The Sun Always Shines on T.V.: Dan LeBatard is Highly Questionable

I don't get a lot of time to watch TV nowadays, kids, work, exercising...you get the point. But one show that has been apart of my daily viewing for about 10 years now has been Pardon the Interruption (PTI). It was basically the same format as The Sports Reporters, but with only two hosts and there was more humor involved.

Now the show is daily, but Mike & Tony take vacations and they need fill-in hosts. At first my favorite was Norm Chad, who gave more humor into the show than analysis. He started doing other things and hasn't been on for years. The next guy to really peak my interest was Dan LeBatard. He was funny like Norm, but you could also tell he knew what he was talking about. For the past few years he has been my favorite fill in host. This past summer I noticed he wasn't filling in very much and I was worried Dan was going the same way as Norm Chad. Well, his days on PTI might be over, but that's cause he got his own show Dan LeBatard is Highly Questionable (DLHQ).

I saw a commercial for it and set my DVR to record it right away. I saw the 60's kitchen set and was wondering what this would be like, but all of those questions were replaced when I saw his dad, thick accent and all, asking Dan sports questions. The interaction between father & son is always good for some laughs, heck Petros has his dad on every week for a segment on his radio show Petros & Money. It works.

Dan and his father are no different. The interaction is genuine and at times hilarious. Dan was never the serious guy on PTI and it is interesting to watch him try to be both the funny guy and serious guy at once. And so far he is doing a good job of pulling it off. Sure some of the topics are repeated on PTI, but the way Dan handles them is totally different than Mike & Tony.

I must admit I skip the interview segment, but unless it is someone that I really want to hear talk, I usually skip it on PTI as well. The edits were distracting at first, but now I just go with it. Dan seems like a person that could say a lot of stuff and it might not be too funny, but when he nails a joke it's good. And maybe that's what they are doing here. Maybe they are editing it because of his dad? Who knows, all I know is that I am loving it. In fact, the other night as I was watching it my wife sat down and watched a bit and started laughing at the interaction between Dan & his dad.

This show is something new, maybe not as revolutionary as PTI was 10 years ago, but it is definitely a show that you can't find anywhere else. Hopefully in 10 years DLHQ will still be around like PTI is.

The Sun Always Shines on T.V.: Top T.V. shows for me

Alright, it's obviously summer time and that means reruns. So let me share with you some of my favorite t.v. shows on the air right now.

1. Scrubs - Is there a better t.v. show on right now? The writing, acting, and directing is all top notch. I found this show in syndication on Comedy Central and in one the first episode I ever saw I laughed and cried within 10 minutes of each other. Not too many shows can say that. The never-ending story of J.D. and Elliot seems to be making another return for the last season (that's the rumor I read). The entire cast is great from J.D., to Turk, to even Ted, but my favorite has to be Dr. Cox. His sense of humor is great. I think we all wish that we could say the things he says at work. Here is a clip of some of his best season one moments.
Scrubs Homepage

2. Battlestar Galactica - Ok so if Scrubs is the best comedy on right now than BSG is the best drama on right now. Seriously, the "reimagining" of the classic 70's version is so good. If you were a fan of the original you need to forget everything. Characters have changed sexes, races, and some became Cylons. It took me a half of a season to let go of what I knew and that's when I started to really enjoy it. The bad news is that this show is going off the air after season four. I see this as a good thing, you don't want to have boring scripts and "jump the shark". For those who don't know the BG story follow the link. Now this is technically a sci-fi show, but last season most episodes didn't even leave the ship. The really crappy part is that the season finale was a while ago and we still have to wait until NEXT JANUARY FOR THE CONCLUSION!!!! BTW, there is a free video on Itunes that tells the story up to season 3.
Battlestar Galactica Homepage

3. Two and a Half Men - This show has kind of jumped the shark after Candi left, but it still has its moments. The chemistry that Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer is great. Once again, some great acting and writing going on here. Some of the stories have become more adult oriented as the show has progressed, but it is still very enjoyable. I think what's makes this show work for me is the interaction between the "does what's right brother" and the "do what I want brother". Throw in an ex-wife, grumpy maid, and a lazy son and you get a solid t.v. show.
Two and a Half Men Homepage

4. America's Funniest Homevideos (AFV) - ok this show needs no introduction. It's just a classic show. I never get tired of watching people get scared, falling off of bikes, crashing into anything...it just works. America is full of idiots so this could go on for a long time.
AFV Homepage

5. Pardon the Interuption - so this isn't technically a prime time show, it still is one of the best sports show out there. Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon discuss the day's sport stories and some celebrity gossip as well. To listen to sports guys talk about American Idol is pretty funny. The nice thing is that Tony is on Monday Night Football and Wilbon now does the NBA for ABC.
PTI Homepage


Honorable Mention:

The Batman - yes the cartoon. Listen cartoons aren't for little kids anymore. I think it started with the Batman: The Animated Series back in the 1990's. The writing was more complicated and the artwork was darker. Well this version of Batman started out rough, almost like an anime style of Batman. In season 3, we got Batgirl. In season 4, we got Robin. now as a comic book nerd this pissed me off because everyone knows Robin came into the picture first. But I digress. At the end of season 4 we saw the introduction of the Justice League. Now this has peaked my interest because Justice League and Justice League Unlimited were two of my favorite shows of all time (more on them later). So I can't say where this Batman will rank. It is getting better so I will wait and see.
The Batman Homepage

Alright so those shows are still on. Next time I will look at my favorite shows that aren't on anymore.