Earl Hickey’s karmic journey comes to an end in Season 4 of My Name is Earl. With prison and his third failed marriage behind him Earl gets back to his list, but he soon inadvertently outs Darrell – forcing Witness Protection to relocate Darrell and Joy, and Earl has to try to get them back. Among other things, Earl makes up for stealing an RV, breaking up Randy and his boyhood crush, ruining an astronaut suit, and wrecking a bookmobile. Yet try as it might, the show just can’t get back to the wit and humor of the first season. The comedy is still overly cartoonish and most of the characters have been turned into goofy caricatures with no resemblance to real people. However, there are a number of funny sketches and the low-brow jokes work to a degree. Additionally, the list of guest stars is quite impressive and features Seth Green, Jerry Van Dyke, David Arquette, Jenna Elfman, Jason Priestley, Jane Seymour, and Danny Glover. Season 4 of My Name Is Earl is the weakest of the series and is more concerned with telling wacky stories than good ones (leading NBC to cancel it).
Extraordinarily fun and full of laughs, Season 4 of The Simpsons marks the beginning of a golden age for the series where it seemingly could do no wrong. Featuring such classic episodes as “Kamp Krusty,” “Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie,” “Mr. Plow,” “Marge vs. the Monorail,” “I Love Lisa,” and “Krusty Gets Cancelled,” the writing is incredibly good and develops a lot of the supporting characters (such as Krusty the Clown). And, Phil Hartman takes on a greater role (becoming almost an unofficial cast member); voicing several new characters in addition to Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure. Plus, more celebrities than ever before sign on for cameos, including Tom Jones, Barry White, Brooke Shields, Johnny Carson, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Hugh Hefner, Leonard Nimoy, Adam West, and Bob Hope. Hilariously entertaining, The Simpsons’ fourth season solidifies the series as television’s premier animated family sitcom.
Steve Carell leaves The Office as it enters into a seventh season. When Holly returns to the Scranton branch she and Michael renew their relationship and decide to move away together, leading to a search for a new branch manager; meanwhile Andy continues to make advances toward Erin, and Jim and Pam attempt to balance their work life with raising a new baby. Carell’s much publicized exit from the series hangs large over the season, overshadowing the other character plotlines; although to be fair, the stuff with the Andy, Erin, and Gabe triangle and Jim and Pam’s baby issues aren’t all that interesting. The writing just isn’t as good as in past seasons, and focuses more on setting up jokes than in exploring characters and offering biting satire. Although, Michael Scott’s exit is handled pretty well and has some touching moments. Also, a couple a fun guest stars are featured, including Will Ferrell, Jim Carrey, James Spader, and Timothy Olyphant. While Season 7 of The Office offers a few laughs and entertains, the show is clearly in decline, with its best days behind it.
The third season of The Simpsons delivers a ton of hilarity as the series kicks into high gear. Moving more into satire and parody, the show comes up with some inspired and brilliant episodes this season; including “Bart the Murderer,” “Homer Defined,” “Flaming Moe’s,” and “Homer At the Bat” Additionally, musical guest stars Michael Jackson, Sting, Aerosmith, and Spinal Tap make appearances. And, previous guest stars Kelsey Grammer and Danny DeVito return to the series to reprise their characters of Sideshow Bob and Herbert Powell. The Simpsons has really grown as a series, and Season 3 shows how rich and well-developed it has become.
The Dunder-Mifflin family falls apart in Season 5 of The Office. Michael Scott has a whirlwind office romance and is eventually pushed into quitting Dunder-Mifflin and starting his own competing paper company; meanwhile Jim and Pan start to make wedding plans. Amy Ryan, Idris Elba, and Ellie Kemper join the cast as recurring characters and bring a fresh new energy. Taking a que from last season the show continues doing two-part episodes and crosses the 100th episode milestone, and is even tasked by NBC to do a special post-Super Bowl episode. The Office has come a long way in 5 seasons, and has proven not only to have staying power, but that it can consistently deliver the laughs.
Season 2 of Once Upon a Time proves to have a bit of magic, but it’s not as focused as Season 1. Jumping the shark from the get go, the series violates its premise by introducing historical figures into the mix, which creates an uneven tone. The series also weakens its storytelling ability by breaking up the main cast into two separate plot lines. Yet, overall the season follows the residents of Storybrooke, who have regained their fairy tale identities (with the breaking of the curse) but remain trapped within the city limits, and must face new villains that threaten to destroy them. It’s not a bad story arc, but the execution is hit-and-miss. Still, a host of new and exciting characters, including Sleeping Beauty, Captain Hook, and Dr. Frankenstein, are introduced. It takes a while, but eventually the second season of Once Upon a Time gets back to the compelling storytelling and action packed adventures that made the show a hit.
Bereft of ideas, Star Trek rips off Battlestar Galactica for its 4th series, Star Trek: Voyager. Thrown halfway across the galaxy and suffering from massive casualties, the U.S.S. Voyager embarks on a long journey to Earth after reforming its crew from a captured terrorist vessel and a pair of friendly aliens who offer to be their guides. Unfortunately the casting is rather poor, as none of the actors quite have the screen presence of previous Star Trek casts (except for Robert Picardo). And the series is unable to setup any interesting new alien races that compare to the traditional ones from the other series: i.e. Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians, etc. However, the show is still Star Trek and manages to deliver a few good episodes full of adventure and mystery. Season 1 of Star Trek: Voyager is pretty rough, but it has its moments and shows promise.
Jam packed with laughs, Futurama moves into its third season and pushes the series into unexplored territory. The show really opens up as the Planet Express ship goes to exciting new places. Full of hilarious adventures, Leela joins an environmental group to protect penguins, Zoidberg goes to Hollywood to make a movie with his uncle, Bender adopts a dozen orphans, and Fry is committed to a robot insane asylum. The season does a good job at developing the characters and their relationships, particularly Fry and Leela's. Additionally, secondary characters, such as Calculon, Capt. Brannigan, and Pres. Nixon, are used impressively well. And the season includes several notable guest stars, including Sarah Silverman, Lucy Liu, and Beck. Season 3 of Futurama continues to deliver the zany comedy that makes the series so incredibly entertaining.
Seinfeld hits the 100th episode milestone in Season 6, and shows no sign of letting up. Elaine gets back on her feet, taking a job as the personal assistant for eccentric businessman Mr. Pitt, George runs into trouble at his job with the New York Yankees, and Kramer and Newman team-up for more misadventures. Featuring such classic episodes as “The Switch,” “The Scofflaw,” “The Jimmy,” and “The Face Painter,” the writers continually go bigger and more outlandish with their comedy.; delivering a ton of laughs. Additionally, new recurring characters are introduced, including Tim Whatley, David Putty and J. Peterman. And a number of interesting guest stars make appearances, including Michelle Forbes, Patton Oswalt, Bryan Cranston, Jon Voight, Jon Lovitz, and Bette Midler. Seinfeld has come a long way in a 100 episodes and delivers a hilariously entertaining sixth season.
The Simpsons juggernaut just keeps on going into an eighth season full of fun and laughs. The adventures get bigger as the Simpsons move to a new city when Homer take a job with super-villain Hank Scorpio (“You Only Move Twice”), get investigated by the X-Files (“The Springfield Files”), and hire a magical nanny (“Simpsoncalifragilisticexpliala(d'oh)cious”). Also, Homer and Bart go into bootlegging when Springfield institutes Prohibition (“Homer vs. the 18th Amendment”), Lisa helps Mr. Burns regain his fortune after going bankrupt (“The Old Man and the Lisa”), and Marge launches a pretzel business with a little help from local mobster Fat Tony (“The Twisted World of Marge Simpson”). Additionally, the 1996 election is spoofed in “Treehouse of Horror VII” and Troy McClure hosts “The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase.” And as usual, a fantastic group of guest stars are featuring, including Albert Brooks, Rodney Dangerfield, Johnny Cash, David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Jack Lemmon, and Willem Dafoe. Ridiculously funny and incredibly entertaining, Season 8 of The Simpsons is one of best seasons of the series (if not thee best).
It’s up to Leslie Knope to save the Parks Department in Season 3 of Parks and Recreation. With the town broke and the government shutdown, Leslie comes up with an audacious plan to get out of bankruptcy by reviving the old Harvest Festival. Adam Scott and Rob Lowe join the cast and bring new energy to the show, mixing up the character dynamics. Also, the reduction to 16-episodes helps to make the storytelling a little tighter and it’s more serialized. No longer a pseudo Office spin-off , Parks and Recreation comes into its own in Season 3, finding the right mix of characters and cementing its style of comedy.
Kevin Bacon stars in the Fox crime-drama The Following. In its first season former FBI agent Ryan Hardy is recalled when charismatic serial killer Joe Carroll breaks out of prison; but this is just the beginning as Carroll puts into motion an elaborate plan to exact revenge on Hardy (who was responsible for his capture) that involves dozens of his cult followers that he's been building up during his imprisonment. The show follows a 24-esque type structure as every 3-4 episodes the focus moves to a new cell or stage in Carroll's plan. And this adds an air of excitement and intrigue; as the plot is constantly building and shifting in direction. Bacon does an incredible job at carrying the series and develops Ryan Hardy into a compelling character. Still, the show takes a lot of liberties and stretches the bounds of believability. While Season 1 of The Following may be a little over-the-top, it's full of thrills and suspense.
The Muppet Show continues the laughs into a second season of variety entertainment. Some of the featured guest stars include Bob Hope, Judy Collins, Steve Martin, Julie Andrews, Elton John, John Cleese, and George Burns. A couple of the skits from Season 1 are dropped, such as Vendaface and Wayne and Wanda, but most of the skits are back: Pigs in Space, Veterinarian Hospital, Muppet Labs, Ballroom dancing, Muppet News, etc. Yet, the show finds ways to stay fresh by changing up the format occasionally; such as having the Steve Martin episode be an audition, and having Bob Hope constantly leave his episode to do charities and come back. And for the most part, the acts are well tailored to the guests, and the episodes do a good job at balancing the guest spots with the backstage gags and Muppet only sketches. Delivering a great second season, The Muppet Show in one of the best family variety shows on television.
From The Simpsons creator Matt Groening comes the animated sci-fi comedy Futurama. Smart and satirical, the show delivers a unique and edgy brand of comedy that's a lot of fun. Season 1 follows a pizza delivery boy named Fry who is accidentally cryogenically frozen on New Year's Eve 2000 and wakes up a thousand years later to a future that he never could have imagined. It's an interesting setup and the show does a good job at world building; creating colorful aliens and strange new technologies for the 31st century. And aside from its great cast of regular characters, some special guest stars stop by; including Leonard Nimoy, Pamela Anderson, and the Beastie Boys. Futurama's first season is wonderfully charming, and brilliantly spoofs the sci-fi genre.
South Park ups the social commentary in Season 5 as the show deals with post-9/11 America. This season the boys end up in Afghanistan and get caught up in the search for Osama bin Laden, Mr. Garrison attempts to put the airlines out of business by inventing a new mode of transportation called the IT, and Cartman works to legalize stem cell research to save Kenny when he gets a terminal disease. Also, fan favorite character Towelie is introduced (“Don’t forget to bring a towel”), as well as Kyle’s cousin Kyle. The satire is really clever and more irreverent than ever; taking on television censorship, sex education, the War on Terror, and government bailouts. Full of laughs, Season 5 of South Park is incredibly entertaining.
Supernatural continues to fall apart in Season 7 as it struggles to find new story arcs. Castiel’s reign as the new god comes to a quick end as the Leviathan from Purgatory within him begin tearing him apart and break free, leading the Winchesters on a quest to find a way to kill them before they can enact their plans for world domination. The writers do all they can to try to make the Leviathan compelling and formidable villains, but they just come off as overpowered boogeymen. And in a desperate move, the show kills off some of its fan-favorite characters and introduces new ones to change things up and build some kind of momentum. Still, there are a couple of interesting additions to the series mythology, and several notable guest stars are featured, includes James Marsters, Charisma Carpenter, Meghan Ory, Nicholas Lea, Jason Dohring, and Felicia Day. Settling into mediocrity, Season 7 of Supernatural is coasting on fumes.
Free of the shadow organization that burned him, Michael Westen faces new dangers in Season 3 of Burn Notice. Finally out from under the control of the people that burned him, Michael works to get back into the CIA and is soon contacted by an agent that offers him a path to makings that happen, but it may be too good to be true. Moon Bloodgood, Ben Shenkman, and Chris Vance join the cast as recurring characters, and several interesting guest stars are featured, including Paul Blackthorne, Tyne Daly (Cagney & Lacey reunion), Danny Trejo, and Garret Dillahunt. And as usual, the fight choreography and chase scenes are especially well-done and add a lot of energy to the episodes. One of USA’s strongest shows, Burn Notice delivers an action-packed and thrilling third season.
Major changes await the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mifflin in the fourth season of The Office. When Ryan takes over Jan’s old job and instituted a number of new initiatives Michael tries to fight back; meanwhile Michael’s relationship with Jan takes a turn for the worse as Jim and Pam’s relationship gets more serious. One of the odder seasons of the series, the show tries out several hour long episodes (to varying effect) and was hit hard by the 2007-2008 Writers Strike (as several of the cast members are also show-writers). Thus, the season has some trouble getting into a rhythm and a few of the story arcs get interrupted or are rushed. Still, the comedy is as sharp as ever and the show continues to address new and interesting aspects of the workplace; including advertising, inter-branch conflicts, and legal depositions. Additionally, a couple of last season’s guest directors return, including Jason Reitman and Joss Whedon. Season 4 of The Office has its rough spots, but manages to power through and deliver the laughs and entertaining shenanigans that fans have come to love.
“Oh my god, they killed Kenny!” Hilariously entertaining, Season 1 of Comedy Central’s hit animated series South Park delivers a ton of laughs. The show follows a group of elementary school students named Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny as they get into wacky adventures, including alien abductions, an erupting volcano, a zombie outbreak, wild turkey attacks, and a rampaging genetic clone. The animation is rather crude, but the simpleness has a sort of charm to it and serves as a clever juxtaposition to the adult humor. And the comedy is really well-written, with plenty of no holds barred lampooning of celebrities. Fresh and exciting, South Park delivers an incredible first season.
From visionary Gene Roddenberry comes the classic science fiction series Star Trek. Season 1 follow the starship Enterprise as it boldly goes where no man has gone before – exploring the galaxy, meeting new alien races, and battling the imperialistic Klingons. Featuring such episodes as “The Enemy Within,” “Dagger of the Mind,” “Balance of Terror,” “Space Seed,” and “The City on the Edge of Forever,” the series really hits the ground running; tackling powerful and provocative social and political issues while also delivering plenty of action and adventure. Starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley, the show has a great cast that has extraordinarily good chemistry together. Also, the costumes, sets designs, and makeup effects hold up remarkable well (for the most part), having a retro ‘60s sci-fi aesthetic; which the remastered editions do an impressive job of sticking to. Season 1 of Star Trek is incredibly strong and lays the foundation for what would become one of the most influential and beloved science fiction franchises.
Yes, I assure you my friends, Thriller returns for a second season of ghoulish tales of the macabre. Dropping the “It’s a Thriller” from the introduction, the show moves toward the supernatural (and then strangely back toward crime stories in the last stretch of episodes). Still, overall the show’s tone is more consistent than in the first season. The guest stars featured include Elizabeth Montgomery, John Carradine, Ursula Andress, Dick York, and George Kennedy. And Karloff gets in on the fun, starring in a couple of episodes himself. Some of the highlights include “What Beckoning Ghost?,” “The Premature Burial,” “La Strega,” “A Wig For Miss Devore,” and “The Incredible Doktor Markesan.” Although, as with any anthology series, there are a number of episodes that don’t work. While the show’s still struggling to find its identity, Season 2 of Thriller is full of mystery and delivers some frightful chills.
The vampire with a soul heads to Los Angeles to seek redemption in Season 1 of Angel, a spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. After moving to LA Angel is met by a half-demon named Doyle who receives visions from the Powers That Be and has been sent to help Angel on his mission to “help the helpless.” And before long they are joined by another recent LA transplant, Cordelia Chase; a friend of Angel’s from Sunnydale who has come to LA seeking fortune and fame but takes a secretarial job with Angel while waiting for her acting career to take off. The show does a surprisingly good job at both setting itself up as its own series while still connecting back to Buffy the Vampire Slayer with crossovers and interconnecting storylines featuring guest appearances by Sarah Michelle Gellar, James Marsters, Seth Green, and Eliza Dushku. Yet it’s not a Buffy clone; using a different visual aesthetic and a darker tone. Delivering a strong first season, Angel has the potential to go places and explore issues that Buffy never could.
Going where no Trek series has gone before, Enterprise is a daring and edgy science-fiction television show. Set as a prequel to the other Trek series, Starfleet ventures out into space for the first time with its first long-range ship, the USS Enterprise, to explore strange new worlds and meet new civilizations. The show has a few drawbacks, given the limits that come with prequels, but it’s also able to make old things new and put a spin on the familiar aliens and technologies of Star Trek. The series is also able to find a good balance of serial and episodic storytelling by having one-off adventures and an overarching plot involving a Temporal Colds War. However, the character dynamics of the crew are a bit hit and miss; though the Archer and T’Pol relationship is quite compelling. Season 1 of Enterprise provides a thrilling and adventurous journey into an uncharted part of the Star Trek Universe for both new viewers and dedicated fans alike.
The adventures get more crazy and outrageous in South Park’s fourth season. Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny embark on a serious of schemes to get $1 million dollars by posing as tooth fairies, starting a boy band, and leading a religious crusade. And the town gets embroiled in controversy after controversy when Timmy, a handicapped kid, becomes the leader if a local rock band, Chef protests the South Park flag, and the Marshes take in a group of orphans from Romania. Additionally, there are Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday specials, and Pip finally get is very own episode in a Masterpiece Theatre spoof. But most importantly, the boys graduate to Fourth Grade and get a new teacher, Miss Choksondik. Continuing to deliver smart and hilarious satire, Season 4 of South Park keeps pushing bounders and delivering laughs.
The second season of South Park gets even crazier as the boys get into more hilarious antics. This season Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny help solve the case of a serial chicken molester, go to the world dodgeball championship, foil a nefarious plot by a planetarium owner, throw a music concert to save Chef, do battle with their evil selves from a parallel dimension, and discover the mysterious Underpants Gnomes. Additionally, the show pulls a wild April Fool’s joke by kicking off the season with a full-length Terrence and Phillip episode (instead of the promised conclusion to the “Who’s Cartman’s Mom?” mystery). The animation is improved but still sticks to the crude cardboard cutout look, and the satire is incredibly sharp and clever. The parodies are also extremely funny; riffing on Star Trek, the Grinch, Poltergeist, Titanic, America’s Most Wanted, and America’s Funniest Home Videos. The laughs keep coming in Season 2 as South Park adds more characters are gets more ambitious in its storytelling.
The Alpha Quadrant is plunged into war in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s sixth season. With the Dominion occupying Deep Space Nine, Kira and Odo decide to resurrect the resistance; meanwhile Captain Sisko and his crew carry out daring attacks against the Dominion with the Defiant. Additionally, Worf and Dax get married, Bashir attempts to help a group of genetically engineered misfits, and Quark comes to the aid of the Grand Nagus when he’s deposed. A rather eclectic season, Season 6 features some of the best episodes of the series (“In the Pale Moon Light”) and some of the worst (“Profit and Lace”). It also introduces several fan-favorite characters, including Holodeck lounge singer Vic Fontaine and Sector 31 secret agent Sloan, and kills off a main character (which Star Trek has never been good at). Yet while it has its problems and is uneven at times, Season 6 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine doesn’t lack for ambition, and is incredibly entertaining and is full of thrills.
In Season 3 of Haven all the answers are finally revealed (or at least most of them are). This season Audrey must find the Colorado Kid before a meteor shower hits Haven; meanwhile a secret order known as the Guard arises. Some new characters are added to the show that broadens the scope of the series, and new mysteries are introduced that deepen the show’s mythology. Additionally, this season features some interesting themed episodes, including a Halloween episode and a time travel episode. Season 3 continues to deliver thrilling science-fiction adventures that make Haven the fun and entertaining show that it is.
Produced by Wes Craven and loosely based on the films, Scream is a mystery/horror television series. In Season 1 a small town community is rocked by a string of murders that are seemingly related to a local legend about a serial killer known as Brandon James. For the most part the show maintains the tone and spirit of the films; offering insightful commentary about the horror genre and playing on the conventions of film/television. However, the writing isn't very strong, and neither is the acting. Additionally, the characters aren't very realistic, and the show tries to make everyone a suspect at some point (resulting in a number of inconsistencies). Still, the series does a fairly good job at building intrigue and delivers some intense thrills. Season 1 of Scream has its problems, but overall it's entertaining and shows potential.
Criminal Court Part 2 is in session for more laughs as Night Court enters into a second season. The characters start to get explored more, with Harry developing a budding romance with Billie (the new defense attorney) and Mac getting married to Quon Le (a long-time friend from Vietnam). Ellen Foley proves to be a good addition to the cast and has strong chemistry with her co-stars. And some exciting guest stars are featured, including John Astin, Michael Richards, James Cromwell, and Lou Ferrigno. Additionally, future cast member Markie Post makes her first appearance as a guest star. The comedy is still a little cheesy and slapstick-ish, but it has a kind of quaint charm to it. It’s not without its problems, but Season 2 of Night Court is a lot of fun.
Rip-roaringly fun, Futurama delivers non-stop laughs in Season 4. The writing is incredibly good with lots of clever satire and parodies, resulting in ridiculously hilarious episodes like "Roswell That Ends Well," "A Tale of Two Santas," and "Godfellas." But the capstone has to be the Star Trek reunion episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before," which features the entire original cast (minus DeForest Kelley and James Doohan). However, the guest stars don't stop there; Sigourney Weaver, Lucy Liu, and Hank Aaron make appearances throughout the season. But the episodes aren't all wild hijinks and craziness, as there's some nice character building with Leela finding her parents and Bender facing an existential crisis after meeting "god." Extraordinarily entertaining, Season 4 of Futurama is one of the best seasons of the series.
