TV Time: Comedies

Rhetorical question: Which is more fun, watching TV or reading about me watching TV? If you said that it was more fun to read about me watching TV, then you're in luck because that is exactly what this post is about - me watching TV! Let's break it down by show:

How I Met Your Mother: This show has become a venerable television institution. Currently in its fifth season, HIMYM has made me laugh for 102 episodes and has only disappointed me once (an episode in season 3 called 'The Yips,' which, for some reason, was not funny to me at all). For a while during this season, I have felt that the main story has sort of been derailed (Ted looking for the girl of his dreams) but the characters are all so funny and the minutae of their lives is so entertaining that I don't really care when (or if) they ever get back to the main story in earnest.

Parks and Recreation: The funniest show on television right now.

The Office: In LOST!, they used an atomic bomb to reset the time line. In The Office, they used a business acquisition. Following Dunder-Mifflin's acquisition by the Sabre Corporation, the show has basically been rewound to season two. We have: a salesman in love with the receptionist, but afraid to tell her how he feels (was: Jim & Pam; now: Andy & Erin), an incompetent boss and a more talented subordinate (was: Michael & Jim; now: Michael & Jim), and a boss who is going to clash with Michael as she tries to keep him under control (was: Jan Levinson-Gould; now: Jo Bennett). So, we are basically back where we were at the beginning of season two. For a while, I thought that The Office was going to be the story of how Jim comes to understand Michael (and maybe acts like Michael a little bit). Each time Jim gets promoted and takes on more responsibility and more frustration at his co-workers, he gradually becomes more and more sympathetic to Michael and begins to recognize some method in the madness. Now, I don't think that is going to happen. I don't care, though. The show still makes me laugh, so I'll go along and follow the show back to season two.

30 Rock: The last two episodes have rekindled my excitement for the show. Along with Arrested Development, 30 Rock remains one of the few shows that can bring the jokes so fast that I miss some of them because I was laughing too hard at others.

Community: I still haven't completely made up my mind about this show. On one hand, it is pretty funny on a fairly consistent basis and the ensemble cast is pretty excellent. On the other hand, so much of the humor is referential humor (about films that came out when I was two years old) that a lot of jokes don't make sense to me. Also, the whole 'meta-TV' thing is sort of heavy handed. Consider How I Met Your Mother. HIMYM is 'meta' in a clever way; the narrator's euphemisms are shown on screen exactly as he describes them (for example, when he censors 'smoking weed' and instead says 'eating a sandwich' and we see him and his friends passing a sub sandwich in a smokey dorm room). This sort of meta-commentary brings attention to the fact that you are watching a television program by reminding you that they can show you anything that they want to, regardless of what 'actually happened' in the fictional world of the show. Community tends to be a little more obvious about its artifice. Often, a character on the show (usually Abed), will say something like, "Wow, this is just like in X movie where character Y has to accomplish task Z." Many films and television programs exist in a sort of world-without-TV. In real life, we might say in response to something strange, "This reminds me of the X-Files." On a science-fiction show, however, (V, Fringe, Flash Forward, etc.) you will never hear a character say, "Wow! This is just like the X-Files." Community seems committed to creating a world where the characters watch a lot of TV and a lot of movies and draw parallels to their own lives. And although it can be a little much for my taste in the show, it is also interesting to see what it's like to watch TV-watchers on TV.

Modern Family: There's nothing particularly ground-breaking about the show, but the great cast really brings the laughs. Phil's Valentine's Day alter ego, Clive Bixby (complete with nametag!), was a particular highlight.

I still need to talk about Fringe, LOST!, and Chuck, but since this post has already turned fairly book-report-ish, I'm just going to cofine myself to comedies at this time. Stay tuned for more writing about watching TV!

Questions for Discussion:

1. Which of these shows do you watch?
2. What hilarious comedies am I missing?
3. Which is more fun, watching TV or reading about me watching TV? (not rhetorical this time).
4. Favorite comedy series of all time?