Best Web Series (Comedy)

Bandwagon

Bandwagon is the brainchild of producer Emma Caulfield, director Karri Browman and writer Camilla Rantsen (with Karri Bowman). On Bandwagon, Emma Caulfield (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Tracie Thoms (Harry’s Law) play satirical versions of themselves. They want to make a difference in the world, and decide to create a new show supposed to be “like” an urban Glee. You can check out the entire Season 1 on YouTube.

http://www.bandwagontheseries.com/

Fumbling Thru The Pieces

Fumbling Thru The Pieces is the brainchild of writer Julie A. Smith and writer/director Donna Hurst. Each character in Fumbling Thru The Pieces is fumbling with an aspect of their lives. Jesse is fumbling through her unhappy marriage and decides to leave her husband, and the state, to stay with her sister, Ellie, in Burbank, CA. Ellie, miserable at her job, leaves the corporate world and fumbles through life while finding herself. Vince, Ellie’s husband, fumbles through the amount of estrogen now living in his house. Added to that pair are Barb (Ellie’s best friend) Shara (Ellie and Vince’s neighbor) and Stella (Shara’s “friend”). Check out all twelve episodes online.

http://www.fumblingthruthepieces.com/

Pretty

Michael Champagne has only one desire: to see his 5-year old daughter, Annette, win the Miss Star Eyes Pageant. Created by Steve Silverman, Pretty the Series is now on its 3rd season. Episodes are online on their website.

http://www.prettytheseries.com/

Then We Got Help!

Created by Kevin Earley, Julie Ann Emery and Janice Fields, Then We Got Help! is a comedy web series about four couples in trouble and in need of therapy. The problem is, they don’t have a therapist, they have each other instead. Gerry and Terry, Dan and Eric, Thom and Anna and Kenny and Jenny have banded together to help each other. And in the middle of the group, Emily captures every moment through a documentary that proves you don’t need money to get help! Seasons 1 and 2 episodes are now online.

http://www.thenwegothelp.com/

Trailer Made

Trailer Made explores the dysfunctional lives of trailer park housewives, Tapioca, Mamaw, Chrystal, Prudence, Loretta and Guadalupe. Writer and director Jason Vitteri-Lewis delivers crisis after crisis between a sex-crazed ex-beauty queen, a pot-dealing grandma, a Reverend’s widow and a Mexican telenovela actress. Catch two seasons’ worth of episodes online at http://www.youtube.com/disastrophefilms.

https://www.facebook.com/TrailerMade

Vampire Mob

The new talk show, simply titled Kathy! is already causing controversies around the television review circuits. Aside from the fact that she has won two Emmys for her performances on her hit Bravo television show My Life on the D-List and several standup specials for Bravo, Griffin is known for her show business shenanigans that confuse many as to why she is now getting her own talk show. For those who actually watch her shows, however, the reason is clear: Kathy Griffin is a comic genius. She is the anti-Hollywood that so many viewers are looking for in television. She calls out the ridiculous lifestyles of celebrities, as well as making fun of daily life situations. Think of Seinfeld, but with an edgier, and honestly funnier, comedy. For example, when she first announced her show on Twitter she tweeted, “I have a BIG announcement. No, I’m not pregnant.” She strives for outrage, and accomplishes it amazingly well.

Kathy! will beautifully highlight Griffin’s skills, including discussion of her thoughts on celebrities and pop culture, tabloid magazine reports, as well as some of her own stand-up routines and interviews with the celebrities that she constantly makes fun of. Her original show, My Life on the D-List, lasted a full six seasons from 2005-2010, which has prompted critics to be confident that Kathy! will do just as well. This being said, the Bravo network is still a bit concerned as to how well the show will do, so as of Spring 2012 it will air as a once per week show. Depending on how successful it is in the first few weeks, the network may make it a daily talk show. Regardless of how frequently it airs, it is sure to be a success. Bravo is even taping two more of her stand-up comedy specials this year.

If viewers prefer ridiculous and radical comedy, paired with a commentary onthe strangeness of Hollywood and celebrities, than Kathy! is sure to satisfy all of their comedic desires. Be prepared to be slightly outraged, hysterically laughing, and gaining an entirely different outlook on the world of celebrities and Hollywood after the first episode of Kathy! Although a specific release date has not been set, according to the Bravo Network, Kathy! will debut in the spring of 2012. Be sure to watch the lady who has been banned from talk shows attempt to create her own!

(Photo: American Forces Press Service)

Napoleon Dynamite

But this isn’t 2004.  The mere mention of a liger isn’t quite enough to get us chuckling anymore.  Eight years after the independent (sort of) film thrilled us with the non-story of Napoleon and his friends, we need something more from the follow-up.  Judging by the first three episodes, we’re not going to get it.

The good news for Fox is that the ratings for the premier were strong, largely thanks to a solid lead-in from the Giants-Packers game that ran long.  With 9.5 million viewers for the 8:30 premier and 7.2 million sticking around for the 9:30 follow-up, plenty of people had the chance to at least check out Fox’s newest animated offering.  Time will tell how many will continue to tune in for the show’s regular time slot, which is immediately after The Simpsons, also a pretty good lead-in.

The new Napoleon Dynamite animated series isn’t a bad adaptation.  Not really.  It’s true to the feel of the movie.  The voices are spot on, as they should be because they come from the original cast.  Although it does provide a more structured begining-middle-end narrative than the film, the cartoon does flow freely with several seeming non-sequiturs per episode.

But it isn’t the same.  Maybe it couldn’t be.  Not after eight full years to pine for more.   Maybe it isn’t fair to hope for the same level of stupid-funny that the movie offered.  Whatever the reason, fair or unfair, the payoff just wasn’t worth the wait.

Take the relationship between Cam and Mitchell for example. They are a married, gay couple that has an adorable adopted daughter, Lilly. They often run into comedic situations, as Cam is an amateur clown and stay at home dad, and Mitchell is a high-powered, uptight attorney. However, looking past their outward appearance, there is so much conflict hidden in their relationship, it would fit perfectly into any other television drama program. Cam and Mitchell’s marriage is portrayed as anything but happy. Even others I discuss the show with see that the characters do nothing but fight. They fight about how their daughter should be raised, how to keep the house, even their life goals. When one looks past the comedy, therein lies a very troubled and turbulent relationship.

Mitchell and his sister Claire, a loving and quirky housewife, also have issues with their parents that would send any person in the real world into intensive therapy. Their father, Jay, and their mother are long-divorced after what is portrayed as a mentally abusive and unhappy marriage. On top of this, Jay is remarried to Gloria, a woman who looks like a supermodel and is younger than her stepdaughter. On top of this, it is often explained that when Mitchell was a child, he was severely harassed by his father for being obviously gay, and often wanted to run away because he was treated so terribly. Although many of the story lines poke fun at this issue, there are still moments when the viewer can sense that Mitchell is still devastated inside.

Claire has transferred many of her father’s demeaning ways onto her own three children. The oldest is often ostracized for being pretty, and her parents look down on her intelligence level. The middle child is a certified genius, but again, is constantly put down by her mother for liking books rather than makeup. The youngest child is an energetic kid who is portrayed as clearly having some sort of mental handicap, as it is impossible for him to complete any task without extreme difficulty. Again, this is buried under flawless humor.

I understand that Modern Family is supposed to be a comedy that is true to real life, but sometimes the underlying drama is just too blatant not to notice. My advice, take it at face value and laugh, but do not ignore the important underlying messages. What do you think?

The CW

• From the writer of HBO’s Sex and the City comes the prequel everybody’s been waiting for. The Carrie Diaries has been picked up by the CW and will feature Carrie Bradshaw’s life before she moved to New York.
• The CW has also ordered a remake of the 1987 television show, Beauty and the Beast. It’ll be set in modern times with a procedural angle.

CBS

• CBS has picked up a comedy pilot from Nick Stoller. The untitled pilot features a guy working in an advertising agency with the woman who broke his heart.
• They also picked up a new drama show, Trooper, about a single mom who becomes a New York State Trooper.

Discovery Channel

• Unchained Reaction is a new series premiering on the Discovery Channel. This six-episode show follows two competing teams who need to build a complicated chain reaction contraption. Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman of Myth Busters are on board as judges.

ABC

• A new one-hour drama series is about to premiere on ABC. Based on the bestselling book by Gabriella Pierce, 666 Park Avenue follows the lives of a Midwestern couple who move to New York and to 666 Park Avenue, as resident managers. Little do they know, all residents of the building have made deals with the devil for their own desires.

NBC

• Comedy pilot, Isabel, has been picked up by NBC. The show will star Marcia Gay Harden and Sophie Schloss.
• NBC has also picked up two drama shows, Country and Chicago Fire. Country is set inside an LA County Hospital and Chicago Fire is set in a Chicago fire department.

Whole Day Down

Whole Day Down follows how Willie Garson and Patrick Breen, two unsuccessful and middle-aged actors, pursue their passion for art by opening an art gallery. Or at least occupy a space belonging to Patrick’s domineering father-in-law, for one Monday a month. And on top of that, they’ve got to deal with vengeful art critic, a satanic receptionist and a whole slew of difficult artists.

Whole Day Down stars Patrick Breen as Patrick, Willie Garson as Willie, Elisa Donovan as Nadine, Patrick’s wife,  and Francesca Fauci as Franny, the receptionist.

About the Creators

Patrick Breen (Creator and Director) has appeared in occasional films including Galaxy Quest, Men In Black, and Just A Kiss and the occasional TV shows including Nurse Jackie, Sex and The City, The Good Wife and Will & Grace. He owns and operates an art gallery with co-star, Willie Garson.

Tai Fauci (Creator, Producer and Editor) has been working behind the scenes in the industry since she was 14, when she worked as an Intern on the TV show, Maggie. Since then, she has worked in numerous TV shows, films, film festivals (as programming director and screenplay competition director of FirstGlance Film Festival). She has always been busy producing, writing and editing new media projects, short films and web series. Her latest project includes the film adaptation of The Highest Tide, a novel by Jim Lynch, which Fisher Stevens will be directing.

Catch episodes of Whole Day Down on http://blip.tv/wholedaydown or http://wholedaydown.tv/. Find out more on their Facebook page.

Lately, though, watching Glee has been a bit of a chore for me. I didn’t even watch last week’s episode, the return after a winter hiatus. Maybe it was the Christmas episode that did me in. My favorite part was Kurt’s comment about Blaine being his “winter roommate” (mostly because I agree and also wish he were mine) but other than that I actually spent the whole time rolling my eyes. It’s just too over-the-top now. I appreciate what Glee has done to bring a lot of social issues into the spotlight, especially bullying and homosexuality, but now it seems like every episode has some kind of lesson that needs to be taught. Every once in a while is fine, but more than that and you’re lecturing your audience.

I’ve always been annoyed by Lea Michele’s character, the over-ambitious Rachel Berry, despite Michele’s role of Glee sweetheart. The producers keep saying Rachel isn’t coming back then changing their minds – I know they’re afraid losing Michele would kill the show, but at this point, I want to skip all of her scenes anyway. She has gone from annoying but lovable (hey, I have control issues of my own, so I have to give the girl a break) to just plain annoying. I want her to succeed and go to New York just so she’s out of McKinley – people can watch her on the inevitable spin-off, but I won’t.

Even my favorite, Sue Sylvester, has been a little too much as of late. She goes from typical, lovable-villain-Sue to I-have-a-heart-Sue to downright evil Sue in a three-episode arc. The touch of humanity is nice, but some consistency would be, too.

Once I get invested in a show, I wait it out until its bitter end – I have this weird phobia of not knowing how things end. Even with shows I don’t watch on a week-to-week basis anymore (House, MD for one), I still catch up on weekends when I get the chance. I’ll watch last week’s episode soon, because c’mon – Michael Jackson week is next. I have high hopes, and hopefully they’ll be met, because otherwise it’s to the back burner we go.

(White House photo)

Of the five shows nominated for Best Comedy or Musical, one was from HBO (Enlightened), one was from Showtime (Episodes), two were on Fox (Glee and New Girl), and one – the winner – was on ABC (Modern Family). Of the five nominees, two were on premium networks, which is two more than NBC and CBS combined.

In the category for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, three of the five were on premium channels, including the winner, Matt LeBlanc for Showtime’s Episodes. In the Actress category, Laura Dern of HBO’s Enlightened beat out the competition from three network shows and one other premium network.

Adding all that up, two of the three winners and 7 of 15 nominees in the big three comedy categories were on channels that most of America don’t get to see. So what is it about these shows that is capturing the attention of the awards-givers? Is it the freedom to do and say things that wouldn’t fly on basic cable? Is it the money being poured into these programs by the cash-heavy premium channels? Or are they just making better shows right now?

At least NBC snuck in a few nominees in the best Actor and Actress categories. Only Johnny Galecki’s wonderful nerdiness on The Big Bang Theory allowed CBS to even get on the board. The Golden Globes don’t actually get to determine what people watch. The viewers will have their say in the end. But last night’s award show was just one more reminder to the once dominant NBC and CBS that the times, they are a’changing.

After four half-hour episodes (two last week and two this past Sunday), we’ve finally been introduced to all six of Chris Lilley‘s characters. As luck would have it (and perhaps deliberately to keep viewers watching), the character I was most looking forward to seeing was introduced last: Jen Okazaki, the mother and manager of “Big in Japan” skateboarder, Tim Okazaki. “Politically incorrect” might be Jen’s middle name, and I think it’s this aspect that makes it so hilarious. She has marketed her oldest born as a gay, Japanese teenager when he’s as straight and American as they come. I think Tim (Jordan Dang) is my favorite non-Lilley character on the show – his dead-pan reactions to his mother’s ridiculous behavior are fantastic.

As far as the other characters, I’m just beginning to get invested. I’ve noticed a lot of the focus is on the twin brothers, Daniel and Nathan, and the humor that surrounds their relationship is a lot of dirty, bathroom jokes. Not exactly my cup of tea, but then again, this is a show about boys. I’m excited to see their face-to-face reaction with their prison guard grandmother (a fourth Lilley character).

Lilley’s final characters are S.mouse, the LA rapper and Blake Oakfield, the Australian surfer. Both are “legends” to the Sims twins, and both are big into keeping up with their images. S.mouse is from a well-to-do suburban background and was spoiled rotten by his parents, but his rapper persona is straight from the streets and tough as nails – or so he thinks. Blake is a chill, laid back surfer who is suffering the repercussions of getting shot in a gang war over surfing territory.

With all these different characters from different backgrounds and supposedly representing boys as a whole, there are no social lines left uncrossed. Angry Boys will likely offend some people, with the language, context, and stereotypes that are unapologetically exploited. This is what makes it great though – most humor is offensive in some way, but as long as you can separate it from real life, why not have a laugh?

After the first week, I was unsure of how much I liked Angry Boys, but week two impressed me more – hopefully the upward trend continues! New episodes are on Sundays at 10 on HBO.

Best Television Series – Drama

Nominees:

Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
Game of Thrones (HBO)
American Horror Story (FX)

American Horror Story is the latest brainchild of creative team, Ryan Murphy and Brad Fulchuk (Glee, Nip/Tuck). A family moves to Los Angeles from Boston to forget their troubles. What they don’t know is that the house they’re moving into is haunted. American Horror Story stars Dylan McDermott and Connie Britton as married couple, Ben and Vivien Harmon. Taissa Farmiga plays their daughter, Violet, and Jessica Lange plays Constance, their neighbor.

Boss (Starz)

Kelsey Grammer stars in Boss as Chicago Mayor Tom Kane, the boss in the center of a world full of deceit and power with the people. As long as he gets them what they want, no matter who he steps on or deceives, they will look the other way. But now, a degenerative brain disorder is preventing him from doing his job efficiently. And now he can’t trust anyone, even himself. Boss also stars Connie Nielsen as his wife, Meredith, Kathleen Robertson as Kitty, his advisor, and Hannah Ware as Emma, his estranged daughter.

Homeland (Showtime)

Homeland stars Claire Danes as maverick CIA agent Carrie Mathison, who has vowed to prevent any further terrorism from happening because she failed to recognize the signs and stop the 9/11 attacks. When MIA Marine Sgt. Nicholas Brody is found in Afghanistan, after disappearing for eight years and having been reported dead, Mathison is convinced Brody has been turned by Al Qaeda and will launch another attack at America. Homeland also stars Damian Lewis as Marine Sgt. Nicholas Brody and Mandy Patinkin as Saul Berenson, CIA Middle East Division Chief and Mathison’s mentor in the CIA.

Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical

Nominees

Episodes (Showtime)
Glee (FOX)
Modern Family (ABC)
New Girl (FOX)
Enlightened (HBO)

From Mike White, the writer of School of Rock and Freaks and Geeks, comes a new comedy about learning who you are, who you want to be and what people can stand about you. Laura Dern stars as Amy, a health and beauty executive who has returned  after three months’ meditation in Hawaii, following a public meltdown. And she’s now ready to reshape the world she left behind. Enlightened also stars Diane Ladd as Amy’s mother, Helen, the recipient of all her unwanted advice, and Luke Wilson, as her ex-husband, Levi.

What do you think of the nominees? Who do you think will win? Catch the awards live on Sunday, January 15, 2012, at 8pm EST/5pm PST on NBC.