TV Tuesday: The Office vs. Parks and Recreation

If you read my list of the top 5 greatest sitcoms of all time you may have noticed that neither the American version of the Office nor Parks and Recreation was on it. With both shows now having come to a close, I thought I'd write this piece comparing the two shows.

If the list of five had been increased to ten either one, or possibly both, of these shows would be on it. I appreciate both in their own unique ways but I think they are interesting to compare because both were created by the same man, Greg Daniels, and both sometimes shared the same production and writing team. There was even a time the both had the same actress in a supporting role. What's even more interesting is that they shared the same format. This format was a mockumentary-style format that allowed for a shaky single camera as well as interviews with the characters. Both shows also eventually ignored this format for the most part.

Despite these similarities the shows were incredibly different. A lot of this difference doesn't just come down to the fact that the Office was set in the private sector while Parks was set in the public sector. The difference was both in tone, and quality of supporting character development. The tone of the Office was happier than the British version but still darker than your average comedy. If you want evidence of this taken to brilliant extremes, you can watch the best episode of the show "Dinner Party" which is a hilarious cringe fest.  Parks and Recreation on the other hand, is one of the most positive shows ever to come out on modern television. In terms of character, the Office was more held to its British roots. Michael was a fully fleshed-out character and Jim and Pam were meant to be the "normal people", but the rest of the cast feel like outlandish caricatures. The supporting players are not developed as well and they are not as full of depth as Michael is. Even Jim and Pam cannot bolster the show on their own. This can be evidenced in the final two seasons following Michael's departure where the show saw a noticeable dip in quality. Parks, on the other hand, is filled with a cast of great characters which it takes time to develop. It is truly an ensemble show with most of the comedy coming from its character interactions.

These differences show why the shows developed differently and had different periods of high and low quality.  It may seem like I was bashing the Office in the previous paragraph, but Parks really got off to a horrible start. The characters weren't working and at first Amy Poehler couldn't lead the show on her own. The Office started out strongly because Steve Carell's performance as Michael is one of the funniest performances on television ever. As Parks grew it got better quickly, developing its characters and allowing them to grow. As the Office ran out of things for Michael to do it began to get stale because the other characters couldn't pick up the slack. Jim and Pam's romance was too drawn out and the characters weren't that interesting. Dwight is outrageous but doesn't have much depth. The other cast members are basically "one-note". When Michael left, the show lost virtually all of its steam and had only a fraction of its former glory. 

All of that being said, the Office was great at one time even if it was "the Michael Scott Show". At its best, the supporting players added a little drama and outrageous humor to compliment Michael. The best individual episodes of the Office are better plotted and stand-out more than some of the Parks and Rec episodes, but there are some great stand-out Parks episodes as well. In fact, I am struck at how hard it is to find a stand-out Parks episode because they are almost uniformly excellent when the show reached the peak of its powers. While Michael is a great character and the Office had some incredibly funny episodes, the Parks and Recreation team brought some of the best television comedy to the table consistently. At its best, Parks gave us great characters (Leslie,Tom, Andy, Ron etc.), funny writing, and a sense of warmth that no other modern TV comedy can match. add to this the fact that it finished strong and there is no question in my mind that Parks and Recreation is the better show.  

TV Tuesday: Batman '66

With the release of the first trailer for Batman V. Superman this week, audiences were introduced to a new Batman, one clad in armor and as menacing as possible. Last November, a completely different take on the character was finally released on home video. This version was played by Adam West and he was a character who fought crime by day, had a young side-kick named Robin, was helped by the police, and fought some of the most colorful villains TV has ever seen. This was the famed 1966 TV series, a show that played the ridiculous straight and in doing so changed superheroes and comedy forever. I have a pretty personal connection to this show from when I was younger, so when it came out I had to get it. I set out to watch the first season wondering if a show this over-the-top could still be fun. The answer was yes, emphatically yes.

Batman may be fresher today than when it first came out. Today as we take our superheroes so seriously it feels unique to see a superhero who just enjoys being a hero and who fights villains even more ridiculous than he is. If you want to get into this wonderful show, here are a few rules before you watch:

1. Do not expect this to be the Dark Knight: This is a light-hearted take on Batman. If you are looking for a darker version, you will not find it here.

2. Suspend your disbelief: The show knows that it is ridiculous and there are plenty of plot-holes to be found if you search for them. That being said, this series is far more enjoyable when you aren't trying to pick it apart and instead take it on face-value. Some episodes are genuinely, bad, but in the first season at least, they are almost uniformly excellent.

3. DO NOT binge-watch: Batman is a show with a definite formula. Binge-watching will only serve to dull its impact as a piece of entertainment.

With those out of the way here are some recommendations I can make based on the first season.

Best episode to start with: "Hi Diddle Riddle" All stories are two-parters in the first season and this is the first one. It's one of the boldest pilots ever to be broadcast and it contains some of the best moments in the show. It also features Frank Gorshin as the Riddler, one of the best portrayals of a villain ever. All Gorshin's Riddler shows in the first season are fantastic.

Best episode overall: "the Purr-fect crime" Catwoman's introduction is a perfect episodes with loads of great lines, action, and a great villain. The sets and death-traps also look great which makes this an incredibly entertaining episode of television and Batman's best.

Other great episodes: "Joker's Wild" is pretty much just as good as the others mentioned above. "the Bookworm Turns" Is one of the zaniest and most surprisingly good episodes you will find. Unfortunately, in the first season none of the Penguin episodes are really excellent, but "the Penguin Goes Straight" is a pretty good episode overall. There were really only a handful of first season episodes that I disliked, so overall it's hard to go wrong.

Overall, whether it be the humor, the fights with the sound-effects spelled out, or the crazy death-traps, Batman has so much to offer as a piece of entertainment. It is something that I would recommend to not only fans of the character but anyone who enjoys television in general.

TV Tuesday: the Sopranos Season 2 vs. Breaking Bad Season 2

TV has recently received almost as much, if not more, attention than film. Particularly these two crime shows, along with many others have been held up as the gold standard of the "new golden age" of television. Because of this, I am currently in the process of watching both and thought I'd compare both the shows' second seasons to see which was best. Why the second season you ask? for one, its the most recent season of each which I have watched and secondly I think the second season is when a show hits its stride. I will compare both seasons in a variety of categories and then give the overall winner. I will try to stay as spoiler-free as possible. So lets get down to business.

Expectations Based on the First Season
Both Breaking Bad and the Sopranos had good first seasons but both also had their struggles. For Breaking Bad, the writer's strike shortened the length of its season to seven episodes. For the Sopranos, it seemed to be a season spent finding its footing. There were brilliant episodes like the pilot, and "College" but there were also times when the show felt like it was still growing. While they both had missteps, the Sopranos and Breaking Bad both show great potential in their first seasons and so I had very high expectations for both.

Winner: tie

Main Character
Both Walter White and Tony Soprano are two of the most interesting characters ever created in any medium. In the second seasons of both shows each character got the ability to grow and explore new depths. Tony had to share screen time with a larger supporting cast while Walt was very much at center stage the entire time. I think both characters made great impacts on their series and continued to be incredibly interesting in equal proportion to each other.

Winner: tie

Supporting Cast
Here we finally have a clear victor. While Jesse and the rest of the Breaking Bad cast are good I find their actions as characters, particularly Skyler's, predictable and somewhat repetitive. This cannot be said for the supporting cast of the Sopranos. Every character has something interesting about him or her and this creates a world that feels like it doesn't just exist but that it is a living and breathing reality. The Sopranos spends more time focusing on its characters and building to action. Looking back its incredible how enthralling the characters and the universe of the Sopranos is and this is largely due to the supporting cast.

Winner: the Sopranos

Stand-out Episodes
In this category I'm going to look at what I thought were the two best/most memorable episodes of each show's second season and compare which stand-out more. This doesn't mean that they are necessarily better but that they stand on their own as great pieces of entertainment. For Breaking Bad my two favorite episodes of the second season were "Grilled" and "4 Days Out". Both of these episodes were intense and exciting pieces of television which focus on Walt and Jesse being involved in incredibly intense situations. This suspense is something that Breaking Bad does incredibly well and both of these episodes have plenty of it. They also stand out because they almost work as self-contained little suspenseful and entertaining short stories. The two Sopranos episodes I liked best in season 2 were "Commendatori" and "Funhouse". These were not as easy to choose because there were so many great ones. Both demonstrate the way that the Sopranos utilizes a slower pace to tell incredible stories. The first also has incredible cinematography in Italy and the second is the amazing season finale which even incorporates some surrealism. While these two episodes of the Sopranos were incredible and possibly better than the Breaking Bad ones they do not "Stand-out" as much and thus Breaking Bad gets the victory in this round.

Winner: Breaking Bad

Overall Story Arc
So it all comes down to this. If you were to take only the first part of the Breaking Bad's second season it might have a better chance, but while season two introduced several important characters and situations, I felt that its overall plotting was contrived. The Sopranos did not have as much action but the way that it managed to tell a great story over the season while also creating a fully realized world made its second season pretty incredible. In fact, there was hardly an episode of the Sopranos second season which I didn't think was great while I can't say the same of Breaking Bad. While I think Breaking bad is a great show the one I can't wait to get back to is the Sopranos.

Winner: the Sopranos

So their you have it the Sopranos has won this battle but we will see how things shake out when season 3 comes around.

Check back next Tuesday for a look at the 1960's camp classic Batman!

Gimme Shelter (1970) Review

It is not often that I review documentaries on this site. Part of the reason for this is that I am not as well acquainted with this area of film. That being said, I recently got some tickets to the 2015 summer tour of the Rolling Stones so I thought I'd revisit this exceptional documentary of their ill-fated 1969 tour.

It began as a typical tour documentary of one of the greatest and most popular musical groups of all time, it turned into something much more powerful and disturbing. The raw power of Gimme Shelter is its greatest asset. One gets the feeling that one is watching history unedited. The film is about the end of an era, the 1960s, but it is also the journey of one man, Mick Jagger. It is clear that if this is a theatrical tragedy then Jagger is our protagonist. His journey begins on stage in front of adoring fans and ends in a chilling freeze frame. Likewise, the 1960s and the counter-culture movement begin the piece with enthusiasm, but it all ends as the camera captures the concert-goers leaving Altamont speedway after tragedy has occurred.

The film builds to that tragedy, that will effect both our protagonist and the world around him, expertly. It is foreshadowed right from the start and this creates an increasing sense of dread. This dread is not shared by our protagonist on stage, who is shown greeting the audience while saying "welcome to the breakfast show" before breaking into a spirited performance of "Jumpin' Jack Flash". Jagger looks untouchable in this performance with his dance moves and his oscillating vocals. It is when these stop during the performance at Altamont that we really know tragedy has struck both off the stage and on. We further see a juxtaposition between the beginning and end when we are shown how Jagger reacts while watching a rough cut of the documentary. the look on his face sums everything up perfectly but is impossible to describe.

The film's power comes from both what it captures, but also from how it captures it. It feels gritty and real. While watching the extended coverage of Altamont I felt like I had been there. This ability to witness history is powerful, and in this case disturbing. Gimme Shelter perfectly tells the story of a man and his group, Jagger and the Stones, but it also tells the story of the end of an era. The fact that it does both so well is reason enough to recommend that everyone sees this move. Add to this the wonderful music that is played and you have a powerful and disturbing winner on all counts! 5/5!   

TV Tuesday: the Top 5 Sitcoms of All Time

This is the first in a series of articles which will take a look at the world of television.

The sitcom has become an institution. It has its roots in the farce of theater and radio. The sitcom helped television reach the popularity it has today, but it has also evolved and changed with the times perhaps more, and better, then any other TV genre. Narrowing down a list of 5 stand-out shows was difficult and many deserving shows are not on this list. Also keep in mind that this is a subjective list and just my opinion and that I am not claiming that this is the definitive list. In fact, I would welcome your lists in the comment sections below!

So without any further ado on with the countdown...

#5 Frasier

This has to be the most successful spin-off if all time. Frasier Crane was a supporting character on the incredibly popular, and pretty good, series Cheers, but he really shined in his own series. All the credit can't be given the prominent radio psychiatrist however because part of the success of this show, or any sitcom for that matter, was its supporting cast. Possibly more impressive was the way this show could handle straight-up farce. In some ways, more than any other sitcom, this series harkened back to the screwball comedies of the 1930's and 1940's where the rich elitists were both looked up to and made fun of, the wit was biting, and the situations were farcical. The show didn't always play to this strength however and some episodes verge on soap opera territory. Nevertheless, when Frasier stuck to what it did best it was something extraordinary.

Where Can I Watch it? Netflix or practically any other streaming service you can think of
Favorite episode: "The Ski Lodge" is an example of Frasier at its absolute best but there are many others

#4 The Dick Van Dyke Show

The classic sitcom that would normally be on a list like this would be I Love Lucy and that would be very well deserved, but in my humble opinion the best sitcom from the ""golden age of television" is this one. Why? Because it has strong characters, strong writing, and a fantastic cast. Not only do you get he comedic genius that is Dick Van Dyke but you also get the incredible talent that is Mary Tyler Moore. pretty much the entire cast deserves praise and the show was one of the first to introduce a workplace environment into the comedy. This sets the show apart and so does the writing. The show-runner Carl Reiner was a comedic genius and it shows in some of the best comedic episodes television has ever seen.

Where Can I Watch It?: Netflix, DVD, even Blu-Ray
Favorite episode: "That's My Boy?" A classic which you just have to see

#3 Seinfeld

This show about nothing is definitely something special. Seinfeld essentially created a whole new brand of sitcom and that brand has stuck with us to this day. Seinfeld was not based on the farce of old Broadway as Frasier was, or in the sitcoms like I Love Lucy that came before, Instead, Seinfeld demonstrated a unique personality and created characters that have been imitated time and again. On top of this, the show experimented with comedic narrative and taboo subject matter that would pave the way for other sitcoms to come. So much more could be said but I think the material speaks for itself.

Where Can I Watch it?: DVD
Favorite Episode: For its memorable characters and its ingenious plotting I'll have to go with "the Bubble Boy"

#2 The Simpsons

For the Record, I'm only talking about the first nine seasons here when I say that the Simpsons is one of the most important and hilarious sitcoms ever created. In these early years the show was a powerhouse of a new type of comedy: a comedy without limitations. There were seemingly no limitations in terms of narrative, content, and number of jokes that could be crammed into an episode. These golden years contain several 25-minute episodes with more humor in them that almost any feature film. It should also not be forgotten that the Simpsons was the first shows of this type and that all modern animated comedies owe their existence to it.

Where Can I Watch It: DVD, pay-streaming
favorite Episode: "Cape Fear" perfection!

#1 Arrested Development

Why is this the greatest comedy series of all time? because it has everything the other shows on this list have but it also brought us some of the greatest comedic characters and situations ever created as well as giving us a more serialized structure with running jokes that stretched across seasons. These things, along with the brilliant writing, make the show endlessly re-watchable. Although the fourth season was not completely up to par with the original run, with a new set of episode just announced we can look forward to seeing these wonderful characters on screen again and maybe this time they will reclaim the old magic

Where can I Watch It?: Netflix, DVD, and almost all other formats/services
Favorite Episode: There are so many but "Good Grief" is a brilliant example of everything the show has to offer.

Comment below with your favorites and check back next Tuesday for a face off between the Sopranos season 2 and Breaking Bad season 2!