[Breaking down the media I know the least about: television. My #1 and #5 shows are the only ones I watch with any sort of regularity--everything else is more based on a few episodes I've seen and reputation alone.]
TOP FIVE TELEVISION PROGRAMS
1) "Lost" [The jury's out, because there are still two seasons to go and it could suddenly suck, but this will likely go down as my favorite TV show ever. Episode 5, "The Constant," was the finest hour of scripted television in 2008.]
2) "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"/"The Colbert Report" [All the news you need to know. Insightful, intelligent, and featuring guests who actually know what they're talking about.]
3) "30 Rock" [Manages to strike the fine balance between smart and dumb like no other show. Watch the episode where Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin go to her high school reunion and see what I mean.]
4) 2008 Summer Olympics [Loved the actual events; hated all the talk of Michael Phelps's crazy diet and the underage Chinese gymnasts.]
5) "Lost" [I don't have cable, and network TV is a cesspool of bad. It was either list "Lost" again or go with my other standby, "Seinfeld" reruns.]
HONORABLE MENTION
The "Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals" sketch on Saturday Night Live. This is even funnier if you mentally insert, say, "Hey, chicken. A lot of people wanna eat you, but I just wanna talk to you!" into the dialogue as you watch The Happening.
WORST
2008 Election coverage. The 24-hour cable news cycle is killing America, as evidenced by the dumber-than-dumb "stories" that came out of this election [many of which were brilliantly eviscerated by Stewart, Colbert, and their collective writing staffs].
SECOND-WORST
"American Idol." [I have no words, only disdain. I lasted an entire season of this show without watching even a nanosecond of it, and I still can't stand it.]
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
2008 Media Review: Top TV
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4 comments:
I don't watch much TV, but Lost and 30 Rock can almost (almost that is) do no wrong, and Colbert makes me laugh 'til I cry (but crying is healthy they say). Did you see it when he had Rush on?
Loved the SNL season of political spoofs as well.
"Lost" is the only show on television for which I remain fanatical, and it's the only piece of media I'm actually concerned about when I move to Uganda. Rumor has it that many of the missionaries are big fans, too.
As for Colbert, I'm assuming you mean the band Rush and not Rush Limbaugh. Yes, I did see that episode, and I loved the question: "You guys are known for writing some pretty long songs. Have you ever written a song so long that, by the end of it, you were being influenced by YOURSELVES at the beginning of the song?"
Oh, and while everyone was in love with Tina Fey's Sarah Palin goof, I personally also appreciated Jason Sudeikis's Joe Biden.
My favorite Colbert to Rush ?'s besides the one you listed:
Are your fans called Rushians?
Do you ever get tired of being so awesome and kicking so much ass?
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