I likes my Saturday morning cartoons. I likes 'em a lot. But not enough to actually get up and watch them. Oh no, there's sleep and stuff. So I record them. Silly, I know, but all in all, not a bad vice to have.
I've also discovered that I can't record multiple tapes worth of shows. I never get to watching them. That's why, as discussed in a previous post, I limit the shows I watch and tend not to watch the serial shows, even as good as they might be (I'm not looking at you 24, Lost, Prison Break). All that to say I have one tape I use for recording cartoons, House, Bones, Pushing Daisies, and Life. And I don't set VCR to record weekly, just one week at a time. I don't know why.
Two weeks ago, I recorded cartoons from Fox rather than CW (Fox has horrible cartoons, and I'm sad that they're going to do the programming for The CW starting fall 2008 or 2009 — I guess my Saturday mornings will be completely free). So I didn't have to watch all of those. Bones and House were preempted by baseball, so all of my shows were a miss last week.
This afternoon, I watched Pushing Daisies (I really really like this show), and two minutes into watching Life, my cartoons started. Apparently I had rewound to watch Life at one point, fallen asleep, and didn't fast forward to record the cartoons.
My life is so hard (as my mother is fond of reminding me).
Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Sunday, September 30, 2007
One more before the month ends
Thought I would post again to get one more post in September. Which doesn't really matter, but hey, three posts in a one-week period should be a record for me. Maybe not, but of late, it's pretty good.
I'm watching Spirited Away right now. Well, not right this minute. I'm watching the ABC lineup of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters. It is premier night, after all.
There's so much I could watch on TV of late. I don't know that it's ever been as good as it is now (over the past 5 years), and I'm talking about broadcast TV: ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, and CW, not Showtime, HBO, etc. To give credit where due, however, HBO & Showtime really started this trend of making decent shows worth watching. The networks took notice that decent writing, complex stories, etc. were drawing people. Even though the Networks do have limits imposed upon them as to language and certain adult situations (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), they took these lessons to heart and started making shows people really wanted to see rather shows that people watched by default.
The downside, of course, is that some shows don't find their audience because there is so much good stuff from which to choose. Ten years ago, these canceled shows would have been top 10 for sure (for the most part — there are still turkeys that come out, but by and large less so now than a decade ago). Two shows I'm thinking of in particular are Invasion and Night Stalker. Well, I liked them, anyway. Ten years ago, I'm fairly confident they would have been five-season shows for sure (lasting five years).
For the current season, I'm most looking forward to Pushing Daisies on ABC on Wednesday nights. It starts this next Wednesday. The premise: this guy, Ned, has a gift of being able to bring people (and creatures) back from the dead. He makes a living using this gift to bring back murder victims, find out who killed them, and collect the reward money. Not bad work if you can find it.
With great power, however, comes a great curse: Ned's second touch sends the person back to the Great Beyond (perhaps permanently, I suppose; otherwise, there's no tension to hold one's interest). One of the people he resurrects is a young lady with whom he comes to hold great affection; the feeling is mutual. And they can never hold hands, kiss, or have any physical contact whatsoever. Otherwise, it's curtains for her.
What a great premise! I hope this show makes it. I think it provides a great deal to explore. At least, I can think of a bit they could do. Fortunately, in this day and age, even if it gets canceled after 13 shows, it most assuredly will be released on DVD (just a little cynical there), and one can always wonder what could have been.
Another show (on NBC) that looks intriguing is Life (I watched the premier free on Amazon Unbox video service). Premise: a cop is (wrongly) convicted of murder (framed, even), serves 12 years, and is then freed. As part of his deal, he receives an untold amount of money and is made a detective. I hope this show makes it, too, but I have my doubts. The main guy is far too eccentric to make a connection to a wide audience (or even a sustainable narrow one) methinks. It's a shame because the very last scene really changes what the show has made itself out to be so far (for motivation and purpose).
If I watched everything I wanted to, this would be my list:
Life could be full. Or overcrowded.
I'm watching Spirited Away right now. Well, not right this minute. I'm watching the ABC lineup of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters. It is premier night, after all.
There's so much I could watch on TV of late. I don't know that it's ever been as good as it is now (over the past 5 years), and I'm talking about broadcast TV: ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, and CW, not Showtime, HBO, etc. To give credit where due, however, HBO & Showtime really started this trend of making decent shows worth watching. The networks took notice that decent writing, complex stories, etc. were drawing people. Even though the Networks do have limits imposed upon them as to language and certain adult situations (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), they took these lessons to heart and started making shows people really wanted to see rather shows that people watched by default.
The downside, of course, is that some shows don't find their audience because there is so much good stuff from which to choose. Ten years ago, these canceled shows would have been top 10 for sure (for the most part — there are still turkeys that come out, but by and large less so now than a decade ago). Two shows I'm thinking of in particular are Invasion and Night Stalker. Well, I liked them, anyway. Ten years ago, I'm fairly confident they would have been five-season shows for sure (lasting five years).
For the current season, I'm most looking forward to Pushing Daisies on ABC on Wednesday nights. It starts this next Wednesday. The premise: this guy, Ned, has a gift of being able to bring people (and creatures) back from the dead. He makes a living using this gift to bring back murder victims, find out who killed them, and collect the reward money. Not bad work if you can find it.
With great power, however, comes a great curse: Ned's second touch sends the person back to the Great Beyond (perhaps permanently, I suppose; otherwise, there's no tension to hold one's interest). One of the people he resurrects is a young lady with whom he comes to hold great affection; the feeling is mutual. And they can never hold hands, kiss, or have any physical contact whatsoever. Otherwise, it's curtains for her.
What a great premise! I hope this show makes it. I think it provides a great deal to explore. At least, I can think of a bit they could do. Fortunately, in this day and age, even if it gets canceled after 13 shows, it most assuredly will be released on DVD (just a little cynical there), and one can always wonder what could have been.
Another show (on NBC) that looks intriguing is Life (I watched the premier free on Amazon Unbox video service). Premise: a cop is (wrongly) convicted of murder (framed, even), serves 12 years, and is then freed. As part of his deal, he receives an untold amount of money and is made a detective. I hope this show makes it, too, but I have my doubts. The main guy is far too eccentric to make a connection to a wide audience (or even a sustainable narrow one) methinks. It's a shame because the very last scene really changes what the show has made itself out to be so far (for motivation and purpose).
If I watched everything I wanted to, this would be my list:
| Will Watch | ABC | CBS |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
| NBC | Fox | CW |
|
|
|
Life could be full. Or overcrowded.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
A Rise
I got a rise today (well, yesterday), and it wasn't because someone kicked me in the seat of my pants. For those of you who only speak American English, this means I got a raise at work. I'm excited. More money to throw at my debt :::sigh::: Remember, debt is the gift that keeps on taking. Every little bit helps, I guess.
Why the English term rather than the American term? Well, I've been watching a BBC TV show, Chancer, from 1990, on DVD. It's the first major role for Clive Owen, the guy you may have seen in films such as Children of Men, Croupier, The Bourne Identity (the assassin in the field at the farm house), and my personal favorite, Greenfingers (which virtually none of you have seen — ah, the joys of Netflix).
What is Chancer about? Steven Crane (Owen) is some kind of young business analyst (maybe some kind of investment banker?) who's never made a mistake in his recommendations. He becomes intrigued by a failing car manufacturer (the Douglas Leopard line, all hand-made) and finagles nearly £500K from his boss to bail out the nearly-bankrupt Douglas family. There is the intrigue of a missing/ runaway son, a wild daughter, a clueless daughter, some irate, unhappy bankers, and, of course, the machinations of Mr. Crane. What does he have up his sleeve? What does he intend to do?
This serialized drama, after only two episodes, has some answers, but only in the form of deeper questions raised (rised?) in the midst of the answers. The first episode had me hooked, and the second one did nothing to disabuse me of this notion. Sadly, there are only 19 episodes of the series. Mr. Owen decided to jump ship so as not to be typecast. Nineteen episodes doesn't seem enough time to typecast someone, but no one asked me.
Why the English term rather than the American term? Well, I've been watching a BBC TV show, Chancer, from 1990, on DVD. It's the first major role for Clive Owen, the guy you may have seen in films such as Children of Men, Croupier, The Bourne Identity (the assassin in the field at the farm house), and my personal favorite, Greenfingers (which virtually none of you have seen — ah, the joys of Netflix).
What is Chancer about? Steven Crane (Owen) is some kind of young business analyst (maybe some kind of investment banker?) who's never made a mistake in his recommendations. He becomes intrigued by a failing car manufacturer (the Douglas Leopard line, all hand-made) and finagles nearly £500K from his boss to bail out the nearly-bankrupt Douglas family. There is the intrigue of a missing/ runaway son, a wild daughter, a clueless daughter, some irate, unhappy bankers, and, of course, the machinations of Mr. Crane. What does he have up his sleeve? What does he intend to do?
This serialized drama, after only two episodes, has some answers, but only in the form of deeper questions raised (rised?) in the midst of the answers. The first episode had me hooked, and the second one did nothing to disabuse me of this notion. Sadly, there are only 19 episodes of the series. Mr. Owen decided to jump ship so as not to be typecast. Nineteen episodes doesn't seem enough time to typecast someone, but no one asked me.
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