screencap from YouTube

No Doubt and Gwen Stefani are trending on Twitter right now, but not because the newly reunited group just released the first single off of their first studio album in eleven years. They’re trending because they performed at the Teen Choice Awards moments ago and apparently none of today’s teens know who they are. See a handful of the unfortunate tweets after the jump. (more…)

It was just a matter of time before gentrified Brooklyn got its own Portlandia spin off, even if unofficial. Here is a video making the rounds today with a pretty amusing storyline (the pains of going from neighborhood to neighborhood in search of plans), although some jokes tread on pretty well-worn territory.

Looks like there is another clip in the series, posted three months ago.

I’ve spent years living in North Brooklyn but I really didn’t know anything about it until I was able to see how it was portrayed by 2 Broke Girls, a hackneyed, LA-filmed sitcom created by the “brain” behind Sex and the City and the “brain” behind Whitney. This column will keep track of all the knowledge dropped and questions answered, like: Why do hipsters wear knit hats? Because of Coldplay…of course (seriously, this was one of the first jokes of the series).

This week I learned…

Nothing But Lawyer Jokes

Can you believe it’s finally back? Yes? Good because it’s a very easy thing to believe, even with it being off the air for three weeks. You know what they say, time drags when you’re dreading the return of the show. Seriously, dread. Judge Dredd judged me to be dreading the judgment day that is this show’s return. If only I had a good lawyer.

Speaking of lawyers, this episode was all about them (transition transitioned). It starts with the blonde broke girl’s lawyer showing up at the diner, who she hugs because she wants to remember her life as a spoiled girl gallivanting around the Upper East hugging lawyers. The lawyer, who is a walking Borscht Belt punchline, informs the blonde girl that he has acid reflux and that she needs to give a deposition because something, something, boring, something. Sadly (well, sadly if anyone cared) lawyers be expensive – lawyers BEEEEEE expensive – and the show is not called 2 Can Afford Lawyers Whenever Girls. Good thing participating in a drug trial is a stock sitcom premise because lawyers won’t accept cupcakes as payment anymore.

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I’ve spent years living in North Brooklyn but I really didn’t know anything about it until I was able to see how it was portrayed by 2 Broke Girls, a hackneyed, LA-filmed sitcom created by the “brain” behind Sex and the City and the “brain” behind Whitney. This column will keep track of all the knowledge dropped and questions answered, like: Why do hipsters wear knit hats? Because of Coldplay…of course (seriously, this was one of the first jokes of the series).

This week I learned…

Gay People Live Here And They’re Gay

What I really like (and by like I mean hate) about 2 Broke Girls is instead of shying away from stereotypes they build episodes around them. Since it’s a demographic yet to be mocked, this is the gay episode. This doesn’t mean the episode is filled with homosexuals – no, the episode’s single gay couple makes a brief appearance and the start and end of the episode, mostly to set-up and comment on an apartment sitting arrangement. I imagine the pitch in the writer’s room went something like this:

Michael Patrick King (showrunner): “Whom haven’t we made fun of yet?”

Writer 1: “Gays?”

Writer 2: “Oh, yeah. Gays!”

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I’ve spent years living in North Brooklyn but I really didn’t know anything about it until I was able to see how it was portrayed by 2 Broke Girls, a hackneyed, LA-filmed sitcom created by the “brain” behind Sex and the City and the “brain” behind Whitney. This column will keep track of all the knowledge dropped and questions answered, like: Why do hipsters wear knit hats? Because of Coldplay…of course (seriously, this was one of the first jokes of the series).

This week I learned…

Our Birthday Parties Stink

Earlier in its run, the show argued: 1) Hipsters love karaoke 2) Hipsters will pay anything if a party is exclusive 3) Hipsters love theme parties. So what happens when it’s the blond broke girl’s birthday? Obviously, Kat Dennings throws a party in which the principle cast just sits around and then takes her on a bus (the “bang bus”—more on that later) to visit jail. (more…)

I’ve spent years living in North Brooklyn but I really didn’t know anything about it until I was able to see how it was portrayed by 2 Broke Girls, a hackneyed, LA-filmed sitcom created by the “brain” behind Sex and the City and the “brain” behind Whitney. This column will keep track of all the knowledge dropped and questions answered, like: Why do hipsters wear knit hats? Because of Coldplay…of course (seriously, this was one of the first jokes of the series).

This week I learned…

Williamsburg Has Hasidic Jews

Last week there was a big revelation that rich, successful, Jewish doctors now live in Williamsburg and every character’s face exploded. This week, faces sadly restored, there is a new breakthrough, there are other Jews in Williamsburg as well, really Jewish one’s at that.

The broke gals are sick and decide to go to a doctor. The clinic must be south of Broadway, as it’s completely Hasidic. Of course, the blond broke girl tells the Kat Dennings broke girl that she had lots of Jewish friends growing up. It allowed her to say a bunch of silly Yiddish phrases that had the audience presumably laughing their yarmulke-less heads off. Yada yada this leads to them getting a job making cupcakes for a Bar Mitzvah.

There is a nice moment when the Jewish receptionist acknowledges the undeniable Jewishness of the Kat Dennings broke girl’s hair, complexion, and boobs. It actually leads to a really sweet arc, in which KD acknowledges that her dad could have been a Jew and the Orthodox family fully embraces her. For a show so derided for its use of stereotypes, it was a joy to see one executed without cynicism. I know boring, AHHHHHH, sorry.

Don’t worry, there were plenty of cringe-worthy scenes with a jive talking Bar Mitzvah boy and his breakdancing friend. I hated every second of each.

First the Polish, now the Hasidim, the show seems to be picking off Williamsburg demographics one by one. What’s next Dominicans? Puerto Ricans? Fried chickens?

[What I learned from last week's episode]

I’ve spent years living in North Brooklyn but I really didn’t know anything about it until I was able to see how it was portrayed by 2 Broke Girls, a hackneyed, LA-filmed sitcom created by the “brain” behind Sex and the City and the “brain” behind Whitney. This column will keep track of all the knowledge dropped and questions answered, like: Why do hipsters wear knit hats? Because of Coldplay…of course (seriously, this was one of the first jokes of the series).

This week I learned…

Williamsburg Has Rich, Jewish Doctors Now

The absence of love was in the air last night in the 2 Broke Girl’s Williamsburg as neither broke gal had a date for Valentine’s Day. Same goes for the rest of the show’s racist cast of ancillary characters. As a result of the sadness, the best of the four stereotypes, the black ancillary character, had a heart attack (Get it!?!?!?! Heart!?!?!? Valentine’s Day!?!?!?!?!).

Because everyone on this show is broke or a girl or both, the black ancillary character, who is played by the ever awesome Garret Morris, needs the broke girls to help him get a private room. The formerly rich, currently blond broke girl admits to knowing the family who owns the wing of the hospital in which they currently resided—classic rich girl.

Enter Dr. Shecter, a Jewish stereotype in his own right, albeit a positive one. Dr. Jewberg saves the day and wins the formerly rich, currently blond broke girl’s heart. As a gift, she brings him a t-shirt that says “Williamsburg” (you know, all those Williamsburg t-shirts that they sell everywhere because everyone only wears them, always) because that’s where she lives. Big reveal: Dr. Jewenstein also lives in Williamsburg, as he wanted to “piss off his father” (just like Isaac and Abraham, amiright?). The two rich kids, chuckle at the wild and crazy thought of a wealthy, non-Hasidic Jewish Doctor living in the post-apocalyptic wasteland that is contemporary Williamsburg. If only there was a luxury condo for him to reside. One day, Dr. Jewowitz, one day.

[What I learned from last week's episode]

This Thursday MTV will debut its new series, I Just Want My Pants Back, a scripted show about young twenty-somethings living in and around Greenpoint. The series is based on the 2007 book by David J. Rosen and a “sneak peak” of the pilot episode aired back in August. I got my hands on a press screener of three episodes. Here’s what to expect, spoiler-free.

The basic premise: Jason, a shaggy-haired guy a few years out of college meets a girl at a bar and takes her back to his one-bedroom off the Nassau G. They have a crazy night together and in the morning, she absconds with his pants. He’s hooked and becomes preoccupied with finding her, which distracts him from his job as a receptionist for a media company. (So far, minus the falling victim to pants thievery, this is my life.)

Jason’s sidekick is Tina, a foul-mouthed, crop-topped blonde who engages in some sexual misadventures of her own. There’s also Stacey and Eric, an interracial couple living together and going to grad school. The four characters have been friends since college.

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Like a lot of people, I don’t have cable. So I had to wait til today to see this duet between Jack and Coco. Worth the wait.

Happy to have this guy back on the airwaves. He’s obviously already proving that he is more talented than any other late night host.