TV Shows That Bring the Funny

What's this? Two posts in as many days. I'm getting better at this. Woohoo!

I figure I should post my New Year's resolutions, but for some reason I'm not feeling that just yet. Maybe I'll save that for tomorrow or later in the week. I'll probably have broken them all by then, so I may not even bother. We'll see.

Instead, I've decided to share with you a few of my favorite funny TV shows. I usually do a year end movie list, but I just wasn't feeling the movies this year. Pretty much a lackluster film year in my opinion. Now TV on the other hand, that's picked up some steam. My theory? We've finally weathered the effects of the writer's strike in TV land, but haven't quite weathered it on the movie side since those productions take a bit longer from start to finish. Hopefully the new year will bring a better batch of movies for us all to enjoy.

Back to TV. I think I'd sum up 2009 as an angry year for me. I spent a good chunk of time just plain mad. Granted, no one really knew this because I do a wonderful job of keeping it hidden. But that, my friends, is for another post. Probably a part of the NYE resolutions as a better attitude is definitely on that list! This is just a brief intro so that you know why comedies were a big respite for me. There are four shows that I look forward to each week because I know that they will make me laugh out loud and I want to share them with you. If you're not watching them, you should.

Modern Family
Hands down, this is my favorite show right now. It's the funniest thing on TV. It centers on one family comprised of 3 household units. The patriarch has remarried a much younger woman and gained a new step-son, while his two grown children each have their own spouse's and children. There's the traditional family unit of the daughter, her husband, and three kids. There's the previously mentioned father and his new wife and step son. And then there's the gay son who has a long-term boyfriend and a newly adopted Asian baby. Hence the title, Modern Family. The show is witty without being too highbrow, yet slapsticky without being too lowbrow. In short, it hits just the right combination making it my favorite show of the week.

Parks & Recreation
I love Amy Poehler. But after last season's lackluster premiere, I didn't have high hopes for this show going into its second season. In fact, I told myself I was going to axe it, but decided to give it one more shot and watch the season premiere. And man was I shocked. They found their footing and this has turned into a consistently laugh out loud show each week. It centers on the Parks & Recreation department in Pawnee, IN. Amy Poehler's character is a bit naive, but oh so passionate about her job. She has high hopes and works amongst a group of people who could not care less. Hilarity ensues. Since I find The Office getting to be a bit old, I'm glad there's a new show to replace the missing funny.

30 Rock
Remember how I just said I love Amy Poehler? Yeah, well same goes for Tina Fey. This is still the sharpest show on TV. Tina Fey's humor is just flat out intelligent. And while Modern Family has replaced 30 Rock as my favorite, I still have mad love for this show.

Glee, or more accurately Jane Lynch on Glee.
Glee is all the rage right now, so I don't have to fill you in on the premise. I love the music and the kids, but what makes me laugh out loud is Jane Lynch. I've been a fan of hers since I saw her in Best in Show. I think I would laugh at her reading the phone book. But in Sue Sylvester, she's found the perfect comedic villain, and she's given juicy zingers that have me cackling. I can't wait to see what comes out of her mouth when Glee returns to the screen in April.

An LA Christmas

I talked my parents into coming out for a visit this Christmas. Since they've pretty much been there and done that when it comes to LA, we spent a lot of time just hanging out. We played lots of Speed Scrabble, Dominos, and Scattergories. We ate lots of yummy food including a full out Thanksgiving revisited meal with turkey, dressing, and all the sides. After my roommate scarfed down all the leftover dressing, I even tried my hand at making a batch of my own. If I do say so myself, it was pretty delicious. And Christmas wouldn't be complete without some scrumptious chocolate chip cookies and Grandma's peanut brittle. Did we just sit around and eat food you might be asking yourself? Well, yes. I had to get in a lot of grub before I start that New Year's resolution of losing weight, of course. But we also managed to squeeze in a couple of other activities.

I've been working on this post for over an hour and it's just not cooperating. So how's about I just state that the pictures below are from the following activities. We opened gifts. Or more accurately, I opened gifts. We visited the Rose Bowl. We went to the Santa Anita Racetrack. Dad loved it and could have stayed all day. Mom and I thought the horses were pretty and ate funnel cake while we let Dad play. We window shopped on Rodeo Drive after all the shops had closed because it's more fun that way. We went to Santa Barbara and stopped in Malibu on the way. A good time was had by all. Hope you had a very merry Christmas, too!