TVSquad

Comedian and actor Louis C.K. recently spoke with the AV Club about his career, including his latest stand-up special for HBO, and his short-lived HBO sitcom, Lucky Louie, an uncensored and often uncomfortably candid series shot like a basic sitcom, but without the restrictions of network TV.

I liked Lucky Louie. I didn't think it was perfect, but those moments I didn't like (stiff dialogue, some moments felt a little too forced) are common for all new shows as they work out the kinks and improve in subsequent seasons.

What I found most interesting about Louis' interview was his assessment of certain critics, and bloggers especially. In his own words:

To me, a critic is someone who analyzes a show, describes it, talks about the people in it, puts it in historical context of other shows like it, compares it and stuff, and then talks about the intent of the show and whether it failed or didn't. At the end, they usually say, "By the way: not for me." But reviewers now just go, they're like bloggers, they go, "Ha ha hi. Don't bother seeing this, it's shit. Trust me, it's crap. I like this show. That show I just saw sucks. Fuck you. And by the way, I ate a muffin today."

He's right. I'm sure that, being human, I've probably committed that very sin on this blog, but I'd like to think that I try to approach my episode reviews on this site with an understanding of what the creators were trying to accomplish. To be perfectly honest, it kind of bothers me when I have to write episode reviews right after the episode hits the airwaves. One of many things that gets under my skin about the blogosphere is that nobody gives things time to simmer anymore. The second a person sees a TV show, or a movie, or listens to a new song, they're online and expressing their opinion with little or no critical analysis. Hell, go to Ain't It Cool News and you can read scathing opinions on movies that haven't even come out yet.

Of course, part of what makes sites like TV Squad so cool is that, by putting reviews up right away, we give everyone a chance to chime in and share their thoughts, which is really the whole point. And certainly we like to offer our opinions on TV shows that haven't aired yet, but I'd like to think it's done with the understanding that we're not making any kind of absolute judgment on something we've never seen. I can only speak for myself, though, because I can't read other people's minds. If I could, you would all be slaves in my candy cane factory right now.

Hell, I avoided the American version of The Office for the first two seasons because other highly-lauded sitcoms like Seinfeld and Friends never did much for me. When I finally watched the series on DVD, though, I fell in love with it. I'm certainly not immune to "TV prejudice," but it's nice to be reminded of it once in awhile, either by close friends, or by comedians I don't know.