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Ranting
with Raikus: So You Want to Be like Me? The TV Edition
So you want to be like me, eh? Well
you're going to need a lobotomy… nope, been done. Well you're going to need
crotchless panties and a boa… no, seems like I'm reaching too much.
Fuck it. I don't even want to be like
me.
Anyway, this week's column is meant
to open your eyes to a few television shows that might have not blipped on
the old radar. I know what your thinking. "Oh, it's another columnist that
has already run out of material and therefore must reiterate the staples of
columnists--that of reviewing media."
Yeah, you're right. But it's
important for columnists to pace themselves. And I don't mean that by
writing a shitty article every other week, but instead to take little side
ventures every so often before returning to their usual subject matter. As
it is, this column has always been shitty, so there's not much need in
explaining it further.
The real reason I'm writing this is
because these are really important shows that you may not be aware of. And
if I can touch just one person… then I could be a felon. I'll start on the
more well known shows before I go to the archaic.
I'm trying to think of the last time
that NBC put out a very smart, witty, and funny show and… I got nothing.
Well there was Stark Raving Mad, but they cancelled it to make room for
shows like Ed, She Spies, and the 18th season of Friends. Yes, NBC does have
its staples like Will & Grace, Frasier, and West Wing, but it also has put
out its fair share of drivel in the last few years.
But now the network that brings you
Conan has another redeeming quality. A little show called Scrubs. I'm sure
you've probably flipped through Scrubs while it was on, you may have even
watched an episode, but Scrubs' appeal comes from the repeat viewing. For a
comedy show, it is very good about keeping things in context. Things that
happen in past episodes affect the characters throughout the next episodes.
In other words if you happen to turn on an episode, you usually can tell
where it was in the season within the first few minutes.
Here's the premise: The show centers
on J.D. who is a fresh, wet-behind-the-ears medical student beginning his
internship. His best friends, Turk, is also interning at the same hospital
as a surgeon. J.D. quasi-falls for a neurotic, insecure female intern Elliot
(because if I didn't say 'female' you'd be thinking, "Oh, Will & Grace in
hospital gowns."). Together they brave the hospital staff composed of Dr.
Kelso (the evil head doctor of the hospital), Dr. Cox (the extremely
sarcastic mad jester of the hospital--who steals the show every time), Carla
(a nurse who is also Turk's love interest) and the man simple known as… the
Janitor (J.D.'s arch nemesis--whether J.D. wants it or not).
Yeah, it might seem like a funny take
off on ER with a healthy dose of sitcom humor, but it's much, much more. The
chemistry of the cast is simply incredible. They play off of each other
verbally, emotionally, and comically nearly perfect every time. And as much
as my next statement might go against all common sense, NBC is… doing…
something… right. They are actually pimping the hell out of the show,
including tons of promos, marathon nights, the whole works. They even might
be on their way out of the shitter if this type of sensible programming
keeps up. But "Meet My Folks" is still a hell worthy trespass.
Scrubs is on NBC Thursday nights at
8:30.
Next up is Monk. Billed as the
"defective detective" the promos look rather dull and boring. But do not
overlook this show! There are two words that make this show a joy to
watch--Tony Shalhoub. Many know who he is, but in case you don't, he played
Antonio on Wings, Jeebs (the alien with the regrowing head) in Men In Black
and Fred Kwan in Galaxy Quest. But my favorite role of his was on the
short-lived "Stark Raving Mad." Shalhoub played a closed-in suspense/horror
novel writer that Neil Patrick Harris' (yes, Doogie Howser, MD) character
was trying to help overcome his writer's block. But again NBC fucked that
one up.
Anyway, Monk has Shalhoub playing
former detective Adrian Monk whose wife was killed in an unsolved crime. Due
to a complete breakdown after her death, he develops just about ever phobia
and compulsive order in the book. This also leads to his suspension from the
police force and continual visits to therapists of all kinds. He hires a
nurse named Sharona (please no bologna jokes) who helps him in his
day-to-day activities (although she is more of a best friend and companion
than anything else). The thing with Monk, though, is that even with him
having all of these disorders, he's still the best detective the city has.
Therefore the police chief often uses Monk as a consultant to help solve
crimes (in essence, Monk solves the case, the police take the glory).
Meanwhile, Monk is slowly recovering and trying to regain his old position
on the force to no avail.
Monk is a weekly themed show, so you
have his overlying past affecting his character, but each week is a new
mystery that he must solve. The show really separates itself from other "who
dunnit" shows because of Shalhoub's performance. It is smartly written and
offers much more than meets the eye.
Monk is on USA Friday nights at
10:00.
And that really poses a problem,
because another great show has the exact same time slot as Monk. So fire up
your VCRs and set them to the Sci-Fi channel because it's time to watch some
Farscape. Recently Farscape has gotten a lot of critical attention. It won
the Saturn Award for best science fiction show and has been signed on
through season six by Sci-Fi.
Maybe some of Farscape's acclaim has
gone into the writers' heads, because I will be the first to tell you that
this season (season 4) has thus far been much of a let down. It's still well
worth the watch, but be warned, this is a very hard continuity to get into.
Here's the set up: John Crichton is
an astronaut/scientist trying to develop a wormhole technology for good old
IASA (evidently NASA likes to sue people for their name as much as their
neighbor Walt Disney). He succeeds during a test flight but is completely
unprepared for the power of the technology. He is swallowed by a wormhole
and belched out in a distant and completely foreign part of the universe. It
is here that he comes in contact with two groups. One is a living ship
called a Leviathan full of rogues and renegades. The other is the ruling
government in that area referred to as the Peacekeepers. The name is rather
misleading, as they resemble the Empire rather than the Rebellion. Crichton
finds himself hunted by the Peacekeeper force, and particularly by their
leader--Scorpious, for the secret to the wormhole technology in his head. He
stows away with the other supposed outlaws, a melting pot of alien culture
and personalities, aboard the Leviathan.
That's basically the strict premise.
Farscape is such a complicated show that there are plenty of plots, sub
plots, character development, etc. to understand. You could go about it a
few ways. Probably the easiest is to log on to Farscape.com and read the
bios of the characters and some of the episode guides. Another option is to
catch the summarized episode that Sci-Fi runs occasionally called "Farscape:
Undressed." This summarizes the first three seasons and gives very detailed
looks at the shows progress.
Farscape is on Sci-Fi Friday nights
at 10:00 & Midnight.
Finally comes the crème de la crème.
This is a show you've probably heard mention of many times on the board.
Maybe you felt out of the loop, or not included, but fear no more-the
knowledge is soon at hand.
Cowboy Bebop is an (dare I say it)
anime. Now, before you click the back button know this: I am not a fan of
anime, but I love this show. Yes, it's a cartoon from Japan, but you can
forget it having feline faced characters, sweat drops the size of beach
balls and nervous laughter that lasts for minutes. This is a show with
substance, vision, and above all excellent execution.
The year is 2071 A.D. Earth's
populace has migrated throughout the solar system after an accident fifty
years in the past made the earth virtually uninhabitable. There is no
nationality, there is no culture, and there is no uniform law. To combat
this last item the ISSP (Inter Solar System Police) have instituted a bounty
hunting incentive. Criminals are no longer tracked down by the police but
instead have bounties placed on their heads that the bounty collectors can
cash in on.
Enter the Bebop. The Bebop is owned
by a former ISSP detective named Jet Black. Together with his partner, a
former Red Dragon syndicate (the most powerful organization in the solar
system) hit man named Spike Speigel, they make their living tracking down
bounties. Along the way they pick up a few shipmates. Among them are Ein, a
super intelligent data-dog Corgi (don't worry, he doesn't talk or anything),
Faye Valentine, a women with an unknown past, penchance for gambling, and
always trying to make off with an easy pinch, and Ed, a twelve year old girl
that is probably the best hacker in the solar system.
The appeal of Bebop to the American
audience is that it was designed for them. The whole series centers around
the musical bebop movement in the early 20th century U.S. in that it becomes
its own genre of story telling and animation. For instance Spike's fighting
style is modeled after Bruce Lee's martial art style Jeet Kune Do. They also
use conventional weapons such as a Jericho 941 and Glock 30. The animation
is so detailed that you can tell the models of the gun they use in almost
any scene.
The technical skill that went into
this series is amazing. In addition to that they have music composed
specifically for the series that ranges from jazz to ballads to simple
instrumentals and they fit into pieces of the animation like clock work.
Above all is the story. You have four
very complicated, in depth characters that are explored during the series.
And they have plenty of interesting pasts just itching to catch up with
them.
But words can't really express how
good this show is. And if you don't trust any other selection of mine enough
to watch it, do yourself a favor and trust me on this one.
Cowboy Bebop is on Cartoon Network
Saturday nights at 11:30.
I hope you enjoy these selections.
Let me know what you think about them in the forums. Until next week! |
