Despite observations that we are currently experiencing the ‘death of TV’, television shows no sign of giving up the ghost to newer media. The ubiquitous presence of TV—in our living rooms, bedrooms, and even kitchens—demands critical attention. This class will use a variety of approaches to assess the material, rhetorical, and cultural impact of a medium that many people seem eager to dismiss. But is it? Why do people continue to tune in? How has television adapted to the new media environment? What does the future of TV look like? This blog will consider all these questions and more.

Friday, July 2, 2010

'Neighbors From Hell' - WTF....???

I would be lying if I said I went into this show with an open mind. To be honest, part of me wanted to like it, but in reality, I knew I wouldn't.


I'll save you and myself the energy of going over the plot line - all you need to know is that it's about a family the comes to Earth from the underworld and the plot was extremely predictable.


So this much is obvious -- it's not so much about the plot as it is the commentary. It seems to be trying to make a statement similar to that of The Simpsons, Family Guy or South Park, but it just didn't do it for me. Maybe the satire went over my head, but I'm pretty sure they're just trying to hard.


The episode I watched was about a guy that loved Coldplay, Dane Cook and making fun of cripples. Obviously, those things were so 5 years ago, and so they try to transform him into the "new cool" -- Zach Efron meets A-Rod meets Twilight. How clever.


The show made fun of gays, American youth, blue collar labor, pop culture and on and on...
Clearly the humor and plot line didn't impress me, but that wasn't all the show had to offer. It had this strong element of weirdness. It reminded me of how in Family Guy, Peter will say or do something completely outrageous that just makes you feel uncomfortable, but Neighbors From Hell tried really hard to imitate that strange-ness. They had a weird talking goblin (Brian Griffin, anyone?) and a less frequent but equally as strange grandpa (hello...Simpsons??).
It's not easy to explain the feeling I got from watching this show, and I certainly don't advocate taking the time to find out what it was like.


Neighbors From Hell tried too hard and got too weird. Don't waste your time, I feel bad enough if you took the time to read about how terrible it was.
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4 comments:

  1. lauren ashleyJuly 2, 2010 at 1:45 PM

    Hm, I haven't seen this show, but I've seen a few commercials for it. From what you wrote about the show, it sounds as though they're just trying too hard to be like two unrivaled animated shows, Family Guy and The Simpsons. I think it will be pretty hard for a witty animated show to surpass the popularity and praise of those two.

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  2. JoyJuly 2, 2010 at 2:04 PM

    Thank you for saving my time! I have heard of the show but really knew nothing about it. I really enjoy family guy and think that Peter's awkward comments are hilarious. However, your intreptation of this show's weird-ness makes me think that it probably won't last long on air. I am not sure there will be very many shows that can compete with the simpsons or family guy- so they should just stop trying with shows like this!

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  3. Leopold StotchJuly 2, 2010 at 6:04 PM

    For years Comedy Central has been looking for a hit show to follow South Park, and they need to keep searching. This show doesn't bring anything to the table for Comedy Central and hopefully will soon be replaced by a better one.

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  4. DurandyJuly 2, 2010 at 10:52 PM

    I would have to agree with Stotch. Comedy Central is looking for their new South Park "golden ticket" and it appears they might be getting a little desperate. In order to become the next hit cartoon, trumping South Park and Family Guy, the network is going to need to come up with a show that sets itself apart from these current hits, not mimic them.

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