Tonight is a night to be optimistic about TV. There are actually some good shows out there. Here is what to watch.
8PM
SYTYCD on Fox
Old Christine (season premiere) on CBS
9PM
Glee on Fox
Modern Family (series premiere) on ABC
Cougar Town (series premiere) on ABC
10PM
Top Chef on Bravo
I am looking forward to the new shows. I am penciling in Cougar Town as this year's Sam Who, a show I will watch and few will join me but maybe the critics will like. Glee is always fun, and the reality shows are getting to the end of the preliminary phase where the ones who suck are weeded out and the actual competition can begin.
Sports Update - All is well right now and I don't want to jinx it. The Yankees have the best record in baseball, but I am worried about the depth of the rotation right now. The Giants are one of the five best teams in football again and just beat the Cowboys at the opening of their new stadium. Penn State is #5 and through the easy part of the schedule facing Iowa this weekend, where I will be in attendance. ESPN Gameday will also be there. 8PM game. White-Out. Revenge for last year. The only issue is the health of LBs Dean Lee and Navarro Bowman. I am feeling a PSU blowout.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
TOP TEN - DRAMAS (hour long shows)
This weeks top ten list is the top ten dramas on TV. This is an especially thin list when you have my ground rules... 1. No reality and 2. No show I haven't seen yet. I am including Glee even though it is only three episodes in and is more musical comedy than drama. I am also including Mad Men even though the show is a month into the season. Finally, I am including Friday Night Lights even though most of us have to wait till summer to watch.
10. Heroes - I am a sucker. In the beginning I watched to see what happened and was disappointed. Then I watched to see if it could get better and was disappointed. Now I watched to see how bad it could get and it got boring. Disappointed again. I will take bad. Boring is unacceptable. There just isn't 10 good dramas on TV. Everything is freaking reality or the same crime show over and over.
9. Grey's - This show has been getting steadily worse every year since season 2. Since Denny. It just isn't quite as bad as Heroes.
8. Smallville - I have really enjoyed this show for many years. Through budget cuts, network changes, and replacement of nearly the entire cast...and for the most part it held up really well. I will follow this show till the bitter end.
7. House - This show is great. Some of the sharpest writing on TV. My only beef is it is a bit of a downer.
6. Glee - I may have only seen three episodes, but I really love the originality and cast so far. I have serious doubts that it can maintain this pace but I will remain optimistic for now.
5. Gossip Girl - I worry that the show has peaked. Most high school shows don't do well in college. It has been so much fun so far though. I am anxious to see where the show goes.
4. Dexter - I am through episode 4 of season 3 and I have to say that this show is money. The colors, the music, the dark humor...most dark shows are set in LA, in NY, or rural USA at night...dark grey cement and cemeteries or woods. Not Dexter. It is vibrant. It is as much about life as it is about death.
3. Fringe - It was the best new show of last year. It is a tad derivative but I really love the father son duo on the show. I hope the expanding mythology is as big and bold as the characters.
2. FNL - This show makes me want to move to Texas. I think the first three seasons have all been fabulous, with the exception of Landry murdering a guy. The Taylor's are the first family of TV. Riggins is the man. Sarazan is such a good kid. Smash, Jason, the music, the girls...all great. Most sports shows are weak in story and in the sports highlights. This show is the exception that proves the rule. It sucks that I have to wait till spring to watch.
1. Mad Men - I have said this before, but this show puts me in a trance. It is so cool to look at. It brings a flood of nostalgia for a time in which I wasn't even alive...hell my parents were infants. There is something to this show that strikes a chord. Maybe it is comforting knowing how the world turns out. Maybe we wish it still was a little more that way now.
Sorry this was a day late, but between the bad shows I have been watching and the sad state of this list, it took some time to get this together.
10. Heroes - I am a sucker. In the beginning I watched to see what happened and was disappointed. Then I watched to see if it could get better and was disappointed. Now I watched to see how bad it could get and it got boring. Disappointed again. I will take bad. Boring is unacceptable. There just isn't 10 good dramas on TV. Everything is freaking reality or the same crime show over and over.
9. Grey's - This show has been getting steadily worse every year since season 2. Since Denny. It just isn't quite as bad as Heroes.
8. Smallville - I have really enjoyed this show for many years. Through budget cuts, network changes, and replacement of nearly the entire cast...and for the most part it held up really well. I will follow this show till the bitter end.
7. House - This show is great. Some of the sharpest writing on TV. My only beef is it is a bit of a downer.
6. Glee - I may have only seen three episodes, but I really love the originality and cast so far. I have serious doubts that it can maintain this pace but I will remain optimistic for now.
5. Gossip Girl - I worry that the show has peaked. Most high school shows don't do well in college. It has been so much fun so far though. I am anxious to see where the show goes.
4. Dexter - I am through episode 4 of season 3 and I have to say that this show is money. The colors, the music, the dark humor...most dark shows are set in LA, in NY, or rural USA at night...dark grey cement and cemeteries or woods. Not Dexter. It is vibrant. It is as much about life as it is about death.
3. Fringe - It was the best new show of last year. It is a tad derivative but I really love the father son duo on the show. I hope the expanding mythology is as big and bold as the characters.
2. FNL - This show makes me want to move to Texas. I think the first three seasons have all been fabulous, with the exception of Landry murdering a guy. The Taylor's are the first family of TV. Riggins is the man. Sarazan is such a good kid. Smash, Jason, the music, the girls...all great. Most sports shows are weak in story and in the sports highlights. This show is the exception that proves the rule. It sucks that I have to wait till spring to watch.
1. Mad Men - I have said this before, but this show puts me in a trance. It is so cool to look at. It brings a flood of nostalgia for a time in which I wasn't even alive...hell my parents were infants. There is something to this show that strikes a chord. Maybe it is comforting knowing how the world turns out. Maybe we wish it still was a little more that way now.
Sorry this was a day late, but between the bad shows I have been watching and the sad state of this list, it took some time to get this together.
Bad TV Blues...
There is a lot of bad TV out there and I have been on a streak lately. For instance...
I got halfway through the Heroes premiere and went to the PS3 to play college football and Beatles Rock Band. I am this close to quitting that show for good.
I also only got halfway through The Watchmen. Three hours of sad superheroes. It could not have been slower.
I didn't even get halfway through The Beautiful Life. It was dreadful.
I was so down on TV that I didn't watch The Forgotten. I also still have Gossip Girl and Accidentally On Purpose on the DVR. And I have to finish season three of Dexter and season 2 of Big Bang. Plus, tonight's TV promises to be better than the dregs of yesterday's TV.
I got halfway through the Heroes premiere and went to the PS3 to play college football and Beatles Rock Band. I am this close to quitting that show for good.
I also only got halfway through The Watchmen. Three hours of sad superheroes. It could not have been slower.
I didn't even get halfway through The Beautiful Life. It was dreadful.
I was so down on TV that I didn't watch The Forgotten. I also still have Gossip Girl and Accidentally On Purpose on the DVR. And I have to finish season three of Dexter and season 2 of Big Bang. Plus, tonight's TV promises to be better than the dregs of yesterday's TV.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Bored, HIMYM, and the Emmys
Playing catch up last night I watched Mad Men, Bored to Death, the Emmy's (with heavy fast forwarding), and the HIMYM premiere.
The Emmys are great when boiled down to 40 minutes. Boring speech...blip blip blip (me FF'ing)...lame skit...blip blip blip...dead guy montage...you get the idea. NPH was OK. His likability makes you want to like him regardless of how good he actually is. It is such a hard job and almost all of it relies on how likable the host is. As far as the awards go, 30Rock and Mad Men are both awesome shows and deserve all the awards they got. The one award I am most happy with is Ben from Lost. Michael Emerson is Lost. He is the number one reason Lost is Lost and not Heroes.
Bored to Death was everything I wanted it to be. Awkward, kinda funny, very odd, very neurotic. I think I am really going to enjoy this show. Jason Schwartzman is the man and Ted Danson is freaking Sam Malone for crying out loud. A very bored and stoned Sam Malone, but still. I am sold on the show 100%.
The HIMYM premiere was better than expected. I have given up on Ted. He is a prop guy now. Give him a goat, a tattoo, an Indiana Jones getup and he is OK. Otherwise his storylines are FF-able. The key to this season is Barney and Robin. The characters are so great as their insecure alpha types that the danger is there of ruining it by turning them into couples. We don't need two more Teds. So far, so good. I am a little nervous about this show.
The Emmys are great when boiled down to 40 minutes. Boring speech...blip blip blip (me FF'ing)...lame skit...blip blip blip...dead guy montage...you get the idea. NPH was OK. His likability makes you want to like him regardless of how good he actually is. It is such a hard job and almost all of it relies on how likable the host is. As far as the awards go, 30Rock and Mad Men are both awesome shows and deserve all the awards they got. The one award I am most happy with is Ben from Lost. Michael Emerson is Lost. He is the number one reason Lost is Lost and not Heroes.
Bored to Death was everything I wanted it to be. Awkward, kinda funny, very odd, very neurotic. I think I am really going to enjoy this show. Jason Schwartzman is the man and Ted Danson is freaking Sam Malone for crying out loud. A very bored and stoned Sam Malone, but still. I am sold on the show 100%.
The HIMYM premiere was better than expected. I have given up on Ted. He is a prop guy now. Give him a goat, a tattoo, an Indiana Jones getup and he is OK. Otherwise his storylines are FF-able. The key to this season is Barney and Robin. The characters are so great as their insecure alpha types that the danger is there of ruining it by turning them into couples. We don't need two more Teds. So far, so good. I am a little nervous about this show.
North Station Sports blog
I was off yesterday and away from a computer...but I did get out a guest post on my friend Nick's basketball blog...North Station Sports. The article is about the forgotten aspects of Michael Jordan's legacy and how horrible his acceptance speech was at the Hall of Fame.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
10 hours of TV....a Live Blog
I am feeling good about TV today. So good I am going to spend the better part of 10 hours watching it today.
2:06pm - Watching the lame Eagles and I just saw the commercial for Zombieland. It looks like it is right up my alley. I like comedy that is almost mocking itself. And I like Woody Harrelson going back to his Woody Boyd days on Cheers.
2:12pm - Bloody Mary #1 is fantastic. I like em spicy. I just made an awesome Sunday brunch. Scrambled eggs with a garden tomato and American Cheese and homemade breakfast potatoes (from the garden) with garden green peppers, garden onions, garlic, and Italian spices...
2:30pm - The Saints offense is nasty. They have put up 250 yards on the Eagles in the 1st half. Trouble is their D doesn't seem very good. Kevin Kolb is marching up and down the field after Matthew Stafford did the same last week. They aren't going to get QBs making their first career start all year.
2:53pm - The Adrian Petterson-as-a-lizard commercial with the Lost music behind it is sufficiently creepy.
5:08pm - The Eagles game was a joke so I went to Hell Boy II. The most surprising final of the early games was the Jets over the Patriots. I loathe the Patriots.
5:19pm - The second bloody Mary went down like glass...on to beer. Saranac variety pack. Hell Boy just got into the troll market.
6:35pm - Finally got through Hell Boy II after being put into chore mode for a while. If I am free to watch the entire G-Men game, it will be worth it.
8:45pm - John Madden and George W. Bush?!?
9:16pm - Typical Giants. They will outplay just about every opponent all season but for some reason every game will be close. I made Orange Blossom honey glazed shrimp over polenta for dinner. It was pretty good. I would have liked it a little sweeter actually.
9:37pm - Jeff Feagles...single handedly keeping alive the coffin corner kick. He might as well be shooting free throws underhanded.
9:53pm - This better be a TD. I love when the Cowboys get screwed.
10:10pm - Halftime as the Giants play lousy D on the last drive and give up a FG. Gonna sneak in Curb right now. I can't wait.
10:21pm - I am a 68 degree guy myself. I even go lower at night. 65-ish.
10:47pm - I love having Curb back. I feel like it has been gone too long. Has there ever been a dinner party turn out well on TV, especially an HBO show? They are always disaster and always hilarious. Meanwhile, the Giants are going to blow this game.
10:52pm - TD Cowboys. Tuck was the victim of a cheap shot. The Giants can't run and are getting run on. It isn't looking good.
11:21pm - Does any team choke more than the Cowboys? Man, it is a decade of choking. The G-Men look to be in control...but 1 play and they blow it. All things being equal, 4 turnovers to zero should mean the GMen win every time. But why am I still nervous as they settle for a FG?
11:25pm - I have tried Saranac Octoberfest, IPA, Pumpkin Ale, and Caramel Porter. I would rank them like this...
1. Octoberfest - very smooth and not too heavy.
2. Pumpkin Ale - it is really very tasy and not in that way that beer ruins itself.
3. Caramel Porter - it tastes like candy. A little too much.
4. IPA - I don't like 99% of IPAs. This one is no exception.
Overall, very good for a smaller middle of the road micro. The local beers are so heavy and sweet. These feel right and deliver on flavor without bloating me out.
11:30pm - The Cowboys march right down the field...31-30. What did I say earlier? Eli, 3 and a half minutes left, down 1...
11:36pm - a bogus penalty puts them in a hole...but that is poor clock management not getting a play off before the 2 minute warning. This is now 4 down territory. With the way the Cowboys are running, it probably was anyway.
11:44pm - My two least favorite critters...snakes and spiders. They don't make a noise. They are right up on you before you know they are there.
11:46pm - How lame is the TO right before the FG? Sad. But Tynes makes it anyway as Eli marches right down the field. He may throw some ducks from time to time, but game on the line there are few better. On to Entourage finale...
2:06pm - Watching the lame Eagles and I just saw the commercial for Zombieland. It looks like it is right up my alley. I like comedy that is almost mocking itself. And I like Woody Harrelson going back to his Woody Boyd days on Cheers.
2:12pm - Bloody Mary #1 is fantastic. I like em spicy. I just made an awesome Sunday brunch. Scrambled eggs with a garden tomato and American Cheese and homemade breakfast potatoes (from the garden) with garden green peppers, garden onions, garlic, and Italian spices...
2:30pm - The Saints offense is nasty. They have put up 250 yards on the Eagles in the 1st half. Trouble is their D doesn't seem very good. Kevin Kolb is marching up and down the field after Matthew Stafford did the same last week. They aren't going to get QBs making their first career start all year.
2:53pm - The Adrian Petterson-as-a-lizard commercial with the Lost music behind it is sufficiently creepy.
5:08pm - The Eagles game was a joke so I went to Hell Boy II. The most surprising final of the early games was the Jets over the Patriots. I loathe the Patriots.
5:19pm - The second bloody Mary went down like glass...on to beer. Saranac variety pack. Hell Boy just got into the troll market.
6:35pm - Finally got through Hell Boy II after being put into chore mode for a while. If I am free to watch the entire G-Men game, it will be worth it.
8:45pm - John Madden and George W. Bush?!?
9:16pm - Typical Giants. They will outplay just about every opponent all season but for some reason every game will be close. I made Orange Blossom honey glazed shrimp over polenta for dinner. It was pretty good. I would have liked it a little sweeter actually.
9:37pm - Jeff Feagles...single handedly keeping alive the coffin corner kick. He might as well be shooting free throws underhanded.
9:53pm - This better be a TD. I love when the Cowboys get screwed.
10:10pm - Halftime as the Giants play lousy D on the last drive and give up a FG. Gonna sneak in Curb right now. I can't wait.
10:21pm - I am a 68 degree guy myself. I even go lower at night. 65-ish.
10:47pm - I love having Curb back. I feel like it has been gone too long. Has there ever been a dinner party turn out well on TV, especially an HBO show? They are always disaster and always hilarious. Meanwhile, the Giants are going to blow this game.
10:52pm - TD Cowboys. Tuck was the victim of a cheap shot. The Giants can't run and are getting run on. It isn't looking good.
11:21pm - Does any team choke more than the Cowboys? Man, it is a decade of choking. The G-Men look to be in control...but 1 play and they blow it. All things being equal, 4 turnovers to zero should mean the GMen win every time. But why am I still nervous as they settle for a FG?
11:25pm - I have tried Saranac Octoberfest, IPA, Pumpkin Ale, and Caramel Porter. I would rank them like this...
1. Octoberfest - very smooth and not too heavy.
2. Pumpkin Ale - it is really very tasy and not in that way that beer ruins itself.
3. Caramel Porter - it tastes like candy. A little too much.
4. IPA - I don't like 99% of IPAs. This one is no exception.
Overall, very good for a smaller middle of the road micro. The local beers are so heavy and sweet. These feel right and deliver on flavor without bloating me out.
11:30pm - The Cowboys march right down the field...31-30. What did I say earlier? Eli, 3 and a half minutes left, down 1...
11:36pm - a bogus penalty puts them in a hole...but that is poor clock management not getting a play off before the 2 minute warning. This is now 4 down territory. With the way the Cowboys are running, it probably was anyway.
11:44pm - My two least favorite critters...snakes and spiders. They don't make a noise. They are right up on you before you know they are there.
11:46pm - How lame is the TO right before the FG? Sad. But Tynes makes it anyway as Eli marches right down the field. He may throw some ducks from time to time, but game on the line there are few better. On to Entourage finale...
Sundays In the Fall
Sundays in the fall have a feel to them. A smell. They kind of have a golden haze. There is the beginnings of a chill in the air. The leaves are just starting to change...and football all day and TV premieres at night. It is early enough in the season that just about every team thinks their team can make the playoffs. And just about every TV show looks good until it airs.
Today I am watching Eagles-Saints, Steelers-Bears, and Giants-Cowboys. There is also the premiere of Curb and Bored to Death. And the finale of Entourage. And Mad Men. And the Emmys.
Watch the football, DVR the Emmys, and watch the HBO shows on OnDemand.
Today I am watching Eagles-Saints, Steelers-Bears, and Giants-Cowboys. There is also the premiere of Curb and Bored to Death. And the finale of Entourage. And Mad Men. And the Emmys.
Watch the football, DVR the Emmys, and watch the HBO shows on OnDemand.
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