Galavant "Thoughts"

[Drtooth]

I sometimes forget that The Goldbergs is set in the '80s, which is a good thing. That '80s Show, on the other hand, constantly reminded me and waved it in my face that it was set in the '80s.

The 80's Show was a special case in that its very existence doomed two shows. The other being the original That 70's Show, which now had to spend the last 2 years of the 70's on the last 4 seasons of the show, not letting the characters grow past that decade. They had more Christmases than the time frame allowed. They screwed themselves with the name before hand, but then again, I don't think they expected the show to be that much of a hit.

That 80's Show suffered from putting the decade in front of the series, but it also suffered from having the characters as at the decade stereotypes. So no Hydes, Kelsos, or Erics. Timeless characters that just so happened to be in the 70's. Though I did like the first episode's stinging line to new age punks... the bit about "I was listening to (some punk band I forget specifically) when you were still into the Bay City Rollers." If only the rest of the show managed to be as good as that line.

Anyway, I noticed something that The Middle does better than everyone else. When their oldest kid went to college, they handled it quite well. The college is close enough to his parents that he can still drop in from time to time. And when he isn't, the show has a lot of scenes of him at school. Normally, this would mean losing a cast member (if one didn't already leave the show for that case), and then having them crawl back to the main show when they need the character back/the actor needs work. Even Modern Family had to give Haley some lame excuse to get the character back home.

 

[Muppet Master]

The 80's Show was a special case in that its very existence doomed two shows. The other being the original That 70's Show, which now had to spend the last 2 years of the 70's on the last 4 seasons of the show, not letting the characters grow past that decade. They had more Christmases than the time frame allowed. They screwed themselves with the name before hand, but then again, I don't think they expected the show to be that much of a hit.

That 80's Show suffered from putting the decade in front of the series, but it also suffered from having the characters as at the decade stereotypes. So no Hydes, Kelsos, or Erics. Timeless characters that just so happened to be in the 70's. Though I did like the first episode's stinging line to new age punks... the bit about "I was listening to (some punk band I forget specifically) when you were still into the Bay City Rollers." If only the rest of the show managed to be as good as that line.

Anyway, I noticed something that The Middle does better than everyone else. When their oldest kid went to college, they handled it quite well. The college is close enough to his parents that he can still drop in from time to time. And when he isn't, the show has a lot of scenes of him at school. Normally, this would mean losing a cast member (if one didn't already leave the show for that case), and then having them crawl back to the main show when they need the character back/the actor needs work. Even Modern Family had to give Haley some lame excuse to get the character back home.

That is true, I remember before the season 5 premiere worrying that the show would be terrible with Axl in college, but it turned out to work out well. All the ABC season premieres last night were great, The Middle was a tad weak for a premiere, compared to the last one with the whole going to college thing, and the one before with the Everyone Loves Raymond tie in, but still salvagable, though it felt more like an average episode than a season premiere. The Goldberges was just awesome, I expected the quality to dip, but it only rose, that and it was the second best rated episode ever, ABC really failed when they put The Goldberges on Tuesdays, I am glad they put it on Wednesdays. Modern Family was fine, I guess, but the real surprise for me was Black Ish. It really pushed bounderies, I expected it to be another run of the mill sitcom, but they really made the show something, how could they get away with all those african american jokes, and it nearly got Modern Family ratings, very impressive, what I hate though is how some people hate on the show by calling it racist. Really? That is the lamest excuse, how are they racist if the people making fun of african american stereotypes are african americans? Anyways, great premiers overall.

 

[charlietheowl]

Blackish seemed pretty good from the first episode, I really liked Laurence Fishburne's character. It's different to see him in a comedic role; I can't remember him doing one like that since Pee-Wee's Playhouse.

Since this thread has seemed to turn into the fall TV season impressions thread, I'm curious about Mulaney on FOX. It seems like that could be a good show with the cast (Nasim Pedrad, Elliott Gould and Martin Short), but every preview clip I've seen looks so corny. I fear this may be one of those shows where the main character is the weakest link.

 

[Drtooth]

Since this thread has seemed to turn into the fall TV season impressions thread, I'm curious about Mulaney on FOX. It seems like that could be a good show with the cast (Nasim Pedrad, Elliott Gould and Martin Short), but every preview clip I've seen looks so corny. I fear this may be one of those shows where the main character is the weakest link.

I honestly think it's going to be awful. And yes, I have a bias because that show's one of the reasons Bob's Burgers gets dumped in the Futurama/King of the Hill killing time slot. I look forward to BB much more than the Simpsons and Family Guy, even though I understand it's a weird venue for it. I'm mixed about Brooklyn 99 being on Sunday (as long as it's not opposite SHIELD), but they've never had a successful sitcom replace one of their cartoons. Remember the awful Sons of Tuscon (or whatever it was called)? Glad that disappeared quickly.

I've seen some preview bits too, it just doesn't look good. Like the show's a personal favor to that comedian. I mean, with Dads, at least they had Seth MacFarline giving them money. And that was a massive flop that regulated Raising Hope (a GOOD sitcom) to a Friday Night Death Slot.

 

[charlietheowl]

It seems like FOX is trying to get rid of the animation-heavy block on Sundays, since they pushed American Dad to TBS and seem to be moving that way with Bob's Burgers. The Sunday at 7:30 timeslot is awful since chances are football is always going to bleed into the show and knock the starting time back.

 

[Drtooth]

They've always been trying to dump American Dad. It's not as popular as Family Guy, I get it. The show's been on 10 years and there's absolutely no merchandise except for some piddling stuff (T-Shirts, a set of Bendies, buttons at Hot Topic) when the show started. Even The Cleveland Show had carnival/crane game prizes of it's characters. And the sad thing is, they wouldn't have their precious Family Guy if it wasn't for American Dad. Yeah, sure they say it's the DVD sales and letter writing campaign, but it was really because Seth was doing another show, and they said "hey, you wanna make more Family Guy?" But then again, AD lasted a good 10 years. I didn't think it was last the season. I don't mind it being on TBS, since I have it now and nothing good appears to be on Mondays at 9 anyway.

It sucks they're trying to edge out Bob's Burgers. It won an Emmy, and the Simpsons didn't even get a nomination this year. Them not getting an Emmy nod is huge. It's a cult show and all, and that cult probably watches it online or on adult swim (where it's a better fit, anyway... though if they pitched it there they would have kept the lame cannibal concept in). I don't see why this can't be freed up to sit inbetween The Simpsons and Family Guy with Brooklyn 99 at the 9:30 closing. They just wanted another lame sitcom no one would watch, and they refuse to put it on Tuesday... even though the only thing I know is on that night is the Zooey Deschanel thing. Which is a total knockoff of the superior Happy Endings that ABC couldn't wait to cancel. I'm sure this new show wouldn't fair there either.

 

[charlietheowl]

FOX might end up moving their shows around anyway because no one's watching the brain-dead Utopia which they air twice a week. So two hours of air-time could suddenly become available.

 

[Drtooth]

I honestly can't believe Fox made a Survivor knockoff in 2014! Survivor somehow manages to still stink up the airwaves well after its relevance on pop culture. I get that reality TV is all about sweatshop labor and low costs with humiliatingly low sums of money as prizes. Essentially what a cast member of Big Bang Theory gets an episode. And even with low ratings, that low cost is low enough for seasons on end. But really?!?! Survivor ripoffs? And calling it a "social experiment?" That stuff went out with the Bush Administration. And it looks as if its there to stay, sitting like a freaking 50 ton gorilla on the schedule.

 

[Muppet Master]

Fox really screwed up, they totally destroyed animation domination, what is it now? Bob's Burgers way too early, and the two shows that they will never get rid of get good spots. This is the problem with Fox, they can not see when a show overstays its welcome, and they cancel Cosmos after 13 episodes, and yes I know it was because the original series was that long, but they should have somehow kept it going. I also hope that Ressurection keeps it up, it was given no chance to survive, but it still managed to reach season 2, though they only have 13 episodes, so that is a problem with renewing what was supposed to be just a mini series, they have little material, but I still have high hopes.

 

[charlietheowl]

I think Cosmos was designed to be a 13-episode mini-series, so it wasn't cancelled as much as it just ran its course.