5 Reasons Why I Love Late Night

This week I reflected on my television viewing experience (as most cool people do..) and realized that a large portion of what I watch is late night television. So what is a late night show? Just anything on after a certain time? I'm glad you asked.  Late night TV usually begins after the local news on week nights, or sometimes weekend nights in SNL's case..  It consists of either a variety show or talk show, but does not have to strictly be either.  One of the most famed hosts of a late night show was Johnny Carson who hosted The Tonight Show on NBC. Although there were hosts before Carson, he was one the one that everyone loved and he really set the bar for how talk shows would be in the future.  Carson was a genius and most of all he was successful. So successful that pretty much everyone at NBC worshiped him.  I'm currently reading a book called Live From New York which discusses how Saturday Night Live began. I found it very interesting to read that the reason SNL began in the first place was because Carson's reruns were airing on weekend nights and he wanted them to be shown on weeknights so he could have time off.  Thus began the creation of the largely successful sketch comedy/variety show that is SNL. From Carson, you can see how influential late night has become in television. So here are five reasons why I love the largely successful and innovative enterprise that is late night television.

5. The source of most of my current events knowledge.

I must admit that as a high school student, I don't really watch the news that often.  That is why it's actually quite nice to hear some of the news in comedy form. Although this sounds like a great way to learn what's going on in the world, some people think that it might be a not so good source for our news.  That is why this is number five because in all honestly, I think they do have a point. Comedy might spin a small bias on whatever news you get from it.  But! I have also found that pretty much all the shows I have watched like the Tonight Show and The Daily Show seem to keep their opinions at bay and instead just present the comedy.

4. Welcomes new comedians. 

This year I have kind of been obsessing over comedy.  I watch a lot more comedy shows, I'm a frequent visitor to sites like collegehumor.com, and I literally listen to stand-up comedy everyday. Because late night shows are largely comedy based, they welcome on a lot of new comedians.  Whether its writers that get to show off their material in monologues, or stand-ups who get on stage and demonstrate a good set, late night fosters new comedians.

3. Great music.

Not only do late night shows have new comedians, but they also have new artists. For exampe, this may just make me seem like I'm out of it, but the first time I ever heard of Adele was on SNL. This was a long time ago just to clarify, it wasn't like I saw her first a couple months ago. This was before "21", her famous album, was released.  There is also great bands that play for these shows regularly.  The awesome saxophone guy (name is Lenny Pickett, thanks wikipedia!) on SNL, The Roots on Jimmy Fallon, and all the other amazing bands that play in various shows.     

2. Fun interviews and more with your favorite celebrities.

Whether it's Justin Timberlake making digital shorts on SNL and rapping with Fallon, or just an interesting conversation with any celebrity you can think of, late night shows do a lot of fun things with your favorite stars.  If it's an interview show like Fallon's, you might get to see an interview and a little skit or game played.  It's a great way to see an actor, singer, or whatever in a different environment. This is very true for SNL, where many of the hosts have no comedic background whatsoever.

1. Entertaining.

The number one reason why I love late night television so much is because it is truly fun to watch.  The comedy is great, the music is fun, the writing is creative, and all in all it's one of the most innovative parts of television to watch and has been for quite some time.

TV Jargon

As I go about watching and learning about television, I slowly pick up more and more of the lingo that is affiliated with it.  This jargon may not be familiar to everyone, especially those that do not watch a lot of TV, so here are some of the words explained that I use throughout this blog.

Pilot: The first episode of a show. This episode is usually named "Pilot" as well. When many shows begin, they create a pilot to pitch to various networks who will either take them if they are good, or reject them if they aren't.

Cold open: The first scene in a certain show before the opening credits. Basically it jumps into the show with out giving any introduction whatsoever.  This occurs in every episode of SNL where at the end of the sketch they yell "live from New York, it's Saturday night!" 

Breaking: In terms of television, this means when an actor gets out of character.  This usually occurs when something is live or informally performed and the actor starts laugh.  

Hiatus: A long break that a TV show goes on.  This can include holiday breaks or breaks between seasons during the summer. Sadly hiatuses can also occur randomly, and can be kind of depressing at times when you really want to watch a show (see Hiatus Depression).

Nielson ratings: A rating system to evaluate the popularity/viewership of TV shows. I honestly have know idea how it works, but it separates audiences into various age groups.  This reflects the fact that different shows appeals to different demographics. It also helps shows evaluate how well they're doing.     

Goofy pluto: I have never used this word on my blog and I actually just learned it a week or so ago but it's kind of interesting so I though I'd share. A goofy pluto occurs when in an episode has a guest actor playing himself and another playing a character. An example would be if Jim Carey guest starred on a show as Leap Day Williams (recent 30 Rock episode) and then later in the episode we find the cast of Night Court playing themselves (another 30 Rock reference). This is called a goofy pluto because in Disney Goofy is a talking character and Pluto is a pet but they are both dogs.

Theme Songs

Theme songs are a very important part of a TV show. Well, kind of.  They might not do much or decide whether the show will do well, but they do give the show a certain vibe. It seems like the best shows always have the best theme songs. So here are some of my favorites.

These aren't the original opening sequence, but you can enjoy the music!

Dexter

  

Monk

Law & Order (there are multiple variations)

The Simpsons (my favorite)

Clip of the Week: Stewart on FOX News

This is a clip of John Stewart on a FOX news program. This isn't recent, but it's definitely interesting to watch. I'm a big fan of Stewart and I like the points he makes in the interview. It can get a little awkward at times and if you're a FOX news fan, you probably won't enjoy it much. Either way, here is Stewart making some really good points about the news station.

Mid-season Premiere Week #3

This week I watched a show that I've actually been anticipating for a couple of months now.  Awake is a new "fantasy crime drama television series" on NBC (one of the many of course...).  It's based around  Detective Britten who gets in a tragic car accident with his wife and son. After the accident, each day Britten wakes up on day and his wife is alive, and wakes up the next and his son is alive.  Just hearing this I was immediately interested. How would this be able to last? What plot would there be? How would this be constructed? Will I be confused? All legitimate questions as I ventured off into a Lost-esque television show. Let's take a look at my first experience with Awake.

First of all I would like to say something about the camerawork in this show, because it's really stunning.  I really do not know anything about this kind of thing, but I found myself gaping at the picture. I watch a lot of TV, I can honestly say there is not a show out there that sets up shots quite like this. It was almost like a short, well directed, movie. Anyway, before I started watching Awake I was wondering how they were going to use this very interesting premise in a TV show.  Its something I pictured as movie or maybe a miniseries. But Britten just continues on with his life in both lives, acting as a detective with two different partners. What's interesting is the two cases he's working on will often intersect making it seem as though he dreamed about the answers to his respective cases.  It's very intriguing and reminds me of a really good show I used to watch with my parents called Medium where the main character would dream of answers to the cases she was working on. But this is very different because he's not really dreaming. At least I don't think he is.  There's a very interesting section in the pilot where Britten is at his therapist (he has two, one for each life) where he tells her that the other shrink convinced him that that life was real and the one with her was not.  The "red" therapist (he wears a red wristband when he's living in the world where his wife lived, a green one for his son) gets out pages the U.S. constitution and tells him to turn to a random page and read out-loud in the middle of the page. He does so and then quizzically looks at her, wondering what the point was. She asks him if he has memorized the entire United States constitution. He says no.  She responds with the fact that he couldn't have read that passage perfectly if she was a dream.

I'm really excited to see where this show goes. There's definitely some confusing elements that will draw in the fantasy lovers, but there is also a crime-solving element that will play to the hearts of mystery lovers such as myself. But, this will not be easy.  There are a lot key steps that must be taken in order to keep the show interesting.  If every show is exactly the same but with a different case to solve, the viewership will die of very quickly. Now I'm obviously exaggerating, but in all seriousness just like any other show, it has to do things that will excite the audience and make us want more.  Dexter is a very good example of that.  It's a very interesting show just by mentioning the fact that it's about a serial killer working for a police department.  But how can they spice that up more? There are so many twists and turns in their plots.  The audience is always wondering what's coming next. It's never predictable! For Awake to truly be successful, it cannot be predictable.

Also, this is sort of a side-note, but as I was watching I couldn't help wondering who one of Britten's partners was.  He looked really familiar, especially his accent.  I kept thinking about it all throughout the pilot  racking my brain as to who this actor was.  I ended up looking up the actors name and realized that he played Fez in That 70's Show! It's very strange to see him in this serious drama, but also quite interesting.  Ashton Kutcher not too long ago started on Two and a Half Men, and Laura Prepon just began on Are You There, Chelsea? It seems like the actors of the popular sitcom are emerging once again to demonstrate more of their talent.

Overall, I was very impressed with the pilot of Awake.  It set up a lot potentially interesting episodes for the future. Will it last ten seasons or only ten episodes? I'm not sure. I guess we'll just have to wait.

Advertising in TV Shows

Advertisements don't really bug me that much. Usually. I mean, they have become a necessity in order to produce the shows I love. Plus, with all the new technology, it's becoming easier and easier to bypass a lot of commercials with watching shows on the internet or recording it for later.  With that said, I would like to point out a portion of advertising that I despise. Something that in fact makes me cringe like no other.  Commercials? Fine I can live with them. But when advertising crosses the line into my actual TV show, it really really grinds my gears.

As I watching the show Awake for my earlier blog post, I realized this topic in which I have never talked about.  It's something I hate with an utter passion because it completely messes with the dynamic of the show and frankly makes the show about money and not about the art of entertainment.  If you're wondering what Awake has to do with this, the pilot subtly showed many computers at the detectives stations bearing the Microsoft logo. This may not sound like a big deal, and honestly its not that bad.  But I hate that all of a sudden my eyes are drawn to the logo and lose focus of show. I understand broadcasters need to make a living, but throwing in ads into our favorite shows is not the way to go. I mean, shouldn't consumers be able know when people are trying the sell us crap?

The kind of advertisements in TV shows that I hate the most are when they actually make actors talk about the products.  Okay, first all that is really demoralizing. These actors probably worked really hard to get where they are today, and just to earn some money for the show they have to go back to their commercial acting roots? Secondly, it never ever EVER makes sense in the plot nor does ever sound natural. There is nothing more awkward then having the main characters of show randomly get in a car and start talking about the random features that it has and how much they love it. I'm not making this up by the way, I watched a Royal Pains episode on USA where they did exactly that. It's so awful!

Honestly there is no need for a show to sink this low. I understand some shows have tight budgets and need to pay the bills, but I really don't they should be doing things that make the show suffer. I mean, I guess it's fine if they characters are driving some random brand of car or something, but when it comes to advertisers shoving their logos down our throats, or eyes I should say, I think that is a sin against the television industry. For now there is not much I can do but complain, but hopefully in the future shows and networks will find more creative and less invasive methods to attaining their money.

Clip of the Week: Happiness Inc. at Great River

I think I'm going to start a reoccurring thing where I post a video each week, mostly because I usually get enough words for my class in two posts. It will probably be a random video that I somehow connect to my topic of television, but oh well. This week I present a clip of the show choir competition I went to this weekend in Davenport (I play in the combo).  This was broadcasted on television that day, and therefore is permissible for this blog. Enjoy!

First Impressions

A few months ago when many shows first began, I watched their pilots in hopes of judging how they would do. For the most part I was pretty critical. I didn't like a lot of the new shows and predicted that a lot of them wouldn't do well. So, I decided to check up on these shows. See how they were doing. Here's what I found. Oh, and each title has a link to the original post. Enjoy!

1. Pan Am
What can I say? I was right. This show failed.  It's true I didn't like this show very much, but I did mention that it had potential (as I do for a lot of shows I don't like). This show isn't officially cancelled, but it's doing horribly. The viewership has been plummeting since the very beginning. I think the only reason it hasn't been pronounced dead (cancelled) is because they still want advertising for the rest of the season.

2. New Girl
This show has really surprised me.  Not only does it have a large audience watching it every week, but it honestly is putting out creative and funny material. My prediction suggested that the show was cute and had potential (here I go again). That was an understatement. This show is doing very well!  In fact, Zooey Deschanel just hosted SNL Saturday and both her and the show have been nominated for Golden Globes. To make sure I was (slightly) wrong I watched a couple episodes of New Girl. It was really fun to watch, and I plan on watching more in the future.

3. Up All Night
This is a show that I knew could do well, it just wasn't. I love all the actors in this show, and I really wanted it to do well. After I saw the pilot, I didn't really know what was going to happen. I thought it wasn't really that funny and it wasn't very creative. After watching a more recent episode, I'm starting to see why it's catching on. This show isn't the most popular, but it does have some random sparks of innovation.  I could see this show going either way. For now, it's doing okay.

4. Last Man Standing
Barf. I really really do not like this show. And yet it's doing well. I sometimes question the intelligence of the audience that continue to watch this show. Okay, yes it has Tim Allen. And yes it may have a few jokes that make your parents laugh. But really? The humor is reeeeeally cheap. This has been something I've said a lot recently (not on this blog). When I say the humor is cheap, I mean that they don't make much effort to get the audience laughing.  You might think this is a good thing, like it's easy for them to be funny. Wrong! Cheap comedy is kind of lazy and it's used mostly in bad sitcoms to take advantage of the many Americans who think it is funny regardless.  I don't know why, but I am completely immune to this humor.  It just doesn't tickle me like it does other people. I like really clever and smart humor. Wow, I sound really full of myself. I'm going to stop.

5. Whitney
Oh Whitney. This show is quite possibly the extreme opposite of Last Man Standing. The humor is definitely not cheap because Whitey Cummings, a successful stand-up comedian, writes and stars in the show.  This show was also renewed... to my dismay. Not that I don't like it, I just did not find much enjoyment in it.  Does that make sense? No. As I said in my first review, it has a lot of stand-up-like jokes in it that honestly don't sound very natural.  Who talks to someone for like five minutes ranting about one subject in a funny way and no one laughs (other than the fake audience)? That's just awkward. Okay, so maybe I kind of like this show.  But not in a way that I want to keep watching it. I'm just acknowledging the fact that it doesn't suck. Or does it? I don't know.

Well, as you can see I never really know what I'm talking about when it comes to reviewing shows.  I would suggest relying the viewership ratings to determine if a show is good or not, but then you get weird people who obsess over shows like Last Man Standing. It seems like you can't really predict how a show will do based on it's first impression... but I think for the most part I can tell whether it will be on my list of favorites or not.

Mid-season Premiere Week #2

There are many shows that are currently getting back into the groove of things. Shows like Downton Abbey, 30 Rock, and most recently The Walking Dead are either getting back into their seasons or just beginning one. I watched a show called Smash that just recently premiered it's pilot on NBC.  I was a little afraid and kind of critical of this show to begin with, mostly because NBC has not been doing well and I was beginning to think the musical show thing was getting old. But Smash surprised me and I think I'll be watching more. Here's why.

Smash is based around a group of Broadway musical producers putting together a new show about Marilyn Monroe. As we follow two main characters who begin write and develop the musical, we also get a glimpse into the the auditioning aspects of putting together a musical. Katherine McPhee plays one of the auditioners and ends up being the only one who doesn't dress up like Marilyn.  Her rival, a girl that looks very similar to Monroe herself, ends up also getting a callback and throughout the season they will end up competing for this iconic role.

This may seem like a lame show or maybe an exciting one, but for me I really enjoyed it.  I had great music, interesting story line, and was put together very well. I'm very interested to see where this story line will go. How long will this audition process be drawn out? What will happen after that? My questions are endless for the future of this show, but for now I will be enjoying the beautiful voices, amazing dancing, and just a great show in general.

Saying Good-bye

The day has come.  Just last week I blogged about House, a show that has been crawling closer and closer to an end (check out Letting Go... to see the post). It was just made official a day or two ago that season eight (this season) will be the famed show's last.  Because this show has been a favorite of mine for such a long time, and I plan on watching reruns often, I feel it's required of me to send out this amazing show with some quotes and a video to represent its life. Yes, you could say this is House's funeral. Although the last episode hasn't aired yet, I'm saying good-bye.

Memorable "Houseisms":
"I don't ask why patients lie, I just assume they all do." (House always said "everybody lies")

"There's no I in 'team'. There is a me, though, if you jumble it up."

"Tests take time. Treatment's quicker." (In almost every episode House put this ideology into practice)

"Patients sometimes get better. You have no idea why, but unless you give a reason they won't pay you. Anybody notice if there's a full moon? ... let's rule out the lunar god and go from there."

"Saying there appears to be some clotting is like saying there's a traffic jam ahead. Is it a ten-car pile up, or just a really slow bus in the center lane? And if it is a bus, is that bus thrombotic or embolic? I think I pushed the metaphor too far."


"Dying people lie too. Wish they'd worked less, been nicer, opened orphanages for kittens. If you really want to do something, you do it. You don't save it for a sound bite." (Probably my favorite) 


Check out more quotes here.

Video:
This pretty much sums up why I love House so much. This clip will probably make House seem like a total a-hole, and he is for the most part.  That's what makes it so much more interesting. As I slowly uncovered that House actually does care about people and actively tries to hide it, I found the show to portray a much more beautiful and entertaining story than I ever imagined.

Ben Schwartz

A couple months ago I heard about a new show called House of Lies on Showtime.  Usually I wouldn't think much of it because I don't really watch shows on Showtime, except for Dexter of course. But I immediately recognized one of the main characters in the show, a man named Ben Schwartz. This is an actor I have been rooting for forever.  He's very funny and deserves all the fame he can get.  I first discovered him on CollegeHumor.com, a website for funny videos. He guest starred on the very popular web series Jake and Amir.  I absolutely loved him and followed him through some all the work he has done over the years.  He was actually the reason I started watching Parks and Recreation! That's right, Schwartz plays Jean-Ralphio, a reoccurring guest on the show from time to time.

Anyway, I was very happy to find recently that House of Lies renewed for a second season, and at some point I plan to watch it, again just to see him. Here's a clip of Ben Schwartz in action!

Hello Again Premieres!

It's that time of year again. Actually, I did a similar weekly post called "Premiere Week" where I watched new shows pilots that I usually had to force myself to watch and then discussed in detail why I liked or for the most part disliked the show. I'm not doing something similar, I will be doing exactly the same, except now I will be reviewing pilots of shows premiering in this awkward mid-season time.

So what show did I choose to start of this exciting new (reoccurring) segment to my blog? Drum roll please......Are You There, Chelsea?! Let me just say, this show is weird. The original title was Are You There Vodka? It's Me Chelsea. Who comes up with a name like that and thinks "Yeah, this show is totally going to work!" I mean really. How many successful shows out there right now have weird names? Yeah, barely any! I will admit though, that this title comes from Chelsea Handler's very popular book, but people aren't drawn to weird named shows! They're drawn to whether the show is creative and interesting. Strange names distract from what the show's actual potential could be. I'll give an example.  This is a show that I've only seen a couple times and haven't really gotten into it but the show Cougar Town is actually doing pretty well. When you think of the name Cougar Town, it seems to be favorable to a small portion of the attempted audience viewership. Just because of this, many people (including myself) will be turned off from the show just from the name!  It's true, I found myself thinking the show was stupid before I even started watching it. That's AP Psych right there! If you think something will be bad before you watch it, your perceptual set will cause you to believe that you don't like it.  Of course some people are able to look past the horrible name and see the true potential of the show, which is why Cougar Town has lasted so long because it's actually a very good show, so I've heard...

Where am I going with this? Well, I'm happy they did change the name for the Are You There, Chelsea? Even that is annoying to type out.  If they hadn't changed it, I fell like it would automatically fail. What man on earth would want to watch a show called Are You There Vodka? It's Me Chelsea. I mean really? And it automatically gives the show a vibe that is non-family-friendly. I guess what I'm trying to say is titles that suck are good indicators that the show itself will suck also.

When I began watching the pilot I was hopeful. I like Chelsea Handler, I think she's really funny. I wasn't too happy when I found out that Chelsea doesn't actually play herself in the show. Oh yeah, you heard me right. Or read me right? Anyway, Chelsea actually plays the sister named Sloane who was pregnant (and gave birth in the pilot) on the show and deals with taking care of her sister Chelsea. Chelsea (the character) played by Laura Prepon works at a bar and lives with an annoying roommate and has a fairly interesting life.  Yes, the show is interesting! Surprising right? No, it's somewhat funny and has interesting writing, but it's just really awkward and doesn't really have anything that is very good or entertaining.

When I say this, I'm trying very hard to give this show an honest review that portrays the show in a way that is only informational. It's hard because this is completely my opinion.  Someone else might think this show is amazing and watches every episode. They probably haven't watched a lot of quality television but I'm here to tell the rest of you what this show does have to offer.  I'll be honest, I don't really like it. But! I'm not saying it's horrible. There are some funny lines and it does have potential.  In it's early stages yes, it's going to awkward. Aren't all shows? I'm not sure what I'm arguing for, so I will end on this note: if you want to try out watching this show... maybe you like Chelsea Handler too, I mean she is pretty awesome... check it out on the down-spiraling comedy output center that is NBC... it had to be said, I mean what happened to the innovative comedy shows NBC used to put out?... on Wednesday nights at 8:30/7:30c.

Letting Go...

During my middle school and early high school years whenever someone asked me what my favorite TV show was, I would immediately answer House.  If you've never seen or heard of this show, in my post My Weekly Wonders: House I explained what it is about and why I love i so much. But it was more than just a show I would look forward to each week. No, this was an obsession.  I watched episodes over and over; on the internet, on channels like USA and Bravo, and on my DVDs that I accumulated over the years.  House is currently on its eighth and possibly final season, and I have found myself okay with this. Why can I accept an ending to a show I have fell so deeply in love with? Let's start with how this addiction began in the first place.

When I first heard of House I wasn't interested.  Commercials of this already successful show at the time portrayed him as a very rude, narcissistic, and not very interesting doctor. Most of this was true except the fact that he wasn't interesting. Once you begin watching the show you find him to be totally the opposite. He is completely intriguing and the way he presents himself is so complex you are always questioning what exactly his motivations are. Anyway, I watched USA a lot to watch Law and Order and other good shows on the channel, but I always hated when they showed House.  I just never bothered to make an effort to like the show.  I'm not sure what the sequence of events were but my mom began watching the show and I slowly began to watch more and more of it with her. She began to like it a lot more than I did at first and even got a DVD for Christmas from my dad.  I started watching the DVD and watching reruns on TV whenever I could and soon I was gaining more and more love for the show.  The mixture of crazy medical mysteries, all of the interesting situations House and his team gets in, and House's reoccurring problems with his addiction to Vicodin due to the terrible pains he gets in his leg, all make up a show that is hard to not to like.

So the addiction to House began, maybe not as bad as the dependence he had to the pain killer, but the show did consume many many many hours of my life.  When I look back on it, it's kind of funny how obsessed I truly was.  On my Facebook timeline I found at least fifteen status updates just informing the world that I was watching show or that I was obsessed with it... yeah I was really cool back then.  Oh and every Monday when the show put out a new episode? For a year or so I played a game on the internet while watching that asked questions about both the show in general and very specific questions about the episode myself and the other players were watching currently.  It was actually really fun, some of them you had to predict what would happen in the show like if they would call for a doctor in the first scene or when in the show we would first see blood.

Flash forward a few years to the later years of my high school year.  I don't have as much time to watch television, and frankly I have lost the obsessive interest that I used to have for the show.  Of course I still follow the show, I mean who wouldn't? It's genius! But it's currently on it's eighth season. Not only that but there have been many cast changes, some major ones include characters such as Cameron, Thirteen, and the beloved Dean of Medicine (yeah, the one that had a somewhat relationship with House) Cuddy.  With major characters gone and a show that is dwindling in material, I must admit that the show is not the same as it used to be.  The plots are not as interesting and I'm just not as invested in them as I used to be.  Yes, I still love the cast and the writing, and I will never get tired of the House-Wilson relationship... but let's get real, this show should probably end.

When I found out about the discussion that the show might end this season I was initially sad. This show has been going strong for so long, why must it end? But after some evaluation, I think some shows just need to end. House went for a long and successful run, but it's time for it to end.  Hugh Laurie is a very talented actor, the writers are absolutely amazing, and frankly David Shore the creator all  can go on and making more amazing work that audiences across the world will continue to enjoy and be entertained.