The Top Eight One-Season Shows Everyone Should Watch

I couldn't tell you why, but a few days ago I was at the gym sweating my little but off on the elliptical, and I ended up thinking about how many great cancelled shows there are out there. In fact, some of my favorite shows have only lasted for three seasons or less.  Then I realized that off the top of my head I could name a bunch of really wonderful shows that have only lasted for one season.

The point of this list is simple.  Here are eight amazing shows that are garanteed to delight you, and won't take up too much of your time in the process.  They're easy to swallow, easy to be entertained by, and easy to get obsessed with.  While deciding what made the cut, I definitely came across some one season shows that filled my heart with reminiscent glee (Two of a Kind), and some that were maybe a little longer than one season (Veronica Mars).  But I went with only the cream of the crop.  These are shows you should absolutely without a doubt in my mind take the time to sit down and watch, that everyone has the time for.

These are the shows that I can watch over and over again and never get sick of.  They're only one season (well, for the most part).  So take a gander.  And the next time you have a hankering to watch something new, but aren't sure what kind of commitment you want to make, remember this list! :-)

8. FlashForward

Great cast, intricate plots, a wonderfully intriguing science fiction mystery drama where everyone on earth blacks out at the same time and has a "flash forward" to a few months into the future.  In dealing with what that means for each individual character, we end up with a great ensemble piece full of delicious character development.  It's kind of like a sci fi Grey's Anatomy.  (Yeah, I said it.  And if you want to make fun of me for it, I'll refer you to my post about why I love Grey's Anatomy.  That's all I can do, really.)  The plot's pretty meaty as well, if not full of explanations that sound completely plausible but are just a bit over our heads.  But isn't that all good sci fi should be?

One thing that puts FlashForward at the bottom of the list is it was definitely meant to go on for much longer than one season.  I'll warn you of this before you watch it:  The ending is sensationally terrible, and will leave you screaming at your TV (well, probably your computer screen) wondering why they would ever choose to use that weird montage of senselessness when they could have at least tried to wrap up some plot points a little.

7. Grosse Pointe

Don't be fooled by that little stamp that says, "From the creator of Sex and the City."  Indeed, this is another Darren Star show, but Grosse Pointe has a completely different tone, feel, and brand of comedy to it.  In retrospect, that was probably its downfall.  It attracted the wrong kind of people because of the name attached to it (think: Funny People).

Grosse Pointe is a delightful sitcom about the cast of a ridiculous prime time soap opera called, well, Grosse Pointe.  A satire based mostly on the set and actors of Beverly Hills 90210 (another Darren Star show), Grosse Pointe takes you into the lives of five actors who all have their own unique issues due to the glamorous lives they live.  Additionally, it takes you into the life of Dave the Stand In (played by Kyle Howard, who happens to be one of my favorite actors, but also seems to be a show killer sadly.  Wah, wah.), who is sucked into their world by his desire to get his big break and become a real actor.  Despite their being a little bit crazy, you will feel for these characters.  In the short run it got, every character in this show showed some form of personal growth.  This short ride will suck you in and leave you screaming for more.  Oh.  And did I mention it's freaking hilarious?

6. The Middleman

Oddly enough this was the first TV show I watched when I moved to New York.  Why is that odd?  Because The Middleman is about a twenty-something year-old girl named Wendy.  She is a starving artist.  She illegally lives in a cool, New York apartment.  And she's desperately looking for temp work to make some money.  Well, hey.  That about describes me, except my apartment isn't nearly as cool (or big!  why are TV apartments and dorms always so big?! and cool???!!!).  And I'm willing to bet most of the people reading this can relate as well!

Well, anyway.  On what I believe was her first day as a temp receptionist for some cryptic sciency company, a crazy botched science experiment (yeah...it's a tentacle monster) leads her to meet The Middleman.  Sounds pretty cool already, doesn't it?  Did I mention it's based on a comic book?  The Middleman is one of those superheros whose always saving the world while trying to keep all the crazy shit that happens a secret from us ordinary people whose brains simply just can't handle the knowledge of their existence.  And Wendy becomes his sidekick!  Plus he's got a seemingly endless supply of cheesy 50s-esque sayings that are quite unique and will most likely make you go "huh-buh-what?" in the best way possible.

It's fun, funny, and anyone living in New York to pursue their creative passions will relate to Wendy and her friends.

5. Better Off Ted

Okay.  This is one of two shows that made the list that is technically two seasons, but each are 13 episodes which makes it one average American TV season. :-)

Better Off Ted is a satirical office sitcom that takes place at a company called Veridian, which is basically based on big corporations and how incredibly screwed up they are.  The main character Ted is head of Research and Development,  which means that whatever Veridian decides to do next, we see the research and development for.  These things could range anywhere from weaponizing the pumpkin to seeing if its possible to cryogenically freeze a live human being for a year (which they may or may not have tested on one of their own employees).  In addition to Ted, there's Ted's bizarrely emotionless and definitely crazy boss played by the phenomenal Portia de Rossi (Arrested Development, married to Ellen), Ted's love interest Linda whose true passion in life is to get her book published (a children's book about a toaster and a zebra becoming friends), Ted's strangely insightful eleven year old daughter Rose, and the genius scientists Phil and Lem who you could imagine encounter a lot of strange things in the lab and of course have classic scientist social problems.

It's a very witty, strange as all hell, yet a decisively realistic non-stop laugh fest.  Just watch it.  Really.

4. The Class

Jesse Tyler Fergusson.  Lizzy Caplan.  Jason Ritter.  That girl who plays Linda in Better Off Ted (haha, her real name is Andrea Anders).  That alone should be enough to make you want to watch this show.  But don't worry, I have tons more to persuade you!

In the pilot episode of The Class, Ethan (Jason Ritter) surprises his fiance by bringing together all the kids (now in their late twenties) from their mutual third grade class for a party.  His engagement doesn't exactly last, but this bizarre get together where no one is quite sure why they are there ends up sparking a whole new web of interactions and friendships between these people who barely know each other anymore.  It rekindles some old romances, sparks some new ones, and all in all just creates strange new relationships that are completely endearing.  Fall in love with these characters as their lives begin to intertwine in this infectious fashion.

I don't know how else to put it.  There's honestly so much character development and different yet connected plots to describe in this one little blurb.  Plus, it's just better and way funnier if you let it surprise you.  I promise this is one sitcom you will not regret watching.

(Author's Note: For any of you who have seen my sitcom FYE, the relationship between Kat (Lizzy Caplan) and Ethan is very Sunshine/Mart.)

3. Party Down

This is the other two seasoner on the list.  From the creator of Veronica Mars (who happens to be named Rob Thomas.  Not the Matchbox Twenty guy.  A different Rob Thomas.) comes a show about starving artists living in LA and working for a catering company called Party Down.  There's a young, hot actor (Ryan Hansen), a female comedian (me!  I mean... Lizzy Caplan), a washed up actress who never made it (Jane freaking Lynch), a pretentious science fiction screenwriter (also me!  I mean...Martin Starr), their boss who has become a true Party Down man - you know the type (Ken Marino), and Henry (Adam Scott), the truly talented actor who made it just enough to become a punch line from a stupid commercial, but feels beaten down by the lifestyle, so he's back to catering.

We see the world from their perspective.  How they all have so much talent and so much drive, but just haven't found that way to make it yet.  So they're forced to work in the service industry, catering to people who have way too much money and ridiculous needs.  The dry humor pours from these characters and realistic situations like a chocolate fountain of delicious sarcasmy goodness.  (Weird simile, I know).  With a great cast and an amazing creative team, Party Down is a masterpiece that showcases the humor, the frustration, and the fun that comes with pursuing your dreams.

2.  Firefly

Yeah, yeah.  Raise your hand if you've been waiting for this one.  Sue me, I'm a Whedon-head.

For those of you who don't know, Firefly never really got the chance it deserved.  First of all, it was on Fox.  Second of all, Fox decided not to air the pilot episode.  And Firefly happens to be a Space Western which takes place in a very unique, confusing, longggg time in the future world, all the facets of which are still not completely clear to me.  So you could imagine how confusing it would be to have to dive in without the two hour pilot.  What is wrong with Fox executives?  The world may never know.

Firefly has that unique Whedon touch of a delightful wit mixed into a series of serious and seriously dangerous situations.  All the characters are distinct and lovable, yet they all have their secrets, and everything is a bit more mysterious and complicated than it seems.  I love the way that Joss Whedon tells a story, and Firefly is no exception to that rule.  The one benefit of this show is that we do get a sort of conclusion with the movie Serenity.  Although I'm not going to lie to you, it's probably not the conclusion you were looking for, and it still leaves a ton of unanswered questions.  He created an amazing world with this show, and had it continued for longer than the 14 episode stint it got, I don't doubt it would have become one of the greatest shows ever written.


1.  Wonderfalls

Despite it only consisting of 13 episodes, Wonderfalls is one of my favorite shows of all time.  It's from the same creator as Pushing Daisies and has a similar feel, but this earlier creation from Bryan Fuller is, in my opinion, far superior.  And I strongly believe had it gotten the run it deserved (aka had it not been on Fox.  Eff those guys, seriously), it would have had a lot more staying power than Pushing Daisies.  And it still has Lee Pace!  (He starts as a small character but gradually becomes more important, and has one of my favorite lines in the show.)

Wonderfalls is about Jaye, an anti-social, disgruntled, highly sarcastic young woman who lives in a trailer park and makes a living as a sales clerk at a kitsch souvenir shop in Niagra Falls, despite her rich and highly influential family.  Actually, a little bit to spite them.  One day inanimate objects start talking to Jaye in a very Joan of Arc fashion.  Whether or not these stuffed animals are channeling the voice of god, or Jaye is just going crazy, the voices always have a purpose.  Jaye soon realizes that the cryptic messages from the stuffed animal deities are always trying to get her to help someone, something that pretty much just goes against Jaye's nature.  But what I really love is that Jaye always has to work it through and really figure out what they're trying to say.  Each episode takes you through a journey and follows through.  You always know exactly how you got from point A to point B.

This is one of the smartest, funiest, most heart warming, fun, romantic, and sad shows I've ever seen in my life.  If you take away one show from this list, honestly, I hope it is this one.

But really, you should watch them all! :-)

A Very Grey's Anatomy Musical

If you're an avid reader of my blog, you know that I'm a big fan of Grey's Anatomy and I believe it too often gets ragged on by people who blow it off as your typical soap opera drama.  What you might not know is that I'm also a big fan of musicals.  I'm always a little bit excited but a lot skeptical when a musical episode of a TV show I love is going to come out.  Because as you may or may not have noticed, plot and character development are very important to me, and just throwing a musical episode in for no good reason takes one out of the story.

It worked on Buffy because there was a demon that got off on making people sing out their true feelings.  It actually moved along the plot in a very unique way, bringing out characters' thoughts and feelings without them being able to control it, causing them to let out deep dark secrets that would change the way other characters understood them.  It worked on Scrubs because a patient had a terrible brain aneurysm that caused her to hear life as a musical.  They were very cautious to make sure she was always around during the musical numbers, even if she was just kind of saddled in the background or passing by for a second.

Of course, what both of these shows also did was play to the actors' strengths to get the best musical numbers they could, and they included some very well-written songs that really added something to the show.

The Grey's Anatomy musical episode did very few of these things correctly.  The episode started off, and Callie (played by Sara Ramirez), a beloved, pregnant doctor at Seattle Grace had just gotten into a terrible car accident where she flew through the windshield.  By the way, her soon-to-be fiance, Arizona, walked away with seemingly little injury despite her face being covered in blood and bruises for the rest of the episode.  I find it hard to believe that a group of doctors would let their doctor friend go completely unexamined just because she was standing, but that's a mini rant for another day.  In the opening scene, Callie has an out of body experience and sings to her shocked and completely bruised and bloodied barely breathing self.  When it moves to the emergency room, Dr. Hunt and Dr. Bailey join the singing.

This is all very acceptable and actually kind of moving.  Callie was too shocked to feel her pain, so instead she heard singing around her.  The song was "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol, and it was extremely beautiful and I couldn't stop crying.  I thought, this seems promising.  But they were using only existing songs, songs that had been featured previously on Grey's Anatomy, and of course this makes the capabilities very limiting.

Because of the limitation of having to take an already existing song and making it fit a situation (Although Jersey Boys on Broadway does this sensationally...), things got a little hokey after this first scene.  There was even a scene where Callie hallucinated back to the moment where Arizona was about to propose to her, and so Callie started to sing a song a very happy song called "Running on Sunshine" by Jesus Jackson, about how Arizona made her feel.  As the song continued it literally cut to every single couple on the show singing this song to each other.  It really just came out of nowhere and had no business being in the episode.  First of all, this was an intense episode.  And there was no build to the happy feeling song, it was a quick switch.  One minute Callie was talking about how she's about to get hit by a truck, and the next she's singing her love.  It really felt out of place, and took me out of the intensity of the moment.  The second thing is, as you may have noticed, characters were singing when Callie wasn't around.  So it wasn't in her head... they were just singing?  This was one of quite a few times this happened in the episode.

Which brings me to my next point, by the end of the episode, every single actor had had a chance to sing.  And everyone sounded pretty great.  But it was abundantly clear who has a really good voice, and who was auto tuned to sound good.  As a music lover, I think that just bothers me.  But it also took me out of it a little bit.  I think Buffy and Scrubs had the right idea.  Keep their voices, so it's that character singing.  Play to your actors' strengths to make a good musical, don't mold them to the musical you want.  Don't mix some really beautiful organic singing with some crappy auto tuned shit.  It's tacky, and in a couple songs, it really threw off the balance.

Overall, I think this would have been an amazing, incredibly intense episode if there hadn't been any singing, or they just put in the first number.  Although, I do have to give a shout out to Sara Ramirez, who is an incredible singer, and at least made it so the majority of the songs sounded amazing.  Kevin McKidd who plays Dr. Hunt also has a surprisingly beautiful voice.

Parenthood: Why So Serious?

I want to start off by saying I really, really love this show.  Parenthood is an NBC dramedy ensemble piece about a large family.  It's categorized as a drama, but I say dramedy because I think if you disregard the comedy than you're missing out on a lot.  This show makes me laugh just as much as it makes me cry (until recently, but we'll get to that later).  Overall, Parenthood is a really realistic portrayal of family life and the way families interact with each other, through the good times and the bad.

This one big family is comprised of five smaller families.  There's the grandparents and their four children, and then each of their children (who are now fully grown adults) have their own families, each with at least one child.  Overall there are a whopping fifteen main characters, which I think might actually beat Grey's Anatomy, and every character has had their own fully developed plot line at points in the show.

Usually the show has a really good balance between comedy and drama.  When Adam was in a fight with his wife Kristina, his boss gave him an "edible", which he thought to be an ordinary lollipop.  An edible is actually a food item containing marijuana.  I learned that from watching Weeds.  Anyway, obviously things got wacky from there.  And they made up, in a hilarious scene.  That's just one example of how every episode of Parenthood has its fair share of drama and comedy.  It doesn't hurt that there are three adorable little children who say the darnedest things.

But lately there's been a shift.  The past three episode have been all drama, and sure, there was some pretty heavy stuff going on.  [If you haven't watched the recent episodes, and plan on it, here is your Spoiler Alert.]  Crosby got into a fight with his fiance Jasmine, and when she wouldn't talk to him his anger and upset escalated until he slept with someone else.  That someone else happened to be Gabby, the behavioral aid of Adam and Kristina's son Max, who has Asperger's.  Gabby has real feelings for Crosby, so she quit.  This lead to Adam screaming at Crosby about how irresponsible he is and how his nephew has Asperger's and he can't just think about himself.  Max overheard this screaming match and the episode ended on confused and quizzical Max, "I have Asperger's?"

The next episode was mostly about how to explain to your son that he has Asperger's and what having Asperger's means.  I kind of understood why these episodes got so heavy, and I found it appropriate.  I thought after that episode, things would start to lighten up again.  But it's only gotten worse.  Julia can't have a baby, Amber only applied to two colleges and didn't get into either of them.  Sarah wrote a play and even though it looks like it might get produced, there's something weirdly heavy about that plotline, too.

And it's not that I don't like the show anymore.  I still find it very interesting, I'm still very attached to the characters.  I just think if it keeps going in this direction, I'm going to get sick of it and it will stop being the show I fell in love with.  The show I watch twice every week because there were so many amazing highs and lows.  It will stop feeling so realistic, and I'm not the only one who won't like it anymore.  Parenthood gets pretty decent ratings, especially for its network and time slot (NBC at 10pm), so why start modifying something that's doing well?

Bring back some of your awesome comedic flair, Parenthood.  Or I'll miss you so much it'll hurt.

The Middleman: Is This About My Life?

Recently a friend of mine gave me the complete series of The Middleman to watch.  The complete series is only 12 episodes, which I have to say is a damn shame.  Although some of my favorite shows come in similar packages (Special mention:  Wonderfalls).  If you've never heard of this show, that's because it was on ABCFamily for a season in 2008, around the time Greek and The Secret Life of the American Teenager became popular.  But this show is quirky and fun and really really cheesy in the best way possible.

The Middleman, based on a comic book of the same name, is about Wendy Watson, a struggling artist who temps for a living, while sharing an over-sized illegal loft apartment with her best friend (also a struggling artist).  Her life is turned upside down one day when she discovers that much like in every comic book, villains and aliens and the things that go bump in the night really exist.  Plot-wise, this show is very similar to Doctor Who with some slight differences.  It really drives home the point that supernatural things happen all around us, and the majority of humans are too stupid to notice.  The Middleman (a man with no other name, who fights supernatural evils to ensure all is right with the world as well as the safety of the human race... Sound familiar?) comes in and seeing that Wendy can comprehend the aliens and shit, he takes her on, not as his lovable sidekick who he will have some form of sexual tension with (oh, Doctor, when will you learn to just recruit a man?), but as his apprentice. 

From the first minute watching this show, I was instantly enamored by the witty dialogue, the intelligent world views, and of course, the perfection with which it is corny on purpose.  A perfection which can only be trumped by Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical.  It also helps that as an aspiring writer who literally went for an interview at a temp agency earlier this morning, I identify with the main character.  This is a really smart, delightfully self-aware show with really cool characters that make you never want to sell out and earn real money.

I'd especially recommend it to anyone who has a brain.

Cedar Rapids

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  There is something oddly very attractive about Ed Helms.  That's not the only reason I enjoyed the movie Cedar Rapids, but I felt it just needed to be said.  :-P

I saw this movie last night.  It was late for me, I didn't really know what this movie was about, and I didn't know what to expect.  But I found it delightfully charming.  While I would probably only give Cedar Rapids 3 out of 5 stars, I would still recommend people see it.  There's something about it that makes it very different from a lot of other movies out there.

The movie cut to credits and my friend said, "Well that ending was a little off point, but okay."  And I realized, that's exactly what I liked about the movie.  A lot of the things that happened in the movie were "off point", but without taking away from the movie, in fact they mostly added to it.  And then when I really think about it, the ending wasn't off point at all.

This movie wasn't about a love story.  There really was no love story arc, which was one of my favorite things about it.  It wasn't a coming of age story (although it could be considered that loosely).  It was really just about a guy who needed to loosen up, make some friends, and stand up for himself.  And through drunken late night pool swimming, sex with a married lady, befriending a prostitute (Alia Shawkat from Arrested Development), and hanging out with cool people who make a lot of offensive jokes, that's exactly what he did.  He learned he could have fun, but still be a good person who did the right thing.

I think that made it sound cheesy, and most movies do have a little cheese, but it was seriously funny and I just thought it was a very original story.  Something you don't see in the movies often.  They didn't feel the need to throw in the normal cliches to make it something mainstream.  And it made for a good movie.

I'm not saying run out and see it, but...  There's so little good in theaters now, am I right?

Hall Pass

So, first of all I just want to make it clear that I have not seen this movie.  I hate that I love the people in this movie, and I hate the fact that there most likely is some funny stuff in there, but I don't even have the slightest inkling to go see this one.

Does anyone else find the concept for this film absolutely disgusting?

For those of you not in the know, Hall Pass is about two guys who get a "hall pass" from their wives to take a week off from married life and do whatever the hell they want.

The first reason this is a terrible idea for a film is that I can already tell you in the third act of this movie, the husbands and wives regret what they did, but it screws things up in their marriage.  They separate for a little while, and then at the end they get back together.  Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm 95% sure that's what's going to happen.

And that's kind of my point.  No one is that stupid.  Your wife tells you to take a week and screw some bitches and she won't care, that's definitely a test to hear you say, "No sweety, there's no sex like the great sex we have in this bed.  Let's make another baby or something."  Write that down, cause she definitely wants to hear those sentences word for word.

Actions have consequences.  Even if a woman gives you a "hall pass", somewhere down the line it's going to come back and bite you in the ass.  We like to think we could forget about these things, but they'll always surface somehow.  Even if it's five years later when you're having a big blowout fight about how you always leave the seat up, and through her screaming rage you find out she's been repressing a slowly growing resentment towards you for the week you spent in Cabo and came home with "no recollection of what happened."

So those are my thoughts on the movie Hall Pass.  It seems to be doing great at the box office, but then again, what's even out right now worth seeing?  I mean, I've already seen Justin Bieber: Never Say Never in 3D six times, so... really, I should just make it seven.

Traffic Light vs. Perfect Couples

If you're staring at your computer screen wondering what these shows are and when they were on, you're most likely not alone.  Both Traffic Light and Perfect Couples are brand new shows that just started.  They're also both poised to be great comedies, with Traffic Light taking Running Wilde's spot on Tuesday night Fox, on after Raising Hope, and with Perfect Couples being a new addition to the NBC Thursday night comedy block.

As an avid TV watcher (surprise!), I decided to give both of these a shot.  I mean, NBC hasn't gone wrong before on a Thursday night, right?  Wait.  What's that you're talking about?  Outsourced?  Oh, right.  I blocked it from my memory.

Anywho, I have now watched each of these shows at least three times.  And I've kind of noticed some similarities.  Both shows are about three couples (okay, in the case of Traffic Light, two couples and one womanizer, but it still counts as a "couple dynamic" to me).  The couples each have their own, "unique" dynamic, and yet together they all form one big group of best friends.

Both shows have kind of a forced, pointless feel to them, from the way the couples interact with each other, to the way the individual characters act, to the situations they get themselves into.  Really, what is there to care about?  A bunch of dumb, unrealistic people who hang out together a lot.

The first episode of Traffic Light was actually kind of cute.  Throughout the episode the three men refereed several times to the fourth member of their group, repeatedly saying, "But don't forget, we have (Name I Don't Remember)'s thing on Saturday."  It turned out at the end of the episode that that "thing" was a memorial service for their best friend who had passed away.  It was very moving and a really good twist.  I thought most of the episode was meh, but this really made it seem like it had potential.  Since then they have never again mentioned the friend or had any kind of touching moments.

Perfect Couples has much better characters.  While still forced, the couple dynamics are slightly more believable and well-developed.  I thought the characters were endearing in the pilot, but they haven't grown.  They just get less and less realistic as the show goes on.

If I had to pick one, I'd say Perfect Couples is the winner, but in like a race of 3,000 shows where Perfect Couples is in 2,789th place and Traffic Light is in 2,791st place.  Sorry shows!  You tried your best.  I guess?

Now.  Who wants to guess what place Two and a Half Men is in??