The Big Bang Theory: Seasons 1 & 2
I feel a little dirty about liking a show brought to us by the same man responsible for Two and a Half Men. (Guess which misogynist joke laden series you won’t be reading about during this project?)
This show had me at hello, because it has two of my favorite current sitcom actors: Johnny Galecki (who was wonderful in Roseanne as the emotionally fragile David) and Kaley Cuoco (who won me over playing opposite John Ritter in 8 Simple Rules). It’s the character of Dr. Sheldon Cooper that keeps me coming back, though: he’s so crazy.
Spencer says seasons 1 &2 of this show are too “squirmy” for him. He struggles with uncomfortable social situations on television shows, so a show about four nerds befriending a pretty, blonde aspiring actress makes him pace a lot. (Next time we’ll talk about Seasons 3 & 4.)
Favorite Episode of Season 1: The Nerdvana Annihilation: I like The Time Machine, okay? I want more people to get my Morlock and Eloi references.
Favorite Episodes of Season 2: The Panty Piñata Polarization: Seeing Penny and Sheldon duke it out after he bans her from the apartment is pretty much amazing.
Do you think more people are drinking grasshoppers now that Raj is ordering them all the time?
Beyond the Pale
Spencer and I went to see Jim Gaffigan live a few years ago. Aside from his being hilarious and people wearing homemade shirts that said “Hot Pocket,” the most memorable part of the show was the couple sitting in front of us making out so passionately that we could not only hear it but made friends with the nice girl seated to our left, bonding over how repulsive it was. If you want to lick the inside of someone else’s mouth, you don’t need to spend $60 a ticket to do it.
Yeah, anyway, this set is awesome, and I love Jim Gaffigan. He was on one of my all-time favorite shows, My Boys, which just makes me love him more.
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
This movie is a classic and is responsible for the perceived typecasting that Keanu Reeves has enjoyed for his entire career. (I’m sure he’s thrilled that no one takes him seriously; I mean, Ted is totally who he is, right? I’m always astounded that people forget the roles he had in films like Dangerous Liaisons and My Own Private Idaho.)
I’m not actually going to talk about this movie all that much, because there is no excuse for not having seen it. You should be ashamed of yourself. Rent it, Netflix it, or better yet – buy it. But two things:
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1.Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is one of the greatest group Halloween costume ideas ever, if you have a mostly male group of friends. Everyone wants to be Maxine of Arc, and no one wants to be Missy. No one.
2.Am I the only one who thinks it’s weird that Bill and Ted love Van Halen, but there isn’t a single Van Halen song in this movie? It eats away at the core of my soul every time I watch the film.
Bio-Dome
In 1989 when I was 11 years old, I had a crush on Pauly Shore. Let that sink in for just a minute. Look, the whole surfing/skateboarding guy thing was a precursor to the grunge/emo rocker of the 90s, I wasn’t the only one.
Bio-Dome is pretty much amazing. The movie came out in 1996, my senior year of high school, and does an amazing job of capturing the mood of a generation. Earth Day was still fun (instead of terrifying), MTV still played music, and we all dressed like we were going to a rave (when we weren’t wearing flannel).
Kylie Minogue is in this movie – and Rose McGowan, but more surprising is that Tenacious D performs at a “save the environment” party. I actually didn’t realize this last fact until yesterday when I actually said, out loud, “Holy shit, that’s Jack Black.”
(On the left there…)
Community: Seasons 1 & 2
Community is out of order because it was a Christmas gift for Spencer.
I contend that Community is the best half hour comedy on television right now. Well, not right now since it’s on hiatus, but it is coming back in the spring. (Welcome relief after concerns that it was being cancelled mid-season.) Much like 30 Rock and Parks and Rec, Community is a little off-kilter and has a humor that’s more complex than the average primetime situational comedy, which means its fans are always on edge that it won’t be coming back. (The exception to this is 30 Rock, which has proven itself to be a veritable ratings powerhouse.)
Please, if you’re not watching it, tune in and give it a spin when it returns this spring. The cast and the writers have earned it.