Recently watching for the first time:
"Firefly"
"Freaks and Geeks"
"Spaced"
"The Office" (U.K.)
Recently revisiting:
"Xena Warrior Princess"
"Dream On"
"Family Guy"
Firefly was a disappointment. There were maybe three or four episodes that I thought were excellent, but I found the majority of them were spinning their wheels for most of their running time. But I'm probably negatively biased because I've never cared for Westerns. I really like the actors and characters in the show, but a lot of the plots (and the silly Chinese swearing gimmick) annoyed me. My favourite episodes were the ones that were very character-centered, focusing on an individual more than anything else (i.e.
"Our Mrs. Reynolds" and
"Jaynestown").
I honestly think
"Dollhouse" did a better job of consistently telling interesting stories than
"Firefly" did, so I'm a little baffled about why when
"Dollhouse" got cancelled, so many people were saying they didn't mind as much as they did when
"Firefly" got cancelled, and the latter deserved to run longer than the former did. Like
"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine", I think
"Firefly" had a wonderfully diverse and endearing cast of characters, but was often too ambitious for its own good in terms of plotting.
"Spaced" took awhile to get into, but once I got comfortable with it, I was really enthralled. From start to finish, there were times when the humour annoyed me because it was a little 'too British', but the pop culture references, which seemed a little forced at first, became more and more brilliant as the show went on. The subtle
"Pulp Fiction" parody in the Series Two opening episode is perhaps the greatest pop culture referencing parody I've ever seen. I laughed so hard. I don't think even
"Family Guy" has ever done one better.
"Freaks and Geeks" is such an amazingly written, casted, and directed show. It's the one show I didn't grow up with that I can already say is definitely one of my all-time favourites, even with only one season. I can't believe how much humour, wit, and genuine emotion they can pack into every episode. The only show I've seen that's ever achieved such a sublime balance between the three was
"The Simpsons" in its prime.
I don't like the U.K. version of
"The Office" as much as the first three or four seasons of the American one. I think David Brent and Gareth are much more interesting and plausible characters than their American counterparts, but the rest of the cast is woefully underdeveloped, which I guess is part of the problem with the show purposely having such a short run. Tim and Dawn especially, who are supposedly the heart of the show, are so much less emotionally involving than Jim and Pam were
. Also, it was weird how depressing the show got at times for a comedy. The end of series two really disappointed me with what a downer it was. I expect a season finale to be at least exciting, if not uplifting too.
About 40% of
"Xena: Warrior Princess" is too silly with slapstick comedy and another 40% of it is too maudlin with melodrama, but the other 20% is some of the most creative and originally presented comedy and drama I've ever seen in a television show. It's not a consistent series, but if you pick the right episodes, it's a really unique joy to watch. They also had an amazing cast, which was equally adept at serious acting and hilarious pratfalls. Lucy Lawless playing like four different versions of her character over the course of the series was quite an impressive feat.
"Dream On" was way ahead of its time as a show where the character's thoughts in reactions to others are shown as clips from old black and white movies. A much smarter and more imaginative use of cutaways than the kind seen on
"Family Guy" these days. Like
"The Simpsons",
"Family Guy" is dead to me now because every time I see a new episode, it's atrocious and an insult to the show in its glory days.
Watching over the first three seasons again, I've decided that in its second and third seasons,
"Family Guy" was as inspired and unforgettable as
"The Simpsons" in their golden years. Yes, it ripped that show off a few times in those early seasons, but at the same time, it also came up with some awesomely off-the-wall totally original ideas too. I especially like the early focus on Brian and Stewie trying to be so ambitious and on equal ground with everyone else in life, then being held back by the fact that no matter how hard they try, they can't escape the constraints of being a dog and a baby.
