Friends: Is anyone else out there afraid that this, the final, season is just being phoned in by everyone involved? Last season was one of the best, maybe even the best. I know I laughed hard at each episode then, but not this season. So far, two of the episodes have lived up to my expectation the season premier ("The One After Joey And Rachel Kiss") and "The One With The Cake" (Emma's Birthday). The first probably because it was played right after last season's ender, but I do so enjoy Monica's ever growing hair, the ping-pong game, and Ross and Charlie running from the palaeontologists. I like the second mostly because the baby got a penis shaped birthday cake that made Joey question his sexuality and the wind-up toy race. I sure hope that the season will get better, I doubt it, but I continue to hope. Anyway, I'll be watching until the end.
Scrubs: Like the show up above, this just isn't as funny as it was last week. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's JD's obsession with Elliot. Maybe it's Turk and Carla's wedding. Maybe it's because Rowdy hasn't humped anyone's leg. Or maybe it's because it is no longer after Friends and that forces me to either turn the TV off for an hour or watch Will and Grace. It's probably all of the above. I still like the show, though. (I laugh only a little less at this one than two that are written about down below.) I can't pick a best because, so far, they've been at about the same level each week, which is good, but doesn't make it as funny as last year. However, I can pick my favorite imagination moment, which is: the time when JD imagined himself as Carla to get The Janitor's respect. I still laugh when I think about that one.
Jackie Chan Adventures: The best cartoon on TV (that I can watch at least, since I have no cable). This season brought another new evil, but, unlike season two, it starts off with the evil in the first episode, Tarakudo, King of the Shadowkhan and Lord of the Oni. Oni are the daemons who control the Shadowkhan, but were trapped in masks thousands of years ago. Tarakudo is out to find the masks to bring all the clans of Shadowkhan and rule the world. Okay, enough with the plot, the magic of this show is in it's and wonderful characters. The best character, hands down, is Uncle, poking everybody in the forehead and always adding "One more thing." I can't go so far to say that the characters are three-dimensional, but their close. Each has hopes and fears and desperately tries to make things work out, whether the character is a hero or villain. I can't get enough of this cartoon, I hope that there's another season next year.
Xaolin Showdown: A new show, I think it started only three weeks ago, but I can't not watch it. There's something about the four stereo-type kids that appeal to me, and then the Xaolins are just plain cool with great names like Two-Ton Tunic and Shroud of Shadows. The bad guys are pretty awesome, how often do you see some spirit thing calling robots stupid? Maybe with a few more episodes I'll be able to nail down exactly what it is, but not tonight.
Lizzie McGuire: I'll admit it, I enjoy this show more than I should. It's probably the Charlie Brownieness of the show that appeals to me. Lizzie and her friends want to be popular, but keep failing, mostly because they have scruples. I can tell you the exact moment I knew I liked this show, it was when I saw a rerun of the pilot. The kids are on the bus, the girls are worried about going to a pool party and Gordo says something like, "You think you have issues with your body now? Wait until you get older. Trust me, I know. Both my parents are psychiatrists and I read their notes." Great stuff, I think. The show keeps me laughing, too bad there was a contract problem and no new shows'll be made, but there are enough episodes that haven't been rerun on ABC yet that'll make them new to me. The first episode is still the best, but the stuff that follows is still funny.
Mucha Lucha: A cartoon about professional Mexican wrestling school? Can that be any good? Yes, it can. When it first aired, I refused to watch the show because of the premise, but the art and animation intrigued me. The art is beautiful, bright colors abound, and each character is very distinct because each one has a theme for wrestling. The animation looks real smooth, for a Saturday morning cartoon. Maybe it's because they do a lot of snapping, slow movement at first then quick to finish. Maybe they spend more money, I don't know. Then I saw and episode and laughed very hard. I was shocked. The best episode is the one where Rikochet gets the French Twist (a mime)to talk, mostly because it's great watching the French Twist pretend there's a wall and then his opponent crashes into it. Runner-up is "The Littlest Luchadora."
King of the Hill: I guess I'll have to admit that I've only seen one episode so far this season, and that was last weeks. It was great. The whole idea of giving Hank testosterone is funny and then having him run with the bulls is even better. This is still one of the best shows on TV. Depending on the episode, it is the best.
Simpsons: Eh, it lost it's funny years ago. The best was the Evita parody a couple of weeks ago. I watch this show because it can be funny and it's between two great shows. I hope it gets funny again.
Malcolm in the Middle: I've been an addicted watcher since the show started. Like so many, this season isn't as funny as the others, so far. The Thanksgiving Episode, however, did live up to the previous years. Watching Malcolm get drunk then barfing in a turkey, wonderful. The funniest moment in the episode, though, was how Lois got Francis and his wife back together. Absolutely perfect.
Arrested Development: The only new show that I'm watching. It's about a family that was rich, now isn't, and still wants to live the rich life. The thing that caught me off guard in this show was the narration. I didn't think TV could do it, but this show pulls it off and Ron Howard's delivery is brilliant. The show is strange and is willing to use dry humor and now worry about the idiots who won't get it. Best new show of the season, easily. My favorite episode is the one where George Michael and Maeby are in Romeo and Juliet.
Okay, that's it for my favorite's on TV. If I wrote this next week, however, I'd be including The Bernie Mac Show, but it doesn't start until tomorrow because the Fox execs are fuckers. And I have high hope for The Tracy Morgan Show since he's the best cast member to come out of SNL in years.
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