Jane's Top Ten TV List 2010

With just a couple of days left before 2011, it's a great time to think about our favorite television gems from the past year. There were a TON of phenomenal programs this year in fact, this could have been a top 20 list. Good TV has become so prolific, watching it all could easily become a full time job. I'm sure I've missed something...but these are the shows that kept me glued to the couch in 2010!

Mad Men (AMC): The Madison Ave men and women grace so many top ten lists, it's almost redundant to add them to mine. But it would be criminal to not include this amazing period piece which is more mini-feature film than any TV drama I can recall. From the intricacies and in-fighting of the ad biz (which I adore) to the character study of smoking hot Don Draper and 60's career woman Peggy...it's the one show that never got recorded in my house. I had to watch it in real time.

Louie (fX): We wrote about it many times on the Nose, in fact it became somewhat of an obsession. Hilarious, profane, heartbreaking, insane and sometimes so creepy it was almost unwatchable. This show within a show about stand up comedian Louie CK, his divorce, his adorable daughters and his NY friends was the most original effort on television this year. I am soooo getting the boxed set when it comes out, because each episode is infinitely re-watchable.

Breaking Bad (AMC): The bleak, cold high plateau of New Mexico...the double life of Walter White and his Meth cooking lab....the evolution of Jessie from drug addict loser to moral compass. Woven between it all the relentless terrorism, and mesmerizing violence of the Mexican drug cartels. Which happens to be more relevant this year than ever before. Where will this series go now that Walter has lost his brain cancer motivation for crime? Who cares, I'm coming along with them.

Nurse Jackie (Showtime): You haven't lived until you belatedly get Showtime and then dive into an entire season of Nurse Jackie over a period of 3 days. Thank you, On Demand. Yes, I had a total immersion NJ marathon and I LOVED it. Edie Falco rules the roost as Jackie, but the entire cast is absolute gold. I'm particularly fond of Zoey, the youngster who brings comic relief to the grim hospital setting. Also love Jackie's BFF Dr. O'Hara, who had an interesting twist with a lesbian turn this season. Nurse Jackie, along with Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and Dexter, has character duplicity as a core plot device. Who are these people? Why are they doing such terrible things? And why does nobody notice except for us?

Modern Family (ABC): As an ABC alumni worker, I can't say how much I adore seeing the alphabet network with a top comedy hit. Every character in this series is hilarious, even the teenage girls. And teenage girls usually suck the laughs out of every scene they're in. My personal favorites are Mitchell and Cameron, the gay couple raising Lilly, the world's most stoic adopted baby. Catch Mitchell's song about "not biting" on the ABC website, it will give you an ear worm.

Dexter (Showtime): Sweaty Miami, Cuban Mojitos, swamps with dead bodies in barrels....and amidst it all, our Dexter of the enigmatic smile. He found true love this season with Lumen (Julie Stiles) but lost it in real life with Jennifer Carpenter, who plays his sister Deb on the series. Yes, it is fraught with peril to date your co-workers and even more hazardous to marry them. Let's hope all the dust settles before the next season so we can root for America's favorite serial killer once again.

Glee (Fox): Now that American Idol has jumped the shark, Fox should thank its lucky stars for "Glee". AI is toast. Would I watch it without Simon Cowell? Not in this lifetime. There is no musical show on TV as strong as Glee. We love the characters (especially breakout girl Britney, who is the funniest dumb blond on TV), and the music is fantastic. Some episodes don't quite make the mark (Rocky Horror was a horror), but most are award winning. If "Grilled Cheesus" doesn't get an Emmy I will be shocked.

Great Migrations (National Geographic): Even though I have not been able to watch the entire series because Comcast prices Nat Geo out of my reach (hateful!), I've seen enough episodes On Demand to know that this is one of the most beautifully filmed nature programs to ever grace the small screen. To watch the Monarch Butterfly migration (followed because they were able to attach a tiny, almost microscopic camera to a butterfly wing) was beyond amazing. On an HDTV it was sublime. Truly the most beautiful documentary series ever. It's the Rose Parade of wild life programs. I'm afraid I'm going to have to pony up for the DVD when it comes out.

Entourage (HBO): I never tire of the escapades of the "boys" as they zoom around So. Cal. in their inappropriate sport utility vehicles adding more smog to Hollywood-land. When is Vinnie going to get a Tesla? He could afford it. Although when last seen, our star was exploding like a supernova, with his porn g.f. dumping him and a bad coke habit wrecking his career. We love Hollywood, and we love cliff hangers. Can't wait until next season to see Ari, Drama, Lloyd and all the young Turks as they pull it out of the fire.

30 Rock (NBC): Liz Lemon, you are our Queen. You are the girl we always wanted to be...a Mary Tyler Moore for the 21st Century. Your glasses...your ham obsession...your fearless and proud braininess. You deserve happiness with a cute pilot or astronaut. But you will probably end up (some season faaaarrrr in the future) with our beloved favorite TV mogul Jack Donaghy. Kenneth can be the best man and Jenna the Maid of Honor. Oh please, at least let it happen as a dream sequence! Actually, the dream is that NBC has managed to create a comedy about television that works on a million levels. Bravo to the Peacock!

And before we close...a special word for our sponsors. I have to give mention to two favorite commercial characters; Isaiah Mustafa, the "I'm on a horse" hottie who made Old Spice cool again and Stephanie Courtney who plays "Flo" on the Progressive insurance ad. Both are originals and immensely appealing.

Happy New Year everybody!

Is Hollywood Excess Still Relevant in a Recession?

The Entourage boys are back for a 7th season this Sunday. Tune in to HBO at 10:30pm eastern to see if their excessive but hilarious shenanigans will translate well during a time of double digit unemployment and a never ending ecological disaster in the gulf.

I, for one, miss the simplicity of the basic Entourage episode. They have trouble with girls. They have trouble with their careers. Ari (the uber agent) says "Hug it out Bitch" or yells really loud at his subordinates. And sometimes a bemused real Hollywood celebrity guest stars to lend a sort of zeitgeist authenticity to it all. It's like a Frankie and Annette movie....Beach Blanket Bingo on the streets of Beverly Hills.

All of the promos for this new season have been strangely subdued. There are no sneak peeks for upcoming celebrity guest stars. No cliff hangers to resolve. Last season Vinnie's career hung by a thread until Scorsese hired him as the lead in one of his pictures.

No matter what direction they take, there is one compelling reason to watch Entourage. Kevin Dillon (brother of Matt) plays Johnny Drama, the funniest loser on TV since Don Knotts in The Andy Griffith show. He is off the charts hilarious. Oh and I always keep my fingers crossed that executive producer Mark Wahlberg (xxxxoooo!) will make a guest appearance. Entourage is, after all, based on his colorful show biz life.

Sunday Night TV on Sept 7th: So Many Programs, So Little Time!

An absolute plethora of television delights awaits us Sunday night (September 7th), Nose Fans. You better get your DVR and TiVo machines rolling because most of these programs are running concurrently.

First up is the 25th annual MTV Video Award ceremony, starting at 9m eastern. It's hard to believe MTV has even existed for a quarter of a century, but there you have it. The VMA's have developed a reputation over the years for being the bad boy "anti-award ceremony" where anything goes. Who could ever forget the year Prince appeared shaking his tiny little butt in a backless leotard? This year newcomer (to the US) Russell Brand, the quirky British comedian and hottie (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) will be the irreverant host. Guest stars include Kobe Bryant, Scarlett Johannson, Shia Labeouf, Michael Phelps, Pink and Britney Spears, hoping to make a comeback after last year's train wreck appearance.

If you're an HBO junkie like me, Sunday night will provide a much needed and longed for fix. True Blood, Alan Ball's new vampire dramedy will premier Sunday from 9-10pm. The reviews have not been that favorable, but when you're starving for new programming it doesn't have to be caviar, a Ritz cracker will do.

At 10pm, the boys are back, as Entourage returns for its season five premier. Watch the high Hollywood shenanigans of Vince, Eric, Turtle and Drama, played by the increasingly talented and hilarious Kevin Dillon. Of course my heart belongs to Ari (Jeremy Piven) the psychotic agent with the hair trigger temper and microscopic heart of gold.


Last but not least, ABC is continuing the grand tradition of the old Bob Hope "entertain the troops" road show with "America United: In Support of Our Troops". A new generation of talent takes to the stage at military bases in the US and around the world to support our fighting forces. Starring Janet Jackson, Clint Black, Pamela Anderson, Carlos Mencia, DL Hughley and ZZ Top. Check out the website above for a link to leave a message for the troups, hundreds have done so already. Airing Sunday night from 9-11pm eastern.

When TV is this good on a Sunday night, it almost takes the sting out of the next day being Monday! Enjoy everybody!

Happy New Year Flaming Nose Fans

What would the end of the year be without yet another top 10 list? Here is mine, for all of our Flaming Nose fans around the world (all 12 of you). May you all have a prosperous and peaceful New Year. And may the power of television and the Internet bring us closer in the days to come.

Here we go, in no particular order...

• Best Ending in a TV Series Ever...The Sopranos-I still feel high when I remember that unprecedented cut to black. Amazing, shocking, and I still think that the onion rings on the diner table signified that Tony lived through the "circle of life".
• Weirdest Nod to Sub-Sub-Cult...The Entourage episode when Drama hooked up with a "Furrie" fetish girl and did the dirty deed in a full body squirrel suit. I'm going to have to guess this was a first for television.
  
• Greatest TV-Internet Event that Nobody Ever Heard of: When local TV affiliate KNBC broadcast the funeral of local town (Torrance California) hero on streaming video. Private Anzack had been captured and killed in Iraq and Torrance citizens honored him with full honors and a horse pulled caisson through the streets of their mid-sized California town. This sad and proud moment proved that small moments can be beautiful when TV and web merge to broadcast local events.
• Funniest Actor on TV...Alec Baldwin as the glorious Jack Donaghy on NBC's Great, Great, Great comedy 30 Rock. Not since the Dick Van Dyke show has a show about TV been this smart, funny, and magnificent. And Alec Baldwin is the absolute soul and pilot of the show. As an actor and a human being, he's had a rough year. As a character, he is top of the heap.
• Best Internet Television...Everything is YouTube, blah blah blah. That could all change on a dime. Here is a place where you can find short form user generated video as well as traditional long form television programming! All for free, of course. MySpace TV HuLu has it all; a place for TV fans to click onto many, many versions of great TV past and present. It's better than candy.
• Best Sidekick...Dwight Schrute (Rainne Wilson) For eveyone who has followed his manic path through this season's episode's of The Office, who would not worship the demented Dwight? From his unrequited, almost heroic love for boss Michael, to his clumsy pursuit of Angela, the blond office Nazi. Yeah, there was a terrible moment involving a cat in a freezer (we all felt really bad about that and talked about it endlessly the next day at work). Never mind, Dwight is the sidekick waiting to happen, he could go Supernova if the writer's strike ever ends.
  
• Best Weird Serial Killer Show...Dexter on Showtime. See past 10+ blogs on the Flaming Nose for details.
• Best Tech Moment...Finally in 2007, the prices got low enough to purchase an HDTV. And this Flaming Nose correspondent is here to tell you that it is...glorious, beautiful, heavenly. I got it a couple of months ago, and I can just barely remember TV life prior to its existence. Strangest thing to notice on HDTV---all the guys on regular TV series look like they are wearing lipstick (they are, we just never noticed in the old format). Best thing to watch so far in HDTV--The Discovery Channel. You just can't beat the glory of nature in high-Def!
• Most Innovative TV Hit that Didn't Stand a Chance...Flight of the Conchords on HBO. Who would have dreamed that a half hour comedy about a couple of down and out folk singers from New Zealand (and their frequent bursts into song) would be the most darling show on TV? I can't wait for its return.
• Best Overall TV Episode of the Year...The season finale of "The Extras" on HBO, broadcast in December. It had everything...EVERYTHING...that the best of television should ever have. Fall down funny. Surprise. Heartbreak. If you look in the dictionary under "perfect TV", you will see a picture of Ricky Gervais in the Extras.

Special Memorial Mention for 2007: We mourn the passing of Charles Nelson Reilly and Brett Somers, both most well known for their feisty double entendres on the classic game show THE MATCH GAME. You can still see their hilarious and edgy banter on the Game Show Network.

God Bless and a Happy New Year to all the Flaming Nose Fans!

---Jane

Golden Globe Noms -- Michael C. Hall, at least...

Flaming Nose readers will be happy to hear that FN favorite Michael C. Hall, who is so amazingly good in the title role of Dexter, has been nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor, Drama Series. Oddly, the show wasn't nominated as Best Drama, which is a bit of a drag. Oh well...we all know what the Best Drama is already, don't we?

We will all be rooting for our favorite serial killer!

Congratulations on the nomination, Michael C. Hall! And also congrats to one of our other favorites 30 Rock which received nominations for Best Comedy, Best Actress in a Comedy for Tina Fey, and Best Actor in a Comedy for Alec Baldwin. Also to Ricky Gervais and Extras (what a sublime series that is...), which received noms for Best Comedy and Ricky G. for Best Actor in a Comedy. And another Flaming Nose favorite, Kevin Dillon for Best Supporting Actor for Entourage.

If you're interested in the entire nomination list, check out this article from Zap2It.com.

Our Boys Will Be Back!

HBO has announced a renewal for The Flaming Nose's favorite fellas from New Zealand! Flight of the Conchords has been picked up for a second season, and at least Jane and I couldn't be happier!

I think we're both in love with Jemaine Clement -- he has that certain strange gruff but sexy quality that has always attracted us, at least hypothetically -- but his musical and comedic partner Bret McKenzie couldn't be cuter, and they are both funny as hell. And their manager Murray, played by Rhys Darby, is an extremely earnest and likable wannabe, working hard to put his boys on the map.

Comedy is an intensely personal taste, of course, and maybe Flight of the Conchords will leave you cold, but if it hits your spot, you will absolutely love it. HBO runs it all over the place so check out the links on the two previous posts about the show and check it out!

Also, HBO announced a renewal of its equally delightful Entourage for its fifth season, another reason to celebrate. If you were a fan of HBO's other new show, John from Cincinnati, well, condolences from The Nose, because that's been cancelled. HBO's obviously searching for a dramatic show with the potential to become another Sopranos , and that won't be easy.

But thanks to them for Flight of the Conchords!

Place Your Seatbacks in the Upright Position for Flight of the Conchords

FLIGHT of the CONCHORDS debuted a few weeks ago after the final episode of The Sopranos on HBO. It is currently paired with the hilarious ENTOURAGE, a spot-on half hour comedy that follows the show biz shenanigans of a youthful "frat-pack" in Hollywood. The FLIGHT is also about a couple of lads who want to get into the business, but that is where the similarity to THE ENTOURAGE ends. In this case, the boys are New Zealand folk musicians, who exist on the most thread bare fringes of New York City existence. While the boys of Entourage flaunt their designer clothes poolside in Malibu, the boys of Conchord shuffle around the not good neighborhoods of Manhattan dressed in plaid lumberjack coats and corduroy pants. Bret (the shy, easygoing bearded one) and Jermaine (the Mick Jagger lipped, glasses wearing "funny" one), are unknown, unloved and unsung. But that doesn't stop them from breaking into their own songs from time to time, which are strange, yet oddly catchy alt-folk ditties about the stress of life in the big city. Some of these songs can be downloaded off of MySpace (check it out!) and the HBO web site. Be sure to listen to Hip-Hopopotomus, which is as funny, geeky and white-boy sounding as hip-hop is ever going to get.

Bret and Jermaine are joined by other oddball regulars including their worthless and inept agent Murray (reminiscent of the loser agent on The Extras), and the somewhat disturbing Mel, who is the plain Jane, self professed "#1 fan" of the Conchords. Mel spends her days stalking Bret and Jermaine, cornering them on the street while they squirm like a couple of flies in a spider web.

FLIGHT of the CONCHORDS is part "Monkees", part "Cop Rock" with a dash of HBO quirky and three tablespoons of some flavor you've never had before mixed in. It can get a little slow at times, but for my money the program always perks up whenever Jermaine is the focus of the scene. He is fascinating in a sexy/not-sexy kind of way and very hard to ignore. The official HBO site actually describes him as looking like "an ogre who works in a library". If that doesn't make you want to tune in, I don't know what would!