Let's start with the best and work our way down, shall we?
Up All Night
If there was a show about a guy who just sat there and drank glasses of water and didn't really do anything other than drink water and blink occasionally BUT the part of the guy was played by Will Arnett, I would watch that show. Up All Night not only has Will Arnett but also Maya Rudolph AND a premise to which I can relate. Also, I was happy to see that Lorne Michaels is the executive producer.
There were two scenes that I found particularly funny:
1. Reagan and Chris each accusing the other of being asleep while they were awake with the baby. I have had that conversation many times. "I could see that you were asleep because my eyes were completely open because I was wide awake"
2. After getting very little sleep, Chris offers Reagan one million dollars to go take care of the baby when she starts crying. I have had this conversation many times as well.
I give this show 2 thumbs up and will indeed be watching again next week.
New Girl
If you aren't aware, itunes has the pilot episode of this show available as a free download right now. I have mixed feelings about this one. Don't get me wrong, Zooey Deschanel is great. She plays her same old quirky, lovable character but has added a little extra geeky-ness that I really like. I like the character of Nick and the actor they chose to play him. I like the Damon Wayans Jr. character (even though he has been replaced with a different actor since he is shooting Happy Endings) but I do not like that his name is Coach. My biggest, and maybe only, problem with this show is the actor that plays the part of Schmidt. I don't like him, he bothers me.
Overall though I enjoyed the premiere. The positives of Zooey Deschanel greatly outweigh the negatives of other cast members. I have the same habit of making up songs for every aspect of my life (cooking dinner, tying my shoes, shopping for cheese etc.) and it was nice to see this awesome personality trait displayed on the show.
I give it 1.5 thumbs up and will watch again next week.
Free Agents
This one hasn't been publicized as much as some other new shows. I didn't have very high expectations going into the premiere and unfortunately my low expectations may not have been low enough. I like Hank Azaria and some of the other supporting cast. This is the perfect example of a show that may take a few weeks to get into its groove. You know that episode of Seinfeld where Jerry is dating the girl who sometimes is beautiful and sometimes is weird looking? I felt like that's how it was for Kathryn Hahn in this show.
Free agents gets 1 thumb at a 45 degree angle but I will give it at least one more episode.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Fall TV Schedule Reveal
In my defense, let me just say that I am relatively certain I will drop several of these shows by about mid-October. I always start with a bunch of the new shows at the beginning knowing that only about 10% - 25% of them will make the official cut. I will give pretty much any show at least 2 episodes to entertain me, if after 2 episodes it is still dumb and/or boring I stop watching.
That being said, here is the less complicated version of my spreadsheet. I did not feel it was necessary to display start date, time and channel on here...just day of the week and title of show. Which old shows are you looking forward to seeing again? Which new shows most interest you? Hmmmmm???
Fall 2011 TV Schedule
That being said, here is the less complicated version of my spreadsheet. I did not feel it was necessary to display start date, time and channel on here...just day of the week and title of show. Which old shows are you looking forward to seeing again? Which new shows most interest you? Hmmmmm???
Fall 2011 TV Schedule
Monday
How I Met Your Mother
2 Broke Girls
Castle
Terra Nova
House
Real Housewives
Tuesday
Biggest Loser
Man Up
New Girl
Tosh.O
Wednesday
Suburgatory
Modern Family
Happy Endings
Up All Night
Criminal Minds
The X Factor
Free Agents
CSI
American Horror Story
Thursday
How to Be a Gentleman
Person of Interest
The Office
Community
Project Runway
Friday
Grimm
The Soup
Say Yes to the Dress
Saturday
SNL
The Nerdist
Sunday
Once Upon a Time
Boardwalk Empire
Hell on Wheels
The Walking Dead
Pan Am
Monday, August 29, 2011
New Shows Just Around the Corner
Sorry for the lengthy hiatus. This has been a busy summer for me with work and I have neglected to update the blog, but rest assured my TV watching has not slowed down one bit. This time of year is very exciting for me. The new fall TV season is right around the corner! I have completed a rough draft of my TV spreadsheet but I still have a bit more research to do.
Last year I dropped a few shows that I had been loyal to for years and years. This year it doesn't look like I will be dropping any of my shows and will, of course, be adding more. I know what you are thinking, how can I add more shows without dropping any? Well, just like every year, some of the shows I watched last season have ended or been cancelled making room for new ones!
I don't want to reveal my spreadsheet until it is finished but I will let you know that as of today there are 30 shows on there. I will be posting a summer show recap soon; just a brief update of what I have been watching for the past couple of months. Thanks again for reading this. Hopefully we can all find some new good shows (or bad ones) and discuss them this fall.
Last year I dropped a few shows that I had been loyal to for years and years. This year it doesn't look like I will be dropping any of my shows and will, of course, be adding more. I know what you are thinking, how can I add more shows without dropping any? Well, just like every year, some of the shows I watched last season have ended or been cancelled making room for new ones!
I don't want to reveal my spreadsheet until it is finished but I will let you know that as of today there are 30 shows on there. I will be posting a summer show recap soon; just a brief update of what I have been watching for the past couple of months. Thanks again for reading this. Hopefully we can all find some new good shows (or bad ones) and discuss them this fall.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
The Bachelorette: Fantasy Suites
The last three gentlemen turned into three and a half with the return of Ryan. I kind of wonder why the producers let him come back. It seems like that is not a good precedent to set for the show if any ol' random dismissed contestant can come back and stalk the bachelorette.
The first date was with Ben. Like most of the dates with Ben, this one was pretty boring. Lots of talk about how they are connecting and building on their relationship yada, yada, yada. The sultry sunscreen rubbing scene was..uh..interesting? My favorite line of this part of the show was when Ashley said (regarding the fantasy suite), "I'm hoping Ben will SHOW me how he feels". Hello! At least she isn't trying to pretend that the fantasy suite is anything other than a place to do the dirty. Some past bachelors and bachelorettes have tried to play up the fact that this is the only time they have together away from cameras to really "talk". If "talking" was the actual intent of the fantasy suite, then they could just as easily have a fantasy canoe or a fantasy game of pinochle.
Just like last week with Ames, we all knew that Constantine would be departing this week, just not necessarily like that. My theory is that Constantine's buddies dared him to try out for the show. Once he got on he figured he might as well go through with it because it was basically an all expense paid vacation. Then, Ashley started to like him and he realized he better get out before it gets too awkward. I think what he did is perfectly respectable. Bye Constantine! You were nice but you DO need to get rid of the euro-mullet, like you said.
The date with JP was more of the same that always happens at this phase of the show: "I'm falling in love with her, our relationship is so strong, I can't wait for the end, I can really see a future between us". Boring. Anyone else notice that JP was rockin' some sweet mandals at the rose ceremony?
And now, another letter to Ryan:
Dear Ryan,
I know YOU thought coming back to the show was so romantic. However, WE thought it was sad...and not a good kind of sad, more of a pathetic kind of sad. At the beginning of the show, were you walking all the way across Fiji? My goodness, you seemed to be walking forever. I hated in your interview, before Ashely dumped you for a second time, how you were saying you really feel a connection between the two of you. If she had felt the same thing she most likely would not have sent you packing. Does she need to hire protection to keep you away from her house or have you finally taken the hint? Good luck to you buddy. Hopefully you can find that special someone to be overly energetic with all the time.
This is the last time I want to write to you,
Karen
The first date was with Ben. Like most of the dates with Ben, this one was pretty boring. Lots of talk about how they are connecting and building on their relationship yada, yada, yada. The sultry sunscreen rubbing scene was..uh..interesting? My favorite line of this part of the show was when Ashley said (regarding the fantasy suite), "I'm hoping Ben will SHOW me how he feels". Hello! At least she isn't trying to pretend that the fantasy suite is anything other than a place to do the dirty. Some past bachelors and bachelorettes have tried to play up the fact that this is the only time they have together away from cameras to really "talk". If "talking" was the actual intent of the fantasy suite, then they could just as easily have a fantasy canoe or a fantasy game of pinochle.
Just like last week with Ames, we all knew that Constantine would be departing this week, just not necessarily like that. My theory is that Constantine's buddies dared him to try out for the show. Once he got on he figured he might as well go through with it because it was basically an all expense paid vacation. Then, Ashley started to like him and he realized he better get out before it gets too awkward. I think what he did is perfectly respectable. Bye Constantine! You were nice but you DO need to get rid of the euro-mullet, like you said.
The date with JP was more of the same that always happens at this phase of the show: "I'm falling in love with her, our relationship is so strong, I can't wait for the end, I can really see a future between us". Boring. Anyone else notice that JP was rockin' some sweet mandals at the rose ceremony?
And now, another letter to Ryan:
Dear Ryan,
I know YOU thought coming back to the show was so romantic. However, WE thought it was sad...and not a good kind of sad, more of a pathetic kind of sad. At the beginning of the show, were you walking all the way across Fiji? My goodness, you seemed to be walking forever. I hated in your interview, before Ashely dumped you for a second time, how you were saying you really feel a connection between the two of you. If she had felt the same thing she most likely would not have sent you packing. Does she need to hire protection to keep you away from her house or have you finally taken the hint? Good luck to you buddy. Hopefully you can find that special someone to be overly energetic with all the time.
This is the last time I want to write to you,
Karen
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
The Bachelorette: Meet the Parents
Usually at this point in the season there is still at least one super annoying person that you can't wait to see go home. That is not the case this time. I really like all 4 of the guys she had left going into this episode.
Constantine
I guess when Constantine said he was a restaurant owner I was expecting a posh downtown eatery with no open reservations for weeks. Instead, "Giorgio's" looked like it was in a strip mall. Not that there is anything wrong with that, just not what I was expecting. Their date started with the Bachelor franchise mandatory running-start hug. I can't remember the last time one of the home town dates started without the girl and guy running toward each other and ending in a hug. Why do they always get dropped off so far away? Can't the car or airport shuttle just drop the Bachelorette off right where her date is standing? I have a sneaking suspicion that Constantine's family was hired from the set of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. They all seemed to have a lot of fun and I definitely laughed when his dad started "makin' it rain" with dollar bills. That was kind of random.
Ben
Ben really put the pressure on Ashley by immediately declaring that if his family didn't like her, then he was out. Most of the families seemed very welcoming even though they had reservations about the whole scenario. Ben's mother and sister didn't come off quite so welcoming and instead appeared overly protective and a bit unfriendly. You know how people sometimes talk about the ugly cry? Like when you are crying really hard and your face gets all contorted and you look hideous? Whatever the opposite of the ugly cry is, that is what Ben was doing in his interview. Maybe I will coin the term beautiful weep. So Ben was totally beautiful weeping with the slowly falling tear drops and the increased blinking. If Ashley doesn't choose him at the end of this, that interview alone will have ladies lined up around the block.
Ames
Oh Ames. Sweet Ames. What a nice guy. It was so obvious that she admired him more than she was attracted to him. His sister seemed to be talking to Ashley for like 5 hours which definitely cut into Ames' one-on-one time. His magnolia tree picnic and description of Renaissance era romance was so sweet but you could tell she just wasn't feeling it.
JP
Based on this episode, I have come to the conclusion that every skating rink around the country looks EXACTLY the same. Ashley has really, really tiny feet. Did you notice the size of her skates? I think they were Barbie size. She had a case of "make-out chin" (definition: where a girl's chin gets all red from making out with a guy with a beard or stubble) happening while she and JP were talking at the rink. That picture of JP from his bar mitzvah was awesome.
Rose Ceremony
This one was hard to watch. Actually, I had to look away when it got down to the last two. We all knew Ames was going home, well, all of us except for Ames. I hate when they keep cutting the camera to the poor sap waiting to see if he is getting that last rose. And he is standing there smiling like a doofus. At least Ashley gave him a nice goodbye handshake (awkward) when they were sitting on that bench. And why is the pavement in front of that mansion ALWAYS wet?
Rumor has it that Ames is going to be on Bachelor Pad so that's at least something.
Constantine
I guess when Constantine said he was a restaurant owner I was expecting a posh downtown eatery with no open reservations for weeks. Instead, "Giorgio's" looked like it was in a strip mall. Not that there is anything wrong with that, just not what I was expecting. Their date started with the Bachelor franchise mandatory running-start hug. I can't remember the last time one of the home town dates started without the girl and guy running toward each other and ending in a hug. Why do they always get dropped off so far away? Can't the car or airport shuttle just drop the Bachelorette off right where her date is standing? I have a sneaking suspicion that Constantine's family was hired from the set of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. They all seemed to have a lot of fun and I definitely laughed when his dad started "makin' it rain" with dollar bills. That was kind of random.
Ben
Ben really put the pressure on Ashley by immediately declaring that if his family didn't like her, then he was out. Most of the families seemed very welcoming even though they had reservations about the whole scenario. Ben's mother and sister didn't come off quite so welcoming and instead appeared overly protective and a bit unfriendly. You know how people sometimes talk about the ugly cry? Like when you are crying really hard and your face gets all contorted and you look hideous? Whatever the opposite of the ugly cry is, that is what Ben was doing in his interview. Maybe I will coin the term beautiful weep. So Ben was totally beautiful weeping with the slowly falling tear drops and the increased blinking. If Ashley doesn't choose him at the end of this, that interview alone will have ladies lined up around the block.
Ames
Oh Ames. Sweet Ames. What a nice guy. It was so obvious that she admired him more than she was attracted to him. His sister seemed to be talking to Ashley for like 5 hours which definitely cut into Ames' one-on-one time. His magnolia tree picnic and description of Renaissance era romance was so sweet but you could tell she just wasn't feeling it.
JP
Based on this episode, I have come to the conclusion that every skating rink around the country looks EXACTLY the same. Ashley has really, really tiny feet. Did you notice the size of her skates? I think they were Barbie size. She had a case of "make-out chin" (definition: where a girl's chin gets all red from making out with a guy with a beard or stubble) happening while she and JP were talking at the rink. That picture of JP from his bar mitzvah was awesome.
Rose Ceremony
This one was hard to watch. Actually, I had to look away when it got down to the last two. We all knew Ames was going home, well, all of us except for Ames. I hate when they keep cutting the camera to the poor sap waiting to see if he is getting that last rose. And he is standing there smiling like a doofus. At least Ashley gave him a nice goodbye handshake (awkward) when they were sitting on that bench. And why is the pavement in front of that mansion ALWAYS wet?
Rumor has it that Ames is going to be on Bachelor Pad so that's at least something.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Several years ago, when I had HBO the first time, I got absolutely hooked on Curb Your Enthusiasm. If you like Seinfeld, you have to like Curb because it is basically the same concept except with different characters. It has been a few seasons since I have watched, mostly due to the fact that I have been without HBO.
The new season started last week so I decided to jump back in and see if I could follow the story. I forgot how much I love this show!! So funny. After I finished the season premiere I immediately went back and watched every episode available On Demand which sadly was only five.
The best surprise of the last season was the Seinfeld story line. Curb Your Enthusiasm follows Larry David, creator of Seinfeld, as he lives his life as Larry David, the creator of Seinfeld. One of the story lines from last season was a fictional Seinfeld reunion show including all of the actors from Seinfeld playing themselves. So over the course of a few episodes you basically get a real life Seinfeld reunion. We find out that George went on to invent the iToilet app which allows the user to find the nearest acceptable public toilet. He then loses his fortune in the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme. Kramer is still Kramer and Elaine has a daughter thanks to a "donation" (wink, wink) from Jerry.
If you are a Seinfeld fan, and you haven't had a chance to watch Curb Your Enthusiasm, add it to your Netflix queue. You won't be disappointed.
The new season started last week so I decided to jump back in and see if I could follow the story. I forgot how much I love this show!! So funny. After I finished the season premiere I immediately went back and watched every episode available On Demand which sadly was only five.
The best surprise of the last season was the Seinfeld story line. Curb Your Enthusiasm follows Larry David, creator of Seinfeld, as he lives his life as Larry David, the creator of Seinfeld. One of the story lines from last season was a fictional Seinfeld reunion show including all of the actors from Seinfeld playing themselves. So over the course of a few episodes you basically get a real life Seinfeld reunion. We find out that George went on to invent the iToilet app which allows the user to find the nearest acceptable public toilet. He then loses his fortune in the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme. Kramer is still Kramer and Elaine has a daughter thanks to a "donation" (wink, wink) from Jerry.
If you are a Seinfeld fan, and you haven't had a chance to watch Curb Your Enthusiasm, add it to your Netflix queue. You won't be disappointed.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The Bachelorette - Down to 4 and a Letter to Ryan
This episode started with Constantine and Ashley hopping on the Hogwarts Express to get to their date. There were a lot of references to hopes and dreams and wishes this week beginning with Constantine and Ashley writing their hopes for the future on that lantern thing. I hope everybody stuck around at the end of the show to see the clip of the dog peeing on their lantern. They should put that kind of thing in the actual episode instead of tacking it on at the end as an outtake.
The next date was with Ben and it was so boring that I already forgot what they did. Oh yeah, mopeds. Yawn.
Date number 3 was the always uncomfortable group date. Those were some of the worst photos ever. I think my junior prom pictures looked more professional than that. The backdrop they used for the JP and Ashley pictures looked like it had been wadded up in a closet for a year. It had all of the lines showing from where it was folded. That was funny. I did learn a few things on that date though: 1) JP says the f-word a lot. 2) Ames has a "unique" sense of style. I think he felt right at home in the peach ruffled see through shirt and pale blue rhinestone tuxedo.
And now, a letter to Ryan.
Dearest Ryan,
Hey there! How are the solar panels? Good? Great. Listen, sorry you got dumped. I guess those magic apple slice shaped pieces of metal that you threw on the ground were right. I know you were "really falling for her" even though that was technically your first date. You took all of your criticism pretty well which is good since people were criticizing you for always being in a good mood. A little pointer, perhaps a 10 minute story about hot water heaters is not the best or most romantic thing for a first date. I could be wrong, but I think when Ashley asked for a tip on being more green she was looking for something along the lines of "bring your own bag to the grocery store" not a history of water heaters and their function in the home. I did feel extra sorry for you when they had you walk all around the city looking sad after you got booted. That must have been very depressing.
Regards,
Karen
The next date was with Ben and it was so boring that I already forgot what they did. Oh yeah, mopeds. Yawn.
Date number 3 was the always uncomfortable group date. Those were some of the worst photos ever. I think my junior prom pictures looked more professional than that. The backdrop they used for the JP and Ashley pictures looked like it had been wadded up in a closet for a year. It had all of the lines showing from where it was folded. That was funny. I did learn a few things on that date though: 1) JP says the f-word a lot. 2) Ames has a "unique" sense of style. I think he felt right at home in the peach ruffled see through shirt and pale blue rhinestone tuxedo.
And now, a letter to Ryan.
Dearest Ryan,
Hey there! How are the solar panels? Good? Great. Listen, sorry you got dumped. I guess those magic apple slice shaped pieces of metal that you threw on the ground were right. I know you were "really falling for her" even though that was technically your first date. You took all of your criticism pretty well which is good since people were criticizing you for always being in a good mood. A little pointer, perhaps a 10 minute story about hot water heaters is not the best or most romantic thing for a first date. I could be wrong, but I think when Ashley asked for a tip on being more green she was looking for something along the lines of "bring your own bag to the grocery store" not a history of water heaters and their function in the home. I did feel extra sorry for you when they had you walk all around the city looking sad after you got booted. That must have been very depressing.
Regards,
Karen
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