Workaholics

There are some shows that it takes a while for them to grow on me, either because I don't like the characters right away, the plot is a little weak at first, or because it takes a while to get into the mood of the show. Workaholics is not one of them. I watched the first episode of this show on a whim, and I laughed more than I have at a TV show in a while. I've now seen up to episode 8 (the current episode), and I can honestly say that I will be tuning in to this show for the indefinite future (so long as it doesn't get shitty). This show is so ballsy right out of the gate, that it instantly grew on me. If you like comedy in the vein of Always Sunny in Philadelphia, or maybe Archer, this show has that same kind of disregard and take no prisoners style of comedy. The show is about 3 guys who work in a white collar setting as telemarketers, and the misadventures these guys go on. It's kind of like the bastard child of Always Sunny and The Office. 

 Some of the premises for the episodes include, them trying to avoid a drug test after a huge party. Burglars breaking into their office while they're camping out overnight, high as shit on mushrooms. Them going on strike when their boss won't let them celebrate Half-Christmas (or Christmas in July). Them trying to emulate "To Catch a Predator" and accidentally end up being friends with a pedophile. And while there's on episode I'm not crazy about, where they visit an ICP concert and meet Juggalos... But still! This week's episode was about the CEO of the company they work for trying to pay them ten thousand dollars to kill him. Their solution to this problem is to show him as good a time as they possibly can, while trying to stop him from finding someone else he can pay to do it. These episodes kind of keep getting better and better.

The biggest beef I can think of with the show is that it's not really on Hulu, or Comedy Central's website, so it's a little harder to watch, but it's worth it. Definitely go check this shit out, because I'm expecting some awesome things in the episodes to come.

Game of Thrones

Here we have episode 8 of season 1. This shit starts with a fuck load of people being murdered, and we almost immediately jump into the point of my favorite characters, the Tom Boy and her "dance" instructor! This dude finally gets a kick ass fight scene, actually one of my favorite yet. Then despite the action that starts the episode, after this is concluded (a little too quickly in my opinion) the show gets right back into the character moments that make it so good. Even if the characters it gets to first, aren't necessarily the ones I care about the most. A few cool things are set up with the dwarf, and I kind of wonder if I'll get sick of seeing him talk his way out of things. It remains one of my favorite parts of the show. Then There's some really cool stuff from the Horse Clan, traveling their way to the 7 Realms. This side story is getting more and more interesting.  At first they were kind of just there, but in the last few episodes, their presence has become more threatening, and I'm digging the shit out it! Then there's some cool stuff with the White Walkers, finally. It was the first scene in the first episode that they were teased, and it's taken a minute for them to show up since, but I will say I liked what they did with them now that they've been introduced. I'm hoping that some of the more supernatural elements keep building. I wasn't crazy about the last episode, lots of build and almost no delivery, this episode is that delivery. This is probably the best episode yet.

Game of Thrones

When I had first heard of this show I wasn't really ecstatic. Unlike almost everyone else, apparently ever, I'm not a huge Lord of the Rings fan, and this show appeared to me to be more of that. Probably the biggest contributing factor to me thinking this, was that Sean Bean being cast in the lead role (he must love wearing period clothing considering how often he wears it.). I begrudgingly watching Game of Thrones after it was recommended to me by a persistent friend of mine, frequently reminding while he was watching it that he thought I'd dig it. At first i thought I was right on the mark, because the first episode was absolutely boring, and I wanted to stop there. Usually in television the first episode is meant to give you an idea what the rest of the show is going to be like. this is the case sometimes more than others, but a show like Game of Thrones is really how the medium should be utilized.  The first episode is nothing more than the first chapter in a many part story, and once the ball gets rolling man does this show have a story to tell. Once I was a few episodes in, i realized this show couldn't be more different from Lord of the Rings. Now sure, they're both fantasy stories, and may even have some similar subject matter, but LotR is an epic which makes it's characters seem minuscule in comparison to their quest. While GoT on the other hand is about very subtle stories that happen to be set in a fantasy world. What really draws you in is the amount of characters this show can juggle, and make interesting, and weave into the story, without compromising it's own story and plot.

It's so funny how used to other shows you get. I was sitting scratching my head trying to figure out what the show was about and now that I've caught up with the show, I think it's "about" anything. Now obviously if you read the books I'm sure you could manage to spoil some of the plots within, but what i means is that the show doesn't really have a hook. I enjoyed the second episode more than the first, it would have been hard not to, but it wasn't until episode 3 or 4 that I was really excited to see what happened next. It seems to me as thought this show is just telling a series of small stories that are interconnected, and filling them with more small character moments than you might think could fit into an hour block.

My biggest problem with that is, that since it handles so many characters so well most of my favorite characters only get a couple of minutes in the hour, and it seems like it will be a while before they have a lot of significance to do with the plot. For instance, Stark, the main character, has a bastard son, and he takes up the role of a guardian of the wall that protects the northern section of their kingdom. He's one of the best characters, and he's barely in the show at times, and I don't even think he was in episode 6. My favorite character is Stark's youngest daughter. She's this tomboy who isn't down with doing the shit that all the other ladies in the show do, so instead she finds boys around town to spar with, and when that goes awry her father lets her take sword fighting lessons. She has maybe 5 minutes per episode showing what she's doing, and I just can't wait another season or two until she grows up and can kick a little ass!

The show also handles time progression well. It's not one of those shows that's unclear how fast everything's happening, or where they're trying to cram the entire series into a 3 month window (Really Lost...?). Almost every episode they refer in dialogue how much time has passed since the beginning or since the last episode, sometimes it's a couple weeks, sometimes it's a day or two, but they keep you posted. I'm hoping this helps from them having to write of some of the kids in the show when they hit puberty because they won't have to try and think if an explanation to why they all of a sudden shot up. (this shit is going to happen on Walking Dead, I can feel it!)

I enjoy it, and I think I'm probably hooked until the show starts getting shitty!

Also, I want magic! Not a lot, but at least a little. I just want to know it's there, and that some of the characters might have access to it.

The League

I was recently turned onto this show, and my friend told me "Don't ask what it's about, just watch it. It's really funny. The reason he said this is because the show is about a group of friends who play fantasy football. I am not the kind of guy who gets stoked over football, and especially fantasy football, but I had actually heard of the show, and wanted to watch it. Mostly because the idea sounded kind of novel, and an ongoing series about fantasy football sounded ironically funny to me. Fantasy football is like the Dungeons & Dragons of the sports community. It's so unbelievably dorky, and the people that play are the same kind of people who would talk shit to me for playing D&D. Well I watched the show hoping for a few chuckles, and what I got was anything but ironic humor. 

This show is so self aware, and not only does the show, but the characters in the show know that they're ridiculous for making this small game such a big part of their lives. Not only that, but the chemistry between these characters is so good that I have to assume that they're friends off screen, and they improvise a lot of these jokes, because I can't see how they could get the timing and humor so perfect. The show is really spot on, on so many marks. A lot of the shows running jokes consist of the characters compromising their real lives for the sake of their teams, and the chance to win this tournament. One of which early on involves two of the characters who are attorneys on opposing ends of a court case, who bring up a trade in their professional environment. It's hard to go into specifics about how these jokes work so well without spoiling the jokes themselves (no one wants to hear a punchline before they hear a joke...). Another of the characters is kind of like the group's bum. He just kind of hangs around them, and occasionally he randomly plays songs. This sounds like a terrible idea, and most shows can't make a gag like this work, but almost all of them are so funny in the context of the show. 

The League is really a hidden gem among TV comedies. There's little to nothing else like it out there, and it does its own style of humor so well. It's hard to tell people why a show about fantasy football is so amazing, but there's just something really awesome about this show, and I cannot wait for the next season to start. Seriously, go watch this show.

This message brought to you by Taco Corp.'s 3 Penis Wine! 

Mission Statement

Basically, I watch a lot of TV, and I have a lot of opinions about it. I'm using this to organize those thoughts, and rank the shows I watch from least favorite to my favorite. These won't so much be "Reviews" as they will just be my opinion on them. I'm not really trying to stay objective, I'm mostly just kind of stating shit I like. So that I'm not constantly repeating myself, lets keep in mind that these are all obviously just my opinions, and I'm always open to new ideas and debate! I'll also probably add in thoughts I have about what would make shows better, and maybe ideas I have for all new shows I'd like to see. Hopefully we have some fun!