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I have been in a TV obsession lately and so I thought a list of my favorite sitcoms of all time was appropriate. I started making one based on critical acclaim/Emmy wins/number of seasons but I didn’t like that M*A*S*H would have to be included on that list. As far as critical acclaim, Frasier trumps all other TV shows of all time, with Cheers following close behind (and the annoyingly-popular Friends wouldn’t have even made the top ten). I have a feeling if Arrested Development would have continued, it would have possibly been considered the best sitcom ever. But unfortunately, Fox is retarded and cancelled it due to their own poor marketing abilities. Enough griping, here is my list:

1. Seinfeld (9 seasons, 10 Emmy’s)
2. Cheers (11 seasons, 28 Emmy’s)
3. Arrested Development (3 seasons, 6 Emmy’s)
4. The Simpsons (18 seasons, 23 Emmy’s)
5. Frasier (11 seasons, 37 Emmy’s)
6. Everybody Loves Raymond (9 seasons, 15 Emmy’s)
7. Malcolm in the Middle (7 seasons, 6 Emmy’s)
8. Friends (10 seasons, 6 Emmy’s)
9. The Wonder Years (6 seasons, 4 Emmy’s)
10. The Andy Griffith Show (8 seasons, 6 Emmy’s)

Classes started last week and I have been extremely busy juggling unpacking, going to class, working, and trying to keep my sanity by hanging out with some friends for a small portion of my week. This semester will be nonstop for me, but I really love all my classes. My TV production course is loads of fun. We’re currently doing live demonstrations where we all switch around studio and control positions. So far I have been tape operator, shader, teleprompter, cameraman, and Chyron operator (computer graphics). Next week I get to do microphone setup, more camera work, and also be the person being interviewed (we’re doing a sit-down interview show about pet peeves). Speaking of which, I need to come up with a pet peeve to talk about. I think I’m going to go with people who talk during movies. That really pisses me off.

My other classes are fun too. My editing/cinematography class is lots of information to cover and tons of late night editing to do (my access hours to the lab are 1:00am to 6:00am, Tuesday through Friday). My film history class is really interesting. And my scriptwriting class this semester should be fun too, but tons of writing. We have to write an episode for a one-hour drama series currently on TV. I have decided to write for the new show, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, A Few Good Men). By the end of the semester, I have to write a 40-45 page script for it. The show is about the production side of a sketch comedy show (a la SNL) and should be somewhat humorous but also dramatic. Here are some nice graphics from the show:

I have chosen TWO interesting songs this week by a band named Calexico off their new CD, Garden Ruin. The first song is “Letter to Bowie Knife.” The lyrics are moderately disturbing (the song is about suicide) but I really love the song. The second song is called “Bisbee Blue” and it’s about a town called Bisbee in Arizona. Calexico has teamed up with Iron & Wine in the past so they have that acoustic sound to most of their songs, but they offer a bit more rock sound and less acoustic. The whole CD is really good, not just these two songs, but I chose them because they’re my favorites on the album.

Letter to Bowie Knife by Calexico

Bisbee Blue by Calexico

Guster is one of my favorite bands ever. Their mixture of folk, rock, bluegrass, and pop tickles my ears like no other. They released a new CD a couple of months ago called Ganging Up on the Sun and it’s just as good as their older albums. It’s much “pop-ier” than any of their previous work, but that seems to be a trend lately. Anyway I had a tough time deciding which song to choose, but in the end I went with a fun one about leaving home and then returning only to want to leave again. In other words, it should have been in Garden State. But it tells its message in an upbeat way with pianos, banjos, and a number of other uncommon instruments (for pop music). It’s so good!

C’Mon by Guster