Visitors Review

AMichaelL (2012-05-24 21:16)

I Kind Of Want My Time Back...

This show isn't ALL that bad, but it has been done before. There are 4friends...2 are the couple, and the other 2 are good friends who areopposite sexes and will likely end up together, and then there are allsorts of random hookups and talking about them with each other,vividly, after. Big surprise, right? Another show about mostly selfishpeople in their 20s, who have some seemingly charming traits maskingtheir lack of direction (e.g., "I'm going to look for her on craigslistmissed connections"). Also, there are short clips of songs with info on the artists - kind oflike annoying two second music videos in the middle of the show. It hassome okay, if not mostly clichéd writing (women are sexual, sure, butthe women in this show jump men like crazy high school boys, it'salmost laughable at times), and also, the actors/actresses involved aredecent, which are its main saving graces. For MTV, it's pretty solid,but it's more of a bored soap opera than anything substantial.

PaulVilla (2012-05-24 15:38)

A show about modern 20-somethings - written by people apparently out-of-touch with modern 20-somethings.

If you turn off the audio, this show looks like it accurately depictsthe modern generation of twenty-somethings. The settings, fashions,hair-styles & accessories all look relevant.But once you turn the audio back on, this show sounds like it was madeback in the 80's or 90's. The lead characters have one-dimensionalpursuits, retro dialogue & totally cynical natures...which all lead youto believe there's a generation gap.If you're in your mid-late twenties (as I am), then you're part of themost curious & engaged generation North America has ever produced.Those who live it know it, and those who don't are welcome to checkacademic & public opinion studies on the subject.This generation has melded sharing & consumption, vanity & morals, &the personal & the civic. They're harnessing their purchasing power toaffect the way companies design & produce their products. They'reharnessing the very act of being fashionable to make statements.They're harnessing their bodies to fill the ranks of NGO's & socialmovements like #OccupyWallStreet. And they're harnessing their onlinepresence to push both individuals & society towards pursuing higherstandards of quality.This is not the generation the show depicts.The problem seems to be the characters of Jason & Tina. Since theyreceive the most individual & paired screen-time, the problemssurrounding their characterizations end up dragging the show down.The most obvious problem is the bizarre dialogue. Jason & Tina soundlike a pair of mid-90's stand-up comics who watched way too many WoodyAllen movies. They motor-mouth ridiculously long commentaries, in tonesfit for staged theatre rather than naturalistic television. They alsoblurt out dated pop-culture references (seriously, few people my ageeven know who Steve Buscemi is...much less bond over him in publicparks). None of this is the fault of the actors because it's impossibleto deliver that sort of dialogue in any realistic manner.A bigger problem however is the one-dimensional nature of Jason andTina. It's impossible to believe they actually grew up in the era ofthe internet & global awareness. Sometimes, it's even hard to believethey've lost their virginity's. They have no interest inanything...except for mating. It seems like their every word & deed isstructured to remind the audience of this shallow fact.The biggest problem though, IMO, is that the writers might actuallydespise the very generation they're depicting. Why is it that everytwenty-something character Jason & Tina come into contact with isdepicted as annoying or stupid? Especially when these characters arereflective of certain mass cultural groups like hipsters, immigrants,environmentalists, & even recently lower class black kids. As BillMaher said, these people aren't the fringe or counter-culture...theyare the culture. If you don't respect them, then you don't respect us.It's sad, because the actors look good & are definitely talented. Butthe writers seem to be ignorant about the people they're trying todepict.

kaszabmate (2012-05-24 08:35)

Improving

First of all, I started to watch this show without any expectations,only for easy entertainment. I liked the basic idea of the show, andall the simplicity of the sentence "I just want my pants back" soundedgood to me. Maybe it's way too similar to How I Met Your Mother, but Istill like it. The story had potential, but in the first some episodes,they've ruined it. The acting was poor, the hand recorded footage weretoo unfocused and so... I didn't really see the future in the show, butI gave it another go. And so I was right. The actors got way better,they started to build their own characters, and so the story got backto the main topic, with short side-stories. I think that's all I wantfrom this show, to be simple and entertaining. So I Just Want My PantsBack is good for a teenage easy entertainment TV show, and if they'llput in the effort, and get all the potential out of the story, then itcan be a very good production, that we will remember in the future.

Steve Wolf (2012-05-23 00:03)

Outstanding

Sharp, funny, clever show. I loved Tina and Kent the intern, both werevery funny together!!! The show depicts a lot of the modern angst of20-something kids trying to succeed in a difficult world today givencareer issues, down economy, looking for love, being on your own, etc.But it did so in a very sharp witted way, making it very entertaining.For example, Jason telling an elderly man sitting in a chair on thesidewalk that he has a "hot date", and the man expectorating to theground in response--funny. You really see all the foibles of uncertaindecisions made by the characters in terms of who/how to fall in love,but you are really rooting for Jason, Tina, and Kent the intern tosucceed in their quests.

AMichaelL (2012-05-22 13:51)

I Kind Of Want My Time Back...

This show isn't ALL that bad, but it has been done before. There are 4friends...2 are the couple, and the other 2 are good friends who areopposite sexes and will likely end up together, and then there are allsorts of random hookups and talking about them with each other,vividly, after. Big surprise, right? Another show about mostly selfishpeople in their 20s, who have some seemingly charming traits maskingtheir lack of direction (e.g., "I'm going to look for her on craigslistmissed connections"). EDIT; The last few episodes have improved and the characters are actinglike real young adult human beings. It is very watchable at this point,although it has still been done before.