Splitsider - Inside Jokes

On Can Whitney Survive Its Ad Campaign? A Discussion

My mom is really looking forward to this show, and I've been turning the channel every time a commercial for it comes on, if that's any indication of how I feel about it. I'm kind of sick of this whole "Oh look at me, I'm a wacky, sarcastic, quirky white woman just trying to live my life!" thing that most new sitcoms seem to have going on. It seems like most female characters can never be legitimately funny without the writers resorting to painfully sexist and groan-worthy misogynism. I'm glad to hear her stand-up is funny, though, so I'll actively be searching that out. Still won't watch the show, though.

Posted on September 14, 2011 at 4:38 pm

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On Why Derrick Comedy's Mystery Team Deserves Cult Classic Status

I have to half-agree with the "this movie is horrible" camp. I loved a good chunk of it, but was ultimately disappointed in a lot of the more obvious gags and dialogue. It kind of made me sad, really, because I've been a fan of Derrick Comedy for a long time and find most of their sketches to be very well written and unique. I think there could have been a lot more self-awareness regarding the main characters and their suspended state of innocence. It's cute to think of a group of kid detectives who refused to grow up, but almost impossible to suspend the kind of disbelief necessary for that plot device, even in a comedy movie. Probably the best part of the movie was when Pierson and Dierkes admit that they've applied to college and Glover's character can't believe it. There's a really willful type of ignorance someone would need to have to refuse to grow up and admit the world is moving on around them, and that can be played off either very sad or very humorous. I don't think this movie did either, though, which was disappointing. Ellie Kemper and the trash can, though, comedy gold. But I might be biased as she is ooooooh so cute!!

Posted on September 14, 2011 at 4:24 pm

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On Bob's Burgers Recap: "Lobsterfest"

I enjoyed this episode, but it was definitely more narrowly defined than others before it. When the rest of the family/cast had their moments, they were shining, but it did seem to be fairly Bob-centric. [Don't get me wrong though, I still enjoyed that as I have a mad crush on Jon Benjamin's voice.] Some really fantastic lines, though. "No, you'll mate with other kids in other basements" and "Looks like somebody got in to the office supplies!", as well as the kids fantasies of how their "first" time would be really held the episode together.

Posted on May 18, 2011 at 4:21 pm

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On Your Favorite Childhood Movie Is Not Very Good

I have horrible taste in movies, so none of the movies I like are "very good", sadly, not just the ones from my childhood! I did LOVE Big, however, which is just a bizarre movie and really doesn't make sense from an adult perspective. As a kid, I thought it would be so awesome to be "big" and do everything Tom Hank's character does. As a parent, I think "What a douchebag that kid is, his parents think he's kidnapped and he's writing fake ransom notes?" Just thinking of how much public money would be wasted by the police looking for him just makes me need to lie down and stop being such a downer.

Posted on May 12, 2011 at 4:06 pm

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On Catching Up with Bob's Burgers

Do it! I felt the early episodes were kind of confined to the restaurant/apartment, and as a result the characters didn't really get a chance to grow outside of those small spaces. But oh man, the recent episode of anus-paintings alone is worth going back and giving it another shot. Who can resist a cartoon filled with paintings of animal bums?

Posted on March 28, 2011 at 11:09 pm

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On Catching Up with Bob's Burgers

I think with any family-based cartoon you run the risk of "being another Simpsons/Family Guy", but the trick is to not get carried away with total absurdity. Bob definitely grounds the show, but unlike Homer or Peter, his are not the outrageous antics that the episodes centre around. Which is great - I'm getting a little tired of the whole 'zany father with a totally replaceable quirky family unit" trope. I was really touched by Tina's slide-confession. Normally she's played off as this very sociopathic, random character, but it was nice to see that what she really was angry at was the loss of time with her father and brother. The fart-bonding was also hysterical, and oddly enough, really didn't detract from ANY of the emotion in the scene.

Posted on March 28, 2011 at 12:37 pm

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On Catching Up with Bob's Burgers

I have to admit I was initially unimpressed by the first episode, and didn't really know what to expect. I'm happy to say now that this is my favourite show in any weekly line-up. I love that for all their quirks, the Belchers are definitely NOT Simpsons or Family guy clones in any way. There is no Homer/Peter in Bob, and it's refreshing to see a father figure who is not bumblingly oblivious to his family's needs or wants. He might be stubborn at times, but overall he wants what is right for his wife and children. Linda is a mother who is shown being slightly "uncool" [read as "excited about things their families don't care about"] in the way most of us moms can be, but it's never played off in a cruel way. All three kids are unique without being Bart Simpson rip-offs in terms of catch phrases or "troubles of the week". I really hope the people who wrote the series off after one or two episodes come back to it and see how well it's progressed in terms of character development/story. Maybe if enough fans talk loudly and obnoxiously about it, we can attract some new viewers ;)

Posted on March 28, 2011 at 11:25 am

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On 30 Rock Recap: "Queen of Jordan"

Overall I really enjoyed it. It was nice for the show to break away from the standard routine they had going without straying too far from what the characters are actually like. Although I have to say the nerd in me was yelling at the TV when Frank dumped his "favourite toys" in the deep fryer. First off, that wasn't an original Skeletor! That was a new Masters of the Universe Classic figure from Mattel. I didn't see if it was an original Optimus Prime, though, that went too fast for me. Really guys, I'm cool, this is just uh... noting inconsistencies in the script and props, yeah...

Posted on March 19, 2011 at 3:45 pm

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On Edgar Wright Asked to Direct an Episode of The Walking Dead

Oh, nothing could fuck up The Walking Dead series more than the first season already did. But I can see how it would be pretty difficult to come in and salvage any semblance of story or plot from what they left off with, unless they basically just started over or actually went with story canon from a certain point.

Posted on March 15, 2011 at 11:34 pm

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On Giving The Big Bang Theory a Fair Chance

I'm kind of wondering if you've ever interacted with a lot of people in the computer/IT/science industries, Josh. Sheldon is almost a perfect Aspie kid, and I guess if you haven't met one in real life, you would be inclined to believe this is a serious exaggeration instead of a more realistic character. The character of Sheldon has actually developed quite a bit since the first seasons, but you wouldn't get any of that if you only watched a recent episode. If anything, what gets tiring to me is the whole "Raj can't talk to women unless he's drunk" schtick. At this point, it's just overused and the character really should have grown out of it a long time ago. One thing I don't think you pointed out was the amount of really funny female comediennes the show has. Kaley Cuoco is fantastic, but so are Melissa Rauch, Mayim Bialik, and Sarah Gilbert who appears from time to time. The fact that even the one-shot female characters are strong, funny, and ridiculously smart but still attractive and different enough from each other is just amazing.

Posted on March 15, 2011 at 7:17 pm

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