My Pop Four...it's been a crazy summer, okay?

Someone posted an anonymous blog comment that said that this wonderful blog of ours has “fallen off the face of the earth.” It made me sad inside to read that, mostly because it feels true. However, I have faith that our blog will make its way back up to the Earth’s surface. Here is my way of throwing Pop-Pop a life-line. This blog is not dead. Like all good pop culture things, it took a summer hiatus.

One of the reasons I have been slow to post is that every time I started a Pop Ten list, Entertainment Weekly or some other quality entertainment publication would publish a countdown list on that exact topic, each time within the same week I was working on it. Since we thrive on originality, I kept putting off posting. Sometimes, however, you have to sacrifice your creativity of concept to say what you need to say. Well, dear readers, here is my towel and here is me throwing it in. While I can’t post on the most original topic, I can post, dammit. So here it is. My season premiere. Please enjoy My Pop Four Recommended Shows You Won’t Find on Network TV. Maybe when we’re into full swing with the new season of shows I can bump it up to ten. Until then, I highly recommend these shows to the general public. (Maybe I’ll work on shows for the minority later…)

DEXTER (Showtime)
This was a great find for the summer. Fellow Pop-Pop contributor, James, recommended this show to me through Netflix. James and I have a 92% compatibility rating on Netflix, so when he recommends, I listen. I could not be happier that I did! The simplest way to describe Dexter is that it’s about a serial killer who kills other killers. Sure, that sounds like a twisted plot, and in a way it really is, but somehow it works, and works incredibly well. Dexter is played by Michael C. Hall, and this part could not have been cast better. He is convincing in this role, which may be hard to believe if you remember him as David Fisher in Six Feet Under. He is likeable, multi-layered, and, frankly, dead sexy (no pun intended). The episodes explore the inner thoughts and workings of a person who can commit murder time and again without remorse, which itself is a fascinating concept. If you can handle blood, an average level of violence, and getting so hooked that you have to watch several episodes in a row, I would recommend this fantastic drama to you.

(This is where the story really begins to take shape:)



Season 1 is available on DVD, Season 2 starts Sept. 30th.

FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS (HBO)
Again, thanks to another Pop-Pop contributor, this time Jill, for urging me to take the step to watch this show. I’d heard about it and was familiar with the group, but she convinced me to take in a whole episode. Flight of the Conchords, or FOTC for short, is a great show if you like musical parodies and dry, sarcastic humor. Bret and Jemaine are two musicians from New Zealand (not England or Australia, as you will find out) who are learning what it’s like to be struggling musicians in NYC. Their manager, Murray, is naïve but good-hearted, and their stalker, Mel, is strangely likeable as well. Bret and Jemaine have fantastic comedic timing and subtlety that fills a bit of the Arrested Development void in my life. I have to give props to anyone who can make me laugh when practically everything they say is delivered in a monotone voice. To sum up the musical genius of the show, let me use this clip to illustrate:



If you can’t appreciate their musical spoofing efforts and Nana’s tea party, then you will not reap the benefits that this amazing show has to offer.

Season 1 just finished but the DVD will be out in November.

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM (HBO)
Okay, if you don’t know about this show and you love uncomfortable comedy, you need to go out and rent Curb Your Enthusiam ASAP. Larry David mixes elements of his real life and fiction in this comedy that will make you cringe. (Note: If you are one of those people that watches the American version of The Office and laughs “because it’s so uncomfortable,” you are in the infancy stage of uncomfortable. Take Seinfeld, multiply those awkward moments by ten, and you have Curb Your Enthusiasm.) Again, a lot of what makes this show great is the subtlety. I personally enjoy the different moments when Larry and Cheryl are in the car, and while Cheryl is trying to talk about something serious, Larry feels the need to talk about unimportant things, like grape pie. There are enough over-the-top moments of genius to make it appeal to the masses, but to fully appreciate the show, be open to the small comments and changes in tone of voice.



Seasons 1-5 available on DVD, Season 6 just started and if episode one is a good indication of the rest of the season, it will be another great one!

COUPLING (BBC America)
A lot of people know the story of the American version of Coupling. The British version of the show was great, so they brought it to the U.S., using almost exactly the same script (but adapting British references for American ones). It bombed. Well, of course when you hear that a show was unsuccessful in the U.S. (since we'll watch pretty much anything), you kind of wonder what made it so great across the pond. With the BBC version of Coupling, you can tell immediately. If I had to compare it to one show, I would say in my mind it most closely resembles Friends. However, this show is a bit more graphic when it discusses—ahem—physical relationships, and it seems to be more realistic about what happens in emotional relationships than Friends ever was. Steve, the leader of the males, goes on a rants about everything from why it’s important for men to have locks on bathroom doors to this:


In any case, the show is done well stylistically, too. When you least expect it, they create scenarios to illustrate their points, such as a medieval chess match to illustrate how differently men and women see the concept of sleeping at their partners’ apartments. While it may take a few episodes to warm up to the show, it is well worth following these characters through their relationships. Note: In Season 4, the character Jeff leaves. They replace him with a much less-funny but similar character named Oliver. While Season 4 is in the downswing, give it a chance because there are some great moments you won’t want to miss!

Seasons 1-4 (full series) on DVD. Showings at select times on BBC America.