Sunday, May 15, 2011

Spring Show(er)s

*The Royal Wedding - I only mention this to go along with the teacup to my left. I was kind of forced to watch this when showing off my HDTV to someone visiting. "Oooh...look at the church and those hats!" I preferred the Daily Show's version of the event.

*Slings & Arrows - I watched this show a while back, but began re-watching it recently while a relative was in town. This Canadian show about a Shakespearean theater company (based on the Stratford Festival) take a cue from the master and incorporates a nice mix of comedy, drama, tragedy, romance, and madness. Who says there's nothing good on Netflix Instant?

*Dexter Season 4 - As I explained last time, it's hard to explain why I am still watching this show. The subplots are increasingly hard to put up with - the one with LaGuerta and Batista made me want to fast forward. My only hope for the show is that they do a final season where Dexter kills all his co-workers.

*SNL - With the release of Bridesmaids and Will Ferrell's new movie and cameo on the Office, it seems like these folks and the alums of the show are everywhere lately. I heard Tina Fey was back on as Sarah Palin, so I decided to check it out, and can confirm the bit is worth watching. I thought Obama's speech at the Correspondent's dinner (and Trump's uncomfortable response) was worth watching, more so than Seth Meyers' bit.

*Daily Show and Colbert Report - Some weeks, the news is so depressing and crazy that you yearn for Stewart and Colbert to make you laugh. Osama bin Laden's death certainly struck me as that kind of week, but Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert kinda disappointed me. Maybe it's a generational thing. That said, the Daily Show redeemed themselves this week with their coverage of Rapgate 2011. And, I love the segments lately about Stephen Colbert's super PAC (here, here, and here) . It gives me some sliver of hope that something interesting and creative could come out of Citizens United, however misguided that sounds.

*16 & Pregnant - Speaking of misguided, this season of pregger youth on MTV feel more formulaic than the past ones: teen mother thinks she will beat the odds, teen father disappears/doesn't help enough/fights with grandparents, and ending with the realization that it's hard having a kid. Eh.

*Mind Over Money and Fat: What No One is Telling You - Two PBS documentaries also about our inability to rationally make decisions, and how economics and the medical/health fields, respectfully, fail to recognize the irrationality. Kinda depressing on both fronts that we'll ever get it right.

*The Office and Parks & Recreation - Michael Scott (Steve Carrell) left The Office, but I have to say that Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) replaced him a while ago as funniest boss on TV.