Suburgatory

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Andre Jurieu
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:38 pm
Location: Back in Milan (Ind.)

Re: TV of 2011

#1 Post by Andre Jurieu » Thu Sep 29, 2011 6:06 pm

Did anyone check out the premiere of Suburgatory last night? It's been getting moderately positive reviews and the creator is a former writer on P&R, so I'm wondering if it's worth a PVR-spot.

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domino harvey
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Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Suburgatory

#2 Post by domino harvey » Tue Oct 16, 2012 1:09 pm

Spent the last couple days getting caught up on Suburgatory and while it's not without problems, I enjoyed it a lot. It's a show that enables television math to explain: the bemused adolescent narration of Awkward. coupled with the unassailable suburban sarcasm of Daria as shown through a Pushing Daisies-esque candy colored cartoonishness. The best thing the series offers is it's reluctant suburban teen protagonist, charmingly played by Future Star Jane Levy-- yes, this is another show where the most appealing person present is somehow a social outcast, but she brings a lively daffyness to what could have been a cliche role. Not that this is a show afraid of cliches-- hell, the whole thing could be underwritten by TV Tropes. Sometimes this fares well for the series (Chris Parnell's henpecked husband routine isn't fresh but it's executed with admirable gusto) but it's also responsible for missteps like Cheryl Hines' grotesque plastic surgery-obsessed talking tanning bed, who is played confusingly by the series as both caricature and viable love interest.

Like most of these kind of shows, it works best when it allows itself specificity-- such as in the high school narc mistaken for a closeted homosexual, or the "cool" poetry teacher who freely assigns number grades to her students' feelings, or a high school jock who's carried literally everywhere post-win-- rather than trite "Aren't bland and boring white people so bland and boring?!"-styled barbs that too often make the cut. Still, despite its shortcomings, Levy is so good (and her lumpy neighbor sidekick develops an amusing sad sack enthusiasm as the season progresses that's also worth praising) and the show elicits more than enough laughs to warrant DVR devotion.

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swo17
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Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
Location: SLC, UT

Re: TV of 2012

#3 Post by swo17 » Tue Oct 16, 2012 1:24 pm

Hmmm...this show was also recommended to me by some friends that insisted I try out The Vampire Diaries which is surprisingly kind of a really good show!

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Andre Jurieu
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:38 pm
Location: Back in Milan (Ind.)

Re: TV of 2012

#4 Post by Andre Jurieu » Tue Oct 16, 2012 1:53 pm

swo17 wrote:Hmmm...this show was also recommended to me by some friends that insisted I try out The Vampire Diaries which is surprisingly kind of a really good show!
Definitely give Suburgatory a shot. It's uneven at times, but it's still quite endearing. I've been impressed by how often they sneak in a little measure of relate-able sadness for their lead-character within the show's cartoonish suburban setting. It also gained some guilty-pleasure points for reuniting Cher and Elton from Clueless towards the end of their season.

I really wish ABC would have created a comedy-block with Happy Endings, Suburgatory, and Don't Trust the B..., since they all share a similar perspective, but the network execs seem to believe the Modern Family audience will stick around to watch Suburgatory.

And I've also heard The Vampire Diaries is a surprising good ... though, despite my infatuation with Nina Dobrev, I find it difficult to justify watching CW shows.

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