Five Bold Statements About TV

I’ve been nursing somewhat of an Oscar hangover the past few days. After a month of endless material and subjects to cover leading up to the Academy Awards, Sunday night’s climax has put me in a bit of a rut. Luckily there are other entertainment industries out there to discuss, namely television.

 

I watch a lot of TV, good and bad, with my number of DVRed shows nearing the twenties. I don’t know everything about the medium, but I know enough to make five intelligent and bold statements about the industry for 2010. When I’m done, I encourage you to weigh in with your thoughts.

 

1. Saturday Night Live is Back

 

Talk about consistency. SNL has been on the air for 35 years following the same consistent pattern: It’s really good, then it’s really bad; it’s Eddie Murphy, then it’s Anthony Michael Hall; it’s Must See TV, then it’s a lesser alternative than the infomercials riddling the airwaves on a Saturday night.

 

It seems like at any given moment, the buzz can be either “SNL is so great right now!” or “This SNL cast sucks!” For the last couple years, it’s been the latter. It occurs anytime the show transitions between a cast of mainstays and unknowns. A couple years ago, watching Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, or Fred Armisen wasn’t entertaining or funny. Kenan Thompson was merely a distraction, causing us to say, “Hey, isn’t that the black kid from All That” before making us laugh (if ever). For a while, the only reason to watch the show was for Andy Samberg and The Lonely Island’s “SNL Digital Shorts.” Even then, people could just find the clip Monday morning on YouTube.

 

Now, though, Saturday Night Live is can’t-miss telelvision programming once again. The cast has honed its skills, perfected its characters, and delivers a strong show every week. Wiig, Hader, Armisen, Thompson, Jason Sudeikis, and Bobby Moynihan all have their own hilarious characters and personalities that make for great sketches, recurring and new. Add to that the right host, and you have a winning forumla. Have you seen the episodes hosted by Jon Hamm or Zack Galifianakis yet? If so, you know proclaiming SNL‘s resurrection isn’t such a bold statement after all.

 

2. 9-10 Isn’t the Best Hour in NBC’s Thursday Night Comedy Lineup

 

For several years, the favorite television comedies of young adult audiences were The Office and 30 Rock. After a couple strong early seasons, though, each show has been on a steady decline and has been unable to regain its footing and consistency. While no one’s ready to turn away from either show and is still willing to wait for the ocassional Kenneth moment or event shows like the birth of Jim and Pam’s baby, the more hilarious and fresh sitcoms are on for the first hour of Thursday night’s two hour comedy block.

 

Community is the second best new comedy on the major networks (wait for Bold Statement #3 to see which is the best) while Parks & Recreation has hit its stride after a mediocre first season. Each show features hilarious ensemble casts in original settings, Community taking place at a community college and Parks revolving around the goings-on of a small town government office. Not yet plagued with a long television run, the material of each series is far from running stale, and they are more fun to watch every week than the veteran shows that follow them. 

 

3. Modern Family is the Best Sitcom Out There

 

I’d never expect to say this about an ABC sitcom. In fact, I don’t think I’d watched an ABC sitcom before this one since the days of TGIF. Still, every Wednesday night at 9:30 when Modern Family comes to an end, I say to myself or who ever has watched the most recent episode with me, “That is easily the best show on TV.”

 

And it is. I’ve been a loyal 30 Rock fan since its beginning, but I’ll be incensed if it wins the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series over Modern Family in 2010. It won in 2009 because of a weak field, but it shouldn’t stand a chance this year against its new competition, whether voters give it special considerations for its past acclaim or not.

 

30 Rock has become a live-action Family Guy: Setup, bizarre cut-away, setup, bizarre cut-away, setup, crazy Tracy Jordan/Morgan statement. Personally, it’s not fun to watch anymore because it’s become so unimaginative and forumulaic, relying on the same jokes that once made it special in its early (and funny) years.

 

Modern Family, though, is a hilarious family comedy in a time when hilarious family comedies no longer exist. Although once the standard for television comedy dating back to the Fifties, the genre had reached a standstill in the 80′s and 90′s after evolving into the dysfunctional family comedy with FOX shows like Married with Children and Malcolm in the Middle. However, those shows featured families living in worlds just as crazy as they were. Modern Family is an original series because it’s able to present an American family full of eccentricities in the same reality in which we exist with our own crazy aunts and uncles. That, and a long list of great characters and hilarious plot possibilities, makes Modern Family the best sitcom on TV.

 

4. The Lost Finale Will Not Disappoint

 

I’ve ripped on Lost a lot in my day, but let me make it clear that the target was most often the fans of the show who harbor extreme resentment because I was never able to get into the series. Relax, guys. Secret Life of the American Teenager is my Lost.

 

I have so much respect for Lost and its creators because it’s been able to do what no other scripted show can do in the age of DVRs and Hulu: Produce a program that absotively, posolutely must be watched each night a new episode airs. You’re all in or not in with Lost, the hottest water cooler show out there today.

 

This being its last season, I can sense fear in a lot of Lost fans’ eyes. Prompted by the naysayers and skeptics who question the series’ direction, I know some are worried that the ending won’t be able to live up to the excitment and tension built up by so many seasons of jaw-dropping twists and turns. I had my doubts at one time too, although never seeing any of the show, believing the writers had put themselves in a corner they could never get out of. The finale would have to be a flop.

 

But I don’t think it will be. J.J. Abrams, who won me over with my all-time top guilty pleasure movie Cloverfield, has too strong a track record to not give him the faith in his abilities he deserves. He’s not just able to captivate; he’s able to punctuate. He did so in his successful films Clovefield and Star Trek, and after captivating Lost fans for six seasons, you can be sure he will put a finishing stroke of genius on the series that will leave the audience thrilled.

 

5. This Summer’s World Cup Will Win Over American Audiences

 

I believe this is my boldest statement of all because even I, having played and loved soccer my entire life, will admit that soccer will never catch on in the United States as much as FIFA and American fans of the game want it to. However, I believe the enthralling Winter Olympic tournament in Men’s Ice Hockey instilled a fiery thirst for international competition that U.S. television audiences will want to quench this summer during the World Cup.

 

If the U.S. team shows signs of life, patriotic fervor will sweep the country once more and people will excitedly tune in for each game. Proof that this is possible is only a couple weeks old. Hockey isn’t a very popular sport in most parts of this country, and even coming from a “hockey town” like Boston I can feel how far the sport has slipped in the eyes of sports fans. Still, the United States team’s quest for gold gripped the nation and became a sports story everyone could follow.

 

Hopefully, a strong U.S. showing will also lead casual or new soccer fans to check out the world class athletes that fill the rosters of perennial powehouses like Brazil, Portugal, and England. It won’t lead to soccer supplanting American football anytime soon, but it will create a World Cup that holds magnetic sway over U.S. viewers. Whether team U.S.A. shows or blows, it’s my hope that the majority of people around me will become just as interested in the international competition as I will be.

 

If not, what else will we have to talk about for those few weeks?