Tuesday, December 18, 2007

This thing called television

There was a longish stretch (long for me, anyway) from Sept to mid-Nov where I didn't watch television. Not even House! And before my next writing project kicks in (more about this later), I decided it was time for some catching up.

Dexter - thank the heavens for 'on demand'. I was able to catch up on missed episodes and then see the season finale last Sunday. I know some people have issues with the ending - but it was okay by me. They wrapped the season up nicely - nothing to dwell over for eight months until it returns. 'Emotional me' was completely satisfied. 'Writer me' wonders how they're going to top season two.
If you haven't seen this intriguing show yet, it's worth a trip to Blockbuster.

House - my viewing has been spotty this season thus far, but I've seen enough to get the gist of the storyline, and MY GOD, that man is obnoxious. I love him ;)

Journeyman - this is a show that I've 'fluked' upon 3 times over the past few weeks, and though I'm feeling a bit lost on the concept (but maybe it hasn't all been revealed?), I've liked what I saw. Sort of Quantum Leap meets The Time Traveler's Wife.

Bionic Woman - meh. I've seen two episodes. Can't say I'd set the Tivo for this one (if I HAD a tivo ;)

Bones - yeah, I'm into this one. Which is funny because it's not really my kind of show. But it's been coming on after House, and one of my cable stations has been showing reruns so I've now viewed about 8 episodes, some from past years. I really enjoy the banter between Bones and the cop (whose name I can't remember). It's like a gentleperson's CSI. Not so drama-rama intense.

Californication - I saw the first episode back in ... August was it? ... and thought, Wow-here's one show that's going where not many others will. The dialogue/acting/characterization (David Duchovny is brilliant) are all excellent and the proverbial envelope gets pushed around enough to offer some squickish moments. I'm not sure where it's going in terms of plot, though. It's not your typical linear storyline. I'm not sure how the ratings are for this show, but I quite enjoy it for a 1/2 hour diversion.

LOST - the countdown to Jan 31st is ON! I'd all but forgotten this show, except that Bonnie Staring posted a really HAWT picture of Josh Holloway (Sawyer *le sigh*) that made me itch to see what they have in store for us this season.

I've got a couple of weeks left before New Project begins. Got any recommendations? What am I missing? What's YOUR fave show?


*added later*

Happy Birthday Brad! You make 44 look FABULOUS!

19 comments:

M. said...

i'm late to the bright face discussion, perhaps already resolved, couple of thoughts anyhow from a. a mother, b. the only dark-haired/olive-skinned person living on a street of blue-eyed, blond Finns growing up, and c. a former easter seal integrated preschool teacher -

ref a. - you might like to check whether your son's definition of 'bright' and yours are the same. more than one teacher i know refers to bright or shining faces as meaning smiling/happy. maybe on that day the other little peer was grumpy? variation of the principle that kids see things differently: when my eldest was 3 or so, we were watching some frisbee players and he suddenly asked something about "the black man". It took some time for me to figure out he meant a caucasian person in a black t-shirt.

ref b.- many children's comments about the "differentness" of others are innocent, but some, sadly are not. perpetuation of negative "us" vs. "them" comments can be hurtful to the point of scarring. it's great that you are vigilant in guiding your little boy and exploring the issue.

ref c. - half the students in the preschool where i taught were drawn from the neighborhood, half were children with all sorts of physical disabilities and unusual appearances. without exception, when a child was curious about someone and received calm, factual answers to their questions, they accepted the info and the peer and that was that. Things only ever became awkward if their parents became embarrassed about their questions and shushed them, making them feel bad for having asked, sometimes making the peer feel even more aware of looking different, and creating a tense situation - all with the best of intentions.

Anonymous said...

Hi Wylie! Thanks for stopping by the blog. It seems to have gotten lost in the Christmas rush, but I hope to get back in 2008. I haven't watched any TV since DWTS ended, and guess what? I still haven't gotten anything accomplished! I am looking forward to Lost. I'm hoping for Season 2 & 3 on DVD for Christmas. Have a great holiday!

Anonymous said...

I haven't seen any of these except Dexter, to which hubby and I are addicted! :-D

I liked the season finale -- I thought they did a great job of wrapping up loose ends, at least for the time being -- I wonder if some of those will turn out to be somewhat unraveled come third season.

But the biggest question in my mind is this: presumably Dexter will continue to kill. But he'll need a new modus operandi since the Bay Harbor Butcher is supposedly dead now! So... what's he gonna do? He sure doesn't want the Bay Harbor Butcher case re-opened!

Carrie Lofty said...

"Life"!!! It's fantastic. Most of the episodes are still online at NBC.com. Damian Lewis is just so good. Perfection. And the way they wrapped up the fall episodes (ie, all the ones they had in the can before the strike) just took my breath away.

Wylie Kinson said...

m. - thanks for your input on the 'bright face' situation. I did for a moment hope he meant 'smiley-bright' but my gut said no.
You make some very valid points and excellent suggestions. I haven't had another incident (whew) but between you and the other commenters, I know EXACTLY how to deal with it - and step one will be stay calm and take a deep breath...

Wylie Kinson said...

Kristy!! Good to see you blog-friend! I stop by your place often and started to get worried with the HUGE gaps ;) Nice to hear everything is okay.
And Happy Holidays to you too.

TL - I had the EXACT same thought. He's gotta shake things up in terms of method and disposal next season. It's shocking to me that I even let my mind consider the possibilities... ;)

Wylie Kinson said...

Carrie - I saw a commercial for LIFE a few weeks ago - the theme music REALLY caught my attention and it looked tres cool - but I haven't been able to find out what night/what station.
Thanks for mentioning NBC. That gives me a good place to start. (And before you think D'oh, why didn't the ninny just look at the station she was watching when the commercial came on - it's because I was watching one of our Canadian stations that picks up shows from a bunch of different networks, but doesn't always show the show they're advertising... did you follow all that?) :)

Wylie Kinson said...

Oy! I can't believe NO ONE has commented on the SMOKIN' HOT photo.

Leah Braemel said...

Hmm, I've heard of Dexter - I think Molly O'Keefe was talking about it over on Drunken Writers, but never seen it before, don't like House, tried Bionic Woman and turned it off halfway through, Bones - I used to watch it the first half of the first year and then they went down hill, Californication - watched the first one and thought 'meh', (I like that term, Wylie, I think I'll use it from now on), tried Lost and gave up on it too. To me, TV's been a wasteland lately. I used to like Dead Like Me, then that got cancelled. How I Met Your Mother isn't bad, and Gizmo Guy watches Two and a Half Men which means I do by default. But if we haven't got a movie going, usually I have my laptop on and play games and listen to music instead of watching the television.

Unknown said...

We're just getting caught up on season two of Dexter now. I'm loving On Demand! I've heard good things about Californication, so I think I'll check this out too. I'm also behind on Stargate: Atlantis. The only good thing about the writer's strike is that I'll be up to date and ready to go when they go back to work.

Nicholas said...

Hmmm. I haven't seen any of those, except one episode of House a few years ago and ten minutes of Journeyman to see how Kevin McKidd sounded as an American (why do they get Brits to play Americans these days? Hollywood must be full of available actors). My fave shows are Life On Mars, Prime Suspect, The Amazing race, Ugly Betty and I still mourn the departure of my all time fave, Rome. Get the DVd but make sure the little ones are in bed before you watch.

Amy Ruttan said...

The Office and Grey's Anatomy. Those are my shows. :D

Though I haven't really watched them in a while.

Writing projects ... *sigh*

Anonymous said...

I love the show of Lost and even my three sons love it. I can't wait for the new season to come out.

I'll try and post a pic of little Buck soon.

Happy Holidays my friend

Wylie Kinson said...

Terra - I second that! The countdown is officially on :)

Amy - For some inexplicable reason, I stopped watching Grey's (or rather, didn't START watching Grey's) this season. I enjoyed the show. Maybe I'll try and catch up on the reruns.

Wylie Kinson said...

Hi Nicholas - long time no see around here! ;)
McKidd is Brit? Usually I can tell, but I had NO idea. He's doing a good job.
I've never heard of Life on Mars. Not sure we get it up here. And I will check out Rome one of these days. Sounds right up my alley.

Red Garnier said...

I love Grey's Anatomy and of course get to watch Hannah Montana all day with my daughter, which I happen to love, too! And hey Happy Bday Brad!!!

Julia Phillips Smith said...

I'll comment on the smokin' hot photo - (hiss) ow! Too hot to touch! But Happy Birthday.

Haven't seen any of the shows except 'House'. Not much of a TV watcher. And when I say 'watched', I mean I saw it out of the corner of my eye while my husband watched it and I was on the computer. I half-process TV shows, mostly.

Wylie Kinson said...

Julia - FINALLY Brad's getting some notice! ;)

Red - Hannah Montana, eh? I've heard about the little phenom, but haven't seen it. With two little boys, I'm forced to watch Danny Phantom :)

Anonymous said...

Wow, I was going to say post a picture like that and you're sure to pull a lot of comments. Surprising to see so few about Brad's great physique. And enough said about that.

I'm a House fan, too, and this season, I'm not sure if I like what's happening or not. Omar's part is a little more interesting, but it seems like there's nothing to grab onto the way the characters are shifting around.

If you like House, you should be watching Shark, the 'House' of law, CBS. He's pretty obnoxious, so you'd like him and dialog is just as good. Last season was better though, same with House.

I keep saying I'm going to get the first season of Lost so I can watch it. I guess it's worth catching up to watch.