Shut Up And Listen 88 TV 2002 Well, it’s almost December, so we’re around mid-season in the TV schedule. Shows have been on for a few months, so it’s clear which ones are good and which are not. I’m going to go through the schedule day-by-day (well, as far as I watch). Monday Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS 9pm): 8/10 Still a great show after all these years. I’ve never seen a show where a guy begs for sex so much and I’ve seen plenty of shows where that happens. In this week’s episode, Robert started dating a woman who was obsessed with frogs (a goofy premise, yes) and then questions whether or not he should continue trying to find someone. Still Standing (CBS 9:30pm): 8/10 A new show this season and another family-friendly comedy for CBS. It is pretty funny though. It’s about a husband and wife who have three children (a boy and two girls) and their having to deal with various stuff. On this week’s episode, the wife, Judy was concerned with the lack of time the entire family was spending together, so insisted they have “family night” to the despair of everyone. Tuesday That 70s Show (Fox 8pm): 7.5/10 This is a show on the slide. It’s still funny, but you can see it slipping already. Gags like Kitty being pregnant and then turning out to be menopausal, or Donna and Kelso running away to California are an example of how the show has resorted to more gimmicky premises. Granted, the show is still mostly great, it is beginning its descent. I give it two more seasons before people will be saying “You mean that show’s still on?” This week’s episode had the gang all visiting college to see what its like. Frasier (NBC 9pm): 6/10 They should let this one go while it still has SOME dignity left. The character of Frasier just isn’t likeable anymore. In one episode, he refused to pay two bucks for parking because just pulled in and out, so proceeded to sit in front of the exit I his car for the entire twenty minutes even after people offered to pay for him. I haven’t enjoyed this show for a while, and watch merely out of habit. This week’s episode had Niles undergoing heart surgery while the family had to wait. Hidden Hills (NBC 9:30pm): 2/10 I watched two episodes and couldn’t watch anymore. This is a new show that tries its best to give suburban life a funny spin, but falls flat a lot. The only thing I enjoyed was the sub-plot about the mom who has her own porn site and the reactions that that news got from the men and women (which was predictable, actually). I couldn’t tell you what the new episode was about. Wednesday The Bernie Mac Show (Fox 8pm): 9.5/10 This show is damn funny. This show is one of the funniest damn shows on TV. If you are not watching this show, you are dumb. Bernie Mac plays himself as he raises his sister’s kids with his wife (the kids and wife are fictional). Mac says the things that other shows won’t when it comes to kids. In one episode where the kids made a big mess of his backyard and would only repair the damage they inflicted if paid extra allowance money, Mac hired outside workers to do their chores (which now that I think about it, is kind of gimmicky, but the execution was hilarious). This week’s episode had Mac taking his niece to a daddy/daughter dance to her horror. Enterprise (UPN 8pm): 1.5/10 Haven’t watched since the season premiere. I’m a Trek fan. I loved The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, but Voyager, and now this have left me cold. The writing is shit, the acting is stale and overall, the product is just no good. The sad thing is that if this show is true to the Trek pattern, I’ll have to wait five more years before there’s a possibility of a good show. Thursday Friends (NBC 8pm): 5/10 Better than last season, somehow. I’ve enjoyed it mainly because it’s so bad. It’s like watching a car crash. In one episode, Monica thought that Chandler might be into shark porn. That is so bad, it’s funny. In this week’s episode, Rachael’s sister came to Thanksgiving with the gang and was upset to find out that should Ross and Rachael die, she would not get their baby (they have a baby now), and that Monica and Chandler would. Scrubs (NBC 8:30pm): 9/10 If you look back to last year, I think I bashed the hell out of this show. I was wrong. I started watching it during the summer and got hooked. It, Bernie Mac, and Curb Your Enthusiasm are the funniest shows on TV these days. Watch it. GO! Sadly, there was no episode this week in favour of the whole Will And Grace 100th episode celebration. Will And Grace (NBC 9pm): 3/10 I’ve never been a big fan of this show. I’ve found that it enforces more gay stereotypes than anything else I’ve ever seen, and personally, I can only take the same joke repackaged for so long. It gets old really fast. In this week’s episode, Grace got married to Will’s despair. Friday Farscape (Space 9pm): 8.5/10 I love this show. In Canada, we’re just into season three and the show is still going strong. I should mention that this show is not kind to new viewers. It is very continuity heavy and is best watched from the beginning. It’s a show about a human who went through a wormhole and now hangs out with aliens, but that description barely covers all that the show is. In this week’s episode, Talyn was attracted to a Siren Sun and Stark became his pilot (which means nothing to most of you, I know). Saturday Nothing good is on. Sunday Futurama (Fox 7pm, but only when football isn’t on): 8/10 I’ve seen one episode of it this season because football keeps preventing me from seeing it. I hate Fox and how they choose sports over their regular shows. Can’t they show an earlier game instead so everyone is happy? The one episode was funny though, and is definitely a show worth watching. I didn’t see this week’s episode because of football. The Simpsons (Fox 8pm): 5/10 Cancel it already. The sad thing is that they won’t because people like me still watch out of pure loyalty so the ratings are still great. I wish I could stop watching, but I can’t. There’s nothing else on. This week’s episode had Bart and Lisa both in the third grade because Bart was that dumb and Lisa was that smart. King Of The Hill (Fox 8:30pm): 8.5/10 The best cartoon Fox has (well, unless they decide to bring back Family Guy). This show is funny in its absurdity and the conflict between old ideas and the new times. The show has mainly become about Bobby and Hank butting heads over Bobby’s growing up and how times change. Rather good. This week’s episode had Bobby falling for Connie’s cousin from LA, who was just a petty thug. Malcolm In The Middle (Fox 9pm): 7/10 This show is still good, but was better before. The dysfunctional family bit is getting a little played out, I find with the mom just coming off a bitchy instead of the oppressed sympathetic person she was when the show began. In this week’s episode, they attended a Hal’s family reunion for his father despite the fact that Hal’s family treat’s Lois like crap. Various The Daily Show With John Stewart (The Comedy Network/Comedy Central Mondays-Thursdays 11pm): 9/10 Damn funny. The funniest look at the news on TV. I stopped watching this in my room for fear that my laughter would wake up my sisters in the next room. This week featured stories on homosexuals, the holy land, and other things. Fuck CNN, watch this. Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO and The Movie Network at various times): 10/10 The best show on TV, pure and simple. Larry David, co-creator of Seinfeld stars as himself as he fucks up. He just goes about living his fictional life and keeps fucking up somehow. You sit there laughing, and shaking your head, because you know that’s he fucked himself over. This week’s episode had the opening of the restaurant that Larry’s invested in and the chef has a condition where he uncontrollably yells and swears, so they’re afraid his yelling and swearing will ruin them. Newsradio reruns (A&E daily at 8am and again at 2pm): 8/10 I’ve seen all the episodes tons of times, but I can’t seem to get enough of this show. It’s a great show. Two episodes a day. Damn funny stuff. MASH reruns (Prime daily at 4pm, again at 10pm and then at 2am, I believe): 9/10 I’ve become addicted to my hour of MASH each day. This show is fucking great. It’s funny as hell, but also has some of the most serious and heart-wrenching content I’ve ever seen. If you haven’t sat down and watched this show, you should. It really shows you how lacking most of the comedies of today are. All that’s my review, of sorts. You’ll notice not that many bad reviews, but that’s just because, for the most part, if a show sucks, I won’t watch it. Now I’m off to read, because Saturday night TV sucks ass.