TV Talk

I haven't mentioned TV much lately although, like practically everyone in America, we do watch a fair amount of it at our house. We tend to reserve it for the weekends except for a half hour of some favorite sitcom before we go to bed. That's a habit still held from when the girls lived at home. It was our family's gathering together before the official end of the day.

At any rate, here's what we've been into:

• Person of Interest - a favorite of ours since the series initially aired, this show topped itself with last week's episode which was co-written by series creator Jonathan Nolan and directed by him as well. It showed the other (legitimate) side of the machine's use, with the point of view of someone who was interestingly involved on both sides of the "number" game. As a result we saw the main characters for maybe 10 minutes tops. Well written, well directed, and worth watching. Though two people have told us that you can't find this show online any more. Tom looked around and saw that it was #2 in the Nielsen ratings. Maybe that's why.
  
  
• 3rd Rock From the Sun (seasons 1 and 2) - we watched this when it came out long ago and then forgot about it. Hannah found DVD sets of the seasons for $5 each and began pushing it at us, talking about how well it holds up. She's right. If you can find this it is well worth your time. Funny, charming, and insightful about American life.
  
  
• Dr. Who (reboot, season 1, 2005) - WorldCon is in San Antonio this year and we're talking about going. I've always meant to watch the reboot and this is as good an excuse as any. Hannah is way ahead of us, as usual, and began pushing us to catch up. About 9 episodes in, I am liking it much more than Tom does. For me it is a sort of 3rd Rock From the Sun, British-style. I love the way Dr. Who looks at some of the most dangerous situations with a wacky grin as if he's ready to see what entertainment it offers. Hannah approves of his moral sense, which she says is always right ... she's on season 4.
  
  
• The Mindy Project - funny every time. But if they'd stop tweaking support characters I'd like it better. Especially last week's episode which inserted into the office statt a decidedly unfunny old woman who doesn't understand the computer. Were they trying to dumb it down for middle America? Don't. Just let it alone and see where it goes, for heaven's sake!
  
  
• Shakespeare Uncovered - PBS - Six one-hour episodes of the best appetite whetting looks at some of the Bard's plays, hosted by a different major talent in each cast. It made me begin writing down movies of various plays, as well as some directors to seek out. Believe me, if this series could do that, it is extraordinary.
  
  
• Malcolm in the Middle - season 2 - we've had the 1st season on dvd for a long time and I gave up looking for any others to come out (music rights problems). Rose had the welcome news that it is streaming on Netflix and we found (huzzah!) that it is streaming free on Amazon Prime. It is doubly funny because we don't remember most of the episodes ... what a pleasure this show is.
  
  
• Community - the new writing team is barely getting back up to speed by the third episode of this season (after kicking out season creator last year). Having begun watching Dr. Who did let us really appreciate the Inspector Spacetime convention though ...
  
  
• Vegas - we came for Dennis Quaid, we stayed for Michael Chiklis. And now we've gotten hooked. A genuine seeming 60s look, mostly interesting episodic mysteries, and intriguing enough over-arching stories about the mob and Vegas's development as the casino town it is now.
  
  
• Golden Boy - will premiere this week. We're coming for Chi McBride who is a lure even Tom succumbs to, despite confusing trailers. Also the WSJ review made it sound top-notch. Looking forward to seeing McBride in action again and hoping it doesn't turn out to be a sinking ship as when we watched Last Resort for Andre Braugher (heavens I love that man's acting).

This makes it look as if we do nothing except watch TV. How do we do it? Not sure. But most evenings are our own ... not the tellie's.