Tuesday, April 28, 2009

"Sit Down, Shut Up" ... well, the latter immediately, please!


Alright, I gave it two episodes as a courtesy to Mitchell Hurwitz, but my verdict is certainly in (and apparently shared by much of the world): The only possible word to describe "Sit Down, Shut Up" is awful.

And not even gloriously awful in ways that can be celebrated and mocked. It's just generically awful in all the worst ways, a random collection of thoroughly boring characters telling off-color but also uniformly unfunny jokes. How in the world did this garbage spring from the mind of the creator of "Arrested Development"?

Well, it seems that Fox is acting quickly to move it toward oblivion. Taking away its plum post-"Simpsons" time slot, Fox is moving "Sit Down" to the 7 p.m. graveyard and, in what would have to be described as some kind of ironic justice, giving that 8:30 slot back to the remaining episodes of the still-simply fantastic "King of the Hill." I'd give "Sit Down" a month at best, and can't say I will miss it one bit.

There is, however, deliriously better news out there on the animation front today, and it comes in the form of a two-fer from Aardman Features, the fine folks who created Wallace and Gromit. I had the chance to see the latest Wallace flick, "Wallace and Gromit in 'A Matter of Loaf and Death'," as part of a collection of animated shorts at the recently concluded Atlanta Film Festival 365, but am rather ashamed to say I passed simply because it ended too late for this aging man on a Sunday school night.

Unfortunately, neither of the two new Aardman flicks, being produced with Sony, will star Wallace or Gromit, but here's hoping they're still tons of fun. The first, "Pirates!", is based on the book "The Pirates! (in an Adventure with Scientists" by Gideon Defoe, and will be filmed in Aardman's signature stop-motion style. It's apparently about a hapless band of pirates trying to win the Pirate of the Year Trophy (how can I get into that game?) It will be directed by "Chicken Run" helmer Peter Lord.

The second flick, to be filmed in CGI, will be titled "Arthur Christmas" and will apparently reveal the secret of just how Santa Claus manages to deliver all those gifts in one night. Sounds like nothing but fun to me.

And I'll leave you today after a short report with the trailer for Alexis Bledel's upcoming flick "Post Grad" because, well, it's Alexis Bledel, and I've always just had a ridiculous crush on both of the "Gilmore Girls." Given how far removed I am from the target demographic for this fluff, there's really no other possible reason I should probably go see it when it comes out in August, but it does also star former "Friday Night Lights" QB1 Zach Gilford and veryfunnywoman Jane Lynch, so maybe it will be surprisingly good. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Tuesday. Peace out.

9 comments:

Sachin said...

Hey Keith,

sorry off-topic but did you see the episode of Chuck last night? The show is finally on the verge of becoming a true spy comedy and it would be a huge let down if it didn't return.

Reel Fanatic said...

I did indeed, Sachin, and I'm with you on that .. I was gonna say something about this morning, but I'm holding off to see what NBC has to say, which should come pretty soon .. If they somehow manage to cancel "Chuck" now that he's a genuine super spy, the backlash is just gonna be deafening

Handsome B. Wonderful said...

I love, LOVE Wallace and Gromit.

Sachin said...

I like the fact that he turned into a spy in a manner similar to The Matrix where one could learn to fly a chopper in a few seconds, depending on the download speed ofcourse :)

The show promises to be much more fun so waiting to see what happens regarding its future.

Terence Towles Canote said...

Even without Wallace and Grommit, new animation from Aardman is good news!

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