I like the sound of my own little voice.

Today's Preachy, Self-Important Essay: Go, Underdogs!

I still love The Office so much. I wonder what ever happened with the Americanized version? I know we all were terrified at how it was going to suck right off the bat, and I am sure it would have to some degree. Even with someone like Steve Carell starring and with both Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant involved. But I am very curious to see any of the pilots, if they did indeed tape any? Curiouser and curiouser. And on that note...

I have refrained from any end of the year talk as my journal is already trite enough. But I would like to say this: 2004 was the year of the underdog. The Boston Red Sox are the poster child. But it's most obvious, to me anyway, in television. When the Office got nominated for A Golden Globe, I was shocked. But when they won, I was amazed. I was actually flabbergasted that a deserving show got recognition, and even more thrilled that all the idiots who didn't watch it were scratching their heads wondering if it was subtitled. But by far the most pleasing event to me were the Emmy wins for Arrested Development. I actually cried when they won their 1st of those 5 (please see this post, as my drunken behavior in general at the emmy "party" made Dan cry). As totally lame and dorky as that sounds, it really meant something to me. It was just so great to see the smart people win in what has become the stupidest, lowest common denominator field- television. And it's even cooler when audieces respond to smart programming and tell the fucking networks that it doesn't have to be the way it is with all the "wacky hi-jinx" dreck, that YES, people are smart enough to follow from episode to episode and don't have to have each one be "self contained", and that no, they don't need a goodamn laugh track. God I fucking hate hate hate laugh tracks. Laugh tracks are the equivalent of pity sex with a fat guy that has a sweaty back matted with wiry black hair.

So smart TV comedies, even ones that wrapped in the UK over 2 years ago, were the Bad News Bears* of 2004. And now, please cue the end song from "The Secret of my Success" as sung by Pat Benetar. I don't know the name, but the sentiment was right on.



*The Bad News Bears from the movie, not the TV show, which as we know, had a laugh track.