Continuing our Ben Stiller theme, today we're taking a look at Ben Stiller's All Time Top Five cameos in other people's movies. Stiller has practically made a cottage industry of appearing for short bursts in other people's movies. It's pretty much gotten to the point where if there's a 'Frat Pack' member starring in the movie, you can count on good ole' Ben dropping by and saying something of varying humorous quality. Lately he's just been mailing it in (see: Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny), doing little more than showing up and waiting for the inevitable audience applause. But it wasn't always that way...without further ado, the All Time Top Five Ben Stiller cameos.
5) Wedding Crashers - He was pretty funny in thi...oh, wait, what's that? He wasn't actually in this one? Oh. I guess I just assumed that everyone in the so-called 'Frat Pack' cameoed since the damn thing dragged on for so long.
4) Arrested Development - Stiller had a hilarious recurring role on the gone-before-its-time sitcom as a magician--excuse me, Illusionist. His Tony Wonder--whose main trick was to make food appear to have come out of various parts of his body (at great anguish to himself), was another hilariously eccentric character in a show full of them.
3) Happy Gilmore - "You can trouble me for a warm glass of shut-the-hell-up. Now, you will go to sleep or I will put you to sleep. Check out the name tag. You're in my world now, grandma." Classic. Bonus points for the killer 'stache.
2) Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy - Speaking of killer 'staches, Stiller went to the well again in the absurd--but brilliant--News Anchor fight scene, sporting a the sweet 'stache and long hair as Arturo Mendes, anchor of the Spanish Language news. Truly this scene was cameo heaven, but it earns Stiller the number two spot for holding his own, beetches!
1) Extras - Another show known for it's hilarious celeb cameos, Stiller parodied (we hope) himself to hilarious effect as a director with an enormous ego. When Stiller tells the writer of the film to "stop going on about your fucking dead wife" he takes it up a notch. When he starts spouting off the worldwide grosses of his movies and kissing Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and slapping Jennifer Aniston's ass, it's the icing on the cake. It still counts!
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
All Time Top Five Worst Ben Stiller Movies
The Ben Stiller crapfest 'A Night at the Museum' comes out on DVD today, and, like most Ben Stiller movies, you'll either love it or hate it (I assume anyone over the age of 7 falls into the 'hate it' category). I'd initially considered saving this list for the now seemingly inevitable release of the sure to be god-awful 'Little Fockers', but decided, why wait? Because that's the thing with Ben Stiller; for every 'Zoolander', there's a 'Mystery Men'; for every 'Meet the Parents' there's a 'Meet the Fockers' and so on.
Therefore, it seems like a good idea to delve into the All Time Top Five Worst Ben Stiller movies. Below lies the worst of the worst. (If you're a Ben Stiller fan and don't appreciate the hating on his poorer choices, don't fret; tomorrow we'll continue the Ben Stiller theme, but in a more positive way. We'll look at the All Time Top Five Ben Stiller cameos in other people's movies, because sometimes it's best to get your Stiller in small doses.)
5) Untitled Christine Taylor Project - Okay, this one might be cheating a little bit, since it hasn't actually happened yet, and is, technically, a television show, but come on--you know it's gonna suck.
4) Duplex - I haven't actually seen this one, but sometimes you don't have to.
3) Mystery Men - I'll give this movie some positive points for having such an outstanding cast, but then I'll take all of those points away--and then some--for squandering said cast so horribly. Incidentally, I think it is this movie that singlehandedly forced the skinny half of the 'Good Burger' team, Kel Mitchell, into the so truly awful it's actually oddly compelling 'Dance 360' while his more plump co-star moved onto the greener (sort of) pastures of SNL, replacing Horatio Sanz as the unfunny fat guy who laughs through every sketch he's in. (Interesting bit of trivia: with this movie, Ben Stiller has co-starred with both halves of the Dynamic Duo of Keenan and Kel, also starring in 'Heavyweights' with a younger, fatter Keenan.)
2) Keeping the Faith - What was the suckiest thing about this movie? Could it have been the fact that it wasn't at all funny? Maybe. The fact that they cast the ever-annoying Dharma as the love interest? Quite possibly. Perhaps it was the way they portrayed religious stereotypes for cheap laughs? Almost definitely. Wait, no, maybe it was the way Ben Stiller and Edward Norton--two guys that few people would confuse for 'cool'--portrayed a 'hip' Rabbi and a 'chill' priest who wear leather jackets and sunglasses and make religion fun and exciting. Most assuredly. But no, I think there is a more compelling case for this movie's suckitude. The tagline. "If you have to believe in something, you might as well believe in love." *Throws up in mouth* Moving on.
1) Envy - This movie is just awful. Don't watch it, unless you want to get extremely angry wondering how a cast of Stiller, Jack Black, Christopher Walken, Academy Award Winner Rachel Weisz, and the hilarious Amy Poehler could could all be so horribly wasted on such a craptastic film. There really isn't anything redeemable about it, which makes it the perfect choice for Ben Stiller's crappiest of many, many crappy films.
Crappy Ben Stiller Movies that just missed the cut: Meet the Fockers (a crapfest from start to finish, sure, but...well, we could only fit 5 movies), Heavyweights (Stiller is actually the only good thing about this crappy Disney flick about fat kids at a fat camp, so it hardly seems fair to punish him for it), Reality Bites (and so did this movie), and Along Came Polly (saved by Phillip Seymour Hoffman's hilarious "I just sharted," bit. How can a movie with something that sublime be the worst anything?).
Therefore, it seems like a good idea to delve into the All Time Top Five Worst Ben Stiller movies. Below lies the worst of the worst. (If you're a Ben Stiller fan and don't appreciate the hating on his poorer choices, don't fret; tomorrow we'll continue the Ben Stiller theme, but in a more positive way. We'll look at the All Time Top Five Ben Stiller cameos in other people's movies, because sometimes it's best to get your Stiller in small doses.)
5) Untitled Christine Taylor Project - Okay, this one might be cheating a little bit, since it hasn't actually happened yet, and is, technically, a television show, but come on--you know it's gonna suck.
4) Duplex - I haven't actually seen this one, but sometimes you don't have to.
3) Mystery Men - I'll give this movie some positive points for having such an outstanding cast, but then I'll take all of those points away--and then some--for squandering said cast so horribly. Incidentally, I think it is this movie that singlehandedly forced the skinny half of the 'Good Burger' team, Kel Mitchell, into the so truly awful it's actually oddly compelling 'Dance 360' while his more plump co-star moved onto the greener (sort of) pastures of SNL, replacing Horatio Sanz as the unfunny fat guy who laughs through every sketch he's in. (Interesting bit of trivia: with this movie, Ben Stiller has co-starred with both halves of the Dynamic Duo of Keenan and Kel, also starring in 'Heavyweights' with a younger, fatter Keenan.)
2) Keeping the Faith - What was the suckiest thing about this movie? Could it have been the fact that it wasn't at all funny? Maybe. The fact that they cast the ever-annoying Dharma as the love interest? Quite possibly. Perhaps it was the way they portrayed religious stereotypes for cheap laughs? Almost definitely. Wait, no, maybe it was the way Ben Stiller and Edward Norton--two guys that few people would confuse for 'cool'--portrayed a 'hip' Rabbi and a 'chill' priest who wear leather jackets and sunglasses and make religion fun and exciting. Most assuredly. But no, I think there is a more compelling case for this movie's suckitude. The tagline. "If you have to believe in something, you might as well believe in love." *Throws up in mouth* Moving on.
1) Envy - This movie is just awful. Don't watch it, unless you want to get extremely angry wondering how a cast of Stiller, Jack Black, Christopher Walken, Academy Award Winner Rachel Weisz, and the hilarious Amy Poehler could could all be so horribly wasted on such a craptastic film. There really isn't anything redeemable about it, which makes it the perfect choice for Ben Stiller's crappiest of many, many crappy films.
Crappy Ben Stiller Movies that just missed the cut: Meet the Fockers (a crapfest from start to finish, sure, but...well, we could only fit 5 movies), Heavyweights (Stiller is actually the only good thing about this crappy Disney flick about fat kids at a fat camp, so it hardly seems fair to punish him for it), Reality Bites (and so did this movie), and Along Came Polly (saved by Phillip Seymour Hoffman's hilarious "I just sharted," bit. How can a movie with something that sublime be the worst anything?).
Monday, April 23, 2007
All Time Top Five Talking Pigs
In honor of Alec Baldwin calling his daughter a "rude, thoughtless little pig," we thought it'd be fun to take a look at some of the great talking pigs through history. Without further ado, the All Time Top Five Best Talking Pigs Ever.
5) Rosie O'Don...we kid Rosie because we love her. The real list:
5) Arnold the Talking Pig from 'Green Acres' - I don't really know much about 'Green Acres' aside from the theme song (which is now no doubt stuck in your head, much to your chagrin I'm sure), but I do know they had a talking pig. Which is kind of cool. Otherwise I'm not sure the show was worth a damn. So, for making that show at least appear worthwhile, Arnold makes this list. Bonus points for the (debunked) urban legend that the cast ate Arnold once filming wrapped.
4) Wilbur from 'Charlotte's Web' - I hate to do this, mainly because I always thought Wilbur was kind of a whiny wimp, but the fact of the matter is, the market for talking pigs is pretty dry. So Whiny Wilbur the Wuss makes it by default.
3) Babe the Gallant Pig from 'Babe' - It might seem odd that I'm no fan of Wilbur but a great admirer of Babe the Gallant Pig from Babe, but, what can I say. Spiders are gross, but the pigs that played Babe were really cute. I just liked the movie I guess. It has a quiet, understated dignity that I find charming.
2) The 3 Little Pigs - The 3 Little Pigs, while profoundly stupid (except for the one who built a brick house, of course), have certainly etched themselves a place in our collective consciousness. They also get bonus points for not only being able to speak (and hold conversations--in rhyme!), but also for being such astute carpenters as to be able to erect livable houses. I mean, that's pretty impressive. I bet Baldwin's daughter can't do that.
1) Porky the Pig - The obvious winner, if only because I don't even need to tell you where he is from. Porky is obviously the world's most famous talking pig, even if he struggles to do so without stuttering. Perhaps this is his most enduring charm, the fact that he is able to overcome his speech problems and live a healthy, normal life. Or maybe it's the fact that he's a lovable pervert who runs around without pants. Either way, congratulations to Porky, the world's greatest talking pig.
Talking Pigs That Just Missed: Napoleon and the other 'Animal Farm' pigs (not really famous enough, despite the allegorical connections), Gordy from that godawful Babe rip-off 'Gordy' (talking pig who made it big my ass), Your Toes (I wanted to include them but then they went "wee, wee, wee" all the way home, so I said screw it).
5) Rosie O'Don...we kid Rosie because we love her. The real list:
5) Arnold the Talking Pig from 'Green Acres' - I don't really know much about 'Green Acres' aside from the theme song (which is now no doubt stuck in your head, much to your chagrin I'm sure), but I do know they had a talking pig. Which is kind of cool. Otherwise I'm not sure the show was worth a damn. So, for making that show at least appear worthwhile, Arnold makes this list. Bonus points for the (debunked) urban legend that the cast ate Arnold once filming wrapped.
4) Wilbur from 'Charlotte's Web' - I hate to do this, mainly because I always thought Wilbur was kind of a whiny wimp, but the fact of the matter is, the market for talking pigs is pretty dry. So Whiny Wilbur the Wuss makes it by default.
3) Babe the Gallant Pig from 'Babe' - It might seem odd that I'm no fan of Wilbur but a great admirer of Babe the Gallant Pig from Babe, but, what can I say. Spiders are gross, but the pigs that played Babe were really cute. I just liked the movie I guess. It has a quiet, understated dignity that I find charming.
2) The 3 Little Pigs - The 3 Little Pigs, while profoundly stupid (except for the one who built a brick house, of course), have certainly etched themselves a place in our collective consciousness. They also get bonus points for not only being able to speak (and hold conversations--in rhyme!), but also for being such astute carpenters as to be able to erect livable houses. I mean, that's pretty impressive. I bet Baldwin's daughter can't do that.
1) Porky the Pig - The obvious winner, if only because I don't even need to tell you where he is from. Porky is obviously the world's most famous talking pig, even if he struggles to do so without stuttering. Perhaps this is his most enduring charm, the fact that he is able to overcome his speech problems and live a healthy, normal life. Or maybe it's the fact that he's a lovable pervert who runs around without pants. Either way, congratulations to Porky, the world's greatest talking pig.
Talking Pigs That Just Missed: Napoleon and the other 'Animal Farm' pigs (not really famous enough, despite the allegorical connections), Gordy from that godawful Babe rip-off 'Gordy' (talking pig who made it big my ass), Your Toes (I wanted to include them but then they went "wee, wee, wee" all the way home, so I said screw it).
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
All Time Top Five Scariest Movie Villains
I was reading something about movie villains today, and it got me thinking; let's say you hear something in the middle of the night, stumble out of bed and investigate. You look around briefly but don't see anything out of the ordinary, so you head to the bathroom and bend over to rinse your face with water briefly. You turn off the faucet and look up, and there, standing behind you is ___________, the villain from ___________. Who would be the scariest movie villain to see behind you in the mirror. Here's the definitive Top Five.
5) Freddy Krueger/Jason Vorhees/Michael Myers - It's a 3 way tie for this one, basically because they are the generic stock slasher flick villain you'd hate to see pretty much anywhere. They're scary, sure, but it seems like a cop-out to take up 3 seperate spots on the list with them. This seems about right. (Points lost for seeing Freddy Krueger in the mirror behind you, because that's the point where you'd wake up and realize it was just a dream.)
4) Darth Vader - This of course assumes that we're talking the James Earl Jones voiced giant and not the whiny Hayden Christensen one. To be honest, this guy would've been much higher on the list if George Lucas hadn't decided to defile his legacy with those godawful prequels. Seemed like a good idea at the time, didn't it? Darth also loses points for basically being the Emperor's bitch.
3) A Vampire of Pretty Much Any Type - Dracula maybe? It doesn't matter. Vampires just freak me out.
2) The Little Girl from the Exorcist - When she was possessed of course. So maybe, more appropriately, the answer to this one is "the Devil when possessing somebody", but that seems more cumbersome. That girl was just scary looking. Two things that amazed me about that movie. 1) That it took them so long to get this girl checked out, and that they also seemed to general have some sort of contact with her. Once she started speaking in tongues and looking creepy, I'd be out. But that's just me. 2) That the little girl grew up to be pretty hot, actually. Even now she's kind of a MILF.
1) Wicked Witch of the West - The Wicked Witch of the West scared the crap out of me as a kid, and I gotta tell you, she still sort of scares me. I used to have all kinds of nightmares involving the exact scenario I laid out in the opening paragraph when I was younger. I used to think I'd grow out of it, but I still sometimes have nightmares about her. She was genuinely scary. The weird thing about it, is that the movie is so old (and really pretty boring when she's not around) and yet I can't imagine that they could make her look scarier if they remade that film today. They'd probably just CGI the character or something. Margaret Hamilton was just perfectly frightening. The fact remains, The Wicked Witch of the West is by far the scariest movie villain of all time, despite recent revisionist history to the contrary.
Movie Villains that Just missed: Hannibal Lecter (I guess he's scary, but Anthony Hopkins just doesn't scare me. I mean, have you seen 'Howard's End'?); Terminator (which one do you pick? The scariest would probably be the liquid metal one from the 1st sequel, but, really, that's just a guy with elf-like ears. And how scary is that?); Any "Scary" Disney Character (they're cartoons, get over it).
5) Freddy Krueger/Jason Vorhees/Michael Myers - It's a 3 way tie for this one, basically because they are the generic stock slasher flick villain you'd hate to see pretty much anywhere. They're scary, sure, but it seems like a cop-out to take up 3 seperate spots on the list with them. This seems about right. (Points lost for seeing Freddy Krueger in the mirror behind you, because that's the point where you'd wake up and realize it was just a dream.)
4) Darth Vader - This of course assumes that we're talking the James Earl Jones voiced giant and not the whiny Hayden Christensen one. To be honest, this guy would've been much higher on the list if George Lucas hadn't decided to defile his legacy with those godawful prequels. Seemed like a good idea at the time, didn't it? Darth also loses points for basically being the Emperor's bitch.
3) A Vampire of Pretty Much Any Type - Dracula maybe? It doesn't matter. Vampires just freak me out.
2) The Little Girl from the Exorcist - When she was possessed of course. So maybe, more appropriately, the answer to this one is "the Devil when possessing somebody", but that seems more cumbersome. That girl was just scary looking. Two things that amazed me about that movie. 1) That it took them so long to get this girl checked out, and that they also seemed to general have some sort of contact with her. Once she started speaking in tongues and looking creepy, I'd be out. But that's just me. 2) That the little girl grew up to be pretty hot, actually. Even now she's kind of a MILF.
1) Wicked Witch of the West - The Wicked Witch of the West scared the crap out of me as a kid, and I gotta tell you, she still sort of scares me. I used to have all kinds of nightmares involving the exact scenario I laid out in the opening paragraph when I was younger. I used to think I'd grow out of it, but I still sometimes have nightmares about her. She was genuinely scary. The weird thing about it, is that the movie is so old (and really pretty boring when she's not around) and yet I can't imagine that they could make her look scarier if they remade that film today. They'd probably just CGI the character or something. Margaret Hamilton was just perfectly frightening. The fact remains, The Wicked Witch of the West is by far the scariest movie villain of all time, despite recent revisionist history to the contrary.
Movie Villains that Just missed: Hannibal Lecter (I guess he's scary, but Anthony Hopkins just doesn't scare me. I mean, have you seen 'Howard's End'?); Terminator (which one do you pick? The scariest would probably be the liquid metal one from the 1st sequel, but, really, that's just a guy with elf-like ears. And how scary is that?); Any "Scary" Disney Character (they're cartoons, get over it).
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Tuesday, April 17, 2007
All Time Top Five Television Game Shows
Apropos of nothing, today is the All Time Top Five Television Game Shows.
5) Family Feud - Survey says, pretty good show. Okay, that was a lame joke, but let's be honest--the real measure of a game show is if it holds your attention when you're flipping channels on a random Wednesday afternoon. And I think Family Feud does that. Bonus points for taking such an inane and arbitrary concept—we randomly interviewed 100 random folks in a completely unscientific fashion, and YOU have to guess what they said—and somehow making it not just watchable, but…well, okay, just watchable I guess. But that’s still something, right?
4) Debt – This is admittedly an obscure choice. Debt ran on Lifetime for a couple of years in the late 90s, and, to be honest, I’m not even sure how I even knew enough to watch it (I’ll blame my Mom for watching crappy Lifetime movies of the week). I do know, however, that even as a teenager I was able to answer most of the pop-culture oriented questions, and it was a cool concept (people who’d recklessly racked up a bunch of debt where given a chance to have the slate wiped clean, courtesy of the always likeable game show veteran Wink Martindale). What really puts it over the top though, was that the winner—once they’d already been made debt-free—has a chance to then win the amount of their debt in cash by answering a question on any pop-culture subject of their choice. The catch? If they get it wrong they’re right back where they started. In heaps of debt and ugly. Well, maybe not ugly, but probably. And definitely in heaps of debt.
3) Who Wants to Be a Millionaire – What can I say? I liked the concept. I love trivia, and the fact that the questions got harder as the winnings went up was a good idea. Fastest finger was fun too. Of course, this only refers to the original nightly version with Regis Philbin—even though I’m no big Regis Philbin fan, I just can’t stand Meredith Viera. I’m always shocked when staying home sick from work and flipping channels and finding that it’s still on. It loses points for inspiring all kinds of awful knockoffs though—from ‘Weakest Link’ to the insufferable ‘Deal or No Deal’ (which makes me long for days when game shows actually involved a modicum of skill).
2) The Price is Right – Yes, I know it’s basically a marketing vehicle for a bunch of shitty products. And yes, I’m aware that the only people who watch this show are old people and college students. And yes, I also think it’s bullshit that it’s closest without going over, leading people to basically just cheat and go $1 over what the person before them picked for a price on said shitty product. But, well…I buy shitty products, I was a college student once and with a little luck I’ll be an old person someday, and…I really can’t excuse that last one, but some people say it’s a strategy. So, in short, The Price is Right is the second best game show ever, though I can’t help but wonder how it will fare when Bob Barker retires later this year. The end of an era.
1) Jeopardy – The granddaddy of ‘em all. Sure, the questions are hard as hell. Yes, Alex Trebek—while strangely likable—is also something of a smug jerk. And yes, all the contestants are nerds. But come on—how good do you feel when you get a question right and one of those nerds misses it? Besides, it’s a pop-culture fixture, the most recognizable game show on the planet. That counts for something, I think.
Just missing the cut: Wheel of Fortune (come on, it's just Hangman!), Let's Make a Deal (what's behind door #3? A goat? Oh, bull*&$#!), Double Dare (lost significant points for the ubiquitous Family Double Dare, which pretty much took the place of regular Double Dare), and Remote Control (Pros: launched the career of Colin Quinn. Cons: Launched the career of Colin Quinn.)
5) Family Feud - Survey says, pretty good show. Okay, that was a lame joke, but let's be honest--the real measure of a game show is if it holds your attention when you're flipping channels on a random Wednesday afternoon. And I think Family Feud does that. Bonus points for taking such an inane and arbitrary concept—we randomly interviewed 100 random folks in a completely unscientific fashion, and YOU have to guess what they said—and somehow making it not just watchable, but…well, okay, just watchable I guess. But that’s still something, right?
4) Debt – This is admittedly an obscure choice. Debt ran on Lifetime for a couple of years in the late 90s, and, to be honest, I’m not even sure how I even knew enough to watch it (I’ll blame my Mom for watching crappy Lifetime movies of the week). I do know, however, that even as a teenager I was able to answer most of the pop-culture oriented questions, and it was a cool concept (people who’d recklessly racked up a bunch of debt where given a chance to have the slate wiped clean, courtesy of the always likeable game show veteran Wink Martindale). What really puts it over the top though, was that the winner—once they’d already been made debt-free—has a chance to then win the amount of their debt in cash by answering a question on any pop-culture subject of their choice. The catch? If they get it wrong they’re right back where they started. In heaps of debt and ugly. Well, maybe not ugly, but probably. And definitely in heaps of debt.
3) Who Wants to Be a Millionaire – What can I say? I liked the concept. I love trivia, and the fact that the questions got harder as the winnings went up was a good idea. Fastest finger was fun too. Of course, this only refers to the original nightly version with Regis Philbin—even though I’m no big Regis Philbin fan, I just can’t stand Meredith Viera. I’m always shocked when staying home sick from work and flipping channels and finding that it’s still on. It loses points for inspiring all kinds of awful knockoffs though—from ‘Weakest Link’ to the insufferable ‘Deal or No Deal’ (which makes me long for days when game shows actually involved a modicum of skill).
2) The Price is Right – Yes, I know it’s basically a marketing vehicle for a bunch of shitty products. And yes, I’m aware that the only people who watch this show are old people and college students. And yes, I also think it’s bullshit that it’s closest without going over, leading people to basically just cheat and go $1 over what the person before them picked for a price on said shitty product. But, well…I buy shitty products, I was a college student once and with a little luck I’ll be an old person someday, and…I really can’t excuse that last one, but some people say it’s a strategy. So, in short, The Price is Right is the second best game show ever, though I can’t help but wonder how it will fare when Bob Barker retires later this year. The end of an era.
1) Jeopardy – The granddaddy of ‘em all. Sure, the questions are hard as hell. Yes, Alex Trebek—while strangely likable—is also something of a smug jerk. And yes, all the contestants are nerds. But come on—how good do you feel when you get a question right and one of those nerds misses it? Besides, it’s a pop-culture fixture, the most recognizable game show on the planet. That counts for something, I think.
Just missing the cut: Wheel of Fortune (come on, it's just Hangman!), Let's Make a Deal (what's behind door #3? A goat? Oh, bull*&$#!), Double Dare (lost significant points for the ubiquitous Family Double Dare, which pretty much took the place of regular Double Dare), and Remote Control (Pros: launched the career of Colin Quinn. Cons: Launched the career of Colin Quinn.)
Friday, April 13, 2007
All Time Top Five Adult Themed Cartoons
In honor of the eagerly anticipated and critically adored (well, not exactly) 'Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters' opening today, I thought it'd be appropriate to take a look at the unequivocal all time top 5 adult-themed cartoons. Most of these cartoons do have wide ranging age appeal, but there will be no 'Smurfs' or 'Gummi Bears' on the list, despite their obvious brilliance. Technicality, sorry.
So, without further ado, the All Time Top Five Adult Themed Cartoons.
5) 3 South - A hilarious show that was swallowed up in the abyss that is MTV. Never knew exactly when it was on (purportedly the 10 Spot, which was really any time from 10 pm - 1 am every night), never knew when it'd be a new episode, and never knew when or why it was cancelled. It just ceased to exist. But hey, plenty of new episodes of 'The Real World' every year! So that's good.
4) Aqua Teen Hunger Force - Sure, the episodes are only 11 minutes long. Sure there seems to be no real plot to speak of. And yes, it revolves around a giant milkshake, a giant floating packet of french fries, and a borderline retarded ball of meat. But isn't that where it's brilliance lies?
3) Family Guy - This one is sinking like a stone. I loved the old episodes before it got cancelled, but lately it just seems to be a shell of it's former self. Sometimes it's better to burn out quickly and let people wonder what might have been than to linger and show them. Still, eminently quotable and elicits at least a hearty laugh or two per episode, even if I sort of hate myself for laughing afterwards.
2) South Park - It's amazing that not only is this show still going strong, but it's quite possibly better than ever. Dead-on parodies of pop culture and life in general are always welcome, but the fact of the matter is that it would have been guaranteed this spot based on the Scott Tenorman episode alone.
1) The Simpsons - What can you say that hasn't already been said? It's clearly head and shoulders above the cartoon fray, having transcended mere cartoon or sitcom status and becoming a cultural icon. Bonus points for aging so gracefully (not that they it needs them). Quite possibly the best show ever. Period.
Really good Adult Themed Cartoons that didn't quite make the cut: Home Movies (animation too squiggly), Sealab 2021 (just missed), Robot Chicken (too new), Futurama (never got a fair shake, but a great show), Ren and Stimpy (just never liked as much as others), Space Ghost Coast to Coast (Adult Swim loaded with great ones) and The Critic (just never the same once it left ABC for Fox, oddly enough).
So, without further ado, the All Time Top Five Adult Themed Cartoons.
5) 3 South - A hilarious show that was swallowed up in the abyss that is MTV. Never knew exactly when it was on (purportedly the 10 Spot, which was really any time from 10 pm - 1 am every night), never knew when it'd be a new episode, and never knew when or why it was cancelled. It just ceased to exist. But hey, plenty of new episodes of 'The Real World' every year! So that's good.
4) Aqua Teen Hunger Force - Sure, the episodes are only 11 minutes long. Sure there seems to be no real plot to speak of. And yes, it revolves around a giant milkshake, a giant floating packet of french fries, and a borderline retarded ball of meat. But isn't that where it's brilliance lies?
3) Family Guy - This one is sinking like a stone. I loved the old episodes before it got cancelled, but lately it just seems to be a shell of it's former self. Sometimes it's better to burn out quickly and let people wonder what might have been than to linger and show them. Still, eminently quotable and elicits at least a hearty laugh or two per episode, even if I sort of hate myself for laughing afterwards.
2) South Park - It's amazing that not only is this show still going strong, but it's quite possibly better than ever. Dead-on parodies of pop culture and life in general are always welcome, but the fact of the matter is that it would have been guaranteed this spot based on the Scott Tenorman episode alone.
1) The Simpsons - What can you say that hasn't already been said? It's clearly head and shoulders above the cartoon fray, having transcended mere cartoon or sitcom status and becoming a cultural icon. Bonus points for aging so gracefully (not that they it needs them). Quite possibly the best show ever. Period.
Really good Adult Themed Cartoons that didn't quite make the cut: Home Movies (animation too squiggly), Sealab 2021 (just missed), Robot Chicken (too new), Futurama (never got a fair shake, but a great show), Ren and Stimpy (just never liked as much as others), Space Ghost Coast to Coast (Adult Swim loaded with great ones) and The Critic (just never the same once it left ABC for Fox, oddly enough).
Thursday, April 12, 2007
All Time Top Five Books
Let's get started with something really basic and fundamentally impossible to quantify (it'll be a theme). Top Five Books of All Time, unequivocally. For now anyway.
5) "A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess
4) "The Corrections" by Jonathan Franzen
3) "Franny & Zooey" by J.D. Salinger
2) "High Fidelity" by Nick Hornby
1) "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" by Dave Eggers
Any debate, though futile, is welcome.
5) "A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess
4) "The Corrections" by Jonathan Franzen
3) "Franny & Zooey" by J.D. Salinger
2) "High Fidelity" by Nick Hornby
1) "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" by Dave Eggers
Any debate, though futile, is welcome.
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