What's good on TV?

I got a DVR just in time for the fall TV season last year, and I can't imagine living without it now. I had pretty much given up on network prime time TV and didn't watch anything consistantly. That's changed. Here's my favorite shows on the air now. First, noticed I've abandoned all reality TV, even my old favorites Survivor and American Idol. I've tried some other shows (Surface, Commander-In-Chief), but if I'm not hooked within a few episodes, I bail. Here's my top 9.*

9. Saturday Night Live
NBC Saturday 11:30
It's not really funny anymore, and the new cast seems to have no breakout stars, but the musical guests have been strong (Korn was awesome and I'm now a Shakira fan after her performance) and you never know when that one hilarious sketch could happen.


8.The Family Guy
FOX Sunday 9:00

Some truly ludicrous humor and way WAY inside jokes make this a must see, plus I can fool my 3 year old son who into thinking we're watching one of HIS cartoons.







7. C.S.I.
CBS Thursday 9:00
It's not what it used to be; all those gruesome deaths were gonna get old eventually, but it's still better than most of the other crap on. And it's production and editing remain at the top of all tv shows.









6. Scrubs
NBC Tuesday 9:00

This show is so damn wacky, like a live action Family Guy, It probably has some of the most original comedy out there. The season premier had a 3minute dream sequence Kung-Fu battle, and someone sang "The Safety Dance." I think I just described a perfect comedy.












5. My Name is Earl
NBC, Thursday 9:00

Another new show that's unlike anything before it. Jason Lee's always been a fav since Mallrats (which also featured Ethan Suplee "It's a Sailboat!") It doesn't just make fun of poor white trash, it makes poor white trash seem fun!

4. Grey's Anatomy
ABC Sunday 10:00

The one show my wife and I always watch together. This is probably the best ensemble cast on television. It's smart, funny, sexy. What else so you want from a hospital show?








3. Lost
ABC Wednesday 8:00

Season one of Lost was probably the single greatest season of any television program ever. How can you follow that up? Of course it's not quite as good, and the pacing of the show is slowing down, but the last 10 minutes of a Lost episode is the most exciting 10 minutes on TV.






2. How I Met Your Mother
CBS Monday 8:30

I really hope this comedy becomes the next big hit. A great ensemble, but Doogie Howser steals every scene he's in. The humor ranges from hilarious to hopelessly romantic. It's really a comedy for my generaion. And the dialog is so witty that you'll be writing it down to use as your own the next day at work.





1. The Office
NBC Thursday 9:30

I look forward to this show every week more than any other, hence it's number one ranking. Steve Carrell won a best actor Golden Globe this year and as good as he is, the cast of unknowns and " mockumentary" style really make this show work. I laugh out loud during the Office, and sometimes watch the episodes twice. That's how good this show is.





* So what if I only picked a top 9, It's my blog Dammit!

Movie Review - KING KONG

King Kong (2005)
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Colin Hanks, Andy Serkis
IMDB: 7.8

Had the rare opportunity to see a film in theaters last weekend, and I had my sights locked on seeing Kong. Then my wife starts talking about Brokeback Mountain. I laughed and said " Sure, we can see Brokeback.....and monkey's might fly outta my butt!" Then she got mad cause she was serious. She wanted to see a love story. I said, "Gods woman, King Kong is one of the greatest love stories ever written!" She didn't believe me. She'd never see the original 1933 Kong or the 1976 remake (Which I am more familiar with). I somehow convinced her and off we were to see Peter Jackson's next masterpiece.

This isn't a perfect film, like his Lord of the Rings were. There are some holes, some gliches, some head-scratches, and maybe some Z's from people who can't sit through 3 hours. But for the most part, King Kong succeeds where it should. It's a larger then life, edge of your seat thrill ride, that brings back the wonder of seeing things that have NEVER been done in movies before.

The film is written in three acts: The journey to Skull Island, The quest to save Ann from Kong, and Kong takes Manhatten. Act one is great filmmaking, a slow building pot-boiler of a mystery. Act two is balls to the walls insanity, interspaced with the "getting to know your Kong" moments. And Act Three is the rightous moral and futile battle for life and love. Yeah, it's too long. But there's not a lot I would cut out, and there's a few scenes I wanted to see that weren't there. This film could have easily been sliced into halves like Kill Bill, and would have probably rocked even more.

The cast is good. Naomi Watts steals the show, showing great range and a knack for physical comedy. Adrien Brody also makes the most of playing second fiddle to the big gorilla. I'm not sold on Jack Black here. I love Black, but I can't seperate him from his Tenacious D persona. He dosn't seem to inhabit this role, and some moments are a kinda bad. And Peter Jackson should give Andy Serkis his first-born, cause Serkis is the MVP of his films. Serkis was suited up and wired for digitizing, then performed the role of Kong, a la the same thing they did for Gollum in LOtR. It's nothing short of astonishing.

I remember the first time I saw Jurassic Park, and how that was a watershed moment in film. This film may not be as important to the future of film as JP was, but my reaction of, "Holy Shit! I can't believe what I'm seeing!" was about the same. Peter Jackson is the next Steven Spielberg. Write it down.

The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: A

I'm BAAAAAAACK!

This officially marks the end of theSneakyCheetah's self-imposed exile from cyber-space. There's big things going on in my life and lots of big BIG decisions to make for the upcoming year. Add this to a stressfull holiday season and an increased workload at my job, and I just had to step back and simplify my life for a month or so. So this site is back, hopefully with some changes and new ideas, and I'll even start responding to your e-mails again! So let's open the floodgates of communication and have some fun with this!

Snootch to the Nootch!