"Whitney" is the Best New Show on Television

By Jake

You cannot read a single article on the internet published since September of 2011 without the author taking a pot-shot at the NBC three camera sitcom “Whitney.”.  “Whitney” has become little more than the butt of a joke, a punchline.  Which is too bad, because “Whitney” is flat-out the best show on TV right now.


“Whitney” is a TV show about six “Friends” and starring the stand-up comedian Whitney Cummings.  The characters on this show are some of the most likable on television.  The most likable characters are Whitney and her friend Lily.  Lily (Zoe Lister Jones) is/(spoiler)was engaged to Neal (Maulik Pancholy).  Whitney is in a long-term relationship with Alex (Chris D’Elia) and much of the plots of episodes revolve around them being in a fight or jealous.  They also have two friends, Roxanne (Rhea Seenhorn) and Mark (Dan O’Brien).  This is what we in the entertainment business call an “ensemble cast.”  It’s easiest to remember the term in terms of clothing--a bunch of clothes that go together are called an “ensemble.”  These are characters that go together and compliment each other, and that is why the word “ensemble” is used.


A common criticism of this show is that it uses “canned laughter.”  It is taped in front of a live studio audience, though.  Some of TV’s most classic programs have been taped in front of a live studio audience or have used canned laughter.  “Seinfeld,” “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Sports Night,” and “Friends” all used this gimmick.  Why has laughter become a point of contention?  Some of my current favorite shows on television right now (“30 Rock,” “Community,” “Parks & Recreation”) do not have a laugh track, but some of the best shows of all time have had laugh tracks.  “Whitney” is a prime example of a great show using laughter to emphasize the jokes.  With the rapid fire pacing of the jokes, it is likely that one would slip past you if there wasn’t a laugh alerting you that a joke just happened.  You were likely laughing too hard at the previous joke to have even noticed another joke was made.  They should call “canned laughter” a “joke alert” when it is being used in the context of referring to “Whitney.”


Whitney Cummings is a beautiful and funny amazonian woman.  She is nearly 6 feet tall, which is nearly 42 feet tall in dog height.  A woman of that stature does not deserve your scorn and ridicule.  She should be on the cover of magazines, like Time Magazine as “Man of the Year” and they should rename it to a gender neutral “Person of the Year.”


“Whitney” is a show that is geared toward women and men who are transitioning into being a woman, or just really effeminate like me.  I feel that one of the main reasons this show is so loathed is because it portrays women as being sexier, more successful, and funnier than their male counterparts.  Men are used to women playing bar maids (“Cheers”), mothers (“The Simpsons”), and not existing (“My Two Dads” and “My Three Sons”).  This show challenges their notions of just what women can do on a television set.  Their fragile egos break like a plasma TV delivered by UPS.


“Whitney” is the best show of the 2011-2012 TV season.  It is likely to become among the best shows on TV if it can make it past this season, which seems fairly likely.  There are plenty of terrible shows on television.  Why spew your vitriol over “Whitney” when “Toddlers & Tiaras” is giving pedophiles something to toss it to?  Leave “Whitney” alone, and, even more so, leave the person Whitney Cummings alone, unless it is to tell her that you are in love with her.