Its not every week that a generations best-known political pundit signs off for the last time, which is why most of the TV-related headlines over the past several days have been about Jon Stewart: his social legacy, his style of humor and what he might do next. But The Daily Show wasnt the only institution bidding adieu. If youre a fan of goodbyes, youve been in clover lately, watching both prestige dramas and breakout series take their last bows for the summer. Its not an easy thing to do well, exiting both gracefully and memorably.
So in this latest installment of Rolling Stones weekly nod to televisions best, we say our own see-you-laters to a few of the programs that have been dominating the cultural conversation some for just over a month, and one for over a decade. We also give a hearty welcome back to one of cables most underrated comedies, and marvel at how two very different shows are routinely proving that creepy can be beautiful.
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5. UnREAL and True Detective represent the highs and lows of season finales (Lifetime/HBO)
Remember just a few months ago, when Sunday nights on HBO meant two solid hours of Game of Thrones, Veep and Silicon Valley three of 2015s best? Since then, theres been a depressingly steep drop in quality, from Julia Louis-Dreyfus and T.J. Miller to Ballers and The Brink. The final few hours of the TV weekend ought to be something to savor, but any programming slate anchored by True Detectives second season is bound to be as much fun as a Monday morning commute. And sure enough, last nights True Detective finale Omega Station was overlong, excessively grim and laboring under the common delusion that serious drama demands hushed, halting conversations in dimly lit rooms. The episode mostly consisted of exposition and stylish shootouts like a video game thats all cut-scenes and boss-battles.
The main virtue of True Detectives season two though (beyond reminding Hollywood casting directors to hire Rachel McAdams more) is that its gotten TV critics and live-tweeters talking more about what we really expect out of an ambitious cable series. Is merely heavy enough, or does there need to be more wit, more personal passion and a keener awareness of the real world?
What we should want are more UnREALs. Marti Noxon and Sarah Gertrude Shapiros searing drama set behind the scenes at a reality dating competition also tried to squeeze too much set-up and too many climaxes into last weeks finale, Future. But the episode also had energy to spare, and ultimately served its two fascinating lead characters: the ruthless producer Quinn (played by Constance Zimmer), and her mentally unstable protge Rachel (Shiri Appleby). A lot was written throughout this first season about how UnREAL mocks and exposes The Bachelor, but the shows really about how television fakery reflects the values of those who do it, putting their own shallow dreams and thirst for danger onto the screen. In the finale, Quinn and Rachel supervise a trainwreck of their own making, because thats who they are. Its going to be interesting next year to see how they regroup, and mount another disaster.
4. Reba strokes a man-eating beast, Hannibal (NBC)
Given that Thomas Harris novel Red Dragon has already been adapted twice into movies, it initially seemed superfluous for NBC to take another stab at it. (So to speak.) But so far the TV version of the book has had its own vibe, derived from Hannibals usual fascination with the finer things: high art, haute cuisine, sophisticated music and beautifully abstract patterns of blood-spatter. In last weeks episode And the Woman Clothed in Sun, serial killer Francis The Tooth Fairy Dolarhyde (played by Richard Armitage) took his blind girlfriend Reba McClane (Rutina Wesley) on a trip to the zoo, where he arranged for her to pet a sedated tiger. As her dark hands rubbed across bright orange fur, edging closer and closer to the animals teeth, her psychotic lover cringed.
The scene reveals a lot about the killers character, and his fear that the woman he loves will discover his own sharp edges. Its also just a gorgeous five minutes of TV, both to look at and to listen to. What its depicting is horrifying, but to quote Reba, the moment is a very elegant gesture eloquent, too. Here, Hannibal mashes up poetic dialogue, dreamy visuals and abstract music into a moment of tension and wonder that aims directly for the viewers subconscious.
3. A dude pulls a thread through his eye, Penn & Teller: Fool Us (The CW)
Last summer, The CW repackaged footage from Penn & Tellers 2011 British magic contest Fool Us into new episodes, and drew enough American viewers to revive the concept in full this year. A fresh set of contestants have been angling each week to perform tricks that the venerable Vegas illusionists have never seen before, though on last weeks Mission Impossi-Ball, Matthew Holtzclaw a shock-magician weaned on P&T didnt really play the game. Instead, he worked a couple of variations on well-known routines. In one, he tore up a piece of string and put it back together, seamlessly. In the other, he swallowed a thread and forced it up through his sinuses before pulling it out of his own eye-socket. (All together now: Ewwwwww.)
That bit has everything Fool Us fans love. Its bizarre and amazing, yet classical in its way hearkening back to circus sideshows and Indian fakirs. Disgusting? Undoubtedly. But also unforgettable, and unlike anything else on television. When Holtzclaw finished, his boyhood idols told him they loved his performance, even though (or perhaps because) they knew exactly how he did it. Genuine appreciation for showmanship and craft is rare in reality competitions, but its become a staple of this weekly celebration of weird entertainment.
2. Playing House plays on (USA)
Playing House co-creators/stars Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair have been ubiquitous comic character actresses for years, but theyre known more by face than by name. That, combined with their shows not-that-grabby premise which is about two childhood friends, Maggie and Emma, moving in together to help raise a baby probably explains why last years season one lacked both viewers and buzz. Thats not really Parham and St. Clairs fault, though. They have the best chemistry and timing of any duo on TV outside of maybe Broad Citys Abbi and Ilana; and thanks in part to a special deal with Comcast Xfinitys VOD service, USA Network has given them a much-deserved second season, which kicked off last week with back-to-back episodes.
Whats it going to take to get people to watch this thing? Ordinarily, itd help to quote some of the jokes, like the long bit in this seasons second episode where Maggie recounts a sex dream she had about a pair of HGTV hosts, concluding, euphemistically, Who doesnt want to be measured from different angles by the Property Brothers? But on the page its impossible to capture the stars rapid give-and-take, or the special inflection they put on lines like, We can explain everything, we just need you to stop screaming like a bird. So many cable sitcoms are about how awful people can be, but Playing House doesnt seem to think that amiability and comedy are incompatible, so long as the performers know how to sell it. Thats a good enough reason to catch this show while its still on the air.
1. The Daily Show alumni give Jon Stewart a teary sendoff (Comedy Central)
Didnt it seem like the final four Jon Stewart Daily Shows crept up unexpectedly? While the Internet was dense with think-pieces last week, the hooplas been fairly minimal in the month or so leading up to the big finish especially when compared to David Lettermans recent retirement. When the countdown began in earnest seven days ago, it inspired a reaction along the lines of, Wait, thats happening now? Well, crud. And it didnt help that aside from a few maudlin and/or reflective moments here or there during the weeks Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday episodes, The Daily Show was all business. Stewart served up one last takedown of Fox News, one last bit of bro-banter with frequent guest Denis Leary, one last Arbys jokeand then goodnight. He even introduced his penultimate show as the one that everyone will probably forget, underscoring the whole weeks big shrug.
Then came Thursdays actual #JonVoyage, with its clever Goodfellas-style salute to the behind-the-scenes crew, and its touching reunion of past correspondents (including the recently critical Wyatt Cenac). The finale felt awkward and rushed at times, but really began to find its groove when Daily Show grad Stephen Colbert offered a few spontaneous words of appreciation for his former bosss lessons on how to do a show with intention. Stewart teared up, and stayed visibly shaken for most of the rest of the episode, even as he gave one final speech about staying vigilant against bullshit before throwing it over to Bruce Springsteen for the ultimate moment of zen.
Colberts tribute was such a magnificent moment of television because it came just as his friend was trying to go to a commercial. Whenever any long-running program concludes, theres a sense of time ticking by too quickly. Each Well be right back brings us closer to the credits, and the end. When Colbert literally stopped the show for a minute, he gave all the unprepared fans a chance to catch a breath, and prepare for a proper goodbye.