4 posts tagged “the office”
What were your top 5 TV shows of 2006?
Easy peasy!
5. 24
24 lands the fifth place slot by default, because it has been so long since we have had fresh episodes. That said, this is a best list, so fifth best is still amazing, as is 24, which manages to dish up suspense, intrigue excitement and torture, without victimizing its audience. JJ Abrams should take notes, and bring them back to the Lost writers' room (since we can't see him getting David Fury, himself, to return from 24, but we digress...).
4. Heroes
We are so head-over-heels about Heroes (and Hiro), we're tempted to rank it higher, but it is still too new. So far though, we haven't been disappointed by a minute of it, and highly recommend you start watching. Now.
3. Veronica Mars
Our hearts were insisting we list Veronica Mars in our number 1 slot, because for some reason, we love it best of all. Our heads, however, overruled our hearts, and our heads control the typing fingers. Veronica Mars is still our won't-miss show way above and beyond all other (currently on-the-air) don't-miss-shows, but we have quibbles we hope to get into (in detail) when the new episodes start up, in January. Veronica Mars is still fresh, still exciting in its moral ambiguity, still sharp as a tack, but it's been missing by miles some of the finer emotional notes it used to be nail while blindfolded, fifty paces away. Rob Thomas, because we're rooting for you, we sentence you to watch 22 hours of our number 2 show, and 11 hours of our number 1 show, so you'll know what we're talking about. You'll thank us for it. So will your audience.
2. Battlestar Galactica
We can't even...our love for BSG is so huge. After our number one choice, it's the most realistic show on television -- since Buffy the Vampire Slayer bowed. What's that? You're scoffing at our claim that shows about Cylons and Vampires are steeped in realism? Who are you, Rob Thomas? Watch. Watch. Watch. Feel the pain. Feel the shame. Feel the burn. Feel Jamie Bambers arms--er...the emotions resonate within you. The only show that's liable to grab you harder is...
1. The Office
The Office is the little show that not only could, but did, does, and as far as we can tell, always will. It's so simple, and as an American make-over of a brilliant British original series, it's own brilliance was so unexpected. The characters don't have big jobs saving lives, or convicting murders. They don't have big hair. They don't even have big breasts. They're dowdy cube jockeys in a dowdy office park in dowdy Scranton, Pennsylvania. They're awful. They're wonderful. They're awfully wonderful, and they're ours -- our favorites, that is.
As you probably know, NBC will re-run the 1-hour long very special Christmas episode of The Office: A Benihana Christmas, on Thursday, December 21, 2006. Check your local listings for times/channels.
If you are already a fan, this episode is Must See! If you haven't yet become a fan, A Benihana Christmas is a great place to start. It's long enough to give you a real feel for the characters, who are just so very richly layered. One second, you'll decide a character deserves whatever s/he ends up getting, and the next second, his or her soft underbelly is made so plain, you'll want to jump in and help him/her make everything right, yet amidst all the angst, it is still incredibly funny.
We are extremely grateful for this second chance at A Benihana Christmas! It's like Christmas for us, four days early. One of the cable providers in the metro-Boston area had a big outage that began at about 8:10pm, last Thursday. We were recording the show on TiVo (to watch after the kids went to bed) and only learned about the cable outage in time to work around it, thanks to our daughter [ who She may have snapped at, unfairly assuming the child disturbed the TiVo, when the child totally did not; and don't worry princess, Santa will make up for the mean Mommy --Daddy ].
We have an old TiVo hooked up to a little TV in our bedroom. We don't have cable on that TV. We just transfer shows from the living room TV, when we want to watch in bed. It does get watchable (if a little snowy) reception on its own though (PBS and the major networks). Knowing this, He flew up the stairs, and set it to record the remainder of A Benihana Christmas.
Good thing. She waits all week long for The Office. While the theme song plays, she pretends she's riding the rails to Scranton, for her mini-retreat. [ No, they haven't found medication for that yet, and yes, if they did, She would just spit it out, anyhow, because She is incorrigible. --He ] If she were to miss an hour long special episode, she would be inconsolable.
Speaking of A Benihana Christmas...who do you think Michael called on the phone, anyhow? Thanks to the good people at Life In the Office, we now know. They have posted the promo for the January 4, 2007 episode, Back from Vacation, on YouTube, and on the Life In the Office website, too. We're embedding it here, as well, because we can.
SPOILER WARNING: This promo for Back from Vacation will spoil you with the answer to the burning question, "Just who did Michael call, anyhow?"
Enjoy!
You know how when you look at some couples, you see they're in this groove wherein one partner's strengths and weaknesses balance out/are balanced out by the other partner's strengths and weaknesses? That groove is not our groove, which goes a long way in explaining how we're so behind before we've even started. We have our good qualities--swear! We just can't remember where we've left them.
A few weeks ago, we posted an entry on what we'd be watching. Before we even defined our rankings or posted our schedule, the networks started rearranging their Fall line-ups (TV Guide's Matt Roush noted the schedule changes in the October 6 edition of Roush Dispatch). On top of it, this is the first season in our memories offering more than two or three series we try to watch regularly. We're feeling the burden of being behind, before we've even begun to post regular content, so today is catch-up day. "Catching up" for us means jumping in head first and moving forward.
SPOILER LEVEL:
This entry contains spoilers as to premise of the current seasons. There are no in-depth spoilers, but if you avoid spoilers and are behind in your viewing stop reading, now.
SCHEDULE CHANGE ALERT: On Monday, October 9, 2006, The CW moved Everybody Hates Chris, one of its few bona fide hits, out of that 7:00pm Eastern/6:00pm Central Sunday night ghetto. Read more in "MONDAYS".
FALL 2006, TV Schedule
MONDAYS:
8:00pm Eastern/7 Central: Everybody Hates Chris; The CW
When compared with typical sitcoms, Everybody Hates Chris is an OASIS--cute and funny, with a dash of nostalgia and a lot of heart. We can watch it with our children (after we've screened it for subject matter). We're not sitcom devotees, but the regular characters on EHC, particularly Chris, Julius and Greg, keep us coming back. Rochelle is often a hit with us ("What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?"), but sometimes, she's written/directed too broadly, which just isn't our thing. Tisha, Drew, and Caruso generally delight, because they, like the Chris and Greg characters, are neither precious nor precocious. The writers and directors present kids as plain old kids, and we believe that's the secret to this show's success.
This sophomore series has only begun to explore the characters established in the first season, so we're wondering why Whoopi Goldberg has been added to the cast, but whatever. We will seldom discuss EHC in depth, which is the only reason it's not highlighted (bold font on titles and air times) like our other favorites in this entry. It's just not that kind must-talk-about can't-miss show for us. If we've seen an episode before publishing, we will note our rating. Between (the late) UPN and The CW, this sitcom has been shuffled around the schedule three or four (or more) times in the past 12 months. We have no idea how or why The CW put one of UPN's few bona fide hits on Sundays at 7:00pm Eastern in the first place. But we're moving forward ourselves, so we'll raise an eyebrow and let them move forward, because welcome and applaud the latest move to Mondays at Eastern/7 Central. Now let it be, CW. Let it be. Episode 2:01, Everybody Hates Rejection: OASIS Episode 2:02, Everybody Hates the Class President: OASIS Episode 2:03, Everybody Hates Elections: OASIS 9:00pm Eastern/7 Central: Heroes; NBC For now, Heroes is on MIRAGE WATCH, but only because it is a brand new series and we've been burnt too many times (we're looking at you, Lost). It might be an actual OASIS; we think it's good enough to keep watching. We have found it a tiny, tiny bit uneven and when it goes gory, it goes way gory, but so far it has been consistently good TV. The series premiere opens with written back-story right on our screen, like at the beginning of the original Star Wars. It reads: In recent days, a seemingly random group of individuals has emerged with what can only be described as 'special' abilities .
Although unaware of it now, these individuals will not only save the world, but change it forever. This transformation from ordinary to extraordinary will not occur overnight. Every story has a beginning.
Volume One of their epic tale begins here... That's the premise. Episodes and two-minute video summaries are available at NBC.com. The writers are taking their time building up the characters and there are a lot of characters to follow. Our favorite so far is Hiro. We hope to cover this series in depth, once we're past this painful catching up business. Episode 1:01, Pilot a.k.a. Genesis (?? a.k.a. In His Image): OASIS Episode 1:02, Don't Look Back: CUP of WATER Episode 1:03, Giant Leap: CUP of WATER Episode 1:04, Collision: OASIS 10:00pm Eastern/9 Central: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip; NBC It seems oh so easy to call this the television industry's West Wing, so that's exactly what we're doing, because we're in catch up mode. The highlights thus far: Matthew Perry is not Chandler Bing. He is now Matt Albie--reportedly an Aaron Sorkin avatar. Matt is a brilliant, neurotic, Jewish-atheist writer who has broken up but is still in love with Sarah Paulson's (Hannah) Harriet Hayes, an equally gifted Southern Christian comic/actress, and alleged avatar for one-time Sorkin sweetheart Kristen Chenoweth. Harriet stars in the fictional show-within-this-show, one that is hell-bent on skewering the religious right. Bradley Whitford's recovering addict Danny Tripp is Perry's friend and business partner, who has been brought in as show-runner for the struggling late night live comedy/variety series. Amanda Peet's Jordan McDeere is the new network (the fictitious NBS) president. Together, they fight crime. Or--you know--bad TV. This series is also on MIRAGE WATCH, again, mainly because it is so new, but also because it is slightly uneven. There is a serial element to it, so we're considering in-depth coverage, but we're not sure the premise will bear that much analysis, and our time is limited by other projects. Studio 60 is in our Write About It if-we-feel-it-and-can-get-to-it Pile. As with Heroes, NBC streams the most recent episode on its website, and offers 2 minute summary clips. In case we fail to mention it later, this seems true of most/all NBC and CBS series, this season, and Sci-Fi is being equally helpful. The networks might be catching on to this here internet thang. Episode 1:01, Pilot: CUP of WATER Episode 1:02, The Cold Open: CUP of WATER Episode 1:03, The Focus Group: CUP of WATER Episode 1:04, The West Coast Delay: OASIS Episode 1:05, The Long Lead Story (we've yet to watch) TUESDAYS
9:00pm Eastern/8 Central: Veronica Mars; The CW This is, hands down, our favorite, five star TV OASIS. Okay, it's tied with another show we haven't yet mentioned. But really. It is hard to rate individual episodes, because a bad episode of Veronica Mars is usually as good as good episodes of most series. Keep that in mind, when we're less than over-the-moon. When you hear the TV critics talking about, "The Best Shows You're Not Watching," the Film Noir-esque Veronica Mars is nearly guaranteed a slot on their lists. Forget the ridiculous attempts at high-concept description, particularly the pathetic "Modern Day Nancy Drew" one. They have nothing in common. Snarky, intelligent Veronica (like her father Keith) is a hard-boiled detective, and there's nothing amateur about her. Forget the comparisons to Buffy the Vampire Slayer as well, aside from the fact that pretty blondes are the lead characters in both smartly written, well-crafted shows, they have nothing in common, and Veronica is no hero. Despite the fact that her demons are more mundane and less slimely, Veronica is not nearly as hopeful as Buffy, and given the realities of her world, we wouldn't have her any other way. In season 1, Veronica investigates her own rape, and the murder of her best friend, Lilly Kane, while falling for her own nemesis, Logan Echolls. We see her establish a (best) friendship with new kid Wallace Fennel, and close connections to resident techno-genius Cindy "Mac" McKenzie, and local gang leader, Eli "Weevil" Navarro. Season 2 opens with Veronica and Logan broken up, and Veronica reunited with her first love, Duncan Kane (brother of Lilly). They're not together for long though, as has to leave town with his child, the daughter of one-time class virgin and bus crash victim, Meg Manning, with whom he had a thing, while he and Veronica were apart. Veronica is so involved in investigating the crash that she forges on quite well on her own, and ends the season in the arms of Logan, again. In season 3, Veronica, Wallace, Mac, Logan, and party boy Dick Casablancas are all students at (local) Hearst College. Despite the fact that the series focuses on a teenager (she's now 19) and the people in her life, it has never been a coming of age drama. Veronica came of age before we ever met her when, in the wake of Lilly's murder, her dad lost his job as sheriff and her mom jumped right of the wagon, into the bottle and possibly into Jake Kane's bed, then walked away from her family. Because Veronica has always been adult (even before she was one, chronologically) the latest season does not suffer with the transfer to college. Instead, college life is opening up a whole new set of challenges for Veronica, and mysteries, too. Creator Rob Thomas has changed the format of the series, in hopes of making it accessible to new and casual viewers, and in order to avoid leaving them feeling lost. This season will not feature one huge mystery arc, but instead, will be divided into three main mysteries. The first, which will play out over the first nine episodes, concerns a series of on-campus rapes. Having watched episodes 1 - 3, we can say with certainty that if you haven't yet watched, you can (and should) start watching with episode 4. You won't be lost. We promise. If you are, ping us, and we'll help you out. Each episode stands on its own, with a mystery of the week. Expect episode commentary from us, now that we're all caught up. Episode 3:01, Welcome Wagon: CUP of WATER Episode 3:02, My Big Fat Greek Rush Week: CUP of WATER Episode 3:03, Linebacker: OASIS WEDNESDAYS 8:00pm Eastern/7 Central: 30 Rock; NBC We recently read that 30 Rock is to Studio 60 what Scrubs is to E.R. We wish we had noted the source, as we think it's clever. Although we hope it is correct, we are not convinced. But still? CLEVER. This series is on MIRAGE WATCH. Since it's a sitcom, don't count on regular coverage, here. Episode 1:01, Pilot: CUP of WATER (possibly only half full) 8:00pm Eastern/7 Central: Jericho; CBS This post-nuclear apocalyptic series has some serious flaws, and we are hopelessly attracted to it. Right now, it's a guilty pleasure. We love to watch it. We love to pick at it. We also think it has potential to be more. It's on MIRAGE WATCH because it's new, but we're always thirsty for it. We plan to discuss it occasionally. Episode 1:01, Pilot: CUP of WATER Episode 1:02, Fall Out: OASIS Episode 1:03, Four Horsemen: CUP of WATER Episode 1:04, Walls of Jericho: OASIS 9:00pm Eastern/8 Central: Lost; ABC At one time, Lost was a favorite OASIS, but it is now on MIRAGE WATCH. Too many set ups, too few pay-offs. The canon feels about as sturdy as a house of cards, but we're not ready to give up on it. We blame our inability to bid it farewell on Sayid and Sun. Episode 3:01, A Tale of Two Cities: CUP of WATER Episode 3:02, The Glass Ballerina: CUP of WATER THURSDAYS: 8:00pm Eastern/7 Central My Name is Earl; NBC We watch this because it's on before The Office. It's nothing more than a guilty pleasure. Enough said. 8:30pm Eastern/7:30 Central The Office; NBC The second of our two most favorite series, and another five star OASIS. We never expected to be this devoted to a sitcom, no matter how clever. Yes, we're suckers for the will-they/won't-they of Jim and Pam, but even when their potential romance is well out of focus, the rest of the series is a true pleasure. Like we do with Veronica Mars, we definitely hold this show to a higher standard than most of what we watch. Please keep that in mind when we say, for example, that an individual episode was only a CUP of WATER (in case we weren't clear before, keep it in mind for VM, too). Bad episodes of The Office are still better than just about anything else we watch. We plan to discuss this series, regularly. The season premiere inspired us to create this blog. Episode 3:01, Gay Witch Hunt: OASIS Episode 3:02, The Convention: CUP of WATER Episode 3:03, The Coup: CUP of WATER Episode 3:04, Grief Counseling: OASIS FRIDAYS: 9:00pm Eastern/8 Central: Battlestar Galactica; Sci-Fi Network We just started watching BSG a couple of weeks ago, when they aired a clips episode: The Story So Far. He knew we would love it. She was sure she would not. He was right. She was wrong. His faith is vindicated. Her skepticism is defeated. (Those disclaimers had better settle all debts, or He will be sorry). We're not sure about covering it in depth, because we're still catching up. We haven't watched any episodes from previous seasons, so we're over our heads. We came upon this series completely by accident and love it so, we're hard pressed to put it on MIRAGE WATCH, and do so ever so reluctantly, and only because it's new to us. Episode 3:01-02, Occupation: The Precipice: OASIS Episode 3:03, Exodus, Part I: OASIS In summation, we love Veronica Mars, and The Office beyond reason (and yet, for reasons too many to count). We think we could have something with Heroes, are sorted of attracted to Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, feel led on by Lost but aren't ready to burn our bridges, and have an embarrassing and inexplicable crush on Jericho. We can take or leave My Name is Earl, don't know what to make of 30 Rock yet, and Everybody Hates Chris fills a special place in our hearts. When they finally premiere, we'll add Scrubs and 24 to our line up, as well. Show Rating Glossary: OASIS: Used for both good episodes and good series. NOTE: Just as a good series can have a bad episode here and there, a subpar series can turn out a good episode, once in a while. CUP of WATER: Used for episodes that are good enough. We probably won't re-watch them, but we don't feel like we should have spent the time sleeping. CUP of SAND: Used for poor episodes. MIRAGE WATCH: Used for new series that haven't lost us, but haven't won us over to the extent that we'd call them an OASIS in the VAST WASTELAND that is TV. MIRAGE: Used for series that seemed promising (or were once good), but now consistently disappoint. WASTELAND: Used for series we can't stand. ... Coming up later this week: Reviews of Veronica Mars 3:03, Wichita Linebacker and The Office 3:05, The Initiation. If possible, we will review Heroes 1:04, Collision, as well. A plea to our VOX readers: We are having a horrible time with the VOX interface. When we compose large entries in VOX, we sometimes lose them. When we spellcheck in VOX, but want to keep words VOX does not recognize (intentional misspellings or made up words), VOX omits them. When we compose in MS Word, and then paste the entries into VOX, VOX still omits words (or things like "8:00pm" which is our preferred format for recording time), even if we've shut off the visible Word spellchecker, and don't use the VOX spellcheck function at all. It also translates paragraph breaks as line breaks, whenever it pleases, but not consistently. If you note odd missing words (and for some reason, VOX is not a "Logan" fan and omits his name somewhat randomly, and omitted "Jericho" once) please give us a shout, so we can edit. We're not perfect, but we're not as careless as this technology would leave you to believe. And VOX? You're so on MIRAGE WATCH. As of right now.
So what's good TV? For one thing, it is what They are here to talk about. As the fall season picks up steam, They will have lots to say.
Who are They? Most of the time, They are She, but occasionally He has things to say, too. So it's a He said/She said thing, with an emphasis on She.
He says, "This is par for the course."
She raises an eyebrow and keeps right on talking.
Why have They done this? It's been on the back burner for a long time, then They saw the season 3 premiere of The Office (US) and were so full of love, joy, and appreciation, that when They were sent an invitation to Vox, They accepted it, greedily.
So why haven't They posted anything of substance? Chalk it up to a combination of stage fright, and a lack of certainty on how to do what They want to do.
The biggest concern is how to handle spoilers. They won't (generally, and never without clear warning) leak spoilers for upcoming episodes. They are aware, however, that this is the TiVo age. They, for two, welcome their TiVo overlords, but They can't be certain their readers will watch shows when broadcast. Heck, They hardly ever watch their shows during broadcast.
Because Vox seems to lack a mechanism to hide text, They have been thinking and thinking and thinking some more about how to post about good TV, without spoiling same for their fellow pilgrims in the vast wasteland. They had chosen Tiffany Chow's lovely "Desert Night" design as this blog's template, which went so well with their "vast wasteland" vibe. They have now (sadly) abandoned it, for a design with a white background (Trees Noir, also by Tiffany Chow, also lovely). There's trees in the desert since you moved out, and I don't sleep on a bed of bones.
Any spoilers will be clearly labeled as to content and episode(s). They will be posted in white font, on a white background. He is particularly spoiler-averse, so They understand. This may not protect Vox-ers who have chosen darker backgrounds, but there is only so much They can do with the tools available, at Vox.
Without further ado, They would like to point you toward confirmed oases in that vast wasteland:
24 (FOX)
Everybody Hates Chris (The CW)
Lost (ABC)
Scrubs (NBC)
The Office (NBC)
Veronica Mars (The CW)
They are also investigating some new shows, to determine if they belong on the Oasis list, or the Mirage list. Right now, these include:
Studio Sixty on the Sunset Strip (NBC)
Heroes (NBC)
Jericho (CBS)
He says to add Smith (CBS). She knows he's reading right over her shoulder, so she does.
He notes that They both also watch My Name is Earl (NBC), but they agree that it's more of a guilty pleasure, maybe not even that. What They are sure of, is that My Name is Earl comes on, right before The Office.
How about you? What are you watching?
Posted by She (with input from He)
