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TWoP 10: Shows That Should Do Live Episodes

by Angel Cohn October 15, 2010 6:00 AM
TWoP 10: Shows That Should Do Live Episodes

30 Rock is far from the first modern series to pull off a live episode, but we do hope that it restarts the trend. And while it might be hard for some shows to handle this format, we can think of a bunch from the current season that we'd like to see try. At the very least, most of them would have a good shot at being funnier than Saturday Night Live has been in recent years. Here's our wish list:

10. Chuck
The special effects this season have had some really terrible-looking green screen, so they could save themselves both the trouble and some money by doing an episode set entirely inside the Buy More, which is now souped up with super agents. We could see some deep heartfelt conversations between Chuck and Sarah in the home theater room while Morgan and Casey are locked in the cage. And if they forget their lines, we're sure that Jeffster! would be ready to perform at a moment's notice.

9. Real Housewives of New Jersey
We were tempted to say that we'd like a live Jersey Shore, but that would just consist of Snooki sleeping for an hour and Pauly singing the "T-shirt Time" song for like 40 minutes. We don't need that. Instead, we'd head a bit further north and watch another insane dinner party with the housewives of Jersey. There would bound to be screaming and fights, which would drive the censors entertainingly nuts. We'd just advise that police officers be on stand by. Just in case.

8. Grey's Anatomy
Would the cast be able to spout off complicated medical jargon knowing that millions are watching? Would Lexipedia live up to her name? Would there be any wardrobe malfunctions during the multiple makeout sessions? Let's find out!

7. How I Met Your Mother
Comedies are well suited to this sort of live atmosphere, and NPH has plenty of theater experience. So let him be the centerpiece as he dramatically finds a way to actually time travel and heads to the show's present day to force FutureTed to get to the point already and tell the kids how he met their damned mother.

6. Top Chef
The chefs are always complaining about the pressure and the lack of time, so let's see what they could do when the clock is really counting down for a live-action Quickfire challenge. Tom would have to be succinct in his critiques, but it would show what the chefs were really made of.

5. Modern Family
It would be difficult to move between so many sets, but putting the entire cast in one location for a live group function would be amazing. We'd see lots of improv by the talented actors, which could lead to some bizarrely wonderful moments.

4. Mad Men
At the rate Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce is currently going, the staff might fit in one small office by next season, or be back in their hotel room. Either way, it would make filming a live show relatively easy, and with enough rehearsal time, an episode like this could unfold like a beautifully written stage play.

3. Community
After seeing what they did with the "Modern Warfare" episode, we expect these guys to continue to push the envelope to make must-see event television. A live episode would be particularly must-see because, if nothing else, you just never know what Ken Jeong will do. Plus, it would be fun to see if the crew could clean up the debris-strewn sets in time for the West Coast airing.

2. America's Next Top Model
We mainly just want the finale to be live in hopes that a major faux pas occurs like what recently happened on the Australian version of the show. We'd pay to see Tyra announce the wrong winner, or do something equally embarrassing, though it would be tough for her to top what she considers her normal behavior in that regard.

1. Glee
Having New Directions actually sing their songs instead of using Auto-Tune and pre-recordings would be such a novel idea. Plus, it would cut back on the music video fantasies and focus on more of Sue just screaming through the hallways. You just know Matt Morrison would crack up when Jane Lynch makes some ad-libbed comment about his hair.

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