SFist Watches: Post-Vacation Television This Week
First, a hearty thanks to Eve for filling in while we were on vacation last week! We envy her fresh adventures with the TiVo. For us, TiVo is like an old boyfriend: Great to have around, and comfortable, but no longer...surprising.
Yes, we were on vacation last week, and truth be told, we did miss our TiVo a little bit. It was annoying trying to schedule the day around those 4 p.m. "Survivor" reruns, but then again, "scheduling our day" just meant deciding when to get up from our spot by the pool and go to our lovely, air-conditioned room. Needless to say, we didn't watch that much TV last week, which makes coming back to the weekly grind of boob tubing kind of difficult. So we're going to make this week's column easy: Three new shows, and one rerun.
Image of Buster Bluth, pre-seal mauling, from MSN.com
"Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List"
Why You Should Watch: Kathy Griffin has an appropriately jaded view of celebrity, and can be wickedly funny when interviewing people on the red carpet.
Why You Shouldn't: With all that plastic surgery, and those red carpet interviews, she's threatening to become this generation's Joan Rivers, and really, do we need another one? Won't we all be a little relieved when Joan is out of our lives forever? Also, a little Kathy Griffin goes a LONG way.
When to Watch or Avoid: Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on Bravo. And repeatedly throughout the week.
"Starved"
Why You Should Watch: F/X has successfully pushed the boundaries of scripted TV with their recent dramas "Rescue Me," "Over There," and "Nip/Tuck," so why wouldn't they succeed at a scripted comedy series? And with the button pushing premise of eating disorders, they just might do for comedy what "Nip/Tuck" did for medical dramas.
Why You Shouldn't: A comedy about people with pretty unfunny mental afflictions? Perhaps that's just a little too "edgy."
When to Watch or Avoid: Thursdays at 10 p.m. on F/X.
"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"
Why You Should Watch: Because if "Starved" turns out to be funny, you might as well stay on the same channel and keep watching.
Why You Shouldn't: Sitcoms are dead. At least sitcoms involving groups of friends that sit around talking about nothing.
When to Watch or Avoid: Thursdays at 10:30 p.m. on F/X.
Reruns of "Arrested Development"
Why You Should Watch: Because it's the funniest show on television. Period. It also gives us hope for the future of sitcoms. (Maybe they aren't dead after all.)
Why You Shouldn't: There is no reason not to watch it. NONE.
When to Watch: Four episodes run from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday nights on Fox.