Sadly, there's only one season of Stella, but combined with the Stella Shorts (made before the TV show and available here) you still have a whole day of great surreal comedy viewing. Michael Showalter (reported womanizer), Michael Ian Black (the pansexual sex symbol), and David Wain (the nice man's David Cross) met at NYU and have made lots of funny together including the cult favorite MTV show The State.?/p>

In Stella, they hit their stride with some episodes among the most laugh-out-loud I have ever seen on the small screen (I'm particularly partial to the Office Party and Paper Route episodes). While Stella and its creators have gained a cult following (their film Wet Hot American Summer played in the midnight movie circuit and just try to get a ticket to any of their comedy shows–you'll be amazed by how quickly they sell out), there are still tons of people I've met who haven't seen this show and who would love it. The series is available on DVD, so watch or rewatch them now!

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Posted on September 10, 2007

While I don't exactly get the correlation between the Sopranos and this humanized animal odyssey, I do suppose they both are about a family and it's struggle to survive in a tough world–but Meerkat Manor is way cuter.

In this case the family is called the Whiskers and mama Flower is trying to get her family through the horrible loss (last season) of their home; lack of food; and creatures that mean to harm and hurt them from the ground and the air. With Sam Gamgee's particularly sincere voiceover and a script that gives all the meerkats names and human-like traits, it's easy to become engrossed in this beautifully shot documentary, not just as observers of nature, but with the compassion and intensity that draws you to any drama.

When Flower's pups go missing after a run in with a rival gang of meerkats, you suffer with her as she searches until it's too dark and dangerous to search any more. I hope Animal Planet takes cues from the success of this informative and adorable show to produce more engaging programs.

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Posted on August 27, 2007

If a tome of guilty pleasures was ever written, The L Word would have a secure place in the 2000s. It's not so much that it's bad–or… I take that back, it is bad… at first. So bad that after the two hour pilot all I could say was “No, no, no, no” to the idea of watching more. But due to the fact that Jim won all three seasons in a raffle and wanted to get the most out of his spoils and that I was in the haze of the kind of hang over that leaves one unable to sit up, let alone make serious and complex decisions like what we could watch instead of the L Word, I relented and ended up watching, oh… 18 hours or so.

Either anything you devote that much time to becomes good by default, or I can give the show more credit and say they really improved it to the point that I was unabashedly enjoying it.

It's a soap opera and all the lesbians are totally hot, so it's a fantasy piece too. The hottest of the bunch? Shane, oh Shane. She's truly is a wonder to behold. Most improved of the bunch? Alice, whom I recognized, to my horror, as the star of those Yoplait ads where the women sit around comparing their yogurt to real life experiences they've never had, like orgasms and loving relationships. They had this woman turned up to eleven in the first episodes, but really pulled back to make her an actual human. Worst of the bunch? Jenny Schecter. See for yourself, words fail me.

L Word also works as a wonderful nick name if you know someone whose name begins with L who may or may not have been accused of being a lesbian.

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Posted on August 13, 2007

I think the reason I just love NY1 so, so much is that is makes New York City feel like a close knit community, a small town, complete with amateur newscasts and local anchor people celebrities.

One of our favorite shows on the station is Sunday evening's repeat of?On Stage , a bungled showcase of all the local shows from Broadway glamathons to off off Broadway shockers.. or they'll focus on one or two shows and forget about anything else.

To watch the show lately, one could be led to believe that the only play in town is Old Acquaintance, with all the reviews, previews, interviews, and more coverage they've done on the show. The level of professionalism on On Stage ranges from mild to non existent. Interviews often include the phrases “I was looking you up on Google last night and I read…” or “Hmm, yeah, I was actually just going to ask you that, but I guess you already answered.” Nice work Donna and Clover!

The other great thing is that no matter how good a show is, it looks terrible, horrid, cheap and mind numbingly dumb on television (this still of Randy Quaid had me cracking up recently). Thankfully, when they can get the rights (which is not all the time) plenty of clips are included in the show to keep us thoroughly entertained.

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Posted on July 30, 2007

I really should have let you all known all about this a week ago so you could see the first episodes, but if I know VH1, they'll be replying these things like they were I Love the 80s 3D part deux. And besides, I had no idea that this trivia game would be so enjoyable.

The key The World Series of Pop Culture's success is this: no stupid scripts; real questions that aren't always easy and which the players take seriously (or at least as seriously as is appropriate to the question what film starred Vanilla Ice); and no quirky young hip host to pander to an executive merchandiser's idea of our generation.

Instead, in a brilliant move, they chose NY1's own Pat Kiernan (have I told any of you lately how much I love NY1?). He's a timeless host who adds class to phrases like “What you gonna do with all that ass?”. The contestants too, so far, have been totally bearable and even, at times, somewhat likeable, and from all sorts of backgrounds.

I shouldn't be so surprised the production is well done as VH1 collaborated with Entertainment Weekly on this project (now in it's second year). I'm a fan of the publication and should have given them credit for knowing how to put together a pop culture championship. For all my fellow nerds steeped in pop culture, you couldn't ask for anything better to watch after a long day at work.

And for the record, I do fairly well myself at the game, but I do tend to fail at anything music related after 2000, especially American Idol questions and this thing the kids are calling “hip hop”.

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Posted on July 16, 2007