It's Like, You Know...

Aside from its off putting title, this show deserves its comparison to Seinfeld-the funny years. The great laughs contained in well crafted intersecting storylines that end up being thematically linked is terrific.

With episodes like "The Documentary," it shows there are still new ideas in the traditional sitcom format.

"It's Like, You Know..." was an extremely funny sitcom that was clearly doomed from the start. The writing was always exceptionally sharp, but its humor was far too sophisticated for general television audiences. For instance, one memorable episode featured a documentary style, a French-speaking nun accompanied by subtitles, demographic pie charts, and repeated references to Lorrie Moore. Not exactly mainstream humor. (And all this in a single episode!) Most of the shows' jokes served to poke fun at the habits of Angelenos, and again, these are regional jokes that most people probably won't understand.

Hey, I loved "It's Like, You Know...," and I watched it every week. It was hilarious, and occasionally it was quite charming. But it hardly came as a surprise to me when the show was canceled. Seriously, there is such a thing as being too clever.

I finally figured out the title... it's muttered by someone atleast once an episode (usually the worst joke of the episode... but still) but it seems so fake. When I first saw an ad for this, I thought it looked stupid and pointless, but I watched an episode anyway... and I found I couldn't stop, it was the best written show sence M*A*S*H and the best cast sence NewsRadio, and is the best show sence "The Simpsons". It has the same setup as Seinfeld (Punchline before the explanation). And haven't we always wondered why "Q" is in the middle of the alphabet? The best new show of 1999, followed closely by "Futu

Of course, you have to take into account that I'm a huge Jennifer Grey fan and I really like AJ Langer. The first time I saw this show I thought it was horrible. I've since given it another chance and I really like it. It's quirky, funny, and interesting.

This show had the potential to be the next Seinfeld, unfortunately like Seinfeld, it needed the time to build an audience that would appreciate it. This is not a show for everyone (neither was Seinfeld) and if you are the type that likes to do other things while the TV plays in the background then you aren't going to get this show. It was clever (as a previous viewer noted, sometimes too clever) at times silly, and always worth the half hour.

A couple of things doomed it. It was preempted, and eventually removed to make room for five days a week of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, which of course flamed out quickly with that much exposure. The other was some of the humor that if you know L.A. you'll think is hilarious, but if you don't it will take time to learn how they are. I hate to keep referencing Seinfeld, but for those unfamiliar with New Yorkers it took awhile for people to understand how important a parking spot was. That's the way this show was. If you are unaware of the way police chases are televised daily like soap operas you won't be amused by them gathering by the TV. Likewise if you are unaware of "the valley" then the "safari" to the valley will be lost. All and all a really amusing show and a real shame it was never given the chance to build an audience.