Loving Tori and Dean

In 1991 I was the only freak in my age group who did not watch Beverly Hills 90210 or Melrose Place. My family always only had one TV in the house and you can bet your sweet ass that my parents were not going to watch teeny-bopper drama. So I can honestly tell you that I have no idea the character names or really even who starred on either of the shows. In college, when my friends would get together to make these shows an event, I was always annoying them by asking a zillion questions and making fun of the story lines and dialog. I was asked to leave on more than one occasion.

That being said, I know very little about Tori Spelling except some random bits I’ve seen on TV or in magazines. But last week, after watching Kathy Griffin’s show on Bravo and Tori and Dean’s reality show came on. I was just wrapping up some work and only halfway paying attention but I found myself charmed by Tori Spelling. I think she’s just adorable, and she calls her son Monkey just like we call Bridget Monkey. It’s a match made in heaven.

So I set some season passes and am now ensconced on the couch while Bridget snoozes off her Motrin stupor, watching all my recorded episodes. And now I’m going to make sure that I always have some of this fluff to watch for mindless entertainment.

Super Duper Special Bonus Post

Did anyone else think that Britney was kind of cute and funny on Monday’s episode of How I Met Your Mother? Granted, playing a silly airhead isn’t really a stretch for her but she did ok, I thought.

TV Recaps

Even with the writers’ strike, we’ve managed to keep up our steady diet of brain rot TV shows. I think that’s because we have so many conflicts that caused us to cut out shows. So now that most everything is repeats, we are able to watch things we’ve missed. That and we watch a bunch of shows on the “other” networks that were taped and in the can well before the strike. So I thought I’d give you a rundown of what we’re watching. I’d love to hear what else you guys are watching.

Mondays: Can I just say how much I love Medium? I have never missed an episode. I don’t really know why I like it so much because Patricia Arquette is kind of annoying, but she’s real. She’s not a teeny tiny thing with perfect everything. I also think it’s funny that on the show her character’s name is Allison and she has a daughter named Bridget. And our girl’s name is Bridget Alison. I wonder if that was something subliminal in me? Probably not because Jake picked her middle name, and the spelling of it. During normal season, we watch Two and a Half Men and How I Met Your Mother, as well as Everybody Hates Chris.

We also are watching Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Now, I have to say that I was prepared to hate this. I thought it was going to be just another stupid incarnation of a movie (like Smallville is in my mind) but I didn’t mind it. I don’t love it and if it went away I certainly wouldn’t cry myself to sleep or anything. But it’s there and it’s fine.

Tuesdays: We’ve been watching Nip/Tuck since the get-go and I am devoted. But I can honestly say it jumped the shark a while ago. I won’t really let it go because I’m engrossed now, but it doesn’t give me the thrill it used to. The last season that was just awesome was the season with The Carver. I used to wait all week for Tuesdays. Now it’s just something to fill some time. Maybe it’ll get better. Maybe they won’t bring it back. Whatever.

I also have fallen back in love with Law & Order: SVU. I had had my fill of all the Law & Orders for a while and I still don’t think I’ll ever go back to L&O: The Mother Ship but I’m back in love with Benson and Stabler. Of course, just when I fell back in love, the repeats started. But that’s ok. I can hold on.

Wednesdays: One of my guilty secrets is Supernanny. I also used to love Nanny 911 when it was on. I say this is my guilty secret because I watch this to feel morally superior. I love to watch this and think “Duh!” about some of the stupid shit those parents are doing. I also know that in a few years, I’ll be holding my head in my hands and cursing my moral superiority when Bridget is running around wild, throwing food, peeing in bushes, and cussing like a sailor. I know. You don’t have to tell me.

Thursdays: Oh my but Thursdays are a busy night for us. And actually, with the return of new episodes, we are going to be in trouble. First, we love 30 Rock, The Office and My Name is Earl. We are also devoted Survivor fans and don’t ever miss that show. And now they’ve moved Lost to Thursdays, which I HATE. Because when the new episodes of the NBC stuff comes back, we are going to have a conflict that our DVR cannot handle. We already had to 86 Ugly Betty, which I really love, because of the conflict. We just catch that one on DVD after the season is over. In the meantime, we’ve been watching The Celebrity Apprentice. (Does anyone else think that Omarosa person is the most awful ridiculous waste of human life you’ve ever seen? Honestly just the sight of her makes my ass clench.) And I don’t know what’s going to happen when Grey’s Anatomy comes back after the strike. It’s all too much to think about. Yes, I know Grey’s has gotten a bit, well, gaggy lately. But I can’t help it. I’ll watch it until the wheels fall off. Unless it runs for 37 years like ER, which I have abandoned, gone back to and abandoned again.

The other stuff we watch includes: Desperate Housewives (although Jake doesn’t buy in to this one unless he has absolutely nothing else to watch), Shark, Dirt, Monk, psych, The Riches, Beauty and the Geek, Women’s Murder Club, Chuck, Life, Dirty Sexy Money, Entourage…. I wonder which of those will come back now that the strike is over.

I guess you could say we watch a lot of TV around here. I’ve also started to watch In Treatment on HBO. Jake hates that one, says it’s depressing. I guess it is, but I love Gabriel Byrne and I’d watch him read the yellow pages in that accent of his. So I watch that on On Demand most of the time. Oh, we also really like The L Word but since we don’t have Showtime, we watch that one on DVD as well.

So tell me…. what do you watch? What are your can’t miss shows? And will anyone else out there be glued to the Oscars tonight? I missed my Golden Globes so I have to get my fill of Hollywood glam somehow. Can’t wait!

Tapped Out

I just don’t have anything good to say. And if I don’t have anything good to say, I won’t say anything at all.

I’m taking comfort in brownies and new episodes of Lost and Survivor.

Call the Press!

I saw two movies this week.

I haven’t seen two movies in one week since my pregnancy. Jake and I LOVE going to the movies and used to see one almost every weekend, sometimes more if there were a few things out we were dying to see. But that all ended when Bridget was born. Damn babies are so selfish.

Thanks to generous babysitting by Jake’s sister and my parents, plus Mother’s Day Out, we are getting our movie fixes a bit more regularly than we had been.

This week, I went alone to see Sweeney Todd, which I really liked. I liked it more than the stage play. Now I know that’s odd to say but I think we saw a low-rent version on the stage. The sets were bare bones and there was no orchestra - every cast member played an instrument on stage. It was good but odd. The movie had so much more depth and the use of makeup was really good. Normally you don’t notice such things in a film, but this was really good. I’m not a huge fan of Tim Burton’s in general but I really liked this. I’m glad I went alone, though because Jake would have hated it. All the singing…. ewww… But how can you go wrong with singing about murder and cannibalism?

Today, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with myself when Bridget was at MDO. I try to use it as “me” time but there was nothing I really wanted to do. Pay no attention to the fact that I still have a formal living room full of Christmas decorations well over a month past Christmas. Jake decided he could squeeze in a flick so what the hell? Those decorations aren’t in anybody’s way, now are they? We wanted to see another movie more but the times just didn’t work out for us, so we ended up at Michael Clayton. This is a movie I had really no interest in when it was first released. But I’d been hearing more and more good things about it, plus all the Oscar buzz has piqued my interest. Once upon a time, I made it my business to see every film nominated for Best Picture. Well, you can see how I’ve one on that over the past year. Anyway, Michael Clayton did not disappoint. It was so good! I completely agree with all of its Oscar nominations.

Sadly the one movie we are D-Y-I-N-G to see, the new U2 movie, just isn’t happening for us. It’s only at the IMAX theaters and at wonky times, so it’ll never work for a MDO day movie. And I’ve been working so much on Saturdays and Sundays that it’s tough. I think I’m just going to have to take one for the team and send Jake alone to this one. I really want to go but he’ll be crushed if he misses it.

And now for further excitement - the Lost premier tonight. C’mon Lost! Don’t let me down!

The Final Straw

OK Writers, I’m officially upset now.

I could deal with repeats of shows at this time of year. This is usually when repeats happen anyway, so it hasn’t been too much of an inconvenience for me. We’ve just caught up on shows we missed due to conflicts on the DVR or we’ve watched movies or we’ve been busy with holiday crap. We don’t watch the nighttime talk shows so that’s been no hardship for us. So no hard feelings. Strike all you want. You go! Get what’s due to you!

But now you are messing with my Golden Globes. And that ain’t right. The Golden  Globes are my favorite awards show of the awards season.  And now they are not to be this year.

Blah blah blah, fighting for what is rightfully yours. Yadda yadda yadda. What about what is rightfully mine? What about my right to sit on the edge of my chair and wait for my favorite stars and shows and movies to win? Who is striking for me to be able to ooh and ahh and giggle over the stars’ gowns and funny tuxes? No one, that’s who! So all I’ll be left with this awards season are the SAG Awards and the Oscars. If those even happen. And those are poor substitutes for the Golden Globes.

Where do I sign up to strike?

Disgusted

Just accidentally caught the end of an episode of The Bachelor on ABC and I think I threw up a little bit in my mouth.

This complete jackass has, at this point, three beautiful women vying for his affections on national television. I know it’s harsh but all I can think is how pathetic that is for them. Why would you want to do that? I realize that many of the women who go on that show are just seeking fame but still. Why would you want to be shown fighting for a man you barely know?  And the worst part of what I saw was that while at dinner, the jackass and one girl were given a key to a “fantasy suite” if they wanted to spend the night together. I don’t watch the show so I don’t know how many of the other girls went to the room with him but ewwwww….. So not only is this one chick lowering herself to beg a man to love her on TV, she is also sleeping with him knowing there is every chance he is also sleeping with the other two.

I need a shower now.

I Feel Shame

God help me, but I’m really digging the TMZ show that premiered yesterday. For those of you celebrity gossip aficionados in the DFW area, it’s on Fox 4 at 10:30 PM

I’m not saying I’m proud of myself, but there it is.

Serendipity

A couple weeks ago, when Bridget and I made our semi-regular walk to the video store, I decided to pick up that Showtime TV show with Mary Louise Parker in it, because I had heard great things about it. But since we don’t have Showtime, we hadn’t seen it. I don’t know what I was thinking, because I rented the show without looking at it. I meant to pick up Weeds but ended up with The L Word. I didn’t notice until I got home with it. But Jake was out of town and I couldn’t watch any of the TV we had recorded because then I’d just have to watch it again when he got back, so I decided to give it a try.

And now I’m hooked. It’s so good! I watched the first two episodes of Season One, then stopped because I knew Jake would want to see it. I mean, it’s about lesbians, how could he not be interested in that? When he got home, we watched the entire first disc together and he was hooked too. Then I rented the next two on Friday. Jake was sick over the weekend so we watched a lot of TV, including those two discs, then went out this afternoon for the last disc of Season One. I plan to go on Tuesday and get some if not all of Season Two. I am now dying to be caught up and considering getting Showtime just for this show.

An Unexpected Treat

What a lovely surprise. I turned on a recorded episode of House tonight (recorded on March 6) and imagine my delight to see one of my several Pretend Celebrity Boyfriends (yes, Beth, I took your lead a step further and have decided I can have as many as I want, I don’t commit to just one) Dave Matthews as a guest star! Love me some Dave Matthews!

How did I get so lucky? Hugh Laurie and Dave Matthews in one show? Be still my heart…..