DC

DC trip in April

We are meeting D's dad and his partner, Rosie, in DC for several days in April.  Originally we were going to meet them in NYC.  However, when we planned an excursion to DC to tag onto the NYC trip, everyone decided to just go to DC instead.  It looks like my mom will be joining us, as well.  Dad?  You up for it?  Let me know if so and I'll give you the dates. 

Fall TV is here!

I love the fall because I love TV.  I told D the other day that the only career I could really see myself having a lot of passion about is working in programming for a TV studio.  I get so excited about new TV shows and love to try out each new one.  I quickly eliminate most from my list of must-see TV, but I love TV.  I love movies, too, but I think I love TV more.

Anyway, as such, I shall provide you with a rundown of my opinion of new shows this year.  These are in no particular order and just listed in the order in which I remembered them.

• Blue Bloods - just awful.  We couldn't even get through the first show.  It's clearly made for Republicans.  It doesn't have any political bent, but it is just so black and white.  Within the first three minutes, all dialogue had let us know who had died, who was related to who, what tensions there are between characters, and moved into the obligatory cop torturing a suspect to heroically save a child.  Puke.
• Outlaw - watchable enough, but a bit full of itself.  Jimmy Smits is well cast.  I was annoyed with the constant bombardment of tossing the football and tossing back snack foods whilst discussing a death penalty case.  We get it - you're lawyers who can handle a lot of pressure . However, it was entertaining enough to watch when there's not a lot else on. 
• Mike & Molly - I think this is going to be a good comedy.  I find that I need to give a sitcom about 3-4 shows to find its groove. I give a drama one shot because I don't think drama is as difficult to find the right pitch; comedy is much tougher.  Some of the jokes were lame and obvious, but I think in a few more shows it'll be quite funny. 
• Hawaii Five-O - it's exactly what it is supposed to be: fun fluff.  You can't take it at all seriously, but it's fun.  
• The Event - I quite liked this one.  I think it did a good job at easing us into the relationships between characters (the opposite of Blue Bloods) and keeping the viewer engaged despite jumping around between plot lines and time lines.
• Detroit 1-8-7 - this show wants to be along the same lines as a Homicide or The Wire.  It doesn't quite achieve that level of sophistication, but it's definitely watchable.  A much, much better cop drama than Blue Bloods. 
• Raising Hope - I'll be surprised if this sitcom makes it.  It's got some dark humor and might have trouble finding an audience.  But I did find myself laughing out loud several times. 
• Running Wilde - I loved this sitcom.  It's totally hilarious much in the way Arrested Development or Better Off Ted are funny.  Hopefully each show can keep up with the pilot. 
• Better With You - I liked this and found several parts funny.  It's a more run-of-the-mill sitcom than either Raising Hope or Running Wilde, but it was good for a few laughs. 
• Undercovers - ridiculously good looking CIA agents who are married to each other and fight international crime together.  Totally unbelievable, but kind of fun. It's not a must-see for me, but it's watchable fluff if nothing else is on.  
• $#*! My Dad Says - first, the producers of this show should receive the bonehead of the year award.  Apparently, no DVR (TiVo included) has a "$" button, so it's really hard to actually find the show to set up a pass.  It was an awkward pilot and would have been a complete disaster without Shatner in the lead.  The supporting cast is good.  The only questionable one is the son who is moving in with the dad. It might get better.  
• Nikita - absolutely dreadful.  Couldn't even make it through the pilot. 
• Boardwalk Empire - I was bored with the pilot. I made it about 20 minutes into it before deciding it's not for me.  It might very well be a good show, but I don't care enough to continue to watch to find out.  It's just not my cup of tea.