Favorite TV shows 2-1

I shoulda asked you guys to vote for Rudolph or Christmas Vacation... nobody has challenged me on any of them. I expected some Tota yelling at least...




#2 Spaced - This British series from the late 90s/early 2000s was overshadowed in the states by Ricky Gervais' The Office and expensive music licensing. I own the all-tricked out DVD set (Region 2) that I bought overseas, and I've worn them down with the watching.

This show is almost the anti-Friends. It's the story of a twenty-something guy and girl pretending to be a couple to get a good deal on a flat. Simon Pegg's "Tim" and Jess Stevenson's "Daisy" are underachievers waiting for "it" to happen, that big "it" that'll help get their lives on track and start their careers. And it's funny, in visuals, dialouge, and situation.

Stevenson and Pegg co-wrote ever episode, and every episode was produced by Nira Park and directed by Edgar "Whip Pan" Wright. The consistency in tone and execution are exceptional, and the same folks in the same roles play a big part in that.

Spaced was pitched as a cross between The Simpsons, The X-Files and Northern Exposure. The X-Files, I don't get, unless it's the two leads and their not-getting-together chemistry. Simpsons for sure, and Northern Exposure certainly makes sense when you view the series per episode or as a whole.

Pegg, Wright, and Stevenson can do no wrong by me. Shaun of the Dead was my favorite movie of 2004. It's a romantic comedy, with zombies. And Spaced is a story about growing up and being responsible but never losing sight of the "prize."

I've not really painted a full picture of the series (all 14 episodes) and I don't want to. I want you to be able to see it some day and not have me ruin the jokes or the beats. I can only say that it's about the relationships in our lives that create our family, and the ups and downs that go with them. And it's about absurdity and wit, and lots of pop culture references. And lots of genuinely funny situational comedy. And it's my second favorite TV show of all time.




#1 the prisoner - This is no surprise to most of you. Patrick McGoohan's 1960s allegorical spy series has been my favorite show for over 12 years running.

The plot is this: McGoohan is a secret agent who resigns from her Majesty's Service. As he prepares to leave London, perhaps for good, a stranger shows up to his apartment and gases him. McGoohan's character wakes up in a bright, colorful "Village" where everyone is sunny and cheerful. Excpet, it's not like that at all. Everyone there is/was a spy and the purpose of the Village is to extract information from it's citizens. Everyone is assigned a number; McGoohan's prisoner is known only as Number Six. The Village's Number Two (serving an unseen Number One) is in charge of breaking Number Six. And this is only the show open.

Number Six is constantly trying to escape, and the Village is constantly trying to break him. That's the show, in a nutshell.

McGoohan was the highest paid TV star in history when he started the show. He was popular from Danger Man/Secret Agent Man. He was the first choice, over Sean Connery, to play James Bond. Instead, he choose to create the first TV mini-series, a show examining the role of the individual in society, mortal man versus the imprisoning nature of being mortal, and an open mind versus conformity.

The series is challenging, original, and daring. And funny, more so than not. Number Six is quite witty and sarcastic, in addition to being ten steps ahead most of the time. McGoohan was incredibly ballsy to create something new when he could have kept on taking a bigger paycheck for doing more of the same.

When the final epsiode "Fallout" aired there were riots in the streets in London. McGoohan had to move out of the country. That's how much his TV show meant to the viewing public.

This is another show my poor description won't do justice. I saw the prisoner at a great time in life: the middle of my teenage years. That's almost an ideal time to be presented with challenging entertainment that isn't easy to sum up in a few words. I think it's led to a lot of film and TV snobbery, but that doesn't really bother me. If my favorite show wasn't over 40-years old, maybe I'd be less harsh when watching something bland and unoriginal. Or maybe feel less guilt when I contribute something bland and unoriginal to video.

I was completely surprised by the last episode, especially the last two minutes. It's all there all along, all of it. And when Number Six leaves the butler at the door of his flat and there's that familiar sound... it's like cold metal plunges deep in your brain and the final analysis was in front of you the whole time.

Original storytelling, larger-than-life metaphors. Few images and words give me chills and fire my imagination the way the long shadow of Number Six paired with the series tag line "No man is just a number" do today, and, by sheer force of clarity, tomorrow.

"Who are you?" "Whose side are you on?" "What do you want?"

Few shows try to be this small and large at the same time, and only one of them succeeds for me.

****

So that's it. A bunch of comedies and led by two brit shows. I don't know what all of it means, but it was fun to think about and have to articulate in my dumb way.

Be seeing you...