As I mentioned yesterday, there are a decent number of things most people like that I do not. I thought we were all entitled to our opinions, however, these dislikes generally cause others to call me names. A short list:
Parades. There's too much ado for not a lot to do. I don't get it. I don't like being in them and I don't like watching them.
Zoos. I'm not overly enthusiastic about wild animals, and then there's all the families.
Pesto. It's apparently the condiment to end all condiments. I also don't like condiments very much, or basil.
Everything Bagels. There's just too much going on.
Honey. First, it's a condiment, so it's already not making a good impression. Then it's sticky and I just don't like the flavor.
This list could get pretty food dominated pretty fast, so I'll stop at those three.
Carnivals. Too many people and all the rides go in circles. I vomit.
Strawberry Picking. Also apple picking. I don't really like any kind of fruit or vegetable picking, but these two come up frequently as fun quaint activities. I disagree on both those counts.
Summer. It's the worst of the four seasons. People always want to go to the beach (see below). And there is a lot of pressure to wear shorts in public, and I don't do that.
The Beach. I don't like the sand, the people, the sun, or the water. I don't care for the saltiness- and even on fresh-water beaches, I can't over-come the initial ickyness of walking in the water before it gets too deep, plus those are usually really cold, and pretty rocky. I've been to many beaches, because other people like to go there. I prefer my swimming to take place in a pool, and I prefer my lounging to take place indoors, with a TV in front of me. This is the one that most people give up on me for.
The list could go on, but I said it would be a short list. And I can usually find a supporter or two for my other dislikes. Those are just the things that cause me to spend large chunks of my days alone. And sad. But not as sad as I'd be if I were watching a parade in a beach-side zoo while eating an everything bagel with a pesto and honey schmear in the middle of summer just before an afternoon of strawberry picking and carnival rides. That's the sort of thing that could drive me insane, like Meg Ryan's character at the George V in French Kiss. Yes, I would carry around a bell and bang on it. Oddly enough, I don't dislike bells.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!
I actually only saw the lions. The tigers were sleeping inside, and the bears were in the back area or something. I'm not usually a proponent of the zoo. It involves a lot of things I don't like or care about. But I received a call in the morning from a friend who had been out of town for a few weeks asking me to join her for a morning walk to the zoo. I was confused and intrigued, so I slunk out of bed, pigtailed up, and went to the zoo on a crisp Saturday morning.
We were there early enough to avoid the stroller patrol and screaming kids, which was part of the plan. There were a few there of course, but it wasn't overrun. We made a quick stroll past some gorillas and the lions, looked for an elephant, and had a quick snack and the "Lion's Den" or some punny cafeteria name. The zoo cafeteria was appalling. I understand concessions and the like are a primary way for zoos to make money, and the outlandish cost of some these food-like items is not my primary gripe. More over I'm concerned with the selection. It was still morning when we went in there. I get that most people don't visit in the morning, but it's open so it would be nice if some sort of breakfast food were available.
Fruit juice was on the menu.
-Hm. Fruit juice. What do you suppose that is?
-I think it means orange soda.
The rest of the menu was cheeseburgers, hot dogs, typical stadium fare, and then two fruits and a vegetable. There was something called a "three cheese sandwich." Catering to children as the cafeteria is wont to do, I thought this would be a grilled cheese sandwich and would be perfect for satisfying my post- breakfast pre-lunch craving.
-The three cheese sandwich, is that a grilled cheese sandwich?
The cashier just shook her head at me, since it was the dumbest question she had heard all day.
-So it's just three pieces of cheese on bread.
She nodded with a slight eyebrow raise, as though to tell me this was obvious to everyone else.
-A banana, apple slices, carrot dunkers, and and bottle of water. Thanks.
It came to just under $10. I have no idea of that's reasonable or not.
I still don't love zoos. It's an odd thing with me. There are a decent number of things most people love that I do not. Zoos and parades top the list. A parade through a zoo? Shut up. But the National Zoo is free, so there was little wasted. I felt a little sorry for the animals, whom I sure are well taken care of, but who also look a little sad, sitting on top of their fake mountains, king of the immediate 75-yard grass knoll they reside on. But they didn't seem to know any better, and had pretty much given in to their lazy Saturday morning. It was a nice walk though, and it wasn't spoiled with something silly like golf.
We were there early enough to avoid the stroller patrol and screaming kids, which was part of the plan. There were a few there of course, but it wasn't overrun. We made a quick stroll past some gorillas and the lions, looked for an elephant, and had a quick snack and the "Lion's Den" or some punny cafeteria name. The zoo cafeteria was appalling. I understand concessions and the like are a primary way for zoos to make money, and the outlandish cost of some these food-like items is not my primary gripe. More over I'm concerned with the selection. It was still morning when we went in there. I get that most people don't visit in the morning, but it's open so it would be nice if some sort of breakfast food were available.
Fruit juice was on the menu.
-Hm. Fruit juice. What do you suppose that is?
-I think it means orange soda.
The rest of the menu was cheeseburgers, hot dogs, typical stadium fare, and then two fruits and a vegetable. There was something called a "three cheese sandwich." Catering to children as the cafeteria is wont to do, I thought this would be a grilled cheese sandwich and would be perfect for satisfying my post- breakfast pre-lunch craving.
-The three cheese sandwich, is that a grilled cheese sandwich?
The cashier just shook her head at me, since it was the dumbest question she had heard all day.
-So it's just three pieces of cheese on bread.
She nodded with a slight eyebrow raise, as though to tell me this was obvious to everyone else.
-A banana, apple slices, carrot dunkers, and and bottle of water. Thanks.
It came to just under $10. I have no idea of that's reasonable or not.
I still don't love zoos. It's an odd thing with me. There are a decent number of things most people love that I do not. Zoos and parades top the list. A parade through a zoo? Shut up. But the National Zoo is free, so there was little wasted. I felt a little sorry for the animals, whom I sure are well taken care of, but who also look a little sad, sitting on top of their fake mountains, king of the immediate 75-yard grass knoll they reside on. But they didn't seem to know any better, and had pretty much given in to their lazy Saturday morning. It was a nice walk though, and it wasn't spoiled with something silly like golf.
Friday, November 5, 2010
There's Got To Be An Easier Way
A short commercial for Yoplait Smoothie mix came on just a moment ago on my Pandora station. The over arching selling point for this mix is that it makes making smoothies so much easier than the conventional method of making smoothies. According to the average-consumer woman, her friend claims she loves smoothies, but they are just so hard to make. They are hard because first, you have to go out and buy fruit. With smoothie mix, you just add the mix and milk to your blender and viola, you have a smoothie. And yes, she did actually say "there's got to be an easier way." Or maybe she said "there must be an easier way" or some other paraphrased version of that statement. The point is, apparently this smoothie mix is the easier way. Umm. You still have to go out and buy the smoothie mix. The mix doesn't really make the process easier, it makes it dumber. If you want a really easy way to make smoothies, go to a restaurant that sells smoothies. Smoothies are not hard to make. You pretty much put whatever you want in a blender and hit blend. Or frappe! Any setting will work, it doesn't really matter.
I crack up every time I see these commercials. Usually they're infomercials, but sometimes they are just a 30 second spot. The stupidly simple is made to look ridiculously difficult in order to convince you that you can't function as a human without this product. There are a few products that are decent, but I still resent the implication that without them, we can't enjoy things like pasta, or our plants.
There are several products aimed at making pasta a simpler task. The pot with the strainer built into the lid. The microwavable auto-pasta cooker. I have never had as much trouble making pasta as the people in the commercials. They end up with third degree burns all over their bodies from dumping boiling hot water and pasta directly on themselves. I imagine these are very faint-of-heart people whose children frighten them from behind every time they cook pasta. How else could that happen? In one of the advertisements, the announcer states "metal pots can get very hot." Yes. I hope so- that's how it cooks my food. However, this is a cautionary tale. He's probably trying to convince us all we should be cooking our pasta and sauce in one container in the microwave. It apparently saves on the dish washing, which these people have apparently never ever done, judging from the piles and piles of pots and pans in their sinks.
To quote Mitch Hedberg: "Who the fuck would make their plants hard to reach?" Again, a few of these products are useful and/or decorative. However, the commercials make it seem as though you are simply a bad person who wishes to kill rain forests if you're not using this to water your plants. Or grow them, or whatever other use they have. There's one for some sort of edge trimmer that can perform miracles. The before edge trimmer is apparently a secret war machine produced by the Nazis in order to perpetuate back problems, killing the old and discouraging the young from dreaming. The new edge trimmer makes the world a better place.
The Magic Bullet? It's just a blender. It might be a nice blender. It may even be pretty convenient. And if you don't already have a blender, I wouldn't see why this would be a bad choice. But since I don't buy ingredients already chopped up and separated into ramekins, it's not as time saving as the commercials would have you believe. There's a comedian out there who does a bit about this very fact. If I find his routine, I'll come back and link it. He makes a good point. Perhaps it blends in under 10 seconds, but the entirety of food preparation is not completed in under 10 seconds. Its many claims have little to do with the functionality of the product and more to do with your actual choices. It doesn't make food healthier. You can make healthy food with it, but you can also make healthy food without it.
All of these commercials prey on how helpless we think we are, or on how lazy we actually are. The products may or may not be useful; the commercials are pretty damn hilarious.
My two favorite "infomericals": The Jar Glove and The Tracy Jordan Meat Machine.
I crack up every time I see these commercials. Usually they're infomercials, but sometimes they are just a 30 second spot. The stupidly simple is made to look ridiculously difficult in order to convince you that you can't function as a human without this product. There are a few products that are decent, but I still resent the implication that without them, we can't enjoy things like pasta, or our plants.
There are several products aimed at making pasta a simpler task. The pot with the strainer built into the lid. The microwavable auto-pasta cooker. I have never had as much trouble making pasta as the people in the commercials. They end up with third degree burns all over their bodies from dumping boiling hot water and pasta directly on themselves. I imagine these are very faint-of-heart people whose children frighten them from behind every time they cook pasta. How else could that happen? In one of the advertisements, the announcer states "metal pots can get very hot." Yes. I hope so- that's how it cooks my food. However, this is a cautionary tale. He's probably trying to convince us all we should be cooking our pasta and sauce in one container in the microwave. It apparently saves on the dish washing, which these people have apparently never ever done, judging from the piles and piles of pots and pans in their sinks.
To quote Mitch Hedberg: "Who the fuck would make their plants hard to reach?" Again, a few of these products are useful and/or decorative. However, the commercials make it seem as though you are simply a bad person who wishes to kill rain forests if you're not using this to water your plants. Or grow them, or whatever other use they have. There's one for some sort of edge trimmer that can perform miracles. The before edge trimmer is apparently a secret war machine produced by the Nazis in order to perpetuate back problems, killing the old and discouraging the young from dreaming. The new edge trimmer makes the world a better place.
The Magic Bullet? It's just a blender. It might be a nice blender. It may even be pretty convenient. And if you don't already have a blender, I wouldn't see why this would be a bad choice. But since I don't buy ingredients already chopped up and separated into ramekins, it's not as time saving as the commercials would have you believe. There's a comedian out there who does a bit about this very fact. If I find his routine, I'll come back and link it. He makes a good point. Perhaps it blends in under 10 seconds, but the entirety of food preparation is not completed in under 10 seconds. Its many claims have little to do with the functionality of the product and more to do with your actual choices. It doesn't make food healthier. You can make healthy food with it, but you can also make healthy food without it.
All of these commercials prey on how helpless we think we are, or on how lazy we actually are. The products may or may not be useful; the commercials are pretty damn hilarious.
My two favorite "infomericals": The Jar Glove and The Tracy Jordan Meat Machine.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Awesome: A List
Sometimes when I'm not bursting with inspiration, I ask my friend Mary what I should write about. Her most recent suggestion: awesome things that are awesome. Sounds good to me! So here we go, a list of awesome things. These are in no particular order. It is also not an exhaustive list.
Glittens. Gloves that are mittens. The weather is getting colder and I'm getting ready to dig through my storage unit to find these. They keep all parts of my hand warm and usable. Awesome.
TV on DVD. I have a few TV shows on DVD in the storage unit too, so while I'm getting out my winter gear, I think I'll grab Sports Night. I love watching TV on DVD. No commercials. Episode after episode. There are often special features like Bloopers and Commentaries. And even though the novelty of it is gone because every show is now released on DVD- and quickly, it is super duper awesome.
New York City. I love New York City. We all know why- because it's awesome.
The Kennedy Center presents The 13th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor to Tina Fey. How awesome is that? Even more exciting? I'm freaking going. So so awesome.
Scotch. Scotchy scotch scotch. Scotch in my belly.
Hulu. Almost anything is available on Hulu now. You can auto-play next and it simulates that whole play all feature on DVDs. It's great for catching up on shows you weren't sure about (like Detroit 1-8-7), watching shows on channels you don't get (like Melissa & Joey), or shows that were canceled three years ago only six episodes in (like The Return of Jezebel James). Yes. It's awesome.
Netflix Watch Instantly. Netflix itself it awesome, but then they added this watch instantly feature, and it keeps getting better. Sometimes I want to watch something RIGHT NOW. And now I can. Awesome.
Popcorn for dinner. Popcorn is pretty good, but when you have it for dinner, it's awesome. Especially when you leave room for dessert too.
Drunkfest. This will get it's own post soon enough. Possibly two or three. It's the greatest holiday in the entire world. It happens to coincide with Thanksgiving, but really, Thanksgiving is the poor mans Drunkfest. Drunkfest isn't just awesome. It's the most awesome awesome thing there is.
Glittens. Gloves that are mittens. The weather is getting colder and I'm getting ready to dig through my storage unit to find these. They keep all parts of my hand warm and usable. Awesome.
TV on DVD. I have a few TV shows on DVD in the storage unit too, so while I'm getting out my winter gear, I think I'll grab Sports Night. I love watching TV on DVD. No commercials. Episode after episode. There are often special features like Bloopers and Commentaries. And even though the novelty of it is gone because every show is now released on DVD- and quickly, it is super duper awesome.
New York City. I love New York City. We all know why- because it's awesome.
The Kennedy Center presents The 13th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor to Tina Fey. How awesome is that? Even more exciting? I'm freaking going. So so awesome.
Scotch. Scotchy scotch scotch. Scotch in my belly.
Hulu. Almost anything is available on Hulu now. You can auto-play next and it simulates that whole play all feature on DVDs. It's great for catching up on shows you weren't sure about (like Detroit 1-8-7), watching shows on channels you don't get (like Melissa & Joey), or shows that were canceled three years ago only six episodes in (like The Return of Jezebel James). Yes. It's awesome.
Netflix Watch Instantly. Netflix itself it awesome, but then they added this watch instantly feature, and it keeps getting better. Sometimes I want to watch something RIGHT NOW. And now I can. Awesome.
Popcorn for dinner. Popcorn is pretty good, but when you have it for dinner, it's awesome. Especially when you leave room for dessert too.
Drunkfest. This will get it's own post soon enough. Possibly two or three. It's the greatest holiday in the entire world. It happens to coincide with Thanksgiving, but really, Thanksgiving is the poor mans Drunkfest. Drunkfest isn't just awesome. It's the most awesome awesome thing there is.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
What Didn't Make The Cut
Piggybacking on yesterday's post, and reflecting on September 18th's post, My Favorite Season, I wanted to talk about what just didn't make the cut for my fall viewing schedule. As I mentioned, I watch all comedy pilots. This short list is actually just those shows that were new this year that I will not be watching for the remainder of the season.
Mike & Molly. It's bad. It's not funny. The premise is awful. I actually watched several episodes of this, mostly out of boredom and disbelief. Fat joke after fat joke. The one joke that was actually funny didn't have anything to do with being fat. It would be nice if the show could be about these nice people who happen to be fat, rather than just being about fat, and maybe there are people under the fat. And I'm not offended as a fat person, I'm offended as a comedian. More so than that, I'm offended as a person with a brain. It's drivel, and it got picked up for an entire season. This means other people are watching it, more than they are watching good shows that deserve whole seasons. This makes me sad for our country. The perpetuation of this show, this brand of humor, and Chuck Lorre productions are giant shining examples of what is wrong with our country. Laugh at the fat kid, because he's fat, and he can laugh at himself, isn't that funny, ha-ha, it was funny when we were seven so it's still funny now because we never learn a god damn thing.
Melissa McCarthy is awesome. I don't know her as a person, but in the roles I've seen her play there is a sweetness to her. She makes good characters. Her character isn't all that bad in this show. But the show is bad, so it reflects poorly on her. Just like putting prime rib inside of a shit-stew would reflect poorly on the prime rib; and the prime rib would still taste like shit.
To revamp the show, I say we 1. Take it away from Chuck Lorre. 2. Change its title. Perhaps to just "Molly." Yes, that is a hint. 3. Make Mike a background player. Maybe he's around, maybe she meets him at her OA meetings, but the premise of the show is that two fat people meet and fall in love. That's already given away in the freaking title and theme jingle. Where is there left to go? Nowhere. Or, apparently, shitsville. 4. Focus on Molly and her mother, and to a lesser extent her sister. Swoosie Kutz deserves to always be working, and her talent is wasted as a supporting character. Well, her talent is wasted on this steaming pile in general. Anyway: focus on Molly and make it not be about her being fat. Just let her be that. It'll be ok. We don't always have to make jokes about peoples physical appearance all of the time. 5. Cancel It.
Better With You. I had high hopes for this because it was created by Shana Goldberg-Meehan. She was a big part of Friends, producing it or something, and she is also Gary David Goldberg's daughter; he created Family Ties. I suppose this show proves that 1. past success doesn't guarantee future success, and 2. talented parents don't necessarily beget talented children. It's not very funny and it's boring. When watching comedy, I prefer it to be funny. Drifting off to sleep during a 30 minute comedy is a bad sign. Everything is so predictable and so stereo-typed it becomes painful. My best bet for a review is to just list synonyms for boring and unfunny. This too was picked up for a full season. The National Average IQ has just gone down 20 points.
Outsourced. A few people called it racist. It probably is, but that's not why I don't watch it. I may actually watch it if it were more racist. In the way where racism can be funny, you know? Eh, anyway, I don't want to spend too much time thinking about this show. I watched the pilot episode, and then half of the following weeks'. Then I turned it off and went to bed. It's not funny, and again, I was bored. However, this show ALSO got picked up for a full season. I can't understand it.
Shit My Dad Says. What? This is a show? On television? Good day to you, sir.
Mike & Molly. It's bad. It's not funny. The premise is awful. I actually watched several episodes of this, mostly out of boredom and disbelief. Fat joke after fat joke. The one joke that was actually funny didn't have anything to do with being fat. It would be nice if the show could be about these nice people who happen to be fat, rather than just being about fat, and maybe there are people under the fat. And I'm not offended as a fat person, I'm offended as a comedian. More so than that, I'm offended as a person with a brain. It's drivel, and it got picked up for an entire season. This means other people are watching it, more than they are watching good shows that deserve whole seasons. This makes me sad for our country. The perpetuation of this show, this brand of humor, and Chuck Lorre productions are giant shining examples of what is wrong with our country. Laugh at the fat kid, because he's fat, and he can laugh at himself, isn't that funny, ha-ha, it was funny when we were seven so it's still funny now because we never learn a god damn thing.
Melissa McCarthy is awesome. I don't know her as a person, but in the roles I've seen her play there is a sweetness to her. She makes good characters. Her character isn't all that bad in this show. But the show is bad, so it reflects poorly on her. Just like putting prime rib inside of a shit-stew would reflect poorly on the prime rib; and the prime rib would still taste like shit.
To revamp the show, I say we 1. Take it away from Chuck Lorre. 2. Change its title. Perhaps to just "Molly." Yes, that is a hint. 3. Make Mike a background player. Maybe he's around, maybe she meets him at her OA meetings, but the premise of the show is that two fat people meet and fall in love. That's already given away in the freaking title and theme jingle. Where is there left to go? Nowhere. Or, apparently, shitsville. 4. Focus on Molly and her mother, and to a lesser extent her sister. Swoosie Kutz deserves to always be working, and her talent is wasted as a supporting character. Well, her talent is wasted on this steaming pile in general. Anyway: focus on Molly and make it not be about her being fat. Just let her be that. It'll be ok. We don't always have to make jokes about peoples physical appearance all of the time. 5. Cancel It.
Better With You. I had high hopes for this because it was created by Shana Goldberg-Meehan. She was a big part of Friends, producing it or something, and she is also Gary David Goldberg's daughter; he created Family Ties. I suppose this show proves that 1. past success doesn't guarantee future success, and 2. talented parents don't necessarily beget talented children. It's not very funny and it's boring. When watching comedy, I prefer it to be funny. Drifting off to sleep during a 30 minute comedy is a bad sign. Everything is so predictable and so stereo-typed it becomes painful. My best bet for a review is to just list synonyms for boring and unfunny. This too was picked up for a full season. The National Average IQ has just gone down 20 points.
Outsourced. A few people called it racist. It probably is, but that's not why I don't watch it. I may actually watch it if it were more racist. In the way where racism can be funny, you know? Eh, anyway, I don't want to spend too much time thinking about this show. I watched the pilot episode, and then half of the following weeks'. Then I turned it off and went to bed. It's not funny, and again, I was bored. However, this show ALSO got picked up for a full season. I can't understand it.
Shit My Dad Says. What? This is a show? On television? Good day to you, sir.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Settling Into Fall
Finally, the heat wave seems to have broken, long sleeves and jackets are appropriate, and the sun is setting earlier and earlier. Fall is here, and I have settled on my television viewing schedule. I was going to go day-by-day, but I actually use the term schedule pretty loosely, and since I TiVo most everything, I don't usually watch when they actually air. Therefore a day-by-day account would be an inaccurate representation of how I actually spend my time.
How I Met Your Mother. It airs on Monday night, and I TiVo it. I spent so much time catching up on all of the seasons, I now feel obligated to keep watching it. This season is picking up, and I do find myself laughing at some of the jokes like I did in the earlier seasons. I particularly enjoyed the "Later tonight, a New York architect gets punched in the throat." Cut to: Robin punching Ted in the throat. That was a good joke. I do, however, still find Ted to be the most insufferable character. I still love Barney, though sometimes the sameness of his jokes gets to me. It's as though he doesn't even believe in the things he's saying anymore, he's just saying them because he thinks a guy like him would say them. Marshall and Lily are great; they're the real reason to watch actually. So I'll keep watching so my massive DVD watching wasn't in vain. Or until something better comes along.
Raising Hope. Tuesday nights, a lead in to Running Wilde. I'll watch this until something better comes along. Again, it's not not funny, so it's worth the TiVo space, however, I don't save the episode once I've watched it. It perhaps pokes fun at people who are deemed trashy, but it shows that trashy is more of a perception, or that it is at least relative. The Halloween episode was pretty good, though not surprising. Is it funny that Bert pretended to take Hope to the fire station drop off so he could fake retrieve her to get a good hug from his son? Yes. Did the audience figure out this is what was going to happen approximately two seconds after someone said "fire-station drop-off?" Also yes.
Running Wilde. I TiVo it and watch it live. This is a show I often pause in the middle of to finish laughing. And often I rewind it to hear (or see) the joke again. The news on the wire is that it is in danger of cancellation. I wrote a letter to Fox pleading to give it a chance. It just needs to find an audience. Perhaps it's too subtle for the average Neilson box-having television viewer. Maybe without laugh tracks and zany stereo-types indicating and indicating, people just don't know what to think. But this show is brilliant. I love it.
Parenthood. Tuesday nights, TiVo. I would love to watch it live, but I just can't stay up that late. I truly love this show. I love its subtleties, and how right it is, even when maybe the characters are doing the wrong thing. I like how they talk about everything, except not really. They start the argument and then end it, sometimes with a resolution and sometimes not, but it's always very real. Worlds don't end every time there's a disagreement. They learn and grow just a little bit, like people actually do, but often they resort back to their old behavior, like people actually do. Peter Krause and Lauren Graham carry the show, but it is ultimately an ensemble. That is to say that without everyone else, you couldn't just have the Peter and Lauren show. Or if you did, it would be very different. Mae Whitman is adorable, in that teenage angsty sort of way. If you think back on all of Mae Whitman's roles, she has quite the range. The characters aren't stereotypes, and it would be easy to make some of them be so, since there are so many of them. And I love the houseboat- I want to live in Crosby's houseboat.
Modern Family. This is one of the best written comedies on TV. I'm quoting myself from a few weeks ago, but it's true. It's sharp and funny. It's great to see a second season come out swinging and not lose any of the brilliance from the first. I also like that they didn't inappropriately age anyone [Lily] just to attack the cute kid angle. Baby Lily is great the way she is. Plus, it's not really about her. And I think shows stopped doing that in the 80s.
Cougar Town. The show has been making fun of itself for its awful title. Eh, I think it's being too hard on itself. They should just say its ironic now. This show is full of heart and great characters. When people ask what it's about, I say the characters. The sit in this sit-com is that they exist. Sitcom is kind of a catch all phrase/dirty word now a days anyway. But that's a discussion for a different time. The point is I like this show. It is funny. It made the cut for fall viewing.
Community. I don't make plans for Thursday nights because of Community and 30 Rock. I also TiVo them, and save all of the episodes. I pop a big bowl of popcorn and settle in for Thursday nights. Community is great. It's sharp and funny and has heart. Also, it gets ruined when you hear others talking about it the next day, so it's best to watch it live. The same second season props from Modern Family are applicable to Community. I started to worry about how they would continue the show with the same characters since its a community college and things like that end. They solved that problem nicely at the end of season one by all taking Anthropology together. I hope there are enough basic requirement classes left in Greendale's curriculum to keep the show going for a few more years. I don't think they're on the semester system since one semester took 9 months. But who's to say- I never went to community college. Maybe that's how they roll.
30 Rock. I have a hard time expressing in words just how much I love this show. As mentioned above, I clear my Thursday nights. I watch this live and TiVo it. I use the special "do not delete this EVER" feature. At 9, when it's over, I watch it again. I tend to take it personally if people don't like it. I think it's smart and funny. I think this season so far is amazing. They don't abuse their guest stars too much, and they get some really good ones. Paul Giamatti? Brilliant. Kelsey Grammer as Kelsey Grammer? Awesome. Their live episode was a lovely treat for loyal fans; I've been singing the new words to the theme song for weeks. A few critics had said last season was a little off, and even though I disagree, if it were true, season five is definitely its call for redemption. Thursday nights are special. Don't call me, I won't answer.
The Whole Truth. I don't usually watch legal dramas, or procedurals. So much so that I'm not sure exactly what genre this show is. I think it's on Wednesdays. It's one I TiVo and watch later, usually on Saturday mornings with eggs and coffee. I like Maura Tierney and Rob Morrow. They're fun to watch. I read the show was on the chopping blocks. That's unfortunate, but mostly just because I would like to see Maura Tierney do well, not because it would be a blow to television or American culture. It's only about 5 episodes in now, and it's already getting into dangerous "how crazy and twisted can this shit be" territory. It's the thing I don't generally like about dramas. The audience has to continually be shocked by how horrific things are, and dramas just pile it on. But I digress. My point is I watch it. If it gets canceled, I won't. I also won't look for a legal procedural to fill the hole.
The Good Guys. It's on Friday nights, so occasionally, I do watch it live, because I'm cool like that. Last weeks episode was lack-luster, but I have hope it will regain its shineyness this week. This is a show that often sits in my TiVo for a while before being watched though. I like it enough to give it space, but it's not the first thing resting on my mindgrapes.
Detroit 1-8-7. Initially, this show lost the time slot battle with Parenthood (for me, not according to ratings, or anything official). I still stand by my actions, and I will continue to record Parenthood. However, upon urging from a friend, I decided to watch this on Hulu. I had read the recap and wasn't impressed; it's amazing how much just can't come through in a recap. I was wrong. This is a great show. I watched all five episodes on Hulu. And even though I won't give up the TiVo space, I now make an appointment with Hulu to watch this show.
That is approximately seven and a half hours worth of television. Other than Saturday Night Live, I don't watch things that air on the weekend. I used to be all about Fox's Sunday night line up, but I got bored with it, and lost the patience to squeeze it into my week. Recently I took a survey that asked how much TV I watch per week. I thought I watched a lot, but when looking at the choices, I realized maybe it wasn't all that much. The top option was "over 20 hours" followed by "18 - 20 hours." Mathematically, I can see how it would work out: 3 hours of prime time per weeknight, plus a football game or tennis match. But good god, when would we eat? Oh right, while watching TV. Hm. Well, perhaps I'm abnormal then. Again, a discussion for a whole other day.
How I Met Your Mother. It airs on Monday night, and I TiVo it. I spent so much time catching up on all of the seasons, I now feel obligated to keep watching it. This season is picking up, and I do find myself laughing at some of the jokes like I did in the earlier seasons. I particularly enjoyed the "Later tonight, a New York architect gets punched in the throat." Cut to: Robin punching Ted in the throat. That was a good joke. I do, however, still find Ted to be the most insufferable character. I still love Barney, though sometimes the sameness of his jokes gets to me. It's as though he doesn't even believe in the things he's saying anymore, he's just saying them because he thinks a guy like him would say them. Marshall and Lily are great; they're the real reason to watch actually. So I'll keep watching so my massive DVD watching wasn't in vain. Or until something better comes along.
Raising Hope. Tuesday nights, a lead in to Running Wilde. I'll watch this until something better comes along. Again, it's not not funny, so it's worth the TiVo space, however, I don't save the episode once I've watched it. It perhaps pokes fun at people who are deemed trashy, but it shows that trashy is more of a perception, or that it is at least relative. The Halloween episode was pretty good, though not surprising. Is it funny that Bert pretended to take Hope to the fire station drop off so he could fake retrieve her to get a good hug from his son? Yes. Did the audience figure out this is what was going to happen approximately two seconds after someone said "fire-station drop-off?" Also yes.
Running Wilde. I TiVo it and watch it live. This is a show I often pause in the middle of to finish laughing. And often I rewind it to hear (or see) the joke again. The news on the wire is that it is in danger of cancellation. I wrote a letter to Fox pleading to give it a chance. It just needs to find an audience. Perhaps it's too subtle for the average Neilson box-having television viewer. Maybe without laugh tracks and zany stereo-types indicating and indicating, people just don't know what to think. But this show is brilliant. I love it.
Parenthood. Tuesday nights, TiVo. I would love to watch it live, but I just can't stay up that late. I truly love this show. I love its subtleties, and how right it is, even when maybe the characters are doing the wrong thing. I like how they talk about everything, except not really. They start the argument and then end it, sometimes with a resolution and sometimes not, but it's always very real. Worlds don't end every time there's a disagreement. They learn and grow just a little bit, like people actually do, but often they resort back to their old behavior, like people actually do. Peter Krause and Lauren Graham carry the show, but it is ultimately an ensemble. That is to say that without everyone else, you couldn't just have the Peter and Lauren show. Or if you did, it would be very different. Mae Whitman is adorable, in that teenage angsty sort of way. If you think back on all of Mae Whitman's roles, she has quite the range. The characters aren't stereotypes, and it would be easy to make some of them be so, since there are so many of them. And I love the houseboat- I want to live in Crosby's houseboat.
Modern Family. This is one of the best written comedies on TV. I'm quoting myself from a few weeks ago, but it's true. It's sharp and funny. It's great to see a second season come out swinging and not lose any of the brilliance from the first. I also like that they didn't inappropriately age anyone [Lily] just to attack the cute kid angle. Baby Lily is great the way she is. Plus, it's not really about her. And I think shows stopped doing that in the 80s.
Cougar Town. The show has been making fun of itself for its awful title. Eh, I think it's being too hard on itself. They should just say its ironic now. This show is full of heart and great characters. When people ask what it's about, I say the characters. The sit in this sit-com is that they exist. Sitcom is kind of a catch all phrase/dirty word now a days anyway. But that's a discussion for a different time. The point is I like this show. It is funny. It made the cut for fall viewing.
Community. I don't make plans for Thursday nights because of Community and 30 Rock. I also TiVo them, and save all of the episodes. I pop a big bowl of popcorn and settle in for Thursday nights. Community is great. It's sharp and funny and has heart. Also, it gets ruined when you hear others talking about it the next day, so it's best to watch it live. The same second season props from Modern Family are applicable to Community. I started to worry about how they would continue the show with the same characters since its a community college and things like that end. They solved that problem nicely at the end of season one by all taking Anthropology together. I hope there are enough basic requirement classes left in Greendale's curriculum to keep the show going for a few more years. I don't think they're on the semester system since one semester took 9 months. But who's to say- I never went to community college. Maybe that's how they roll.
30 Rock. I have a hard time expressing in words just how much I love this show. As mentioned above, I clear my Thursday nights. I watch this live and TiVo it. I use the special "do not delete this EVER" feature. At 9, when it's over, I watch it again. I tend to take it personally if people don't like it. I think it's smart and funny. I think this season so far is amazing. They don't abuse their guest stars too much, and they get some really good ones. Paul Giamatti? Brilliant. Kelsey Grammer as Kelsey Grammer? Awesome. Their live episode was a lovely treat for loyal fans; I've been singing the new words to the theme song for weeks. A few critics had said last season was a little off, and even though I disagree, if it were true, season five is definitely its call for redemption. Thursday nights are special. Don't call me, I won't answer.
The Whole Truth. I don't usually watch legal dramas, or procedurals. So much so that I'm not sure exactly what genre this show is. I think it's on Wednesdays. It's one I TiVo and watch later, usually on Saturday mornings with eggs and coffee. I like Maura Tierney and Rob Morrow. They're fun to watch. I read the show was on the chopping blocks. That's unfortunate, but mostly just because I would like to see Maura Tierney do well, not because it would be a blow to television or American culture. It's only about 5 episodes in now, and it's already getting into dangerous "how crazy and twisted can this shit be" territory. It's the thing I don't generally like about dramas. The audience has to continually be shocked by how horrific things are, and dramas just pile it on. But I digress. My point is I watch it. If it gets canceled, I won't. I also won't look for a legal procedural to fill the hole.
The Good Guys. It's on Friday nights, so occasionally, I do watch it live, because I'm cool like that. Last weeks episode was lack-luster, but I have hope it will regain its shineyness this week. This is a show that often sits in my TiVo for a while before being watched though. I like it enough to give it space, but it's not the first thing resting on my mindgrapes.
Detroit 1-8-7. Initially, this show lost the time slot battle with Parenthood (for me, not according to ratings, or anything official). I still stand by my actions, and I will continue to record Parenthood. However, upon urging from a friend, I decided to watch this on Hulu. I had read the recap and wasn't impressed; it's amazing how much just can't come through in a recap. I was wrong. This is a great show. I watched all five episodes on Hulu. And even though I won't give up the TiVo space, I now make an appointment with Hulu to watch this show.
That is approximately seven and a half hours worth of television. Other than Saturday Night Live, I don't watch things that air on the weekend. I used to be all about Fox's Sunday night line up, but I got bored with it, and lost the patience to squeeze it into my week. Recently I took a survey that asked how much TV I watch per week. I thought I watched a lot, but when looking at the choices, I realized maybe it wasn't all that much. The top option was "over 20 hours" followed by "18 - 20 hours." Mathematically, I can see how it would work out: 3 hours of prime time per weeknight, plus a football game or tennis match. But good god, when would we eat? Oh right, while watching TV. Hm. Well, perhaps I'm abnormal then. Again, a discussion for a whole other day.
Monday, November 1, 2010
It's Saturday Night!
It's not Saturday night, I know. But reading the blog titles in (reverse) order, you'd see "Live From New York!" followed by "It's Saturday Night." I was right about how wonderful New York City is. I had the tiniest glimmer of hope to be able to see SNL, because I love it. Luckily we walked by Rockefeller Plaza on our way to the hotel and saw a curious group of people lying on the sidewalk. The guy at the head of the line had scary make-up on and at first I thought perhaps he was waiting for a secret Halloween party. Then I realized he probably had no idea it was even Halloween, he may have been waiting for days. The line was long and I hypothesized it would be unforgiving. We'd be just as happy watching it in the hotel room with a bottle of wine.
I don't want to over sell it, but it was the most perfect weekend ever. As I try to sort through the details in my head, they all get squished together into one big ball of happiness. There was a lot of walking and a decent amount of coffee. We had breakfast at the type of diner you'd expect only New Yorkers to know about. Lunch was a slice near Times Square, and dinner was one of the greatest meals ever at a BBQ place downtown.
We were in Mid-town, the Village, SoHo, Downtown, and every place in between. And a few not between those places. My sense of direction was wrong every single time, but luckily we'd only go a block before we turned around. They were shooting a movie in our hotel; I was tempted to ask to PA for it, but I'd rather drink through the weekend than work through it. Someone asked me for directions to Tiffany's- I pointed them in the wrong direction.
I wouldn't do anything differently. But I am definitely going back. Surely there are more things to buy, more ways to look at the buildings, more food and drink, and just more. There is so much, and its muchness makes is great.
I don't want to over sell it, but it was the most perfect weekend ever. As I try to sort through the details in my head, they all get squished together into one big ball of happiness. There was a lot of walking and a decent amount of coffee. We had breakfast at the type of diner you'd expect only New Yorkers to know about. Lunch was a slice near Times Square, and dinner was one of the greatest meals ever at a BBQ place downtown.
We were in Mid-town, the Village, SoHo, Downtown, and every place in between. And a few not between those places. My sense of direction was wrong every single time, but luckily we'd only go a block before we turned around. They were shooting a movie in our hotel; I was tempted to ask to PA for it, but I'd rather drink through the weekend than work through it. Someone asked me for directions to Tiffany's- I pointed them in the wrong direction.
I wouldn't do anything differently. But I am definitely going back. Surely there are more things to buy, more ways to look at the buildings, more food and drink, and just more. There is so much, and its muchness makes is great.
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