Fall Fever: TV addicts unite!

I posted a while back about reasons why I love autumn.  We all know them.  Apples.  Cold snaps.  Sweaters.  Boots.  Jeans.  No more ungodly sweating.  Apple cider.  Everyone looks better with more clothes on than off.  

(To all you people who wear booty shorts:  

NO.  No one needs to see that.  STOP IT.)

But here's the truth that not many people will admit to:  *drum roll*              

The reason many people love autumn:

ThE TRIUMPHANT RETURN OF DEARLY DEPARTED TV SHOWS

Summer is spent watching off-season HBO or British shows.  Everyone knows that.  But fall...our favourite characters return to us.  How we've missed them.  Maybe our seasons ended on a high note...or a low note...or a questionable one.  Whatever it may be, we're all excited to see the direction that our shows are taking this coming year.

Quick run down of shows I consistently follow and where we at last year.

(If you don't watch tv or you don't want to possibly be spoiled, you may want to skip this post.)

How I Met Your Mother

Anyone who watches this show knows we've been watching for years (no seriously, YEARS) for this pay off.  At the end of the previous season we FINALLY saw Mother.  And boy were we glad.  

It kinda seemed like we were never going to get to the end of what felt like the longest story in the world between a father and his two kids.  In the first few seasons it was cute how the story jumped between the past and present, giving us tantalizing little snippets of the future, but I think it's safe to say the show is dangerously nearing it's extinction date and it was a good choice to end it off at season NINE.

Season nine will be set entirely in one weekend and will also jog between past and present.  We will basically be watching Ted meet Mother in slow-motion.  I can't wait.  Okay, maybe that was a bit sarcastic.  But I've hung in this long and I am going to see this TO THE END!!! 

The Good Wife

 
Not many people watch this show.  I always preface my synopsis of it with a warning "this isn't a light and fluffy watch" aka "you're not smart enough to get it".  Apparently some critics think it has the best acting and plot line of all shows currently airing.  

As the end of last season Alicia's husband had won governor and Alicia agreed to leave her current law firm in a coup that would overturn the entire company.  The associates apparently want to start their own firm and although she initially thought it was too high risk, she changes her mind and decides to move with them.

My hope is that we see some actual movement in the inevitable love triangle she is part of.  Also, it would be nice to have some new permanent characters introduced.

New Girl

This is still a relatively new show that I've blogged on before.  I can't say enough good things about it:  it's smart, hilarious, quick-witted and full of very sexy people.  The end of season two culminated with Cece's cancelled wedding (Schmidt so happy) and with Jess and Nick getting together.  Bow-chicka-wah-wah.

I could write hella lot more about this show, but you should just watch it like I told you to last time!  For season three, my worry is that they will focus too much on the Nick-Jess pairing and lose the heart of the show:  Jess's weirdness.

Also, Winston kinda got the short straw in season two with his story line being very minimal and a bit boring.  As season three commences, I hope they bring a real love interest in for Winston and flesh him out a lil bit.  

Parks & Recreation

I started watching this show last year and had the delight of catching up on five seasons.  In the last season Leslie was elected as a town official and all the citizens of Pawnee turned on her when she criminalized the sale of a jumbo jumbo soft drink.

In some ways, I can see the show already has lost some of it's steam.  There are also rumours swirling around about Rashida Jones and Rob Lowe leaving after this season.  Understandably they are probably moving on to different (and bigger) projects, but if it happens they will be sorely missed.   

Rob Lowe's character Chris Traeger is literally one of my favourite tv characters.

Another thing I've noticed about P&R is that the characters a getting a little too...over the top.  This was a mistake that NBC's The Office made as well.  When the show had a small cult following, the quiet characters like Creed were amusing in a small way.  However as it grew in popularity, the characters became more outrageous and lost that genuine humour.  

(Community also suffered through this situation with Pierce.  His original zany behaviour got replaced by some loony tunes racism that didn't sit well with actor Chevy Chase ergo feud between actor and writer.)

I hope that P&R realize this and that the writers don't make the characters too far out.  I'm already seeing Ron and April devolve FAR too much for the first 3 episodes.  

The Vampire Diaries

This is one the worst tv shows I follow, although I must admit that it completely sucked me in and I can't give it up.  I'm hopeless in the face of TVD.  I would describe it as a "teenage" show, simply because the writing and method acting is so cliched.  That being said...somehow I do keep watching it.

In the last season we saw the exit of the originals (original vampire family), thus introducing the spin off The Originals--which I refused to start watching lest I also get sucked into that.  I did feel sad about moving those characters off TVD because I think all the viewers were getting comfortable and even a bit fond of those familiar faces.

The biggest problem with TVD is the focus being on the love triangle between the three main characters.  Although the mythology and other-world events are cool, it always comes back to Damon-Stefan-Elena.  And it's wearing thin.

Now they have introduced the very first vampire Silas who can appear control large crowds of people and shape shift, changing his appearance and confusing people around him.  Of course he is the ultimate wild card and you just can't help wondering...are the writers using up the last tricks they have up their sleeves?

There needs to be more crazy Caroline...

and a whole lot less awkward crying...

Downtown Abbey

FINALLY.  It's back.  This is an amazing British show that I always recommend to people who enjoy historical fiction.  Now entering into season four, we have seen the Crawley family suffer through many tragedies and celebrate some of life's joys.  After killing off one of their main characters at the end of season three, we are now left with the family picking up the pieces and attempting to modernize the estate.

I love this show.  I cannot say enough about it.  It's superb.  Maggie Smith shines as the Dowager Countess and always delivers her lines sarcastically with a straight face.

Each season offers up a delightful plot line with the characters growing and changing.  It truly is with a sigh of relief that the series returns and we settle back into watching their lives being played out.

For season four I would like to see Edith play a larger part...they have already started expanding on her role and hopefully it continues to grow!  As well, slowly the Depression will approach and eventually WWII.  I'm not sure how fast this season will progress, but I'm excited to follow along.

Winky-poo.



That's the list of shows so far! I hope you are enjoying the return of YOUR favourite tv shows! I, of course, have a much longer list of shows that I watch, but I am quite behind in almost all of them.  Hopefully I'll be able to catch up soon, just in time for the new seasons.

New Girl

Can I talk about how much I love this show?

First, I wasn't sold on it.  I'm not a huge rabid fan of Zooey Deschanel as everyone else appears--in fact, that was probably one of the main reasons I didn't watch it from season one.


Then I came to a sad acceptance of the fact that The Office (one of my favourite shows) is coming to an end this season and what else can fill the void???

At first I was mad at the idea of having to find a NEW comedy show.

So mad...Andy mad...

Now I'm over it.  Sorta.  Durrr.

Anyway, of course I already watch How I Met Your Mother but that show seems...dead.  The only amusing episode from this current season was "P.S. I Love You", which focused on Robin's...Canadianity?  Candian-ness?  Canadianish!

She kinda...changes--for the episode.

Back on topic:

The Office is ending, How I Met Your Mother has barely any high points anymore...my only solace left was Parks & Recreation.

Not gonna lie...that show is pretty amazing as well. I'm not going to say anything else about it.  The following pictures speak for themselves.

I really hope you find those as amusing as I do.  Otherwise our relationship may be doomed.

BACK ON TRACK.

NEW GIRL.
I was looking for another comedy to watch but I wanted something different than the norm.  Then I was at my hair stylists one day.  She and I share very similar tastes in movies and books and she recommended the show to me and popped it on her tv.  I think we watched the first three or four episodes and I was hooked.

Where to begin.

First off, the character a pretty endearing and fantastic.  Zooey isn't as over the top or annoying as I thought she was be.  She possesses a certain quirkiness that keeps her from becoming grating. Plus, she's effing gorgeous.

Plus there's her hot best friend Cece.

Clearly the show should have a large male following. 

So Zoeey acts the main character as Jess who enters the stage brokenhearted, having inadvertently discovered her boyfriend cheating on her.  She's in a bad place.

Forced to move out of her home shared with her ex, she moves into an apartment with three other guys.

And of course, for the ladies' benefit, they're all hunka-hunkas.

Nick

Winston

and my personal favourite, Schmidt.

So of course, that is a beautiful set up for a sitcom!  All four of them (Cece is a more secondary character) get up to some wonderful shenanigans together. I don't want to say much more because I don't want to spoil it for any potential viewers, BUT I will say...

GO WATCH IT!

You will love New Girl! It's a quirky, funny, sweet and soulful show! It will steal your heart (and possibly your soul).

Go enjoy!!!

~Marcia

My Guilty Pleasure -- No.1

This marks the first of a series of guilty pleasures that I have had, or am currently having a love affair with. I'm going to kick off this series with a guilty pleasure that I just indulged in -- The Vampire Diaries.

I haven't jumped on the crazy vampire train. I don't own any t-shirts that say "I Wish I Was In Forks" or "My Boyfriend Sparkles". Although I did admittedly see Twilight and New Moon in theatre, and have both of the soundtracks (what can I say? the tracks are ballin'.), I still don't consider myself a huge vampire fan. One of the reasons is because of how much the mythology has been romanticized. Good vampires? Vampires with the sincere desire to make right life choices? When will a fad of "good Nazis" take over?

Anyway, the point is, the whole inevitable storyline of "brooding vampire boy tries to make good, meets soul mate human girl, eventually will turn her" gets old very quickly, which is why I was so skeptical of The Vampire Diaries, a teen drama/fantasy that can induce eye rolls, but also is gripping.

At some points in this first season, the dialogue loses lustre and actors/actresses sound as though they are reading their lines from cue cards behind the camera; it even gets a bit predictable with the "human damsel in distress" situations, but let me just say, the two reasons why I tune in with after week (with some excitement, I'll admit) are these:

Need I say any more? Hot, young, hot, smart, fast, hot, dangerous!, edgy, HOT, males!

Even the leading lady is (in my opinion) an attractive human being/easy on the eyes/smokin'. Proof:

There you have it. The plot line might get a bit wearisome and predictable at times, but the good looking cast is enough to keep me (and millions of others) coming back for more. I'm ashamed to admit it...The Vampire Diaries has dragged me under.

I Feel.

I feel that television shows and movies should end happily.

Here's the reason for that thinking--

We all want a bit of unreality, a break from real life, some fantasy in our lives.
We need that happily-ever-after ending to falsely give us hope.
We need to believe that things could possibly, magically, sort themselves out.

It's hope, it's the possibility of a happy ending, that propels us through life.
It's the prospect of eternal love, it's the idea of a moral lifestyle, it's the possibility of happiness that makes us feel that life really could be worth living.

I feel that we need a bit of unreality and romance in our lives, to give us heart for life itself.

I love this bit--

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.” -Isaiah 61:1-3

Interestingly enough, for me, it's not just the sublime possibility of the happily-ever-after that gives me courage to believe in the endless prospects life may hold.

It's the promises God has given us.
Comfort for those who mourn.
Beauty for ashes.
Joy for mourning.
Praise for despair.

What promises do you have, what do you cherish that you feel supports you through life?

*

I'm still feeling the push, the urge, the pull to write, so here I go again.

I realize that not everything I write can be deep and profound existential searching...

So the lighter fluff...

Jericho is an amazing television show.

I've mentioned it before, but I want to reinstate my opinions on it.

There are shows that I watch that I could stop watching, that it would not really matter to me if I saw the end or not.

Then there are shows that I kinda like, and keep up with them, and I would like to see the series finale, but it wouldn't really bother me if I didn't.

And then there are the other shows that I have to keep watching, as though the fate of these characters are real, and I could be there with them, I could be at Jericho.

Today it was with some trepidation that I wrote out all the tv shows that I watch consistently. I watch nineteen shows on a regular basis -- except now with the writers strike having occurred there are no new episodes, which is probably just as well...I have quite a bit to catch up on.

But it does rather boggle my mind that I spend so much time watching television. I've greatly minimized my internet time, having uninstalled chat programs, but now I'm watching too much television.

It's as though...my own life bores me so I compensate for it by watching television.

What a disturbing thought.

Anyway...watch Jericho. Or don't. Stay free and away from the television and remain unaddicted to the weekly high.