Pop Culture Bracketology: TV round two discussion and results

Below is the discussion that took place via e-mail between WEEKEND staffers over the past few days concerning round two of our television bracket (note: grammar/style is conversational, and less “correct”). Then below that are the results!

Round three discussion begins today.

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Cory Barker: Take a look at the bracket for TV, as we’re now into round 2. Let’s get started!

Max McCombs: To get things going, I think the most interesting match-up might be the Daily Show vs Letterman.  I’ll take Letterman in it, but I’m guessing others may disagree.
 
Also, I think it is worth noting that half of the remaining comedies are NBC.

Chad Quandt: Breaking Bad as an underdog against the mighty Mad Men. Cranston kills it with his performance and I’ve just never been able to get into the long, droning boredom of a MM episode.

House feels like an underdog just because Dexter is so popular with the college crowd. I visit House sporadically and loved to see little things change that made it feel fresh. Characters leave (and come back), things seem to evolve more in that serial show. I came back to this season of Dexter (mostly for Lithgow) and couldn’t believe that things seemed exactly the same as they did in Season One. Yes, Rita died. That should be huge. But Dexter the character really feels like someone who hasn’t changed.

Supernatural for all the awesome meta-writing they’ve put into the show. It’s gotten a lot more ridiculous in the later seasons, but they seem to be so in-touch with their fans.

Really hope we can pull Always Sunny out as a surprise win over The Office. While Michael Scott and Co seem to be floundering in story purgatory, Always Sunny keeps coming up with fun places for the characters to go. Scranton closing would’ve been an excellent place to cap the show, but NBC’s going to milk the series for years. Characters like Phyllis and Stanley have become weird twisted versions of themselves in an attempt to make them THAT hard to work with. Also, Pam and Jim come off like assholes more and less like innocent sane people.

It’s a shame that Parks and Rec and Community have no way to go head to head in the bracket. They’re my top picks for the whole thing. Community’s fight in this round is a great example of conventional sitcom cliches going against a show that knows its roots and tries to subvert them.

Sarah Hann:

DRAMA
Mad Men is too popular - I agree that Breaking Bad is an underdog.

NCIS vs. The Good Wife is hard - they’re both popular shows. I like The Good Wife better, but I think NCIS would beat it.

Dexter might be good, but House is sooooo popular and had remained popular after however many seasons.

I think i’d say Friday Night Lights over Damages
 
REALITY etc.
American Idol, no question here - they’re both long-lasting shows, but against Idol, I don’t think BB has a chance.

I don’t really have an opinion on Top Chef vs. Amazing Race.

I think I’m going to have to go with the Daily Show, especially for the college crowd.
Again, Colbert for college students.
 
SFF
True Blood is popular, but Supernatural can take it.

24 is just too popular for Fringe.

Burn Notice, I think - is Smallville still good?

Lost. Chuck is popular, but Lost is Lost.
 
COMEDY
Parks and Recreation, I think.

The Office, no question.

The Big Bang Theory - more established and pretty popular.

30 Rock has been popular and won awards, but this year, Glee has been a rising star and 30 Rock hasn’t been getting as much positive attention.

MM: Again, I’ve only seen an episode or two of Parks and Rec (just as with Modern Family last round) and it was amusing, but did not have the clever wit and ridiculous situations of Psych, which, in my opinon, closed the recent season on an absolute roll with a string of episodes that were both funnt and thrilling as well as keeping things interesting with some big character development.

Austin Morris:

DRAMA
Breaking Bad over Mad Men. Sorry, I’m one of those people who can’t always sit through and MM episode and stay awake.

The Good Wife over NCIS. I love the characters of NCIS, and they have great chemistry, but TGW is doing a great job of maintaining momentum in its major story arc while still delivering solid standalone cases each episode. I think NCIS focuses way too much on delivering standalone episodes until Shane Brennan decides to give a character a major backstory download during sweeps. So, Good Wife for the win.

Dexter over House. I think Chad’s criticism of Dexter is only valid because he skipped seasons 2 and 3. Season 4 was a heavy callback to season 1, but it worked for me because of all the changes Dex went through in the seasons between. In a matchup between two series which are basically character studies of their central anti-heroes, Dex’s psyche remains far more fascinating than House’s.

Friday Night Lights over Damages. Sorry, Glenn Close, but I occasionally don’t want to see dysfunctional and pure evil on my TV screen. And when I want to watch some of the most complicated and real characters currently on screen go through all the typical challenges of life, I turn to FNL. Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler are amazing, and they win this category for me.

REALITY/TALK/VARIETY
Idol over Big Brother. Big Brother hasn’t really been relevant for a few seasons now, and the most recent season of Idol brought out the star power with Adam Lambert and Kris Allen, who both turned out solid albums. Idol also has Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood on its resume, and those two divas are tough to beat.

Amazing Race over Top Chef. I actually like TC better, but that’s personal preference. And besides, Race actually has a shot at beating Idol in the next round.

Daily Show over Letterman. I love Dave, and he still knows how to get his guests to give great interviews, but Jon Stewart has been on a roll. Some thought he would have no firepower after the Obama administration took over the White House, but I think his barbs have become sharper since January 2009. A recent episode in which he impersonated Glenn Beck was on point and brilliant. In these wildly political times, I think The Daily Show isn’t just entertaining--it’s important.

Colbert over Survivor, for many of the same reasons as above. Colbert out-crazy-like-a-foxes even the wiliest Survivor castaways.

SFF
Supernatural for delivering consistently good (and meta!) writing. True Blood is fun and all, but it’s way uneven and, occasionally, unintentionally ridiculous. I’m all for campy television, but I think Alan Ball sometimes paints his series as something more than a campy Southern-fried vampire tale--something it’s not. Supernatural knows exactly what it is and celebrates it, tongue firmly in cheek.

Fringe over 24. Mostly because I really can’t stand 24’s politics...or, rather, its refusal to cop to its politics. Fringe is an imperfect but frequently fun combination of scares, gore, and John Noble. Love John Noble.

Burn Notice over Smallville. Mostly because I’m stunned that Smallville won the last round. But this round is really irrelevant, cause there’s no way in hell either of these shows will beat Lost in the next round.

Lost over Chuck. Love both shows, but Lost is the Show of My Generation.

COMEDY
I haven’t seen Parks and Rec since the first season, but I have followed Psych for a long time, and I’m a huge fan. Great pop culture references, great character chemistry, and a hilarious concept.  A win here would be partial retribution for The Mentalist totally aping this show’s concept. Psych for the win.

It’s Always Sunny in Philly over The Office, because I am beyond over Michael Scott. I don’t even have a coherent argument against it anymore--I just have a knee-jerk reaction.

Big Bang Theory over Community because I think Community is secretly kind of uneven--I know everybody here loves it, but I am just a bit more hesitant to leap on the bandwagon. In contrast, I find Big Bang to be consistently funny. Jim Parsons is the show’s not-so-secret weapon.

30 Rock over Glee. Know that I am a HUGE Gleek, but it didn’t find its footing until halfway through, and even its best episodes still featured one incredibly annoying subplot that I just can’t stomach (hi, fake-pregnant Terri Schuester!) I can’t get over how awesome and absurd 30 Rock’s inside-baseball humor is. Yes, it has been kind of uneven recently, but when Tina Fey & Co. nail it, they NAIL IT.

Kyle Kerns: Big Brother is still on? What? If Idol doesn’t take this one I’ll be surprised. Though I gotta say, I thought the addition of Ellen would be great for the show and add a much needed sense of humor, but I don’t think I’ve seen her crack a funny joke yet. Disappointing.
 
I’m also in agreement with the Supernatural fans, simply because TB is all over the place. Supernatural may be ridiculous a lot of the time, but at least it has the feeling of being intentionally so.
 
As far as Smallville goes, that show needed to die about two seasons ago. On that note, it won’t surprise me if it wins, though, because as bad as the writing can get they still manage to have a huge fanbase. I never really hear much at all about Burn Notice. From anyone. Ever. What is that show even about?
 
In comedy, I have to admit I’m a huge Gleek, too. Granted, like others have said the show is uneven, but when it’s on it’s on. The acting is sub-par compared to 30 Rock, but Glee is the only one that’s ever made me actually laugh out loud while watching. I think Glee has potential to improve, while 30 Rock is losing it. Plus, Alec Baldwin creeps me out.

MM: I am pretty outraged that HIMYM, the best traditional sitcom on TV, did not make it out of the first round, and thus, I want 30 Rock to roll over Glee.  30 Rock had a rocky start to the season, but I think they’re back on track now and about as strong as ever.

CB: Kyle is your Burn Notice joke a SNL reference? I hope so.

Interesting that some people take Breaking Bad over Mad Men. That’s one hell of a second round match-up, and in retrospect I wish I didn’t seed them that way because they are certainly the two best dramas on the air. As much as I love BB, Mad Men is still the king, though.

Dexter v. House is interesting because they’re both so reliant on 1.) formula and 2.) one character. While I think House has struggled this season for sure, I like its side characters much better than Dexter’s. However, Dexter has changed more than House. I can’t decide.

I am also flat-out shocked that so many people are taking Supernatural over True Blood. Not that I don’t love that result, but wow. I thought everyone was on the True Blood train.

And isn’t it obvious that the comedy bracket is going to come down to the four NBC comedies? I guess that’s the way it should be. Community v. Parks and Rec as a Region final would be awesome. Awesome.

KK: Sorry, haven’t seen SNL in about two years so I’m not sure what you’re talking about. Fill me in!

As for the Dexter/House debate, I’ve never been fond of the supporting cast in House aside from Cuddy, and even she isn’t all that interesting. I haven’t seen Dexter, lately, but I’ve been itching to catch up.

CB: There was a sketch about a month ago where they played a Jeopardy style game called “What Is Burn Notice?” where people tried to guess what the hell the show was even about. Hilarity ensued. Well, it’s SNL, so mild hilarity.

Brian Marks: I don’t get this Mad Men hatred. Is it because it’s currently the top dog among critics? The acting on that show is the best there is on television, no hyperbole. All of the characters are so complex - they aren’t allowed to fall into predictable categories. Don Draper can be charming and the world’s biggest jerk all at the same time. Plus, the show gives me cover to wear my douchey skinny ties.

I’ll stick up for True Blood as well. I don’t have any real dislike of Supernatural, I just think True Blood is always interesting and usually on the game. The social liberal in me loves something that’s always looking at some form of civil rights, even if they sometimes cover it up with vampires.

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RESULTS FOR ROUND TWO -- Winners in bold with percentage of vote

Drama Region

1. Mad Men -- 57 percent of vote
9. Breaking Bad

5. NCIS
13. The Good Wife -- 57 percent of vote

6. Dexter
3. House --71 percent of vote

10. Friday Night Lights -- 86 percent of vote
15. Damages

Reality/Talk/Variety Region

1. American Idol -- 71 percent of vote
9. Big Brother

12. Top Chef
4. The Amazing Race -- 71 percent of vote

6. The Late Show with David Letterman
3. The Daily Show -- 86 percent of vote

10. The Colbert Report -- 86 percent of vote
2. Survivor

Comedy Region

1. 30 Rock -- 57 percent of vote
9. Glee

12. Community -- 71 percent of vote
4. Big Bang Theory

11. It's Always Sunny in Philly -- 57 percent of vote
3. The Office

10. Parks and Recreation -- 71 percent of vote
15. Psych

Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Action Region

1. LOST -- 100 percent of vote
8. Chuck

12. Smallville
4. Burn Notice -- 56 percent of vote

6. Fringe -- 71 percent of vote
3. 24

10. Supernatural -- 71 percent of vote
2. True Blood

Your thoughts? How about some of those major upsets?!?