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By Matthieu, 2012-07-29 20:30

The four biggest sitcoms of the last 30 years were all NBC shows, and they were all somewhat broad: Seinfeld, Cheers, The Cosby Show, and Friends. But they were also original for their time: A show about nothing; an after-workplace comedy that dealt with social issues and recurring themes; the first family sitcom to center on an upper class black family; and, of course, Friends, which doesn’t seem novel now because every show is Friends, but a collection of attractive people who did mostly nothing was novel at the time.

via NBC Has Decided To Stop Making Great Shows Like ‘Community’.

Well that’s just wonderful. Let me think of my favourite (currently airing, US-based) comedies right now:

Community, 30 Rock, Parks and Rec, How I Met Your Mother.

See a pattern? Excluding HIMYM they’re all “witty”, “sophisticated”, “critically-acclaimed” shows on NBC. Which also happen to have poor Nielsen ratings.

Witty, sophisticated and critically acclaimed.

I was going to ramble on about why Nielsen ratings are dated, but you can just read about that anywhere on the Web.

Hopefully NBC execs will come to their senses and our “sophisticated” comedies will live on. Or perhaps it’s time for a new way to fund and distribute quality entertainment?

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By Matthieu, 2010-12-04 01:33

Hello readers,

First, let it be known that I have no idea where I’m going with this. I just felt like writing. So here.

I just finished watching “Easy A“.I must say, when I first saw the posters and TV spots, I thought “oh god, not another one of those teen dramedies.” But for some reason, tonight I decided to watch it. Maybe it was because my back and abs are in pain from too many sit-ups after too long a hiatus. Maybe it was because I saw the poster again and thought Emma Stone was kind of cute. Maybe it was because I might have seen someone post something about it on Facebook. Maybe it was because of its ambiguous title. In any case, I watched it, and here’s my two cents. Because you all want to hear my opinion. Right?

The movie opens with the customary light rock/pop tune together with some establishing shots of the city of Ojai, California, and its high school. Some beautiful shots, by the way. Really makes me want to visit California. Anyway, the premise of the film is a girl, Olive, who always seemed to pass unnoticed, manages to attract the attention of the whole school after the old rumour mill gets a hold of a little white lie. Naturally, this lie is about sex. I mean, what else would it be? It’s high school, and it’s Hollywood. Sex sells, as they say.

And now, those shots of California. More of my rambling after the break.

Our protagonist sets the scene through a voice-over monologue, sprinkled with humourous remarks, which turns out to be a webcast, sort of a Gen Y take on the classic “This is My Story“. We’re given a who’s who tour of the school and are introduced to the unlikely best friend with large breasts (this fact IS pointed out in the movie, by the way) and the cool teacher. Now I just realized I can’t really say much more without giving up too much plot (and boring everyone), so I’ll keep it short. Smart (pretty) girl feels unnoticed, but is not really unhappy. Besides, she’s above all that angsty teenage stuff and has strangely supportive parents. Happens to tell a lie that gets out of hand, but then decides to run with it because it gives her sort of a rush. Problem arises, stuff happens, presto, a movie.

Not really sure exactly what it is, but I really love this movie right now. Maybe it was the 80’s movie references. Maybe it was the original idea. (At least I think it was original…) Maybe it was the small town, non-LA non-beach view of California. Maybe it was high school nostalgia. Maybe it was the Sylvia Plath reference. Maybe it was the cute, clever protagonist. Maybe it was the 30 Rock-esque product placement.

Anyway. In conclusion, watch it, form your opinion, and make fun of me if you must. Also give me a break, it’s almost 2AM.

And finally, in support of my “cute protagonist” point, some YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9MvUdR6j3w

By the way, I definitely do NOT do this when I’m alone… ahem.