Tag Archives: Scrubs

Get With the Program: Marry Me

Posted in Get with the Program by

marry-me-nbc-hed-2014During Fall Premiere season, sometime you have to step back and objectively evaluate each show based on their respective merits. I said sometimes you have to do that. I can’t. Tried, but can’t.

Which brings me to NBC’s new sitcom Marry Me. Now, my approval of this show was pretty much written in the stars. Firstly, it’s produced by David Caspe (if reading that name does not make you observe a moment of silence for our funny, fallen friend Happy Endings, there is a good chance you are a monster, or possibly have a life). Then there is the dazzling combined on-screen talents of Casey Wilson and Ken Marino, easily two of television’s funniest staples. Wilson and Marino play a couple in a long-term, quasi-committed relationship that gets turned on it’s head when Jake (Marino) proposes. I know, not exactly high concept, but some of the best sitcoms of all time have been based on even less (Cheers, Friends, Scrubs).

The supporting cast is none too shabby either, Tim Meadows, John Gemberling, and Sarah Wright being the most notable. marry-me-hed-01-2014One of the really impressive things about Marry Me is how it tricked us into thinking we’re watching a show about two attractive leads with occasional appearances from a supportive role, when really this is an ensemble. There are a lot of great characters here, and I have a feeling they are going to get the screen time they deserve. Assuming that this show doesn’t get chopped like another David Caspe gem I could mention. Yeah, ABC, still bitter.

-Whitney

Grade A, Choice Picks: TV Proposals

Posted in Choice Picks, TV by

I feel I am safe in shouting this from the rooftops now because it has been a week, but BEN AND LESLIE ARE GETTING MARRIED!  I couldn’t be happier for these two crazy kids.  Yeah, I know, they’re fictional but that doesn’t hinder my excitement for the most adorable couple on TV.

Their perfect proposal got me thinking about other TV proposals which got me thinking about making a list.  I have compiled 5 of my favorite with the following disclaimers: Ben and Leslie may very well top this list but it’s too fresh to tell for sure, so I excluded it here.  Also, these are only from the shows that I watch, so there are going to be blind spots that I missed.

5) Michael and Holly – The Office: In their mad dash to give Michael Scott an epic send-off, the Office crew brought Holly back to make sweetly dorky music with Michael again.  This was great because it got everyone involved and showed everyone’s attachment to Michael despite all of his buffoonery in the past.  And let’s not forget, it was sweetly romantic.  The simulated rain, the candles, the first place they fell in love, and any proposal that happens in Yoda voice is A-OK in my book.

4) Turk and Carla – Scrubs:  This proposal is greatly aided by it’s simplicity and Old 97’s “Question”.  Turk kept asking and asking and Carla kept refusing to give an answer, until she calls Turk and tells him to ask again.  Turk comes running, they meet in a park, and we just watch as they finally get their moment.  Then, because this is still Scrubs, J.D. comes in running around with sparklers.  Love it.  And “Question” was playing in my car for a good couple months after this one.

3)  Charlie and The Waitress – It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: That sweet guy who has been mooning over you at the coffee shop for years writes a musical so that he will finally have his moment to tell you how he really feels and propose marriage. Sounds kind of sweet, right?  Well, the musical has a pedophile troll, a princess who wants little, baby boys, and penetration from behind.  Not all proposals are perfect and it may not be a huge surprise that The Waitress turned down Charlie, but this one is still up there for me.

2) Jim and Pam – The Office: I was Team Jim and Pam from the very beginning (mainly because I had been Team UK Tim and Dawn and I knew what was coming).  I cheered when they finally kissed and I wept when Jim moved away and started dating Ann Perkins.  With all their ups and downs, their sweet proposal in the rain at the gas station that was halfway between them was perfect.  And I’m starting to realize that Michael Schur and Co. should plan all of life’s proposals.

1) Monica and Chandler – Friends:  I know I’m not alone, but I loved Friends.  Like, LOVED it.  My love of this proposal is only increased by the fact that Chandler was my favorite guy and Monica was my favorite girl.  This just seems to be TV doing a proposal right.  Just when it seems that everything has gone to hell in a hand basket, you open the door to find a room full of candles.  I love how neither of them can get through what they want to say without crying, because that will probably be me.  I’m a weeper.  Let’s move past it.

Honorable mentions:  Matt and Julie on Friday Night Lights, Homer and Marge on The Simpsons, Will and Emma on Glee

What do you think?  Did I miss your favorite?  Because in researching this, I realized that there haven’t been as many as you would think.

-Ellen

 

Grade A, Choice Picks: TV Bromances

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Ah, the love between two straight men.  Isn’t it bromantic?  It seems like TV is rife with these special relationships and I love it!  There is something so fun about seeing these guys be unabashed about their love for each other.  Believe me, I had a heck of a time whittling this down to only five.  For the sake of whittling, please note that I disqualified any bromances between actual brothers (sorry, Sam, Dean, Stefan, and Damon).  With that said, let’s get to it!

5. Bret and Jemaine – Flight of the Conchords: Look, Bret and Jemaine have had their squabbles over their band, girls, and shared apartment.  But they always find a way to muddle through, usually through the gift of song.  For the best example of this, watch the video.

4. J.D. and Turk – Scrubs: Probably the most unabashed pair on this list, J.D. and Turk make no ifs, ands, or buts about their love.  Any wife or girlfriend who ever came in the mix just had to accept that they were getting a two for one deal.  Perhaps, the theme song of “bromances”, I give you “Guy Love”:

3. Troy and Abed – Community: Let’s set aside any pillow vs. blanket battle royales and face the facts: Troy and Abed are tight.  Tighter than Inspector Spacetime and Constable Reggie.  But that’s what happens when you have a morning talk show together, hang out in a Dreamatorium, and bunk together.  A great moment in their friendship was when they wanted to ask out the same girl:

2. Tim and Mike – Spaced: Yes, Tim is somewhat responsible for killing Mike’s dreams of joining the ranks, but that didn’t kill the mood for these two.  The chemistry between Simon Pegg and Nick Frost is obviously real and true because it has carried on into every other project they have done together.  Just look at how wrecked Tim is over Mike’s FAKE death by paintball.

1.  Shawn and Gus – Psych: They left me no choice.  Between the nicknames, the screaming, the shared childhood memories, and the way they always have each other’s backs these two are the best bromance on TV and that bromance is pretty central to the show.  Finally getting Shawn and Juliet together  didn’t have the “Moonlighting effect” because their romance is not the the central relationship of the show.  That honor belongs to the boys.

What do you think? Agree?  Disagree?  Who should have been knocked off?  Who should have replaced them?  Believe me, I had a long list of runners-up.

– Ellen