The Best Television Show You Haven't Seen

Hello, again, all!

Today's post is atypical, but still in the "entertainment" vein, and by that I do mean that it's concerning television, rather than film. I should preface by saying that I love television - a detail you all could have more than likely deduced (an appropriate verb for this post - More on that to come...). For right now, I will digress into a television breakdown of my favorite shows that are not the subject of this post, and will eventually work into the show which I do intend to profile.

The Cast of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

I love It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and have been a loyal viewer since half-way through Season 2. The depravity of the show is most appealing, and the darkness of the comedy is, counter-intuitively, refreshing in a society in which most comedies are written lighter, and exist more within the 'feel-good' spectrum - ALTHOUGH, I do think that is sort of an umbrella term, and by no means am I saying the majority of comedy is feel-good... it's just... lighter. With my love of Sunny's dark sense of humor has come a newfound appreciation for stand-up comics other than the character-based, manic stand-up styles of Jim Carrey, Eddie Murphy, and Robin Williams - three men I greatly admire and look up to in my own life - and more to a deadpan, one-liner, joke-telling based format.

More specifically, Anthony Jeselnik (SEE VIDEO to the right; it's uncensored, too, so for those who are easily-offended, maybe give this one a pass) is a comic who is both up-and-coming to some, but for those who pay close attention to the comedy scene, is someone who has already developed a reputation and stage persona as a "shark in the water" (V.V. Brown - embrace the depravity within the metaphor!) and sociopath, fearing no-one and willing to discuss any (Actually; if you haven't seen a Jeselnik routine, all you will really need is to hear a joke, and you will come to an immediate understanding; again, see the video to the right) subject. Most routines find their basis in fictional stories on rape, abortion, sadism, ignorance to his ex-girlfriend's pains and problems, and suicide (to name a few), written flawlessly by Jeselnik, with surprising, oft-sadistic twists in the end. He is perhaps the only comic alive who can do this so tediously on the "right" side of the line, and with a palpable arrogance on stage and disregard of the audience's feelings. His deadpan delivery and asides make him all the more enjoyable and effective.

Larry David as 'Larry David' on Curb Your Enthusiasm

And, to go along with the theme of honesty & seeming depravity, HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, while not the subject of this post and thusly NOT the "Best TV Show You Haven't Seen," it is one that more people might like if they gave it the chance. With so many die-hard Seinfeld fans, it's hard to believe that this one really didn't catch on until later seasons (it ran it's 8th Season concurrent with the Summer of 2011... a new 9th Season is rumored for this year! LET'S HOPE, people!) I say this with the knowledge that the premise of Curb is near-identical to Seinfeld, and it's subject matter, while perhaps minute and insignificant to the viewer after taking "a step back", is one that while watching, one can't help but get caught up in the everyday life and complications of the neurotic life of Seinfeld co-creator Larry David's fictional life. (I'm still working on phrasing that sentence.) The fictional character of Larry David is someone who is genuine & is constantly looking to help others, & thusly, someone the audience wants to sympathize with. But, with the genuine disposition comes a brutal honesty, which make these ridiculously hilarious situations arise consistently. It's a show I never get sick of, and Larry David's semi-fictional Hollywood world and circle of friends are a comedic riot.

These two shows are two of many that I (1.) can never get enough of and (2.) will go out of my way to watch loyally. Another that is a given is Saturday Night Live, as it was my first ever favorite television show, and the first I ever started to tune into loyally (in 5th grade, mind you!) I still do, and the subject of that could just be one post in and of itself!...................................... (Maybehint.)

However, while these shows are great and (somewhat) under-the-radar, they cannot hold a "Santa's Bakery" holiday scented-candle from Yankee Candle adjacent to the one which I feel so strongly about. It stars Martin Freeman ("Tim" from The Office (UK)), and Benedict Cumberbatch (War Horse; Star Trek: Into Darkness [coming in May, 2013; the preview IS OUT!]; Atonement; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; "The Necromancer" & "Smaug the Dragon" in the upcoming The Hobbit films), and airs on BBC (exclusively in the UK) and PBS in the United States.

For those who do watch, you know. For those who don't, you (rightly) will.

It's called Sherlock, and truthfully, it's one of the absolute, all-around best shows I have ever seen, and feel like I will see in the near-future. It IS that amazingly exceptionally "BRILLiant!" (in the hypothetical words of Sherlock himself.) [[TRAILER BELOW]]

The premise of the show is, simply & superficially, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson investigating & solving crimes in modern-day London, and thus, a contemporary adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic detective novels. More specifically, however, it's a literal adaptation, and the writers are some of the cleverest around. Their incorporation of all of Sherlock's idiosyncrasies are ever-present - instead of incessantly smoking a pipe, as in Conan Doyle's novels, he employs nicotine patches; Dr. Watson keeps a blog to chronicle their (mis)adventures, etc. It's idiosyncratic loyalty not only adds to the show's humor, but gives the show an over-arching ingenuity that few others have. We as the audience are given glimpses into the mind of Sherlock with sudden word appearances on the screen concurrent with a sharp turn of the head or glance, making us feel as if though we've burrowed inside his constantly laborious intellect and are joining him on a first-person evaluation of the crime scene at hand. It's an "active" show, and one in which, despite each episode's 90-minute lengths, we as the audience never feel dragged along or outcast.

Cumberbatch & Freeman as Sherlock & Watson in Sherlock

Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal of Sherlock, too, is one that is deserving of acting accolades from the spectrum over. His Sherlock is one who is a sociopath, and shares much in common with those criminals he investigates. He is a "consulting detective", and according to him, he "invented the position" because the police "had absolutely no choice." His cockiness and sureness of self is something that even loyal readers of Sir Conan-Doyle's novels may brush off as a heroic quality. Here, however, its shamelessly blatant that he could not care less about others' feelings, and that the real, sole cares in his life are: (1.) to successfully solve the crimes he is consulted for; and (2.) the criminals of London continue to do their job so that he can do his. This is a man who openly wishes for crime and gets openly excited when a murder is committed so that he can be busy and do his job. In one regard, he's a selfish sociopath; but in another, he's like anybody else who has found a passion, and gets "bored" during times of lull and malaise, only wishing that he was busy doing the thing he is so in love with. This, coupled with Martin Freeman's deadpan, convicted portrayal of Dr. Watson as the stringently loyal compatriot of Detective Holmes makes for an unbeatable chemistry between the two, and awkward social encounters with those bartenders/waiters who confuse their intense dedication to one-another as best friends who just so happen to live with another with sure love. "We're not!..... Ugh, nevermind" is a common Dr. Watson rebuttal to a suspiciously supportive bartender's wink. And this only tips the 'rock hard' iceberg of subtle humor in the clever writing of the writing staff.

In all, if you guys have not seen Sherlock, you must! It's attainable through Netflix's "Instant Streaming" service. For those in America, it airs on PBS; for those elsewhere, it's a BBC1 show. Because it's BBC based, the 'seasons' (or, in the UK, 'series') are shorter than we in the States are used to; they're three episodes long. But, as I mentioned previously, these episodes are 90 minutes in length; doing the math, that equals out to about a 10-episode season of an FX show (like... Sunny!) The next series is due out in 2014, as Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch are both busy making highly lucrative films in Hollywood. But, I'm thinking it will be worth the wait, and will only give the writers of the show more time to conceive of cleverer ideas for the omni-clever Sherlock.

THANK you guys for reading, again, and I can't tell you how awesome it was to return to 'BirdieNumNuMilkshake'! I welcome feedback down in the comments section, and on Twitter (@Chris_0Reilly - the 'Shameless Plug'O'The'Day!)



I will ceraintly be writing again soon, and will re-focus on the American Film Institute's "100 Years... 100 Films (10th Anniversary)" list, and return to the love of film! (Hint -->)

Until next time, slurpers (of milkshakes... eh?),

--Chris