Chrisicisms
Welcome back to week two in a series I’m calling “My Essentials.” As I continue this adventure at Patheos, I feel it’s best if you know some more of my likes and the things that inspire me when writing about art and faith. Last week, we talked about my 20 favorite movies . This week, we’re going to cut that number back and talk about a different medium, but one that grows increasingly exciting with every new month.
For years, TV had a stigma attached to it. It was an also-ran to movies. Film was considered the art form; television the crass, commercialized cousin. And I get it. With a movie, you’re paying money and choosing to sit in the dark engaging with the work. With TV, the association was often sitting down with family or friends after a tiring day or keeping it on in the background while you folded laundry. It was entertainment, a diversion. It was what you put on in the background while you folded laundry. Today, since HBO changed the game with “The Sopranos,” television is the art form taking the most risks, attracting the best actors and generating the most talk. DVRs and streaming have changed how we watch TV — it’s no longer just something we turn to after a hard day at work. It’s something we binge on and watch several episodes at a time with rapt attention. We follow critics who post episode recaps and debate with friends what we think it going to happen.
In compiling this list, I was unsure how to focus it. Would I write about TV shows I loved in the past? Or would I write about the new ones gripping my attention? Even just listing what thought would be the 10 best shows got muddy — you could do a whole list of that just with TV shows released in the past five years.
In the end, I split it up. The first list are the five TV shows that I love that have ended. I know where the journey went and I’m thankful I took it — even if that journey didn’t always end the way I liked. The second list are five TV shows (or so) that I’m currently loving..and that’s a hard list, given how much great TV there is. So consider it just a taste of my TV love. And, as always, I’d love to hear your favorites in the comments below!
FIVE CLASSIC TV SHOWS I LOVE
1. THE SIMPSONS — I have a theory that every situation in life has a “Simpsons” quote to go along with it. Like many others, this was a show I was banned from watching growing up — parents just didn’t know what to do with a cartoon that had such an adult mentality. I finally started watching when it hit syndication in high school, and from there I was hooked. In my early twenties, “The Simpsons” was an obsession. I could have entire conversations with friends in nothing but lines from the show. Mark Pinsky’s “The Gospel According to the Simpsons” was read and re-read by me. And when I began seriously digging into film and entertainment culture in college, I found that the show that had brought so much laughter was also a brilliant satire of American life. Religion, politics, society and art have all been examined through Matt Groening’s dysfunctional yellow family, and unlike “Family Guy” and its ilk, the show has done so with tremendous heart and affection toward its main characters. Keeping it here is kind of a cheat, of course, because “The Simpsons” hasn’t ended — we don’t know if it ever will. But it’s been a long time since I’ve been a regular viewer — by the time “The Simpsons Movie” came out nine years ago, I was already one of those lamenting that the show had lost its spark (although I do highly enjoy the movie). But when FXX did its “Simpsons” marathon a few years back, you’d better believe I overloaded our DVR with classic episodes and spent hours reliving some of my favorite moments. No show has done as much to impact my way of thinking, my sense of humor and my appreciation of satire.
2. BREAKING BAD — The first show I ever binged. I started catching up on “Breaking Bad” when the show was ending its fourth season. Our son had just been born, and I’d often call up an episode on Netflix when I would get up to feed him in the morning. By the time the time I caught up with the show’s fourth season, I was marathoning four or five episodes in a sitting, unable to turn it off, compelled to see what was going to happen next. That final stretch of season four often felt like a sustained panic attack. I was able to finish the show live in seasons five and six — and I must say that watching the episode “Ozymandias” while we were away in Florida nearly ruined a whole night of my vacation. If you haven’t seen it, “Breaking Bad” — about a teacher (Brian Cranston) who goes into the meth business after a cancer diagnosis — is just as great as everyone says. Vince Gilligan crafted an intense, brutal crime drama, told with enough doses of dark humor to earn it the distinction of “Coenesque.” The direction is some of the best I’ve ever seen on television, and the cast is an all-timer. But what I love most about ‘Breaking Bad’ is that it’s a gripping drama that is also one of the most unflinching morality plays on television. Walter White might start as an antihero, but he’s all villain by the last two seasons. And every action in this show has consequences. “Breaking Bad” is thrilling and funny, but it’s also a dead-serious look at the depravity in us all and how our pride can curdle us and cost us everything we love. It’s like a great, grim novel and I can’t wait to dive into it again.
3. THE MUPPET SHOW — When ABC launched “The Muppets” last fall, they promised that it wasn’t your parents’ Muppet show. That should have been the first sign that something was wrong. While the new iteration has been criticized for being a cynical, depressing slog (that is supposedly rebooting a bit this month), Jim Henson’s original “Muppet Show,” which ran in the mid-1970s, still stands as one of the funniest and most original things to ever air on TV. Henson, frustrated with being pegged as a children’s entertainer after “Sesame Street’s” smash success, created “The Muppet Show” after spending some time in Europe and seeing how puppetry was embraced by all ages there. A celebration of vaudeville along with a fourth-wall breaking behind-the-scenes farce, “The Muppet Show” both gave room for Henson and his collaborators to create memorable characters who have endured to this day and do sketches experimenting with puppetry. There are dance numbers and songs that are beautiful and elegant, and moments that end with explosions or creatures devouring each other. Like “The Simpsons,” it was a show that initially struggled to attract guests, yet very quickly became a favorite destination for celebrities. And most importantly, it gave us Kermit the Frog (well, transplanted from ‘Sesame Street’), Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo and a whole cadre of weirdos. Many forget that, when it aired, it was a sensation and one of the most popular television shows in the world. And, as an owner of the DVDs, I can confirm it still holds up. Everyone has their favorite moment. For me, it’s Milton Berle being heckled by Statler and Waldorf.
4. LOST — During our first phone conversation, my now-wife and I spent the majority of time talking about our various theories of “Lost.” What was going on? Who was the Man in Black? What was going to happen in the final season? What did the numbers mean? Many scoff at the show now thanks to an ending that wasn’t exactly beloved, but “Lost” was the logical heir to the mythology-driven “X-Files” and the next step in the domination of serialized television. I’m shocked the show was so popular, given that at any given time it involved a mysterious island, smoke monsters, polar bears in the tropics, cryptic numbers, spiritual war, and time travel. It was a nerdy show that only got more dense and convoluted as it went along, and those of us who tuned in each week were mesmerized by the mysteries the show continued to bring. But the thing that made “Lost” so great — the thing that almost all of its imitators forget — is that it brought up these mysteries in the context of a fantastic character drama. “Lost” had one of the most diverse and complex cast of characters I’ve seen, and it was moving to see the stories that brought them to the island and then watch as they all searched for some sort of redemption. Its why even the show’s scattershot final season — and, yes, even that final episode — worked for me. “Lost,” to me, was never about getting mysteries answered. It was about following these characters on a journey and hoping they ended up somewhere good. I found the final moments extremely powerful.
5. FREAKS AND GEEKS — The prime example of genius not being recognized until after its time. Just think of that cast — James Franco, Jason Segel, Seth Rogen, Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daly, Martin Starr. Just look at those producers — Judd Apatow and Paul Feig. And just watch the episodes. No show captured the terror and awkwardness of teenage life as accurately, painfully and hilariously as “Freaks and Geeks.” Set in the 1980s in a fictional Michigan community (but based on a town just a few miles from where I grew up), it was a show that pulled no punches. It was a show where asking a girl out ended in embarrassment, dreams were dashed and life was hard. But that relatability only made it funnier. I think people didn’t tune in to the show because it felt too real, which is too bad. Because if they stuck around, they would have been party to one of the funniest, smartest and most moving depictions of teenage life I’ve seen. A great show, and the current success of all involved gives me some vindication.
TOP FIVE CURRENT SHOWS
1. FARGO: Showrunner Noah Hawley took on a project I would have thought was fool’s errand: he made a TV show out of the Coen Brothers’ masterpiece, “Fargo.” And in just two seasons, he’s turned it into the best thing on television and the best crime drama since “Breaking Bad.” Season One may have felt like it was hewing too close to the movie: it had a pregnant sheriff (Alison Tohlman), a conniving husband (Martin Freeman), some bickering henchmen, and a lot of snow, murder and “you betchas.” But add in Billy Bob Thornton as an Anton Chiggurh-like hitman, sprinkle in a dash of biblical allusion and a surprising time jump, and you had a show that built upon the movie and captured its essence, but stood proudly alone. Season Two was even better. Flashing back to 1979, it plays as dark Shakespearean gangster drama. Patrick Wilson is stunningly good as the straight-laced cop taking on the evil that’s entered his town and Bookeem Woodbine steals the entire show as a loquacious hitman. Season two even upped the ante on Coen Brothers references, with nods to “Raising Arizona,” “The Big Lebowski” and more. And I haven’t even mentioned the tragic arc for Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst or Nick Offerman walking away with an entire episode. Both seasons have vague connections, but they all deal with a common theme: how does someone stay decent and good in the face of unrelenting evil?
2. MASTER OF NONE: My wife and I just finished the first season of Aziz Ansari’s Netflix comedy a few weeks ago and I was dumbfounded. Ansari’s always been a fun personality to watch, be it on “Parks and Recreation” or in his stand-up act. But I didn’t know he had a show like this in him: a smart, warm and funny observation of modern life and relationships. Ansari’s Indian heritage lets him examine issues like racism and family from refreshing angles (and his real-life parents play his parents on the show, to hilarious effect). Halfway through, the show turns into a charming, funny and insightful romantic comedy, better than 90% of cinematic romantic comedies released in the past 20 years. The key to the show’s appeal is that Aziz isn’t telling it like it is — he’s listening to how it is and soaking in new information; his growth comes from empathy and learning. As a result, it’s never too frantic or false. Like a more optimistic “Louie,” every episode feels like an indie film, and balances the laughs with brains and heart. It’s the best comedy I’ve seen in a long time.
3. BOB’S BURGERS: The true heir to the “Simpsons” throne is not the wretched, crass “Family Guy” but rather this hilarious and surreal show about the Belcher clan. Bob Belcher (H. Jon Benjamin) owns a struggling burger joint that is family lives above, and the show is both a comedy about the dynamics of a struggling family as well as a surreal collection of parodies — sometimes all at once. Yes, this is a show that has had episodes about animal anuses, talking toilets and an absinthe-fueled Thanksgiving. But it’s also a show that takes the bond between Bob and his family very seriously; they’re all weirdos, but they’re each others weirdos. A joy of a television show.
4. THE GOLDBERGS/THE MIDDLE: A sure sign that I’m turning into an old, uncool parent is that I never miss these two ABC Wednesday night comedies. And yes, laugh them off as “Dad shows” if you will. But ABC is nailing it on family comedies right now and these are two of the best. “The Goldbergs” is a nostalgia-laced sitcom about a family in the 1980s, complete with a pop culture-obsessed kid so that the show can constantly revel in referencing the decade’s entertainment. “The Middle” is about a middle-class family in the Midwest. Both shows are funnier than you’d expect. While “The Goldbergs” started off a bit shrill, it’s learned to leverage its cast and know when to lean into parody and when to just let itself be a sitcom. “The Middle” gets a lot of mileage out of its look at struggling middle-class life (and it has possibly the best continuity on television). But most strikingly, both shows utilize their teenage actors wonderfully. Eden Sher of “The Middle” has long deserved an Emmy for her excitable, ever-optimistic Sue Heck, and Troy Gentile takes confident stupidity to a new level as wannabe rapper/dunk artist Barry Goldberg.
5. LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER: With Jon Stewart gone and Stephen Colbert abandoning his persona to (very successfully) host CBS’s late night show, we have a need for good news comedy. And that’s been coming from former “Daily Show” member John Oliver, whose weekly show on HBO has possibly improved upon what both Stewart and Colbert did. Not beholden to basic cable commercial schedules or required to bring in guests hyping a movie, Oliver has become known for his deep dives into important topics. He’ll devote 15 minutes to topics like capital punishment, FIFA, smoking and more. He’s the rare funnyman (and he’s REALLY funny) who also does real investigative journalism. And what’s more, he doesn’t let his viewers off the hook. While many “Daily Show” viewers felt they were doing something just by agreeing with Stewart, Oliver’s show has become a beacon for Internet-directed protest and activism. It’s a comedy news show that’s actually doing good.
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