show which is relatively new. Currently occupying the summer burn off schedule over at ABC, Better off Ted has unusually been confirmed with renewal for a second season. That alone piqued my interest enough to decide to find out a little about it; and when I read the cast list I felt it was certainly worth giving a try.

Better off Ted stars Jay Harrington as Ted Crisp, head of R&D at Veridian Dynamics a company dedicated to making Life. Better. His boss is Veronica (Portia de Rossi) and the research team working under him includes Linda (Andrea Anders), Lem (Malcolm Barrett) and Phil (Jonathan Slavin). Veridian Dynamics is a company dedicated to improving life in a myriad of ways. Including such wonderful creations as cowless beef, the focus master (a chair so irritating it increases productivity) and the light sensitive motion people detector. Of particular note are the brilliant advert sections which spice up the show, I've included a few of the extra Viral gems at the end of this post for you to enjoy.

The show is a single camera sit-com which focuses around Ted, a relatively straight laced business man who vaguely reminds me of Don Draper from Mad Men - Ted also narrates the show, but instead of a voice over he actively breaks the fourth wall and talks directly to the viewers during scenes, making the whole thing feel somewhat like a mock-umentary. Ted's the one who makes sure that things work and get done, and he enjoys a very personable relationship with both his boss Vernoica and the people under him, at home he supports his daughter Rose as a single father (Isabella Acres). Linda works under Ted in the testing department and while there is some obvious chemistry between Linda and Ted he hasn't acted on it yet.

Phil and Lem are the primary 'making stuff' scientists, they have a highly disfunctional relationship with each other but are clearly close friends despite this. While they are both capable of delivering results they are also rather prone to goofing off. They also have a fairly high risk job as Viridian Dynamics prefers to use staff members for product testing over other kinds of "volunteers". Phil and Lem are both funny individually, but together they're on another level - there's great synergy between the pair.

The show is genuinely quite likable and often funny, it really deserves the time it needs to grow and develop its charaters properly. Each episode is stuffed to the gills with storylines and funny moments - there's just about the right balance there, keeping things funny and pacey without being overwhelming or forced. It's on par with 30 Rock or Chuck in the comedy stakes and benefits greatly from experienced comedy actors (Portia in particular is great, her time on Arrested Development and Ally McBeal shows through here). Ted's tendency to talk to the camera instead of using voice overs is a little unusual and a tad jarring initially, but you get used to it quickly enough and it does deliver some real corking gags at times.

Better Off Ted is up to it's eighth episode right now and the remaining ones from the first season are being delivered until the 28th of July so there's a lot to watch and catch up on. Fortunately each episode is around twenty minutes to half an hour long. This means it's light enough to sit back and watch a few of at once, and you should seriously consider giving this show a try. Because it's original, fresh and most importantly good enough to deserve support and viewership.






Viridian Dynamics on Presidents:


Life. Better.


Genetic Improvement (Check out the list of side effects!):

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It's no secret that I care very little about Ricky Gervais's earlier creation The Office, as I found Gervais's performance as David Brent completely unwatchable. I know and understand many people found it hilarious and a spooky parody of "the office boss", but I found it as tolerable and puking inducing as watching a snail being crushed by a shoe in slow motion. Backwards. While Aria on G String plays. Mixed with the Cheeky Song. Backwards.

I know it was Gervais who made the show so utterly intolerable for me, because Steve Carrell on the US version of The Office doesn't elicit the same bodily response from me. Instead of wanting to pull out a hammer and cave in my own skull while watching I actually have an enjoyable experience with laughing and genuine empathy for Michael Scott (Carrell).

So there was a genuine level of wariness when I first heard about about Extras from friends and family, as it was mostly coming from people who admitted they loved The Office (UK) - most of them still haven't seen the superior US version, philistines! As such I missed out on watching the first season when it aired on the BBC. Not even the mention that HBO was involved in the production made me come out of my shell and take a peek.

But then I saw the first series available for purchase at a ridiculously low price - I can't recall exactly how much, but my mind is telling me it was around three quid. So I decided to give it a go, I'd sat through the experience of H2O in the cinema and that cost more. I'd also seen Gervais's stand up live and that was very good. So how bad could Extras be? Crappy lightning doesn't strike twice, it's too runny.

The short answer is not bad at all, not even in the slightest. Gervais's character Andy Milman is a far more likable and sympathetic individual who manages to be flawed without being an inhuman caricature of a cardboard goblin. He feels quite genuine in his struggle to 'make it' and be recognised as an actor. But more importantly here Gervais is supported by some fantastic actors who are willing to throw themselves into the project. Ashley Jensen plays Maggie Jacobs, a fellow extra like Andy who's also searching to 'make it' or make it with mister right, and she's a lovely character indeed. It's almost heartbreaking to follow her struggle throughout the series, but she remains sweet and funny throughout.

Then there's Stephen Merchant as Andy's rather incompetent agent Darren and Shaun Williamson as Barry "off Eastenders" aka himself. Shaun in particular is a great sport in this, more than willing to send up his career as he shuffles around like a man who's been beaten into submission. And Shaun Pye as Greg, Andy's nemesis, a fellow extra who's talents are recognised and enjoys a meteoric rise while Andy wallows in mediocrity.

But the real star turns are the ones performed by the guest stars each week. Many famous Hollywood and British actors take part in this show, playing often hideously inaccurate and offensive caricatures or stereotypes of themselves with a passion and sense of irony which shows that they're more than willing to send up themselves and famous actors in general. In the first series we have the likes of Ben Stiller, Ross Kemp (who's brilliant as a pretend hard man), Samuel L. Jackson and the brilliant Patrick Stewart (Who's write a script about a man with the ability to change the world with his mind. But just uses it to make women's clothes fall off like a dirty old man. The second series brings us; Orlando Bloom, Keith Chegwin, David Bowie, a fantastic Daniel Radcliffe (as a pervy teenage version of himself), Sir Ian McKellen and Jonathan Ross. While the finale/special brings a host of actors including Clive Owen, George Michael, Gordon Ramsay, David Tennant, Hale & Pace and more besides. While it's no surprise that so many actors are willing to get involved with one of Merchant and Gervais's projects, it's refreshing how willing they are to lampoon themselves on screen.

Extras is a great piece, not just because of the outlandish performances from all the celebrities involved (big or small), but also because of the humanity in the show. Extras are an essential piece of television, they plod along in the background fleshing a scene out, bringing realism to shows, all the time hoping that they might get recognised or even just get a line. And Gervais knows about this business, his experiences in it bring a weight and emotional edge to the show which just isn't present in The Office. This really is a show which tries to celebrate the struggle to become famous and then demonstrates how meaningless it is when you succeed.

Andy's course across the series, culminating in the ultimate humiliation/last ditch remember me experience - the celebrity reality show - is a chilling example of what happens to most people involved in the industry; the machine ignores them until they show ability for making money, then it sucks them in, chews them up and spits them back out. Left with a taste of what was like for a brief moment to be noticed. Andy's speech on Celebrity Big Brother is a powerful one and a great way to close out the entire series.

Extras is a genuine piece of telly culture; a sit-com which manages to be both funny and thought provoking simultaneously. It's something which holds up to repeated viewings and also has something meaningful to say to those watching and the industry itself. Of course; if anyone is listening is another matter entirely, and if Extras is right...

No-one is listening and no-one cares.
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Carnivale is an unusual beast in the world of television; airing between 2003 and 2005 and set in the American dust bowl during the great depression era but the events of that time are only lightly touched upon. Instead the show focuses on a travelling circus, a priest and a supernatural struggle between good and evil. Originally the show was planned to run for six seasons, with each "pair" of seasons telling a tale in the trilogy and while cancellation resulted in just the one full story being told. This story is still an absolute dooz and warrants attention.

Carinvale is a deeply distinctive show; every aspect, from it's look all the way to it's music speaks as an unusual and striking piece of work. The show tells a series of self contained stories in each episode combined with and over-reaching arc told between two separate and distinct plot lines. The first of which deals with the carnivale itself and the one of the lead character Ben's (Nick Stahl) experiences with the travelling folk, the second deals with a deeply religious man - Brother Justin Crowe, who is played with a high level of competency and skill by Clancy Brown.

Over the course of the two seasons we come to know more about Ben and the people he joins and starts travelling with in the carnivale; there is Samson (Michael J. Anderson ), the diminutive ringleader and nominal head of the troupe. But he answers to the Management, a mysterious individual who lives entirely inside a caravan and may or may not exist - many suspect Samson created Management as a fiction and in truth he is the management. There's the snake charmer Ruthie (Adrienne Barbeau), Tim DeKay is Jonesy the co-manager, Patrick Bauchau is Professor Lodz - blind mentalist of great ability and then there is the catatonic seeress Apolloina and her daughter Sofie (Clea DuVall) who reads and interprets for her - but there are also a host of other characters involved in the carnivale, both as stars and as reoccurring guest stars.

The cast in Brother Crowe's story is smaller, mostly centered around himself, his sister Iris (Amy Madigan), a second priest Reverand Normand Balthas (Ralph Waite), Eleanor McGill (K Callan) and Tommy Dolan (Robert Knepper) a local radio. We learn much of his life, his gradual discovery of the power inside him and his acceptance of his position. Clancy gives an exceptional performance as Brother Crowe, avoiding many of the stereotypical aspects his character could have shown and instead giving us a magnetic and interesting man who draws the viewer in and carries them along for the ride.

The visuals of the show are as stunning, if not more so, than the plot and the authenticity of the series. Carnivale is a show which looks the part, you can almost taste the ever present dust and dryness which cloys everything in some scenes. The costumes are great, the sets are just stunning and everything feels very real. Apart from the strong supernatural bent to the show this is something which paints a very real picture of the 1930s Dust Bowl existence.

There's a great deal of depth to the show; much of the mythology in the show is quite profound and subtle at times. It's not entirely clear as to who stands for what and you only find out as time progresses over the two seasons. Gradually the meta-plot moves forward and the show brings events to a head in it's final few episodes. Resulting in a satisfying collision of plot lines. The show is also very authentic outside of it's supernatual areas, and has been praised for this authenticity by experts. In some ways it is a distant kin to Deadwood, there are parallels which can be drawn between the two shows - especially in the attention to detail and authentic nature of the shows.

Now there is one large warning which has to be delivered when talking about Carnivale and I touched on it earlier, the cancellation of the show. Because this project was conceived and designed as a long term story, there will be certain threads left hanging at the end of the second season and never resolved. You'll just have to steel yourself against the mysteries and accept that not everything is explained. In truth the cancellation is a shame, because while Carnivale does have it's flaws it also has a very unique and gripping vision. There is also some hope it will be finished in some form as Daniel Knauf has not yet given up trying. Unfortunately HBO still own the rights to the show and are refusing to do anything with them, and considering the climate of the media currently, they are unlikely to do so.

This warning aside, Carinvale is still a piece which is worth watching thanks to it's unusual style and unique vision.


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For the immediate and foreseeable future I'm going to use Wednesdays to revive a series which I started a long while back and then left to languish. The "Why You Should Watch" series, where I take an in depth look at a TV series and try to highlight the appeal of the show. I almost called this "101 Shows You Should Watch Before You Die" in homage to the 1001 series of books, but I realised I'd be committing myself to nearly two years of this then and that seemed a tad unwise.

This week it's the turn of NBC's comedy beau - 30 Rock.



Created by Saturday Night Live alumni and Sarah Palin impersonator Tina Fey, 30 Rock is in it's third season at the time of writing. The title of the show refers to 30 Rockafella Plaza, the location of the GE building which houses NBC Studios and the show itself is a single camera show based around a fictional comedy sketch show called "The Girlie Show". Following the arrival of new network executive Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) the show is relabeled "TGS with Tracy Jordan" despite show runner/head writer Liz Lemon's (Tina Fey) objections after Jack decides to include the somewhat deranged movie star Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) in an attempt to appeal to a wider audience.

The show contains an ensemble cast of ten members; alongside Liz and Jack we also have Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) a deeply insecure but talented woman who stars in TGS; Pete Hornberger (Scott Adsit) producer of the show and Liz's closest friend; writer, inappropriate hat wearer and general slob Frank Rossitano (Judah Friedlander); Cerie Xerox (Katrina Bowden), Liz's assistant and wearer of inappropriately hot outfits; James "Toofer" Spurlock (Keith Powell), a Harvard graduate writer; Josh Girard (Lonny Ross) TGS co-star, writer and impressionist; and NBC Page Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer).

Also of note are Grizz Chapman and Kevin Brown who play Grizz and Dot Com, members of Tracy's entourage, bodyguards and general common sense reminders for the star and Jack's PA Johnathan (Maulik Pancholy) who slavishly works for the man and handles many of his problems.

The series mostly focuses around the interaction between Liz and Jack, who often butt heads over conceptual changes in the show and the various problems raised by the writing team and the stars of TGS. Especially Jenna - who is something of an attention seeking diva - and Tracy - who is just plain loco. But 30 Rock is a show which also evolves over time, relationships between characters change and grow. Tracy takes Kenneth under his wing, Jack and Liz gradually become friends and Frank becomes a decent human being and stops ragging on Toofer - wait, no he doesn't.

Performances from the cast are fantastic right across the board; Tina is great as the hapless and insecure Liz Lemon - providing a real smart, sexy, funny combination, while Alec Baldwin gives one of the best performances of his career as Jack. Kenneth (Jack) is another stand out character, his combination of niceness, naivety and country charm make him the perfect combination to play off Tracy Jordan's intense energy, Scott Adsit's turn as Pete is great - he provides a lot of the exposition and straight man material (which in some ways is a shame as he's also a great comic) and Frank is just plain wickedly funny.

30 Rock is one of the finest sitcoms on television right now alongside The Office and How I Met Your Mother. It's great light entertainment which both lampoons and homages the entertainment industry. Tina's experiences on Saturday Night Live translate well as do the skills she gained from her time there; in 30 Rock she's created an exceptional comedy show with a unique voice.

Notable episodes:

"Cleveland" - Tracy discovers that the "Black Crusaders" are after him, a clandestine organisation with a long reach, initially sparked by a magazine article which stated that Bill Cosby hated Tracy. He decides to go on the run to Cleveland to survive. It's a great episode where Tracy's insane notions are played up to the fullest and as such it delivers a lot of laughs.

"SeinfeldVision" - the premiere of the second season; remains one of the stand out episodes of the show. Jack hits on the idea of using digitally edited footage from Seinfeld into his advertising campaigns and programs. In particular for his pet show MILF Island - a Survivor style voting reality game with contestants who are hot mothers (or MILFs). Unfortunately for Jack Jerry sees this campaign and is not to pleased with it, and Jerry is a powerful man. The results of this confrontation create one of the more subtle running jokes in the series - and one of the less subtle ones.


If you enjoy 30 Rock you should also consider trying The Office (USA), Seinfeld, Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm and How I Met Your Mother.

Season One is available on DVD in Regions 1, 2, 4 and 5, Season Two is already out in R1 & R4 and will be released for R2 on the 25th of May in Region 2.

Official Site for 30 Rock
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Starring:
Jason Bateman as Michael Bluth
Jeffrey Tambor as George Bluth Sr. / Oscar Bluth
Tony Hale as Byron "Buster" Bluth
Alia Shawkat as Mae "Maeby" Fünke
Michael Cera as George Michael Bluth
Portia de Rossi as Lindsay Bluth Fünke
David Cross as Tobias Fünke
Jessica Walter as Lucille Bluth
Will Arnett as George "Gob" Bluth II (Pronounced Jobe)
and Ron Howard as the Narrator


Now honestly I'm someone who prefers British Comedy above all other forms but there are quite a few American comedy shows that I will put my hand up and admit that I love: How I Met You Mother, That 70s Show, Friends, Seinfeld, Police Squad, My Name is Earl, The Office, Scrubs, Curb your Enthusiasm and 30 Rock but one of them stands above all the rest as the undisputed king and queen of American comedy and that's Fox's red-headed stepchild Arrested Development. A show that is so badly treated by Fox that it doesn't even have it's own official site anymore, we have shows that ended in the 1990s that still have well maintained websites but Arrested Development really is something that Fox just seem to want to sweep under the carpet and ignore.

Arrested Development is the story of a wealthy family who lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together. It ran for a total of three seasons, with fifty three episodes and it stars Jason Bateman (Hancock, Smokin' Aces, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) as Michael Bluth, the middle son of the Bluth family - a wealthy family that has made their fortune in property development. Michael is one of four children, his older brother is George Oscar Bluth/God (Will Arnett, Blades of Glory, 30 Rock, Rattatouille) an illusionist/magician and the founding member of the Magicians Alliance. His twin sister, Lindsay Bluth Fünke (Portia De Rossi, Nip/Tuck, Ally McBeal) is an activist, fund raiser and has one daughter with her husband Doctor Tobias Fünke (David Cross; The Colbert Report, Futurama, Mr Show with Bob and David). Michael's youngest brother Byron 'Buster' Bluth (Tony Hale) is best described as a helpless mother's boy, coddled by their overbearing and unpleasant mother, the undisputed matriach of the family Lucielle Bluth (Jessica Walter, 90210). The family is headed up by George Bluth (Jeffery Tambor; Hellboy II, Muppets Wizard of Oz, The Larry Sander's Show) and Michael has had one son, George Michael (Michael Cera; Superbad, ) with his now sadly desceased wife.


The family has everything they could ever want, they live a luxurious lifestyle and are used to having enough money to be able to do anything. But during the first episode of the show George Bluth Sr. is arrested for defrauding investors and spending the company's money for 'personal matters'. It is this event which starts the series and sends the family spiralling off into a world where they're struggling and unable to keep up the lifestyle they held previously.

As just about every member of the family is unpleasant, stupid, greedy and generally incompetent so the task of keeping the family together and out of trouble falls to the good son - Michael - a task that might not sound too difficult but it turns out to be just about impossible. Gob is blackballed from his own Magician's Alliance ("Aaahah") when the news reveals the secrets of his Aztec tomb (where he attempted to hide his father) and is unable to get any gigs, Tobias loses his medical licence after performing CPR on a sleeping man and decides to become an actor instead, Lindsay is simply lazy and uninterested in helping, Lucielle is a raging alcoholic at best and a manipulative, domineering witch at worst and poor Buster is so incapable of functioning in the real world that he can't even tell the difference between the sea and land on a map.

Arrested Development is very much a British show in style; that is, it's about a bunch of very unpleasant people doing unpleasant things to themselves and others. The cast has only two genuinely 'nice guys' in it; one of whom is the constantly put upon Michael and the other is his son George Michael (who spends most of his time struggling with an unwanted and illegal crush on his cousin Maeby). But while the majority of these people are spoiled, wretched and nasty they are all very likable in their own ways.


Arrested Development is presented in a subtle mocumentary style, the legendary Ron Howard narrates the story each episode and provides the thrust of events, snide comments and recaps/reminders. He provides a very dry and pleasant narration that feels natural and complements the pseudo-documentary nature of the show. Much like the Office, the show doesn't overplay it's documentary nature, in truth it apart from the narration it's more subtle as it doesn't use talking head interviews or fourth wall direct glances at the camera. For the most part the characters act as if the cameras are not filming them.

Performances from the ensemble cast are superb across the board and if is very difficult to single any particular actors out for praise, but David Cross and Will Arnett in particular are hilarious as Tobias and Gob. Tobias's lines are particularly impressive as a lot of them are improvised by Cross himself, and still the man is consistently funny. So funny that he was bumped up from his original slated position as a guest star into a full blown cast member, an excellent decision - without it we would never have had the 'Blue myself' and 'Analysis/Therapist' moments.


Plotting wise Arrested Development is a little unusual for a sitcom, it has a very solid sense of continuity that builds upon itself. Unlike traditional sitcoms that return everything to normal by the end of the episode and tend to ignore developments or not refer to them again, Arrested Development is filled with a continuing story that progresses forwards and changes the situation the characters are in, it is worth nothing that the characters themselves rarely learn from their mistakes (part of the Arrested Development theme suggested by the show's title) and remain as selfish and stupid as always but the storyline provides another layer of comedy. Callbacks and foreshadowing of events abound throughout the show, with many moments that mirror or build on previous jokes or catchphrases, the foreshadowing in particular is exceptionally intelligent in it's structure. There are jokes that are specifically designed for the viewer to only get on repeat watching, I myself have now watched the entire thing four times and the last watching still revealed jokes I'd missed the previous times.

I have no hesitation in calling Arrested Development the best comedy show I've watched, ever. And in fact that's exactly what I did call it when I went through my top 50 shows last year. It's a show so good that even just writing about it makes me want to go and watch it all over again, something I have to physically restrain myself from doing because I have enough to watch and I've already seen it once this year. In essence you should watch Arrested Development if you happen to like television shows, yeah that's it - if you watch TV you should watch this, it's that damn good, it's 'The Wire' of comedy shows.

You must watch this before you die, or you haven't lived.



Before we go here is the very short and sweet introduction/credits that open each episode:


If you follow from this video you'll be able to find dozens and dozens of hilarious clips, but they don't compare to watching the show in full. It is rare that you find such a layered and clever comedy show as this one. You should watch it before the movie comes out.

1) It's worth noting that the imdb has Arrested Development at a 9.7/10, a score I've only ever seen matched by The Wire on that site.
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With the upcoming movie in post-production I've decided this week to write about a show which I'm very fond of; Dead Like Me.


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