This was one of my favorites shows of the year. Just delightful and consistently funny on a level not many pure sitcoms get to these days.
I particularly want to single out Sean Patton as Markie, as part of my "underrated comedic TV performances that deserve more attention" series, but also, he's really good at taking what could easily be a one-note meathead character and giving him layers of depth and specificity. His speech to Evan at the end of the first episode really sums it up: He's crude and blunt, but he's also a lot more practical about the reality of the world they live in than Evan is, and he's willing to go to those lengths to help a friend out, because that's what friends do (even if Evan doesn't necessarily think of him as one, at least not yet).
The depth really gets built upon in the next couple of episodes, when Markie totally embraces the girls wanting to turn Powderpuff practice into self-defense class, and then when he solves the Kayla / Chelsea dilemma ("The best way to maintain power is to artificially give it away").
And I loved Markie talking to his old teammate in the finale, and JUST HOW LONG it took him to realize his old QB was gay. (And then in Markie fashion, he's not judgmental or rejecting of him at all; he mostly thinks it would've been funny to stick it in Westlake's face that they lost to a gay QB. Also, great local reference-- Westlake is a wealthy suburb of Austin that is regularly a football powerhouse and has produced multiple Super Bowl-winning QBs.)
The whole cast is delightful, though, and the jokes are sharp and on point. (Even the subtle ones-- I love how at the end of "School Safety" Gwen is wearing a teal dress, just like the student with the hot teacher list suggested.) I love Enrico Colantoni's work as the principal, mostly playing Grant with a Peter Gibbons-esque "My only real motivation is not getting hassled" attitude, although the last couple of episodes give him plenty of depth as well. Really, really, enjoyed this and really hope it gets a season 2 pickup.
Hear, hear-- NewsRadio is my favorite live-action sitcom of all time. (The only shows I rank above it personally are my favorite TV drama of all time, The Shield, and the best show ever made in the medium, The Simpsons.)
I quite enjoyed this show. Great bones. It feels like something that could do great things (in a different timeline) with a 20 episode season and a broader ensemble focus. Everyone's doing great work. Hope they get picked up and we have a chance to spend more time with these characters.
So, I do believe Kotter was the first sitcom to focus inside a school. I was thinking of other teenage shows like Dobie Gillis, but they didn't really focus on school.
As far as camping field trips. That was the big field trip in 5th grade where I grew up. There were week long trips to Mexico (for the Spanish class) and Germany for the German language students and various countries in Europe for the tenth grade advanced English/Social studies students.
This was one of my favorites shows of the year. Just delightful and consistently funny on a level not many pure sitcoms get to these days.
I particularly want to single out Sean Patton as Markie, as part of my "underrated comedic TV performances that deserve more attention" series, but also, he's really good at taking what could easily be a one-note meathead character and giving him layers of depth and specificity. His speech to Evan at the end of the first episode really sums it up: He's crude and blunt, but he's also a lot more practical about the reality of the world they live in than Evan is, and he's willing to go to those lengths to help a friend out, because that's what friends do (even if Evan doesn't necessarily think of him as one, at least not yet).
The depth really gets built upon in the next couple of episodes, when Markie totally embraces the girls wanting to turn Powderpuff practice into self-defense class, and then when he solves the Kayla / Chelsea dilemma ("The best way to maintain power is to artificially give it away").
And I loved Markie talking to his old teammate in the finale, and JUST HOW LONG it took him to realize his old QB was gay. (And then in Markie fashion, he's not judgmental or rejecting of him at all; he mostly thinks it would've been funny to stick it in Westlake's face that they lost to a gay QB. Also, great local reference-- Westlake is a wealthy suburb of Austin that is regularly a football powerhouse and has produced multiple Super Bowl-winning QBs.)
The whole cast is delightful, though, and the jokes are sharp and on point. (Even the subtle ones-- I love how at the end of "School Safety" Gwen is wearing a teal dress, just like the student with the hot teacher list suggested.) I love Enrico Colantoni's work as the principal, mostly playing Grant with a Peter Gibbons-esque "My only real motivation is not getting hassled" attitude, although the last couple of episodes give him plenty of depth as well. Really, really, enjoyed this and really hope it gets a season 2 pickup.
And I still believe that Newsradio is the funniest live action sitcom of all time. Simms is great.
Hear, hear-- NewsRadio is my favorite live-action sitcom of all time. (The only shows I rank above it personally are my favorite TV drama of all time, The Shield, and the best show ever made in the medium, The Simpsons.)
I quite enjoyed this show. Great bones. It feels like something that could do great things (in a different timeline) with a 20 episode season and a broader ensemble focus. Everyone's doing great work. Hope they get picked up and we have a chance to spend more time with these characters.
So, I do believe Kotter was the first sitcom to focus inside a school. I was thinking of other teenage shows like Dobie Gillis, but they didn't really focus on school.
As far as camping field trips. That was the big field trip in 5th grade where I grew up. There were week long trips to Mexico (for the Spanish class) and Germany for the German language students and various countries in Europe for the tenth grade advanced English/Social studies students.