Last night we got treated to two new episodes of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia: "Charlie Gets Crippled" and "The Gang Goes Jihad."  Just from the episode titles I knew they were going to be great, and it didn't disappoint at all.  The show hasn't skipped a beat from the first season, and Danny DeVito is an excellent addition to the cast as Dennins and Sweet D's crazy father.

DeVito fits right in and the 'parents' element adds a nice fresh dimension to the show.  Still, some of the funniest moments came out of just 'the gang' doing their thing.  The look on Dennis's face when Sweet D ripped apart his childhood stuffed toy was brilliant.  Glenn Howerton deserves an award for that.

The only problem, if you can even call it a problem, is that some of the jokes are starting to get foreshadowed too much.  I don't want to say "predictable," because they almost always go in an unexpected direction, but it's starting to get easy to see where they're going with things.  Still, that's really the only remotely negative thing I can come up with and it hardly takes away from the show.

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia is one of the freshest, funniest shows I've seen on TV in years, and that includes some of my favorites like My Name Is Earl and The Office.

    -Tucker

There was nothing else on - REALLY. So, I watched some of "So You Think You Can Dance." This is on joke - they don't just think they can dance, they really can.

It's amazing to see so many people be so talented and versatile.

Sure, the "hostess" is horrible and the show is still cheesy reality TV and it gets super boring to watch sometimes, but if you can tune in to see even one or two routines, you'll be amazed.

But don't tune in too much or for too long... I don't want more reality spawn hitting the airwaves as a result of ratings from the curious. What's next... So You Think You Can Cook? So You Think You Can Fight? So You Think You Can Give Birth? It's getting gross.

- Judianne

This is it.  The final straw.  I've been kicked around by the bastards at Service Electric for way too long.  I've got an $80+ cable bill due that I'm just straight up not going to pay.  $80? For freaking what? The "customer service" is nonexistant, the stream of bullshit that flies out of the mouths of even the managers is absurd and the cable service just plain sucks.

August marks a full year since I was told HD was available at my apartment.  Not coming, not partial, available.  I bought a really nice HDTV based on this claim.  HD was nonexistent.  No matter, I got lots of friendly people on the line telling me service would be there "soon."  "In two weeks."  "Right around the corner."  Bull. Shit.

They can turn off the cable if they want, I don't care anymore.  There's nothing on now anyway, and anything I could possibly want to watch I can download a few hours after it airs.  Hell, it'll save me some cash, too.  Maybe when I feel like laying out more money I'll go with one of the satellite services, but from what I understand they're rendered useless as soon as a cloud decides to roll on in.  Still, at least I'd get some HD from time to time.

It's 2000-goddamn-six.  It's not that freaking hard to pipe in a signal.  If you recall, I even HAD a partial signal for a while, but Service Electric in all their infinite wisdom and ability somehow fucked even that up.  Now my REGULAR digital cable drops out occasionally and the HD channels just don't exist.  It's ridiculous.  I've never dealt with a more backwards-ass company in my life.  Service Electric, go to hell.

    -Tucker

Last night we saw two more comics go down on "Last Comic Standing." The first bit was boring - a quick minute on the radio with Adam Carolla. At leat that part was short. Then I had to flip away for a good half hour to escape all the lame "reality" drama between the contetants on the Queen Mary. I flipped back just in time to watch four (instead of the usual three) go into the head-to-head standup competition.

Bill Dwyer and Joey Gay went home for good reason,I thought. Joey just kept yelling and getting more and more intense like his head was going to explode for no apparent reason - his comedy isn't usually that  way (from what I've seen). Bill was just not up to snuff. His jokes were a on the cheesy side and his delivery was off - it looked like the audience was having teeth pulled instead of being entertained (poor guy).

Chris Porter pulled out his self-proclaimed "best material" and really rocked the crowd, but who doesn't like a good series of condom jokes? Michele Balan came out of nowhere for a second time (she was the in head-to-head last time against Stella and April Macie, who both got sent home)  to hang on wiith more funny smoking jokes and a few fresh angles. So those two got to stay.

So, it's down to eight comics and the next episode has them roasting one another, so that should be good.

- Judianne

Don't forget, everyone - tomorrow is the premiere of season two of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia.  Make sure you set your TiVos or whatever you have to do, because the show is freakin' hilarious.  I really hope they can keep it as consistently funny as they did in season one, but considering the quality of those episodes I don't think I should be too concerned.

I am a little apprehensive about Danny DeVito joining the cast; hopefully he'll either be a really great character or not overused.  Still, I've come to trust the judgment of TV people who crank out consistently good products.

It airs tomorrow (Thursday, June 29) at 10 p.m. on FX.  As a matter of fact, there are TWO new episodes on the schedule tomorrow.  Bonus.  Should be an excellent evening of TV for a change.

    -Tucker

Well, I finished Veronica Mars well ahead of Boston Legal in my Summer Pickups series.  The fact is, my roommate turned into a crazed Veronica Mars junkie and would not let anything else touch the TV screen.  This is actually still going on - except now we're working through downloads of season two.  Yesterday I was actually afraid for my life when I suggested we take a break after we watched three episodes - ultimately she relented, went to her room, pouted for an hour or so and went to bed early. Then she got up in time to take a shower before me this morning just so I wouldn't have any hot water.  This is a true story. I'm considering calling Good Shephard in Allentown.

Anyway, what's so great about Veronica Mars? It's hard to say, really.  I tried to describe the premise of the show to another friend and even I was bored.  The thing is, there's so much going on in a season of the show that it's impossible to really track down.  The writers layer mystery on top of mystery, and the driving force behind it all is the clever writing, wit and sense of humor that breaks up what would otherwise be pretty heavy-handed storytelling.

At the end of the season, after lots of really great storylines got wrapped up, we were left wondering where, exactly, they would be able to go in the second season.  A friend reassured us there was plenty going on, and from the first several episodes of season two, I'm almost embarrased for having been a doubter.  All I can say is anyone who likes a good detective story simply must check this show out.  The first couple of episodes don't really seem like anything special (see my first impressions), but as the show comes into its own it's pretty hard not to watch.  Just ask my roommate.

SEE ALSO:
Summer Pickups List
Summer Pickups: Disc 1 Report
Summer Pickups: Disc 2 Report
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

    -Tucker

Just in case I'd forgotten that it's summer and for all intents and purposes TV doesn't exist, my roommate and I flipped on the tube this weekend.  After 20 minutes of flipping and two or three times through the channel lineup, it was confirmed: TV really doesn't exist in the summer.  At least, it might as well not exist - with all the boring crap we flipped past they might as well have been airing static.  At least that would have let us slip into a Poltergeist-esque trancelike state.

It was a lapse in judgement.  I knew I should have kept the TV turned off.  Maybe that's the networks' diabolical plan.  They don't air anything interesting during the summer to encourage people to get off their asses for a change.

Well, at least I still have some more TV-on-DVD to watch, and some of the summer shows will start airing very soon.  Anything to break up the mundane stream of infomercials and crappy re-runs.

    -Tucker

I'll send a little love here over to a post from one of my favorite blogs, TVSquad.  They got a chance to check out NBC's new shows premiering in the fall and weigh in with their impressions.  Why didn't we get any screener copies?  Well, I guess we're just straight-up not cool enough for NBC.

It looks like NBC has some really good programming coming our way. Here's what I'm looking forward to, check the TVSquad post for the full list.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
It's about an SNL-type show trying to stay fresh after 20 years on the air by bringing back some of the crazies from the old days.  Hey, if NBC can't make SNL funny maybe they can at least make a little self-parody funny.

30 Rock
Continuing with the SNL tie-ins, this one has Tina Fey as a writer for a sitcom dealing with network president Alec Baldwin, a crazy comedian played by Tracy Morgan and the star of the fictional show, Rachel Dratch.  They're some of my favorite SNL players, and Baldwin is one of the best recurring hosts they have, so this should be pretty damn funny.

Kidnapped, The Donnelys and Heroes also look good, but they could all go either way.  Regardless, there will be plenty of new shows floating out there to keep the DVRs busy.

    -Tucker

Well it's here already, ladies and gents - Fox has announced their fall schedule.  They'll be dropping their shows sooner than all the other networks, like usual, so make sure you clear our your TiVo by the end of August to make some room.  Here's my list of important premieres, or click to this Zap2It story for the full lineup.

Monday, August 21
8:00 p.m. "Prison Break"

  Tuesday, September 5
9:00 p.m. "House"

 Sunday, September 10
8:00 p.m. "The Simpsons"
8:30 p.m. "American Dad"
9:00 p.m. "Family Guy"

Saturday, September 16
11:00 p.m."MADtv"

Enjoy the return to regular TV, just a couple months away now.  Although, knowing Fox, we'll watch about one or two new episodes in September, then finish it all up next March.

    -Tucker

If you're anything remotely close to my family and friends, you still make frequent remote pit stops at TBS and FOX when those classic Seinfeld episodes come on (aren't they all classics?)

And if you're really like my family and friends, you're still spouting Seinfeld one-liners at dinners, parties, holiday gatherings and e-mails as well.

Now I don't know about you, but after hundreds of repeats viewings, I still find each episode incredibly funny. In many cases, my dad and I drive my wife and mom crazy when we get together, as we start rehashing episodes and repeating the same lines over and over again. (Mom: "Why do you always do this, you've seen every episodes a million times!")

Well, if that type of thing makes you crazy, I found a Web site that's going to drive you insane:

URL: http://www.seinfeldscripts.com/

Yes folks, finally a perfect use of the internet -- every transcript of every Seinfeld episode on one site.

(More After The Jump)

Like the episode containing the classic Kramer/Darren the intern moment: (KRAMER) "Whew. You know Darren, if you would have told me twenty-five years ago that some day I’d be standing here about to solve the worlds energy problems, I would’ve said you’re crazy...Now let’s push this giant ball of oil out the window." (The Voice, Ep. 158, 10/02/1997)

Or the Re-gift/Risk episode: (JERRY) I'm not letting you cheat, Newman. You're not getting anywhere near that board. (NEWMAN) Jerry? I'm a little insulted. (JERRY) You're not a little anything, Newman... (The Label Maker, Ep. 98, 01/19/1995)

And of course, The Soup Nazi: (ELAINE) Never been a big fan. [coughing] Um..you know what? Has anyone ever told you you look exactly like Al Pacino? You know, "Scent Of A Woman." Hoo-ah! Hoo-ah! (SOUP NAZI) Very good. Very good. (ELAINE) Well, I -- (SOUP NAZI) You know something? No soup for you! Come back one year! Next! (The Soup Nazi, Ep. 115, 11/02/1995)

There's millions of others and is a must for Seinfeld fans. If you have (or don't have) any time on your hands, make sure to check out seinfeldscripts.com.

And make sure to come back here and tell us your favorite episodes and one liners!

Giddy Up!

-Marc