Splitsider

Unpopular Opinions is a bi-weekly column in which a writer takes a stand against popular opinion, whether it's asserting the true merit of a supposedly guilty pleasure or dissenting against the universally lauded.

Earlier this year, after a hard-fought tournament, you decided that Community's "Remedial Chaos Theory" was the best sitcom episode ever. There is no way to say for sure with these things but maybe it's true; maybe when you zoom out completely, the dynamism and ambition of "Chaos" wins. However, in the context of this one season, I'd argue, and will argue for a bunch of words below, that "Chaos" loses out to another very ambitious [...]

Craig Ferguson is in Scotland this week, hosting his show and doing Scottish things with celebrities that look out of place. The result is Craig sitting shoeless (don't get your hopes up, foot fetishists, only he is barefoot) with Rashida Jones on a particularly scenic beach. They talk about smelly flamingos and vacations and Scotland. One thing is clear, do not compare anything to sausage around Rash-Jo, or she'll get mighty pissed, like a hot flamingo.

Remember when you started college and you didn't really have friends yet so you just walked around looking for parties, hoping some cool dude (with an attitude) would see you and invite you into some idyllic rager, featuring a keg of beer, if not multiple kegs of beers? (Yes? Ok, great. Than keep on reading) Well, Adam Scott and Nick Offerman are just like you and I in that regard. The two of them had a very similar experience – no, not while they were in college – recently, as TV stars. I literally cannot fathom someone not wanting to drink beer with Nick Offerman. It's unthinkable. Try to [...]

Conan O'Brien is set to swing by New York's Ed Sullivan Theater next Thursday, May 17th to sit on Dr. David Letterman's couch to either discuss how they both were so royally screwed over by NBC and Jay Leno when they thought they were in line for the Tonight Show throne or very awkwardly avoid the subject. Obviously I'm hoping for the former, although Coco in particular hasn't really discussed the situation or any lingering animosity for quite a while. But if anyone can drag some bitterness out of him, it's Letterman.

Conan was last on The Late Show a whopping 13 years ago, when he was still [...]

It must be nerve-racking to meet the President. What if you are walking up to show him your new pen and you slip on the rug and stab him in the knee with it? You would have stabbed the president – that has to be against the rules. It's probably in the Constitution – Thou Sha'll Not Stab The President, Accidentally or Not Accidentally. Seth Meyers was on Letterman last night to explain how he totally blew his chance to shake the man's hand at last year's White House Correspondents' Dinner. Also, after the jump he explains how Donald Trump has still not forgiven him for a joke he [...]

Conan was on Letterman last night for the first time in 13 years and they didn't waste anytime getting into Leno talk, as they assumed he was watching and would want them to cut to the chase. Conan has talked about the time he lost the Tonight Show before but Letterman is able to bring out a new angle on it, as he went through nearly the exact same situation. Since he's further removed from the situation, however, Letterman is able to take a sick pleasure in it all. Their relationship is fun, not exactly father and son – more like nephew and son-of-a-bitch uncle. Leno is the uncle [...]

Not to be all like, "CBS's schedule – woof," but CBS's schedule – woof.  The "big news" is they moved Two And A Half Men to Thursday nights at 8:30 so you better start figuring out if you're going to watch it or Up All Night. Oh, you're just going to DVR 2.5 Men? And then you're going to light your DVR on fire? Well played. 2 Broke Girls moves to 9, making it harder to accidently watch after How I Met Your Mother. Partners, the show about a straight guy and a gay guy who are pals, is the only new comedy. Check out the schedule below and [...]

Lost in all of the exciting new comedies melee, ABC and CBS announced some new shows as well. ABC will be bringing on four new comedies: Family Tools, The Neighbor, How to Live with Your Parents, and Malibu County. CBS is adding two: Partners and Friend Me. There is a show about Groupon!(?) And another where Reba McEntire again plays a character named Reba!(?) I won't lie, none of these six shows seem particularly interesting, depending on your feelings towards Sarah Chalke and Brad Garrett. They just feel like those forgettable sitcoms that only getting noticed if they do something offensive. You can read the loglines below. Do [...]

"Held next to Girls, 2 Broke Girls is a garish, loud Kabuki performance, something so discordant and ugly and dreadfully unfunny that, in its Brooklyn youth-y context, it seems like some kind of Bushwick anti-art performance piece. 'It's supposed to be hideous,' I can almost hear some character on Girls saying while nodding his head and watching the 2 Broke Girls cast flail around some Bushwick warehouse. 'It's like Brecht or something,' says his friend." — Richard Lawson watched the hour-long (oof) season finale of 2 Broke Girls so you don't have to.

It was announced today that all the principle cast of Two and a Half Men will return for the show's 10th season. Say what you will about how awful the show is – seriously, please comment on how awful it is because it is awful – that is a lot of season. It will become the 11th live action sitcom ever to get to 10 seasons (list below). It is noteworthy and truly a testament to the ability of millions of people to stomach ham-fisted sexual innuendo and half-men. We should be proud?

Coming to Mondays at 8:30 on CBS this fall is Partners, a new sitcom from James Burrows that the network describes as being about "two life-long best friends and business partners whose 'bromance' is tested when one of them is engaged to be married."

Coming to Mondays at 8:30 on Fox in the fall of 1996 was Partners, an old sitcom from James Burrows that the network described as "Best friends Bob and Owen work together as aspiring young architects on the rise, their relationship complicated by Owen's recent engagement to Alicia."

OK then! So, what the hell is the deal here? TVbytheNumbers discovered the weird similarities between [...]

Your enjoyment of How I Met Your Mother during its final days (next season will either be the penultimate or the final one depending on business stuff) is dependent on how much you care about the identity of this Mother person. If you're heavily invested in it, watch the show primarily because of it, and think you'll be satisfied with the answer after an eight or more year build up, there's going to be a lot of hurt coming your way. The problem with all mysteries is that the answer can never possibly top what your imagination can conjure up. If you find a door that you never noticed before, anything [...]

The Paley Center for Media, which has locations in both New York and LA, dedicates itself to the preservation of television and radio history. Inside their vast archives of more than 120,000 television shows, commercials, and radio programs, there are thousands of important and funny programs waiting to be rediscovered by comedy nerds like you and me. Each week, this column will highlight a new gem waiting for you at the Paley Library to quietly laugh at. (Seriously, it’s a library, so keep it down.)

For the 29 years that Johnny Carson hosted The Tonight Show on NBC there was no one else in late night. 2012 marks the [...]

Through the magic of film recording, last night, Stephen Colbert was being interviewed by Letterman on CBS whilst interviewing Lena Dunham on Comedy Central (welcome to the future and the jungle – welcome to the future jungle). Colbert was on as himself and talked about his Super PAC – you know the one that has made more money than Ron Paul's PAC (but let's not get into those politricks again). It's nice to see Colbert out of character and talking about all the money his PAC has made. I don't think it's presumptuous to assume right now he's swimming in it all like Scrooge McDuck (Why hasn't [...]