I do my weekly DVR Purges, but let's be frank: they are crap. I don't proofread them at all most weeks. They're collections of scattered thoughts that barely even make sense a week later. What I've decided to do is, with most of these shows I watch taking a break, reflect on where I stand with them, assessing what is in the show's favor (assets) and what could get it in trouble (liabilities).
Now, not every show I watch will be included. In general, I'm sticking to shows that I've kept notes (be them from Purges or otherwise) as I've watched. That means, shows like The Bridge, Looking, Sherlock, and Dexter will not be included. To get my thoughts on those, ask me. This project, supposing I stay on schedule should take all month and I hope it does a good job summing up where these shows stand. In some cases, I'm hoping to convince you to start watching. Other times, it'll be nothing more than a postmortem for a show that's gone.
I hope you enjoy.
Favorite Episode(s): "Mystery of Love"
The Wine: I don't drink wine often. I love winos though. I think it's the fact that it's easier to pretend someone getting drunk on a lot of wine is classy than hard liquor or beer. In general, I love how shamelessly this show is about a bunch of friends who drink wine all day. I'm going to go ahead and move to the next section to complete this thought.
They Aren't Trying: They don't care anymore. They've almost completely abandoned all the facts about the show. I'm certain Travis turned 21 at least a season too early. They pay lip-service to him graduating but they've treated him like the late 20s man Dan Byrd really is for years. I mean, the conservative estimate of Laurie and Travis' age gap is still at about a decade. Beyond that, Jules works at a half realtor office, half cake shop. Everyone laughs off any notion of ever working. This is all part of the charm of the show. It's incredibly relaxed and it's the closest any show is to hanging out with the characters for a half hour rather than watching them.
New combinations: I'm not about to go back and check every episode from the first four seasons but this year had a lot of lesser-used combinations that I remember. I particularly enjoyed Ellie and Tom in "Mystery of Love". The show has never stopped milking value out of Christa Miller trying not to hate people. I also remember an episode with Grayson and Tom that didn't involve Bobby, which isn't common. Anything to keep things fresh.
More of the same: I ran into a great wall of fatigue with Cougar Town this year. Being such a listless show can either mean that stories go all over the place (think, Seinfeld) or they repeatedly go nowhere. Season five had more of the latter. I'm not sure how much of this is the TBS effect and how much is the limitations of the concept. It's likely that it's a little of both. Either way, it's not keeping my interest as it has in past seasons.
Shameless Plugging: Ok, last season was worse and, I don't mind Target. Still, Chuck is the only series in which I love the shameless plugging. It's still painfully forced when Laurie talks about all the great stuff she found at a Target.
A baby?: I'm not looking forward to a story about Laurie being pregnant. With only one season left of the show, I don't see any way the finale isn't going to be her giving birth. That means, along the way, we'll get all the broad pregnancy comedy that every sitcom does with a pregnant woman. I bet Laurie's going to throw up a lot and complain about peeing. Let me guess, she'll get worried that Travis doesn't find her attractive too. Keep in mind, this is a liability. I could be wrong. They could find a way around it and do something new and different. TV history suggests otherwise.
This is one of the easiest shows on TV. In a world of Man Men and Game of Thrones, it's nice to have a show to go to that isn't the least bit taxing, requires no further examination, and won't matter if you miss an episode. Sadly, I've also just described a show that is completely disposable. This is the show that convinced me that Courtney Cox wasn't just a good Friend, reminded me how great Christa Miller is in the limited range of roles she's given, gave Busy Phillips a meaty enough role to shine that wasn't Dawson's Creek, and introduced me to Dan Byrd, Josh Hopkins, and Brian Van Holt. The Cul-de-sac Crew is one of the best units on TV. However, different shows work for different amounts of time. If six seasons really is all they are going to make, I can hold on for one more season. If it was any more open ended than that, I'll happily drop it and catch the conclusion on DVD in a couple of years. Sadly, unlike its lead actress, who almost looks younger than she did a decade ago, this is not a show that's aging gracefully.
Previously this Offseason...
Community
Brooklyn Nine Nine
New Girl
Suburgatory
Modern Family
Parenthood
The Mindy Project
The Michael J Fox Show
The Big Bang Theory
Agents of SHIELD
The Crazy Ones
Back in the Game
Parks and Recreation
The Walking Dead
The Middle
Saturday Night Live
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