Superbad is er... Supergood (sorry)

Until last Saturday, I hadn't set foot in a cinema in the last 18 months since V for Vendetta, this was mainly due to the rising cost of cinema tickets, me getting easily annoyed at other patrons and sitting through a million adverts (not trailers, I love watching trailers on the big screen), whilst visiting my best friend Richard in Manchester over the weekend, we decided to go to the cinema, the film we saw was Superbad...

And I'm very glad I saw this movie, when of the best raunchny teen comedies to come along in years, better then American Pie, better than Road Trip. The film was written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, apparently when they where 13 years old, the film stars Jonah Hill and Michael Cera as Seth and Evan respectively (didn't even bother to change their names), who offer to get beer for the girls they are so attracted to and this entire film is set on the day and night where everything goes wrong. Cera and Hill are great loads, Cera coming from Arrested Development, I was happy to see him in a lead role in a movie, Hill great here as he was in his one scene in The 40 Year Old Virgin. Show stealing though in his debut feature as Fogell is Christopher Mintz-Plasse or as his fake I.D says McLovin (no first name, no last name just McLovin), not forgetting the two cops Slater (Bill Hader) and Michaels (Seth Rogen), which will go down in cop history as a pair of the greatest cops ever to grace the silver screen. Another thing I liked about this movie was some of the little roles filled by Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared alumni such as Carla Gallo, David Krumholtz, Steve Bannos, Kevin Corrigan and Martin Starr, producer Judd Apatow, who seems to have a golden touch at the moment was behind both these shows.

There are plenty of laugh out loud moments such as an unfortunate incident involving Seth dancing with Carla Gallo, pretty much all the scenes involving the cops and McLovin and many, many more. The film is full of foulmouthed langauge but it's sweet, the friends seem to care about each other and it's not massively gross-out as it could have been (and perhaps got minus points for). Highly recommend.

*Below is the debut of the new rating system: The more Fonzie's the better, 5 being the highest.

Top 10 Unfairly Short Lived Shows (One Season Wonders)

Criteria: All shows must have been cancelled within or at the end of the first season, a season usually is around 22 or 24, any show that lasts any longer (or onto a second season) do not count, The Critic lasted 2 seasons but wasn't really given a chance, Arrested Development was mostly unwatched on television but it lasted three seasons so that doesn't count either, also a show like Band of Brothers was originally planned as a mini-series and that doesn't count either, let's star the top 10...

10- Clone High (2002-03)

Clone High was a short lived animated series produced by Bill Lawrence (of Spin City and Scrubs fame) about an high school the clones of lot of famous historical figures attend, such as Joan of Arc, Abraham Lincoln, cleopatra, JFK and Gandhi. The show as a lot of funny moments thanks to the High School horndog Gandhi. Best line of the entire series however goes to jock JFK when he says "Nothing bad ever happens to the Kennedy's!". Working checking out, think it's only available on Canadian R1.

9- Young Americans (2000)

Something of a spin-off to Dawson's Creek, that helped launch the careers of Ian Somerhalder (Lost), Kate Bosworth and Katherine Moennig (The L Word) was I believe debuted on American television in the Summer set around Rawley Summer Academy (an Elite school). Moennig plays a female pretending to be male to get into the school. Apparently it did not bad numbers but was not brought back, shame. Lasted about 8 episodes and not currently available on DVD.

8- Greg the Bunny (2002)

The cast features Eugene Levy, Seth Green, Bob Gunton and Sarah Silverman and guest appearances from Gary Oldman and Corey Feldman was basically Meet the Feebles made for American Network Television. There's enough laughs to be had thanks to some of the great puppet characters such as Count Blah (whose speech impediment means he says Blah at the end of every sentance). One of the things responsible for love of Sarah Silverman. Currently available on R1, as is Greg the Bunny: The Best of Film Parodies. 7- Clerks: The Animated Series (2000)

Only six episodes produced, only two of which aired, the two which aired are probably the better two, straying away from the film it is based somewhat. I truly think Jeff Anderson as Randall came into his own on this show even improving on his performance in the film, his memorable for me for a number of reasons including "Who's driving the car? Bears driving the car, how can that be?" and the entire flashback episode (the second episode). Available on R1. 6- The Ben Stiller Show (1992-93)

Before A-List beckoned, Ben Stiller starred in this short lived sketch show alongside Janeane Garofalo, Bob Oedenkirk and Andy Dick. Unusually recorded without a laugh track, Stiller even cautiously mentions in the first episode that they might get cancelled soon. It's like any sketch show, there's some stinkers to be had however Stiller's Cruise is always good as is Oedenkirk's Charlie Manson, fact: The Do It guy that Stiller does whilst in disguise in Starsky and Hutch orginated here. Worth checking out. Available on R1.

5- Undeclared (2001-02)

It's certainly in the same league as Freaks and Geeks (see below) and is something of a natural follower on dealing with college life as oppose to F&G high school life and even a bunch of actors appear in both. There isn't many college based television comedies out there really (Boy Meets World went to college, as did Saved By the Bell, they where the first two that came to mind), the cast are excellent, a standout being folk singer Loudon Wainwright however the inclusion of Christina Payona's Tina is useless though. Only available on R1.

4- Eerie Indiana (1991-92)

Brilliantly crafted and shockingly short lived, I could have sweared there was more than 19 episodes made. Cult enough to gain a sequel series titled Eerie Indiana: The Next Dimension. This was a constant favourite of mine when I was a kid (and it actually features future Spidey Tobey Maguire). With some highly original episodes, the series is truly exceptional. Available everywhere I think.

3- Firefly (2002-03)

Joss Whedon is god alone for creating Buffy the Vampire Slayer and it's spin-off Angel but Firefly is also of genuis. Thankfully the DVD sales where high enough to warrant a feature film titled Serenity. It's kind of the Anti-Star Trek, there's no aliens for one and the story of River Tam (Summer Glau, pictured above) is very intruging and is somewhat addressed in the movie thankfully, Nathan Fillion as Captain Mal Reynolds also deserves to become a star after this.

2- Police Squad (1982)

It's unbelievable that this only lasted six episodes. An argument could be made they are the funniest six epiosdes ever made of anything (a lot of the jokes got repackaged for the movie) and I never tire of it despite how few episodes they are. This along with Airplane basically ended Leslie Nielsen as the serious actor. Best of all unlike the films it's not tainted by the inclusion of O.J. Simpson. Available everywhere it seems.

1- Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000)

Straight in at number one as close as you are going to get to a perfect show. Freaks and Geeks is one of the few teen-aged show that feels so real. Maybe it was just too good too last very long, maybe if it had gone two or three seasons, the magic of it would have gone. Busy Philipps' Kim Kelly is a truly wonderful creation: perfectly bitchy, my best friend Rich also as mucho love for Lindsay (Linda Cardellini) and any show with Joe Flaherty is alright by me. Available on R1 only.