• Breaking The Fourth Wall: TV Snobbery

      A post about by yatesy on April 28th, '08

      1 Comment

    • For the first time in many years, the situation comedy, or, the “sitcom”, is getting smarter. Yes, According To Jim is still on (I am not sure what pact with the devil Jim Belushi signed by it must be some good stuff), but shows Like The New Adventures Of Old Christine, 30 Rock and yes, even Family Guy are making us laugh while also not pandering to what some would call “the lowest common denominator”. The interesting thing tho, is that there is starting to become a weird phenomenon involving TV snobs and certain networks.

      Back in the early 90’s, if you watched 60 Minutes and Murder, She Wrote on Sunday nites, you were considered intelligent (or at least an intelligent television watcher). If you watched Married..With Children and any of the other fledgling Fox Sunday nite fare, you were considered not so smart and perhaps even lowbrow. Never would these viewers cross paths. The same sort of thing is happening today between viewers of CBS and NBC sitcoms.

      NBC has built a great lineup of smart comedies: Earl (believe it), The Office, 30 Rock and even Scrubs (which is making a network change to ABC for the fall). No laugh tracks, off the wall situations, and of course, low ratings, make for perfect storm of TV snobbery. Never would an NBC sitcom viewer sink to the low levels of watching the Monday nite lineup up Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Two and A Half Men and The New Adventures of Old Christine. This, of course, is not only hilarious, but also ridiculous and completely off the mark.

      CBS’s Big Bang Theory is a new Chuck Lorre (Dharma and Greg, Two and A Half Men) sitcom about 4 physics nerds. It references physics (duh), and pretty much every nerdly thing known to man while balancing the normal sitcommy things one would expect to see with 4 guys and a hot girl (who, funnily enough, isn’t a nerd, but a hilariously good sport). How I Met Your Mother is a story told in flashback from the fairly distant future about exactly what the title says. All at once it can be touching, raunchy, hilarious and funny as hell. That, my friends, is a mark of a good show.

      Two and A Half Men is where people get an attitude. Jon Cryer is a divorced weekend dad who lives with his brother Charlie Sheen, who, for lack of a better word, is a manwhore. There are a lot of sex jokes, a lot of naïve kid comments, but no hugging moments and no one really ever learns. It could, perhaps, be considered a modern day farce. For some reason or another, the high brow NBC watcher uses this show as a mark of lowbrow, too cool for school comedy. Perhaps they think it’s just full of dick jokes and toilet humor. While it definitely is, the layers are more complex and hilarious.

      Is it the hipster complex that keeps people from checking out highly rated shows? If the masses like it then it has to be crap? Perhaps. Two and A Half Men kill in the ratings. But it also has a great cast (with special props to my favorite TV actress Holland Taylor, who made me laugh when I was six years old as the boss on Bosom Buddies and continues to steal every scene here as well) and runs with the idea that there are no grownups living that house. Do CBS viewers find themselves intimidated by the lack of laugh tracks and all of the fourth wall breaking? Perhaps.

      Each network has some great shows that people might be missing because of preconceived notions as to what is smarter, or what they think makes them smarter by watching. Of course, shows like According to Jim are vomitous, but there are shows like the ones I have mentioned above as well as Samantha Who and Miss Guided on ABC that are quirky, silly and fun to watch that break out of the conventional sitcom script setups.

      If people don’t get out of the mindset of what is hipper, then we will end up with many more cancelled shows like Arrested Development that win awards and accolades and end up as season dvd sets because the ratings were awful.

      We want to hear what you've got to say! So leave a comment…

    • Breaking The Fourth Wall: In Memory of John Marzano

      A post about by yatesy on April 21st, '08

      2 Comments

    • “He understood that Philly fans embrace hardworking athletes. Whether they win or lose, it is always the 100% effort that the fans were looking for.”

      In the world of local television sports reporting, the faces do not stay the same from year to year. Reporters, much like radio disc jockeys, bounce around from city to city, plastering on their fake smile and showing some kind of enthusiasm that almost always feels somewhat plastic. Rarely do reporters or commentators show the zeal and love of the local teams that homegrown fans proudly display every day of the week, and especially on game day. However, when a local, homegrown guy gets a chance to speak to the masses, it makes the fans feel like just as much love of the local teams is in the studio.

      John Marzano was a local guy from South Philly who was a star catcher in high school, a silver medal winner in 1984 for Team USA and a catcher for the Red Sox, Mariners and Rangers. He was always proud of being from Philly, and talked about it wherever he went. Philadelphia sports fans are forever being demonized by the media in other cities as rude, bloodlusting thugs.

      John grew up in a hardworking middle class neighborhood and knew it wasn’t bloodlust, it was passion. Philadelphia is a working class city with 4 major sports teams. He understood that Philly fans embrace hardworking athletes. Whether they win or lose, it is always the 100% effort that the fans were looking for. It is, for all intents and purposes, the key to the hearts of Philadelphians everywhere.

      In his reports and commentating on Comcast Sportsnet, he was always cheering the teams on, rooting for everyone to give it their all for the city. He laughed and goofed around, cracking up his coworkers on live television with his enthusiasm and general silliness, popping into live shots with his wide smile while someone was giving a serious report, or whipping up an already rabid Flyers playoff crowd just the other day during the Flyers Pre-Game show on Comcast. He always seemed like he was born to be in front of the camera, a natural born ham that everyone loved having around.

      So, you can call him a Fan’s Fan, you could call him an Ambassador Of The City, go ahead and give it a name. But with his untimely death yesterday at his home in South Philly, call it what it is: a tragic loss for his family, his friends, his coworkers, the teams he loved and the city who saw a bit of themselves in him every time he popped up on television. A true fan and city representative and we were lucky to enjoy him while here was here. Somewhere, I am sure, he has got to be cheering us all on.

      We want to hear what you've got to say! So leave a comment…

    • Breaking The Fourth Wall: Almost 30 Years In Standup

      A post about by yatesy on April 7th, '08

      No Comments

    • I DVR’d a great little documentary the other day called “When Stand Up Stood Out”. It chronicled the Boston Stand Up Comedy scene in the first half of the 1980’s. I never realized all the talent that was bubbling there, and I have to say that most of the guys that made it are still around: Lenny Clarke, Denis Leary, Stephen Wright and a ton more.

      There was a point in the documentary where a talent scout from The Tonite Show with Johnny Carson came out to Boston to scout colleges with his kid, and he decided to have an audition at a local standup place. Stephen Wright was selected to come on out and do The Tonite Show, igniting pride and jealousy in all of his fellow comedians. So, it got me thinking about television in the last almost 30 years.

      Some of you out there have grown up with cable tv and Comedy Central always being there. But years ago, before fifteen thousand channels, before stand up show after stand up show, if you were a comedian; the place to be was The Tonite Show with Johnny Carson. The only other outlet was to be picked by Bob Hope for one of his Young Comedians specials. As a little kid, I loved those specials. A ton of people like Gary Shandling, Jerry Seinfeld and lots of others who blew up in the following years got their start because of Bob.

      If you wanted to see Stand Up Comedy back in the day, you had to go to a comedy club. They were a dime a dozen back in the 1980’s, much like disco’s were everywhere in the 70’s and Starbucks is everywhere now. The 3 (Fox did not exist) major networks, CBS, ABC & NBC would occasionally pick one of these comedians and put them on a sitcom and that was as far as it went. If you were lucky, like super lucky, you could maybe do some movies and hope it’s not as a bit player.

      Contrast that to today. If you happen to somehow get noticed in the internet (via YouTube, MySpace, or wherever) & cable, the possibilities are endless. Of course, when the door opens so much wider, it has a dual effect: while people who are really talented and funny might be able to make get noticed in ways that would not have happened back in the day, it also lets into the public consciousness people who are, for lack of a better word, hacks.

      Stand Up Comedy is still a very hard thing to break into and be good at. Even professionals still work on it. Catch Jerry Seinfeld’s documentary “Comedian” to see him try and work on his act. Interesting stuff. However, it’s not like it used to be, and the thrill of seeing a new young comedian walk thru the curtains on The Tonite Show can be put in that box with Drive In Movies, Saturday Morning Cartoons, and 8 Track Tapes. All we have to look forward to now is the blazing future ahead of us.

      Hopefully, it’ll make us laugh.

      We want to hear what you've got to say! So leave a comment…

    • Breaking The Fourth Wall: How Fuse Has Saved Music Television

      A post about by yatesy on March 29th, '08

      No Comments

    • I am old enough to remember when MTV played videos almost all the time. The only other show they had was Remote Control and an occasional sketch comedy show, or something of that nature. My friends and I would make watching Headbanger’s Ball, hosted by Adam Curry then, who was later replaced by Rikki Rachtman, a weekly event. We would even tape as many videos as we could and rewatch them during the week and any time we were bored. As time went on, MTV kept adding more and more “regular” shows that had nothing to do with music until it ended up what it is today….slightly music themed. They really had no competition and the idea of music videos and music themed television went away until a new channel popped up…Fuse.

      Fuse has been around for quite a few years now, but is now only starting to gain a larger audience by more cable systems ageing to carry the channel. What makes it special? It not only plays videos, but music shows. Things like “Talking Metal”, which was a really popular metal podcast that was picked up by Fuse. Bands and bandmembers come in and talk not only about their newest release or tour but inspirations and tell stories about anything from memorable moments to influences growing up with hosts that are serious fans. It literally oozes music.

      This show is a great example of why Fuse is blowing up. It remembers exactly what Music Television is: a combination of videos, live performances, interviews, countdowns, and anything else having directly to do with music. MTV started curving away from that sort of thing when The Real World became a ratings hit and money started rolling in. Instead of seeing how they could connect reality TV (which was almost brand new at the time) with music, it seemed like the almighty dollar became the goal instead of staying true to what worked in the first place. On one hand, I understand that it is a business and having money and making a profit are good things and allow people jobs, but on the other, being true to what got you to the place you are at, well, to me at least, seems like a great ideal to have.

      So, here’s to Fuse; to the programmers, to the creators, to the viewers for keeping it on the air, to the people behind he scenes! While I might not like every video you show, or every little special or music themed whatever, it’s nice to know that someone is out there showing it, giving some kid out there the chance to connect with a band he has only seen online, or reminding a grownup why they love music in the first place. Rock on!

      We want to hear what you've got to say! So leave a comment…

    • Breaking The Fourth Wall: Here Come The Nerds

      A post about by yatesy on March 22nd, '08

      No Comments

    • The nerds are eclipsing the image of the big strong burley man being the hero of your TV show. Not just the nerds, but the geeks, the misfits, the people that were also the comic sidekick or peripheral character that popped up when needed and then floated away into the background. A good example of that would be Marshall from Alias. Marshall was the requisite geeky computer/gadget guy. Once n awhile he would get a major-ish storyline but usually just popped up, did his shtick, provided the comic relief and then left.

      Misfit-types were always fun to watch, going way back to Bob Denver playing beatnik Maynard G. Krebbs on The Many Loves Of Dobie Gillis. He walked to the beat of not only his own drummer, but by the song of his own band. He also stole the show. Fast forward to now, and we get shows like Scrubs, where Sarah Chalke plays Elliot, a super nerd trying to figure out her life and Zack Braff, who is such a geek he lives half the time in his head.

      The Big Bang Theory takes nerds on TV and exposes them for the world to see: obsessed with the things they find enjoyable, no matter how ridiculous, and then turns the mirror around so we might see some of that nerdery in ourselves. Having passions that you share with your friends is not unusual, sometimes it is sports, movies, cars, cooking or collecting things. The possibilities are endless. I also think there is a little bit of social geekiness in us that mirror the nerds in this show, albeit their awkwardness is magnified.

      You also see this in Chuck. Chuck is a big nerd and knows it. He loves all things nerdy: sci-fi, electronics, etc. He’s also socially kind of maladjusted but is a sweet guy at heart. When he finds out he is important to the government, he has to become the hero, which, if this was any other show, would have been Captain Awesome, his sister’s boyfriend. Captain Awesome is buff, blonde and a doctor. He also hasn’t got a clue about what Chuck is all about.

      The nerds, or, the anti-heroes, are popping up more and more. Recently, ABC premiered Miss Guided, which follows Judy Greer as her character returns to her high school as the guidance counselor. The orthodontia might have come off and she might have gotten contacts but on the inside she is still a geeky teenager.

      You root for her when she talks to the handsome Spanish teacher. You root for Johnny Galecki’s Leonard on Big Bang Theory, when he tries to woo Penny, the beautiful next-door neighbor. When Chuck has to save the world and still deliver his sister’s engagement ring to Captain Awesome, again-you root for him.

      Somewhere along the line, writers started pitching shows that had characters that were less one dimensional and more human. The fact that writers tend to lean more towards Leonard then Capt. Awesome might help, but it’s always nice to know that audiences will go for characters more human then hunky, and that in the end, sometimes the smarter person will make it in the end. And really, isn’t that what we always hope for in the end for ourselves?

      We want to hear what you've got to say! So leave a comment…