Under Arrest

This rant is long overdue. I'm going to put it bluntly, if you have seen Arrested Development and didn't love it, you're a terrible person. If you have never seen the show, call in sick to work/school and rent/buy/download some episodes and start watching now. Sometimes there are shows that go unappreciated and don't get a fair shot at a full run on the air. The State on MTV was one of those shows, and so was Secret Girlfriend on Comedy Central. Arrested Development, however puts any other show of that ilk to total shame. The cast/characters are fantastic, the humor is breath of fresh air, and there is no laugh track. This widely unappreciated show just didn't get noticed very well because it was smashed in between other Fox shows, which are usually total crap (see Family Guy post).

How good was this show? It was listed as one of Time Magazine's top 100 shows of ALL TIME. Last I checked, Time was a pretty good source. You can not find a bad review on this show from any credited critic or writer.

Every time I watch this show it makes me wish there were more episodes. Had this been on NBC after Seinfeld, the show would still be running. Rumor is that they are filming a movie with the original cast that is supposed to be out by next year...I may start camping out at my local theater this weekend.

It's Always FUNNY in Philadelphia

I know I can sometimes be out of touch with pop culture. I don't know how to pronounce Bieber, Lady Gaga scares me, and modern rap makes me feel like my brain is having a shouting match at itself while simultaneously having a seizure (seriously, there's like 4 dudes yelling at the same time over the guy who's actually rapping).

AAAAAAAAnyway...about a year ago my sister and her husband told me I need to start watching this Philadelphia show. I also had a couple buddies tell me that when I get worked up, I remind them of Charlie from the show. So, in hopes that Charlie was the handsome lady's man of the show, I gave it a whirl. Holy crap...even though I was a bit disappointed in the lack of beauty in Charlie, I was floored by the hilarity of this show. How is this not being talked about everywhere? How is this the first time I am hearing about this show?

The show, especially over the last year, has gained more popularity, so I hope we're safe as far as it staying on the air for a while. If you haven't seen this show, you suck...but you won't suck as much if you go check it out.

Since this blog is supposed to be me bitching, I guess I should find something to complain about. Well, my complaint is that no one turned me onto this show earlier. However, I love the fact that I'm still catching up, so a lot of the reruns are new to me.

LONG LIVE GREENMAN!!!

No More Family Guy!

Family Guy, for the last ten years, has been a staple on my DVR. But today is the day where I put my foot down and stop watching the show.

Part of this started after watching the 2-episode series South Park aired called "Cartoon Wars." It was basically the writers letting off steam about how they're tired of people comparing South Park to Family Guy. Not only that, South Park also proceeded to point out obvious flaws in the Family Guy writing. If you haven't seen these two episodes, find them and watch them. You will never respect Family Guy again.

I have a few issues with Family Guy. The first was addressed in the above S.P. episodes. Their jokes (the constant flashbacks) never have anything to do with the plot/storyline. It's like they just have a list of things they think are funny, and when it comes time for a flashback, they just throw it in. Some of them would be funny if you didn't mind lazy writing that has no relevance to the show. I enjoyed them for the first few episodes, but after a while it gets to be a headache of stupidity.

Another issue I have with the show is the lack of their ability to reference anything current. 90% of the jokes/references in Family Guy are from the 80s. There is no explanation for this. It would be more acceptable if they maybe made light of Peter Griffin loving the 80s or something like that, but no, there is no reason for it at all. In my opinion, this is just a product of the writer being a loser kid all his life and doing nothing but sitting in front of the tv for 18 hours a day. So all he knows is 80s references. A TON of their jokes would be funnier if they applied it to something current. It would also be recognizable to people who didn't grow up in the 80s. For the love of God, Seth, learn how to make a joke that derives from something less than 20 years old in pop culture.

Long story short, Family Guy has its moments, and some really good ones for that matter. But their shotty writing, outdated jokes, and lazy flashbacks outweigh those few moments that are actually funny. My only hope is that the Seth Macfarlane either figures out he's not half as funny as he thinks, or that he gets hit by a car and his arms/mouth are paralyzed so no one has any way to get his cancerous ideas out of him.

How the hell is this show still on while Reno 911 is off the air?

HAPPY SHARK WEEK!!!!!

Happy Shark Week everyone! This is my favorite time of year. This is when I pour myself a Jack and Coke, put on the sweats, and remind myself of why I'm totally fine not living near the ocean. For those of you who do not have the Discovery Channel, befriend someone who does...at least this week. Sharks are the badass murdering bully of the aquatic world. If they were human, they would be like Dahmer and The Fonze mixed into one with 10 times the teeth. And this week I get to see a bunch of British morons jump into the water to risk being breakfast to these beasts. Damn I love Shark Week.

And we're back

So I decided to restart the old blog. Jeevo got me hooked up on this a few years back, I made about 3 posts, then forgot about it. Then, I recently got swindled into joining Facebook. I realized that Facebook has now added a good 10-15 things a day that piss me off, so it's time to start blogging again. So, back by popular demand...actually no demand at all...I welcome you all to Bitching Billy's Blog