Thursday, March 06, 2008

Television: Radio For Dumb People

I have nothing on my DVR right now except for music videos, and sadly, all the videos are the same on practically every single show (not like when I watched World's Best Videos on IMF, which had new content all the time...*sad sigh*).

Most of the shows I like aren't airing new episodes right now, so I'm left waiting impatiently for a decent amount of quality television to be recorded to get me through a Friday night pizza party for one. (I don't mean to sound as though I'm not grateful for the last few episodes of Project Runway and ecstatic about the recent episodes of Lost, but I haven't had the willpower to save these shows on my DVR for longer than an hour.)

Anyhow, thinking about television made me think about shows I really miss, ones that I would watch even in repeats. In no particular order, they are:

The Brak Show, a bizarre and entertaining animated show about the surburban life of a kind of teenage alien cat-man creature...hmmm, it sounds odd when I put it that way. Well, watch this clip; it's funny, you'll see.



Arrested Development, which never should have been cancelled, but there is good news - I read that there might be a movie! Yay!

Mr. Show with Bob and David, a sketch comedy show that was so incredibly funny that I liked it EVEN WHEN I DIDN'T DO DRUGS. Though this skit may have influenced some of my later behavior:



2 Stupid Dogs, a Hanna Barbera cartoon from the '90s about a big dog and a little dog (named, fittingly, Big Dog and Little Dog) who did dog stuff. It was charmingly stupid; I always loved Little Dog's penchant for shouting with joy and wagging his tail. Las Pelotas is one of my favorite episodes!



Super Secret Secret Squirrel, another Hanna Barbera cartoon (a revival of the 1960s show), often shown in tandem with 2 Stupid Dogs. I loved Morocco Mole!



The Adventures of Pete and Pete, quite possibly the smartest piece of Nickelodeon programming ever made, and one that featured kick-ass music (Luscious Jackson, The Apples in Stereo) alongside amazing guest stars (Michael Stipe, Janeane Garofalo, Juliana Hatfield, LL Cool J). And seriously, one of the best theme songs ever for a kid's show (Hey Sandy by Polaris):



NewsRadio, starring Dave Foley of the Kids in the Hall AND Phil Hartman of Saturday Night Live...a truly hilarious show, back when Andy Dick was still likable and not a coke-addled, semi-insane pervert. Even now, my best friend can say to me, "Dave stole my cane, and my ass still hurts" and I almost cry with laughter.



Veronica Mars, only, like, the best show ever, and one I didn't discover and appreciate until the final season...arrgh! How could anyone not love a show with lines like "It's like you're this giant jackass piñata begging for someone to beat the candy out of you"? Anyhow, I'm glad Kristen Bell is on Heroes now.

Oh, television! Teacher, mother...secret lover.

2 comments:

Deceon said...

God, Pete and Pete was the freakin best. I was sad when I didn't have cable anymore and couldn't watch. That Polaris song is a perfect slice of mid-90s college rock.

City Elf said...

seriously, right? that show rocked my socks off. and i loved artie, the strongest man in the world!

i know you would know the bands that polaris call to mind if we sat down and talked about it, so expect this next time i see you.