"South Park" Does It Again

“South Park”
Comedy Central
Created by Trey Parker & Matt Stone
Starring Trey Parker & Matt Stone
Current Season: 13
Number of Episodes to date: 185
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Last night, the 13th season of "South Park" premiered on Comedy Central and the show is better than ever. Since premiering in 1997, "South Park" has slowly transformed from a cartoon based on fart joke humor to the best satire on television. Absolutely no one is safe from the ridicule provided by creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. In the first episode of the season, the Jonas Brothers are the subject of mockery based on their own popularity. Throughout the episode we learn that their heavenly image is the product of the Disney Corporation and is basically used to sell sex appeal unwittingly to young females. All of this is OK, because they wear purity rings which symbolize their high moral standards. Once again, Parker and Stone are able to broach a serious social topic under the guise of a “stupid” cartoon. This isn’t the true intentions of the Jonas Brothers (in fact in the show it is portrayed as a scheme created by Disney, namely a “real” Mickey Mouse), but it nevertheless opens your eyes to how boy bands and other entertainment icons are perceived to our youth. I look forward, as always, to another season of "South Park" and can’t wait to see what cultural issue they expose next.

Bon Voyage Mr. O'Brien

It is with much sadness I am writing today as there are only 5 episodes left of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien". Sure, Conan is taking over "The Tonight Show", a staple of late night television for over 50 years and moving on to bigger and better things. For that, I am extremely happy for him and no one deserves it more. The problem is the boundary pushing comedy on Conan's current show won't be appreciated or fully accepted in the relatively older Tonight Show crowd. Conan has become an icon for college students over the past eight to nine years. I'm worried the corporate overseers of Tonight Show will put a stranglehold on Conan's extremely witty and edgy writing staff and force them to mundane monologues and skits that are currently provided nightly by Jay Leno. Since I've been a Conan fan for years, I will give it shot and I will hope for the best. The Late Night show will never be the same, Jimmy Fallon good luck because you have enormous shoes to fill.

"Big Love" to get a 4th season

Great news for those who have become fans of America's most popular polygamist family (myself included), according to Varitey.com, HBO has picked up "Big Love" for a fourth season.

The show is averaging nearly 5 million viewers per episode when DVR viewing, encore runs and video-on-demand deliveries are factored in -- a performance on par with that of HBO's frosh hit "True Blood". Season-four production is set to start later this year with episodes slated to run on the pay cabler in 2010.

Personally, I am very excited. Right now, "Big Love" is HBO's best drama and there are several great story lines being played out this season. My only concern is that the addition of a possible fourth wife could provide unnecessary distractions from more exciting plot points, including Roman Grant and the concerns of happenings on the compound.

How to improve the American TV culture

An interesting article from Brian Lowry at Variety.com challenges current US broadcast television to maybe think more like the Brits. The idea of the more episodes the better may not be the best path going forward.

Via Varitey.com - A creative cure for TV: Less is more

Great News for "Burn Notice"

The sophomore season of USA network's "Burn Notice" has gotten off to a great start, according to Variety:

Returning with fresh second-season episodes, the spy drama tallied nearly 2.5 million viewers in the key demo, according to live same-day Nielsen data that doesn't factor in DVR numbers. The number's up 4% over last summer's second-campaign premiere, which drew the series' previous high.

The spy show starring Jeffrey Donovan was a surprise hit for USA in the summer of 2007 and continues to pull in strong numbers. I've seen about half of season 1 and enjoyed most of the episodes. The show takes place in Miami which adds to the cool factor; throw in Bruce Campbell as the comic relief and you get yourself a pretty decent program. If you are interested in an above average, hip action show give a try, but there are better shows readily available on DVD out there.

"Lost" - Season 5 Premiere

Last night the fifth season of Lost premiered averaging about 12 million viewers, and as seemingly always several questions were answered while more were brought up. Rather than spend time trying to explain the episode (besides, better sites do that: Lostpedia). I will give my brief review of the first episode and a quick outlook for the rest of season 5.

Since Lost has such an expansive cast and multiple storylines, it is sometimes easy to forget plot points of the past four seasons. But I feel the first episode got off to a good start trying to explain the biggest question from last season, how did the island just disappear? The show has focused more heavily on the science fiction element over the past couple of seasons so I wasn’t too surprised when the time travel topic was broached. Once Ben spun that wheel and “moved” the island, it set off an infinite loop of time jumping for those left on the island. It appears the only solution is to have the Oceanic 6 return to the island, which undoubtedly will not be that simple and will be the main arc of the this season’s plot.

Once an end date was set for the series, after season 7, I think the writers were able to develop a more focused outline for the show. The show continues to capture my interest and I have no doubt it will maintain the standards it has set for itself. Lost is the most original and captivating show currently on television and I can’t wait to see what’s next.

2009 Golden Globes

The 66th Golden Globe awards were handed out last night in Beverly Hills. Like many others I tuned in before the ceremony started to see all the celebs file in. I was again, as always, pretty disappointed with this portion of the night. It basically entails each celebrity having to answer the same mundane questions which the majority of them hate having to respond to. The one who took it best in stride was Steve Carell a true class act. Now let's get on to the good stuff:

Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Television Series Drama
Winner: Gabriel Byrne "In Treatment"

I caught about half of this expansive series on HBO and I must say Byrne likely had double the screen time (and work) then any of the other nominees. The series ran every night Monday through Friday for 9 weeks and cranked out 43 episodes.

Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama
Winner: Anna Paquin "True Blood"

One of the weaker categories but Paquin has been acting since she was 9 (she also won an Oscar for her performance in "The Piano"). "True Blood" was definitely one of the more different shows on this year and Paquin made it work.

Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy
Winner: Alec Baldwin "30 Rock"

Having Baldwin take home the honor is a bit disappointing (I wanted Carell), but he definitely has landed a perfect role in the later half of his lengthy career. He provides a great balance of charm and sarcasm in "30 Rock" and works well with the entire cast.

Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy
Winner: Tina Fey "30 Rock"

What more can be said about Fey? Not only is she the creator and one of the writers, but she is an equally talented comedic actor. I just hope that "30 Rock" can maintain its creative pulse for a few more seasons.

Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Winner: Paul Giamatti "John Adams"

Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film
Winner: Laura Linney "John Adams"

Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Winner: Tom Wilkinson "John Adams"

Not too surprised that "John Adams" swept all three acting awards within the miniseries/tv film category. Giamatti, Linney and Wilkinson all had to recreate historical figures without any basis to work from. The series brought to light an impressive life from the country's second president (Giamatti) and his close relationship with his wife (Linney) and Benjamin Franklin (Wilkinson).

Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Winner: Laura Dern "Recount"

When I started watching "Recount" I wasn't expecting too much and was throughly impressed. The entire cast was phenomenal, but Dern definitely stood apart playing the role of Katherine Harris.

Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series - Drama
Winner: "Mad Men"

I have only seen the first season of the show, but "Mad Men" is more than deserving of this award. In a rather weak year for television dramas, the show about the ad execs in Manhattan is one of the most fresh and compelling shows on TV.

Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Winner: "30 Rock"

As long as the clever writing and superb acting continue, "30 Rock" will undoubtedly be a nominee in this category for years to come.