Living Room Shrine - Part Two

Oh, I'm not done with the TV yet. I have a few more thoughts for you to endear, so without any further delay, let's get on with it.

Most Interesting Television Character: Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel)
Spike started out as an endlessly entertaining villain, became a fascinating villain, became a sympathetic villain, slowly morphed into a sort of good guy, with considerable snark and insult, and then became a villain again, but only kind of and then became a tragic figure. But in reality, Spike was always a tragic figure. And while Buffy the Vampire Slayer had all kinds of fascinating characters, none of them ever were quite as fascinating as Spike. He went through so many changes that there was always something interesting going on with him. Furthermore, he was always likable, even when he was a villain. I mean, Spike was just funny and the sarcasm that left his mouth was always a treat. Even when Spike was at his least interesting in season seven of Buffy, his character was still a good watch. Spike draping himself over a huge crucifix early in the season or the scenes between him and Buffy in the show's last few episodes. Or, hell, the conversation with Andrew about onion blossoms. Over time, Spike was the best character on Buffy and was the most fascinating character I've ever had the pleasure of following on television.

Bonus Poor Quality Audio Clips:
First Bonus: Spike mocks Angel from afar!
Second Bonus: Spike's out for a walk!
Third Bonus: Spike wants to save puppies!
Fourth Bonus: Spike waxes poetic about love!

Weirdest Current Television Show: Carnivale
Maybe there's a weirder show out there, but I'm skeptical. I actually have only seen the first two episodes of Carnivale, thanks to Netflix, but I'll soon be watching the rest of season one. Even having watched a mere two episodes, I can say with confidence that it is probably the strangest, most bizarre, most surreal show on TV. I mean, it starts out with that fucking dwarf from Twin Peaks. That screwed with my head bad enough, and then I actually watched the two episodes! Jesus, that's some strange, fucked up shit. But I like it--I definitely do. And it's an absolutely gorgeous show. I'll probably have more to say about Carnivale once I've watched the entire first season.

Television Show That I Loved Far More Than It Deserved To Be Loved: Growing Pains
I don't know why I loved this show so much, but I was obsessed with it. I watched it during a time when I watched TV all the time, when I used it as an escape from my own life and became fat and listless. During that time, I was able to watch all kinds of terrible programming without trouble and Growing Pains was one of those shows. Looking back, it probably was not nearly as bad as some of the shows I watched, but I'm still pretty sure it wasn't that great of a program. And yet, I completely loved it and had huge emotional investments into the family. When the show's final episode aired, I was stuck over at a friend's house. I couldn't get out of it. I told my mom she had to copy the show for me. She tried, but she screwed it up somehow. When I found that out, I was horribly depressed and pissed off. I think I was close to tears. I look back at that now and feel like a total idiot.

Favorite Soap Opera: Nip/Tuck
I don't watch daytime soap operas. I have never watched daytime soap operas. In fact, they always annoyed the hell out of me. But I do have a fine tradition of watching nighttime soap operas. I loved Melrose Place and Bevery Hills 90210 back in the day. However, more recently my taste has evolved and I don't much bother with the soap operas anymore. For instance, I haven't watched a single episode of Desparate Housewives, though I won't claim that I wouldn't like it if I did. One nighttime soap I will watch, though, is Nip/Tuck. I've seen the first season on DVD and that is one hell of a great series. And it totally is a soap opera. I mean, there's all kinds of melodrama going on here. But damn if it isn't incredibly entertaining. It's indulgent, but I refuse to feel guilty about loving the hell out of it for a single moment. I can't wait for season two to hit DVD.

Terrible Show I Most Shamelessly Love: Married . . . With Children
This sitcom was sexist, obnoxious, low brow, unsophisticated and completely trashy. To this day, I still love it. Every Sunday evening when I was younger, it was an absolute must on Sunday nights to sit in front of the television with my brother and watch The Simpsons, Married . . . With Children and whatever other crap Fox had currently thrown on the air on Sundays. We watched the shows every Sunday night religiously and I loved every minute of it. I loved The Simpsons and I loved the complete trashiness of Married . . . With Children. To this day, I can still watch the show without any real sense of guilt. It's just good entertainment, of the lowest variety. Everyone on that show knew exactly what they were making, and they threw themselves wholeheartedly into doing it as good as possible. I commend them for that.

Honorable Mention: Scrubs
I love Scrubs. It is a truly great comedy--probably my favorite comedy currently airing. The cast is awesome and the writing is excellent. Zach Braff is perfect in the lead and John C. McGinley is simply hilarious as the abusive Dr. Cox. The show tends to be ridiculous, silly and absurd--which are three things that I'm all about. The show is consistently funny and often times has a nice little lesson worked in. In fact, each episode generally has some sort of point to it, rather than just being a collection of jokes. It's nothing too terribly deep or profound, but it's done in a way that isn't overt or annoying, but rather sweet and affirming. A great show that doesn't get nearly the attention it deserves.

And that's all I have to say about television for the time being. Just remember: the next time someone tries to tell you that there's nothing worth watching on television, tell them to shove it up thier ass. Or something like that. Feel free to rephrase and give it that personal touch.

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Living Room Shrine: Part One