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Reviews
Night Court (2023)
Is this how it's been since it (re-)started?
Finally caught an episode of the new Night Court, S2 E8.
Is this punchline funny...
"...Did Dan just dance and I missed it?"
Some "thing" thought it was funny because that line followed by laughter ended the episode.
Imagine having "laughter" constantly follow rapid-fire typical dialog. The beginning conversations bounced so quickly that the announcer during an ad break for a pharmaceutical spoke more clearly in listing the drug's side-effects. I'm not kidding.
By the time John L. Gave me one genuine laugh due to his on-point timing from a fairly simple set-up, I was surprised it had happened.
They seem to be going for quantity of cracks instead of quality. Most of the canned laughter follows everyday conversation. It's the type of nervous laughter that might happen with a group of college friends, like somebody snorts water up their noise by accident. But it's not something you'd pay money to go see. Honestly I don't have to laugh out loud at these things but I didn't even have much fun watching it.
I blame NBC for the canned laughter because the Jon Cryer show that followed had the same thing. Except I couldn't take anymore and turned it off.
I assume it takes big money to film in front of an audience for real laughter because you have to be able to pay a lot of people to keep reworking something until a crowd of folks will actually laugh. Without an audience, it's like walking a tight rope without a safety-net. Not many comedies can do that. Modern Family, sure, and you see how long they stayed on. But not many.
I'm not going to give this a rating because looking at what's there for individual episodes, someone out there is enjoying it. But I'm disappointed. I may try watching again if I have the opportunity mostly because of the legacy Night Court that this sits on.
How I Met Your Father (2022)
Remember "That 80's Show"?
...few do.
Can't rate this yet because sometimes shows have a hard start. But I agree that right now, it's forced, which is what happens when almost everyone is new to each other. I didn't want to like HIMYM but honestly it was a well-written, smart show where the bond between most characters was already there and they let us in more over time.
Many reviewers complain about the "inclusion" but think about the attachment to the current state. Videos of (all) marriage proposals, throwing out "organic" apples (instead of an expensive type like Honeycrisps, or just sucking it up and washing them off), etc. May be what's in today but will anchor it here, too; removing an element that could make it timeless. Catching nuances in the writing matters, too. Example, if people have been texting each other constantly for weeks, why is it news that one of them is in Australia for 2 weeks?
I think I genuinely laughed once. Kim Cattrall definitely caught my interest when she walked in and made the best of the writing handed to her, as they all did. I may tune, again, to catch more of the British character, too. He was fun to watch. Nice touch with the fitting memory to Saget. Good luck.
American Dad!: The Wondercabinet (2021)
As light as this feels...
...this episode is actually kind of deep. I came back a few days after first seeing it to watch it again. The mood and comments about adults and their jobs and careers and lack of wonder. The idea of "small" lives, especially in this age of social media and influencers. How there are a lot of things we still don't know. And while there are lots of folks who will act like they do, that doesn't necessarily void these mysteries (the existence of horny little, pot-bellied aliens included).
I'm wrapping up my binging of AD with this season. Since I'm not real good about completing a lot of series, the fact I'm still going thru AD episodes says something. I'm not going to say I thoroughly enjoyed every single episode, but something keeps me coming back to see the next one.
American Dad!: One-Woman Swole (2019)
Good mix of comedy and depth
The episodes that focus on Stan and Francine's relationship are some of my favorites. Watching Stan lose his "train of thought" was rewind worthy. And the dream sequence at the end tied it together nicely.
American Dad!: American Fung (2015)
Mission Accomplished
What happens when new management that's only concerned about making money gets too involved in a proven creative process? An output that's confused, hackneyed, and hated. For all of the bad ratings, a part of me wonders if the producers actually prefer the vitriol for this episode to use as a warning to any suit that insists on making the show "more profitable."
Not a waste of time for thinking AD fans but don't expect the usual entertainment satisfaction from it, either.