Comedy Shows:
AP Bio
Arrested Development
The Good Place*
Marvelous Mrs Maisel
Miracle Workers
Trial and Error
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
"Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" and "Arrested Development" concluded their runs this year with the back halves of seasons that ran over two years. "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" is a more episodic show that lives or dies based on the quality of the episodic plot and it had a pretty high hit-to-miss ratio as it approached the end. "Arrested Development" started off clunky and didn't have as much stunt casting to rely on. Some might have even preferred the up-in-the-air status of things at the end of the fourth season, but the show managed to really focus on the labyrinthine plotting and organically earn its happy ending. Right after watching "The Good Place", I felt like the season dilly-dallied too long in Australia but looking back that seems like a minor blemish. The show world-builds like an adderrol-addled toddler playing with legos but it has such a plethora of quotable lines and pretty much every character on screen is memorable in some way.
Actor:
Adam Clayton-Holland, Those Who Can't
Daniel Radcliffe, Miracle Workers
Glenn Howerton, A.P. Bio*
Ramy Youssef, Ramy
Ted Danson, The Good Place
Tim Robinson, I Think You Should Leave
Howerton's transition from ensemble player in "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" to headlining his own show is the epitome here of how to retain popular elements of your screen persona and do something fresh with them: He's still a bit psychopath and unfeeling and is every bit the know-it-all as Dennis Reynolds but somehow it's just different. My runner-up here would be a close call between the TV veteran Danson and Ramy Youssef. Even though Youssef is playing a version of himself reading his own script (something that could lower the degree of difficulty) there's a lot that's affecting about his performance.
Actress:
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidtt
Geraldine Viswanathan, Miracle Workers
Kristen Bell, The Good Place
Natasha Lyonne, Russian Doll*
Rachel Bloom, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Rachel Brosnahan, Marvelous Mrs Maisel
It's hard to ignore Bloom, Brosnahan, Kemper or Bell because those shows are great female-driven comedies that put those actresses front and center. Brosnahan has had an incredible journey from the lower rungs of comedy actor obscurity so she's been quite rootable. Allison Brie is another great pick and I might have included here but I felt the second season of "Glow" was a fast turn towards boring and I'm not sure if she did anything new. Bell is a close-runner up here but Natasha Lyonne really dos an excellent job of channeling her low-filter id-driven screen persona and creating a comic lead out of it. Lyonne's character is so simultaneously kind-hearted and rude, watching her is an examination of the more superficial elements of typical cordiality.
Supporting Actor:
Chris Redd, SNL
David Cross, Arrested Development
Mikey Day, SNL
Rob McElhenney, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Steve Buscemi, Miracle Workers*
Tony Shalhoub, Marvelous Mrs Maisel
One of my favorite characters on TV is Jason Mendoza but I think it's the way the character is written more than the actor. In contrast, Shalhoub is being fed the most stereotypical blather by Amy Sherman-Palladino and he still finds a way to turn it into something substantive. SNL nominations typically award people for having a hit political impression that catches but Redd and Day really deserve a lot of praise for doing a lot of the grunge work and carrying their weight so early in their careers. It's kind of a six-way tie between the four non-SNL guys with Buscemi taking it by a nose.
Supporting Actress:
Alia Shawkat, Arrested Development
Catherine O'Hara, Schitt's Creek
Kristin Chenoweth, Trial and Error
Juliette Lewis, Camping*
Lyric Lewis, AP Bio
Meredith MacNeill, Baroness von Sketch Show
This is a wealth of talent in this category with a wide range of variation. O'Hara has long been a fan favorite (and a real Emmy nominee this year) and you either love her or hate her snooty character on "Schitt's Creek" which is a testament to the actress. MacNeill is one of a very talented quartet but she really sticks out for her knack for physical comedy. Shawkat was the most dynamic character on "Arrested Development" this past season and you have to give it up for anyone who can simultaneously hold the affections of a septugenarian AND their first cousin. Lyric Lewis is one of a murderer's row of characters on "AP Bio" including a trio of teacher friends whose banter is so well-established they could convince the audience that pizza slapping is a thing. Lewis has slightly more sass than the others and plays best off of Durbin (Patton Oswalt). However, I'm going with Juliette Lewis who has been chugging along since getting Oscar nominated as a teenager, is wicked fun as a thorn in Jennifer Garner's side on "Camping."
Guest Star Actor:
Adam Scott, The Good Place
Jason Matzoukas, The Good Place
Jerry Minor, Those Who Can't
Joel McCrary, Trial and Error
Michael McKean, The Good Place*
Norm Lewis, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Norm McDonald, The Orville
Lest you think Jason was a Season 2 presence, he appeared in the Season 3 finale to show off his refinement and help pump out babies. His delivery on the line "Hi, I'm Derek" is pretty much all he needs to be placed in this category. For those who need a refresher, McCrary was a judge with a prominent singing voice whose accident got him reduced to a near mute that only Peckers can here; Norm Lewis was the Broadway performer who introduced Titus to the Cats hoax; and McDonald is a member of the Orville's engineering staff who also happens to be an amorphous blob of slime (not making that up). Generally, a good one-off guest star is one who makes an immediate comic impression with something off-kilter that sticks out and McKean's worrisome apologeticness lends itself to some very good scenes.
[Update: Luke Kirby of Marvelous Mrs Maisel won this category]
Guest Star Actress:
Amy Sedaris, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Elizabeth Alderfer, AP Bio
Maria Bamford, Arrested Development
Maya Rudolph, The Good Place*
Mindy Kailing, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Susie Essman, Those Who Can't
Tami Sagher, Russian Doll
I was so happy for Tobias to be able to hold on to DeBrie a little longer and I practically fell in love with Elizabeth Alderfer myself, so there are a lot of appealling choices. For those who can't recall, Susie Essman is a loud-mouthed hustler at Smoot High and Tami Sagher was the secretary to an Orthodox Rabbi who somehow manages to withstand Natasha Lyonne's patience for a good while. In terms of omissions, SNL hosts often go in guest categories but I didn't really think this was a stand-out season with any highlights in terms of who they bought in. Perhaps Emma Stone would be closest if this category weren't so packed. Maya Rudolph takes the cake here because not only is she a distinct comic character whose every line is quoteworthy, she looks like she's having tremendous fun being there.
[Update: Jane Lynch of Marvelous Mrs Maisel won this category]
Dialogue/Writing:
Arrested Development
BoJack Horseman
The Good Place*
Miracle Workers
Trial and Error*
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
I'm going to throw a bone to "Trial and Error" considering it didn't get picked up for Season 3 (who knows, it might get life elsewhere?) and give it a co-win. The sheer absurdity of East Peck really works itself nicely into much of the loopy dialogue (particularly Dwayne) and the show enjoys a lot of fun play off the motiffs. I can't leave "The Good Place" behind: I likely can take any random line and throw it in my twitter feed because it's just that consistently good. For "BoJack", I wasn't fond of the "Free Churro" episode and i thought the season didn't have as much significant movement, but the dialogue is always sharp and there were a few ambitious episodes like the one with four Halloweens or the Henry Fondle episode.
Theme Song/Title Sequence:
Baroness von Sketch Show*
The Big Bang Theory
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Lodge 49
Man in High Castle
Orange is the New Black
I didn't see the new "Man in High Castle" or even know that the show was still running until I checked so that's nice for the theme song. "Lodge 49" is appropriately psychedelic. "Baroness von Sketch Show" just encapsulates who the four women are to the soundtrack of "Dancing Underwater" by Brave Shores
Showing posts with label Ellie Kemper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ellie Kemper. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Last Minute Emmy Wish List in the Comedy Categories
Here are some last minute predictions for the Oscars in the comedy categories using only shows I've seen. Seven shows get nominated in the comedy category and in the writing and directing categories the shows generally go to specific episodes. In this case, I listed overall writing and directing and then picked twelve episodes I really liked in hopes of picking them up. On the drama side, I don't really have many hopes except hoping that Bates Motel gets honored and that Aubrey Plaza gets a supporting nod in Legion.
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| Credit: Deadline.com |
Best Comedy
Good Place
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Trial and Error
The Real O’Neals
Lady Dynamite
Schitt’s Creek
Those Who Can’t
BoJack Horseman
Directing
The Good Place
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Trial and Error
Dirk Gentley’s Whollistic Detective Agency
I Love Dick
Brockmire
Writing:
Dirk Gentley’s Whollistic Detective Agency
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
The Good Place
BoJack Horseman
Trial and Error
Brockmire
Lead Actor:
Hank Azaria, Brockmire
Randall Park, Fresh off the Boat
Pete Holmes, Crashing
Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek
John Lithgow, Trial and Error
Andy Daly, Review
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie
Maria Bamford, Lady Dynamite
Kathryn Hahn, I Love Dick
Constance Wu, Fresh off the Boat
Kristen Bell, The Good Place
Amanda Peete, Brockmire
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Supporting Actor:
Danny DeVito, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Fred Melamed, Lady Dynamite
Sam Waterson, Grace and Frankie
Kevin Bacon, I Love Dick
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Ted Danson, The Good Place
Supporting Actress:
Martha Plimpton, Real O’Neals
June Diane Raphael, Grace and Frankie
Lauren Lapkus, Crashing
Mary Steenburgen, Last Man on Earth
Jayma Mays, Trial and Error
Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek
Guest Actor:
Adam Scott as Trevor, The Good Place
Daveed Diggs as Perry, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Ray Liotta as Paulie Fiuccillo, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Stephen Tobolowsky as Jack Barker, Silicon Valley
Aasif Mandvi as Parshwall, Another Period
John Gemberling as John Hancock, Making History
Guest Actress:
Cheri Oteri as Cattie Goodman, Those Who Can’t
Annie Mumulo as Jill Kwatne-Adelman nee Kwatne, Lady Dynamite
Christine Rose as Josie Davis, Trial and Error
Ramona Young as Allison, The Real O’Neals
June Dianne Raphael as Eleanor Roosevelt, Another Period
Sandy Martin as Mac's mom, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Spring 2015 Roundup Part II-Schitt's Creek, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Librarians
The Librarians (TNT)-This show is reminiscent of the syndicated series I grew up with like
"Sinbad: The Seven Seas" and "Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" but times have changed and the show's attempts at building some grand mythology pale in comparison to the kinds of fantasy and historical fiction that TV is producing these days.
The plot of "The Librarians" is so vague, it almost seems as if it was was created by a pair of hyperactive 9 year olds who were stuck in the library one day with nothing to do but let their imaginations run wild. "Oooh, and let's pretend the librarian has a magical sword that flies!" "Oooh Oooh and they have a secret portal to the minotaur castle!"
Even the level of character development seems like it was written by kids. The thief character has absolutely no development beyond being a thief who lives thieving. He also has a cockney accent which is as lazy a characterization as you can get (Rattling off awful action films that use this trope: "Mortal Kombat", "Fast and Furious", "LXG" and "Tomb Raider"). We also have an exotic looking bad girl with a British accent and an inexplicable willingness to hurl herself at the good guys expecting different results along with henchmen that come straight from the "Mighty Morphing Power Rangers" school of attack. It similarly takes a special lack of competence to put Rebecca Romaijn alongside someone like Noah Wyle and produce so little sexual chemistry.
If there's any fun to be had, it's watching pros like Jane Curtin and John Larroquette dive into such inanity as if it's Shakespeare. To the show's credit, it has some self-awareness of its cheeky nature, but there's no harm in actually making the show good on its own merits.
The plot of "The Librarians" is so vague, it almost seems as if it was was created by a pair of hyperactive 9 year olds who were stuck in the library one day with nothing to do but let their imaginations run wild. "Oooh, and let's pretend the librarian has a magical sword that flies!" "Oooh Oooh and they have a secret portal to the minotaur castle!"
Even the level of character development seems like it was written by kids. The thief character has absolutely no development beyond being a thief who lives thieving. He also has a cockney accent which is as lazy a characterization as you can get (Rattling off awful action films that use this trope: "Mortal Kombat", "Fast and Furious", "LXG" and "Tomb Raider"). We also have an exotic looking bad girl with a British accent and an inexplicable willingness to hurl herself at the good guys expecting different results along with henchmen that come straight from the "Mighty Morphing Power Rangers" school of attack. It similarly takes a special lack of competence to put Rebecca Romaijn alongside someone like Noah Wyle and produce so little sexual chemistry.
If there's any fun to be had, it's watching pros like Jane Curtin and John Larroquette dive into such inanity as if it's Shakespeare. To the show's credit, it has some self-awareness of its cheeky nature, but there's no harm in actually making the show good on its own merits.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)-There’s an old saying that comedy is tragedy from distance.
Distance, however, can refer not just to the passing of time but the closeness
of the viewer to the bad event in question. Wile E Coyote falling off a cliff,
for example, would be a lot less funny if there were realistic close-ups of his
blood splattering across the desert floor.
Likewise, one has to wonder why Tina Fey and Robert Carlock
made the odd choice to give the central character in this “Naïve Midwesterner
Strikes out in the Big City” tale such a traumatic backstory. To recap, the titular
Kimmy Schmidt (Ellie Kemper) is a woman who was kidnapped as a young teenager
by a psychotic pastor and trapped in an underground bunker for 15 years and
subjected to “weird sex stuff.” This isn’t too much of a problem considering
the talents of the writers to sidestep the whole probable PTSD issue and keep
the tone comic. As the story arced toward the trial at season’s end, one just
has to wonder why the season chose such a bleak starting point as the baseline.
Other than that and a highly irritating theme song (which I
realize was deliberately annoying, but still), there’s little else to complain
about here. Casting Ellie Kemper (the only actress who seemed like she was
trying in the latter seasons of “The Office”) as the spunky and naïve lead is a
no-brainer but the selection of Carol “Mrs. Latka Gravas” Kane and Tituss
Burgess are both strokes of inspiration. Burgess previously appeared in “30
Rock” as the one-notiest of oharacters in flamboyant fame seeker D’Fwan on the show-within-a-show “Queen of Jordan.” Although the D’Fwan character’s
flatness was part of the joke, it’s still surprising to see Tituss’s new
character follow the same outlines as the old character and be expanded so richly.
Similarly, Carol Kane has never been on
30 Rock, but her comic gifts have always seemed like the perfect fit for the
Tina Fey world as a batty old woman with clear Ashkenazi Jewish leanings whose
paranoia and shady past are optimized for some of the show’s best quotes.
 |
| Credit: GeekBinge |
Similarly, Fey and Carlock continue to mine humor out of the
absurdly rich with Jane Krakowski as the polar opposite of financially normal.
If anyone’s given short shrift on this show, it’s the love
interests (oh, and also the teenage daughter). Love was never taken
seriously on “30 Rock” beyond a superficial plot device that was always
acknowledged with a playful wink. Jack Donaghy cycled through love interests in
a way that rendered nothing beyond his courtship relevant, and I’ve never been
convinced that Liz ended up with Kris for any reason other than that was who he
happened to be with when the show ended its run. Similarly, Kimmy cycles
through approximately three boyfriends with the first one getting shipped on a
bus and the third one (one of the few interracial Asian/American pairings on
screen) lacking in chemistry although they did get a lot of mileage out of the
dong jokes.
The first season had a number of endearing plot lines as
Kimmy found a place, a best friend, and a job in fairly short order.
Schitts Creek (POP TV)– A fish out of water story between an absurdly
rich family stuck in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Co-created by Christopher
Guest staple Eugene Levy and son Dan Levy, the series is highly watchable and
gets a lot of mileage out of a winning premise.
What’s odd, however, is how little of the world is fleshed out.
Part of this is intentional (like Springfield with “The Simpsons” or Camden
with “My Name is Earl”, Schitt’s Creek could be a stand-in for anywhere) but specificity
couldn’t hurt in a small-town comedy like this.
Similarly, the Rose family has a lot of blanks that no one seems
to care about filling in.
They’re not just wealthy but wealthy to the point of
absurdity. The unrealistic arrested development of their kids is reminiscent of “Step Brothers” where there are
expectations that you’ll suspend your disbelief about how people can get that
old and know so little about the world. When Dave needs to get a job, he asks if there
are any openings in this small town for art curating.
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| Credit: Variety |
An effeminate brat who’s likely gay but is restricted to asexuality
at the moment (possibly because sex would get in the way of his daily sulking rituals), Dave is the weakest
character on the show in that we know only what he doesn’t like (being around
his sister, the town, daylight) and not what drives him. He would be more at
home in the bratty teen comedies of the late 90s than he would in Doc Hollywood.
The only thing that interests him is the equally sarcastic hotel worker (Emily Hampshire, MVP
of the show) who bonds with him through their mutual love of being jaded
adolescents (which, again, seems awkward considering he’s over 30).
.
.
Alexis makes out a little better as she transitions from a rich boyfriend to a local love interest gives her
some reluctant interest in blending into the town [Ed.note: She now has a second local love interest which indicates that she might just be capricious and easily attachable].
Chris Elliott finds his footing here as the kind of oddball sitcom character that would only exist in a quirky world like this. Maybe it's just me because I saw more Chris Elliott in the '90s than any other decade, but I would have trouble seeing Elliott in a comedy without that old-school quirkiness as opposed to something set in the present day. On the whole, it's still an entertaining show and I'd be on board for a second season.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Belated Bridesmaids review
Hey blog readers, I'll be recapping some of my favorite films I watched this summer in the next few days. Pick them up on DVD
Bridesmaids
Credits (w/the added convenience of omitting people who you've never heard of*):
Produced by Judd Apatow and a couple other people
Directed by someone who isn't Judd Apatow but probably was mentored by him (Paul something)
Written by Kristen Wiig and someone else
Starring Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Bryne, Ellie Kemper, some Irish dude, Jon Hamm, Jill Clayburgh
*Plus the added convenience for me of not having to open up a new window on IMDB
The age old question "Can women be as funny as men?" might have possibly been put to rest with Tina Fey conquering every dominion of mandom in recent years (Saturday Night Live, movies, TV, memoirs, etc.). Bridesmaid, however, takes the question to a new extreme: "Can women be funny when transplanted into the raunchy sex-obsessed stylings of a Judd Apatow movie?"
The curiosity of whether Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph could pull it off was what drove me to the film, but I was not expecting such a poignant and satisfying film.
Wiig, who overlapped with Fey for half a season on SNL, is the 2nd successor of Tina Fey (Amy Poehler being Fey 2.0) as the emerging funnywoman who we'll learn overtime is unstoppable. Just as Poehler showed that she can create a lasting comic character with pathos in Parks and Recreation, I think "Bridesmaids" was Wiig's moment of arrival on that echelon. If I may slip in the fanciest word I know here, Wiig brings pathos to the role: She draws you into an emotional investment.
The key thing is that she can get dirty and gritty. It's never believable that someone as chipper and cheery as Meg Ryan or Drew Barrymore would ever have lows en route to love that a romantic comedy requires. "Bridesmaids" is primarily a story about a woman hitting rock bottom and finding her way out of it making the personal stories that much richer.
People are quick to label Melissa McCarthy the break-out star but I actually thought Rose Bryne's prissy rich girl added the most to the plot. She's the perfectly sensible and nice girl who girls love to hate for no reason at all other than petty jealousy. I personally felt more of an emotional investment in Kristen Wiig and Rose Bryne working out their class differences than the buddy comedy or the romantic subplots.
Bridesmaids
Credits (w/the added convenience of omitting people who you've never heard of*):
Produced by Judd Apatow and a couple other people
Directed by someone who isn't Judd Apatow but probably was mentored by him (Paul something)
Written by Kristen Wiig and someone else
Starring Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Bryne, Ellie Kemper, some Irish dude, Jon Hamm, Jill Clayburgh
*Plus the added convenience for me of not having to open up a new window on IMDB
The age old question "Can women be as funny as men?" might have possibly been put to rest with Tina Fey conquering every dominion of mandom in recent years (Saturday Night Live, movies, TV, memoirs, etc.). Bridesmaid, however, takes the question to a new extreme: "Can women be funny when transplanted into the raunchy sex-obsessed stylings of a Judd Apatow movie?"
The curiosity of whether Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph could pull it off was what drove me to the film, but I was not expecting such a poignant and satisfying film.
Wiig, who overlapped with Fey for half a season on SNL, is the 2nd successor of Tina Fey (Amy Poehler being Fey 2.0) as the emerging funnywoman who we'll learn overtime is unstoppable. Just as Poehler showed that she can create a lasting comic character with pathos in Parks and Recreation, I think "Bridesmaids" was Wiig's moment of arrival on that echelon. If I may slip in the fanciest word I know here, Wiig brings pathos to the role: She draws you into an emotional investment.
The key thing is that she can get dirty and gritty. It's never believable that someone as chipper and cheery as Meg Ryan or Drew Barrymore would ever have lows en route to love that a romantic comedy requires. "Bridesmaids" is primarily a story about a woman hitting rock bottom and finding her way out of it making the personal stories that much richer.
People are quick to label Melissa McCarthy the break-out star but I actually thought Rose Bryne's prissy rich girl added the most to the plot. She's the perfectly sensible and nice girl who girls love to hate for no reason at all other than petty jealousy. I personally felt more of an emotional investment in Kristen Wiig and Rose Bryne working out their class differences than the buddy comedy or the romantic subplots.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
15 Favorite TV Characters of the Year 2010
Be sure to check out this list of top ten websites of the year
And another article to click on
List of my 20 favorite characters on TV:
1. Gus, Breaking Bad (Giancarlo Esposito)-This mysterious guy provides a voice-a rhyme and reason- to the forces across the border who previously were just standard thugs. Gus is very business-like but deceptively deadly. Much like Walter, he has a dual identity and even is a prominent member of the community. He voluntarily chooses to place himself a little too close for comfort to the local law enforcement (something which Walter doesn’t have the luxury to do) by becoming a prominent sponsor to the local department.
2. April, Parks and Recreation (Aubrey Plaza)-Much has been made of Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) as the breakout star of the Office, but April Ludgate won my heart from day one. Much like the comics of early and mid-20th Century filmdom, April’s humor comes from Aubrey Plaza's physicality: In this case her detached expressions and deadpan voice make you relish practically everything she says. Her deadpan makes the way she toys with men’s hearts (i.e. "Sister City") or prospective clients (“94 Meetings”) all the more delicious. It also makes her vulnerabilities or the times in which she’s genuinely invested in the world around her seem all the more surprising.
3. Erin, The Office (Ellie Kemper)-As a late comer to the proverbial party of Dunder-Mifflin, Ellie Kemper had her work cut out for her in order to stick out in such a large ensemble. I think she pulled it off with flying colors. In a world full of neurotic people, Erin’s unique idiosyncrasies (her naivette, eager-to-please attitude, etc.) command our attention because of the subtlety with which Ellie Kemper imbues them into the character. Kemper also commits to the littlest details in every scene. If you turn away while Erin is on screen, you usually miss some little gem that compliments the action.
4. Asha (Rebecca Hazelwood), Outsourced-As one of the few defenders of Outsourced, I gotta stack as many characters as I can in here. People criticize this show for being one-dimensional with its characters and falling on old clichés, but I’m pretty impressed with how the show was able to smooth out the rough edges of its supporting cast and give us distinct characters within the first 7 or 8 episodes. Each of these characters refutes stereotypes and each character's traits are contrasted by another character on the show (i.e. Manmeet's overconfidence is contrasted by Gupta's sense of self-shame) which illustrates the diversity of this culture in terms of personalities.
I like Rajeev's passive-aggressiveness and find that it adds a healthy dose of conflict to the show in comparison to other workplace comedies. I also like Manmeet and how he mines quite a bit of humor out of his sexual repression without ever seeming to be a downer.
But the breakout star is Asha. It’s easy to see why Todd would mistakenly fall for Asha: She’s smart and relatable and to this guy who’s lost in this foreign land, she feels less foreign than anyone else. She also makes the antiquated (at least by our standards) life choice seem pretty sexy.
5. Michael Weston, Burn Notice (Jeffrey Donovan)-Apologies to James Bond and Jason Bourne, but Michael Weston is my new idea of the perfect spy. Grounded, intelligent, unpretentious and most importantly, focused when he needs to be, Michael Weston is the guy I want at 3 AM coming to my rescue when the fate of the world (or at the very least, Dade County) is on the line
6. Kate Beckett, Castle (Stana Katic)-Castle works because of the interplay between Castle and Beckett and the reason and that's because Katic keeps the will-they-or-won't-they balance in check pretty well through her deadpan obliviousness to his charms. She's a strong and grounded character and is one of the few characters from the world of TV procedurals who's troubled past angle isn't terribly overdone.
7 and 8. George (Romany Malco) and Katie (Autumn Reeser), No Ordinary Family-The sidekicks of No Ordinary Family are really what make the show. Lab assistant Katie is such a delight because not only is she beautiful yet nerdy (every fan boy’s dream), but she’s so unashamed of said nerdiness. She’s also a little bit of a neurotic mess and a lot of humor is mined out of that.
George is very much the opposite, but he adds the same elements to the show that Katie does: He provides loyal support to the hero. His presence provides a more serious take on the superhero genre: The seriousness of crime and how important it is to put a stop to it. George is a great improvement on Romany Malco’s previous TV role on Weeds.
9. Mr. Schuester, Glee (Matthew Morrison)-With many large ensemble shows and films, the protagonist is often little more than a piece of cardboard around which the rest of the cast can show off their trademark quirky characteristics. It’s the thankless straight men to all the funny men that populate the show. With that, it’s easy to gravitate towards the show’s main sources of drama (Kurt or Rachel), edginess (Puckerman), sex appeal (Emma Pillsbury) or humor (Sue Sylvester), but Mr. Schu's where it's at, folks.
Aside from giving into a few temptations when it comes to the ladies, Mr. Schu is not only a stand-up guy but he inspires passion in his students and, goshdarnit, I feel a little inspired by him as well.
Vulnerable characters are always attractive, and one of Mt. Schu’s vulnerabilities is Glee Club itself. He needs the Glee Club just as much as they need him because it becomes clear pretty early on that teaching people to sing is his life’s calling and not teaching Spanish or taking more paid vacation than your average employee. When it’s threatened (by Sue or Holly Holiday) then you feel sorry for him.
Mr. Schu has taken a lot of flack from the critics this year, so I feel an extra strong need to step in and defend him.
10, 11. Phil/Lem, Better off Ted (Jonathan Slavin and Malcolm Barrett)-When I referred to protagonists being carboard for the other characters to bounce off, Jay Harrington in BoT would be the perfect example of cardboard extroadinaire. Then again, you have to give credit to the four other cast members for being fantastic that anyone playing Ted would have a hard time keeping up.
If I made this list last year, it might be girl-next-door Linda (Andreas Anders) making the cut, but I’m going to use this space to explore the wonderfully peculiar creations known as Phil and Lem. These two are fundamentally out of touch with the rest of the office (and by extension, all of humanity excluding people who went to MIT or pretended they did) is hours of endless fun.
The apotheosis of office nerds, Phil and Lem are so lovable because they embrace their status as outcasts. Additionally, the way they worship Ted and are scared of Veronica indicates that the two will stay that way forever. The highlight for Phil and Lem this season was the episode where they tried to scientifically devise the perfect system of insulting someone. It's possible that Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation could have come up with insults more organically than those two.
12. Jay, Modern Family (Ed O'Neill)-Sofia, Haley, and Manny are all funnier but Jay really is at the heart of the show and I have to admire Ed O’Neill because in the 90’s, he single-handedly tarnished the image of fathers in pop culture with his negative portrayal of dads in the lazy, misogynist slob that was Al Bundy. Jay, on the other hand, is just a little rough around the edges, but he emanates such warmth. It’s a remarkable balance and a remarkable transformation.
13. Fa’ad, Running Wilde (Peter Sarifinowicz)-Creator of The Hangover and Old School, writer-director Todd Phillips referred to Zach Galifanakas in the Hangover and Will Ferrell in Old School as “That's the Third Lead, which is the best comic position you can have. Todd used Ferrell like that in Old School. We had it with Steve Carell in Anchorman. It's the guy who gets to break all the rules. He has no story responsibility. He just gets to fuck shit up.”
(source: GQ magazine)
Fa’ad falls under this newly coined trope. He is entirely unnecessary to the plot. The screwball romance between Emmy and Steve could play out just as well without him there, but Fa’ad works his way into the schemes nonetheless and always managed to punch up the action in interesting ways. He single-handedly made the episode "Trade-Off,"* simply because of Fa’ad’s mispronunciation of “A-list” and his discussion of his competition with his brother “Fazul.’
*Not sure, if that's the name of the episode. Don't make me have to look it up, people. "Trade Off" is an apt name for the episode. Just roll with it.
14. Andy, Parks and Recreation (Chris Pratt)-Parks and Recreation has a pretty strong ensemble, in fact. Andy is another guy worth singling out because he’s come around so much since the first season. He started out as basically “the other guy” for an eventual Mark/Anne romance with his unattractive immaturity. Along the way, he’s retained a certain naivette and youthful exuberance (much like Erin on The Office) but he’s definitely grown up quite a bit. I admire how Chris Pratt has been able to make the growth happen in a way that’s been convincing to the character while simultaneously retaining the humor in Andy.
15. Senor Chang, Community (Ken Jeong)-I'll give this year’s most inexplicably suddenly critically respected show it’s due by throwing in Senor Chang to my list.
What a wild card, huh? The guy is a brutal dictator of a teacher and then it turns out he’s not a teacher at all. Now, he wants to be friends with the group or possibly destroy them. It feels like the writers just stick him with whatever label they want whenever it’s convenient, but I don’t really mind because Ken Jeong can be entertaining with whatever circumstances you give him. You also relate to Chang: Teachers want to be popular and well-liked too and if they could get away with it, I could see them wanting to trade places with the coolest guy on campus.
16. Ron Donald, Party Down (Ken Marino)-Ron Donald spent the first few episodes of the season in a Shakespearean downfall from his throne as head of his own Soup 'R Franchise. Then he came back as team leader and entertained with his one-of-a-kind style of mangement. The Ron Donald Do's and Don'ts, people. That's what it's all about.
17. Manny Delgado, Modern Family (Rico Rodriguez)-Manny probably ranks in the top 3 in maturity among the entire Prichett/Delgado/Dumphy clan and he's only 11. A perfect foil to the ADD-riddled Luke as well as new stepfather Jay, Manny is a lovable lug.
18. Avery Jessup, 30 Rock (Elizabeth Banks)-Finally, a woman who can keep up with Jackie D. Her introductory scene on a news talk show in which she and Jack connect through their mutual rudeness to the third guest was pure comic gold.
19. Jamie Oliver, Food Food Revolution (Himself)-How I wish I had an enthusiastic grown man running around my high school cafeteria and trying to get me to eat my vegetables. A class act, Oliver was a man who was very easy to root for in this very moving reality show which brought the issues of obesity to light.
20. Kelinda Sharma, The Good Wife (Archie Punjabi)-This was a year in which Indian women proved more sexy than their caucasian counterparts. As investigator to Alicia's law firm, she really elicits a lot of attention whenever she's in screen.
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List of my 20 favorite characters on TV:
1. Gus, Breaking Bad (Giancarlo Esposito)-This mysterious guy provides a voice-a rhyme and reason- to the forces across the border who previously were just standard thugs. Gus is very business-like but deceptively deadly. Much like Walter, he has a dual identity and even is a prominent member of the community. He voluntarily chooses to place himself a little too close for comfort to the local law enforcement (something which Walter doesn’t have the luxury to do) by becoming a prominent sponsor to the local department.
2. April, Parks and Recreation (Aubrey Plaza)-Much has been made of Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) as the breakout star of the Office, but April Ludgate won my heart from day one. Much like the comics of early and mid-20th Century filmdom, April’s humor comes from Aubrey Plaza's physicality: In this case her detached expressions and deadpan voice make you relish practically everything she says. Her deadpan makes the way she toys with men’s hearts (i.e. "Sister City") or prospective clients (“94 Meetings”) all the more delicious. It also makes her vulnerabilities or the times in which she’s genuinely invested in the world around her seem all the more surprising.
3. Erin, The Office (Ellie Kemper)-As a late comer to the proverbial party of Dunder-Mifflin, Ellie Kemper had her work cut out for her in order to stick out in such a large ensemble. I think she pulled it off with flying colors. In a world full of neurotic people, Erin’s unique idiosyncrasies (her naivette, eager-to-please attitude, etc.) command our attention because of the subtlety with which Ellie Kemper imbues them into the character. Kemper also commits to the littlest details in every scene. If you turn away while Erin is on screen, you usually miss some little gem that compliments the action.
4. Asha (Rebecca Hazelwood), Outsourced-As one of the few defenders of Outsourced, I gotta stack as many characters as I can in here. People criticize this show for being one-dimensional with its characters and falling on old clichés, but I’m pretty impressed with how the show was able to smooth out the rough edges of its supporting cast and give us distinct characters within the first 7 or 8 episodes. Each of these characters refutes stereotypes and each character's traits are contrasted by another character on the show (i.e. Manmeet's overconfidence is contrasted by Gupta's sense of self-shame) which illustrates the diversity of this culture in terms of personalities.
I like Rajeev's passive-aggressiveness and find that it adds a healthy dose of conflict to the show in comparison to other workplace comedies. I also like Manmeet and how he mines quite a bit of humor out of his sexual repression without ever seeming to be a downer.
But the breakout star is Asha. It’s easy to see why Todd would mistakenly fall for Asha: She’s smart and relatable and to this guy who’s lost in this foreign land, she feels less foreign than anyone else. She also makes the antiquated (at least by our standards) life choice seem pretty sexy.
5. Michael Weston, Burn Notice (Jeffrey Donovan)-Apologies to James Bond and Jason Bourne, but Michael Weston is my new idea of the perfect spy. Grounded, intelligent, unpretentious and most importantly, focused when he needs to be, Michael Weston is the guy I want at 3 AM coming to my rescue when the fate of the world (or at the very least, Dade County) is on the line
6. Kate Beckett, Castle (Stana Katic)-Castle works because of the interplay between Castle and Beckett and the reason and that's because Katic keeps the will-they-or-won't-they balance in check pretty well through her deadpan obliviousness to his charms. She's a strong and grounded character and is one of the few characters from the world of TV procedurals who's troubled past angle isn't terribly overdone.
7 and 8. George (Romany Malco) and Katie (Autumn Reeser), No Ordinary Family-The sidekicks of No Ordinary Family are really what make the show. Lab assistant Katie is such a delight because not only is she beautiful yet nerdy (every fan boy’s dream), but she’s so unashamed of said nerdiness. She’s also a little bit of a neurotic mess and a lot of humor is mined out of that.
George is very much the opposite, but he adds the same elements to the show that Katie does: He provides loyal support to the hero. His presence provides a more serious take on the superhero genre: The seriousness of crime and how important it is to put a stop to it. George is a great improvement on Romany Malco’s previous TV role on Weeds.
9. Mr. Schuester, Glee (Matthew Morrison)-With many large ensemble shows and films, the protagonist is often little more than a piece of cardboard around which the rest of the cast can show off their trademark quirky characteristics. It’s the thankless straight men to all the funny men that populate the show. With that, it’s easy to gravitate towards the show’s main sources of drama (Kurt or Rachel), edginess (Puckerman), sex appeal (Emma Pillsbury) or humor (Sue Sylvester), but Mr. Schu's where it's at, folks.
Aside from giving into a few temptations when it comes to the ladies, Mr. Schu is not only a stand-up guy but he inspires passion in his students and, goshdarnit, I feel a little inspired by him as well.
Vulnerable characters are always attractive, and one of Mt. Schu’s vulnerabilities is Glee Club itself. He needs the Glee Club just as much as they need him because it becomes clear pretty early on that teaching people to sing is his life’s calling and not teaching Spanish or taking more paid vacation than your average employee. When it’s threatened (by Sue or Holly Holiday) then you feel sorry for him.
Mr. Schu has taken a lot of flack from the critics this year, so I feel an extra strong need to step in and defend him.
10, 11. Phil/Lem, Better off Ted (Jonathan Slavin and Malcolm Barrett)-When I referred to protagonists being carboard for the other characters to bounce off, Jay Harrington in BoT would be the perfect example of cardboard extroadinaire. Then again, you have to give credit to the four other cast members for being fantastic that anyone playing Ted would have a hard time keeping up.
If I made this list last year, it might be girl-next-door Linda (Andreas Anders) making the cut, but I’m going to use this space to explore the wonderfully peculiar creations known as Phil and Lem. These two are fundamentally out of touch with the rest of the office (and by extension, all of humanity excluding people who went to MIT or pretended they did) is hours of endless fun.
The apotheosis of office nerds, Phil and Lem are so lovable because they embrace their status as outcasts. Additionally, the way they worship Ted and are scared of Veronica indicates that the two will stay that way forever. The highlight for Phil and Lem this season was the episode where they tried to scientifically devise the perfect system of insulting someone. It's possible that Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation could have come up with insults more organically than those two.
12. Jay, Modern Family (Ed O'Neill)-Sofia, Haley, and Manny are all funnier but Jay really is at the heart of the show and I have to admire Ed O’Neill because in the 90’s, he single-handedly tarnished the image of fathers in pop culture with his negative portrayal of dads in the lazy, misogynist slob that was Al Bundy. Jay, on the other hand, is just a little rough around the edges, but he emanates such warmth. It’s a remarkable balance and a remarkable transformation.
13. Fa’ad, Running Wilde (Peter Sarifinowicz)-Creator of The Hangover and Old School, writer-director Todd Phillips referred to Zach Galifanakas in the Hangover and Will Ferrell in Old School as “That's the Third Lead, which is the best comic position you can have. Todd used Ferrell like that in Old School. We had it with Steve Carell in Anchorman. It's the guy who gets to break all the rules. He has no story responsibility. He just gets to fuck shit up.”
(source: GQ magazine)
Fa’ad falls under this newly coined trope. He is entirely unnecessary to the plot. The screwball romance between Emmy and Steve could play out just as well without him there, but Fa’ad works his way into the schemes nonetheless and always managed to punch up the action in interesting ways. He single-handedly made the episode "Trade-Off,"* simply because of Fa’ad’s mispronunciation of “A-list” and his discussion of his competition with his brother “Fazul.’
*Not sure, if that's the name of the episode. Don't make me have to look it up, people. "Trade Off" is an apt name for the episode. Just roll with it.
14. Andy, Parks and Recreation (Chris Pratt)-Parks and Recreation has a pretty strong ensemble, in fact. Andy is another guy worth singling out because he’s come around so much since the first season. He started out as basically “the other guy” for an eventual Mark/Anne romance with his unattractive immaturity. Along the way, he’s retained a certain naivette and youthful exuberance (much like Erin on The Office) but he’s definitely grown up quite a bit. I admire how Chris Pratt has been able to make the growth happen in a way that’s been convincing to the character while simultaneously retaining the humor in Andy.
15. Senor Chang, Community (Ken Jeong)-I'll give this year’s most inexplicably suddenly critically respected show it’s due by throwing in Senor Chang to my list.
What a wild card, huh? The guy is a brutal dictator of a teacher and then it turns out he’s not a teacher at all. Now, he wants to be friends with the group or possibly destroy them. It feels like the writers just stick him with whatever label they want whenever it’s convenient, but I don’t really mind because Ken Jeong can be entertaining with whatever circumstances you give him. You also relate to Chang: Teachers want to be popular and well-liked too and if they could get away with it, I could see them wanting to trade places with the coolest guy on campus.
16. Ron Donald, Party Down (Ken Marino)-Ron Donald spent the first few episodes of the season in a Shakespearean downfall from his throne as head of his own Soup 'R Franchise. Then he came back as team leader and entertained with his one-of-a-kind style of mangement. The Ron Donald Do's and Don'ts, people. That's what it's all about.
17. Manny Delgado, Modern Family (Rico Rodriguez)-Manny probably ranks in the top 3 in maturity among the entire Prichett/Delgado/Dumphy clan and he's only 11. A perfect foil to the ADD-riddled Luke as well as new stepfather Jay, Manny is a lovable lug.
18. Avery Jessup, 30 Rock (Elizabeth Banks)-Finally, a woman who can keep up with Jackie D. Her introductory scene on a news talk show in which she and Jack connect through their mutual rudeness to the third guest was pure comic gold.
19. Jamie Oliver, Food Food Revolution (Himself)-How I wish I had an enthusiastic grown man running around my high school cafeteria and trying to get me to eat my vegetables. A class act, Oliver was a man who was very easy to root for in this very moving reality show which brought the issues of obesity to light.
20. Kelinda Sharma, The Good Wife (Archie Punjabi)-This was a year in which Indian women proved more sexy than their caucasian counterparts. As investigator to Alicia's law firm, she really elicits a lot of attention whenever she's in screen.
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