Sha La La La

Someone has issued me a challenge to blog every day this week. I am attempting to meet said challenge. I can't promise they'll all be gems, but I will write an entry every day this week, starting with yesterday's missive.

So, while I ate my lunch just now (does that salad really balance out the pizza and Oreos? No it does not.) I watched an old episode of Family Ties that I discovered on CBS's website of all places (they must own the production company or something) while I was waiting the announcement of the next Big Brother cast. (I know. I'm disgusted, too.)

ANYWAY...sure the "C" plot of Alex buying the family an answering machine is dated and only slightly funny, but I still think this show holds up as a solid family sitcom. I know we all love our irreverant, unconventional, uncomfortable sitcoms nowadays, but a well-made family sitcom is still deserving of a spot on a network schedule. The key, of course, is witty writing and good casting, both obvious, but neither are easy feats.

What I really noticed today was the excellence of Michael Gross' portrayal of Steven Keaton. He plays Steven as goofy yet deadly serious and he should be the example to which all TV Dads aspire to today. I caught an episode of The Bill Engval Show on TBS recently, and I think that show could have the goods if it gets the chance to grow, which it should on TBS. Heck, they have Tim Meadows as a neighbor, which is a good sign.

On the other hand, I also sought out an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on hulu this morning (I heard the Sklar Brothers on the radio this morning, and wanted to see them in said episode...their parts were too small, dammit!) and laughed my ass off.

I'm an enigma, people. It's gonna be a strange week.