Charlie Sheen's media rants are the stuff of poetry. Whether the high priest Vatican assassin warlock is talking about his goddesses, explaining the inner-workings of his brain or lampooning his employers, he is undeniably entertaining.
"Spartacus" is a new, awesome take on pornography. I suppose it could be categorized as a historical time-period fetish series -- nothing gets me going like the Third Servile War! There is some plot, a feature that some thought was forever lost in the golden age of the '70s, but there is not so much that it distracts from the sex scenes and general nudity. "Spartacus" operates under several guidelines.
Just as some shows overstay their welcome, others are cut down in their prime. Here are some shows that should not have been canceled: "Pushing Daisies" was a detective fairy-tale comedy in which a piemaker can mysteriously bring the dead, be they fruit or people, back to life with one touch and with the second touch reverse the effect.
All good TV shows must come to an end lest they become tiresome and repetitive. Series that can last as long as say, "Seinfeld," are very few and of a very specific breed.
"Dexter" is an amazing show. It's engaging, interesting, well shot, and Michael C. Hall is perfect as the title character, Dexter Morgan. There is, however, one flaw that has irritated me endlessly throughout the series: Debra Morgan doesn't know how to curse and it is the worst thing that ever happened, ever. Her character thinks that she can string together any of George Carlin's seven dirty words and use them in any situation, regardless of what grammatical function they are fulfilling! In the wise words of Walter Sobchak, "this is not 'Nam, there are rules." If you make a grammatical error, you might sound slightly uneducated. But, if don't curse correctly, you sound like a goddamn idiot! As much as I want to, I can't give any examples of Deb's cursing here, but if you watch the show you should know what I mean. Beyond her ineptitude in the field of cursing, Deb might be the most selfish character in the show, even more so than Dexter. When confronted with any situation, Deb twists it until it becomes about her.
In the spirit of the New Year I have decided to give some shows a chance that I normally wouldn't consider watching.
NBC's "30 Rock" and "Community" returned last week to continue their 6th and 2nd seasons, respectively (my Thursdays just got a lot better). Both shows returned in prime form. If you don't already know, "30 Rock," starring Tina Fey (maybe the only funny woman on television), is among the best comedy shows around. Last week's episode, "Mrs. Donaghy," focused on marriage, portraying it as a cutthroat game of one-upmanship. A misunderstanding caused by Liz's bride-like attire and the ceremony being held in French, causes Jack, who was supposed to have married Avery (Elizabeth Banks, the closest you'll get to a second funny woman on television, and in the same show!) to marry Liz. Liz, with peer pressure from her TGS (originally called The Girlie Show) team, leverages the signing of divorce papers in order to get a better budget and regain perks lost from Kabletown's (*cough* Comcast) acquisition of NBC. Meanwhile in plot B, budget cuts force Jenna and Danny to share the same dressing room, turning them into a bickering married couple with Kenneth as their "child." Tracy Jordan is MIA for most of the episode because he is off hosting the international pornography awards.
This past fall was an especially good season in television. We were introduced to some great new shows, namely Boardwalk Empire, Louie, and The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret. If you didn't catch these shows, then do yourself a favor and find some time to watch them.
