The Televised Education of Chris Spider - Page 2

I mentioned Twin Peaks in my first post. And I had considered Friday Night Lights, but maybe I'll add that once I whittle down my current viewing load.

Thanks for the recommendations, gents. Off to more Breaking Bad!

Breaking Bad, "Gray Matter":

-Seriously, where did this Aaron Paul guy come from? His assimilation of Walter's desire for quality product was amazing to behold from an acting perspective. The same goes for the awkward bank interview, and his realization at what he is actually being considered for job-wise.

-I like that Marie is starting to be portrayed as a little smarter and more sympathetic; she seemed slightly more exaggerated than she needed to be in earlier episodes, but her point about the potential misery of living with chemotherapy is an entirely valid one, acted well by Betsy Brandt. Yes, Skylar (am I spelling it right?) is totally sympathetic in her desire to see Walt live, but I love how Anna Gunn plays the realization that she might not have been thinking of this from Walt's perspective, especially once he explains himself.

-Speaking of, if that speech wasn't Cranston's Emmy submission, I'll eat my hat. The whole scene is great, but once he gets the talking pillow, it goes to an entirely new level.

-One thing I haven't mentioned is how well this show uses music, one of the few things it has in common with Mad Men besides general excellence. It knows exactly when and where to use it, and when silence is more appropriate.

-Seriously, the idea that some fans HATE Skylar baffles me, especially at this point. She's acting a little selfish, sure, but the show calls her on that, and she has the good grace to realize it.

-"Wanna cook?" Cut to black. Roll credits.

I think I'm just gonna go through this all the way and then get back to Mad Men, especially since Season 4 isn't on Instant yet.

Well, I'll still watch the other shows on discs when they come in. But Breaking Bad is definitely the priority at the moment.

Well, Crazy Handful of Nothin' certainly lived up to its title. The game has changed. Walter's in it for good now. And nothing will ever be the same.

Yeah, got kinda sidetracked with Korra and other stuff. I definitely plan to get back into the swing of things soon, but updates might be more sporadic. I think I'll just do general overviews of the seasons I watch, so I don't feel as pressured.

Yeah, I think I'm just going to put this thread on hold for the foreseeable future. I do still have most of these shows in my respective Netflix queues, but feeling like this is an obligation rather than a pleasure is kind of stressful. I want to go through this stuff at my own pace. That, and I got back into Futurama recently, and I need to catch up on that as well.

Maybe I'll do a relative update in a few months once I finish more shows.

Slight update: I've been revisiting Futurama (still love it, even the new stuff) lately, and that in turn inspired me to go check out another late, lamented FOX comedy that is now getting revived: Arrested Development.

Well, I'm five episodes in, and I think I'll finish this before I get back into drama. For one thing, the shorter sitcom length makes it go down a little easier than 50-minute dramas. For another, it's friggin' fantastic. A few random observations:

-The entire cast is freaking great. Jason Bateman makes for a wonderful not-quite-straight man; he has that frustrated affability, but also the hints of a more Bluth-like selfish edge. Will Arnett, David Cross and Jeffrey Tambor steal all their scenes, and I already pretty much worshiped at all their altars. Arnett is a particular revelation in his physical comedy, as I primarily knew him through his voicework on various projects. I knew Jessica Walter through Archer (which I now realize is basically this show crossed with James Bond), so I wasn't surprised that she's great in an admittedly similar role. Watching Michael Cera is weird because his voice is MUCH higher here, almost like he hadn't gone through puberty yet, but his likable awkwardness and deadpan comic timing are already in full force ("I think I'm gonna quit. Theater's dead."). I wasn't terribly familiar with Portia de Rossi, Tony Hale or Alia Shawkat before this, but they're all wonderful too. Hale really does seem like a guy who's never completely grown up, Shawkat is smart and savvy, and de Rossi particularly shines in her scenes with Bateman.

-Oh, and the presentation of the show is great as well. I can definitely see the influence this had on shows like 30 Rock, the American Office and Modern Family in terms of camerawork and editing. Honestly, it almost seems like a live-action cartoon at points when it gleefully cuts away to underline a joke: "I love all my children equally!" Earlier that day... "I don't care for GOB." And of course Ron Howard's narration strikes the perfect note, with barely repressed sarcasm and a slightly loopy tone at points.

-Apparently I accidentally watched "Charity Drive" before "Visiting Ours" because Netflix has them in broadcast order rather than the proper DVD order. Ah well.

-Who knew Liza Minelli was a natural physical comedian? She's my favorite guest so far. Clint Howard was fine, but was mostly doing his "creepy Clint Howard" thing. That will probably change as things go forward (Henry Winkler! Martin Mull! Carl Weathers! John Michael Higgins! Scott Baio?), but Liza's great, and just as charming as she was back in the day.

-STEVE HOLT! Him being completely game to play Beatrice was terrific.

-Going through this brings to mind the recent debates about "likable" characters on TV. I don't necessarily LIKE most of these characters, but I can understand where a lot of their issues and frustrations come from already, and so some of their more seemingly despicable decisions don't get as much of a rise out of me. Having at least two characters (Buster and Tobias) who are less "bad" than "confused and uncertain" helps balance out the rest. It helps that the other characters are completely aware they're screwed up, and I like little moments like George, Sr.'s genuine anger at GOB for sending George-Michael to break into the permit office.

-The Staircar is just hilarious in existing at all.

I've also been going back to the classic Simpsons well, and it's reminded me that while I still really really LIKE it, my first Groening love will always be Futurama. It's absolutely a matter of personal preference, as well as the fact that I wasn't allowed to watch much Simpsons growing up; by the time Futurama was on, my parents were much less restricting (and it wasn't ever BAD, I just couldn't watch most PG-13 movies until I was about 7, and R movies until I was about 11 or 12), and so I experienced more of it as fresh and new.

Roughly the only things I knew about de Rossi before AD was that she was an actress, and dated Ellen DeGeneres at some point, or is still with her. I will consider Better Off Ted.

Regarding Walter, there is a subtle difference between her work here and Archer. She sounds a little more down-to-earth here, whereas on Archer she's "putting on" or exaggerating her voice, which you kind of have to do in animation to one degree or another.

Also, just had a crazy idea: have Bateman and Cera guest on Archer as a father-son assassin team. "What's the most important thing?" "Killing?" "Family." For bonus points, give them scenes with Jessica Walter, Judy Greer or both (heck, bring in Tambor's character).

More AD thoughts:

-"JESSIE HAD GONE TOO FAR, AND SHE HAD BEST WATCH HER MOUTH." Ron Howard's calmly furious delivery on that line absolutely killed me.

-In a weird way, this almost brings to mind what a live-action Simpsons would be like. It uses every type of humor imaginable: subtle character tics and interactions, farcical plot twists, slapstick, rapid-fire dialogue, jokes about celebrities, self-aware meta gags... The only big difference style-wise is the narrator, and even he seems like a Simpsons character in his strange way of looking at things.

-Also great: characters constantly misinterpreting others thanks to their own biases and perceptions. Tobias thinking George-Michael is also a "never nude" when he's really just a nervous teenage boy is a prime example. And of course Michael and Gob's complete helplessness in the face of the Spanish language.

-Poor communication seems to be a theme, actually, especially in "Pier Pressure" where the only person who actually gets his points across is George, Sr... and he does it in the most hilariously terrible way. 

-Is it bad that I barely noticed Marta switched actresses?

-As great as Tony Hale has been as Buster, I think the character's potential is much higher now that he's out of Lucille's house.

-I love George, Sr.'s cheesy self-help videos. They strike the exact balance of pomposity, sincerity and ridiculously cheap production values.

-George-Michael's horrified "please stop telling me these things" expression as Tobias rants about his marital difficulties was pure gold.

-Gob valiantly giving up his chance to flee to Portugal so he could help Michael get back at Lucille was oddly touching.

-"You said that? You said that to my son?" "Yeah." "...You're on your own. Ladies?" One of Bateman's best moments yet. I loved how we only heard the fight after it started: "My FACE!"

-Carl Weathers playing himself as a ludicrously thrifty moocher is not something I expected to see when starting this show.

-Why *was* Jessie so intent on dating Michael? It seems like potentially sleeping with a public relations client would be counterproductive to your job as a PR rep. Especially when you try and tell his son to his face that he's ruining Dad's chance at happiness.