Ranking the 2010- 2011 TV season

This is going to be a ranking of the shows I regulary watch that aired during the 2010-2011 TV season. To qualify I had to watch at least 75 percent of the episodes. So for the most part these are shows I like.

38. 90210


This might be the exception to that last sentance. Why do I watch this show? It is not written well, stories come and go and a lot of them are clunkers ( Does nobody remember Annie killed a dude last season?) and the acting is sub-par ( except maybe Jessica Stroup (Silver)). But something keeps on bringing me back, and I still haven't firgured out what yet.

Season Grade : C

Best Episode: Liars - This was the episode where Mr. Cannon takes Namoi hostage. I thought it was somewhat well done and tense. The subplots were forgettable though.

Worst Episode: Blue Namoi - Namoi in an Avatar makeup. A horrible Snoop Dogg cameo in which Dixon and Navid try to get him for their media business ( which was a questionable storyline. How the fuck do 17 years olds get that big of loan to start a business like that?). Another pointless storyline with Annie's cousin Emily. And other boring stuff happens too.


37. America's Next Great Restaurant

I liked the idea of this show, so I stuck with it and even went to the Los Angeles location of the winner ( Soul Daddy). The main problem witht he show is that the the episodes got repeatitive after a while. Another part that was a problem is that once they got rid of MeltWorks, I think any chance of the rest of the restaurants hitting Chipotle huge was slim. I'm sure Bobby Flay knows than me, but some of his opinions on things were odd ( such as his opionion that why would people leave the house to get grilled cheese if they can make it at home? Ummmmm, maybe because the bread and cheese is going to be better there than at home? You can make that dumb argument with anything. Why go to Chipotle when i can make tacos at home? Why go to McDonalds when I can make a burger at home? And so on... Think before you talk Bobby Flay. Also, Grillbillies, such douchebags! Hmmmmm, a tasks where we have to make kids food , let's put chicken on sharp skewers! Which was another dumb task, not all fast casual places need a kids menu, espeically an Indian place.

Season Grade: C+

Best Episode: The first episode, it showed promise.

Worst Episode: Even though the guy was kind of being an idiot, MeltWorks should of not been elimanated when he was.


36. Apprentice 10 ( Regular version)

Pretty forgettable season, I barely remember any of it. David was annoying, then entertaining, then annoying again. Clint should have won, but Brandy made a real good case for herself in the Boardroom, so no biggie.

Season Grade: C+

Best/Worst episode: Eh

35. Family Guy



The manatee writers at Family Guy put together another meh season. The show is good for a few decent laughs, but that's about it. It falls into the trap of making an offensive joke, a random joke or a reference but forgetting to make it funny.

Season Grade: C+

Best Episode: And Then There Were Fewer - decent epsiode, good murder mystery


Worst Episode: German Guy - Ok, Family Guy, enough with Herbert. It's character that worked once ( maybe) yet you keep on going down this well. To center an episode around him is a horrible idea. Not only that, he's the hero in the episode for defeating an evil Nazi. So, ok, we are supposed to root for the child molester in this episode? What the fuck?

34. The Big Bang Theory



Amy ( Mayim Bialik) is the best thing that has happened to this show in a while. She is more than just a female Sheldon, which is good. Otherwise, it's the same old decent but not great show it has been for a while. Raj has gotten a little too pathetic, while Howard is more tolerable now ( mostly becuase of Bernadette). Leonard is just there. Sheldon is what used to make this show watchable, he's still a good character but it's starting to wear off. All in all, I think it improved over last season, but not near it's peak.

Season Grade: B-

Best Episode: The Herb Garden Germanation- Amy and Sheldon start rumors in this fun episode

Worst Episode: The Robotic Manipulation - Howard gets his penis caught in a robot hand. Nuff said.

33. Raising Hope

Ok, now we are getting into shows I have little to say negitive about. I like this show, but it just barely made the cut since I don't care that much about it being I forget to DVR it a lot. It's a charming enogh series by Greg Garcia ( My Name is Earl). If I learned anything from Parks and Recreation and Cougar Town, it's that if a show has a "meh" pilot but shows promise, give it another chance. And I'm glad I did. Much like My Name is Earl, it's not appointment TV but I'll watch it and enjoy it if I remember to DVR it. The only reason it is this low is I don't have much desire to watch the episodes I haven't seen and it's hard to say that for the ones ahead of it.

Season Grade: B-

Best Episode: Mongooses- the cast at it's best

Worst Episode: Pilot - It seemed like a poor man's My Name is Earl. The only character I liked was Sabrina, whoch was enough for a second chance. I have learned to also love the character of Burt. Jimmy, the main character I thought in the pilot was bland, but he has come into his own.



32. Perfect Couples



Before they picked up Community and Parks and Recreation for the next season, I was heavily rooting for this show and Outsourced to fail to increase the former two shows chances of pickup. Now I wish I hadn't. Well, not Outsourced ( actually if though it sucked, once it was no threat to other shows, I didn't care). This show was other one of the many decent Friends -type shows that were never great but were good and watchable. Christine Woods and Kyle Bornheimer, while being the so called "normal" couple, were the funniest of the three couples in my opionion.

Season Grade: B-

Best Episode: Perfect Health

Worst Episode: Perfect Proprosal

31. The Simpsons

Blah Blah Blah, the show isn't as good as it's golden years ( season 2-10). I mean it is to be expected, different showrunners and writers. They have done every story possible twice so of course it's not going to be fresh. That being said, it is still a solid show, it has gotten past its worst years. Still, this season it didn't really register any episodes that would come close to a top 50 Simpsons episode list 14 years ago I would have cried for weeks if it got canceled, now I think I would be cool with it. Best Episode: Elementry School Musical: Flight of the Conchords in a an actual well done guest role, can' t say the same for the Glee cast in the same episode.

Worst Episode: The Nedliest Catch- Yea, Mrs. Krabappel and Ned Flanders as a couple makes no sence and the online vote is kind of a silly idea.

30. Running Wilde

Will Arnett? David Cross? In a Mitchell Hurwitz show? How is this not in the top 10?? It is nowhere as near as clever as Arrested Devolpment. Most of the plots are standard misunderstanding plots ( Arrested Devolpment had a lot of these, but did it much better). It had a bunch of characters that did not work at all. The characters of Mr. Lunt, Migo and Puddle complelty did not work for me at all during the whole run. Keri Rusell was decent but nothing great. It's not all bad, the show did show signs of brillance a few times. David Cross, Will Arnett both did fine jobs with the material they had, but the true star of this show was the character of Fa'ad, who was a zany character with the right mix of randomness and absurness and brought most of the laughs for me. He had good comedic chemisty with Arnett, and brought this show up 2 points. I would like to see Peter Serafinowicz get more work.

Season Grade: B
Worst Episode: Pilot - wasn't that bad but was a big letdown.

Comedy Death Ray 1-4-11 Review

Comedy Death Ray is a show at the Upright Citizens Brigade theatre in LA every Tuesday at 8:30. I go it just about every Tuesday. It is only 5 dollars and you get 3 hours of what I think are the highest quality comedians in the biz. Comedians like performing there, because the people there know comedy for the most part. So I might do a weekly review of the show here on this blog.

Doug Loves Movies- A-

Doug Loves Movies is a podcast that tapes before CDR. it is Doug Benson talking with other comedians/ actors about movies or other things. I have appeared twice on Doug Loves Movies, not as a guest, but once as an audience member who was wiling to get kicked in the balls by Wee-Man. More on that later... Doug's guests were Wayne Federman, Dana Gould and Andy Kindler, all fine comics. This was a well rounded DLM as everyone was funny throughout and each one had a lot to say. Sometimes one guest dominates and some guests don't say much, but all three were going at it, comedy wise. The Podcast comes out this Friday.


Jamie Lee - B

Jamie Lee had a solid act going, nothing that really stood out to me, but funny nonetheless.


Brendon Walsh - A-

Brendon Walsh had an act which was mostly about the stupid shit he does with his friends, mostly in fake mustaches. He is good at telling stories such as the time he went to a Ween concert and took too many mushrooms. I've heard a lot of bits about taking drugs, so you have to be a good storyteller to keep my interest, which he did.

Matt Walsh - B+

Matt Walsh who is one of the best at improv, did this bit where he played a character who ran the worst funeral ever. It was a pretty good bit and using the Law and Order theme as the guy who died favorite song to be played at his funeral turned out to be a good choice.

Eddie Pepitone - A

Eddie Pepitone f-ing killed it tonight. I was laughing throughout. Eddie is one of those yelling comics, but I think it works for his act. Better than it does Lewis Black. I didn't stop laughing for 12 minutes during his set.

David Koechner - C+

I was looking forward to seeing him but it took awhile for him to get into it, and most of the time he was telling the story of how his wife is having a kid in a week from now and how the kid was thought based on ultrasounds was going to be born with severe down syndrome and how the doctors actually suggested terminating it. Turns out, it was a just a virus causing that read and the kid is going to be fine. If that's not comedy, I don't know what is. I mean it was a good, personal story and he did a good job telling it and had some funny asides. I mean I do like seeing comedians do something personal and talk about something that has happened to them, such as when Brody Stevens came in and started ranting about just getting fired from Chelesa Lately that day. The vibe was kind of weird in the room at the time I guess.

Wayne Federman - A-

Wayne Federman opening bit killed because he went up right after David and went " Oh man , I was just telling David he should do his Down Syndrome bit" and other good natured ribbing about what David knew was an awkward set. Wayne kept on going pretty good from there.

Jerry Minor - A-

Jerry Minor does a lot of comedy with music. This time, he handed out slips of paper to the audience with different names of music files on his laptop. He would point to someone they would say 80's or piano ballad or whatever was on the paper and he would improvise a song to the music file. Some worked, some did not, but there were way more hits than misses.

Greg Fitzsimmons - B

Greg for the first half of the act just talked to Jerry Minor, mostly about their time on the Cedric the Entertainer sketch show ( even I barely remember it). It felt like his podcast, which I only listen to if there is a good guest on. The rest of his act was somewhat good, but not great.

All in all a pretty good show I'd give it a A-