Best show on television.

[Otis]

Why the fuck are they having elections?  The Colonies were destroyed just eight months ago.  Stupid.  Baltar can be an evil prick without this lame plot device.

This was actually brought up at the start of the first season. Zarek's reason for taking the prison ship hostage was to get Roslin to step down and for the survivors to elect a leader, someone who didn't simply inherit the role. Apollo got Zarek to chill out by promising that there would be elections at the end of the president's current term.

Six had Baltar run for VP (again in the first season) seemlingly so that he could make a move on the presidency when the elections came up.

[Abagadro]

I am completely digging the battle scenes in BSG, particularly when a Battlestar goes up against a Base Star.  Whoever is putting those together is doing a great job.

[schild]

The February stuff for House and Grey's Anatomy has been awesome. Good TV there.

[squirrel]

The February stuff for House and Grey's Anatomy has been awesome. Good TV there.

Don't watch House, i kind of hate hospital/doctor shows. But my G/F watches Grey's and i have been enjoying it, although the main character (meredith?) is one of the weaker characters imo.

[Trippy]

The February stuff for House and Grey's Anatomy has been awesome. Good TV there.

Don't watch House, i kind of hate hospital/doctor shows. But my G/F watches Grey's and i have been enjoying it, although the main character (meredith?) is one of the weaker characters imo.

Yes Dr. Meredith Grey for whom the show is named after and yes she's (Ellen Pompeo) one of the weaker actors on the show. The show's a little over the top on the "incestous" quotient (everybody but Dr. Bailey, the resident in charge of the interns, is sleeping with another main character) but it's good fun. I originally started watching it this season cause it follows Desperate Housewives and I've been enjoying it more than DH this season (though DH has gotten better recently).

[squirrel]

Yeah the "OMG we're all having teh sexxor!" is a little much. However Sandra Oh as Dr. Yang and the guy who plays O'Malley are basically worth the hour for me.

[WayAbvPar]

New Deadwoods are about 3 weeks out. WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[Merusk]

Other then that,  been watching a bit of the Daily Show and Colbert Report.  Colbert is fucking hilarious,  but I'm still surprised he hasn't been cancelled yet.

Colbert report has a few things going for it that let it dodge the bullet of cancellation:
1) Comedy Central isn't Network T.V.  They've always had "lower" ratings and don't have this legacy mindset of "OMG not top 20, axe it!" that plagues the broadcast channels.
2) CC knows good comedy and to give it a chance to grow.  Daily Show didn't start out with the ratings it now has, it took time and John Stuart to get there.
3) What else are they going to run in that timeslot?  More reruns of 1/2-hour standup from a few years back? More reruns of South Park or Chappelle or Drawn Together?
4) The Republican slant.  Sure, it's in a really mocking, derisive way, but I think you'd be surprised how many folks take it as light-hearted satire  rather than as a stab at the double-think that spawns it.

[Llava]

3) What else are they going to run in that timeslot?  More reruns of 1/2-hour standup from a few years back? More reruns of South Park or Chappelle or Drawn Together?

They could always try letting Colin Quinn or Adam Carolla flounder around on stage for a while.

Colbert Report is fantastic, and they've been trying to put together something for that slot for a long, long time.  "Tough Crowd" and "Too Late" are examples of shows that really just sucked right out the door, but got a fair shot to be good.  Compared to those two, Colbert Report seems like Robot Jesus.  Ratings must be skyrocketing when set next to what they used to be for that slot.  Besides, as a followup to the Daily Show it just fits.

[Paelos]

I agree, Colbert Report is funny, and it has room to grow and mature if they let it continue. The time slot is good at picking up the fans from the Daily Show and moving them into something that's closely relevant. There are great points to the show that need to be the core, and there are weaker points that should be removed or reevaluated.

Pros:

- The Word: without a doubt the funniest thing on the show. It's pure gold everytime.
- The Republican Slant: funny enough to be mocking, not so far off as to piss off actual Republicans.
- Colbert's Timing: it's on par if not better than Stuart's timing sense. He's got a deadpan brilliance that is unmatched.

Cons:

- The interviews: They need better guests and more work. That will happen as the show gains momentum though.
- Gimmicks: The show needs to steer clear of gimmicky comedy and hit hard on the points that got them there. Political satire.

[MrHat]

Comedy Central needs to stop fucking with my DVR.

[Margalis]

Tough Crowd was awesome. FOOLS!

[WayAbvPar]

Tough Crowd was awesome. FOOLS!

Agreed. I loved it.

[Rasix]

Colin Quinn and his lackeys suck.  The guy can't speak and they aren't funny.  I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did.

[Johny Cee]

Other then that,  been watching a bit of the Daily Show and Colbert Report.  Colbert is fucking hilarious,  but I'm still surprised he hasn't been cancelled yet.

Colbert report has a few things going for it that let it dodge the bullet of cancellation:
1) Comedy Central isn't Network T.V.  They've always had "lower" ratings and don't have this legacy mindset of "OMG not top 20, axe it!" that plagues the broadcast channels.
2) CC knows good comedy and to give it a chance to grow.  Daily Show didn't start out with the ratings it now has, it took time and John Stuart to get there.
3) What else are they going to run in that timeslot?  More reruns of 1/2-hour standup from a few years back? More reruns of South Park or Chappelle or Drawn Together?
4) The Republican slant.  Sure, it's in a really mocking, derisive way, but I think you'd be surprised how many folks take it as light-hearted satire  rather than as a stab at the double-think that spawns it.

Ohhhh, trust me.  I've watched plenty of late night Comedy Central.  I have insomnia to rival Schild's.

It's not that Colbert isn't a real funny guy (he was head writer for the Daily Show for years), I just question whether an audience will stay with him through a half hour show.

Stewart,  and before him Craig Kilborne,  are generally charismatic and charming.  Alot of natural public speaking talent there.

Colbert is very dry,  and he does have a little bit of a stutter/catch when he's doing those long monologues.  He's also a little nebbish/geeky, where as Stewart comes off as hip.

Even Dave Attell (spelling?  the Insomniac guy), who was bald and out of shape,  has more personal magnetism then Colbert.

And I'm with Margalis and Way....  Tough Crowd was good.

[Johny Cee]

New Deadwoods are about 3 weeks out. WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

What?  It's back this spring?

Damn.  I thought it was this summer.  Sweargin!  Cocksucker!

[Margalis]

I hate "The Word" on Colbert, for me it's always the worst part of the show. It's so one-note.

[Paelos]

I hate "The Word" on Colbert, for me it's always the worst part of the show. It's so one-note.

You sir, have no funny.

[Llava]

Comedy Central has announced that The Colbert Report's contract is being extended with an entire season in the contract, rather than the original contract's eight-week run. Viewership of The Colbert Report is up nearly 141% over the same time slot last year, and it has been keeping 86% of The Daily Show's viewership. Comedy Central management reportedly said they are thrilled with the results, and said extending the show was one of the easiest decisions they have ever made. The show debuted October 17, 2005 for an eight week run under its initial contract. On November 2, based on the strong ratings for the show's first two weeks, Comedy Central and Colbert announced they had signed for an additional year, through the end of 2006.

I think it's safe to say, he's in no danger of cancellation.

And Tough Crowd had some moments, but it had some MAJOR weak points.
1) Nick DiPaolo.  The man is not funny.  Ever.
2) Every conversation dissolving into a shouting match.
3) The skits. Every skit was awful, seemed like it was improvised by people who have no skill at improv.

The actual debate and the jokes that came out of that were good sometimes, when people would shut the fuck up and let someone else talk.  But some of the participants, like DiPaolo, were just brutally stupid people who had difficulty separating their ignorance from a "common sense" viewpoint.

Also, this could be fun:

The Colbert Report is being followed up by a second spin-off of The Daily Show, a show called Red State Diaries to be hosted by Lewis Black, slated to debut in 2006.

Don't know if Black can carry a show like that, though.  Never seen him trying "man on the street" stuff before, so I don't know how strong he'll be.  The Insomniac style format that it seems to imply seems to be popular, though, so it could click.

[Johny Cee]

Comedy Central has announced that The Colbert Report's contract is being extended with an entire season in the contract, rather than the original contract's eight-week run. Viewership of The Colbert Report is up nearly 141% over the same time slot last year, and it has been keeping 86% of The Daily Show's viewership. Comedy Central management reportedly said they are thrilled with the results, and said extending the show was one of the easiest decisions they have ever made. The show debuted October 17, 2005 for an eight week run under its initial contract. On November 2, based on the strong ratings for the show's first two weeks, Comedy Central and Colbert announced they had signed for an additional year, through the end of 2006.

I think it's safe to say, he's in no danger of cancellation.

And Tough Crowd had some moments, but it had some MAJOR weak points.
1) Nick DiPaolo.  The man is not funny.  Ever.
2) Every conversation dissolving into a shouting match.
3) The skits. Every skit was awful, seemed like it was improvised by people who have no skill at improv.

The actual debate and the jokes that came out of that were good sometimes, when people would shut the fuck up and let someone else talk.  But some of the participants, like DiPaolo, were just brutally stupid people who had difficulty separating their ignorance from a "common sense" viewpoint.

Good for Colbert. 

The biggest reason I liked Tough Crowd was it came off as a bunch of fairly funny guys who genuinely liked each other and had a history together getting together and shooting the shit.  Colin Quinn is definitely one of those "love him or hate him" type guys, though.  You either thought the stammering was endearing or obnoxious.

The Corolla show was just a poor idea.  It might have been different if he was there with a couple other people to play off of.... 

[Margalis]

Quinn not being able to speak properly does grow on you as he makes jokes at his own expense and totally botches what would otherwise have been real zingers.

Nick DiPaolo was one of the worse guys. He wasn't really very funny at all.

Some of the skits were lame but some of them were gold. My favorite segment of the show was when a little girl who was the new star of Les Miserables was on the show. They talked for a while and then in the end Quinn said:

"You have no idea who I am do you?"

And she kind of laughed and smiled and said no she didn't.

[Otis]

Even Dave Attell (spelling?  the Insomniac guy), who was bald and out of shape,  has more personal magnetism then Colbert.

Man, I miss that show. It was the only "travel show" made worthwhile.

One of my favorite bits is when he's visiting a sewage treatment plant, and over the giant, awful vats of sewage he points out a life preserver hung on the wall and asks (paraphrased), "is that there in case someone falls in?"
"Yeah," a technician replies.
"You should put a shotgun there instead. If I fell in, I'd just want you to shoot me."

[shiznitz]

Colbert is very dry,  and he does have a little bit of a stutter/catch when he's doing those long monologues.  He's also a little nebbish/geeky, where as Stewart comes off as hip.

John Stewart only became hip when the show started doing well. I am sure Colbert will be considered hip soon, too. That day will be marked by his first interview in Maxim.

[HaemishM]

New Deadwoods are about 3 weeks out. WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Well let's all have a drink to celebrate the return of the cocksuckers!

EDIT: Colbert's good when you are in the mood for it. The interviews are definitely the weakest part of the show, but the word is 95% gold, 5% still pretty decent. He's probably one of the best guys I know at making fun of something so subtly that the people he's making fun of just don't get it.

Of course, I most often fast forward over the interviews on the Daily Show anyway, so I do the same on Colbert.

Lewis Black in his own show could be funny as hell. I love his stand up.

I don't think Colbert is in any danger of cancellation. They gave him a renewal past his initial 8 weeks within the first week of broadcast. I think he's gotten better ratings in that time slot than anything else they've had there. Tough Crowd was occasionally funny, but Quinn's stammering really kills a lot of the better bits he would do. He's a better writer than a stand up.

[Yegolev]

Patrice O'Neil is funny.  Or was, when he was getting work.

[Sky]

I liked Patrice and the scary little uncle Fester guy. It was a good show, excepting Nick and skits as mentioned.

Stewart was hip before the Daily Show, in my book. His old talk show kicked a lot of ass, always attractive female guests + great bands and funny skits (like the frog race he had just to set up him licking one and triggering a psychedelic vignette). Helmet, Slayer, Manson (pre-Sweet Dreams), etc. A definite metal edge, but he had a decent variety, it's just been so long I can't remember.

The W0rd rocks.

And all tv should be viewed on Tivo/DVR imo. Commercials and long boring interviews with actors are teh sux. I tend to like Stewart's interviews with politicians and authors, even if they aren't great. Colbert is too schticky to give a good interview.

[Llava]

Colbert's getting better at the interview as time goes on.  He's actually thrown some intelligent arguments the way of some of his guests, and left them without any real response.  Like the one guest he had who was saying that he supported the Iraq War but never really believed that Saddam had WMDs or was connected to Al-Quaida, but felt it was worth it to get him out of power.  Or the recent guy who's like the sole Republican at the New York Times.  He's done a decent job of illustrating to these people that you either have to be completely gung-ho Bush "I believe everything he says" or ultimately against them.

Amazingly, Bill O'Reilly has admitted he liked the Colbert Report.  He says it's not mean spirited and doesn't tear others down for gags.  I don't think he gets it.

(Pssssst... Colbert is you.  Egotism and all.)

[HaemishM]

Amazingly, Bill O'Reilly has admitted he liked the Colbert Report.  He says it's not mean spirited and doesn't tear others down for gags.  I don't think he gets it.

(Pssssst... Colbert is you.  Egotism and all.)

O'Reilly has never really been that well acquainted with what we like to call reality.

I think DePaolo's funny in a "OMFG he did NOT just say that" sort of way. I'd probably want to cockpunch him in real life. Patrice O'Neal is getting regular guest spots on The Office.

EDIT: House STILL kicks ass, despite the "crazy, weird, rare disease of the week" type of storytelling. All that is just window dressing for the character moments anyway.

[MrHat]

Just watched the BSG from Friday.

Good shit that.

I love the way they are taking it.  Should make for some more interesting shows.  Between this one, and the "Scar" one, I love it.

[Evil Elvis]

I don't get how Boomer was reborn on Caprica.  Shouldn't she have been born on the ressurection ship?  I'm not really down with the whole starstruck cylon angle, either.

Other than that, I liked it.  Six hallucinating Baltar is a mind fuck.

[tazelbain]

With the mention of "Boxing" Cylon minds, it seems they have control over the process.  She was forworded like an email.

 

[Rasix]

With the mention of "Boxing" Cylon minds, it seems they have control over the process.  She was forworded like an email.

Either that or they weren't far enough out at the time to warrant the use of the Resurrection ship. Still, great episode. Makes you almost forget there was ever a noir style Apollo episode.

[Evil Elvis]

I thought of both of those, but they only address the how, not the why.

Edit: Then again, I see I asked "how" in my original message.  My bad on that.

[tazelbain]

Why?  Since she was a sleeper agent, they figured it would be safer to res her away from the front-line to give her time to adjust.  Smart move as we can see, although she may do more damage, ideologically, on Caprica.

[Evil Elvis]

Yeah, I guess that's a decent reason.  Although releasing a traumatized war vet. among the general pop isn't the best way to raise morale.

I was thinking they'd want her close to the attack force, for assessment and tactical purposes.