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The Bottom Line: "Superb"

I was a fan of Beavis & Butt-head from the moment I saw Frog Baseball on Liquid Television. As an angry kid in high school, I relished the show's scathingly, gut-bustingly hilarious satire almost as much as I loved seeing everyone overreact to and misunderstand it all. All along, though, and ever since, I've considered Beavis & Butt-head one of my favorite shows. Even the way in which the show responded to the controversy of the kid burning himself and his house down apparently on account of the show--by opening each episode with a frank and funny disclaimer--was a class act.

The characters are classic. My favorite aspect of their relationship is how Butt-head, despite being the dominant party, is apparently the stupider of the two. Beavis has these occasional moments of insight, but Butt-head is always there to correct and chastize his friend, preventing him from beginning to approach any degree of human competence and keeping him squarely in a subservient role. I still can't decide which of the two I like better overall. I still can't imagine what the world would be like if one existed without the other.

In spite of their idiocy, Beavis and Butt-head are a lot more admirable than many of their critics--people who were hell-bent on insisting that these characters are negative influences and shouldn't be on TV. Shame on those people. As for Beavis & Butt-head, the show lives on as a legend, and rightfully so. It proved to me that creator Mike Judge was some kind of genius, so I was first in line to see the Beavis & Butt-head movie as well as Office Space, and we all know how well those turned out.

The Bottom Line: "Good"

Desperate Housewives is basically a slickly produced soap opera. It somehow manages to drag out ridiculous plotlines while mixing in completely off-the-rocker character development, all in the guise of a quirky mystery/comedy. Keep pluckin' away at those mysterious-sounding cello strings, makin' us all wonder what all crazy business is going down in that seemingly-well-to-do suburb!

In a way, I really, really want to hate this show. I feel like it just baits me on all the time, promising big happenings and underdelivering in such a way that I want to keep giving it second chances. At the same time, I've seen almost every episode of it, and think I understand why it's so popular. Also, I happen to think that Desperate Housewives, along with CSI, is one of the main reasons why there's currently a backlash against reality television--a backlash I wholeheartedly endorse, so I do appreciate what Desperate Housewives has accomplished, above and beyond the content of the show.

One of the big problems I have with Desperate Housewives is that, unlike in Sex and the City (an obvious influence), the main characters' friendship here seems completely implausible--downright impossible. They're these utterly different characters, and yeah, that helps make the show entertaining...but these women seem like they shouldn't have anything to do with each other, much less be neighbors and neighborly.

But whatever. You can pick practically any show apart like this. Desperate Housewives, for better or worse, provokes a lot of discussion. It combines a lot of different elements in an entertaining way, and you can get as much out of it as you're willing to invest into it...so it's either a serious TV addiction or a vapid night's viewing. I guess it's impressive that the show can seem to do both things equally as well.

I'm loving..

this new beta look.

hmmm...

Best Wishes

Here's to a fun and interesting 20XX. May you never pay to play a bad game.