Alison Brie is one of the stars of Community, where she plays Annie. She's also one of the stars of Mad Men, playing Trudy Campbell. And on Thursday, Community did a shout out to Mad Men with Don Draper hitting on Trudy.
Community is of course one of the funniest new shows on US TV this season, as you may recall from my third-episode verdict and initial review. Naturally, it's not been purchased by any UK broadcasters, but that's another story – you can always try TV Dome instead.
But what about its title sequence? Does this say funny to you?
It's nice, but funny? No.
You know what had energy and verve? The Friends title sequence, that's what. So how about if Community had the same title sort of title sequence as Friends? Huh? Huh?
Firstly, I can't believe no one noticed I copied and pasted the intro last week from an old entry. In Israel again? Losing my luggage again? Surely not.
Anyway, that aside, secondly, this is the last "What have you been watching this week?" before Christmas, so let's make it special, hey? Give the present of your TV recommendations to your friends.
Dexter – I should have done a "Season finale" review by now, but I haven't. Slave-drivers at work won't let me blog. Curse them. Fortunately, I'm still not sure what I think, so I can prevaricate so more. It was bold, it was interesting, it resolved things. I just don't know whether – or whether I didn't – like it. I just don't know.
Community – A return to form for the Christmas episode, which has to have been one of the best Christmas episodes of any show I've seen. And I really didn't recognise Anthony Michael Hall throughout the entire episode.
Misfits – Hopefully a series finale review coming soon. But that was a cracker of an ending.
Gavin & Stacey – Not very funny this week. More about the pathos, but the ceremony at the end redeemed it in the comedy stakes.
The Thick Of It – Another relatively sad one, but a good return to form by the end. Loved the fact that Tom Hollander has arrived as the mirror-Malcolm.
Paradox – Possibly the least stupid episode so far, but also probably the least interesting. Is there some sort of correlation going on?
Men of a Certain Age – Time and work meant I didn't manage to do that review I promised. It got better by the end of the first episode, but it feels like a whiny bunch of moaners. I didn't like Ray Romano moaning about his not-bad life on Everybody Loves Raymond. I still don't. Scott Bakula's great though.
30 Rock – Not bad. That's about as much as I remember.
Better off Ted – I thought I'd give this a go soon it got good word of mouth over the summer. I've watched two episodes now and they've been what I would describe as "gentle comedy". There are a few nice moments per episode and I still love Andrea Anders from Joey/The Class, but it's too divorced from reality to be truly engrossing.
Cougar Town – Caught up with the backlog. Still nothing sensational about it, but it's a solid half hour with a guaranteed laugh or two each episode and the characters are now all sympathetic and likable.
My Ugly Best Friend – Obviously pure evil from the outset and now I've seen it, I can confirm it really is pure evil. I'm also less than convinced those two women were friends.
CSI: Dark and a little bit silly. Interesting to see how they're bringing in the recurring villain this season
What have you been watching though?
As always, no spoilers unless you're going to use the <spoiler> </spoiler> tags, please. If you've reviewed something on your blog, you can put a link to it here rather than repeat yourself (although too many links and you might get killed by the spam filter).
I like Julie Benz: she's very blondetalented. Here she is with Joel McHale of Community, discussing the season finale of Dexter and how the acting world works.
She funny.
Actually, funnier than McHale for some reason. Anyway, need I say DO NOT WATCH IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE SEASON FINALE OF DEXTER? I just did anyway.
If for some reason accursed embedded video doesn't work, you can view it here.
So, other than Doctor Who, what have you been watching this week? As per usual, I've reviewed most of what I've seen, but of the regulars:
Community – Very funny and took the show in odd directions. However, last night's seemed to ignore that direction. Which is odd, but they've mixed up episodes before now
30 Rock – Is it bad that the new Canadian guy seemed more interesting than everyone else on the show?
Dexter – Ooh, some interesting twists and glad to see Rita having some fun for a change
Stargate Universe – Very good and unexpected. I don't know if there was a magic reset button at the end or not (tonight's ep will reveal that), but even if it wasn't, it was a good way to end the ep, crediting the audience with some intelligence. They seem to be going in the direction of "you know all the crap things that can happen when you're exploring? Well we're going to show you them all."
The Thick of It – Another good one. The opposition are starting to seem more interesting than the government though.
Still got this week's CSI, Cougar Town, Modern Family and Supernatural to watch. But I've decided I'm never going to watch this series of The Sarah Jane Adventures so I've deleted them from my line-up.
The Prisoner Big almost watch of the week was the AMC/remake The Prisoner. First, a confession – when I was young, I loved the original so much I joined the appreciation society. So I might be biased. But this was excruciatingly dull. It was beautifully shot, but the direction was in no way involving, it was literal when it shouldn't have been, made sure it rammed home the face that some things might not be real, and was just hopeless in every way. It was also so edited in such a way that whenever there was a moment that needed explaining, they tried to do it with music and a montage – it was like a rock video version of The Prisoner at times.
Episode 2 was a brief uptick, and I did appreciate the little head-nods to the original show (the map, the taxis, Rover, the abbreviated episode titles, the blazer, as well as a few plot elements), but episode 3 got so dull, so soon, I abandoned all hope and gave up. I've since found out what the ending was, and I'm very, very glad I gave up, because that sounded rubbish.
What have you been watching though?
As always, no spoilers unless you're going to use the <spoiler> </spoiler> tags, please. If you've reviewed something on your blog, you can put a link to it here rather than repeat yourself (although too many links and you might get killed by the spam filter).
Looking forward to Doctor Who on Sunday? Thought so. But what have you been watching this week? Collision, maybe? I almost watched, but the thought of committing myself to five nights of ITV1 put fear in my heart. And what did y'all think of Misfits? Not bad, huh?
Of the regulars:
Community – Last week's was the first this season that wasn't that funny, but it did move things on dramatically, so I'm not so worried
30 Rock – Forgettable
Dexter – Okay
Stargate Universe – First one I thought was a genuine mess this season. Interesting, but a mess. Good twist at the end though.
The Thick of It – Liked this one a whole lot more than the previous weeks'. Good to see Malcolm actually has bite as well as bark, too
Supernatural – Last week's episode was the funniest thing on TV all week. This week's (still watching) is feeling a bit forced in comparison, but it's okay
V was a bit rubbish, and resolutely trod in the original series' footsteps but in a far less interesting way this week. I also watched a dull old CSI: NY episode (Point of No Return) in which the Greek woman said two lines of Greek for no good reason other than to rub in the fact she was Greek. She'd have said more if there were a good reason, I suspect.
We've also started watching the latest season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Always late to the party us. Quite enjoying it, but it does seem like a less tightly paced Seinfeld to me. Lovely wife loves it though.
What have you been watching though?
As always, no spoilers unless you're going to use the <spoiler> </spoiler> tags, please. If you've reviewed something on your blog, you can put a link to it here rather than repeat yourself (although too many links and you might get killed by the spam filter).
About the blog
This is a UK media blog with daily news, views, exclusive reviews and good conversation. There's a bit of a bias towards the latest and greatest US TV, but we also cover British TV ranging from new Doctor Who to old Z Cars, Property Ladder to Big Brother, and BBC4 to S4C – yes, this blog is firmly part of the conspiracy to promote all things Welsh where possible, particularly Caerdydd.
Add in film, theatre, art, books, events and media journalism and you've (hopefully) got one of the best places on the web for media lovers. Oh yes, and there's The Carusometer, the ultimate guide to quality TV.
About me
I'm Rob Buckley, a freelance journalist who writes for UK media magazines that most people have never heard of. I've edited Dreamwatch, Sprocket and Cambridge Film Festival Daily; been technical editor for trade magazine Televisual; reviewed films for the short-lived newspaper Cambridge Insider; written features for the even shorter-lived newspaper Soho Independent; and contributed sarcastic articles about television to the blink-and-you-missed-it "web site for urban hedonists" The Tribe. I'm freelance now and have contributed to the likes of Broadcast, Total Content + Media, Action TV, Off The Telly and TV Scoop. Have pity on me.
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