Modern Family: More interaction between the three families, less cliché, less joke telegraphing, less arguing between Mitchell/Cameron, Less Manny
Easily the most disappointing show of the season for me, Modern Family has turned into an obvious, schmaltzy mess only saved by the charms of Phil Dunphy. Ty Burrell’s performance has turned Phil from typical bumbling sitcom dad into a lovable, child-like man whose mixture of innocence and wit is nothing short of awesome to watch. Too bad most of the rest of the cast has failed to make their one note characters into fully realized people; each character fulfills a sitcom stereotype (Fiery Latina! Teen girl who only cares about boys and texting! Smart girl with no friends! Histrionic gays!); you know exactly how every single person will react in the situations the family is thrown in. If they draw in the over-the-top Cameron (whose racial comments/jokes have been making me a little uncomfortable), weave in the family storylines a bit more (Cam/Mitchell are generally separate from the pack), and spread the screen time between the young actors (Too. Much. Manny.), the season could still be saved.
The Cleveland Show: Less fart jokes, make Cleveland more likable
I have a confession to make. I really like The Cleveland Show. In fact, last season, I found it to be much funnier than Family Guy more weeks than not. Whereas Family Guy just doesn’t care anymore, The Cleveland Show had actual things like heart and storyline that made it seem more like a live action sitcom than some live action sitcoms. However, too often they settled for juvenile fart jokes and really obvious humor instead of actually putting thought behind what’s going on in Stoolbend (exhibit A). The dynamics on the show are what keep it afloat, as Cleveland is still adjusting to having a new family and his new family has accepted him into their home to varying degrees. To see the tension that is still in the Brown household spillover has made for some enjoyable episodes. Rein in the preachy episodes (there was recently one about laws concerning overweight people that was disgustingly smarmy), as well, and I’ll be even more grateful.
The Big Bang Theory: Less Sheldon/Amy, more Penny/Leonard/Raj
I like every character on The Big Bang Theory. I think Sheldon is incredibly unique for television, I appreciate Leonard being able to balance his nerdiness with a desire to fit in, Wolowitz is always good for a one liner, Raj steals every scene he’s in, and Penny is the glue that holds this show together. I just enjoy them in moderation and when their personality attributes aren’t beaten over our heads with a sledgehammer. For the longest time, it’s been the alternated between being Days of Our Nerds starring Leonard and Penny and more often, The Sheldon Show, both of which offer no balance to the dynamic of the show and no real role for Wolowitz and Raj to play. There has been some appreciated evolution by the characters since the pilot (notably Penny, who now enjoys the company of Bernadette and Amy while being obviously put off by current flame Zach’s lack of intelligence) and I really think the whole fish-out-of-water-both-ways has a different complexion after four seasons, but it’s continually eschewed for robot masturbation jokes and lazy dialogue (they replicated the ‘who’s on first’routine in a recent episode). They went out on a truly fantastic episode where the gang dressed up as the Justice League, so one can only hope that there will be this type of balance, cohesion, and thoughtfulness in the storytelling for the rest of the season.
Perfect Couples/Friends with Benefits/Happy Endings/Mixed Signals: Please, don’t try to be Friends or Modern Family
Obviously, I’ve not seen any of the four upcoming midseason sitcoms, so I don’t have any complaints about them. I simply hope that none of the four try to replicate the successes of Friends or Modern Family because there’s no way they’ll be able to capture the same lightning in a bottle that those two did. I don’t have a problem with similar structures, but let’s just silently urge the writers of each show to create an individual world that these characters live in. If they have a discernable personality to them and don’t try to shoehorn in noticeable traits from the two previously mentioned shows, they have the chance to at least be creative successes, if not commercial ones as well.
Friday Night Lights: End with grace
My only hope for Friday Night Lights is that it ends with the same grace that it’s shown for the past five seasons. Even though there has been some missing plotlines (hey, Santiago!) and a few iffy choices (football apparently solves every behavioral problem in the universe), it’s been one of my favorite shows of all time and I don’t want to have to tell people ‘oh, yeah, I loved Friday Night Lights, but that final season, man…’. The fifth season of the Texas football drama has been a little uneven, but as of its last couple of original episodes, it’s turned enough of a corner to where the remaining episodes have the chance to cement its place in history as a truly top notch show. Let’s hope the Taylors stay together, Julie gets her mind right (and back with Matt), the team stops being dirty, Billy grows up even more (and takes over the team from Coach Taylor?), Mindy continues to be awesome, Becky and Luke get together, Riggins gets out of prison (and doesn’t get with Tyra), and we all go on our merry way.
I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea. I watch every show on here (and I’ll check out every new sitcom mentioned for at least 3-4 episodes), I consider myself a fan of every show on here, and I think every show on here can improve itself pretty easily. The only shows of the above that I’ve thought about ‘breaking up with’are Modern Family, Community, and The Big Bang Theory, though the ABC blockbuster is the only one still on my personal chopping block (for now). I only hope that my shows somehow right the ship and pull off strong second halves, but I guess that’s only if Santa reads TV Overmind.
Do you have any hopes for your shows in the spring? Is there anything you’re close to dropping?
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