My love life has been dead for so long

Maybe I should look to the undead

Created by Mingle2.com (Dating for non-zombies)

Or maybe not.

He’d probably just fall apart on me.

10 Reasons Why I’ll Pay My Cable Bill This Summer (III)

 

For Reasons 1-6 please see here and here. Or not.

Today I’m finally wrapping this thing up with shows that haven’t even started their summer goodness. (All times are Eastern and PM)

Coming Soon

7. Mad Men

• (AMC) Sunday at 10 – Thankfully back for a second season starting tonight – Sunday, 7/27. I think this is one of the most unique shows out there. It is set in the 1960’s world of the Madison Avenue advertising executives (men), hence the term Mad Men. Any way I try to describe this show sounds like I hate it, but that is completely not the case. This was one of my favorite shows last year and my most anticipated return for this summer. This show just makes me realize how glad I am that I didn’t live in that world. The men are mostly married, and mostly have mistresses. The women are mostly SAHMs (the wives of the MAD MEN) or unmarried secretaries (to the MAD MEN) who are working until they can catch themselves a man. However, the times they are a changin’. My absolute favorite character is Peggy Olson, played by Elisabeth Moss (Zoey Bartlet, 1st daughter on West Wing) who has worked her way up from secretary to Junior Copywriter, unheard of at the firm. She also had an affair with newly married Account Exec Pete Campbell played by Vincent Kartheiser (I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t recognize him until now as Connor from Angel). Some of the other characters from last season include a woman who is the head of a large company (the men just can’t get their heads around that) who comes to the firm for advertising (and has an affair with one of the execs, the Art Director (probably my 3rd favorite character, he doesn’t get nearly enough screen time, though I’m hoping that changes this season) at the firm who is rare because he is both Italian (the firm is pretty much a big WASP club) and gay (and not out), a married partner who had a heart attack while “seducing” a model, a wife who begins seeing a therapist and later learns that said therapist is giving her husband regular reports of their sessions, a single mother of 2 who is the subject of gossip because she takes long walks and is, well, divorced. Wow, I make is sound like a soap! Just ignore me and watch the show!

8. Eureka

• (SCI) Tuesday at 9 – EUReKA’s 3rd season premiere is Tuesday, 7/29. Colin Ferguson is the normal IQ’d Sheriff Jack Carter in a (secret) town of highly intelligent scientists and inventors who create for the benefit of the government (and themselves), when they’re not almost destroying Earth on an almost weekly basis. Jack and his somewhat rebellious daughter live in a seriously cool bunker run by smart-bot S.A.R.A.H. who takes care of the daily chores and of the Carters. The show is light, funny and interesting.

9.  Project Runway

• (BRAVO) Wednesday at 9 – OOPS! I’ve been so busy that I didn’t even know it had started! And I’ve missed 2 episodes! Luckily they play them about 23 times a week. Project Runway is was back for its 5th (and last season on Bravo – the 6th season will air on Lifetime, unless that’s changed, which wouldn’t surprise me since I’m obviously OUT of it) on July 16. The best part of PR? TIM GUNN. Who also has his own show. Seriously, I think this show would only be half as interesting if not for him. Heidi Klum is host, again, with Michael Kors and Nina Garcia as judges deciding who is “in” or “out”.

10. Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics

• (NBC,MSNBC,CNBC,USA,UHD,TM,Oxy,+) Aug 8 – 24 – No explanation necessary. I’ve been a fan since I can remember and one of these days I’ll get to attend. Hopefully. My favorites are gymnastics (of course), some of the track & field, swimming, wrestling, weightlifting, trampoline, and curling. Yeah, I know. That last one is a winter sport. I can dream though can’t I? Best part for me? Live coverage begins at 2 a.m. HA! I’ll still be up. Though I’ll probably be napping from 11 p.m. until 2 a.m.

And Finally..

THE FREAKING END

I thought it would never end and I’m so sorry for putting you through this.

 

So what are you watching?

10 Reasons Why I’ll Pay My Cable Bill This Summer (II)

 

Yesterday (whatever day) I told you about the summer shows that are well into their summer seasons. Today I want to talk about the shows I’m watching that just started their seasons and

It’s Not Too Late

4. TNT Monday Night Chick Shows (I don’t consider them necessarily chick shows, but since the leads are women most people probably do)

• The Closer (TNT) Monday at 9* – Kyra Sedgwick is just freaking awesome in this role. (And I don’t care if you think her accent is fake – I have known people who talk like that.) Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra), was brought in by her former lover (played by J. K. Simmons [of Spiderman, Law & Order, Oz] who would be happy to handcuff her at anytime) to head the Priority Homicide Division of the LAPD. Pissing everyone off because she gets the job done her way, effectively, is just a bonus. And the rest of the supporting cast couldn’t be better: G. W. Bailey (I don’t think of him as Capt. Harris as much anymore), Jon Tenney as her extremely patient fiancee, and too many others to name. The 4th season just started July 14. “Thank you, thank you so much.”
• Saving Grace (TNT) Monday at 10 – Holly Hunter is back for a 2nd season as troubled Oklahoma City detective Grace Hanadarko. More sinner than saint (who the hell isn’t?), Grace has been given a chance to redeem her life by the beer-drinking, tobacco-chewing, coolest-Guardian-Angel-ever Earl, (Leon Rippy, Deadwood). Laura San Giacomo is Rhetta, forensic scientist and best friend of Grace since childhood, who is fascinated by Earl and collects evidence of Grace’s experiences with him (his saliva, feather from his wings). The rest of the excellent supporting cast consists of Grace’s family and fellow detectives and co-workers. The season also started July 14.

5. USA Friday Night Detectives

• Monk (USA) Friday at 9 – The Defective Detective, Adrian Monk, is back for his 7th season. I’ve been a fan of Tony Shalhoub since Wings, he is just brilliant! One of the big changes this season is the addition of Hector Elizondo as Monk’s new psychiatrist (Stanley Kamel, who played Monk’s former psychiatrist Dr. Charles Kroger, passed away in April). The supporting cast of Ted Levine (“It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again.”), Traylor Howard, and Jason Gray-Stanford, have all returned. This season’s premiere was just last Friday, July 18.
• Psych (USA) Friday at 10 – Honestly, when I first saw commercials for this show before it began, I thought it had a slim chance of lasting. Now it’s back for Season 3! I wasn’t familiar with James Roday before this show but I enjoyed Dulé Hill’s West Wing run. Dulé’s Gus is the perfect straight man to James’ Shawn. Throw in Corbin Bernsen as Shawn’s dad and the Carlton Lassiter character as the wannabe foil for Shawn’s “psychic” talent and you’ve got a quick, witty, intelligent comedy. Although I am really getting sick of the “Ebony & Ivory” commercial. The season started July 18 so hopefully they’ll come up with something else soon.

6. Big Brother 10

• (CBS) Sunday at 8, Tuesday at 9, Wednesday at 8 (Live) – Yes, I’m a BB junkie. Which is the only reason I’m back after the suckage of BB9. I really don’t think it can get worse, though I haven’t yet gotten as interested this season as I normally am. This season premiered on July 13 with 13 houseguests, the lowest number since BB4. BB10 is being called a “Back-to-Basics” season with the return of a live studio audience for eviction shows (not seen since BB1) and all of the houseguests are complete strangers for the first time since BB3. If you are really into this season, or are really bored, you can check out Big Brother: After Dark on Showtime Too every night from midnight to 3 am. It’s uncensored so you might catch some nudity, but don’t hold your breath.

I sound really negative about BB10 but just ignore that. I am trying to be optimistic about this season.

Tune in tomorrow, or sometime in the near future, when I’ll finally bring you the last of my 10 reasons, AKA Coming Soon: The Shows That Have Yet to Begin.

 

*All times are Eastern and PM unless otherwise noted.

10 Reasons Why I’ll Pay My Cable Bill This Summer (I)

 

[Note: I always pay my cable bill, of course, and always on time. Even though they completely suck. And you can’t even pay online! One reason why living in a small town bites is because – if you have a problem with a public utility? Too freakin’ bad – you are their last priority. Cable, electric, gas, landline, cell phone – it doesn’t matter. But I am not here for a rant today, I’m here to talk about the summer TV lineup.]

More specifically, what I think is great about this summer’s TV. 

Yes I know that my opinion doesn’t matter. I’m OK with that.

(All times are Eastern and PM. There are a lot of links.)

I had originally planned to include all of them in 1 post but since I can’t seem to shut myself up I think it would be better to split them into 3 categories. Today’s category is – Shows that are

Well into the Summer Season

1. Sunday Nights on USA

• Law & Order: CI (USA) Sunday at 9 (and several other times during the week) – 2 words Vincent D’Onofrio. Oh my. I’ve watched all the L&O franchises since they came on the air and this one is my favorite. I love the chemistry between Vincent and Kathryn Erbe. Chris Noth is OK, but I’ve never been a big fan of him neither here, nor on the original L&O. But if I have to have Vincent alternated with Chris Noth, I’ll take it. I’m extremely happy they decided to show the 1st run episodes on USA instead of cancelling it.
• In Plain Sight(USA) Sunday at 10 (and a few other times during the week) – A new show this year starring Mary McCormack as a US Marshall, along with her partner Marshall, working with the Federal Witness Protection Program (WITSEC) in Albuquerque. As well as taking care of her witnesses, her job is also taking care of her dysfunctional mother (played by Leslie Ann Warren), her dysfunctional sister, and her somewhat boyfriend, all while keeping the details of what her job really is secret from her family to protect everyone involved. It’s a mess (her life, not the show).

2. So You Think You Can Dance

• (FOX) Wednesday at 8 (2 hours) and Thursday at 9 – I’ve been watching since about half way through the 1st season and now we’re into Season 4. If you’ve never seen it before check it out sometime on a Wednesday night. That’s the real competition night – 2 hours of couples and individual dancing. The highlight for me this season is the addition of Bollywood – so far we’ve seen it as a couple dance and as a group dance. On Thursday you get a (usually) pretty awesome group dance, the results of Wednesday night, people “dancing for their life”, and 2 people kicked off.

3. The Middleman

• (ABC Family) Monday 10 – I rarely watch ABC Family but I stumbled across a commercial for this new show and had to check it out. It’s based on the graphic novels by Javier Grillo-Marxuach (who has written – and more – for a ton of shows including Lost, Medium, Charmed, The Chronicle, and Jake 2.0) and Les McClaine. An artist is recruited by “The Middleman” to work for a secret agency whose purpose is “Fighting Evil So You Don’t Have To”. It is light and cheesy (in a good way), full of gadgets and “monsters” (including zombies and aliens), and exclamations reminiscent of Robin (of Batman &). I’m really surprised it’s on ABC Family. I’m guessing it’s because the show is relatively tame compared to other shows – no nudity, language, sex (you know, the fun stuff). I think it was originally on at an earlier time so they may have made some other changes to the show. This show isn’t for everyone, but the 12-year-old-comic-book-lover inside you will have fun with it.

Tomorrow (hopefully) the category will be “It’s Not Too Late” – shows that have only just begun their season.

‘Tis the (Summer) Season

 

I grew up on TV. My parents worked next door to our house at the family business, and while we had a myriad of babysitters, TV was basically our constant sitter-of-babies. We didn’t just sit in the front of the TV all of time, but we did watch quite a lot.

One of the good things about growing up in a small town is that kids could go around the neighborhood without anyone worrying, too much. Of course a lot of that was because it was the late 70s/early 80s, but here in Tiny Town it hasn’t changed much. Except for the meth. And the arsonist. And the speeders (yes, I’m talking about you – Senior Citizen Bus Driver). And, OK maybe it has changed, but we still have a decent neighborhood. My point is – even though we did grow up watching a lot of TV, we knew how to keep ourselves entertained. I started reading at 3 and I read everything I could get my hands on. We made up games if we didn’t have anything else to do. A lot of my childhood and adolescent years were spent playing basketball, “Kick the Can“, badminton (in the middle of the street), “Four Square“, Doctor. (OK, maybe that last one isn’t a great idea.) We also spent a lot of time at Tiny Town’s pool. My nephews go somewhere and within 5 minutes they’re all “I’m boooorrrrred”. Do kids not have any imagination past what games to buy for their PS3 or Xbox 360?

Holy crap. I’m really not that old yet!

If I’m awake I probably have my TV on. I’m not a couch potato though. More like a desk chair potato because I’m always working. And besides, my couch futon is too far from the TV. When I’m working I like to have some kind of background noise. Sometimes it’s music, but music = me singing, and no one wants to hear that. And when I say I’m always working I mean that I’ve been working from 10 am Saturday until I started this post Sunday (minus 1 hour for a nap). And when I’m finished here I’ll work some more and then go to bed. Right now it’s after 4 am almost 5 am. And when I get up in the morning, or later this morning, at about 9 or 10 am? I’ll be working until around this time tomorrow. Maybe with a nap (crossing my fingers), but right now that’s looking like a big ole NO.

Yes, I’m a workaholic and I have no life.

The one thing I remember from my youth about summer TV is that it was ALL RE-RUNS. All the FREAKING time. Then in the summer of ’91, FOX decided to do something new (at least new to me) and have a first-run (non-syndicated) season of Beverly Hills 90210. Yes, I am not ashamed to admit I watched.

Now there are new shows on all the time, so much so that you would probably never have to watch a re-run again. Unless you are like me and have to watch a show or movie 3 times until you get to see the whole thing because you can’t quit working long enough to pay attention the first time through.

Tomorrow I’ll share my favorite TV shows this summer. If you care.

Really, it’s OK if you don’t.

Oh, and the “Kick the Can” game? Don’t let your kid play that if they are going through puberty, or especially if they are a teenager. You really don’t want them playing like I did.

*wink*