Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town – We have been waiting for this one ever since it was announced a couple of years ago. Our North of the Border brethren got to see it first – in fact, they already had the series on DVD before it even aired here. But luckily, IFC is on the case and brought this mini-series to our fair nation.
It’s the Kids’ first work together as a group since their 1996 movie, Brain Candy, but it seems like they never really left. Death Comes to Town has each of them playing multiple parts in a ridiculous murder-mystery. After the city of Shuckton, Ontario loses its bid to host the 2028 Olympics, the mayor is murdered. Only, he was actually killed by the physical embodiment of Death. Or rather, a physical embodiment of Death. Apparently, there are enough of them that they have their own newspaper.
The first two episodes brought us back to familiar Kids territory. All of the guys play multiple roles, and other than Bruce, all of them have done a drag role already. (But then, Bruce is playing a six-hundred pound shut-in. If you spend that much time in a fat suit, you shouldn’t also have to wear heels.) Drunken society women, failing marriages, a self-loathing Death, a weathergirl who wants to do the hard news but still make it about weather… it’s vintage Kids. Oh, and the cops played by Bruce and Mark are clearly related to the recurring characters who appeared back in the original series. They get some of the best bits in the first episodes.
It’s so good to see the guys back again. We can only hope one of them plays a clueless, rebellious teenager before the series is over. That’s always been comedy gold for them.
Shaq Vs. – We mention this every week, but this episode just may have the best one ever. Seriously, it was amazing. The main challenge for the week was a game of golf. But casting aside the stated premise of “Shaq vs. the Best in the World”, Shaq faced off against Charles Barkley. Barkley is kind of famous for his awkward swing, but Shaq has never golfed before. (Except for mini-golf. He bragged at length about his “putt-putt” skills.) Honestly, the first segment where Shaq and Barkley just insulted one another was a thing of beauty, especially when Barkley found out Shaq didn’t even own a set of clubs. “You can’t just go to the store and buy clubs!” And citing Shaq’s weak record on the show, Charles rechristened the series “Shaq Loses”.
For this challenge, both of them teamed up with a professional golfer and alternated shots over five holes. (Shaq had no idea how many holes were traditionally in a round.) And they two giants kept busting each other’s chops all day. It was ridiculously fun to watch as they drastically overshot short putts and hooked it all over creation. It was good-natured entertainment from two guys who clearly go way back. But here’s the shocking part – Shaq won. That’s right, after a season and a half of consistent losses, he finally scored a win in a sudden death round. You guys, Barkley is never going to hear the end of that one.
And in the side-competition, Shaq challenged world-champion hot dog eater, Joey Chestnut. Shaq’s advantage this time was that he got to compete with a team – five people he picked off the streets and Shaq, vs. Joey. Now, Shaq’s picks were kind of hilarious. He grabbed at least one guy just because he was fat (and he told him so), but he also picked a tiny woman who probably does not eat multiple hot dogs at a sitting. Long story short, Team Shaq edged Joey out by two hot dogs. (36 to 34 in five minutes) The episode was full of great reaction shots from Shaq, who just couldn’t believe how that guy was slamming the dogs.
So that’s two victories from Shaq in one week. It’s a Cinderella story! And next week, he takes on Justin Bieber and Jimmy Kimmel. They have officially run out of sports, you guys!
Mad Men (Again – sort of) – You know how the Mad Men promos are completely inscrutable? Mostly, they just show characters speaking a single line and then cut to another character and another scene. You really can’t get any information at all, other than to say “Oh, I guess Pete is in next week’s episode. And he’ll offer to get the door at some point.”
Well, thanks to Oh No They Didn’t!, we can see what it would look like if other shows used Mad Men-style promos, including The Simpsons, Arrested Development, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and the UK version of The Office. They’re pretty awesome, and we’re still laughing at the AD version. “They don’t let you keep bees in here.”
Delocated – The new season of Adult Swim’s faux-reality series premiered this week, and it was
amazing. In case you haven’t seen it, it’s about a family in Witness Protection who get a reality series. To keep their identities secret, they wear ski masks at all times and have vocal distorters implanted into their necks. But, you know, they’re on TV. Early on, Jon’s wife left him and took their son, so now he’s a guy in a ski mask, hiding from the Russian Mafia and also trying to date.
There is so much that’s ridiculous about this series, but it’s smart and consistently hilarious. The new season upgraded to the half-hour format, and on Adult Swim, that’s a rare and well-deserved gift. The season opens with Jon’s producers working on an outline for the season (“Maybe you could start by killing everybody he cares about.”) and eventually brings us a whole bunch of Jon decoys, at least one of which carries on an affair with Jon’s girlfriend.
We’re going to have more coverage of Delocated in the days to come, but you should really check out this sly, funny series. It sounds like the stupidest thing you’ve ever seen, but then it loops back around to become a brilliant satire of reality TV culture. With boner jokes.
Wipeout – We always love our Wipeout, but this week deserves mention simply because it was 
another installment in the season-long story arc. Yes, there is actually a continuing subplot on Wipeout. All season, co-host Jill Wagner has been menaced by bees. Either she’s trying to hit them with her microphone, or she’s running away from them, or they’re interrupting interviews with the contestants. The bees have it in for her, and they keep making return appearances. Bees are sort of the Luther Mahoney of Wipeout. They show up every couple of episodes, and it’s always bad news when they do.
Louie – This comedy has been one of Summer’s MVP’s, and we have no good reason not to mention it as often as possible. This week gave us Stephen Root as Louis’ dentist, and we love everything with which Stephen Root is involved. There was also Louis’ most socially unacceptable bit of stand-up yet, and a sad and hilarious scene where he falls in love with a cashier.
We had high hopes for this series, giving our love of Louis C.K., and we are happy to say that we’ve been rewarded all season. This is a show you should be watching, and we will fight anybody who disagrees.
Children’s Hospital – More love for Adult Swim this week, as they premiere the first episode of this spoof to be written for television. (The previous installments were all webisodes.) Luckily, the change in format and (theoretically) broader audience haven’t changed the show at all. In fact,
the premiere picks up right where the webisodes ended. Blake Downs, Clown Doctor, has left the hospital for his own multi-camera sitcom, Dr. Lola Spratt is believed dead after a botched operation, Dr. Cat Black is pregnant (The father? A six-year old boy with Rapid Aging Syndrome.), and Michael Cera is still credited in the role of “Sal Viscuso” every week, even though he’s never actually appeared on the show.
This episode also brought Henry Winkler to the cast, as a hospital administrator / butterfly enthusiast. If you remember Arrested Development, you know how funny the guy can be. We also learned that some fluid in a butterfly cures cancer, but nobody knows which one. We’ve still got the introduction of new cast member and professional pretty lady Malin Akerman, and an upcoming live episode to look forward to, so it’s not to late to get on board.
Boy, that’s a lot of Joy this week. And that brings us to this week’s discussion question. From spunkybuddy Greg: “Do you buy season sets on DVD? Which shows or seasons do you find yourself re-watching the most?”
EJ: Do I ever! I’ve got a little bit of a problem, to be honest. I have way too many season sets. Like, one day my shelves will collapse and crush me and nobody will know that I’m dead for weeks. OK, that got kind of dark. However, I think my point still stands.
There are some sets that see pretty heavy rotation. Seasons 4 – 8 of The Simpsons are pretty much perfect, and I’ll just put in a random disc from one of those in pretty frequently. (Though those Season 4 menus are clunky as all hell.) Futurama makes it into the DVD player quite a lot, too. I think the DVD’s I’ve watched most over the last year are the first two seasons of The Venture Bros. Nothing against Season Three, but that’s a little more continuity-heavy, so it’s harder to watch a few episodes in isolation. Seriously, I could watch Season Two’s Viva Los Muertos and Showdown at Cremation Creek all day. And have!
It’s been a while, but I used to rewatch Mr. Show on a pretty regular basis, and now I want to sit and watch it again. The Office is great for marathon viewing, especially Season Two when they’re really starting to discover the characters. Flight of the Conchords is great too, especially with the short seasons. You can knock out a season without even trying. It’s the same with Eastbound and Down, although I loan the first season out an awful lot, so I don’t have access to it as often as I’d like. But I’ve seen the first episode probably a dozen times by now, and I always laugh my ass off.
It’s harder to rewatch shows that depend on continuity without a serious time-commitment, but the first season of House is always a favorite, and the Season 1 & 2 box of Homicide is one of the best things ever. It’s always worth a sitdown. Season Five of The Shield is not only awesome, but it’s like an 11-episode acting showcase. Forest Whittaker, Glenn Close, Michael Chiklis, and CCH Pounder just totally rock that entire season. And it has one of the most gut-wrenching finales I’ve ever seen.
But the big dogs are always going to be Seasons 1 – 3 of Arrested Development. It’s my favorite TV comedy ever, and I have watched it over and over and never gotten tired of it. I’ve bought literally dozens of AD sets as gifts and my enthusiasm has not waned. They frequently show up on sale, too, so you can pick up an awesome series really cheap.
And I’ve got to put in a word for the LOST sets – they really do a beautiful job with the presentation and bonus features. Ever since Season Three gave us the exclusive Orchid orientation film that played a key role in the Season Four finale, their sets have been indispensable. I’m a really big fan of Season Five in the Dharma packaging that includes logo patches and an honest-to-god VHS tape, and the recent complete series set that I splurged on. It’s got a replica of the Boy in Black’s stone game, an ankh, an ultraviolet penlight (because there are freaking secret messages on the packaging) and I love it more than I can say.
MYNDI: I do buy seasons of shows on DVD, but I don’t get as many as I might in a perfect world
where I had time to watch TV all day & night. When I do make the investment, though, I like to go for the sets with the most extras and things that take me beyond the episodes that aired on TV. Sitcoms are usually the best genre, because I always feel like I can watch episodes multiple times. I feel a little bit like a broken record with my answer to this question, but the best set I have in my collection is Freaks and Geeks, which is just so jam packed with extras and was clearly made with love and care. I love all the early seasons of The Office on DVD, which have awesome commentary tracks. Mad Men is spectacular, too. I re-watch all of them whenever I have time, which, with two small children, is never. There is a set I wish I could get, but, as far as I know, does not currently exist. The full series of American Dreams. I loved that show!
Have a good weekend! And remember, we need your discussion questions and your Moments of Joy. Let us know what makes you happy, so we can share in your joy and then tell people about it.
We’ll see you back here for Emmy Wrap-Ups, hilarious recaps, and possibly some surprises!
