HIMYM: The Lighthouse S9Ep8

As evidenced by the number of times it's discussed on this blog, 'How I Met Your Mother' is one of my favorite sitcoms.

Of course, when I say that I'm talking about the early years; the magic of Robin Sparkles, the joy of the slap bet, the novelty of watching entire relationships unfold and then fail (hey Robin and Ted!) or shockingly succeed (hello again Robin and Barney!).

I can't remember exactly when HIMYM began to lose its spark, though I am completely willing to rewatch the entire series to find the answer. I love it enough to watch it all over again, even as I'm frustrated by what it is today.

I do remember, and I think this is evidenced by my blog posts, that I found season eight very uneven. For me that season was plucked out of obscurity by the last couple of episodes. In particular "The Final Page", the season finale that finally felt like HIMYM again. Barney manipulating people by being simultaneously cruel and hilarious, with just the right amount of heart? That felt like HIMYM. Robin being typically indecisive, torn between her desire and her head and her past traumas? Yeah, that's HIMYM. Ted Mosby whiny and dissatisfied? HIMYM. Lily and Marshall inseparable and ridiculous? Ditto.

But then there was season nine.

'SVU' marathons are the bane of my existence (also, John Mulaney is right for once)

I didn't watch this season of 'Law & Order: SVU' as it aired (I had to work while it was on). I'm one of those weird people who watches the show for character development. The cases are fairly interesting, but I really just want to know what's going on in Benson's love life, and whether Rollins' character is actually straight, and what the hell is going on with Amaro. When you watch a show for character development it typically helps to watch the episodes in order so that you can, you know, observe the characters' development.

One of the main frustrations of my life is that despite the fact that USA seems to play 'SVU' marathons about 70 hours a week, they always have weird themes; "ripped from the headlines", "famous guest stars", "Benson's boyfriends". Okay, I may have made that last one up since it's a marathon I'd actually be willing to watch, but regardless you get my point. Those marathons really don't help someone who cares about character development. They skip from an episode where District Attorney Cabot is no where to be found because she's in witness protection and almost everyone thinks she's dead to six episodes in a row where she's lead prosecutor. Then you see Stabler and Benson solve a case, but the next episode he's gone. Then Benson has super short hair and you wonder if they were trying to make her a butch cop, but suddenly she's all femme and kissing David Haden. This is why I need to watch the episodes in order.

I'm apparently too cheap to pay for Hulu Plus so I've decided that I'll take advantage of their free trial and watch all of season 14 of 'SVU' in one week.

I started two days ago and I'm already starting to notice several patterns. I could probably write this show y'all. Besides that, I've also learned that John Mulaney is totally right: 14 years and Ice-T still has no fucking clue.

SVU marathons on USA are kind of a big problem

Here's why 'SVU' marathon's on USA are kind of a big problem, y'all

1) First you're all: Score! An 'SVU' marathon. I just love watching those sex crime detectives hard at work.

2) Episode two starts and you're happy because Alex Cabot is the ADA and she's your favorite.

3) Then Novak's on and you're all: Okay. Sure. I can deal with her.

4) They play that super dramatic episode where Cabot gets shot and hello Witsec.

5) Episode five begins. Benson wants a warrant so she calls up Cabot cause, you know, she's back or she never left, or something. (Wait, what season is this now?)

6) Benson and Stabler share several dramatic moments this episode. Boy, their partnership is the best.

7) Benson hugs Amarao: "You're a great partner". Oh right, Stabler's gone.

9) This is getting ridiculous. You should probably be able to tell which season this is by the five second still of the gang in each episode's opening credits, but at this point you're 9 hours in and kind of exhausted.

Watch This: Bent

I love 'Bent'. Part of that love may be due to my childhood obsession with 'The Whole Nine Yards', and consequently Amanda Peet, but regardless of the reason I am crazy about NBC's newest comedy. It's just that good.

Sadly, NBC barely bothered to promote the show at all. I think I may have seen two promos for it, and this is coming from someone who watches a lot (i.e.: way too much) television.

The show has also been placed in one of NBC's worst time-slots: Wednesdays at 9/8C. This means it is directly competing with America's darling, 'Modern Family'.

The network also only ordered six episodes, which means that unless ratings are spectacular, the show is basically over before it even began. If the last two episodes' ratings are anything to go by, the show is doomed (ratings: 1.0 and 0.9).

'Bent' centers around Alex and her daughter, Charlie (who somewhat bizarrely is still called 'Frankie' on IMDB). Alex's ex-husband recently went to jail for insider trading, leaving Alex and her daughter to move into a new house. Alex has decided she wants to renovate (God knows why, the house is gorgeous), so she hires Pete (David Wiggins) to be her contractor. Pete happens to be a recovering gambler and renowned womanizer. Who wants to bet that if the series survives these two crazy kids will get together?

Jeffrey Tambor rounds out the cast as Pete's father.

People, please, please watch this show. Watch it because it's already pretty damn funny, and because it deserves a chance to become funnier. Watch it because it has Amanda Peet, and Jeffrey Tambor ('Arrested Development'), and that kid who played a bully on 'New Girl' (Joey King).

Next week ABC is airing a re-run of 'Modern Family', so really, what do you have to lose?

Can we also break into your hearts?

People's Choice Awards

It's that time of year again...voting time! And while (hopefully) many of you are heading to the polls today, you can also vote online for the People's Choice Awards.

Click on me to vote!

The People's Choice Awards airs on Wednesday, January 11th (that's 2012!).

 Nominees were announced this morning, and television nominations include:

Favorite Network TV Comedy:
 *Glee
*Modern Family
*How I Met Your Mother
*2 and a Half Men
*The Big Bang Theory

Favorite TV Comedy Actor:
*Jim Parsons
*Alec Baldwin
*Neil Patrick Harris
*Cory Monteith
*Chris Colfer

Favorite TV Comedy Actress:
*Kaley Cuoco
*Jane Lynch
*Lea Michele
*Courtney Cox
*Tina Fey

Favorite Cable TV Comedy:
*Hot in Cleveland
*It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
*Weeds
*Royal Pains
*Nurse Jackie

Favorite Network TV Drama:
*The Vampire Diaries
*House
*Supernatural
*The Good Wife
*Grey's Anatomy


Favorite TV Drama Actor:
*Nathan Fillion
*David Boreanaz
*Ian Somerhalder
*Hugh Laurie
*Patrick Dempsey


Favorite TV Drama Actress:
*Blake Lively
*Emily Deschanel
*Nina Dobrev
*Eva Longoria
*Ellen Pompeo

Favorite Cable TV Drama:
*Game of Thrones
*Dexter
*Pretty Little Liars
*White Collar
*True Blood


Favorite TV Crime Drama:
*Bones
*Criminal Minds
*Castle
*CSI
*NCIS

Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show
*True Blood
*Supernatural
*Fringe
*The Walking Dead
*The Vampire Diaries

hating outsourced?

How Racist is "Outsourced"?


Side note: One of us (Sacha Dhawan!) was in "The History Boys".

Lots of people seem to be annoyed about NBC's newest Thursday night comedy. Many of my friends refuse to watch it, citing racism and rampant stereotyping. At first I was also concerned. The show could have easily turned into a comedy based solely on racist jokes. The first episode was really problematic (it showed the workers in India as totally clueless about America, and made jokes about Todd's bad reactions to Indian food). However, I've watched the last couple of episodes, and the show is working hard to actually develop the characters. They've (mainly) moved past the inappropriate Indian stereotypes. And the truth of the matter is that whether racism is overt or not, it's basically present in everything we watch. Check out this study.

For those of you who don't know the premise: Todd is a manager for Mid-American Novelties. The company decides to outsource their ordering service to India, and Todd is told to move there to oversee the switch.

The entire show revolves around Todd adjusting to Indian life. And, honestly, if anyone is shown in a bad light, it's Todd. He is often shockingly stupid about culture in India.

Are there issues with the show? Definitely. Is it racist? I think you can see hints of racism in most episodes. But it also depends on your interpretation. I certainly don't think that the writers are trying to be racist. If anything, they're trying to write a new "Office". Just set in India, with a "fish out of water" experience.

The Americans are often presented as complete idiots for the sake of "comedy" (sometimes this is funnier than others). On tonight's episode (3/24/11) Todd video chats with an American HR Rep. She proceeds to hit on him repeatedly, telling him it doesn't matter because she can just erase what she says:
"In fact, I'm in charge of the tapes...ass, ass, ass, ass, ASS."
Everyone else who is in the United States is also presented in a bad light. Jerry, the owner of the company, occasionally appears via video chat, making ridiculous suggestions while driving poorly or eating whole steaks with his hands.

Sure many of the Indian characters are presented as just as quirky and eccentric as Todd and Jerry, but that's part of what this comedy is about. It's very character driven. If it were completely PC and showed a sensible manager with typical employees it would be boring as hell.

There are also times when aspects of Indian culture are celebrated. Todd and Asha had brief romantic relationship, but she was committed to the idea of an arranged marriage, and she is now engaged in the show*. "Outsourced" is doing a good job of reflecting why Asha wants an arranged marriage, and it should be interesting to see how this evolves.



So, will "Outsourced" be renewed for another season? It's not yet clear. Last week its audience grew by 7 percent (to 3.64 million viewers). Robert Borden, the executive producer, spoke to the LA Times today and expressed his hopes that the show would be renewed.



*I was a little upset when Asha and Todd broke up, but now he's dating Tonya, so I definitely feel better about that. You know, cause she's hot. And Australian.



"Outsourced" is on NBC on Thursdays at 10:30 pm