Thursday, September 08, 2011

Full TV Disclosure

Why the passion for TV, you ask? First of all, TV is very good and interesting right now.  Plots are complex, the narrative structures are innovative, and the acting is great. Also, it gives me something to talk about with people. What else would I talk about? The population in Provo? Not interested. It is cheap and easy entertainment that you can enjoy in bed. Seriously, don't make any bedroom entertainment jokes here. I won't laugh.  I've got four kids, two cats, a dog, no energy, no hobbies, no money, and my husband is out of town half the time.

Carly, it was I who wrote "I Love TV" on that chalkboard. I do. TV is awesome. Is cable expensive? Yes. Is there crap on TV? Yes. Would I be interested in TV if I didn't have Tivo? No. I never watch live TV. I can't abide it or commercials--so there's your common ground, people who don't have or watch TV. Other than that--we have nothing to say to each other. Just kidding. I also read, go to movies, and listen to music. I'm kind of uninformed about politics--if you can believe it! So that's not my favorite topic. Did you eat sugar cereal in the 80s? OK then. We'll always have that.

For the rest of you TV lovers, my heart laid bare:

Here's what I currently record on my Tivo:

House--I love House and I think it's a good show.
Modern Family--It's good. I hate it when they get all serious and corny though.
30 Rock--Of course.
Parks and Recreation--This is, actually, my favorite show.
The Office--Let's see what they do without Michael Scott. 
What Not to Wear--Great for folding clothes.
Hoarders: Buried Alive--Fascinating.
Hoarders--The other one. I am deleting this from Tivo. It's too hardcore with the mental illness. BUZZKILL!
Project Runway--The best reality show. I love it.
Home By Novogratz--Love the Novogratz. They have 7 kids.
Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares--I never watched Top Chef or any of those but I stumbled onto this and it is wonderful.
Suits--Christian loves this show. It seems good, but I usually read while he watches it.
The Hour--An awesome period drama from BBC. Love. This is my favorite non-funny show right now.
Law and Order UK--Christian watches this and all manner of L&O but I only like Criminal Intent. I hate SVU.
Dr. Who--I love the new Doctor! I missed the last few seasons but I'm here now.
This American Life--I've seen all of these but I still record them and watch them. I'm devoted.
So You Think You Can Dance--It's so much better than you think it will be.
The Voice--This was pretty good and interesting last year. Much better than Idol. I think I'll give X Factor a try as well. Simon Cowell knows what he's doing.

Alert:  I don't watch Community. It's super funny, but also equally dumb. I am offended that the person who writes the super funny stuff tolerates or even also writes the really dumb parts (Chevy Chase, Chang). I can't get over this. I've tried. I get it--love the genre episodes--but it's not for me. I accept that I am in the wrong here because the taste makers seem to adore it. Also, I don't watch Glee.

In the Fall I plan to add some new shows to my Tivo schedule. Christian is in charge of setting the upstairs and downstairs Tivos to insure that we get all the shows we want. Here's what I plan to try this fall, fingers crossed for greatness:

Ringer--Buffy is twins.
Awake--After a crash a man finds that his wife is dead in one reality and his son is dead in another.
Person of Interest--Benjamin Linus.
The New Girl--Cute overload? We'll see.
Up All Night--For the love of Gob, let this be great.
Grimm--Law and Order with fairy tales. Or something.
Once Upon a Time--Something something fairy tales.
Alcatraz (JJ Abrams)--Robert Kennedy signed the death certificate? Come to mama! Guys, we have a few years of enjoying this until it doesn't know how to end!
The Secret Circle--Adolescent witches, a proven formula.
Homeland--Claire Danes and that redheaded guy from Life. I really like that redheaded guy.


I am also looking forward (excitedly) to new installments of Downton Abbey and Sherlock from PBS.

And here is my ottoman before I covered it in new fabric:

31 comments:

  1. Christian is right (as usual) because Suits is fantastic. Really good.

    And I think you're right about Community. I agree with everything you said about it.

    And what else do I think? (I'm glad you asked.) We need upstairs and downstairs DVRs, too. I don't think I can get everything onto one DVR. Hoping I can watch On Demand or online.

    Maybe I'll give up on Grey's Anatomy this year?

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  2. Parks and Rec is my favorite too!! So underrated. I'm glad more people are catching on to how funny it is.

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  3. I'm also praying that Up All Night is good. How could it be bad? If there's a way, I guess they'll screw it up somehow.

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  4. We have the same exact television taste! But I love Community and don't watch Dr. Who. Your comment about JJ Abrams made me laugh and laugh.

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  5. If JJ Abrams is producing, them I'm watching. I'm really hoping Person of Interest is awesome.

    Have you seen Happy Endings?

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  6. why are community and glee in the same paragraph?? community isn't anywhere near as dumb as glee. glee was good for a second, but then it got reeeeally stupid. however, i still watch it sometimes because i sort of love participating in the most brilliant business plan of the century.....i like to think that someone is sitting there during the show watching people buy the songs on itunes as soon as the actors are done singing them. so much money!

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  7. I'm not exactly sure when I quit watching T.V. It's been a long time. And even if I wanted to resume, our T.V. has been reconfigured so many times with amplifiers, speakers, tuners, etc., that I don't even know how to get to the channel I want!!

    So I will depend on you to keep me informed!!

    (I do know how to watch DVD's though, so all is not lost!!)

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  8. I really like that redheaded guy, too. Liked him since he was Soames in the Forsyte Saga.

    Downtown Abbey! Office! Happy endings! 30 Rock! Modern Family! Maybe I'll go read bossypants again while I'm waiting for everything to start.

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  9. thank you for putting your list out into cyberspace. i can now at least name one person who watches as much or more tv than i do. yay! ditto on the comments about Suits. i like it. also, the jj abrams- what was the last season of Alias anyway, besides a confused mess? also looking forward to up all night, love zooey deschanel, and since you're a potterfile, the red headed guy from life is married to narcissa malfoy in real life. makes you like him even more now, doesn't it?!

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  10. New episodes of Sherlock? I'm there.

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  11. What about Fringe? You should watch Fringe.
    Agree re: The Hour and Parks and Rec.
    Love Community.

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  12. "Guys, we have a few years of enjoying this until it doesn't know how to end!"

    That sentence is why I love you.

    --Your Part Time Lover

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  13. And what of Mad Men? Have you watched? Do you have an opinion? I just started watching season 1, and it's like I hate all the characters and feel depressed after I watch it, and yet John Hamm keeps pulling me back in for more. Parks and Rec really is the best show. Glee is dumb. I watched season 1 at a time when I needed mood lifting, but I don't know if I can maintain my loyalty in my third trimester and beyond. Time will tell.

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  14. I don't know about Grey's Anatomy. I've never watched it. I gave up on Fringe only because the woman bugged me. But I might go back and watch it on Netflix. I am more enamored of that red-headed guy than ever. Thanks for sharing that tidbit, Melissa.

    Regarding Mad Men: I can't bear its depravity. I'm at odds with the taste makers on this one too. I see myself watching it on Netflix one day, however.

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  15. Since to me you are a tastemaker when it comes to books and TV (not on recovering ottomans...sorry. I don't recover things, ever, although I have nothing against flowers and crowns once in a while.) I'll have to check these out. But only the ones that I can see online because we don't have cable. Not because I am against it but because the cable money is going to our electric bill.

    I love J.J. Abrams as well. Felicity and Alias are 2 of my favorite shows. Lost too. I even stuck it out to the very ends of those shows with all of their time travel and witchcraft and magic. Much like some moms are stuck in the fashions of their early 20s, I often find myself stuck in the TV shows of my early 20s. Scrubs, Veronica Mars, etc. Matt is obsessed with Parks and Recreation and tells me at least daily that I need to start watching it. But I am too busy re-watching shows I watched a very long time ago. Like Buffy. Thanks to you.

    Looking forward to your reviews so I know which new shows I should _really_ watch.

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  16. Anonymous12:57 PM

    I would add Pan Am to your Fall list - saw the pilot - it's great!

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  17. I agree with your feelings on Modern Family. I hate it when they get too cheesy. However, whoever did the casting for that show is a genius! I also have high hopes for Up all Night.

    I love how you say you have no hobbies, my husband and I say that all the time, and now I can tell him we're not alone! :-)

    Thanks for the other recommendations, too!

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  18. Anonymous12:50 PM

    I'm so glad to see someone who is loud and proud about their TV love. I don't get people who don't watch TV. What do they sit and look at?? Appreciating quality television is an important life skill, I think.

    Do you let your kids watch a lot of TV? What do they watch?

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  19. Kacy, can you give us an idea of how your average day goes? ...

    5:00 am - Wake up to watch all Tivo'd shows
    9:00 am - Have breakfast
    9:05 am - Watch other Tivo'd shows
    12:30 pm - Have light lunch
    12:33 pm - Read three novels and one novella
    6:50 pm - Have a big dinner
    7:00 pm - Watch prime-time lineup
    11:00 pm - Go to the movie theater for a double feature
    2:15 am - Return home and write blog
    2:30 am - Have restful night's sleep

    I feel somewhat left out, since I've seen only the shows Lie to Me and Bones more than once.

    I'm hoping television will make some fundamental shifts over the next few years so that programs aren't scheduled for a date and time, they're just available on demand.

    And 1-hour crime dramas are just too short. After taking out commercials, it's only half of a short movie. They need to add another half hour. It just barely gets going good, and then it's time to wrap it up. Why is it that the best ones are the continued episodes?

    And hopefully commercials will go the way of the dinosaur as more people skip over them. They can get advertising in other ways.

    Major pet peeve with TV today is the graphics hogging the screen. Just let me watch the dang program and leave me the heck alone!!!! There's not enough room for exclamation points to adequately express my unending frustration on this matter. Whatever presidential candidate campaigns on this issue, I'm voting for them. Unfortunately, the graphic explosion is pseudo-advertising which may be something to compensate for the lack of those sticking around for the commercials.

    Also, calling something the best reality show is kind of like saying it's the least-lethal insecticide that's put in your food. And I normally would've said pesticide, but that's not good enough. :)

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  20. That reminds me! I'd better go watch the latest Project Runway. Thanks, Rusty!

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  21. Whoa, how have I not heard of Alcatraz until now? You're a hero, Kacy. I mean that in so many ways.

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  22. I have re-read this particular post five times. I've gotta say it is one of the most informative posts to come my way in a long, long time.

    I always want to watch more tv, but never know what to watch, or have much time for it. Ugh!

    But, this is a great reference for me to work off of so I can better use my meager tv time for the better.

    Thank you so much!

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  23. i'm so tired of downplaying exactly how much tv i watch. thanks for coming forth and opening the door for other tv addicts to come out of the closet.

    i find that i have so much more in common with my friends who watch tv. i mean, the relationship just isn't going to go very far if i start talking about project runway and they're like, "oh, i've never seen that! is it good?"

    the closer is really good. it's my favorite serious show.

    and i believe glee is the source of all that is evil.

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  24. Anonymous12:57 AM

    Sigh, we have nothing to talk about. (But I would watch most of these if we had cable and TiVo.)

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  25. Anonymous1:04 AM

    And I guess I should say that I *have* watched quite a few of these shows on Hulu or on my mom's TiVo. And I still go to her house to watch The Closer. Still, I'm not in a very TV-ish stage of life. At least I have the internet.

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  26. Have you ever seen Happy Endings? Hulu it. It is hilarious. Typical group of friends in varying relationships, but it is down right hilarious. Have I mentioned that it's hilarious, 'cause it is. Hilarious.

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  27. That's quite a lineup. You should really add Psych and The Closer. You could rent them and catch up. They're both excellent.

    And I'm with you. I love L&O Criminal Intent. Goren and Eames are amazing.

    And on Project Runway, I'm cheering for Oliver. He's funny, cute and awkward.

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  28. Like alot of what you put there. House..never even tried it because the commercials annoyed me so much. And Novogratz...I've wanted so badly to like it, but after nearly every design my children and I are saying "eewww"

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  29. Recommending: the new Maria Bellow Prime Suspect--dang good.

    Re: Mad Men: it balances out that depravity with some other really good stuff, but you kind of have to be in it for the long haul. My daughter recently watched the whole thing up to now in a big orgy of Netflixery, and she loved it, so I might recommend that you start that project just...about... now.

    But Parks & Rec is the best. I think I actually love it more than 30 Rock, and that's saying something.

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  30. p.s., I do know that Maria Bello is spelled without that extra "w". What happened there? I don't know.

    (Word verif: dumsop. Maybe dumsop is what happened with that extra "w".)

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  31. I love that you watched "Life"! Anytime we watch "Fairly Legal" (with Danni Reese) my husband and I say how much we miss it. And any time we watch any other cop/detective/murder mystery show. Wish they'd bring it back!

    We too love L&O: CI and hate L&O: SVU. It seems more disturbing than the rest.

    Suits is witty, clever, and just plain awesome. We both miss it.

    My husband works in our city's P&R dept, so maybe we will have to check that show out. We saw a couple of the first episodes and it didn't really grab us but it must have something good cuz it has stayed on.

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