Spreading the Television Gospel (We Need to Talk about “Baskets”)
By I’ll be honest: until recently there wasn’t a whole lot on television that excited me. There was my appointment television: Stephen Colbert’s late night show intro, The Daily Show, The Nightly Show, @Midnight, and a couple of soaps…but apart from that I just wasn’t feeling TV. Then I discovered “Baskets.”
What a strange and wonderful show “Baskets” is. As I discussed in a previous post, the show is about a man–Chip Baskets–who wants to make a living as a clown. It takes place in Bakersfield, California, the perfect backdrop for the show’s “suburban nightmare” oeuvre. In the last episode, Christine Baskets (the main character’s mother) takes Chip’s freeloading French wife on a tour of the town, proudly pointing out the second Arby’s and telling Penelope she could happily “get lost” in the local megamart. I suppose you could think “how awful,” “how bourgeois,” but ultimately Christine Baskets is incredibly likable. What’s more, in a surreal turn of casting, she is played to perfection…by Louis Anderson. As the show begins to humanize everyone in the cast, this kind of casting is seeming less like a stunt and more like genius. I am growing to love Christine Baskets and to me she is just “Christine,” not “Louis Anderson in drag.” The show is sad and funny and surprisingly poignant. I can’t get enough. I really want to spread the gospel and get everyone to watch this show. Please do. It is SO GOOD.
In true bspencerian style, I’m just now discovering “Man Seeking Woman,” and I feel like such a doo-doo-head because it is brilliant. Pleasantly bonkers and surreal from start to finish, this show is going to scratch a comedy itch you didn’t know you had. It follows the travails of Jay Baruchel’s Josh, who is trying to navigate adulthood–Can I find a partner I dig? Is this crap job one I want to have forever?…that sort of thing– with kookiness ensuing. But these are just words on a screen. If I’m going to convince you to watch, I need to bring out the big guns. So here’s a great synopsis of Josh being schooled about being a Nice Guy™. It’s A-MAZING.
OK, here’s the thing: I love “Idiotsitter.” But it’s a show that lives up or down to its name, depending on your point of view. Me? I think it’s genius, but it’s particular flavor of idiocy isn’t going to be for everybody. But if you like jokes about taking dead coyotes in suits to funerals and you like the idea of Channing Tatum “Labyrinth” cos-playing, the show is definitely worth a look.
What is must-see TV for you these days?