Guilty Pleasure: Will and Grace Reruns.

I started the year writing a blog about my NBA idol, Magic Johnson. Two nights ago, while on the treadmill, I chanced upon a very old game between the Los Angeles Lakers and San Diego Clippers (the team hasn't moved to L.A.) over at Basketball Channel. From the game announcers I gathered that it was Magic's very first game in the professional league, then still known as NBL. Magic finished with 23 points but missed about three easy jump shots in the last two minutes of play. The Lakers won through a patented hook shot delivered by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the last two seconds of play, by one point.

.

-----oOo-----

.

Studio 23 changed its late night programs dropping Oprah and replacing it with another run of the last season of Will and Grace. The queen of talk was relegated to a daytime slot.

.

This development is very much welcome. Will and Grace is one of my favorite sitcoms of all time. It ranks up there, maybe only behind Friends, Frasier and The Simpsons. I have seen 90% of its episodes since it first aired. However, I wasn't able to follow its last season as successfully because of a conflict in my work schedule.

.

The show first aired in the country in 1999. I was still in law school then. On Sunday evenings, I would watch the show while ironing my clothes. Whenever it was on, however, I noticed that it took me a longer time finishing just one piece of clothing. The brand of comedy and the level of acting were so good that I was gravely distracted from my ironing.

.

Since I was in law school and Will Truman (played by Eric McCormack) is a lawyer on TV, I can't help but ask myself whether there is any similarity between the character and myself. Or whether the life he is portraying in the show is the one I wanted to live. Though there are similarities between us, I do not think that we two are really comparable.

.

Will and Grace, unquestionably, has one of the best casts ever. All four ---McCormack, Debra Messing, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally--- have a knack for physical comedy and are profoundly gifted with comedic timing. There was never a joke wrongly delivered in its entire run.

.

All four of them eventually took home Emmy statuettes before the show went off the air. Mullally was first honored for her supporting role in 2000, along with Hayes for the counterpart male category. She would repeat in 2006. McCormack won in 2001 as Lead Actor while Messing, as Lead Actress, completed the quartet's win in 2003. I don't know if any other main cast in another show (comedy or drama) has achieved the same feat.
.

Their peers at the Screen Actors Guild also honored their performances with an award for the ensemble in 2001, for Mullally in 2002, 2003 and 2004, and for Hayes in 2002, 2003 and 2006. GLAAD also awarded the show as best comedy show for seven times in eight years (1999 to 2003, 2005 and 2006).

.

And it is not only the main cast that provided the audience invaluable laughter. Supporting character Shelley Morrison (as the maid Rosario) and recurrent characters Leslie Jordan (Beverley Leslie), Blythe Danner (Will's mom) and Deborah Reynolds (Grace's mother) were just as funny. Guest actors John Cleese (Karen Walker's love interest), Bobby Canavale (Vince), Michael Angarano (Jack's son Elliot), Alec Baldwin, Minnie Driver (as Stan's mistress) and Matt Damon provided additional spark and luster to the show. I didn't like Harry Connick, Jr, though.

.

With the reruns of the show, I now have a new habit. It is just about the last I see for four nights a week (Tuesday to Friday) before I turn off the TV set. And I always feel great to retire to bed after a hearty laugh provided by this exceptional show.
.

-----oOo-----

.

It took me forever to upload pictures for the immediately preceding blog entry. I started the article Tuesday but due to technical problems, was only able to finalize and publish it yesterday. Ironically, the entry is entitled Some Guys Have It All.

I feel relieved that I did not encounter the same problem today and uploading photos ran quickly and smoothly. To take advantage of this, I have decided to run another Julian of the Day installment. Uploading went so well that I included not just one but two photos from his Men appearance in 2006.

Guess how I'd venture to wake Julian up?

Copy and related rights to photographs and digital images appearing herein pertain to their respective authors, photographers and copyright owners. No commercial purpose or financial gain is intended by their inclusion in this blog. All accompanying texts are protected by copyright and related intellectual property laws in favor of saturdayconfessions.