Grid Effect

Just a quick reminder, a week before it returns with new episodes, NBC is running a mini-marathon of the last three episodes of Friday Night Lights starting at 8pm tonight. Between this and the move to Wednesday, NBC is desperate to build an audience for the critically acclaimed series. Take pity on the network execs and tune in for a few, I guarantee you will find some element of the show appealing.

Upon looking at the Nielsen Ratings from December 11th-17th I have concluded that there is no saving the eventual demise of quality narrative in television. If professional and collegiate mainstream sports ever fall the way that film and television has, we would be watching midget thumb wrestling and minature golf tournaments in greater numbers than we currently watch The Superbowl. That’s how dismal network series’ are. Let’s rundown the top ten Nielsen shows from last week:

CSI was holding three of the top ten spots (6, 7, 10), Criminal Minds checked in at #5, and NCIS is the top rated show from the week in question. This is redundancy personified. Each of these series have character arcs that begin and end in the same episode, with every episode replicating the one before it. There is always some insignificant difference, like the girl was murdered by her dad in the woods as opposed to the boy being murdered by the bell hop in the elevator, which is negligible too say the least.
The character’s mannerisms and emotional development is akin to that of The Terminator. No one and nothing about these series are layered. The story is setup, presented and resolved by the 55 minute mark with no reprecussions.
What is most infuriating about the existence of shows such as these, is the manner in which people liken them to something as phenomenal as The Wire, when people ask me what it is about, the obligatory response is always, “Oh, I love CSI“. Look, I don’t mind people watching CSI or Without A Trace or anything else. To each his own, right? But please don’t mention any of these corny, psuedo-cop dramas in the same breath as The Wire. Thanks.

Is there a body in that car? You’ll know in a little under an hour.

Deal or No Deal is/was the second highest rated show according to Nielsen’s. I am going to be optimistic about this, and assume that several families with young children are tuning in too watch strangers randomly open briefcases, which is acceptable. Deal or No Deal is formulaic, simple and uncontroversial, and as far as primetime is concerned, family programming is suddenly an untapped market (Remember the days of Full House and Step By Step? Anyone?). And too be honest, the production on game shows is so affordable, that if they turn commendable ratings, then no one can blame the networks for continually throwing them on air.

Two and a Half Men is the eigth rated show on air, making this swill the highest rated comedy series in the country… How? Why? When? All valid questions that you should be asking yourself. It is never a good sign when you can immediately predict how a character is going to respond too any situation, and that’s what I experience when I watch Two and a Half Men.
Also, it seems like if you’re a guy, you ultimately have too be a masochist too enjoy this show, because I have never seen a character more emasculated than whoever Charlie Sheen’s brother is. It’s not offensive or anything, just a tired and overused sitcom gimmick, devoid of any originality and all artistic merit. That’s all.

The remaining three shows in the top ten are all understandable: The finale of Survivor: Cook Islands was astonishingly high at #3 (Surprising because from everything I had heard, the series was experiencing a ratings slump. I imagine this is similar to a movie grossing $12 million at the box office during a slow movie week, so it still finishes #1. That, and 16.4 million viewers is probably low for Survivor finale standards).

House checked in at #4, and while I do not watch it, I can certainly understand the appeal. It’s a medical drama, but at least it’s an atypical medical drama. Most fans seem too enjoy it for the lead role, and while I am disinterested in the “doctor who doesn’t play by the rules” theme, it has Grey’s Anatomy and ER soundly trumped in creativity.

And Sunday Night Football clocked in at #10. The only surprise here is that it wasn’t higher.

What is surprising is neither Heroes nor Ugly Betty cracking this list. I keep hearing about what ratings juggernauts these two series are and neither of them cracks the top ten? Maybe neither of them were airing new episodes during this particular week? Either way, on a second look of this ratings turnout I am pretty much resigned too the fact that Jerry Bruckheimer is going to eventually rule the world with his cliched iron fist. David Caruso will be his second in command and they will interrogate rebels with lines like, “I know what you did, and I’m not going to let you get away with it”. I hope everyone is still enjoying it by then.

In case you missed the first installment of my top ften series’ in the past calendar year, here it is. Onto the top five…

5) It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Surprisingly renewed for a sophomore season after a critically accepted yet publicly ignored premiere, Dennis, Charlie, Mac and Dee returned in rare form with so much self-absorbtion they make Seinfeld and Costanza look like Mother Teresa. Every single episode did indeed offer a Seinfeld-ian brand of disregard for not only all of those around them, but amongst each other as well. The introduction of Danny Devito’s character as Dennis and Dee’s father, at first it seemed to detract from the comedic element the four had developed from the first season, and the decision to bring in Devito seemed to wreak of the “lets bring in a noteworthy name too boost ratings” tactic. However, by the time “Dennis and Dee go on Welfare” (episode three) he had developed into his own role within the cast, and his presence was much less alienating and contrived.

4) The Office
The Office in 2006 consisted of the first half of the third season and the second half of the second season, solidifying its standing as the best network comedy heading into the new year. I have repeatedly stated that I got into The Office after being so enamored with its British predecessor, somewhere in the midst of that second season the Gary Daniels/Steve Carrell US version surpassed the Ricky Gervais/Stephen Merchant franchise. This is probably the result of availability. The British version was only fourteen episodes long. Merchant and Gervais weren’t allotted the same time too develop the characters. For the most part, I even find the romantic developments on the series entertaining. They haven’t gotten tired or stale like I initially expected them to (Though it is always a possibility). If a sitcom can generate interest from me in this regard, they are clearly doing something right. In fact, I was hesitant to place this behind the #3 entry.

3) The Sopranos
If I had been writing a blog since 1999, there wouldn’t have been a year in which The Sopranos wouldn’t have been listed at #1. Today I have it at three, and it is the result of two factors: One, David Chase & company have changed the face of television. It’s raw, gritty, and occasionally funny storytelling has inspired a push for quality scripted television and the four networks are following suit. It probably also explains why I resent so many of them, but seven years ago I couldn’t even compile a list such as this one. Without The Sopranos, we probably do not have a Rescue Me, a Friday Night Lights or other series that are critically acclaimed (24, Heroes, The Shield, etc). Secondly, this was only, technically, half of a season, so it probably was less satisfying as a result (especially coming off the climactic and eventful final two episodes of season five). Still, plenty of character study, symbolism and setup to land it at the number three spot. Including the second episode of season six entitled “Join The Club”, which, from an artistic standpoint, is probably the best hour of television I have ever watched.

2) The Wire
What can I say that hasn’t already been said? Common consent seems to suggest this is the best series in the history of television. It also suggests this was David Simon and Ed Burns’ best season too date, which, deductive logic would suggest that this is the best season of television for the medium. I can’t stand quantifying and ranking things as subjective as this, but you can make a great case, for the fourth season (even though personally, I found season’s one and three too be more introspective) and the series as a whole. What’s amazing is all the critical praise the series can receive and still not get nominated for a single Golden Globe. Hopefully they will be more fortunate at the Emmy’s.

1) Arrested Development
There is probably a sentimental element to this ranking. Mitchell Hurwitz went out in style for its shortened third and final season and while I am hesitant to ever say a great comedy is better or more accomplished than a great drama, I am making an exception in this case. This would be one of the more groundbreaking comedies along the lines of Mash, All in The Family and Seinfeld if it wasn’t so difficult too emulate or had it gotten any sort of Nielsen ratings. It’s hard too fathom this series can go from multiple Emmy nominations/wins too cancellation in a little over two years, but that is exactly what happened. Without question this cancellation is the most disappointing result of the 2006 TV year. Apparently they’re in talks about a potential movie, too quote George Michael Bluth, “I like the way those people think”.

This is shameless but I had to have one series in listed as honorable mention:
Survivor, lost points unfairly for being a reality series.

Caught a bit of the most recent Real World season a little while ago and I have been meaning too comment on it. The 18th season of the original reality series is set in Denver, and it seems to be the most emotionally damaged cast in the history of the series.

Let’s start with the origin of The Real World. It debuted in 1991 in New York, and for the first four seasons (New York, LA, San Fransisco and London) it essentially revolved around seven strangers, usually in between the ages of 19-26, all with different backgrounds and different aspirations living out their lives, it just happened to be in a different venue for six months. By the time the fifth season rolled around, so many jokes had been made along the lines of, “In the ‘Real World’ people work for a living”, that the producers decided to give the fifth season Miami cast the opportunity for a business venture. Meaning, MTV was going too give these seven people a budget to start a business, and the network would foot the bill for startup costs. Well, they did nothing, solidifying the lazy Generation X stereotype. And from then on out, every house had some job/event to do the upkeep on.

Things really started too spiral out of control during the infamous twelfth season set in Las Vegas. They cast seven people, all over the the age of twenty-one (though none older than twenty-four), and asked them too run The Reign Bar atop the Palms Hotel and Casino. They also lived in the same a hotel, put up in a room that is now commonly referred to as “The Real World Suite at The Palms”. As you would expect, it was a decadent, depraved season. Everyone slept with everyone while intoxicated. A young women by the name of Trishelle kind of set the precedent in the season premiere when a male roommate named Frank guy was taking a liking too her, while sitting in a club, she leaned across Frank and made out with Steve, another roommate. So there you go.

Now we are in Denver. And besides not having an intelligent cast member, there isn’t even a level-headed one. The episode I caught featured a guy named Stephen being upset because a guy named Davis left him at a club. Stephen is black, and after being unknowingly abandoned at said club he was confronted by some fellow patrons, who subsequently called him the “N-word”. Stephen, for some reason, was exceptionally upset with Davis. There other roommate who was sort of mediating for Stephen (Davis was sitting in a hot tub, completely oblivious that he had done anything offensive), Tyrie, went to ask Davis too get out of the hot tub, when Davis asked him to just speak his mind, Tyrie proceeded too go absolutely ape shit. Tyrie, who’s enormous, ripped off his shirt and began to scream like a maniac. Davis, on some level probably fearing for his life, got out of the water.

In short, the situation went back and forth with Tyrie threatening to kill Davis to Davis challenging Tyrie to throw a punch (so Tyrie would be thrown out of the house) for a solid twenty minutes. Then out of nowhere, Davis says he is moving out and he starts screaming at everyone, and now he is calling Tyrie the “N-word”. Everyone is absolutely obliterated, the other five roommates are standing around screaming commands such as “stop” or “stop it”, doing absolutely nothing to resolve or quell the situation. And from what I can tell every episode is like this. Just this week, Tyrie and a girl named Jenn almost came too blows before she was dragged off a party bus after spitting on him.

The series has regressed to the point that it consists of nothing other than binge drinking, fighting and fucking (I am sure they eat at some point as well). Whereas old Real World casts would bicker about who used whose shampoo or something else innocuous, they now get in volatile, combative arguments that are so egregious they are moments away from starting riots. The cast has no aspirations, there day-to-day lives give no indication of ambition. And judging by the post-Real World stint of the majority of recent casts, that isn’t far from the truth.

Is it entertaining? Sure, for a while. But it’s redundant, and the characters are devoid of personality so even when they get drunk its kind of dull. Unless, you consider watching five people whoop it up, pissing off an entire overly-resentful city of college aged kids in half hour installments for thirty straight weeks groundbreaking, then this is the reality series you’re looking for. Otherwise, you might as well save your time.

Rosie O’Donnell and Donald Trump are feuding. Apparently it is uncertain who is least overrated.

Free Friday Night Lights and 30 Rock on iTunes for the holidays. I am always skeptical that methods like this can improve ratings, but it worked for The Office, so why not? NBC knows they have a good product in FNL, mine as well promote it.

G4, the cable network that picked up Arrested Development for syndication, is having an eleven hour marathon of the series on Christmas day.

Now that Air America is all but Bankrupt, Janeane Garofalo has signed onto an untitled CBS drama.

What in the world is Bryan Singer doing too his career? From Usual Suspects too X-men to this? I never saw it, but was Superman Returns that bad?

TBS has extended My Boys to 22 episodes. I watched like ten minutes of this show last night. Without getting into specifics, we’ll just say it’s formulaic and leave it at that.

As much as I praise The Wire, here is a Baltimore school teacher whose opinion isn’t so laudatory.

Even though Cook Islands was a fantastic Survivor season, the finale recorded the lowest ratings in the history of the franchise.

This would be a fantastic course to take. Unfortunately, I did not go to UCLA.

I like Jimmy Kimmel, but given the mediocrity of his typical ratings performance he is following The Oscars for the second year in a row. How does he manage to fail upward? He’s like the Isiah Thomas of Late Night Television.

Television tends too be slow in the waning weeks of the calendar year, I thought I would count down the top television series’ of 2006. The basis for the rankings is how well a series accomplished whatever it set out too accomplish, not which series is more culturally relevant, humorous, etc. Because under those pretenses there is no basis for comparison between series’ like The Wire and Curb Your Enthusiasm. With that in mind, the top ten:

10) Entourage
No Mandy Moore, no emphasis on girlfriends and no comments like, “What if this is it? For both of us”. Just plenty of good natured ribbing, hijinx (Dom, Saigon), settings (Vegas, The Valley) and a multi-layered focus on the film industry (Bob Ryan, Warners, Miller Gold). Even the acting was noticeably improved from Adrian Grenier, Jerry Ferrara and Kevin Connolly (Not good, but better). The third season wasn’t without its shortcomings, namely the disinteresting “three-way” sub-plot; but for the most part it was back to basics and a welcomed change to the melodramatic lovelorn tale of Vincent Chase and a moderately attractive starlet.

9) South Park
Fourteen episodes into the tenth season of this now classic animated series, where the good (”Manbearpig”, The Return of Chef), sometimes great (”Cartoon Wars Part II” “Smug Alert”) episodes far outweighted the letdowns (”A Million Little Fibers, “Mystery of The Urinal Deuce”). The series did seem to teeter on the brink of tiredness over the course of this season, I am reminded of a quote from the “Cancelled” episode a couple of seasons back, in which the Alien network executive explains too our four protagonists, “Once a show goes over 100 episodes it starts to rely on ridiculous plot lines and settings”. While we are not even close to the territory where they should consider cancelling this heralded series, it did seem to have the vibe that they were running out of ideas. Never the less, I am placing it at #9.

Rescue Me
The first two seasons were definitely in my top five in 2004 and 2005. But the series slipped a bit this year, bordering on a soap opera from episodes 3-7. Tommy Gavin, the anti-hero of anti-heroes, was sympathetic too start, scorned, redeemed, despised, redeemed again and then scorned once more. There was entirely too much controversy around one scene in which advocates and detractors debated at great length whether or not Tommy had raped his ex-wife, which spawned an even broader debate about the series’ overall illustrations of women. I still think the show has more than enough redeemable qualities (the acting, firehouse banter, subtle Kennedy family references), but the level of tragedy Tommy Gavin endured in season three made it hard too suspend disbelief. For a series that prides itself on realism, that is a major setback from its two predecessors, luckily those first two seasons were arguably flawless, so Dennis Leary and Peter Tolan’s firehouse drama gets settled in at #8.

7) Friday Night Lights
Unequivocally the best new series of the year. We are at the mid-season point for both the series and the team that inhabits it. The acting, writing and production are all exemplorary, more so than any other drama on any of the four major networks. While most series have a target demographic, Peter Berg’s high school football drama, adapted from the film (which he directed) and novel, offers something for every age, male and female alike (Which makes the deplorable ratings all that more surprising). It territory eclipses the limited confines of the football field and portrays small town America without a condescending or morally superior perspective. Hopefully the move to Wednesday nights will improve its standing in the mainstream.

6) Curb Your Enthusiasm
The playfully classical soundtrack floods my memory banks in just writing out the title. This was yet another series that has seen better days but i’ll take a mediocre Larry David over just about anything else on television. The fifth season of Seinfeld on pay cable provided us with hijinx on pedophiles, religion, adoption, sandwiches, illness, and left nothing and no one unscathed. If you are a staunch supporter of something other than the environment, then this series will probably offend you; that’s why I place it at #6.

Back with the top five series in 2006 sometime this week.

While every series is on break for the holidays, their is a dearth of watchable television. I would recommend going out and doing something proactive, but if you feel like being lazy, here is the best of the worst:

1) The Wire, 8pm est HBO2.
Actually, it doesn’t get much better than this. HBO is running the first three episodes from the fourth season of the critically acclaimed series. You have too start watching this season from its premiere (and really the season premiere is necessary to understand every character arc), seeing the transformation of the four boys it focuses on is uncanny.

2) Da Ali G Show, 10pm est. HBOC
The show that spawned Borat, see Sacha Baron Cohen embarrass and humiliate unsuspecting yokels under the guise of Borat, as well as Bruno and Ali G, his other two characters.

3) Costas NOW, 12:35pm est. HBO
For those with nothing to do tomorrow, watch Bob Costas’ retrospective look in the year in sports. Few sports journalists provide as much insight and professional analysis as Costas. The closing montage with his soliloquy as a voice over is fantastic.

4) The Late Show With David Letterman, 11:35pm est. CBS
Our first non-HBO recommendation for the evening. Marv Albert is a guest (He is playing second fiddle to Beyonce Knowles), not too mention night in, night out, Letterman delivers.

5) Curb Your Enthusiasm, 7:30pm & 10:30pm est. HBOC
And just like that we are back into premium cable territory. The episode entitled “Ben’s Birthday Party” details Larry David impaling Ben Stiller in the eye with a skewer. If that doesn’t sell you, I don’t know what will.

6) The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, 11pm & 11:30pm est. Comedy Central
These variety shows are best in breed, regardless of your political convictions, if you can’t laugh at either of these then you probably take yourself too seriously.

That’s it. There is nothing else I can recommend in good conscious.

Penn Jillette and NBC kicked off their crusade to end profiling in America last night with the new game show, Identity. It is essentially Deal or No Deal with unflinching humans replacing the briefcases. And since the contestants are trying too match random people with a particular title, instead of arbitrarily opening cases with unknown numerical totals in them, everyone is much more prone to quit prematurely instead of pressing their luck, leaving the suspense and dramatic quotient at a stand still. When playing the game, it got too a certain point when it was obvious to quit.

The rules go as such: One person stands in front of twelve people on individual podiums. The one person is given a list of twelve labels such as “Scientologist”, “Shark Attack Victim”, “Nuclear Physicist”, etc. They have too match each label with the correct person. They are given one mulligan and two “lifelines”, similar to those from Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, that offer them the chance to ask a panel of three “experts” for advice and narrow their options for a specific label. If they identify all twelve contestants properly, they are rewarded with $500,000. But if they press on and misidentify two people, then the conestant loses whatever money he or she earns.

Like I said earlier, the starting and stopping point is fairly self-explanatory. The titles that have implied physical characteristics are obvious: horse jockey, sumo wrestler, pro volleyball player, etc. But when the contestants are given no clues nor are they allowed to interact with the people they are trying to identify, it makes it difficult to guess which contestant is the sky-diver or the neurologist. Last night the second contestant did not hesitate to walk away with $50,000, leaving $450,000 on the table. And it was the right move. That is entirely too much money too gamble on a 1/7 shot of pinpointing an accountant through random selection.

Also, I don’t think premiering this show immediately after Deal or No Deal is a great idea. I mean, I understand the logic, but two hours of guessing games with rudimentary mathematics and dime-store psychology might burn out the market for mindless entertainment. I am giving this show six weeks before it is off the air.

If you were flummoxed in trying to identify the song Creed was singing on The Office last Thursday (Since every other song performed is recognizable), then you were like everyone else. Apparently it was his own song.

Here is a revealing interview with Yul from Survivor. You know how all those points and opinions that seemed logical were never brought up at Tribal Councils or while strategizing? Ends up they actually were, but never aired.

American Idol contestants are performing for hire now. Ugh.

This is some great news. The Wire was named the critics favorite show of 2006, edging out Heroes by 3% of the vote. How was it even close? Another favorite of this blog, The Office, was recognized as best comedy in a landslide.

Rainn Wilson is more than welcomed in Scranton, PA.

At least Studio 60 is good for something.

Unfortunately an eventful season was followed up by an uneventful reunion. There isn’t much to say so if you skipped or missed the reunion, you didn’t miss much.

In short, everyone seems to think both contestants were deserving, and are disappointed Ozzy didn’t win but everyone is happy for Yul, including Probst. Who adds that this is the first time he regrets someone not winning. Ozzy does take home the car, though. So Yul gets one million dollars and Ozzy takes home a new automobile he probably doesn’t need along with a collection of insurance payments. See? It all evens out. The car was determined by viewer vote for “most clever player”. I suspect CBS cooked the books on this one, because there is no way 51% of the people who watch this show voted Ozzy “more clever” than Yul.

Anyways, Ozzy is visibly effected by the loss, but is gracious and is taking it in stride. He is particularly distraught when Adam says he guaranteed his vote for Yul if Aitu decided to vote off Johnathan before him. Much to Ozzy’s chagrin, Aitu had already decided to do so but since Adam saw Yul as the leader didn’t bother too make the offer too anyone else.

Taking into consideration the concerns of the superficial male, Sundra and Candice looked phenomenal. And Parvati admits the “Boxer” title actually stems from her career in lingerie boxing, or as the regulars prefer too call it: “Foxy Boxing”. Anyways, she tries to legitimize her career by saying “we work out… and take head shots”. You can see the look on her face as she realizes the blatant innuendo that people like me will quickly point out.

In the interests of remaining diplomatic, Johnathan and Yul both clean up nice. And JP has taken an offer to be on The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency. Jesus. Going from Survivor to that hogwash is a critical nose-dive in the reality TV world. We are talking a major loss of credibility.

Johnathan is asked about the common perception that he is a villain, Johnathan correctly points out that he was antagonistic but not a villain because, “Its a game, there are no villain’s when you play Monopoly.” Its about the best analogy I have ever heard on this show.

Ozzy says his interest in the outdoors was spawned from reading Robinson Crusoe as a child. And he is being sincere, because if you have read Robinson Crusoe then you are well aware that you cannot make that shit up. Probst asks if the father he railroaded is in the audience. Ozzy kind of plays it off but chokes up when he points him out for the national audience. Probst suggests this isn’t his biological father but it is all pretty unclear.

One disappointment from the reunion is we never find out who voted for whom. Outside of Parvati voting for Oscar, Johnathan and Adam voting for Yul; the other six votes are left hanging in the balance. And none of them, with the exception of Adam, have to rationalize their vote that gave Ozzy that depressed look on his face.

Thats it for this Survivor season, I rank it up there with some of the better ones (Really the first season and Palau are the only two that compare) The next Survivor season takes place in Fiji. Apparently there is class discrepancy between the two tribes and their camps, with nineteen castaways (Not only is it odd, its prime). The next season promises two Hidden Immunity Idols and one supremely controversial decision. Alright Mark Burnett, I’m in. Just try and tone it down a little.

Interesting Survivor finale. No fireworks, no drama, just a lot of contrition and adult behavior. Not really what your average Reality TV fan tunes in for, but it was compelling none the less. After a long, long season recap and credits we are taken to the finale…

It kicks off with Adam sitting by himself under the tent, isolated from Aitu, probably of his own volition. I can’t imagine having the numbers permits banishment rights in Survivor (Though judging by the previews for next season, this doesn’t seem far off). Our lone Raro member compares it to being back on exile island.

Sundra talks about how they have to think individually now, Becky reiterates the same thing but specifies needing to get Ozzy off the ticket. From a strategic perspective, she should be more concerned about Yul, because she can’t play the “outwit” card to a jury as long as Yul is still in the mix. Ozzy voice overs that he realizes he is perceived as a threat, and there is a definite target on his back so winning immunity is all the more pivotal. After all of this scheming, the four Aitu alliance prays, or something. I am not sure what else too call it when four people bow heads, express gratitude and hold hands.

We go immediately to the first Immunity Challenge. And judging by the structure of the obstacle course alone, Ozzy is obviously going too win it. The challenge takes place on a ropes course and entails collect several bags full of puzzle pieces then assembling said puzzle. According to Probst its the most diificult puzzle in the history of the series. He very well may be telling the truth, but it’s kind of hard discerning a puzzles degree of difficulty while watching it on television. I’ll just take his word for it.

During the challenge, Ozzy falls back a considerable margin, while Adam and Yul jump out ahead. Ozzy returns his first bag shortly after Yul returns his second. However, after retrieving that first one, Ozzy zips through the rest of the obstacle course and is working on his puzzle long before anyone else. Normally it would be obvious he is going to win, but with the promise of the “hardest puzzle ever in Survivor, one would figure that with Yul and Becky being lawyers, they would have the edge in analytical ability, and assuming they didn’t fall behind too far on the obstacle course, they could make up ample time on the puzzle.

From my perspective though, the puzzle seemed maybe a tad more complex than average, and not so much more that it warranted mentioning. But again, I don’t think we can really ascertain watching it on television, either way, Ozzy wins. Soundly. And he is guaranteed a spot in the final four.

When they return too camp, Adam knows he is on the chopping block, and realizing any direct attempt to break up the Aitu alliance will prove futile, he simply tries to get Ozzy and Sundra to vote for Yul with him, the flush out the Hidden Immunity Idol, Yul and Becky will both vote for Adam so he will still go home. He has conceded defeat at this point and just trying to leave a lasting mark on the game.
In all honesty, Sundra and especially Ozzy would be somewhat dense not to go for this. It would put everyone on an even field of play going into the final four and make Yul more vulnerable than he has been since the game commenced.

But nothing of the sort happens, even after Probst commits a solid amount of questioning about the HII at Tribal Council. Sundra looks conflicted during all the Probst (verbal) probing, Ozzy looks indifferent. Before being voted out, Adam really takes to airing his grievances with the Aitu alliance. In short, he says they are all boring (Relevance?), Yul is the leader and he implies that Sundra and Becky are useless. Which, that might be harsh and exaggerated, but within the context of the game he does have a point, and it does need to be addressed at some point. Adam is eventually voted out, and the most captivating aspect of this Tribal council is Nate, for some reason he is hobbling around on a crutch.

In his parting words, Adam is actually very contrite and wishes them all good luck.

Back at camp they celebrate, Yul is glad the winner is going to be a minority and calls it a “great morality tale”, because people from different backgrounds varying backgrounds and experiences and use those differences for their benefit. Ozzy pontificates about the experience and how he is going to miss it.

All I am going to say about the neverending “Rites of Passage” portion of this episode is that I wish it never happened.

At the final Immunity Challenge, the four contestants are asked to stand on a small steel perch sitting in the water. Every fifteen minutes they remove a section of it, by they remove the final piece, the remaining platform it is half the size of your average postcard.

Becky is the first too fall. She doe so immediately after removing the third piece at 45 minutes. At which point Ozzy is wobbling, Sundra is stong, Yul is in a squatting position, which seems peculiar because it places more strain on the legs. After the last piece is removed Ozzy comes damn close to falling off and recovers. He makes a joke about his genitals itching from standing in the sun for so long, Sundra almost loses her composure from laughter, Ozzy apologizes, Yul tries too stand up from his uncomfortable squatting position and falls off when he does.

Down to the final two, and Ozzy has had to rebalance himself at least five times by now, Sundra, who has seemed unphased short of the Ozzy-genitals remark, falls after a shade over 2 1/2 hours. Ozzy wins immunity. Its quite remarkable based on the selective editing because the manner in which he was periodically struggling throughout the duration of the challenge, would have led an objective observer to assume he would have been the underdog. But Ozzy is exemplorary at all this random shit, this guy can run, climb, swim, shimmy, balance and puzzle solve probably better than any Survivor I have seen.

Back at camp, Ozzy (not too mention everyone else) is surprised at Sundra’s performance. Ozzy and Yul deliberate about the pending Tribal Council. They both agree neither Sundra nor Becky are more deserving than the other. They decide too each vote for one of them and let it be settled over a tiebreaker.
Yul then goes over too Becky and says he will slip her the idol, putting himself at risk but he is willing to take it. And I am speechless right now. Why not just let it go to a tie? I mean, I know his relationship with Becky is more platonically intimate, but does he hate Sundra? She did, afterall, outperform Becky at the last IC. More so than I can ever remember Becky outperforming Sundra. I love Ozzy’s indifference during all of this. His demeanor couldn’t be anymore casual.

At TC, Jeff brings up the idea of slipping Becky the idol. Even though she could never have the gumption to actually divert from the initial plan without consulting Ozzy, Sundra is clearly mulling over the concept and I am sure it crossed her mind to vote for Yul based on all of his suggestions about loyalty and whatnot. Ends up they all stuck to the original plan, Yul didn’t give the idol to Becky, making this season all the more enjoyable.

The tiebreaker is once again a fire-building challenge. And, its not pretty. If either of these women had a chance in a jury vote against Ozzy and Yul, that chance was diffused with this pitiful display. Not that fire-building is the be all, end all of determining who is the most deserving of the money. In fact, I am usually in the camp that if people are doing the upkeep around camp without requesting your help, then you shouldn’t be penalized for it. But at least a general understanding to get a fire started in a timely fashion seems like a bare minimum. The jury is literally falling asleep during all of this.
After a solid hour, Probst throws the two girls some matches, effectively removing the minimalist aspect of this show that it provides itself on. At the very least the two are capable of laughing at their own ineptitude. Even still, Sundra runs out of matches and is forced to watch Becky attempt to get her fire started, only hoping she runs out of matches as well. No such luck. After an hour and a half Becky has a full blaze going and Sundra is sent packing.

In her parting words, Sundra is surprised with and proud of herself. With a good natured chuckle she adds, “One of you is going to win a million and you are taking me out to dinner”. That’s grace, baby.

The three celebrate with coconuts. Ozzy spouts a little in Spanish. Becky is proud of herself for not taking the easy way out with accepting the idol, and it is commendable. It is rare we see integrity from reality show contestants. When island women (or women in island garb, I couldn’t tell) arrive bearing gifts, Becky is nowhere to be found. Ozzy explains how this is a metaphor for the game and illustrates why him and Yul will receive all the votes from the jury. He is right about receiving all the votes, but it is hardly a metaphor for anything. Yul believes a new friend (Becky) is more important than the million dollars, which is easy for a lot easier for a guy with a Yale law degree to say. As opposed to someone whose title on the show is “waiter” and has apparently appeared on the Playboy Channel, in which case a million dollars is much more of a necessity.

In opening statements at the jury hearing, Yul says he has done more than anyone else too influence the game, and admits he had lied and deceived too some extent, but was loyal to the people he set out to be loyal to.

Becky says she had to play her social game. Everyone seems to be nodding their heads in disapproval.

Ozzy plays the underdog card, pointing out that ever since merging from four too two teams, he has been on the outside looking in. He points out he embraced the game in every way possible, with his “soul” even.

Nate is first to ask questions: calls Yul the “big gangsta boss”, and calls Ozzy the warrior. Ozzy says he was the Yul of his original tribe, and he played the surfer dude angle so people would underestimate him, so there was a strategic element to his game. Nate asks Becky why she deserves the money, she says it was her and Yul making decisions bilaterally, as opposed to the common misconception that Yul was making them unilaterally. When asked if that answer suffices, Nate says that he is indeed not satisfied, which precipitates Becky selling out Yul about him offering her the Immunity Idol offer going to the final four. And she is right for the most part, but Yul positioned himself to be the ring-leader, and she, due to happenstance was his best friend on the island, but in an attempt to seem honorable she acts in a wholly dishonorable manner.

Jenny just asks Yul what she thinks is the most crucial aspect of the game. He says its more social than physical or challenge oriented. He essentially says the proof is in the pudding, if the physical aspect took precedent then the final three would look much different.

Parvati asks Becky about turning the idol down, Becky says she wanted to earn her spot.

Rebecca asks Yul and Ozzy to share something with the jury that they don’t already know. Yul says he decided to appear on the series due to a shortage and misrepresentation of minorities in the media are represented in the media. Ozzy steals Yul’s answer about wanting too alter stereotypes, he kind of rambles incoherently for awhile. He should have just been earnest and said “passion for the outdoors and the chance for a million dollars”. That would have sounded better than the nonsense he opted for.

Adam steps up and says they have been boring at TC, and he wants them too disparage each other. Ozzy says Yul didn’t work much around camp and Becky resorted to simply riding coattails.

Candice says its cool they lasted the mutiny and congratulates them. She also points out that Yul is awfully vague when asked a direct question, so she also corners Yul into answering a yes or no, anything further will cost him Candice’s potential vote. She asks if he has been working the jury over intentionally, and even if he hasn’t it will come off as a facade. So he hesitates a minute and sheepishly says, “yes”. When Jeff and Candice start talking again, he responds on impulse. Candice, relishing in her momentary power position, says he “broke the rules” and will have to think about her vote.

Brad congratulates them, says his relationship with Ozzy doesn’t extend passed a fifteen second conversation, so he asks what has been the most challenging experience in his life. Ozzy states the relationship with his father who has been something of an absentee and that Ozzy has always had to make the effort to contact him instead of the other way around. He loses his composure and begins too well up. He says he loves his family (who reside in Mexico) but having the knowledge that “the person who created” him doesn’t want anything to do with him. It may have tipped the jury.

Sundra wants too know what they “discovered about themselves” from the Survivor experience. Ozzy says love and learning too cherish and appreciate every moment. Becky says she has learned too loosen up, because her life has always been time regimented. Yul says he came in with a lot of self-doubt and fear and has learned to overcome it.

Johnathan also congratulates them. Since Yul is highly educated and incredibly slick, Johnathan asks him to explain to his constituents all of his half-truths. Yul says he would never deceive any non-expecting people (a la people outside of Survivor) and admits he has the ability to manipulate people, and takes ownership of utilizing the ability.

Johnathan directs his next question to Ozzy, says he has an enviable ability to win challenges, but also calls him arrogant and entitled at times, and he doesn’t want to reward someone like that, so Johnathan wants too know how giving him a million dollars would make him and everyone around him better. He says he would go back to school and try to change the world for the better Textbook. Johnathan snubs Becky and she looks disappointed. Poor girl, she didn’t do anything wrong but she didn’t do anything exceptional. Its a bad season to be that person.

They vote, John votes for Yul because he outplayed the other two, Parvati votes for Ozzy because he is the ultimate competitor and says he “brought fire to the game”. Thats all we see, so I am assuming no one voted for Becky.

They take it to Cali. Probst walks in and they do the camera transformation from the island to the city. There is some guy banging drums. Jeff pontificates a little then reads the votes:
Yul-1
Ozzy-1
Yul-2
Yul-3
Ozzy-2
Ozzy-3
Ozzy-4
Yul-4
They are tied at 4-4, Jeff says they both dominated in their own way like few ever have. I actually have no clue who it will be, though I am hoping for Becky because I want too see how the tiebreaker situation is resolved…..

Yul gets the vote and the win, Concluding a classic Survivor season. Though I always root for the guy with less dough in this situation. More on the reunion a little later.

What a satisfying episode of The Office on Thursday, it really had a second season vibe too it plus Ed Helms and Rashida Jones (Andy and Karen). They are assimilated with the Scranton branch in every way as Andy is now Michael’s closest confidante, Karen is dating Jim and has befriended Pam, if “A Benihana Christmas” was the first Office episode you had ever watched, you probably couldn’t discern they just joined the branch.

One of the underlying factors of what makes The Office so great is the humanity that the characters embody. Everyone on the show is flawed and most are irritable but well-intentioned, which really personifies the personalities the inhabitants of an everyday office. Michael is a clown, Angela is a witch, Dwight is psychotic, but the viewer is eventually allowed too sympathize with every character at some point. If they find this feat too daunting, then someone in their own office resembles a character on this show, either way all of them bring a unique brand of comedy too the table. In an hour long episode it served as a showcase for almost every character.

Michael was pathetic and abrasive. (”Keep it up, Stanley, and you will lose New Year’s… Jim take New Year’s away from Stanley”)

Dwight was strange, or “individualistic” as Angela would say. (”No, Toby, this is different… he’s already dead”)

Angela herself was embittered and hostile. (”I think you should leave”)

Toby was world-beaten and downtrodden. (”It’s a dead animal in an office”)

Kevin was jovial. (”Then why are there two flyers”)

Meredith was drunk. (”No thanks, they’re too sweet”)

Ryan was annoyed. (”I miss the days when there was only one party I didn’t want to go to”)

Kelly was smitten. (”We belong, we belllonngg togeeettthhherrrr Ryan”)

Jim was observant. (”It’s a bold move, to photoshop yourself into a picture with your girlfriend and her kids on a ski trip with their real father, but the again Michael’s a bold guy”)

Andy was obnoxious. (”Nagasaki’s: one part eggnog, three parts Saki, Some places won’t serve it though, because eggnog, is seasonal”)

Creed was off-setting. (”And a happy holiday to you”)

Pam was understanding. (”I think one of her (Angela’s) cats did once, she came in with scratches all over face”)

Karen was vindictive (”I don’t think we are taking things far enough”)

Those are just half the notable quotes, not too mention all of the physical, non-verbal humor from the episode. Michael marking the Japanese waitress and his constant “hold back the tears” face, Jim’s facial reactions to Karen and Pam bonding, Toby feeling the bathrobe, Andy singing, his mannerisms, and everything else that culminated this episode, it just flowed.

After this I am convinced they could extend every episode to a full hour and it wouldn’t get tiresome. Though it will never happen. The Office is on hiatus for the holidays, until then i’ll be contemplating who Michael went too Jamaica with. My money is on Todd Packer.

Something of a mundane episode of Survivor last night. It was chock full of unintentional bizarre, sexually charged innuendo and scenarios. Probably an attempt by the production team too compensate for the disinteresting game play.

The episode opens with Parvati and Adam chattering back and forth about how validated they feel for lasting longer than Johnathan. Adam even refers to Johnathan as a “Nuisance”. If the updated definition of Nuisance is now: “A person of decent character and wit, who when cornered into a position too turn on his opponent, will do so before his opponent turns on him”, then yeah, Johanthan was a Nuisance. Otherwise, assuming he is still using the term in its traditional context, how is anyone a Nuisance in Survivor?

I suppose if a contestant has no work ethic, drags a team down in challenges and has no redeemable value; then the term would apply. But as far as I could tell, Johnathan more than pulled his weight around camp, and since we are in the individual challenges, he certainly wasn’t dragging anyone down (nor did it appear he was in the team portion of the game)…. I think the simple explanation is Adam and Parvati are self-absorbed sycophants, with no understanding beyond anything that doesn’t directly effect them.

Nothing really happens in between the pre-credits scene and the Reward Challenge (In fact, nothing really happened in the pre-credits scene either, other than Adam and Parvati further pushing my temprement to new found heights).

At RC, the contestants are asked too run through an obstacle course to a mud pit, cling as much mud to their bodies as possible and run back to the starting point with the collected mud (they cannot hold any with their hands) where they’re are buckets placed for each contestant. The goal is to fill up as much mud as possible in the allotted amound of time. The reward is a night at a spa with massages, food and whaever else people do at spas, the three contestants with the most mud in their buckets go on Reward.

It is damn near impossible too tell who is winning, so i’ll just list the results:
Ozzy: 45 lbs.
Parvati: 24 lbs.
Yul: 22.5 lbs
Adam: 22 lbs.
Becky, Sundra: 20 lbs
Since Ozzy’s name was read first, then Adam’s second, my initial reaction was, “how can you be that much worse at this challenge than someone else? There is literally no skill involved”. But as you can tell by the final results, I guess the appropriate question is, how the hell is Ozzy so much better at this particular challenge? Things like swimming, running, puzzle solving, these are activities that the average person would conceivably practice and excel at in everyday American life, and therefore outperform other members of a random collection of people. But, um, no-hands mud gathering? What kind of porn was this guy in, anyways? The discrepancy in totals illustrates that Ozzy clearly has past experience with this. Predictably, he sends Adam to exile.

Back at camp, Sundra laments about the outcome of at RC. Becky reminds her that at least Yul got to go. They discuss Ozzy, and how he is entirely too proficient at challenges, and they seem too agree that voting him off ahead of Adam and Parvati might be the best strategy. I mentioned it a few episodes back, but Ozzy has clearly over exposed himself, and with only six people remaining, he now falls under the category of, “threat”. Becky says, “I think he is a bigger threat then people realize”. I agree with half of this sentiment. He is a threat, but how could anyone not realize it?

On reward, the three take showers and get a massage with hot milk. And I am not sure what there is too say about that. Ozzy says he has never had a massage, well, at least not in the traditional sense. Thank you, thank you, I’m here all night.

Parvati voice overs how charming she needs to be. When her, Ozzy and Yul make their way to a hot tub, she drunkenly blubbers like an idiot, and I guess this constitutes charming for someone like Parvati. Not too sound completely chauvinistic, but Parvati’s charm would increase ten-fold if she never said a word.

I apologize.

Anyways, in the hot tub Parvati strips completely naked along with Ozzy. Yul just sits their expressionless, no word on whether or not he is naked himself, but I can’t imagine being in a hot tub with a porn star and a foxy boxer is really his typical scene, as he is noticeably uncomfortable. But in the midst of his perplexed mind set, he is still studying the landscape, taking into account that Parvati is throwing all caution to the wind, trying to sway Ozzy’s vote. It does seem to be effective, however Ozzy and Parvati are both hammered so it’s hard imagine Parvati has Ozzy smitten after he sobers up. And really, from what we have seen, if you consider Parvati charming, then you are probably lonesome on a suicidal level.

When the three arrive back to camp from reward the following day, Becky has been on pins and needles waiting for Yul to arrive. When they approach the tent her and Sundra are under, Becky snaps at Ozzy and suggests that she and Yul go talk. Its a little transparent and at least Yul, if not Ozzy as well picked up on it. Yul’s comments on returning too camp: “I could tell something was a, um, a little bit tense with Becky.” Its not so much what he said, but how it was stated, like he is borderline afraid of her. It would seem she is like ping’s sister from Seinfeld: An Asian lawyer with a pleasant demeanor until she feels threatened or insulted. To quote Bodie Williams from The Wire: “That woman is what we like too call a dragon lady”.

Becky pleads her case why taking aim at Ozzy at tribal council is the best solution. Yul, probably half-tired of making decisions for everyone, actually delegates to Becky, “If you want to vote him out we can do that”. For some reason, it doesn’t end there. Sundra comes into the fray and they deliberate further, Yul says about Ozzy: “I do not want to go into a final two with Ozzy … The Raro and former Raro tribe members see him as kind of a pure player, he’s not building coalitions, he is playing a straight up game and he’s doing a damn good job of it”.

They also discuss Parvati flirting with Ozzy, Yul states, “she was flirting with him more so than she usually flirts with everyone at reward … I’ve been surprised by how strong she has been … I definitely underestimated her.” While I do not think she is the threat he is making her out to be, I like how Yul is able too acknowledge his perceived shortcomings before it’s too late and concede that maybe he had a lapse in judgement.

They all decide between Parvati’s flirting and her recent moderate success at challenges, along with Ozzy and his penchant for immunity, that they will see how it goes at Immunity Challenge before they determine what to do. So much for that solidarity they had when persuading Johnathan to flip a few weeks ago.

At IC, the challenge is carrying bundles across a balance beam, building a maze with the corresponding pieces, then getting two different balls through the maze by pivoting the maze left and right….

By the time Ozzy wins, Yul had assembled his maze incorrectly, Parvati was still untying her bundles, and the the remaining three contestants (Adam, Becky and Sundra) returned a total of two bundles, with Adam not getting across the balance beam once. So Ozzy foils everyones plans by winning immunity for the third time in the four individual immunity challenges. He is essentially like Terry from last season, but unlike Terry, Ozzy will not choke in F3 if it happens to be a balancing challenge, as evidenced by what just transpired. Everyone looks annoyed.

Challenge is coillecting bundles again by walking them across a balance beam, then creating a maze out of the pieces, then essentially playing marble madness and dropping them down two holes. Yul has two bundles after Ozzy gets his third, and no one else is even close. Yul gets his third while Ozzy is untying puzzle pieces. Its a good challenge. Adam and Sundra do not get a single bundle across. It is essentially Yul and Ozzy. Ozzy starts rolling the ball through the maze, he is clearly going too win and he does so before Yul even puts the puzzle together correctly. He has a target on his back, but clearly it doesn’t matter if he keeps winning challenges. He is essentuially like Terry last season, only difference being, Ozzy isn’t going to slip up in a balance challenge in the F3 like Terry did.

Back from IC, Adam actually confronts Yul and inquires about who is on the chopping block. Yul has the gaul to say, “I like you, if you want to stay, you’ll stay”. Adam calls Yul the puppet master. And, can’t they think of any other authoritarian labels for Yul? Subsequently Yul talks to Parvati, and says he sees Adam as the bigger threat, so she is probably safe. Clearly he is playing both sides of the fence. And I like how Adam and Parvati are throwing each other under the bus for their own vested interests. You know, the same thing the berated Johnathan for doing for four days straight.

Adam and Parvati actually make a decent case to Ozzy to get him to vote off Sundra with them, which is the best option because it is more likely Yul will give Becky the immunity idol.

Yul brings Johnathan the hat he mentioned at last TC. Jeff, for whatever reason is relentless in questioning Yul’s real motives for returning the hat too Johnathan, not so subtly suggesting that maybe he is doing it to curry a favor with the jury. Everyone is quick too mention that whether he will admit it or not, it probably factored into his decision. Yul correctly points out that it serves both purposes, Johnathan asked for the hat so he wanted to return it to him, and yes, it could be potentially help him with the jury, particularly with Johnathan’s vote should he make it to the finals.

What I don’t understand, is who does this hurt exactly? Everyone else in the game had the opportunity to bring it back. Additionally, no one else on the jury would have known who returned the hat, had Jeff not spent five minutes harping on it (And that is five edited Survivor minutes, God only knows how long this lasted); and really its just not a big deal. Clearly Jeff Probst has a rooting interest in this season. After Yul rationally explains his motives behind this incredibly idiotic “controversy”, they immediately switch topics.

Everything else they talk about, and all of Jeffs questions are incredibly lame and unrevealing. They vote… the producers air Yul’s explanation for his vote without showing it, coincidentally he says he underestimated whoever this annonymous person is, and considering that is verbatim what he said earlier about Parvati, it is pretty obvious. So Parvati goes home. Meaning Ozzy doesn’t flip, and it might have been in his own best interest to do so, despite how much it would have bothered me. But I guess it is in tune with his character, he is a strong, somewhat honorable player, not necessarily smart.

In her parting words, Parvati says she could have “worked it” more in the hot tub if she wanted to, which, the only way there could have been more “working it” is if there with some sort of sexual contact, so at least she exhibited some restraint in that regard. She also adds that now she knows she can survive in the wilderness. Alright. With a camera crew and a team of Australian doctors she is right.

The finale (with five people remaining?) is on Sunday with a “big surprise” that everyone kind of already knows about. Back with thoughts on last nights fantastic episode of The Office a little later.

An interview with Will Arnett. Probably best known for his role as GOB Bluth in the recently cancelled Arrested Development (I am still coming to terms with it, that’s why I currently in the mindset of using the term “recent”).

Apparently Rolling Stone has been in the process of casting a reality series for MTV. Well, its assembled. And here is the final product. It sounds like The Real World crossed with The Apprentice, beanies, bongs and journalism degrees. There has to be odds in Vegas on which contestant is most likely to get drummed up on a possession charge (my money is on Colin Stutz). And in case you couldn’t tell, Tika Milan is a woman.

If you’re looking too ruin your Thursday night, here are three clips from tonights hour long episode of The Office. Speaking of which, this individual is really determined to set our expectations high.

First it was January, then it was March, now HBO is making it “official” that The Sopranos second half of the sixth and final season will begin in April. You will have to excuse my skepticism but generally speaking The Sopranos premieres are like banking on the release date of an anticipated rap album: regardless of when they say it is coming out, you know it is getting pushed back to Christmas.

24 turned down offered guest appearances from Jennifer Aniston and Ben Stiller because they are “Too recognizeable”. Isn’t this a hard claim too make for a show that stars Kiefer Sutherland and Elisha Cuthbert? Am I missing something? I like the concept but it just doesn’t seem to apply for this series.

Stacy Keibler will do an arc on What About Brian?… So she goes from the worst reality show to the worst dramatic series. It’s a shame to, the woman is absolutely gorgeous.

At least Ryan Murphy, creator of Nip Tuck, is admitting that his show was growing tiresome.

Those British, they’re so cosmopolitan.

And finally, Mark Burnett has decided to shake up the jury process on Survivor with the final three contestants going to a jury vote. I really hope this doesn’t entail Adam or Parvati taking home the money.

The Golden Globe nominations were announced today. I feel compelled to bitch about the film nominations (certain films were overly or under appreciated), but since this blog is dedicated to television I will try to stay on topic.

Let me just preface this by saying I am not really into award shows. They are completely subjective and have no baring on anything. Art isn’t like, say, athletics. Where competition is the driving force behind the vernacular. There is no clear cut winner. Because when shows get shortchanged like some were this year, it loses quite a bit of credibility.

First off, no nominations for The Wire yet again, this is the best season of television since the fifth season of The Sopranos and it gets snubbed time after time for three reasons:

1) No A-list celebrities in the cast. The Wire features a bevy of talented no-names that are unrecognizeable. Actually, Method Man probably had like twenty minutes of screen time if you want to nit-pick. But, I mean, does this warrant snubbing Michael K. Williams (Omar Little), Jim True-Frost (Prezbo), Wendell Pierce (Bunk), Seth Gillam (Carver) or JD Williams (Bodie). At least throw them a bone and give them an ensemble cast nomination.

2) HBO does not promote the series like they do with The Sopranos, Six Feet Under and Entourage. Why is this? I have no idea. It is hard to fault them because they have kept it around for four seasons and have agreed to a fifth. But it just doesn’t get the same mainstream attention as its HBO brethren.

3) Exceptionally large cast. If I count it out in my head, the fourth season of The Wire hovers around fifty integral characters, making available screentime scarce for someone trying to make a statement for the Emmys/Golden Globes. I still do not think this warrants snubbing for supporting roles, but it definitely slims any opportunity for the series’ actors to get noticed.

Essentially, its voters lacking familiarity to award it with a nomination. It is deservant of not only acting noms, but screenplay, direction, cinematography and every other available award. Simon and Burns do not care about these things, because ultimately they are innocuous, but a little recognition goes a long way and maybe more networks would start to aim for series with a little substance. Its hard to blame the foreign press because they probably haven’t even seen the show, but I doubt The Emmy’s will be a much different story.

The Best Drama category also missed the boat with Friday Night Lights. And I am not surprised, its hard to get the foreign press interested in a series that on the surface appears to revolve around a high school football team in West Texas. Of the five nominated, I would like to see Big Love get it. At least its something original. And between that And Heroes (the other original TV premise this season), Big Love is penned much better. Regardless, Heroes is probably a lock.

In the Lead Acting categories for drama, Edie Falco was nominated for best actress. Which is surprising because I assumed the statute on limitations was up for the last season of The Sopranos. In addition, this was the only nomination it received, no Michael Imperioli, no James Gandolfini and no best drama. How can I take this seriously?
Anyhow, for the two categories, I am pulling for Falco and Bill Paxton for his turn in Big Love, though I have no idea who will win.

The one redeeming quality from these nominations are those for comedy series’. The two I wanted too see nominated (Entourage and The Office) were both honored with Best Musical or Comedy Series alongside Desperate Housewives, Weeds and Ugly Betty. With the exception of Desperate Housewives, I wouldn’t mind seeing any of these win. Although The Office is a runaway favorite because there are four European countries have different versions of it (The series was exported from England to The US, France and Germany).

As far as the acting nominations are concerned, again I am unaware of time constraints on these things, but assuming Curb Your Enthusiasm was past due, Steve Carrell and Jeremy Piven were the only two I cared to see nominated. And they will both probably win their respective categories.

One final note, this award show, more so than The Emmys even, is reflective of ratings success. Friday Night Lights was not nominated for a single award despite having some of the better acting on television. Scott Porter (Jason Street), Kyle Chandler (Coach Taylor) Connie Britton (Tami Taylor) and Zach Gilford (Matt Saceran) seem too live these roles. The realism on the series is unlike anything else on network TV.

It is really detrimental to the longevity of the series if Friday Night Lights does not receive any critical recognition, because if a series with ratings this low cannot at least pickup any hardware, then its chances of surviving are even slimmer. Again, I am not surprised that this series didn’t get any nominations at The Golden Globes, but if The Emmy’s decides to nominate the quirky Asian dude or the spunky cheerleader from Heroes over some of the raw dramatic acting on FNL and The Wire, then it will be mildly disappointing, if inconsequential.