Utils in Bat Country

Ah hell, Glee and HIMYM

Why are you both suddenly pretty terrible?

I held out longer than most, I kept hoping it was just a slump. But since I've started viewing both of you in the background while working on other things (like this blog post!), I have to admit it.  You've fallen. And you can't get up.

Please to watch Hart of Dixie and Vampire Diaries for lessons on how to do ridiculous properly.

A smashing success

My Monday's have suddenly become a lot more enjoyable.

What with the surprisingly watchable and entertaining The Voice (at least the blind audition rounds, we shall see if it holds up) and Hart of Dixie (my heart flutters for you, Wade, and for your largely Anthro outfits, Annabeth, and your hair and eyeliner, Rachel Bilson) plus the fading and disappointing but I'll watch to the bitter end because come on already HIMYM, both the TV and the DVR are busy.  And now, the most exciting of all for me: Smash.  Loved it. Lovvvvved it. Please to air for many years, ok show?

And since I still have soft spot for Glee, the beginnings of my weeks are shaping up to be very sparkly, indeed.

And now, a turn for the ridiculous

One of my more ridiculous twitches about this whole upcoming kablamee is the timing of when its happening.  Overall, I'm a fan of moving in late winter.  Rents are cheaper, moving rates are cheaper, not as long of a wait to get utilities installed, and the tax refund helps to offset costs.

The not insignificant to me because I have issues downside?  There will be nearly a week when I won't have access to TV.  Gasp! Horror! And it's February sweeps! Sure, some (Glee, Modern Family), I'll be able to catch up with online but what about others that don't always get uploaded?  And I vaguely remember reading that the Parenthood season finale is airing in February this year.  What will I do if I miss it?  Nooooo!

It will come as a surprise to exactly no one that one of the first things I did when the ball started rolling was arrange to switch my TV service.

Priorities.

For my fellow fantasty TV lovers

I don't know about everyone else, but my wee brain loves to analyze.  Note how I held poor C hostage in the movie theater Saturday night while I vehemently espoused my feelings on the Hunger Games.

But I'm much less apt or able to analyze TV series with the same detail I do with books.  Maybe I'm not as able to pick up on things when watching rather than reading?

Luckily for me, I have Cindy over at Twop and she recaps both Once Upon a Time and the Vampire Diaries.

I'm completely serious when I say that reading the recaps adds to the experience of both shows. Go forth, plucky TV lovers!  And then come back here so I have someone to talk to about my theories.

Why are the people on TV vexing me?

*Pointed glares at several TV characters who did not behave at all last night*

So, uh, spoilers.

Dear Zoe(y) Hart.  You are wrong. The vet has a weird nose. George is a namby pamby. GO TO WADE.  Unless you being with not Wade will make him be with me in which case, go forth and frolic, stupid shorts wearing one!

Dear Johnny. Cash's level of arrogant know it all ness cannot be overcome by her being 'chums' with Adele. Go where the cupcakes are, idiot!

Dear Robin.  WTF. Also a wtf at the writers because, really, with the asking two guys oh so pitifully how can you possibly like meee.  No.  You do not do that to Barney.  Bad Robin with the still terrible hairstyle, bad.

Am gunning for you now, Tuesday night TV.  Do not let me down Gleegirlraisehood combo!  Seriously, please don't.  The TV can only take so much more of my wrath.

TV Ruminations

As I was trying to fall asleep last night after staying up far too late re-reading a book so I could read the other books that I hadn't gotten to yet so I could fully appreciate the newest released which I'm told is the best book ever (follow that logic?), my mind wound itself down thinking about TV.  Whatever works?

CMAs - My love of TSwizzle aside, I don't particularly get too much into country music.  But, I do enjoy awards shows, and I particularly enjoy reading about them the day after because whenever I don't watch, something gasp worthy happens, so the DVR was set and even though I started watching at 945, with my fastforwarding, I caught up to it in real time.  Dear Nicole Kidman, take a chill pill dearie.  Tim and Faith laughed about the Barbie comparisons, you can too.  Also, you got to be the Little Mermaid Barbie.  Lucky!

Parenthood - OH, SHOW.  Why do you give me an enjoyable hour every week and then wrench my heart out at the end?  Dear Amber, I get where you're coming from but not cool, sugarplum.  Loved the scene between Julia and Christina with the dress.  Would that I could sprawl across a bed so effortlessly.  Kudos Erika Christensen.

FNL - Am I the only one who still regularly re-watches the highlights of the final episode?  My favorite moment is when Matt is at the door and Tami is helping him say Julie and Coach is just looking back and forth all wtf.

HIMYM - I can't even muster up the energy.  Please recover from this downward spiral of horrible, show.  (Though yay Barney and Robin!!)

This whole fall finale thing is beginning to irk me.  I get that with 52 week and 22 shows, the majority of the time there aren't going to be new episodes.  However.  The logic seems to be that everyone is busy and traveling and partypartyparty from mid November to February sweeps and while I anticipate having several holiday events to go to, who are these people who are off gallivanting on every Tuesday between now and Valentine's Day?  Dear TV, in the winter, when it's cold and icy out, am sitting on my couch in fuzzy socks flipping channels.

Minor Quibble

I'm loving Once Upon a Time on Sunday nights.  A quibble that irks me though.  Prince Charming is Cinderella's prince.  Snow White's prince was nameless or referred to as Snow White's Prince.  Now, I haven't gone back to the original Grimm fairy tales to see what was the case but my fairy tale foundation is all things Disney whatever Mickey says, goes.  And a quick Wiki search seems to be back me up.  Why, show?

[Let's not even talk about Maleficent being blonde]

Confessions

(Haven't ordered the boots. Yet.)

The first - I love Christmas music. So much so that when I heard that a new Christmas song had just been released, I did a little happy dance in my car.  Then I heard it was by Bieber.  So I wouldn't search it out but if one of the pop culture blogs posted it, I'd give it a listen and maybe be pleasantly surprised.  I made it through the first verse and chorus before I started to twitch and had to click away.  So bad. The Biebs is ruining Christmas. Am shamed.

The second - I am sosososososo excited for the season premiere of DCC: Making the Team.  I don't even care.  I even went to the DCC website a few weeks back looking for information on whether the show would be back (and saw this year's squad photo - spoilers!!)

The third - I 'liked' My Heart Will Go On when it came on my Pandora recently. I.... was being ironic! I enjoy the hilarity at having Celine Dion be followed by Flo Rida?

Love and Loss with Directv

As has been told far and wide, I love my TV.  And I adore my DVR.  I've built up the episodes and movies and clips and carefully assign Keep Forever designation to the chosen few (FNL series finale. Britney episode of Glee. Dragon's Den from BBCA. The final scene of Mama Mia. One particularly delicious episode of French Food at Home) I've had my receiver for about 2.5 yrs and our relationship was trucking along nicely.  Oh sure, we got in our fair share of snits whenever there was a single rain cloud in the sky and it would lose signal for a whole day, especially with this being the wettest spring on record, but overall, I thought we were happy.  I noticed it was having some issues.  The signal would freeze and I'd have to reset the receiver (which takes a good 10 minutes each time so not exactly ideal when you turn on the TV at 758 to watch season finales and you see it frozen on the TVLand channel where you randomly watched an episode of Home Improvement at midnight the night before) but the problems were still landing in the generally inconvenient section of the spectrum.

But then, on Monday, nothing.  Frozen and wouldn't reset, wouldn't turn off unless I cut power.  The receiver upstairs (w/o a DVR) was fine so I knew it wasn't the satellite.  Called DirecTV, got to a person with relative ease (Tiffany from Kentucky), she was super helpful and I told her the diagnostic code and she said oh, yes, we'll have to send you a new one.  It'll be there in three days.  Ok, simple enough.  But, wait!  What about my DVR and it's carefully cultivated stores? 

Gone.

Noooooooooo! 

As it was Memorial Day, I tried to get a bit of perspective on the whole thing.  So not a Big Deal.  And I still had the upstairs receiver so I didn't even have to miss an episode of SYTYCD (farewell Top 15 dances - I'll miss you!)

The new receiver arrived yesterday and after typical installation frustration, everything is up and running.

And with my 3 episodes of Frasier, the DVR can begin anew.

SYTYCD

I squeed about the show last week on Twitter in anticipation of the premiere and now that it's here, am just delighted.

One of the few shows that actually seems to make the competition the priority and not the trumped up drama (though it does have its fair share of sad trombone stories)

If I'm ever on the back page of Rachael Ray's magazine, discussing my fridge, when asked about the guests of my dream dinner party, I think Cat Deely will have to be on the list. 

[I wonder if I could have rotating guests for each course?  Am finding it difficult to narrow my choices down but if I was able to have man candy appetizers (Ryan Reynolds, mmm) and economists entrees (Economist Mom, Alan Greenspan and Paul Krugman), coupled with chef salads (heh) (Ina, Laura Calder, Michael Chiarello, Tony Bourdain), I just might be able to make it work]

The judges actually seem to give critiques sometimes a la Mary talking about weight placement on ankles last night vs Randy's yo, dawg, in it to win it.

Even the drummed up bits of lunacy can be fun - when the girl's dad busted out some pirouettes, I just about cackled.

Oh, show, I love you.

(But my foot loves you less.  Not that I tried to Irish step in the living room and slammed my toe into the coffee table, or anything)