All About the Story

My Favorite T.V. Shows of All Time

2009-04-17T13:16:00.041+08:00

Music: Jesus, Etc. - Wilco

Yeah, yeah, I know, I haven't posted much in the past few weeks and, to you people who read this blog (around 2 or 3 of you at most hahahaha!), I'm really, really sorry about that. I just hit that period that somebody who does what I do may, or may not, sink into once in a while. That particular stretch of time where you just don't want to write anything, where all you want to do is get through the day without thinking of laying down a set of words to form a coherent, or incoherent, sentence or phrase, where the idea of putting your thoughts on paper (or in this case my word processor) repulses you without any explicable reason whatsoever. Or maybe it could have been the heat too, now I'm not so sure anymore...

Anyway, enough of that crap. Let's get down to business. Below are my Top 10 Favorite Shows of all time. Hope you enjoy reading about them enought to pick up the ones you haven't seen yet.

10. Cheers

Gotta love a sitcom that's situated most of the time in a bar right? I mean, all the alcohol-induced laughter, the absurdities that can be directly related to having too much to drink--it's just golden. Add to that a set of diverse, larger-than-life (which in Norm's case larger than my waistline) characters and you've pretty much got a decent brew of a show. Plus, Cheers' theme song, and the correlating catch-phrase of the show is just homey. A place where everybody knows your name--who would not want that?

9. Justice League

Not since the days of Batman: the Animated Series has an American-produced superhero cartoon show ever been so poignant. I mean, sure, some have tried (like X-Men, Phantom, Spawn, and Aeon Flux), but they never really had that same kind of, um, mojo that Batman had. And sure, Batman Beyond came in really close but it never really captured that suspension of disbelief that these two had, the kind of thing where they really sucked you into their worlds, where for 30 minutes or so, you truly believed in a world where superheroes existed costume and all, and, more importantly, afterwards, ponder on the various social, political, and philosophical commentaries that were hidden deep within each episode. Justice League achieved a degree of transcendence that most cartoon shows (or any other kind of TV shows for that matter) never really had. And that, in my opinion, is what truly matters in this day and age.

8. Palibhasa Lalake

The 90's was great, truly great, at least where Filipino Television (particularly sitcoms) was concerned. I mean, the most absurd and truly funny shows thrived back then, from Home Along the Riles, to Ober Da Bakod--every comedic show then had its own unique way of making you laugh and Palibhasa Lalake is the best of the best for me. Sure, Abangan ang Susunod na Kabanata was a bit more poignant socially and politically but heck, I'd take people comedically falling off roofs, mysterious hands appearing on frame, water splashing and funny, chauvinistic antics any time. This show truly embodied Filipino hilarity at its finest and sometimes that's enough to make a show legendary. And yes, it saddens me that we don't get to have shows like this one on local TV nowadays.

7. The X-Files

This is what got me into sci-fi and mystery/fantasy in general. Not Stephen King novels, not H. P. Lovecraft works, and certainly not Star Trek. When it all comes down to why I'm so fascinated with those genres, it always goes back to that faithful night in the early 90's where I just finished doing my grade school homework and was allowed to watch TV. I was channel surfing back then, looking for something to watch. Cartoons were a rarity primetime then when it wasn't a Friday or Saturday so I really had no business watching TV. But when I suddenly hit a channel that was showing the X Files, well, let's just say it started an addiction that I can't and won't drop for anything in the world. Yep, the beginnings of my geekdom can be traced back to Moulder and Scully's age-old clash between faith and rationality. From Twin Peaks, Sea Quest, Farscape, Sliders, etc. X Files was what really nailed it for me in the genres I mentioned above.

6. Married with Children

This is my X-Files when it comes to sitcoms. But, most of all, this show is probably what shaped the foundation of my TV viewing addiction. Never before Married with Children have I craved so much for a TV show that I can't stand missing an episode.

You see, the Bundys were the Simpsons in live action. They are no Brady Bunch. They're raucous, they're rude, they're totally absurd, they're ditsy, and, most important of all, to this day, they're the funniest live-action TV family I've had the pleasure of watching. So many copycats have tried over the years but the Bundys will never be supplanted in my book. And Christina Applegate will forever be remembered by me for her role as Kelly Bundy (which is totally awesome since she's at her hottest in this show).

5. Batman: the Animated Series

I've pretty much stated over at the Justice League section of this post why this show is one of my favorites but this one ranks higher than the Superman-led league because of three particular reasons. 1.) It is about Batman 2.) It's much, much grittier, in my opinion and 3.) It's darker (both literally and figuratively) than Justice League. Oh, and yeah, it's the first superhero cartoon show of its kind, the one that revolutionized the way we conceptualize superhero cartoon shows, where we see it as something way beyond a thing for children. Kinda similar to what the likes of Frank Miller, Alex Ross, etc. did for comicbooks.

4. The Simpsons

Well, so many things have been written about this fivesome, which nobody can really be blamed for, what with a run that encompasses three awesome decades since the world first encountered them on The Tracey Ullman Show as an animated sketch in the 80's. So, I'll just cut it short. The Simpsons shaped most of the children lucky enough to ever turn on a TV since the late 80's up until now, and probably even beyond. Yep, it's that long-lasting, what with the amount of things to make fun off in our society never running out.

And, come on, this show is the most well-balanced of the cartoon-satire bunch. No other of its kind in existence can ever come close to what this show have done and will continue to do in the future. It's the perfect balance between laughter, satire, and a lasting, hearty feeling that one craves for in a show of its kind. Yep, no amount of trying to supplant those with vulgarity or gimmick, which most other shows based on it seem to fall into, can ever trounce that. I mean, it's a death trap you know. Don't they realize that The Simpsons strength comes from its brutal honesty and not the vulgarity or the gimmicks it does? The picture above says it all--the Beatles of animation.

3. House M.D.

Talk about the perfect actor to pull off arguably the most gritty character ever on a TV show and none might be more perfect than Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House. Yeah, yeah, I know, starting off any write up by using the same word twice does not really equate to solid writing but, what can I say, that's pretty much the perfect (see, did it again) word to describe Laurie and House . So, let me say it again: perfect.

Of course it does have its downtime, a few episodes are hohum (except for Laurie, of course--he's perfect in every single one) but, when it soars, it really soars. Think about the episodes Three Stories (s1e21), No Reason(s2e24), House's Head (s4e15), Locked In (s5e19) and Simple Explanation (s5e20) and they'll probably break any TV enthusiasts top episodes of any show in the past 30 years. Think about it, the bravery of the production, the willingness to divert from its own established formula--House M.D. pretty much proves, and flaunts, that you don't need to be as narratively encroaching every episode as Lost to present something fresh on TV. And yes, none of this would be half possible if not for the great cast the show has.

2. How I Met Your Mother

What can I say, this show is just awe--wait for it--some (oh no you didn't!). Talk about shows that play, and are pretty successful, with narrative structures and How I Met Your Mother should never be left out of the conversation. Plus it's willy, heart warming, and genuinely hilarious--it's a show that will make you laugh your ass off while at the same time having tons of heart. Think of it as a cross between Cheers and Friends only better at what both shows tried to do and more.

Besides that, it pretty much made the careers of everybody on the show's regular cast list. It rejuvenated Neil Patrick Harris' career, extended Alysson Hannigan's TV mojo as the seemingly sweet yet coniving and hardcore girl, proved that Jason Segel is a legitimate player in the American comedy scene, introduced us to a sexy, new Canadian star named Cobie Smoulders, gave Josh Radnor a legitimate TV gig, and re-introduced Bob Saget to the world. What's not to love?

1. Firefly

The best gorramn show in the verse! What else can I say? What Joss Whedon made here isn't really sci-fi, it's a gritty, socio-political depiction of mankind--500 years into the future! Yes, call him a sage, the new age Nostradamus, a man with an incredible foresight, a visionary--whatever. Firefly is as close to being real as a space opera could ever get, and no other creation in sci-fi comes close.

I mean, this is the best space opera show ever created. Period. Not any of the Star Trek series, not the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, and, dare I say, not even Star Wars. To hell with inter-stellar warp drives, light sabers, sentient alien lifeforms, and lasers--I'd take Firefly's rustic, wild west frontier-like world, the in-depth social commentary, the smart, snappy and witty dialog, the bleak, yet hopeful portrayal of the future, the highly philosophical discourse of existence, of reality, of life, love and everything in-between, anytime.

And Jesus Christ, have you ever seen any other TV show cast so perfectly? I mean, Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau, Alan Tudyk, Gina Tores, Jewel Staite, Adam Baldwin, Sean Maher and Ron Glass--each and everyone of them shone like a supernova with the characters they depicted in the show and in the movie. Whedon has always been good at picking actors to play the parts in his porjects but Firefly's cast is a hell of a class on its own.

14 episodes, 3 comicbooks, and a movie--that's all it took to tell the greatest story ever told about humankind living in a spaceship and traversing through deepspace. Joss Whedon's legacy in popular culture may forever be tied with Buffy but his best work, hands down, will always be Firefly.

The End of a Sci-Fi Era

2009-03-22T13:20:00.010+08:00

Music: Life on Mars - David Bowie

Yes, most of the 4th season may have sucked, the series finale a disappointment, and Ronald D. Moore's writing a total let down, but, still, when it comes to the show itself, I shall remember Battlestar Galactica with full-blown, insurmountable, geeky fondness (not geeky love since that's a phrase I would only use when I refer to Firefly).

Maybe even someday I'll find some time to watch it all over again, the entire Apocalyptic exodus of mankind towards a new home, the trials and let downs they faced along the way. Maybe.

But, at this exact moment in time, I'm glad it's all over.

The show has been on the decline since its third season (though it was still good, but not as good as the first 2) , and, seeing such a promising story turn into a ludicrous affair of narrative road blocks and lousy, lazy, writing...well, I say, gods, frak it all, I'm glad it finally ended.

I mean, Ronald D. Moore and co. overdid it with the plot. By the 4th season, they have already written themselves into a deep, confusing, narrative hole. Even the mythical and divine philosophical theme of the show became overly far fetched by then. Contrived and convoluted, the show's overall plot was beyond saving by the time the much anticipated season finale was set. He should have asked Joss Whedon for pointers because Whedon never fails to deliver in this area--even Dollhouse became interesting by its latest episode albeit the persisting problem of Eliza Dushku's inadequate acting talent still lingering over the show like a haunting specter.

Nevertheless, I'm gonna miss the characters. They're the only reason why I stuck with this show 'til the end. Bill Adama, Saul Tigh, Karl Agathon, the Sixes, Sharon and Boomer, Gaius Baltar, Lee Adama, Starbuck, etc., yep, when it all comes down to it, the characters are what kept this show alive, and, for what it's worth, decent in a way.

Anyway, it's time to say goodbye to BSG and wish the great actors involved with the show a prosperous future--they are, above all else, what made this show truly great and they deserve to further exhibit their acting chops.

P.S.

Good god, I'm really going to miss seeing a bunch of Tricia Helfers and Grace Parks running around on screen. Oh well, life's a bitch sometimes hahahaha!

The Ineffective Doll

2009-02-25T11:26:00.009+08:00

Music: Sad Eyes - Josh Rouse

Sometimes shit just happens. Like when one morning you're cruising along the highway, headed someplace you've been to plenty of times before, a routine drive most would categorize, and suddenly, out of nowhere, your tires hit a slick spot on the road and you lose control. Moments later, you find yourself bleeding from the head, with a cracked rib or two, face to face with a messed-up wall, and airbags deployed awkwardly in front of you as a crowd of onlookers slowly begin to gather around your vehicle that now resembles a can of power drink right after a professional wrestler drank off it.

Well, give or take, that's how the 1st two episodes of Dollhouse equates to thus far when compared to Joss Whedon's past endeavors--an out of nowhere car wreck.

I mean, come on, this show is supposed to be something Whedon's all about: a character-driven sci-fi/fantasy show with a highly philosophical premise while unconciously/conciously alluding to a great work of the past (Dark City mind-wipe restart anyone?). Instead of that awesome goodness I tend to get from other textbook Whedon projects, what I saw instead was an awkward abomination of a sexy female lead who is undeniably wrong for the part.

Eliza Dushku, better known for her stint as Buffy's slayer-gone rogue, Faith, looks too energetic and kinetic for the part. If this was some sort of an action-packed series that demanded a tough, sarcastic and witty act for the lead, then casting her would have worked out (a la Buffy or, to some extent, Veronica Mars). Sadly, that's just not the case. The role of Echo demands more of a laconic, chameleon-like persona that's pretty much lacking in Dushku. It's like asking Nicholas Cage to do Randy "the Ram" Robinson instead of Mickey Rourke. Dushku as Echo is sketchy and lacking of any appeal whatsoever. Because of this, the show suffered gravely despite of its commendable set design and nice atmospheric treatment. It came out as bland and unintentionally farcical which is gravely uncommon for somebody like Joss Whedon.

In my opinion, Whedon should have waited, at least for a few more months until the next American T.V. season, when Summer Glau is finally off the hook for Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles (face it, it's going to be canceled after the season) and casted her instead. I mean, Echo IS a Summer Glau character. And no, it's not typecasting, at least not totally since Glau is one heck of an actress.

I know, I'm pretty much enthralled with Summer Glau as most of you know but, think about it, the part of Echo demands for an actress that can play both conventional and unconventional character-types (it pretty much calls for as wide a range as an acting part could) and Glau already proved she can do as much by playing Firefly's "moon-brained" River Tam and T:TSCC's Cameron. Add to that the doll-like quality that Glau seems to exude and man, oh, man that's one kind of perfection I can't believe the casting crew of the show missed. They should have waited, waited, waited.

Anyway, let's see if things start picking up in the succeeding episodes. If not, then I'll just have to believe that Whedon's trying to get back at Fox for screwing Firefly up by pitching a horrendous show to them. And yes, that's a pretty screwed-up way to come up with for revenge either.

The Good Kind of Camp

2009-02-16T17:00:00.012+08:00

Music: Falling for You - Weezer

I recently blew by all 12 episodes of Javier Grillo-Marxuach's The Middleman and I can clearly deduce that this is pretty much one of those intentionally campy sci-fi shows that the average TV-viewing public tends to cringe at while simultaneously gaining so much love from a fat-bellied, absurd facial-hair sporting fanboy like me.

It's pretty much an amalgam of various western pop and cultural mythos. From vampires to zombies, to aliens posing as boy-bands, nano-technology, and puppetry (that Vlad the Impaler puppet episode was a gem)--everything one ever came to love as a kid (well, not the boy-band stuff per se but I think you guys get the picture). And you know what, its snappy and witty dialogue, great casting, and absurdly hysterical premise make it a helluva entertaining hodgepodge of sci-fi, comedy, horror and mystery--everything you could truly ask for in a TV show of its kind despite a couple of hohum episodes (which could be properly attributed to it being a new show and all).

So yeah, watch it, and don't take it too seriously--it isn't House M.D. The show is all about having fun while saving the world in more cool (and geeky) ways than one--a throwback to those days when TV shows were actually watched on TV while sitting on a couch and eating popcorn and drinking soda at the same time (nowadays you just download it from, or watch it straight off the net). And, you know what, it actually really feels nice knowing that somebody is brave enough to put together a show that tackles that--makes me glad somebody out there still has the cajones to have fun by being nostalgically geeky while not being too forceful that everything seems out of place or just a rip-off of things past (*cough* Heroes *cough*).

And besides, it features a sexy, ass-kicking, raygun-totting latina as its protagonist. Plus it constantly jabs at over the top artsy fartsy people/scenes--who in their right, testosterone-driven mind would not watch that?

A Couple of Newbies and a Fickle-Minded Fanboy

2009-02-11T05:27:00.007+08:00

Music: The Good Life - Weezer

The Cast of Leverage: Christain Kane (Eliot Spencer), Gina Bellman (Sophie Devereaux), Timothy Hutton (Nathan Ford), Beth Riesgraf (Parker), Aldis Hodge (Alec Hardison)

After watching Fringe's pilot episode way back in September, I assumed then and there that it was going to be my favorite new show for the current American TV season. I mean, it possesses all the things I typically love in an hour long TV program: mystery, suspense, scientific mumbo jumbo, sleek-looking cinematography, conspiracy theories and, most important of all, a hot female lead who looks like she hadn't had a decent night's sleep since she was 5 (think something like Summer Glau's River Tam and Cameron in Firefly and T:TSCC). I mean, come on, it even has the actor that played the Steward of Gondor in the LOTR movie adaptations as one of its lead stars so you really can't blame me for arriving into such a hasty decision. My resolve was set then and there--Fringe was going to be it, my favorite newbie show on T.V. and that's going to be final!

Fast forward a couple of months later, a few lingering moments after I saw Nathan Ford and his oddball partners in goodwill and crime stomp an immoral and conniving corporate executive on TNT's Leverage, and all that changes.

It happened during that 2nd most irksome stretch of weeks that most TV show addicts like me tend to go through with heavy heart and shaking, junkie withdrawal hands--the mid-season Christmas break (the 1st most irksome being the American summer off-season of June up until August). Tired of waiting for new episodes of the shows I religiously follow, I decided to go out on a limb and look for a new one with back-episodes to fill the huge void that the break left in my viewing schedule. After searching all over the net for write-ups of shows I never heard of, (and viewing photos of show castings, desperately trying to fulfill that most important of requirements I tend to give a show before I start watching it, which is it having a cute chick in one of its lead roles) I decided to pick up Leverage, an up and coming con series that star's Oscar winner Timothy Hutton.

Allow me to tell you how this show reeled me in through an absurd booze analogy: Leverage ganked me straight into T.V. viewing nirvana like what drinking an entire bottle of a Single Malt, 20-year old scotch does to an alcoholic.

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing new to it at all. If we're talking in terms of a prototypical caper story's plot structure, then Leverage certainly fits very well into that. But, what it lacks in originality, it makes up with its smooth, unobtrusive absurd humor--like ketchup flowing from a newly bought, recently unsealed, air-tight bottle after a few slaps to the bottom. Dig this, Parker's awkwardness when it comes to socially interacting with the group, Sophie's insanely bad acting getting good when doing a con, Hardison's stereotypical black dude freak out moments, Eliot's tough-guy-that-gets-easily-irritated-over-everything-act, and Ford's I'm not-an-alcoholic denial syndrome naturally blends well onscreen--a huge credit of which can be attributed to good acting and great casting. Great character interaction always goes a long way in any form of story, whether in a novel, a play, a movie, or a TV show and it is very much true with Leverage.

Also, the feel good element you get in watching the "good" guys (open and close quotations on the word good since technically the protagonists are all thieves) get the best of evil-corporate bullies at the end of the show, while eliciting a very nice black and white view on what is morally acceptable is priceless. Don't be misled though, I still think the discussion on morality and evil is a very complicated topic but, beneath all those complications, one could still arrive to a certain degree of personal sense about it--kinda like what you get after reading a Graham Greene or a Henry James novel (or after watching the Star Wars trilogy). I'm not saying Leverage can be properly equated to any Greene or James masterpiece, obviously that would never be the case. What I'm trying to say though is, at its very core, it has the same end-effect, the same oomf sensation you get deep in your gut albeit the journey totally different and less emotionally and intellectually stimulating than the aforementioned literary masterminds' works.

Nevertheless, the laughter and the sheer entertainment value you get out of the show is enough to make you smile at the end of a tough day--and that's what's truly important when it comes to these kinds of shows, in my opinion. Plus, it's fast and sleek--totally worthwhile if you're tired of overly dragging and serialized shows like Prison Break.

Anyways, if you love sleek, how-will-they-do-it caper stories like Ocean's 11 and Hustle, I highly recommend Leverage.

P.S. BETH RIESGRAF IS FREAKING HOT!

Admit it, you knew that was coming.

P.S.S.

It got picked up for a second season! Yay! More Riesgraf screen time hahaha!

I'm Back

2009-02-01T21:00:00.000+08:00

Well, I'm back. Will be updating soon but, for now, I'm gonna watch some DVDs first--and no, none of them are porn hehehe!