(no subject)
i'm not going to lie to you, friends who read this journal. i am obsessed with arrested development. it's probably the funniest tv comedy i've ever seen, and, unless the office steps it up a few notches, i probably won't ever like another show as much as i like this one. and it's tragic, really, that i love a show that got cancelled for lack of ratings. i have a few theories about why, but i was reading an old article about the show because that's what i do at 2:30 in the morning. will arnett, who plays gob, said this quote that made me realize just why i love arrested development so much and just why i really can't stand most sitcoms with laugh tracks:
[The only downer about working on "Arrested," Arnett says, is the fact that more people don't watch it. The series draws about 6.1 million viewers a week.
"I had someone say to me [recently], someone I respect as a comedian and a comedic mind ... that -- you know the show is very dry [creator Mitch Hurwitz] and the writers sort of push the envelope with just being extraordinarily dry and witty and subtle -- that ultimately America gets to the point where it says, 'Look, man, I know what you're trying to do. I get it. Sometimes it's an anti-joke or sometimes it's super-super-dry. I don't want that. I'm busy, I gotta fold my laundry, I want you to put a laugh track in, show me where to laugh, show me where the jokes are and make it easy for me, because I don't have time to play this game.' I think there's some truth to that."]
it's probably true, that most sitcoms have laugh tracks to show you where to laugh. one character gets set up for a joke and literally pauses while you, at home, have a second to mull over the joke and laugh along with some canned laughter. the executives do that to make the show more appealing to a broader audience who wouldn't otherwise get the joke, but now they feel like they get it because they know where to laugh. that seems a little degrading to me. i like to work for my laughs, to sit back and think and then work through what made it funny and whether it's situational or slapstick or whatever. that probably has something to do with how, deep down, i want to be a standup comedian. i just love picking apart comedy, and this show is perfect for that. i get to decide what's funny and what's not. will arnett screaming "BEES?! BEADS?!" is funny. anything in that 70s show is not.
to be honest, i have no idea why i just ranted quite passionately about a tv show. i got 5 hours of sleep last night and took 5 hours of finals today, not to mention the extreme 4 hours of studying in between finals. i'm basically asleep right now. i have 3 episodes of AD left and i'm going to put off watching them until tomorrow. i know it will be worth it.
[The only downer about working on "Arrested," Arnett says, is the fact that more people don't watch it. The series draws about 6.1 million viewers a week.
"I had someone say to me [recently], someone I respect as a comedian and a comedic mind ... that -- you know the show is very dry [creator Mitch Hurwitz] and the writers sort of push the envelope with just being extraordinarily dry and witty and subtle -- that ultimately America gets to the point where it says, 'Look, man, I know what you're trying to do. I get it. Sometimes it's an anti-joke or sometimes it's super-super-dry. I don't want that. I'm busy, I gotta fold my laundry, I want you to put a laugh track in, show me where to laugh, show me where the jokes are and make it easy for me, because I don't have time to play this game.' I think there's some truth to that."]
it's probably true, that most sitcoms have laugh tracks to show you where to laugh. one character gets set up for a joke and literally pauses while you, at home, have a second to mull over the joke and laugh along with some canned laughter. the executives do that to make the show more appealing to a broader audience who wouldn't otherwise get the joke, but now they feel like they get it because they know where to laugh. that seems a little degrading to me. i like to work for my laughs, to sit back and think and then work through what made it funny and whether it's situational or slapstick or whatever. that probably has something to do with how, deep down, i want to be a standup comedian. i just love picking apart comedy, and this show is perfect for that. i get to decide what's funny and what's not. will arnett screaming "BEES?! BEADS?!" is funny. anything in that 70s show is not.
to be honest, i have no idea why i just ranted quite passionately about a tv show. i got 5 hours of sleep last night and took 5 hours of finals today, not to mention the extreme 4 hours of studying in between finals. i'm basically asleep right now. i have 3 episodes of AD left and i'm going to put off watching them until tomorrow. i know it will be worth it.