Two reviews of TV on DVD and a belated announcement.
"Curb Your Enthusiasm," season 1; C+
Grade shouldn't be a surprise, I guess, since I consider "Seinfeld" the most overrated television show in the history of the medium. (Silver medalist: "I Love Lucy.") But I really believed that since many problems that plagued "Seinfeld" looked to be fixed in "Curb" -- a lead actor who actually has charisma (and, y'know, can act); a looser, improvised feel rather than "Seinfeld"'s convenient ironies and coincidences; a little less misanthropy; no Kramer -- "CYE" could be one of the best shows on television. Trouble is, those problems still aren't really fixed. "Larry David" is a much more interesting character than "Jerry Seinfeld" ever was, no doubt, but everyone outside of the main circle is still treated with contempt, and the Seinfeldian need to end every episode with some clever ironic moment has ditched the "clever" part. (Example: Jeff Garlin's getting bypass surgery. He asks Larry to go to his house and remove Jeff's porn stash, so Jeff's wife wouldn't find it if Jeff were to die. Larry says, no, I'm not going to do that, someone's going to see me with the porn and think I'm a pervert. But Larry eventually agrees, and in the shocking final moments of the episode -- gasp! -- Jeff's parents catch Larry with the porn. Yawn.) Small moments work well, as is so often true in improvisation, but there's far too few of them.
--- "The Office" (USA), season 1; B+
Okay. Beth-Annie wins. I did initially underrate the American version of "The Office" -- partially because, as she suggested, I was unfairly comparing it to the original, but more because Steve Carell is in that rare pantheon of comics who can can do everything right in selling a joke and somehow still make it unfunny. (See also: Ellen.) But, however, on the other hand, if this is possible, the non-boss aspects of the American show might actually be better than the British version. This show is more true to its title, with at least a dozen memorable cast members with meaningful roles (as opposed to maybe half that in the U.K.'s); I'm not sure you couldn't have as good of a show with the accounting department as the leads and Jim, Pam, et al., in the secondary ensemble. And having more episodes than 14 (not in season 1, but overall) to stretch out Pam and Jim's storyline is nothing but helpful, and allows for more quiet, observational moments -- Pam simply putting on lipstick in the finale might have been the most touching moment in television last season. I can only hope Steve Carell becomes too big of a movie star sooner than later...
--- Happy birthday, Benji's mom (as you are now apparently known). I'm am sorry that I was sick yesterday and thus made it a pretty crappy one all around.
i sincerely do not know what you are doing here. are you lost? were you
looking for your delicate calico cat, and did you follow her up two flights of stairs
to this room? she is not here. she was here, yes. we gave her a warm bowl of milk, we talked with her about campaign finance reform for a time, and then she bid us good day. i believe she was
going to the post office two blocks down, but i don't quite recall.
for surely you did
not find your way from prinsiana, the least traveled site on
the internet. if you did, though, perhaps you are looking for humor. perhaps you are looking for profundity. perhaps you are looking for answers.
i'm sorry, but you shall go naught-for-three.
