The digital era has brought a plethora of quality television series to our screens. In this chaotic market it is inevitable that some shows will not get the audience it rightly deserves. Here is a run down of the top 6 shows that I felt were worthy of sitting with the well established shows but for one reason or another never quite made it.
6. Teachers (Channel 4)
Have you ever wondered what happens in the staff room at break time or what teachers get up to on a night out? Well wonder no more. This somewhat short lived comedy from Channel 4 slowly went downhill after the main character Simon left the programme but was jam packed with laughs. Imagine the Inbetweener kids all grown up and working in a school and this is not far off from what Teachers had to offer.
5. How Not to Live Your Life.
This is possibly one of my favourite comedies of all time. The show created the terms 'bum rubbish', 'sexy intercourse', 'samuelbuca' and calling Jon Bon Jovi by his correct title Jonathan Bon Jovi. Following the character Don a thirty-something who has just inherited his grandmother's house, the show is bizarre and brilliant.
4. Grosse Pointe
Created by Darren Star, the 'brains' behind Sex and the City, comes this hilarious show that takes a look at the behind the scenes of an American daytime soap opera. Fictional in every sense of the word, the show points out the insipidness of soap operas and that's where the comedy lies in. The show only lasted for one season but was well written and was a far cry from Star's other show. The one about a single woman who over analysed everything in her life that it got to the point that her narcissism and self-absorption on how everything affected her personally, made her blind to the fact that this state of mind was unhealthy way to be if seeking to be in a relationship which is ironic because she was a relationship columnist for a newspaper.
3. The Guardian
Before he became a mentalist Simon Baker was high-end coke snorting lawyer who got sentenced to 1500 hours of community service in exchange for not going to prison for 5 years. The community service took the form of working in a children's legal service, a long way from the corporate law that Baker's character was used to. The show looks a little dated at times looking over at it now but the strong screen writing still holds up. Episode 5 from the first season has one of Aaron Paul's (Jesse from Breaking Bad) first on screen appearance, he played a gay teenager who after being kicked out of his conservative parents house turns to prostitution in order to make a living. Many other actors also appear as special guests throughout the three seasons of the show.
2. Friday Night Lights
What made this show stand out from any other television show is that optimism was always the underlying theme throughout its five seasons. The pilot episode might be one of the best pilot's ever created for television. Peter Berg's career as a director has taken a significant nose dive since filming the pilot but he can always be proud what he created here. The show's greatest strength lies in the character of Coach Eric Taylor. One of the strongest characters ever written on television and film. It is no surprise that in the last season, the actor Kyle Chandler, won the Emmy for best lead actor in a drama. Beating out the competition, who if you are betting person would have put your money on any of the other actors to win due to lack of attention the show undeservingly received. The other actors in his category consisted of Jon Hamm, Steve Buscemi, Michael C. Hall, Hugh Laurie and Timothy Olyphant. The fact that Chandler won seems a fitting way to end the show as Friday Night Lights always championed the underdog over everything else.
1. Hero to Zero
Speaking of underdogs, Michael Owen's show Hero to Zero obviously has to come in at number one. A show where Michael Owen emerged from a young boy's
poster at night time to give him advice on life. It was a short lived show,
only lasting 6 episodes but it has a strong following. Sadly no episodes can be
found online, only a short intro is up on Youtube.
A Facebook page has attempted to revive the show but as of yet to little avail:
Thanks for the support Niall! It was so much fun making the show!! so so glad you like it, unlike all those pesky phoney tv critics and football writers! I'll tell you this once and for all, and i'll tell you this for free; Those 'experts' conspired to ruin my dreams. They feared me becoming the whiter, shorter, more english; just as double first named cross-media-platfoms, cross-sports superstar version of Michael Jordan.
ReplyDeleteMichael was my idol growing up and I always wanted to be him. I promised to try mirror his career as much as possible: the two first names, the same first name, being a champion in one sport and a laughing stock in the other (Basketball/horse racing & baseball/soccer respectively) - they were the easy ones. But I struggled with the rest of my Jordan to dos; no matter how much fake tan i applied while in a sun bed i was never going to be as black as jordan. Despite wearing platform shoes i will never be as tall as him (I so wanted to be as tall as him that i married a women taller than me as a motivation to now be my wife's little man but it failed and with 3 daughters it has become a role within the family i am destined to become). Successful entrepreneur Ha! Michael revolutionised footwear in the sport he loved. Millions of people still wear his shoes today. It makes me feel so sad, i never had a chance to emulate him hear. Horses dont give a shit about what kind of horseshoe they wear. Niall this brings me to the final point - cross media superstar.
Niall it's a long story. It upsets me to talk about but for someone like you who believes in me I will share it with you.
I was so excited to see jordan in Space Jam that I went to Chicago to see the premier there. I we waited in the blistering cold for Jordan to come out. Four hours and he just said no. It was pretty shittiy, he was my fucking idol. I wanted to be just like him Niall! just like him! maybe if i had a more imposing physic he would have seen me for who i am, I am Michael Own, his kindred spirit. This rejection made me a bit crazy. My gf at the time was jealous because I talked about him 24/7. she didn;t know him like i did. It was this rejection that made me want to mirror him as much as possible. I created hero to zero as my vehicle to propel me to Jordan's level but those phoney fuckers in the media didnt see it for what it really was. my dreams.
But Niall seeing your support facebook page and this top billing has relit my fire. Will you help me finally achieve my dreams?
tweet me @themichaelowen