Fun With TV

Since I've been on the afternoon shift the last week, I've been up a bit later watching TV. There is some fun stuff out there now. I ran across "World's Worst Tenants" the other night on Spike. Now, you know if you want quality TV you need to go the Spike and find something that starts with "World's Worst." I was not disappointed.

First of all, the show is staged. I don't know if they state it in the beginning of the show, but it's pretty obvious. It may be a re-enactment of some real events, but it is not happening real-time. The main eviction guy is awesome. He looks like he is about to bust out of his shirt any minute. Or out of his skin, I can't tell which will give out first. But, his best feature is his hair, what little of it there is. The best way I can describe it is a goatee that is on the back of his head. Just watch the clip below and I think you'll agree this is the best, or worst, television has to offer.






And, of course, there are the commercials. You know I love an incredible product that you can find in stores(tm). The GoJo Hands Free Headset is just such a product. Do you hate wearing an inconspicuous headset that make you look like you are Borg? What about those headphones that fit comfortably on your ears? Do you hate them too? Well, the GoJo Hands Free Headset is for you. Looks it's a big piece of plastic that smashes the phone against your face. Isn't that great? Look, you can use it at the gym! People will never notice! I mean, why would you use headphones at the gym? That's just silly!



Obviously the best part of the commercial is the guy putting the laptop against his head. I can't wait to see people using this with an iPad. You know it would happen if the iPad had a speaker on the front.

This is what I do at night. I think I need some kind of therapy.

Nyet! Michael Knight

Jenn is on her way to Moscow right now. I forgot to tell her to say hi to Putin for me. Me and Puts (that's what I call him) go way back. Anyway, I'm flying solo here for a while. That's why I'm sitting here in front of a keyboard instead of next to her on the couch. Wait, I can watch whatever I want now! What am I doing here?

Speaking of doing things, do you know what I did the other day? I watched the Knight Rider pilot movie thing. Why? I don't know. I had some time to kill and it popped on on Netflix so I thought I'd check out where it all started since I couldn't remember. I remembered that Michael Knight was not always his name and he was basically brought back from the dead, but that was it.

So I watched the two-parter "Knight of the Phoenix." Clever, no? I realized that the pilot was quite a bit darker than I remembered the show. The thing that threw me at first was the guy playing Michale in the beginning was not Hasselhoff at first, but they dubbed in his voice. Which I found interesting. Then, after being betrayed by a girl (isn't that always the way) she shoots him in the head! Ouch. Why not the chest or something?  Man, what a bitch!

Anyway, he's rescued by some dude that appears out of nowhere with a helicopter and is rescued. I just watched this the other day and I don't remember them saying why this guy came to find Michael and his Trans Am in the desert. Was he following him? Did he just happen to be flying over the desert looking for a special person to help him solve crimes?

Anyway, Michael wakes up and is pissed about having a new face. Dude, you are the man now, why so pissed?  Is basically what Devon and Mr. Knight say. Oh, and can you help us out? Oh, and none other than Oscar Goldman was the doctor who saved him. Yes, that guy from Six Million Dollar Man. It turns out Michael was saved by a metal plate in is head that ricocheted the bullet back out of his face. Ouch, again!

So, eventually he gets out the the garage and finds a car there. It's his Trans Am! Yes, KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand, which sounds much cooler back in the 80's) was his car. They rebuilt it. They made it better, faster, stronger...I think you get where I'm going. I didn't remember that KITT was his car reinCARnated. (Okay, I'll stop.) The best line of the show is when Michael gets in the car and gestures toward the dashboard saying, "What's all this? It looks like Darth Vader's bathroom." Actually, he's kind of right.

Basically, he goes on to find the people who tried to kill him (evil computer geniuses) and saves the day and learns to get along with KITT, who is not so annoying and grumpy in the pilot.

After I watched the pilot I watched two other episodes to see the changes. The first real episode is odd in many ways. For one thing, Bonnie, the lady mechanic (crazy, I know!) is all of a sudden in the show like she was there in the pilot. I'm guessing there was some delay between these two so they'd assume people forgot. We TV watchers aren't so bright you know.

Also, he helps a young female lieutenant (crazy again!) out when her car conks out on the road. He drives her to the base where she is due to report to her CO who happens to be her dad. Several odd things happen in the very beginning of the episode. Like when Michael brings her to the base he comes all the way into the office with her where she is meeting her dad. Why? If I gave someone a ride, especially to a military base of some sort, I'd just drop them at the front door, or gate, or whatever.

Then, when she finds out her dad is dead, they cut to his funeral and Michael is there! What the hell? He doesn't know anyone there so why go to the funeral? Obviously, he isn't going to get anything from her now? Give it up dude. So, yeah, he ends up foiling some big arms theft ring after taking on many missiles. The end.  

The last thing I watched was the second season two-part premiere. I don't know why either, but when I saw there was an Evil Michael Knight in the episode and a giant truck made out of the same material as KITT, I knew I had to watch. The best parts of this episode was the beard that Hasselhoff to wear when he was the Evil version of himself who just happened to be the real son of the guy who saved him back in the pilot. Oh, he was sent to prison in Africa and never expected to get out. So, I guess that's why Mr. Knight made Michael look like his son? I think the guy needed therapy. He had the money to get a great shrink.

Awesome! (photo from Whatculture!)

So, this guy gets the former Mr. Knight's wife to drug some of the foundation members to get the formula for the molecular structure of KITT's outer shell. It must be more complicated than that Magic Shell stuff, I guess. 

So, they gut this stuff and build a semi-tractor with this stuff. I guess they are going to plow through a militaryKITT gets whacked hard. He's smashed and upside down and Garth keeps driving? Where they heck is he going? He doesn't go in for the kill? Somehow after Michael gets KITT upright and driving through the desert all the people are gone that come to see Garth wipe out KITT and Michael. Where did they all go? Nobody thought to check and see if they were really dead? What kind of crap revenge is this? 

Anyway, Bonnie outfits KITT with some awesome laser, they have another showdown and KITT wins, or something. YAY! 

My final thoughts? The show definitely took a lighter turn after the pilot. Somehow KITT was turned into an old woman and Michael became a himbo. (Do people still say that?) 

Next up, I go back and watch The Greatest American Hero! (No, I don't. I don't want to ruin that for younger me.) 

Ha! I forgot I wrote about the "NEW" Knight Rider a long time ago. 

Remember that guy that used to write here? Yeah, he was cool.

So how is everybody doing? It's been a while. Why? I don't know. Well, that's not entirely true. I know that I have been lazy and that Twitter has become my Internet outlet lately. You can follow me there if you want. All the cool kids are doing it. (Except, Cookie, and she really should.) Look, there is a link over there on the right. Go poke it and follow my wit and wisdom over there.

What else? Oh, I updated the blog a little. It was due for a change. I added my currently reading widget from Goodreads. I've been reading a lot lately. I've read Feed and Deadline by Mira Grant (AKA Seanan McGuire). They are zombie novels, but not your average zombie books. They are great and you should really read them. I mean it.

As you can see, I'm reading Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson right now because it's a great name for a book, and we all know it is coming eventually so I might as well be ready. I wonder if the zombie apocalypse or the robopocaplyse will come first? Maybe they will team up and completely wipe us out. Who wants to write that mash-up novel?

I've been watching a lot of TV, too. It's been very rainy here the last month, so there hasn't been a lot to do. One show I recommend is Finding Bigfoot on Animal Planet. These researchers are looking for bigfoot, of course, but they are totally gung-ho on this. It's not that they just want to track down reports from people, they believe bigfoot is out there for sure and keep mentioning all these "facts" about them. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but we have never actually found a bigfoot, right? So, there is no way we know how they sound, how big they are, etc. Right? Unless Harry and The Hendersons was based on a real life situation I didn't know about. Seriously, watch it. Just once. It's fun!

Oh, I also have a new music review up at Functional Nerds. So you should probably read that this weekend. What else do you have to do? There is a lot of other cool stuff over there.

Okay, go have a good weekend. I promise to be back soon. I know you have all been waiting.

My Fall TV Watching So Far

Hey, it's the New Fall TV Season. Time for great new shows and for all your old favorites to come back and keep you company as the weather changes. What am I watching? I'm so glad you asked.

First, let me start by saying we changed over to the DVR system on Comcast and got rid of the TiVos that we had in the house. This was a necessity due to the changes in the digital TV set up and the fact that we have an HD box from Comcast that we couldn't hook up directly to the TiVo. I will say this, the menu and set-ups on the Comcast box are terrible when compared to TiVo. Comcast, will you please roll out some TiVo service on your DVRs in Chicago? Thank you. Why do I mention this, well, we realized how many things we had set up to record years ago and forgot to reset. We missed recording all the NBC shows on Thursday night. I have no idea what happened on The Office. Was it good?

On to the shows. In the recurring category I'm watching House, The Office (when I catch up), The Mentalist, The Amazing Race (kind of), Castle (maybe) and Modern Family (always good). That's all I can remember right now. I thought the first House episode was a little boring, but The Mentalist was pretty good. Wasn't that a great review? But this post isn't really about returning shows it's about, The All New Super Awesome TV Shows That Are Unlike Anything You've Ever Seen! Or, that's what they want you to believe.

Let's start with Hawaii Five-O. While I remember the original version of the show by name, I can't remember if we actually watched it in our house when I was a kid. It's seems like something we would have watched, maybe by the time I would have been watching it my got tired of it. The show was on for twelve years so it is possible.

I did enjoy the new show. I wanted to check it out since it had Daniel Dae Kim from Lost and Grace Park from Battlestar Galactica. Those were two of my favorite shows over the last few years so I had to give it a try. I will say I enjoyed it, but some things bugged me a little bit. I thought the two main guys were a little on the cliché side, but I didn't hold that against this show too much since it was the pilot. Maybe the writers and producers can lighten them up a little bit. While I think the mix of action was good, some was a little too unbelievable, but again, it's the first episode. We'll see how Hawaii Five-O develops, but I think it has a chance of being good. If only they will listen to me. (My email is on the "about me" page...)

I watched The Event today. Two things right of the bat on this one. 1) Let us get to know who the people are a little bit before you start flashbacking all over the place. 2) That was the best title for the show? I know you don't want to give anything away in the title, but come on. Does this mean we won't know what The Event is until the end of the series? Because you guys are going to piss some people off that way.

The show wasn't terrible, and the ending was interesting, but there was too much set up (and flashbacks) that we had to sit through to get to that. Those of you who watched The Event, if they took out all the flashbacks, would the show lose anything? I say no. I say it makes me want to come back and find out why that guy was on the plane. Or what was the deal with the weird, hippy travelers, or, most important, where the Hell did that plane go? See, it's good to leave some lingering questions in the audience's mind, but that questions shouldn't be, "What day is this now? Why is this so confusing?" Because if it is, you've lost your audience. Having said all this, I will keep watching a few more episodes to see where it goes.

Jenn checked out Mike and Maddy and said it was good. She also recorded some other show that I can't even remember. I think we made it to the first commercial break on that one. Always a good sign.

I think there are a few more I'm going to try out. But I'll leave that for another post. I hope you can wait!

So...it's been six days, huh?

I guess I've been a slacker this week. And, well, last week, too. But, I'm back now. Isn't that all that matters?

To be honest things have been quiet and boring, that's why I haven't posted anything. I did do last week's Weekend Assignment, but I'm an idiot and forgot to leave a comment on the website to let Carly and Karen know that I completed said assignment.

But I do have some fun news. In August I'm going on a photo walk at Fermilab. Last week the Think Geek people tweeted about this, I filled out a form and a few hours later I got an e-mail saying I get to be one of the photographers to go there. Notice the website says amateur and pro photographers. I definitely fall well to the amateur side. I'm really looking forward to it, I hope I don't geek out too much and forget to take pictures. Speaking of which, Think Geek sent me a Timmy plush doll to take a picture of at Fermilab. I hope I can find a good way to get him in there. We aren't allowed to touch anything, so I need to be creative. I also hope we don't come out of there looking like Timmy in this photo.

Here's a few thoughts on some summer TV I've been watching, or waiting for.

Wipeout: Cool, fun show to watch with the kids. I don't understand how one doesn't end up in the hospital after being on the show.

Downfall: Interesting concept, but it doesn't work. The host is way too stiff and can't think on his feet well. Not a good characteristic for a game show host.

Warehouse 13: Look, if you liked the X-Files back in the day, you'll like this show. I'm not saying it's just like the X-Files, but it has the same tone and some similar elements. Well, without any alien stuff. Good show! (Crap, I just used the term, 'back in the day' to talk about a show from the 90s. Ugh, I'm old).

Psych: Coming tomorrow. Yay!

Yes, lame stuff. I know. Any good shows I'm missing?

Last thing, if you have a tub of crumbled blue cheese in the fridge, how can you tell if it is moldy? Just, you know, hypothetically.

Remember when your TV was a piece of furniture?

Do you remember when your TV was a piece of furniture and the size of a freezer chest?

Behold!

Please note the paneling, the little bit of the orange shag carpet you can see by the fireplace and the fact that the TV had two tuning knobs. See, back in the day kids, we got two different kids of channels; VHF and UHF. Those were exciting times, I tell you. Of course, we only got a few channels on each, but that's all we needed.

Also, notice me sitting and full six inches away from the TV. Hey, I couldn't sit closer, I didn't want to ruin my eyes. Oh, maybe this is why I have worn glasses since 5th grade. My parents were right. Damn it!

I wish I could tell what I was watching. It seems the guys are all wearing tuxedoes on whatever show it is. Was it an awards show? A talk show? A Dean Martin Celebrity Roast? I want to

know.

I remember this TV very well. The Ca-Chunk as you turned the knob to switch through the channels, waiting for ten minutes for the picture to come on after turning it on, and trying to see how fast I could go from channel 32 to channel 44. Channel 44 had Speed Racer, I had to switch quickly to that, it was my favorite show.

I wonder if I could have hooked up a TiVo to that thing? Imagine how big that would have been!

Now that "Lost" is over...

Okay, I for one, liked the finale. Was it perfect? No, but finales rarely are, especially when they are for a show like Lost with so many strange story lines to begin with. There is no chance of making everything close out all nice and tidy with a pretty bow on top. It's nearly impossible, unless you want the show to go on for a few years.

A few thoughts:

No, they were not dead the whole time on the island. I've been hearing, and reading, a lot of people saying the Losties were dead and this was purgatory. No. Go back and watch the finale. Listen to Christian in the church. He says they built this place (church) to find each other. Basically, they made such deep connections on the island that they all met there when they did die so they could move on together. The whole sideways world was a kind of purgatory, I guess, where they found each other so they can meet at the church.

Part of the problem I think some people had was the timeline. The meeting at the church was not really happening right after Jack died. Hurley and Ben let you know that when they tell each other how good of a job they did on the island when Hurley was running things. Also, Sawyer, Claire, Kate, Miles, Lapidus, and Richard all made it off the island to make a life for themselves for a while. How long? Who knows. It doesn't really matter. Their story ends after they leave the island for good.

What was the deal with the light cave, the hieroglyphs and all the weird stuff like that? I think that was just to let us know this has been going on a long time. There has been a protector of the island for ages. Why? Again, that's not the story. The story we are being told is of the people on the island this time around. The story is how these people, who are lost and alone in life, make connections that last a lifetime. And beyond. The island is just a secondary or tertiary character at best. At the same time, I did like all the skeletons that were found in the glowy cave. Obviously people have tried the same thing Jack and Desmond did in the past.

In short, yes, I liked it. For a show like that it's about the best you can hope for. But, I'm not a TV critic. There are many other people out there who can give a longer, and deeper, discussion of the finale.

But, I didn't have an idea for some spin-offs. Ready?

Smokey and The Bear: Follow the smoke monster and the polar bear as they travel the island to look for innocent people to scare to death all through history. Good times. I would only expect this to last one season. Maybe half.

A*F*T*E*R*Lost: Follow Ben and Hurley and as they wander the island to find people to help. It's a new regime, people. As castaways wash up on shore, Ben and Hurley treat their injuries (with Ghost Jack's help) and help them build rafts to get off the island. Special guests to include; Donnie and Marie Osmond, David Hasselhoff and a special appearance by the Harlem Globetrotters.

Sawyer, P.I: This is perfect. Sawyer is a PI, Ben is the stuffy, uptight caretaker of a mansion that Sawyer get's to live in for some reason. (Yes, Ben would be on two shows. I don't expect A*F*T*E*R*Lost to last long). Along with his buddies; helicopter pilot Lapidus, slick restaurant manager Sayid, and police officer Miles, Sawyer helps people with their problems. Usually the problems will involve solving a murder, or preventing one, and stopping drug traffickers. Hey, it's not the 80's anymore. Occasionally, Sawyer's long lost love, Sun, will show up on the island. She can't stay and leave her family behind, but she still loves him. Come on, who wouldn't watch this?

Two Girls, a Ghost, and a Baby: Kate and Charlie's ghost help Claire raise baby Aaron since she is a little nutty for a little while after coming home from the island. Oh, the fun dates Claire will go on and while she's still crazy lady. It will be great!

That's all I can come up with right now. Let me know if you think of any.

Weekend Assignment #313: Meet a fictional character

It's been a little while since I've participated in the weekend assignments (sorry Karen and Carly), but I'll try to get back on schedule. Most of the time I've forgotten what day it is and missed the deadline. Think I'm making it up? Today, Wednesday, the kids get out of school 30 minutes early and I forgot. I pulled up to school and wondered where everybody was going. Luckily, I was early and was going to wait in the parking lot. I think I was about five minutes late. Not that my son didn't notice.

Anyway, on to the assignment!

Weekend Assignment #313: Through some miracle of colliding realities, you have the opportunity to meet a fictional character, face to face. Which character would you most like to meet, and why?

I've been thinking about this for a while. Who would I want to meet? I like Die Hard, and watch it whenever it is on, but would I want to meet John McLane? Probably not, he seems like he'd be hard to get along with. He's too much of a loose cannon you know.

I thought about Mulder and Scully from the X-Files, but I would think Mulder is a wacko and Scully is too annoying and has to be right all the time. Her and her so-called analytical thinking.

KITT? Ugh, even more annoying than Scully. I don't know how Michael Knight didn't drive KITT off a cliff and end it all. Oh...so that's why the car is indestructible. I understand now.

So, I was thinking I should go back further into my childhood. I was thinking about Mork, from Mork and Mindy. That would be an interesting conversation. Though I would think I'd come away with the thought that Mork was the stupidest person on Ork. Am I right?

So, I'm going to go even farther back (Jenn can probably see where I'm going) and say I'd like to meet Lt. Columbo. Wasn't he the best. He was great at playing dumb and allowing the bag guy (or girl) to think he had know idea what was going on then let them hang themselves, so to speak. It's still on of my favorite shows. I wanted to go as him one year for Halloween, but Jenn thought nobody would get it. Maybe she was right. I need to find an old Peugeot to drive to complete the outfit.

I would ask him what made him to decide playing dumb, or was it an accident. (Actually I don't think it was always that way. If I remember correctly, in the first movie he was quite a bit more direct. I think he even pulled a gun! Sorry, for the Columbo geek-out).

Extra Credit: What question would you most like to ask that character? Extra extra credit for posting the character's likely reply!

I imagine his answer would be something like this: "Oh, it just kind of happened. You know, when your clothes look like mine people tend to look down on you and not take you too seriously. I decided to use that to make them feel at ease. Like I wouldn't notice if they changed their story, or their answers didn't make sense because I was too impressed y how important, or rich they were. I worked out pretty well for me." Then he would turn and walk away, stop, turn halfway back to me, raise his hand in a slight wave, and walk out of the room; cigar smoke trailing behind him.

Anyway, go check out what others had to say over at Karen's blog.

Ed Grimley's love child on Dancing with the Stars?

Look at this clip of Aaron Carter on Dancing with the Stars, especially at the 30 second mark.

Now, let's look at Ed Grimley dancing.

The resemblance is uncanny!

That's all I have for you today. Enjoy!

Worst idea for a game show. EVER!

There we were, minding our own business, watching The Soup on E!; then it happened. The Soup ended and something else came on. Something horrible. Make that Horrible. Really, it deserves a capital H. That show was Fake Or Real. A game show of such ridiculous proportions that Jenn and I both thought it was a joke. I thought it was actually the beginning of Chelsea Lately and we were going to be mercifully spared. But it wasn't a joke. 

For those of you who couldn't guess by the title (and really, I give you all the respect in the world for not knowing; you are a better person for it) it's a game show (?) where three people come out and the judges have to guess who had plastic surgery. So, as I've seen others describe it, it's like To Tell the Truth, but much sleazier. Though I will admit that the girl in the first segment who actually had the surgery looked the most normal. I didn't get the story, but in her before shot she was quite overweight and I believe she had a gastric bypass surgery to help her out. I believe all of them had some surgery, the judges had to decide who had all five surgeries, or something like that, the bleached blond, over-bosomed, lady was an easy guess. I guess that's why she was out there. 

But, to my point, do we need a show like this? Who came up with this idea? Who gave it the go-ahead? I want to know. I think this has to be the worst idea for a game show ever. Sure, you could bring up Fox's spectacular Moment of Truth which seemed to be designed to break up families. It was like the worst episodes of Maury and Springer all rolled together without the lame wrap-up by the host. But that show only ruined one, maybe two, families at a time. This new show basically goes out of it's way to show how great plastic surgery can be to all the people out there watching it. Especially impressionable teenage and slightly older girls. Gee, thanks E!, we don't have enough trouble making our kids feel good about themselves without having you show how "good" the surgeries can be. 

One of the judges was none other than Dr. Creepy himself; Dr. Rey from Dr. 90210. First of all, he's a plastic surgeon, he should be able to tell, right? Not to mention how weird it was to have him hold up the instruments used for the procedures to see if the contestants knew what they were for.

 Second, I've said it already, he's creepy. He's the embodiment of what is wrong with plastic surgery. On his show he basically tells the person what is wrong with them and tells them how to fix it. He's all about using surgery to help your self esteem. Thanks Doc! 

I only saw the first segment, but I did over hear on the TV that in the next segment the judges had to figure out who was a man before the surgery. Wow! That's something ripped right out of the Maury playbook. 

In summary, stay away from this show. I beg you. I don't want it to stay on! 

Before I end this I want to say that I don't think all plastic surgery is bad. I know there are many cases when it is necessary. This show isn't about that at all. That's why it ticks me off. 

I need to go to bed now. I'm worn out. 

 

Weekend Assignment #242 : Local TV

We get to talk about something I always enjoy talking about -- TV. Specifically, Karen wants us to write about local TV from where we grew up.

Weekend Assignment #242: Local television used to feature lots of kids' shows and late night movies, often featuring a colorful local host. Share a memory of local tv of yesteryear.



There are three shows that I can remember that where from the Chicago area, but they may have been brodcast elswhere as well. I don't know for sure, when I was a kid I assumed everyone in the whole world watched the same shows I did anyway. I really had no clue a show could be seen in my area, and only my area.

We have a local channel, WGN-TV, that is also a superstation. I don't know how long it was that way, but I remember being amazed at seeing the local news guys on the TV in Michigan when I was visiting once. I did know that the news was local by the way. There are three shows that I remember from the channel, let me know if you have seen them in other areas. We had Bozo's Circus, The Ray Rayner Show, and Garfield Goose.

Now, if you follow the links to these shows, and realize that I'm still a hair under 40, you'll understand why I don't remember much about these shows. After I looked for the link to Bozo, I see it was syndicated, so some of you probably have seen it. Well, probably everybody. All I remember about Bozo was the bucket toss, where if you got it in bucket number six you won a new Schwinn bike, and that everbody said you had to get on the waiting list for tickets before you even think of having kids. Like maybe put them on your wedding registy.

Ray Rayner I remember even less about. I know he had a big floppy puppet dog and would sing about getting mail. I think that's what he did. I can see him sitting by the mailbox with the dog, maybe he didn't sing. I don't know.

I remember that Garfield Goose kind of freaked me out. It was a puppet, obviously, but he didn't talk. He would open and close his mouth, trying to say something, but all you could her was the mouth slapping shut. It was a little unerving. I had never seen a puppet that couldn't talk up until that point. Why? Why couldn't he talk? What was wrong with him? And those beady, black eyes. I know he could see me. I knew that he knew that I was freaked out about his inability to talk. He was mocking me. Oh yes, yes he was.

Sorry.

Those where the three kids shows I can remember that were based in my area. There is one particular character that is still around. He would host some scary movies, add some of his own bits of humor, and just be a little quirky overall. The show was called The Son of Svengoolie. Again, when I looked it up I saw it was syndicated for a short time, but it was based here. It was on a UHF channel that Fox bought years ago and now the newer incarnation is on a different local channel; WCIU channel 26, The U. Kind of a dumb name, I know. The guy playing Svengoolie, Rich Koz, also hosts a program where they run blocks of The Three Stooges. I don't watch it though, my wife can't stand them. Actually, I don't know any woman who likes The Stooges. Why is that?


Extra Credit:You've been asked to produce a local tv show. Commercial considerations aside, what kind of show would it be?



Some kind of interactive thing maybe. Show some ridiculously stupid shows that have been cancelled and people can IM or use Twitter to make fun of the show.Yes, I know that is like MST3K, but that is all I have right now.

How aout you? (Yes, you). Any favorite shows from your area?

What's new on TV?

(For those of you quick enough, I hit enter on accident and published a blank page. Sorry. Although, that may be better than this post.)

We are at the beginning of a new fall TV season.  Are any of you trying out anything new? Or new to you?

I've been wanting to watch Fringe, but I have managed to miss all of the episodes so far. I think we might have the pilot on one of our TiVos, but I think we are missing at least one episode. I really wanted to check that show out, it was a complete accident that I have missed it. Can it really be an accident if I missed all of the epsiodes? Is my brain trying to tell me something? I have heard ho-hum reviews, maybe that is part of the problem. Anyone else watch it? Is it worth my time?

The other day I caught some of CSI: Miami. Yeah, I'm glad I didn't stick with that show back in the early days.(Sorry, Suzanne.) It's like all the actors are on a soap opera, over-acting all over the place. And what year is it supposed to be on that show? Is it the near future? They have thes computers that are so advanced that you can just put a cell phone on the table and it can get all the info out of it. No USB cable required! Do you think the Miami police department really has something like that? Do you think people who work for them in real life laugh at that stuff? I'm guessing they do.

Jenn and I watched one new show so far; The Mentalist. To be honest, I wasn't so sure I'd like this show. The stuff I ws reading about it made it sound like Psych, without being funny. Granted, The Mentalist isn't a knee-slapper, but I thought it was a good show. At least the first episode. What I really liked was that the main character came right out and said that psychics are fake, and he was a fake when he used to pretend to talk to the dead. I won't go into the whole show here, but check it out. It's pretty good. Would I lie to you?

Oh, I should say I didn't bother watching Knight Rider. Those of you who read what I had to say about the movie earlier this year probably figured I wouldn't watch it. Based on what Television Without Pity had to say, I didn't miss much.Though, I think it would be fun to write about the show.

I guess I really haven't watched many new shows so far, and it doesn't look like I will. Unless you have any suggestions...

Quick weekend recap

It was a busy weekend. Saturday I took my son to Walking With Dinosaurs while my wife took our daughter shopping, and to Build-a-Bear. Much fun was had by all. I'm mad at myself, though. I forgot my camera in the car. Argh! I took some pictures with my cell phone. I'll see if anything looks good enough to post.

Today we went to Jenn's sister's house to watch the air show. I did remember my camera this time! Okay, Jenn did, I can admit that. I will post some of those tomorrow.

Now I'm watching some show about repo men. It does not look like a fun job!

How was your weekend?

the name game

When did Ricky Schroeder go back to using Ricky? I know he was Ricky when he was a kid, then he was Rick in NYPD Blue, now he is Ricky again. Maybe, like all of us, he's starting to feel old.

I'm busy so I'm stealing...

I've had a busy day at work and I won't have much time so I'm borrowing a post that Florinda put up yesterday. I don't think she will mind.

Via The DEBlog, it's the TV's Top 50 Meme.
British media site Empire Magazine has revealed its list of the “50 Greatest TV Shows” ever. Below is the list and here are the rules.
1. Bold the shows of which you’ve watched every episode
2. Italicize the shows of which you’ve seen at least one episode
2a. Star * the shows you consider “the best”
3. Post your answers

I should mention this list comes from the UK. There are a few shows that are not from this side of the Atlantic.


50. Quantum Leap I watched a lot of these when it started. I probably saw most of them
49. Prison Break This show started so well, then became unwatchable, in my opinion
48. Veronica Mars
47. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - I found it hard to stay awake watching this.
46. Sex & the City - I kind of hope this movie tanks. Is that mean?
45. Farscape
44. Cracker Must be a British show
43. Star Trek I watched most of these. Heck, one of my favorite bands is Spock's Beard.
42. Only Fools and Horses
41. Band of Brothers
40. Life on Mars I've heard this was good. They are doing an American version next year
39. Monty Python's Flying Circus -- Spam?!
38. Curb Your Enthusiasm - The one reason I sometimes think of ordering HBO
37. Star Trek: The Next Generation - This probably should be bold, but I'm sure I missed a few.
36. Father Ted -- What about Father Murphy?
35. Alias - I tried watching a couple of episodes, but you really need to start from the beginning
34. Frasier
33. CSI: Las Vegas - I lost interest around season 4 or 5
32. Babylon 5
31. Deadwood
30. Dexter
29. ER
28. Fawlty Towers - Pretty hard not to see all of these. My wife bought me a book with the screen plays a long time ago.
27. Six Feet Under
26. Red Dwarf
25. Futurama* - Only 25! I demand a recount!
24. Twin Peaks
23. The Office UK
22. The Shield
21. Angel
20. Blackadder - I want to check this show out.
19. Scrubs - With all the shuffling of the schedule I have missed a few.
18. Arrested Development* - Great show! Never should have been cancelled
17. South Park
16. Doctor Who
15. Heroes - I lost all interest after season one. It made me sleepy, too.
14. Firefly
13. Battlestar Galactica* - I plan my schedule around this show.
12. Family Guy
11. Seinfeld*
10. Spaced - I've heard this show is good. I need to check it out.
09. The X-Files - I would bold and put an asterisk if they stopped when David Duchovny left
08. The Wire
07. Friends* - It lost some steam in the end, but I still like watching it.
06. 24 - Ugh. When his daughter was chased by a cougar I lost all faith in the show.
05. Lost* - It's messed up, but I like it.
04. The West Wing - I want to know how those people talked so fast all the time.
03. The Sopranos - I don't like mob shows. I don't know why.
02. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
01. The Simpsons - It's a good show, but it has gone on too long.

So, what do you think. Hey, where is M*A*S*H?

So far tonight

We did some clean up, watched Battlestar Galactica, had some Sam Adams Summer Ale, and now I'm watching Lost on TiVo. Not a bad night. So Locke was a wuss in high school?

Random Wednesday

It's late, but it's still Wednesday. I've been busy today trying to get a start on cleaning up our house for our daughter's fourth birthday party. It's just a family party, but the house needs a good cleaning. With the addition of a puppy our work has seemingly increased tenfold. Anyway, on to the random post.



I saw the Styx tour bus driving down the road the other day. It's not really a big deal, they are from Chicago after all, but it was neat to see. They were one of my first favorite bands when I was growing up. I've mentioned my very first before, but I didn't really know any better back then. Kansas was my very first, and Styx followed close after that. In 1996 Styx reunited for the Return to Paradise tour and Kansas opened for them. Needless to say I was there. I felt like I was in junior high again, but I could buy beer -- legally. It was a great show.



My son has decreed that he only wants to eat animals that are mean. It all started last week when we were eating meatloaf for dinner, his choice by the way. He asked what animal the meat came from. I knew where this was going so I kind of mumbled that it was from a cow. He told me he didn't want to eat cows because they were nice. "I only want to eat mean animals. Like rhinos," he said. I let it go at that point. I was hoping he'd forget about it. He didn't. The next night he was having a hot dog and he asked where hot dogs come from. I told him it comes from a lot of different things. Which really isn't lying if you think about it. I should have told him it was rhino horn. Tonight he had chicken nuggets in the shape if dinosaurs; I think that helped throw him off. Maybe next time I'll shape the meatloaf like a t-rex.



Did the History Channel turn into UFO central? It seems every time I turn on the channel they are doing something on UFO's. Speaking of which, my wife found it very surprising that I didn't believe in UFO's since I read, and watch, so much science fiction. Like Carl Sagan, I think there are some other civilizations out in the universe somewhere. I just don't think any of them have ever been here. The energy and distances required to get here don't make it worth it. Especially if they are just going to fly around in the sky and leave. What good is that? Aren't aliens supposed to come and bring a cure for cancer. Or wipe us out? I'd think after 50+ years they could come talk to us now.

War Games is on TV right now.

Is it cool or sad that I know the tones they use to open the security door to the room they keep Matthew Broderick's character in? Wait, don't answer that.

Oh man, they are celebrating the 25th Anniversary of War Games. I feel old now.

Two days until Battlestar Galactica!

I'm not the only one excited, right? I know people watch the show. It's really OK to admit that you like it. Sure, it's science fiction, but there is no need to be ashamed to admit you like it. It's cool to be a geek now, remember? Plus, there is so much more to the show than spaceships flying around. Heck, they don't even show that too much.

OK, you don't like science fiction in general. Do you like politics? Well, Battelstar Galactica has politics. The 7th or 8th in line for the presidency was one of the survivors, but she has been fighting to keep the presidency the whole time. The vice president was an unwitting accomplice to the cylons (he wasn't the vice-president then) and he still talks to the cylon he helped. Is she real? Who knows, but it makes it interesting. Then, when he became president, the cylons came, he surrendered, and helped with the rounding up humans who could be trouble. Nice, huh? Oh, and the current president has cancer, was cured, now has it again and is having visions of Earth. But she is stable, don't worry. Heck, Jimmy Carter saw UFO's, didn't he?

You like drama and suspense? These people are running for their lives, for the survival of their race. Is that drama enough? They live in constant fear that they cylons will show up and wipe them out. It is constant drama and suspense. Sure, you have some people who have ended up having 'relations' with human-form cylons, but really, are soap operas any better? How many times have people found out they married a relative on a soap opera.

Now, if you only like comedies I can't convince you to watch BSG. There isn't much funny about hoping your race can survive another day. But, you should watch it anyway. It's a good idea to watch a well-written show no matter what the format. It's fun to be transported to some other place, jut to get away from daily stress. That's what TV was designed for.

But really, watch it. It's good. Would I lie to you?

Who wouldn't want to work on Mythbusters?

I was just watching "Mythbusters". It was a rerun, but new to me, where they blow up a water heater by letting the pressure build up. As I watched I thought, "How fun would it be to work on this show?" Every show has something fun; things blowing up, remote control cars crashing into things, if this show isn't made for guys, I don't know what is.

Other than "Mythbusters," I think "The Office" would be fun to work on, mostly because it seems they have a good time. I'm sure it's a lot more work than it looks.

Anyone else have a TV show you think would be fun?