July 24, 2006

More of everything the same on TV. We've talked about crap tv lately, and how everything is the same. Look for the trend to continue -- NBC will have the longstanding SNL, but there will also be two meta-SNL shows as well, supposedly going behind-the-scenes, competing visions of Aaron Sorkin and Lorne himself. Apparently, there's even a war brewing.

Decisions, decisions -- do we want Sports Night does SNL (with all of the suckitude that Matthew Perry implies, or only half-an-hour with my beloved Tina? Eliot from thirtysomething, or the Best Baldwin (which may not be saying very much, but he does have a gift for comedy). (Probably, this idea has been done before, and better.)

posted by Capt. Renault 17 years ago
  • Aww, CRAP! I didn't even realize it'd be Tina against Amanda Peet! Fuck. Fuckity fuck fuck.
  • And just because I didn't have enough links already, here's another one, surprisingly good for a fan-site, which means it's probably lifted.
  • Why is it that I have this vague suspicion that neither will work, even if both are well written and clever?
  • Total number of people on these two shows who do not seem to be white: 2 -- Both male stand-up commedians. Maybe it is because I've been reading about white people so much for my phd exams, or it is because during the summer the campus is full of international students, but even as a white man I am getting sick and tired of seeing shows that only feature a token black character. Not only am I sick and tired of these cookie-cutter crappy shows (although in this case it looks like both shows do have fairly interesting casts) and shows that only happening in New York or LA (Even shows in Vegas or Miami are a welcome change) but I am also sick of seeing so many white people on tv. I mean just looking at the cast pages for the CSI shows, for 3 shows we have 2 black characters, no asians? Possibly one latino in Miami (I don't watch these shows, so if I'm wrong plese tell me.) I'm not calling for quotas or anything, but it seems like one of the signs that television is intellectually backrupt is that not only are all the shows all the same, but the people on the shows all look the same. I hope I didn't derail the thread here!
  • so, do we get to vote on which show gets produced?
  • I'd take another hour long Aaron Sorkin series (including Richard Schiff and Bradley Whitfield from the West Wing on board to tame Mathew Perry into something useable [as they previously did with Rob Lowe], and with Ed Asner and Amanda Peet thrown in for good measure) over a Lorne "Past Ready for Prime Time" Michaels attempt at a half-hour sitcom any day. Sorry about your crush on Tina, Captain, but she probably doesn't have the chops to pull off a decent sitcom, especially if it stars herself.
  • I think it's more than high time for a slick remake of The Prisoner.
  • I agree. Sorkin's writing often veers into self-congratulatory territory (which sometimes pisses me off), but on the whole, if he creates a series, odds are it's going to be good.
  • That was for RTD, of course.
  • The Prisoner is perfect. Talk for a remake is heresy. Be seeing you.
  • Hmm, perhaps the Capt. is unmutual.
  • Bring back Fastlane!
  • so, do we get to vote on which show gets produced? You could probably make a reality series out of that, roryk...
  • couldn't they just get sorkin to use fey's show as the basis for his script? making a meta-meta-snl show?
  • oh, and within this general theme, i recommend drop the dead donkey, the day today, and brass eye
  • Prisoner remake? That's umpossible!
  • NOOOOOOOoooooOOOOOoooOOOOooOOooOOoOOOooo! Wait -- Christopher Eccleston? Conflicted -- Must -- Reconcile -- Competing -- Loyalties -- *head asplodes*
  • Everything's been said in this thread. Time to close 'er down-- MonkeyFilter: television is intellectually backrupt I dunno about a remake of Prisoner, but if there were a season of re-run on the original, that would be Teh Catz' Schnitz!
  • BBC America showed em a couple a summers ago. Good stuff. Feature film? But then where would you get that snese of perpetual hoplenessness that was so integral?
  • I don't watch T.V. anymore, I just watch my dogs fight over toys.
  • This Fall on FOX: The "Nickdanger's Dogs Fiht Over Toys" Show! Thrill to the rawhide action!
  • So on this new rip-off of "The Dick Van Dyke Show", does Tina Fey play the sex-kitten Mary Tyler Moore part or the man-hungry cougar Rose Marie part? Mrrowwr.
  • Tina Fey goest where Norm Macdonald goest before. And since she brings a quver less laden with arrows, she shall quickly fall into the pit of Louis-Dreyfus.
  • I also vote for the Sorkin show, though I do love me some Tina Fey.
  • Though, that said, have you noticed how Sorkin's shows start to get a little stinky once one of the main male characters goes into therapy? I have nothing against going into therapy (it's often a good idea, in fact), but for some reason this just sucks all the energy out of the shows. If this new show succeeds, look for Perry's character to go into therapy in season two.
  • I think it's more than high time for a slick remake of The Prisoner. Thou speaketh hearasy! The original show is so perfect any remake would only be an insult.
  • It's blatantly obvious to anyone willing to do the math. Tina Fey's show will be half as good as the Sorkin one.
  • OK, if not a remake, than a Prisoner:TNG. Of course, they'd have to change the landscape from vaguely Welsh to vaguely Cuban...
  • They had The Prisoner: TNG of sorts with a comic book continuation I rather enjoyed. Devout "villagers" may not want to read it though. I need to get to Portmeiron one day.... I hope I didn't derail the thread here! Not at all, the thread had the title of "More of everything the same on TV" and that, depressingly, seems to be the case--in so many ways. I think there have been some good efforts at hour-long dramas in the past few years, but comedy, save Scrubs--which NBC is rather abusive to in scheduling--I haven't been moved by one for awhile.
  • I like Scrubs, too. Now that Arrested Development is off the air (*sniff*), it's the only sit-com type show that I watch. It's unusual in a lot of ways including that 1) it doesn't stink, 2) it has a fairly racially diverse cast of characters, and 3) it doesn't re-hash the tired old situation of frigid housewife, bumbling (borderline abusive) husband, and "wacky" family and neighbors.