Splitsider - Inside Jokes

On John Mulaney Talks Stand-Up, SNL and Dying Under a Pile of Hotel Stationery

Mulaney and his opener (the tremendously funny Mike Lawrence) came by an open mic I was at when they were in Austin and both absolutely killed. You can really see what a high-level he's at with his stand-up these days.

Posted on June 23, 2011 at 2:39 pm

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On The Lost Roles of Mike Myers

Meyers would have been a GREAT Keith Moon 10 years ago, but he's probably aged too far out of the role. The good news is that at 48 there is still plenty of time for him to transition into whatever kinds of roles he wants to play. It seems as much a matter of his needing to decide if he's ready to leave the broad comedy of thing like The Love Guru behind...

Posted on June 16, 2011 at 3:41 pm

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On Handing Out Awards for the 2010-2011 TV Season

I could quibble with some things here and there, but I think you pretty well nail the state of scripted TV comedy. One thought that jumped out as I read this: I am not the Archer fan that some folks are, but I think it deserves credit for doing not only a funny second season, but a really INTERESTING one as well. More than any show other than Community, Archer demonstrated real ambition in its second season, particularly with how it was approached an ongoing sense of continuity while simultaneously engaging with the backstories of nearly all of its characters, no matter how seemingly big or small. Really impressive stuff.

Posted on May 31, 2011 at 3:04 pm

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On Bob's Burgers Recap: "Torpedo"

@sorry your heinous If I get to see more of ANY character next year, I hope it's Fishoeder. Kevin Cline is just so terrific in the role, and unlike similar characters from other sitcoms (Stephen Root in NewsRadio, Alec Baldwin in the Clerks animated series and Mr. Burns all come to mind). The idea of this eccentric billionaire who treats the town as his personal toy is great, and there's a million ways to go with him.

Posted on May 23, 2011 at 6:37 pm

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On Bob's Burgers Recap: "Torpedo"

@sorry your heinous Thanks so much!

Posted on May 23, 2011 at 3:09 pm

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On Bob's Burgers Recap: "Torpedo"

@Mike Good catch! They got funnier and funnier as the episode went on.

Posted on May 23, 2011 at 3:09 pm

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On Community Recap: "Applied Anthropology and Culinary Arts"

Part of why Shirley isn't getting enough to do is that the show is increasingly relying on conceptual stuff to carry episodes, and with the group together at all times (or seemingly all times) we don't get those great pairings that bring out facets of the characters in smaller dynamic interactions. Remember, Shirley and Pierce are sort of there as a buffer between too much of the obviously good stuff (shipping, the breakout of Troy/Abed), so when we don't get to focus on them specifically in how they relate to the other characters, they sort of blend into the background. Shirley moreso than Pierce has been marginalized in this way in s2. Remember in s1 how the characters would pair off and we'd see elements of how they connect with one another? Shirley and Jeff and their catty gossiping, Shirley and Annie and their shared voice of authority and order... These helped us understand aspects of Shirley as a person better than giving her a pregnancy did this year. The closest we got to one of those moments was Mixology, when we learn that part of why she became such a devout Christian was a past with alcoholism. I'm a huge fan of what this show does conceptually, but I miss the days when the non-concept episodes were as good as the high concept ones. I'd be lying if I said this episode stood out to me as anything better than "just nice." Hopefully this was a matter (as has been suggested) of Dan Harmon not being sure if they'd get a 3rd season and wanting to cram as many of their big ideas into the show as possible before its cancellation, and next year we'll spend more time with the folks at Greendale as people, rather than devices for the smart shit the writers come up with.

Posted on April 29, 2011 at 3:09 pm

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