So what have you guys been watching lately?

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Jrecee
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Re: So what have you guys been watching lately?

Post by Jrecee »

Gave the Jim Gaffigan show a shot but wasn't impressed. He's one of my favorite stand-up comedians next to Louis CK, but the show felt like an unsuccessful mash-up of Louie and the very sitcoms that Louie has made fun of in some of its episodes. The episode I watched took the age-old husband doesn't know what his wife actually wants concept and drew it out for 30 mins while throwing in famous guest starts playing themselves, something that has gotten stale among these "comedians in a version of their lives" shows, which I guess really started with Curb Your Enthusiasm. Gaffigan plays a likeable enough guy, his wife is way too young and hot for him (this fact is mentioned in the show itself but doesn't change that it's a cliche), but other characters are mostly assholes or morons. It seemed to attempt a blend of drama with the comedy, but this element didn't really show up til the last couple minutes, and felt more like a version of the full house wrap up than any sort of genuine emotional analysis, the kind of thing that Louie has a way of digging at.
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Jmenglan
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Re: So what have you guys been watching lately?

Post by Jmenglan »

Hannibal, what a show...so sad that it's been cancelled. Season 2 is probably the best single season of television I have ever seen outside of Season 2 of Buffy. Season 3 started off a little slow (so many random shots of snails) but it has picked up in a major way. Beautifully shot, fantastic dark humor, and is the only show I have watched week to week since I do not think I would have the patience to binge watch when it ends.
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Luke
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Re: So what have you guys been watching lately?

Post by Luke »

Jrecee wrote:Gave the Jim Gaffigan show a shot but wasn't impressed.
Love his comedy, and across the board the critics are giving it a B+. Bur I can also see how a lot of people will think the way you do of "I've seen this show before".

Jim and Jeannie got the green light for the show from multiple networks, but the Gaffigans wanted complete control over the show. TV Land was the only network that would allow it, as the other stations thought, ya know, since the couple never made a tv show before and that they could use some help.

I've been watching The Boondocks again lately. Love it. Just season one so far, but plan on binge watching the other seasons as well. The show has balls. This is a show where a revived MLK Jr. calls today's youth and adults "Niggers". The social commentary may be too hamfisted for some, but I enjoy it.
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Jrecee
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Re: So what have you guys been watching lately?

Post by Jrecee »

I think the show would have worked better if it was based on his comedy, as opposed to making jokes about his comedy.
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BoneSnapDeez
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Re: So what have you guys been watching lately?

Post by BoneSnapDeez »

Watchin' the world track champs.

Usain Bolt annoys the shit out of me.

And daaaaaamn are these heptathletes attractive.

And the Jim Gaffigan Show is terrible. My parents enjoy it, which should have tipped me off.
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Luke
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Re: So what have you guys been watching lately?

Post by Luke »

Only three shows in, and Colbert has already had one of the best late night interviews ever with Joe Biden. Didn't see it? Google it? Hate Joe Biden? Watch it. Love Joe Biden? Watch it.

I remember Jon Stewart's Daily Show on 9/11 after the attacks. This is something similar, as a Late Night show again doesn't mind not being goofy the entire time. Even when David Letterman admitted on live tv that he was having sex with multiple employees the audience was still laughing and applauding.

In my brief experience of tv and radio interviews, you wait around, meet the host, you shake hands an smile, they ask you "What do you want to enter with?", you do the show and then leave. Pretty sure Colbert makes a point to make a connection with his guests before the interview.

Either way, phenomenal stuff from Colbert and he will no doubt change the face of late night television.
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MrPopo
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Re: So what have you guys been watching lately?

Post by MrPopo »

He brings a fair amount of the style of the Report in. When I watched the premier and his opening was very Late Show-esque I got worried, but the rest of the show was much more of the Colbert I knew and loved.
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Luke
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Re: So what have you guys been watching lately?

Post by Luke »

MrPopo wrote: When I watched the premier and his opening was very Late Show-esque I got worried, but the rest of the show was much more of the Colbert I knew and loved.
His transition from character to true self has been a fun thing to watch. At times he seems to go back into character, which is fine and understandable, but the man has such a natural knack for interviewing people.

During his stint on SNL I didn't care much for Jimmy Fallon. Love his show, love his attitude, and in general love his charm and attitude. I also love watching him play silly games with celebrities including J-Law. At the same time, his interview style is to laugh at everything, while slamming his hands on his desk in laughter. Fallon, nor Kimmel could provide an interview like Colbert did.
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Sano
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Re: So what have you guys been watching lately?

Post by Sano »

Been watching SG-1 and JAG a lot lately. Do SG-1 binges every other day :D
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Jrecee
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Re: So what have you guys been watching lately?

Post by Jrecee »

Only watched the Colbert premiere so far, wasn't blown away. Same formula as all the late shows, was hoping he'd change it up at least a little bit. Still, If I had to watch something at 11:35, it'd be him over any of the others. Can't stand Fallon, Kimmel's ok, but his best stuff ends up on Youtube anyway, Conan's gone downhill since he went to TBS, dunno if it's a budget issue or what, but I think his best stuff was the on location bits, which he doesn't do much of anymore. The Conan superhero cartoon they did during comic-con was awful.

I was excited to see Colbert get away from politics and have more free reign to take jabs at other topics, but it turned out that the best parts of the show were the political bits. JEB! Colbert has a way of poking fun of someone without it feeling mean-spirited like Letterman, who I wasn't a fan of at all.
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