Written by The TV Chick
I am thrilled at the opportunity to write a guest blog for Hollywood The Write Way! On my site, The TV Chick I write a decent amount of features, but in general, I focus more on reviews and interviews. I love the comedy genre. Who doesn’t like to laugh? I have been a fan since sitcoms were in its hey day. I remember staying up for TGIF every Friday night, laughing and crying along with Friends and watching reruns of Bewitched and Mary Tyler Moore. However, there was a long period of time where the airwaves were bombarded with reality TV. I love The Biggest Loser and Amazing Race and all, but there was a time when real sitcoms were few and far between. The early 90s had a few great ones, and Arrested Development and The Office came in the early 2000s to revolutionize the way we think about comedy. But 2009 was an amazing year–leading me to declare it the year of Comedy!
1. Party Down – This show premiered in January on the Starz network, and had a 10 episode, brilliantly hilarious run. Created by Veronica Mars genius Rob Thomas, it stars Adam Scott, Lizzy Caplan (Mean Girls), Ryan Hansen (of Veronica Mars fame), Jane Lynch, Martin Starr, and Ken Marino (also of Veronica Mars fame). It centers around a catering company in Los Angeles called Party Down, where no one wants to be catering. Naturally, in LA, they all want to act, do stand up, or write the next great screenplay. Marino is a Michael Scott-esque boss who is constantly lighting things on fire, getting drunk on the job, and failing to lead his team. Lizzy Caplan and Adam Scott’s characters Henry and Casey are often toying with a relationship. Lynch (Candace) is hilarious at anything she does. And Martin Starr (Roman) is always trying to get his hard core sci-fi screenplay read and written. And then we have Ryan Hansen (Kyle) who likes to hit on girls and will do just about anything for a part. Add this with about 10 Veronica Mars cameos (Kristen Bell and Jason Dohring to name a couple), and you have this little show that really blew up. It is coming back for a second season on April 23, and I cannot wait!
2. Parks and Recreation – This mockumentary style show was created by Greg Daniels (the Office) and it stars Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Nick Offerman, Chris Pratt, Aziz Ansari and Aubrey Plaza. The first season was pretty weak, as it focused almost solely on building up a pit in a fictional town in Indiana. Leslie Knope (Poehler) was playing too over-the-top and not enough like the Poehler that is so beloved from her years at SNL and in the NYC improv scene. In the second season, the show did a complete 180. I’m not sure if they hired new writers, but whatever they did, it is really working. The show is hilarious now! This season, we’ve seen a budding romance between Andy (Pratt) and April (Plaza), and the cast’s real-life spouses guest star, which is a genius move! Megan Mullally (Offerman’s wife) came on as a sort of stick in the mud for Knope. Recently, Will Arnett (Poehler’s husband) came on to play an MRI technician who goes out with Knope, takes her for an MRI on the first date, and completely turns her off. It has lost all its similarities to The Office, and I mean that in the best way.
3. Glee – My love for Glee knows no bounds. I realize it’s not a quintessential comedy, but I absolutely adore every second of it. The cast is full of incredible singing talent (Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison Amber Riley, Mark Saling, Chris Colfer, Dianna Agron and crew), comedic talent (Jane Lynch), and just all around great talent (Jayma Mays and Jessalyn Gilsig). One of my other loves in life is music and Broadway and this show combines this with my love of TV, which leaves me in tears (from laughing and crying) at just about every episode. I think Ryan Murphy (the creator) is an absolute genius and has come up with such a unique concept that has really never been done before. There have been musical episodes (Buffy’s “Once More, With Feeling”), musical numbers (How I Met Your Mother “Nothing Suits Me Like A Suit”) but never a musical show. I personally don’t love when regular musicals break into song with no meaning and no reason (just because it’s a musical). In my opinion, Glee doesn’t do this: all the songs make sense and fit in perfectly to the dynamic of the show. The ending scene of the mid-season finale where the Glee club sings “My Life Would Suck Without You” and performed a dance routine that incorporated moves from all of the previous musical numbers, while Mr. Schue ran down the hallway to see Emma was amazing. It is the mix of hilarious and touching that makes this comedy a show that will always have a place in my heart, and on my DVR.
4. The Office – I realize that The Office is its 6th season, but I had to include it in my list simply because of The Office wedding episode. After 6 seasons of will they/won’t they, my favorite TV couple got married. The episode was perfect in so many ways. We got the awkward scene with Jim and Pam’s family finding out Pam was pregnant. Kevin had his shoes thrown away and wore a toupee. And the entire Office did a crazy YouTube dance down the aisle. But the episode gave us the perfect wedding we were hoping for – Jim’s plan B. Jim and Pam actually got married on a boat on Niagara Falls. Afterward, when they were headed back to the “real” wedding, Pam put her head on Jim’s shoulder and he gave that look to the camera we saw in the first season – one of pure happiness. He got his girl, we got our hilarious and sweet episode. And besides the clip show that just aired which was highly disappointing, this whole season has been great as well.
5. Modern Family – This show was one of my favorite pilots back in September and it has only continued to get better. What I first heard described as “The Office” but with a family, has turned out to be quite different, and hilarious in ever way. I adore Claire and Phil (Julie Bowen and Ty Burell), and completely believe them as a couple — Phil, the ever-screwing up Dad who has great intentions, and Claire, the mom who has to roll her eyes at it all. Their kids Luke, Alex and Haley are always getting into trouble. Jay and Gloria (Ed O’Neill and Sophia Vergara) never fail to make me laugh. Jay, the cynical father who really cares about his kids (and his dog butler Barkley) and Gloria, who is sassy, loving, and has an accent that is to-die-for. Gloria’s son Manny is probably one of the most well developed characters on television. He is 11 yet talks like a 40 year old, drinks coffee and reads the newspaper. And then there’s Mitchell and Cameron (Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet), the most polar opposite gay couple I have ever seen, yet it works so well. The episode where Cameron played Fizbo the Clown is one of my favorite comedic moments to date. All together they make up this “Modern” Family — one that entertains me without fail every single week.
I know there are other great comedies out there. Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, and Community to name a few – but these five are my favorite, stand-out comedies of 2009. And I am really excited to see such an influx of new shows. Four out of five on my list were new in 2009, and that is such great news for the future. I am a very loyal viewer who watches a ton of TV, and I’m thrilled to add on to my watching schedule (as busy as it may be). I can’t wait to see more great comedies in 2010 — Season 2 of Party Down, Glee returns in April, and Parks and Recreation was given several more episodes. What are your favorite comedies of 2009? Or do you think it was the year of…dramas? Gasp!
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