To Sitcom or Not to Sitcom

Sitcoms: I didn’t even know TV serial were called that! I belong to the generation who make fun on their mothers who dedicatedly switch the channel from a documentary on the Inside story on 9/11 (Nat Geo) to her soap operas on Star Plus. This incident is repeated every night till the Friday Night. I remember how my Brother and I used to wait for weekends to come; to watch movies on HBO and World Movies.

But Soap Operas are not sitcoms. They are epic sagas – an almost replica and definitely, an exaggeration of the everyday lives of the people in joint families. If I think of a longest running sitcom (post checking the dictionary meaning of it!), it has to be FRIENDS. “I will be there for you” – my computer screen would start singing – well, yes – I had Seasons and seasons (1 2 3 4 5… I stopped counting) of it. 

The other sitcom I remember watching was Will and Grace – and well, I was hooked on to it for quite a while. The alchemy of Will (the Gay Lawyer) and Grace (The Jewish Woman) appealed to me, since I was friends with a few of them.

Then a lot of sitcoms came and went by. Along came Band of Brothers , a HBO  was a 2001 ten-part war series based on the experiences of E Company ("Easy Company") of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment assigned to the 101st Airborne Division of the U S Army. The characters were extremely genuine and believable, as against the histrionics of an Indian Family Epic.

This one has to feature in this blog: South Park, an American animated sitcom meant for a ‘mature audience’; even though the characters are four lousy (yet, adorable) boys, fool proofed with expletives, prepared to fight against the atrocities of the world – with a vengeance. Sorry Simpsons, I haven’t watched you! And yes, I am THAT ignorant.

I was going to write about “Why I don’t watch Sitcoms” But now, I realize that there are a handful that have been/are not just worthy of the 30-minute of your time, but quite an addiction if you take a little break from the movies (An hour and hour break is all I am asking!)

Written by Guest Writer Shubhra Rishi

Naukri.com , here I come ..

If you can live life believing in yourself , you can do almost anything. 

For the rest of us , here's a little inspiration from none other than His Highness , Mr. Awesome ( aka Legendary )

This Week's Recommendation : Modern Family

We do not wish to influence your experience of this show in way of words.

Twain believed : The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause. 

So go ahead , and make up your mind about this one. No , do not Wiki or IMDB it. We all virtual savvy people sometimes need to experience things first hand. 

How I Met Your Mother' Review: Is Tragedy a Good Thing?

It's always a delicate situation when comedies delve into tragedy. During its six seasons, How I Met Your Mother has never gone into genuine tragedy, but all that changed last night.

HIMYM has had plenty of sad moments, but they've all circled around romantic relationships, from Marshall and Lily's break-up to Stella leaving Ted. But in "Bad News," after a rather enjoyable episode, tragedy struck when Marshall learned that his father had died suddenly.

The tonal shift came out of nowhere despite a running countdown throughout the episode (numbers appeared on various props in descending order leading up to the revelation). I like it when sitcoms add emotional depth, but only if it makes sense within the context of the show. But after six seasons of light-hearted romantic comedy, I wasn't prepared for Marshall's dad to die out of the blue.

Still, I'm willing to hold off judgment. My first inclination is to be mortified that HIMYM would manipulate me into sadness with a random tragedy, but then I remembered what show I'm watching. Nothing happens by accident, so I can only assume that the death of Marshall's father will play a larger role in the show's mythology.

However, the episode wasn't all tragedy and it would be foolish to only review the last 30 seconds. There were also plenty of references to the show's deep mythology. Robin's old co-anchor Sandy Rivers (played by Alyson Hannigan's real-life husband Alexis Denisof) returned as did a montage of Robin's greatest hits, from "Let's Go to the Mall" to her falling into manure. But as entertaining as it was, I was painfully distracted by Robin's glasses which made her look like Tina Fey's identical cousin.

We also met the actual fifth doppelganger, a fertility specialist who looks exactly like Barney. His appearance was supposed to be a sign for Marshall and Lily to have a child, but instead it served as a portent of death. Much like the Slap Bet, the appearance of the doppelgangers has been a great addition toHIMYM and I hope they will come back at some point. I think we'd all like to know what Lesbian Robin is up to.

Overall, I'm still uneasy about this episode. I enjoyed everything up until Marshall's father died, but it's hard to see anything beyond that moment. Hopefully HIMYM will use this tragedy to get back on track.

Barn ( wait for it ) ey !

Read up on my Idol!

Hey guys, hope your enjoying the blog (as much of it as is on till now!). Just thought that if we’re putting up stuff abt HIMYM (that’s what avid fans know How I Met Your Mother) it would only be appropriate to guide you people to another brilliant webpage which is a must visit for everyone with a sense of humour. Yes, I am talking about Barney Stinson’s blog!!

For those of you who haven’t already visited it, or don’t watch the series, I urge you to just go through the blog posts.. (it’d make one hell of a Sunday afternoon read)

There are many online, but these two are by far the funniest ones. Take time to go through both.

That’s all for the moment.. Oh n like he always says,

Im Awesome! ;)

1. http://barneysblog.livejournal.com/ 
2. http://www.cbs.com/primetime/how_i_met_your_mother/community/barney_blog/index.php

Bazinga 4 Life!

What would come to your mind first upon hearing things like "The Einstein Approximation," "The Financial Permeability," or "The Peanut Reaction"? Physics? Finance? Medicine? You know what I'm thinking? I’m thinking The Big Bang Theory on CBS. In case you ever felt like a nerd, welcome to your new homeplace.

The Premise of CBS’s Comedy TV Show 

The Big Bang Theory is the latest and most stellar discovery in the universe of TV comedy. Created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, the sitcom starring Roseanne’s Johnny Galecki, actor Jim Parsons, and Kaley Cuoco, aired in the fall of 2007 and has been bestowing fits of hysterical laughter on a worldwide audience ever since.The show's premise is based on the dichotomy of "brainy meets ... well, not-so-brainy," to put it mildly. The character of Penny (Kaley Cuoco), a stereotypical blond who aspires to become a – surprise, surprise! – actress, moves from Nebraska to an apartment in Pasadena, California. As it turns out, her neighbors are the most trenchant, possible counterpart of her: two geeks who add an entirely new level to the definition of 'nerd.' 

The Big Bang Theory is a TV sitcom which proves that the # 1 mantra for writing successful comedies is indeed: simple is beautiful. Its humor is based on the fundamental gap between average, simple people and people who are anything but; physicists who are super-intelligent but have next to no people skills whatsoever. The show is not about worlds that collide, it is about the clash of entire universes.It is a given that the lion share of the show's success is due to Sheldon Cooper, one of the most unusual and intriguing characters to appear on American television in years. What with all his inability to cope with irony and sarcasm and the ensuing running gags, the viewer is bound to fall in love with this cranky eccentric. It is thus no coincidence that Jim Parsons recently won the 2010 Emmy for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. 

Even though the show does apply the usual taped laughter from a live audience, there would be not a single dry eye in the house without them. The Big Bang Theory, in essence, represents the science of good entertainment and fun. And I’m not talking funny-ha ha here. I’m talking laugh-out-loud funny, quirky, off-the-wall humor, like you wouldn’t believe. 

The three main actors (Galecki, Parsons and Cuolo), by the way, recently renewed their contracts for yet another four seasons, meaning there is a lot of Bazinga! to come and look forward to. Yay.

Homer Wisdom 

• "Remember as far as anyone knows, we're a nice normal family."
• "I know what you're saying, Bart. When I was young, I wanted an electric football machine more than anything else in the world, and my parents bought it for me, and it was the happiest day of my life. Well, goodnight." 
• "Your lives are in the hands of men no smarter than you or I, many of them incompetent boobs. I know this because I worked alongside them, gone bowling with them, watched them pass me over for promotions time and again. And I say... This stinks!"
• "That's it! You people have stood in my way long enough. I'm going to clown college!"
• "You tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is 'never try'." 
• "God bless those pagans."
• "I'm in a place where I don't know where I am!" 
• "I am so smart, I am so smart, s-m-r-t....I mean s-m-A-r-t." 
• "Oh, everything's too damned expensive these days. This Bible cost 15 bucks! And talk about a preachy book! Everybody's a sinner! Except this guy." 
• "Ha ha! Look at this country! ? U R Gay!? Ha ha!" (looking at Uruguay on the globe). 
• "Don't mess with the dead, boy, they have eerie powers."
• "Donuts. Is there anything they can't do?"
• "Relax. What is mind? No matter. What is matter? Never mind!" 
• "Good drink... good meat... good God, let's eat!"