I know I just wrote about season finales, but now seems like a good time to share my favorite TV shows. Why? Because I can, ok? And they’re really fun ones. Also, my character can probably be best described by them: Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) – my sarcasm, Saturday Night Live (SNL) – my episodic randomness with hills and valleys of popularity, and Doctor Who – a scifi-loving Anglophile with a dash of silliness.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: (1989-1999) Now, MST3K, you ask? Haven’t heard of it? Well, please take a watch, the movie is streaming on Netflix and there are full episodes on YouTube to check out – or check out the latest project of theirs RiffTrax which is also loads of fun. The premise is fairly simple, which is watch a bad (a very very bad) movie and ‘riff’ on what you’re seeing – which has hilarious results. The show’s ‘story’ is – a man (first Joel, then Mike) is shot into space where he’s forced to watch bad movies with two robots (Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo). They are guinea pigs in an experiment to find the worst film of all time, this way an evil scientist can take over the world with a bad film! Sound silly? Still with me? Good. Now I started watching this when I was in middle school, the second guy, Mike Nelson, had just become the ‘subject’ (Nelson had previously been a writer and head writer on the show). My brother and I would watch it together, and to this day, we will riff on things – as mentioned before when I wrote about Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Not sure about riffing? Well have you made a sarcastic comment about something you’re watching? Bam. You’ve riffed. You can thank me later. The main complaints I’ve heard from people about the show is that the movies aren’t that good, which is kinda the point, and that the characters are talking over the movie. I mean, these movies are really rubbish, the riffing definitely improves things. My favorite episodes for your perusal: Jack Frost, Over Drawn at the Memory Bank, Werewolf, Soultaker, and Time Chasers.
Saturday Night Live: (1975 – present) I suppose you could say I’m going from youngest to oldest show. Love it or hate it, I have always loved it. And since it predates me, I can honestly say I can’t remember a time it wasn’t on. Each cast brings something different to the table, and has inspired a lot of pop culture. I mean, come on! Land shark, Coneheads, “Jane you ignorant slut”, the Blues Brothers, Mr. Robinson, Gumbi, Church Lady, Wayne’s World, Dieter, Pat, Stuart Smalley, Daily Affirmations, The Cheerleaders, Night at the Roxbury guys, Mary Catherine Gallagher, Ladies Man, to the modern digital shorts, Target Lady, and Macgruber. There’s also the celebrity impersonations, which seem endless. And all the comedians that have come out of there! I really recommend Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live as Told by its Stars, Writers, and Guests. It’s a fantastic read about the behind the scenes to a lot of those iconic sketches and times. With all it’s history, it’s hard to encompass everything in this short little blog, I feel I need to be writing more of a dissertation, and I definitely don’t have time for that. But do know, I watch avidly every week it’s on, and like any show it has its hills and valleys. I do have to say I am a big fan of that Every Nerd Girl Tina Fey, so her years as Head Writer definitely stick out to me. And I don’t mind Seth Meyers too much.
Doctor Who: (1963-1989, 1996, 2005-present) Yes, that’s accurate for the time, or the official timeline for the show. I feel I mentioned a lot of why this one was important to me before (the whole named after a companion thing). Ever been curious and not sure where to start? I have come up with a list for those willing to try: (Don’t start with the old ones just yet, wait until you’ve watched the entirety of the new ones before venturing out) – “Blink”, “Girl in the Fireplace”, “The Doctor’s Wife”, “Vincent and the Doctor” (Have hankies ready for this one), and then start at the beginning of the new series with Eccleston. You’ll get a taste of what’s to come, what the Doctor’s about, and then take the journey with the new series. Then, if you’ve indoctrinated yourself enough (puns!), you can always try the old series. I’m very fond of the Fourth (Tom Baker) and Fifth (Peter Davison) Doctors, including “The Key to Time” which spanned a whole season for the Fourth Doctor and I just read the Fifth Doctor’s episode in which he regenerates into the Sixth Doctor “The Caves of Androzani” is considered the best episode of Doctor Who of all time. Of course, any episodes with everyone’s favorite companion, Sarah Jane Smith, is also good, and I have a soft spot for the Eighth Doctor, who might have only gotten a movie, but I read his adventures in some old BBC Doctor Who Novels. I even wrote a piece about Paul McGann, who plays the Eighth Doctor, on my Tumblr.
I hope you enjoyed this installment. And who knows, I might elaborate on episodes later. Plus I have other favorites, such as dead like me, Black Books, Coupling, Game of Thrones, and Downton Abbey. So maybe I’ll sit down and write on some of those sometime.
Cheers!
Redheaded Rewrites 