Yesterday you could have turned your TV on at 1pm and happily left it on broadcast TV until the 10pm news, with Fox being the big winner. CBS had the early NFL playoff game yesterday between the Browns and the Steelers, Fox the late game between the 49ers and Giants; and for sheer drama and action, they were two of the best ever (I being a middling Browns fan was not pleased with the result of the first game, a last-minute Steelers victory, but the game felt more like a tremendous Steelers comeback than a Browns collapse. It was pretty great for the Browns to be back in the playoffs again in only their fourth season - their overall strategy seems to be working well).
The Steelers comeback from 14 points down was exciting and/or heartbreaking enough, but then the 49ers came from even farther back - 24 points - to shock the Giants 39-38, taking a little of the sting away from the Browns' defeat. Apart from rooting interest, the games were explosive nail-biters, swollen with drama, and all a sports fan could hope for.
And then there was comedy: Fox has the funniest, most consistent night in broadcast TV with The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Malcolm in the Middle, and the newest entry, the alternately bizarre, twisted, cynical, and sweet Andy Richter Controls the Universe, which seems to exist in some post-ironic world of its own creation.
The Simpsons has been around so long and is so confident of its status in TV history that it now works in shorthand, putting more effort into its dark little asides than into any given plot. Last night actually featured a happy ending of sorts with elementary school principal Seymour finally crawling out from under his mother's skirt to propose to beleaguered teacher Edna, whom Bart uncharacteristically nominated for Teacher of the Year: incisive, cutting, and funny as ever.
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