I feel that any good TV blog would not be complete without mentioning The Office. This show is such a classic and is probably my favorite TV show of all time. I also do not think I have ever met a person that watched this show and did not love it. The only people that do not like The Office just haven’t seen it yet! If that describes you my question is what are you waiting for?

The Office is the brainchild of the one and only Ricky Gervais who actually starred as the boss, Michael Scott in the British version of the show. I have actually watched some of the British version and I honestly do not think that it is as good. The humor is much more the British style dry humor, which is great but not as compelling as the American version. For those of you that have seen both, do you agree with me on this? I have gotten into some pretty heated arguments about this with my friends before.

Anyway… lets move on to more about the show itself. The show revolves around characters who work at a paper company called Dunder Mifflin. Despite the fact that they have probably the most boring job ever, they all find ways to have fun and create meaningful relationships. Also despite the fact that their boss, Michael Scott, is completely incompetent. I don’t know about the rest of you, but if something that I’m watching gets awkward for characters I feel the residual awkwardness. That most certainly happens a lot while watching this, particularly when Michael is involved. Of course all the characters are super lovable…okay maybe not all of them (*cough cough Angela cough*) and it is super easy to get very invested in their lives. Have I mentioned yet that this show is hilarious?? From having a fun run for rabies awareness to hosting office Olympic games, this show will always guarantee a laugh. I have found it particularly good destressor whenever I have a lot work, which can often lead to procrastination but I think its worth it.

Michael Scott (played by Steve Carell) leaves towards the end of the 7^th season, but the show still goes on for 2 more seasons after that. Carell thought it was the natural move for the character and that is why he chose to leave the show. Goodbye Michael will never fail to make me cry because you can see the genuine emotion of the actors as Carell leaves the show. Unpopular opinion alert! I still definitely find that the last two seasons were enjoyable to watch. Obviously they are not as good as the seasons that do have Michael, but I definitely think they are better than people make it out to be.

Fun Fact: The Office can basically supply you with any reaction gif you could ever need. Also, if you ever want a laugh but do not have the time to invest in a full episode of the show, I highly recommend looking up the bloopers on YouTube. They are absolutely hilarious and it is great to see more of a behind the scenes look at the show and the dynamic of the actors.

To start, ever since the movie Elf I have been a huge Zooey Deschannel fan. She’s quirky and fun, and has a beautiful singing voice. So when I discovered that she was doing a TV show, I knew that I had to watch it. The show I am talking about is, of course, “New Girl”. It’s the story of Jessica Day, played by Deschannel, who after finding out her boyfriend was cheating on her moves in with three guys that she found on Craiglist. That is just the beginning of the story.

I want to start by describing some of the lovable characters on the show because they are what make the show so wonderful. They are all so relatable in their own little way.

Jessica Day:

Jess is a school teacher who does not have the best luck with relationships. Jessica is very similar to Zooey Deschannel irl (at least what I assume she is like irl). She is super quirky, a little awkward, and a really cute dresser. Like seriously I want to raid her wardrobe. She cares deeply about pretty much everything. So much so that she stops for birds so she doesn’t hit them with her car.

Nick Miller:

Then we have, Nick Miller. Nick Miller, Nick Miller, from the streets of Chicago. He is a bartender, but he actually went to law school and even passed the Bar. Nick is basically Jessica’s opposite. He is essentially an old grumpy man stuck in the body of a 30 something year old. He has all sorts of weird theories like horses came from outer space and breaking your phone screen means the government can see your secrets just to give you an idea.

Schmidt:

Next up, my personal favorite, Schmidt. Just Schmidt. They never reveal his full name on the show. What I love the most about him is that he tries to find a weird way to say basic words. He adds emphasis to different syllables and its just hilarious. He and Nick were college roommates, but back in those days Schmidt was a lot heavier. He has since lost the weight and adopted a completely different personality.

Winston:

There is also Winston Bishop or as he likes to call himself “Winnie the Bish”. Winston grew up with Nick, but then went to Latvia to play professional basketball. I think I relate the most to Winston because he is probably the clumsiest of the group and really doesn’t have his life together yet.

Cece:

Who could forget Cece. Cece is Jessica’s best friend who is now a professional model, but later becomes a bartender. She is also pretty contrary to Jess because she is tough and can be kind of scary sometimes. She knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go after it.

I think what makes the show so interesting is the character’s personalities and the way that they interact with each other. Even from the beginning, the show does such a good job of introducing the viewer to the nature of these characters. As per usual, I don’t feel like I did the characters justice, but hey TV shows are meant to be watched so see for yourself.

Fun Fact: Not really about the show, but Zooey Deschannel is in a band called She and Him with Matthew Ward. I would definitely recommend checking them out as well! Also, Deschannel helped compose the adorable theme song, “Hey Girl”, for the show.

Welcome back from spring break everyone! I hope you all had time to relax and maybe catch up on a few shows. I know I did! Since I had so much time on my hands this break, as I was feeling under the weather, I decided I could commit myself to a new show. I was a huge fan of “Breaking Bad” and I had gotten so many recommendations from friends to watch the spinoff prequel to the show, “Better Call Saul”. I am glad I listened. I know what you might be thinking, “sequels and prequels are never as good as the original”. Well let me tell you, this show will defy your expectations.

First off, it is nice to be back in the same scary, dangerous world of Albuquerque, New Mexico and see some familiar faces. Not to mention that Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould are, in my opinion, television geniuses and have delicately crafted this new show. Even from episode one the cinematography blew me away. There was one scene in particular where the protagonist, James McGill and a woman (whose name at that point I didn’t know) are standing in a parking lot. There is only a little bit of light that comes in on a slant so that James and the woman’s body are in view, but her face is blocked. That is just one example of some of the beautiful camera work that I have noticed while watching the show. If I’ve learned one thing from Breaking Bad it is that the camera work is done very purposefully and there is meaning in every shot. Along with being aesthetically appealing, this show absolutely pulls you in to the story. The show is currently on its’ second season so there is only season one on Netflix, which I blew through very quickl

For those of you that have not watched Breaking Bad, don’t worry you can still watch this show and not be confused. For those that have watched the show, then it is really interesting to get the backstory of Saul Goodman and how he transformed to become the shady, backroom dealing lawyer. However, the show is not just about Saul Goodman, or his actual name, James “Jimmy” McGill. We get to see more backstory into the life of Mike Ehrmantraut, the cleanup man from Breaking Bad. I always found him to be such an intriguing character from that show, so any detail in his past life is really fascinating to see develop. Another character from Breaking Bad that has also made an appearance and who will definitely play a role in the future is Tuco… dun dun dun.

This is the kind of show that it is very hard to give a plot synopsis without giving too much away so I will keep it very brief. The show follows the life of Jimmy McGill, a lawyer trying to open up his own practice and make it big. Currently, this dream has not gone according to plan. His office and home are in the back of a Chinese nail salon and the majority of his work is as a public defender. I swear I am not doing it justice with this, but trust me if you watch it you’ll thank me for the lack of detail!

Fun Fact: There have been rumors that Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) and Walter White (Bryan Cranston) will make appearances in later episodes!

This Saturday as I’m sure you all know was State Pattys day woo! While walking around it was almost impossible to not run into someone wearing green. I saw a lot of people wearing green “Paddys Irish Pub” shirts which is what inspired this blog post! This week I want to talk about “Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia”. This is a show about the antics of five friends, Mac, Dennis, Charlie, Dee, and Frank, who own a bar, named (you guessed it) Paddy’s Irish Pub. The humor in this show can be a bit drier and may take some getting used to, but it really grows on you after a while.  Each of the characters have their own quirks and they have a really interesting dynamic when placed together. Netflix finally added season 10 to the list and this is really the season where all of the characters true selves come became blatantly obvious. They are all terrible and incredibly selfish human beings but it goes further than that. Dennis is a pyschopath, Mac is gay, and I’m almost positive Charlie and Dee are secretly in love(but that just might be me).

Now, there is no real need to watch these episodes in order because there is no real story. It’s simply about these five “friends” and the insane situations that they get themselves and other people into. While I always recommend starting shows from the beginning because that’s just how I roll, I understand that we are college students and we don’t have a lot of time to invest in new shows from the beginning. So I’ll highlight a few of my favorite episodes for those of you that are in the mood for a new funny show without the time investment.

The Nightman Cometh:

This episode is an absolute classical. For avid followers of the show, this is probably the most quoted episode. Charlie writes a play and employs his friends to be the actors. This play has heartwarming songs, true love, and a man who creeps into rooms during the night to steal souls…you know normal things you would see in a play. I’m not really doing it justice but trust me it’s real funny.

Reynolds v Reynolds: The Cereal Defense:

In this episode the gang have a trial to determine who has to pay the damages to Dennis’ car. This episode will have you questioning the validity of a ‘donkey brains’ defense, the safety of eating cereal while driving a car, and even whether or not evolution is real. I’m just going to leave it at that.

Who Got Dee Pregnant?

This is my absolute favorite episode of the show. If you have ever heard anyone use the term “browning out”, this is where the term was coined. The gang tries to find out who got Dee pregnant at their drunken Halloween party. The way this episode pans out is hilarious as each person describes what they remember from the night in hopes that they will piece together enough true bits to solve the mystery.

Fun fact: The actors that play Dee (Caitlin Olson) and Mac (Rob McElhenney) are married in real life as are Charlie (Charlie Day) and the waitress (Mary Elizabeth Ellis). Knowing this it’s really funny to watch the way they interact on the show because Dee and Mac are always mean to each other and Charlie is in love with the waitress who rejects him constantly.