Esquire Picks the 100 Best Television Shows for Men

Posted on March 20, 2012 at 8:00 am

Esquire has come up with a list of the 100 best television programs for men because “Never before have there been so many things to watch quite so enjoyably.” Comedy comes out on top with #1 (“The Colbert Report”) and #2 (“The Daily Show”) and sitcoms (“Modern Family,” “Seinfeld,” “30 Rock”), along with reality (“Dirty Jobs,” “Whale Wars,” “Mythbusters”) and lots of pretty girls (Maria Menounos on “Extra”) and drama (“Breaking Bad,” “Justified”), and news (PBS’s “NewsHour,” Chris Matthews). They have classics like “Seinfeld” and forthcoming programs like Lena Dunham’s “Girls” premiering on HBO in April. And they even include a cooking show, “Barefoot Contessa.” Plus “Ted Danson” in anything, the opening theme song for “Parks and Recreation,” and “The Godfather,” any time it’s on, in any version. Some of the choices are obvious: ESPN and some reality show about belching lungfish. Some…not–“The View?” And there are some I’ve put on my DVR list. I had no idea Discovery has a show called “Sunrise Earth” that just shows a sunrise, real time, no music.

Related Tags:

Television

A New “Flintstones” from “Family Guy’s” Seth McFarlane?

Posted on March 12, 2012 at 3:48 pm

At the SXSW festival, “Family Guy” creator Seth McFarlane told the crowd he is working on a television reboot of “The Flintstones,” a beloved 1960’s cartoon series that led to a couple of not-beloved feature films. McFarlane told the audience that the very first thing he ever drew as a child was a picture of the Flintstones and it feels good to be coming full circle. He promised it would be updated but not as edgy as “The Family Guy.”

There’s really not a lot about that show — other than the references to 1960s America, which really come through in the writing more than the visual — that needs to be changed visually and stylistically. They invented the template that we’re using in animation. We kinda want to keep it, more or less, the same.

Related Tags:

TCM Salutes Sisters on Screen

Posted on March 9, 2012 at 8:00 am

I’m the oldest of three girls and so I have always had a special fondness for movies about sisters. I was delighted to see that Turner Classic Movies has a full schedule of sister movies today, from the classic Meet Me In St. Louis (Judy Garland, Lucille Bremer, Margaret O’Brien, and Joan Carroll) to the less classic but highly entertaining Two Weeks With Love (Jane Powell and then-newcomer Debbie Reynolds). Big hugs to my sisters, Martha and Mary — I wish we could make popcorn and watch the whole line-up together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVZH_rwwvA4

Related Tags:

Neglected gem Television

The B-Word on Television

Posted on March 6, 2012 at 3:59 pm

Two new television series feature the word for a female dog in their titles. “GCB” is a Dallas-based series based on a book called Good Christian Bitches. Don’t Trust the B– in Apartment 23 stars Krysten Ritter as a New York mean girl. Both shows originally spelled out the word in their titles. Both shows feature trashy behavior and raunchy humor. “GCB” begins with the lead character’s husband being killed in a car crash as his mistress is performing a sex act and the church-going characters are portrayed as scheming hypocrites. There is more to object to in these shows, but as in my last commentary about the continued coarsening of language on prime time broadcast television, this is another example of especially ugly and misogynistic word choices (or suggested word choices) and I am sorry to see it.

Smile of the Week: Sophia Grace and Rosie Have Tea With Taylor Swift

Posted on March 5, 2012 at 3:48 pm

Sophia Grace and Rosie are English cousins whose cover of a Nicki Minaj song made them an international viral video sensation. Their sweetness and charm brought them to the Ellen show and she had the inspired idea to create a new segment: “Tea with Sophia Grace and Rosie” and their first guest is Taylor Swift, clearly having a blast. Thanks to Sophia Grace and Rosie for reminding us that tiaras and princess dresses — and glitter — always make things better.

Related Tags:

Television