Archives for September 2020

Let’s start this off with an inspiring quote from the one and only Charles Boyle: “Piece of advice: just give up. It’s the Boyle way. It’s why our family crest is a white flag.”

In a world filled with Criminal Minds, Luther, and True Detective, Brooklyn 99 provides viewers with a niche genre that nobody thinks they need but actually do: A police precinct sitcom. B99 follows detective Jake Peralta, a happy-go-lucky Die Hard fanatic, and his co-workers (Amy Santiago, Charles Boyle, Captain Raymond Holt, Sergeant Terry Jeffords, Gina Linetti, and Rosa Diaz) as they work to put bad guys behind bars.

The overall dynamic of Brooklyn 99 is that of a typical sitcom, but what makes the show truly noice is the spoofed storylines, cast of characters, and diversity. 

In contrast to other more brooding shows about cops, Brooklyn 99 turns every potentially threatening plotline into one filled with irony and humor. For example, when Jake, Charles, and Gina get taken hostage on Christmas Eve, Jake spends the entire evening trying to recreate Die Hard rather than getting caught up on the fact that they are being, you know, held hostage. Or when interrogating a perp, Jake will, well, you’ll just have to watch.  

Though all of the characters of the show are oh-so entertaining, my three favorites are Charles, Captain Holt, and Gina. 

Charles is Jake’s best friend and personal hype man. He’s best known for his affinity for the color beige, passive demeanor, love of gourmet food, and unintentional inappropriate references. Charles’ character can be summed up in this one image:

Captain Raymond Holt is a no-nonsense man. His favorite color is tan (apparently a lot of characters appreciate a nice shade of brown), he loves his “fluffy boy,” cheddar, and he has a passion for grammatically coherent sentences. Despite his seemingly bland character description, Holt’s delivery, and timing of vocal quips is pure genius. Being surrounded by the precinct’s band of misfits, particularly Jake and Gina, Captain Holt’s character is set up to be the perfect authoritative figure. To see some comedic content at it’s finest, just watch this one scene. If that isn’t convincing enough, here, Captain Holt describes one of his favorite childhood moments:

Fashionably late as ever, is Gina Linetti. Gina has a passion for Beyoncé, giving advice, interpretive dance, wolves (her spirit animal), social media, dope sweaters, and brutal honesty. As Captain Holt’s assistant, the two characters compliment each other swimmingly; Gina is the up-to-date master of pazazz, and Captain Holt is the straight-laced realist. Gina’s personality is evidenced quite clearly here:

In addition to the talent and humor within each episode, Brooklyn 99 writers have used the show’s unique atmosphere and diverse cast to comment on more polarizing issues in a genuine way. As Captain of the 99, Holt commonly references the backlash he faces as a gay, African American police captain. In addition to the captain, Sergeant Terry Jeffords, another African American authoritative figure, has a scene in which he is stopped and searched by a fellow police officer for no given reason. Despite Brooklyn 99’s notoriously humorous script, scenes like these are written to address the unjust treatment minorities experience in their everyday lives. The scenes are tastefully done and help reach a wider audience by presenting the scenes in a comedy show. This allows more people to learn about current discussions of race and inequality present in our current public sphere.

By including this additional element of civic engagement, Brooklyn 99 goes from simply a laugh-out-loud tv show to the complete package of what you want in a 21-minute sitcom (if you watch ad-free on Hulu of course). I encourage all of my readers to give the show a chance because I can guarantee it will be very c-c-c-cool, cool, cool.

In an entertainment world filled with pre-planned plots, staged action sequences, and the Kardashians, you have to wonder if it’s possible to find a genuine tv show. While I can’t vouch for the honesty of some of my other recommendations, honey, can I vouch for this one.

If you weren’t able to guess from my Jonathan Van Ness (who knew we would get a rhyme in here!) reference, the show I’m recommending is Queer Eye. Now before any readers, especially my male readers, immediately disregard this blog post because there’s no way you would watch a “gorg makeover show about five fierce gay men,” (and yes, I’m sure that would be your direct quote) please read this blog post with Karamo Brown’s beautiful piece of advice in mind: “When people build up walls, they end up keeping other people out. But they’re also keeping themselves in.” (Or put simply, just keep an open mind!).

Though each episode of Queer Eye follows a specific person on their journey to self-refinement you better believe the show is beneficial to its viewers as well. 

As I mentioned, one of my favorite aspects of Queer Eye is how genuine the show is. The people the Fab Five makeover are unapologetically themselves throughout the entire week-long process. The guests willingly display their flaws, dreams, and fears to the Fab Five for one simple reason: they truly want their help. 

The older we get, the less susceptible we are to new ideas. Queer Eye not only demolishes this idea but it also embraces the uncomfortable conversations and uncertainty that comes with change. For example, take Cory Waldrop, the NASCAR-loving, Donald Trump-supporting, police officer from S1 of Queer Eye. Based on Cory’s descriptors, you would expect his episode to involve lots of tip-toeing around uncomfortable subjects. But true to the show, Cory’s episode was filled with honest and informative discussions. My favorite conversation involved Karamo and Cory addressing the issues of racial injustice and police brutality in our country. While both men had opinions entering the discussion, they navigated the conversation with an open mind and even more importantly, open ears. The conversation was a perfect example of what never happens in today’s public sphere. Though the conversation wasn’t perfect, it promoted growth in Cory, Karamo, and any viewers of the episode. Watching others navigate these awkward changes is inspiring and gives us, the viewers, the confidence to try to implement change for ourselves as well.

In addition to the heartwarming transformation stories on the show, the Queer Eye cast is absolutely flawless. 

I personally invite you to find something wrong with Jonathan Van Ness. JVN is the ultimate cheerleader; his primary goal in the show is to build up everyone around him. Though Jonathan is listed only as the “grooming expert” his true repertoire should truly include his vivid vocabulary, nonstop encouragement, revolutionary fashion choices, confidence coach, gorg life advice, and ability to perfectly rock a crop top. I mean with his hairstyles alone, how can you not love JVN?

Tan France is the perfect mix of sassy and classy. As the fashion expert, Tan is never one to hold back his opinions on wardrobe choices (watching his reaction to jorts is always a classic). But, when it comes time to consult with guests on the show, he always digs deeper to find the root of what their clothing choices symbolize. For Tom Jackson (S1E1) it was his fear of getting hurt, for Joey Green (S3E2), it was his fear of moving on, and for the Jones sisters (S3E3), it was a fear of losing time. Without Tan, you would lose both the sass we love and the thoughtful insights he gives us into people’s personalities.

Though Karamo Brown’s title as “culture expert” for the show may seem like too broad of a label, it perfectly encompasses Karamo’s role. Whether it’s reaching out to an estranged sibling, getting connected with a community, or even just getting up the courage to try something new, Karamo is there to help. While helping guests navigate life’s uncertainties, Karamo effortlessly recites perfectly articulated life advice (quite similar to the quote at the beginning of this blog). How Karamo does this, I have no idea, but regardless, I live for his advice.

Antoni Porowski is, and there is no better way to put this, the Rolo of the group; his chiseled and refined exterior quickly gives way to a sweet and gooey interior. In any given episode, there’s a 50-50 chance Antoni will cry. Antoni’s label as “Food and Wine” expert doesn’t do him justice; before the guests know what hit them, Antoni has turned simple cooking lessons into emotional and thought-provoking bonding experiences.  

As a person blogging about underrated tv shows, I am of course qualified to name Bobby Berk the underrated cast member of Queer Eye. As an interior designer, Bobby has significantly less face time with the guests of the show. Due to this, many people forget just how reflective and compassionate Bobby is. While all of the guys have intricate backstories that they reference, Bobby’s story is one of the most heart-wrenching. At 15, Bobby had to leave his home due to the homophobia he faced from his parents. With no college degree or high school diploma, he still managed to overcome a mountain of obstacles and made a name for himself in the world of interior design. With his complicated backstory, Bobby is able to empathize with guests facing real-world challenges in a way the other four can’t quite match. 

Listen… I know this was a long post, and I’ll try to contain some of my excitement in future blogs. I simply didn’t know how else to put all that Queer Eye means to me and other viewers into words. Though I know it might be tempting to disregard this show recommendation, especially if Queer Eye seems like a show you typically wouldn’t watch, I seriously encourage you to give the first episode a shot. And who knows, honey, you might just thank me for it one day!

While a wave of financial and construction shows (or maybe just Sunday Night Football) flashed through your head, the real answer was far fishier: Shark Tank (you’re about to get some really bad puns). While Shark Tank’s popularity as a show has fluctuated over its eleven seasons, there’s one specific reason it’s on my underrated shows list: it’s rarely mentioned as a favorite show for our demographic.

Similarly to other reality shows like the Bachelorette or Selling Sunset, Shark Tank is filled to the brim with DRAMA. If you thought 6 overly-competitive millionaires and billionaires sitting in a row of mob-boss leather chairs would be boring, you thought wrong. Each Shark in the tank plays a crucial role in the show’s dynamic. Mark is the star (how can’t he be, he’s the richest), Lori is the mom with the good snacks, Kevin is the villain, Robert is the funcle (the fun-uncle), Daymond is the hip mogul, and Barbara is the quirky aunt who’s just a bit… much. With all these personalities, the waters in the tank are bound to get choppy. 

There’s a reason the cast is dubbed “The Sharks;” one moment, Mark throws a snide comment at Laurie. The next, Laurie and Robert gang up on Barbara. The next, Daymond and Mark snatch a deal right up from Robert. And as always, Kevin offers a royalty deal. Each episode is a tidal wave of negotiations, inflated egos, success stories, and snarky comments, all beautifully intensified through sweat-glazed camera close-ups and suspenseful background music. In addition to the cast I’ve grown to love-hate, the tank now has SPECIALTY sharks who only show up for a few episodes, adding even more personalities to the mix. Shark Tank can be catty, snarky, blunt, competitive, and oh so dramatic, and I absolutely live for it. 

My least favorite aspect of tv-watching is that sinking feeling afterward of wow, I just wasted two hours of my life (precisely the reason I never watched the clock during quarantine). When I’m watching Shark Tank, I like to convince myself that I’m actually learning. I am by no means a business-oriented person, and as a result, I don’t know any of the terminologies the Sharks throw around like chum. While I normally just use context clues and call it a day, it is significantly more difficult in a field in which you have no context. Based on my previous business knowledge, Shark Tank terms reduce lengthy discussions to an unfinished mad-lib. While watching Shark Tank, I constantly find myself pausing heated debates to furiously google some obscure business term, forcing myself to memorize it, then returning back to the show.

In addition to this simple act of learning new vocabulary, the Sharks actually hand out some constructive business advice (for free I might add). One of my favorites from Mr. Wonderful himself is his opinion on ideal industries: “Look, I love two industries very much: I love weddings, and I love people dying.” Out of context, Kevin sounds like a maniac, but after hearing his reasoning, “You know why? Because when both of those happen, people make stupid decisions. Emotional decisions, not financial decisions,” his piece of advice somehow makes perfect sense. All of the Sharks are chalked-full of advice that is at it’s worst entertaining, and at it’s best, rather insightful. 

Aside from the entertainment value of the show, Shark Tank also exposes you to obscure products you never thought you needed in your life, but actually do. Though some products are clear winners (Bombas, scrub-daddy, Bubba’s BBQ, Ring doorbell, simple sugars, etc.), you also get to see some absolute flops (Pet Paint, Amber, Eyebloc, Spirithoods, etc.). While the exchanges between sharks and aspiring entrepreneurs are a plus, you also get exposure to some ingenious (as well as awful) ideas that you never would have seen without watching the show. Christmas 2020 here I come!

Now take the bait and go watch some Shark Tank!