VD on the Boob Tube

VD on the Boob Tube

By Kathy Reschini Sweeney

Time for a discussion about our favorite TV shows.  Let me start by saying I rarely watch the shows when they air - I am totally spoiled by DVR technology, so if something was on last night, I haven't seen it yet.  You can do spoilers (this isn't the Hunger Games) at will.

Okay - three of my favorite shows had VD themes.  On Castle, Beckett met her predecessor.  She is none other than Jennifer ("Flashdance") Beals.  If you've never seen Flashdance, be prepared for a take on a lobster dinner scene that probably caused the actual transmittal of vd.  The jealousy theme continued in the precinct, where Esposito and Ryan felt like they were stuck at the kid's table.  It's a two-parter, so I am hoping for a well-deserved verbal bitch-slap session between Flashdance and Beckett.

On Hawaii 50, Weston left, which is a good thing, but not before she almost confessed her feelings for McGarrett, who appeared clueless. Please.  Also loved the not-so-subtle reminder that we still hate those Ruskie Commie Bastards.  See what happens when you mess with the UN Security Council, Russia?  You get a complete smack down on a television show re-make.  So there!

Then there was NCIS.  Tony, Tony, Tony.  We finally get that traitor CIA Ray out of Ziva's way, and now here comes Mrs. Ari Gold from Entourage trying to play coy with our Very Special Agent DiNozzo.  I don't like it.  I don't like her.  And the smirking Gibbs had better be about getting Ziva and Tony together and not bringing some snippy reporter on to the team.  Loved Ducky's one-minute analysis of Tony (in the morgue, no less).  Which reminds me - what happened to Tony's Mom?  She died, right? Which is how he was sent to boarding school.  But do we know how she died?

Tonight, there is a big cross-over event between Gray's Anatomy and Private Practice.  I am on the fence about both these shows, with Private Practice just teetering on the "I'll catch up with the summer re-runs" slope.  Last week, Grays did a VD episode. It was okay.

Tom is a huge Ricky Gervais fan, so last night we watched an episode of "An Idiot Abroad: Bucket List".  The idiot, one Karl Pilkington, comes out with some of the most moronic observations you can imagine.  My favorite from the first season occurred when he was on the Great Wall of China, on one of his first trips outside his own London neighborhood.  The camera pans back to reveal a wide shot of the wall, and Pilkington says: "Well, I wouldn't say it's 'great'.  I mean it's a good wall, I guess." Unreal.

In other TV news, The Voice is back.  I fast-forward through the blind auditions because I don't like to watch the ones where the singer doesn't get chosen by anyone.  Those make me sad.  Also, I am slightly afraid that if I spend too much time looking at XTina's makeup in HD, I might begin to go color blind as a defense mechanism.  Ru Paul could give that girl some tips on toning it down.  Sheesh.

Finally, FYI, in case you haven't been watching, Saturday Night Live has some funny bits again.  Weekend Update never fails to provide at least one or two laugh out loud moments.  Nic Cage "In the Cage" was hilarious.

Okay, now your turn.  What are you watching?  What am I missing?  And who is with me on NCIS?

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Annette Dashofy]

I'm an NCIS addict, but missed this week's episode. Now I have to go online and watch it ASAP!

[beachfla]

Love, love, love "An Idiot Abroad"! Stephen Merchant last season described Karl as a "real life Homer Simpson". Have you all watched the movie, "The Trip", with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon? Another great example of British humor.
I sneaked a look at the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" On Demand this week and await the final of "Top Chef", since I never seem to watch anything in real time!

[Josh]

I loved "The Trip." I saw it described as a "mockumentary," but I didn't think it was that at all.

[Cynthia D'Alba (AKA ArkansasCyndi)]

I watched NCIS this week, but with one eye and half-an-ear. I was on the computer, so honestly, the show didn't pull my interest enough for me to shut down and watch.

I ADORE The Voice. However, Cee-Lo's blatant sexual overtones give me the heebies. The sniping and snapping at each other by the judges is getting really old FAST. Christine's boobs on display makes me want to look away.

I don't watch Private Practice so I HATE cross-over events with Grey's Anatomy. I don't know the characters on PP, so I'm less inclined to watch the cross-over.

And beachfla...I confess...I do not "get" British humor in most situations.

Survivor started last night. I have to watch it. But I'm tired of males v females. And I wanted to bitch-slap the females last night. Begging the guys for fire. Please.

Love Blue Bloods on Friday night. I've kind of lost track of Grimm.

and JUSTIFIED!! Love me some Timothy Olphant! I must confess that this season hasn't "done it for me" so far but I'll give them lots of rope.

[Baltimore Jack]

My TV tastes seem to run to extremes. News (well actually politics not news if it's MSNBC), NFL network and now MLB network. I count Colbert and The Daily Show as "news" too. Does that make FOXNews comedy?

At the other end of the spectrum "Ru-Paul's Drag Race". Season 4 just got underway and I'm already upset about 2 of the 3 (show starts w 12) contestants that have been sent home.

If you haven't seen "Once Upon A Time", you're missing a truly different television show (think Twin Peaks produced by Disney) The setting flips between a Mythical Fairytaleland and Storybrook MA, 2012; each week the present day plot and characters parallel the storybook plot/characters.

I thank God for BBC America, which brought 2 gems to the USA; "Luther" is fabulous (got Tom and Ty watching this one) a detective show who's lead character is emotionally unstable and whose only friend seesm to be a sociopathic murderer, and "Mistresses" (the story of 4 "other women"; sort of a serious Sex in the City) just returned for a 3rd season after a year's hiatus.

Speaking of a hiatus, when the heck is Madmen returning?

[Elaine A. Judge]

How about Blue Bloods and The Good Wife?

[William]

NCIS is a given.

BLUE BLOODS is a winner here.

And JUSTIFIED is mandatory. Absolutely brilliant, week after week after week. Even Elmore Leonard is happy with it, to the point of working with the producers for his new novel RAYLAN. If you're not watching it, you should be.

LEVERAGE. Any series that has the style to use famous characters as aliases (a recent episode had Richard Chamberlain as 'Archie Leach, the greatest thief that ever lived'. Archie Leach, of course, being Cary Grant's real name. Same episode, two of the characters introduced themselves as "M.A. Peel and Jonathan Steed, we're from Corporate." Got to love it!

[Karen in Ohio]

Thanks for the heads up, Jack. Will look for Luther and Mistresses!

Ever since August of 2010, in the run-up to the election, I've avoided network TV like the plague. I watched a little bit of the now-defunct soap One Life to Live before it petered out, and have had maybe an hour or two of other TV on a week, but for the most part I'm only watching movies or old TV shows on Netflix.

Doc Martin and Kingdom, two BBC productions, held my interest for awhile. I got hooked on Doc Martin through local channels, and then watched all the rest of the episodes on Netflix. Because of my interest in that show, Netflix suggested Kingdom, which I next watched.

Now anxiously awaiting the last season of Doc Martin to be shown in the US.

Have not yet gotten completely sucked into Downton Abbey, but looking forward to spending some quality time catching up. Also, I never watched Mad Men (no cable), but followed all the recaps and analyses on the Tom & Lorenzo website. Their costume analysis was incredible.

[Maryann Mercer]

Definitely with you on NCIS, Kathy, although I think Gibbs truly just wants Tony to get some happy in his life (after Jean and BJ, a little stability could be a good thing, right?) and not end up three more times married after losing his soul mate. I admit however that I'm not necessarily craving a Tony/Ziva pairing...experience has shown us this doesn't always keep that sexual tension going. Maybe the last season? Oh William, Leverage! I am a fan of every actor on this show, and I own the seasons. Elliott and Hardison? Dangerous and funny at the same time, and Timothy Hutton finally has a role that suits him :o) Gotta love Simon Baker in The Mentalist...there's a man who really needs a solution to his angst. And for comedy? The Big Bang Theory...say what you will about science geeks, they are funny. And the Hilarious how Rick manages to find ways to push Beckett's buttons in the ex-girlfriend/wife department :o) Gates can leave anytime though...she's the clinker in the ensemble (or maybe I just miss Reuben Santiago-Hudson).
PS. I can't watch Idol or Voice...I get too sad for those who don't get chosen.

[Pastor Suz]

Top Chef from the DVR. An occasional peek at whatever Gordon Ramsey is up to. Sometimes we watch cable news while eating dinner. I watch SNL, Colbert and The Daily Show clips online. Am patiently waiting for Treme to return on HBO. Football, baseball and hockey. That's it for me and the tee-vee. I suspect adult onset ADD. I just have no patience to sit and watch much of anything anymore.

Although I am proud to say that I have seen at least half (maybe more) of the movies nominated for best picture Oscars. So I'm at least somewhat in touch with some elements of popular culture. Sort of.

That's why I read your blog, Kathy. To keep up.

[Kathy Reschini Sweeney]

Pastor Suz got me started on Top Chef - this season is the WORST! I have not seen last night's show but if crybaby Bev is still in this thing? Blech.

All the interesting chefs are gone.

I keep meaning to check out Leverage. I need to drop a show before I can pick one up.

Do not like the Downton Abbey shows. Snoots.

As for comedies - Big Bang Theory, Modern Family and 30 Rock are MUST SEE TV for me!

Now - will someone please answer my DiNozzo question?

[Alan P.]

Covert Affairs, although it is currently in re-runs, EXCEPT FOR THE ONE EPISODE I MISSED "LIVE" AND YOU CAN'T VIEW IT ON LINE!! Closer re-runs (and building them up on DVD) Rissoli and Isles and Criminal Intent.

I am waiting for the return of Warehouse 13. It is a great show. I really like that you need better than a room temperature IQ to get the jokes. A good literary background helps too.

Am I the only one who is disappointed that FoodTV seems to be becoming a bad Survivor rip off with pork?

[cindy]

I have been off this week so I got to watch some Daytime TV. Tony from NCIS (Michael Wetherly) was on Rachael RAY. He was wonderful, to bad that he is married to a beautiful doctor in real life. One that you left out was Revenge. If I lived there I sure would not be spenting my time trying to get back at people. TNT show will be starting again, some have White collar, Royal pains, Cavert Affairs. I guess TV is really my addiction along with a good book. Well, it is back to the real world tomorrow and I get to see what went the mice were up to while the cat was off.

[marie]

Monday night lineup for me is HOUSE and CASTLE.
I am going to miss HOUSE very much when it closes down.
CASTLE is hit and miss with me this year.

Tuesday night includes NCIS and NCIS LA and BODY OF PROOF and now COUGAR TOWN.

Wednesday it's comedy night on ABC and REVENGE..I do not know how I got hooked on REVENGE.

Thursday it's PERSON OF INTEREST and THE MENTALIST.

Friday..it SPARTACUS and the blood and gore and sex..it's godawful and I avert my eyes..yes the nuns would be shocked, I tell you.
A GIFTED MAN and BLUE BLOODs are musts.

Every evening a brain exercise watching Jeopardy.

I am now thinking that reading my NOOK during commercials and watching TV is why I have trouble drifting off at bedtime..I think not.LOL!

[Kathy Reschini Sweeney]

We do watch White Collar and The Mentalist.

The guy from White Collar is going to be in a movie about male strippers with Joe Maganiello (from Pittsburgh - both went to CMU thankyouverymuch).

It may be one of the only movies I see in 2012 other than The Hobbit.

[Pam aka SisterZip]

Kathy, Cry-Baby Bev got bounced last night. Huzzzaaahhh!

What a passive/aggressive whiney brat she is. Hope she has learned something from her time there. I have enjoyed this season of Top Chef. At least the final 3 seem to deserve to be there.

[Debby]

Love NCIS. Also don't think that they have specified how Tony's mother died, although on USA last night, they did have Tony Sr & Jr finally speaking about their last memory of good family times (fishing before mom died).

I also am enjoying 'Once Upon a Time'. :)

[peach]

Have you watched Smash? Only two episodes and Jul and I love it. Highly recommend it. Broadway production numbers, intimate nightclub renditions, and high production values make it a must see for us after only two weeks.

Don't know how well you care for reality tv about law enforcement, but Alaska State Troopers has become a recent favorite on NatGeo. Jul started watching it during the holidays and called it to my attention. I quickly became hooked on the incredible photography and the stories about the troopers and how they are the only law enforcement for the majority of the state.

Me I don't care for Once Upon A Time. I thought I would and watched it for a few weeks, but something about it turns me off. On the other hand I love Grimm.

Last summer I started watching Merlin on Netflix on the computer, but got away from it. Then when we got a new Smart TV this fall I came back to it and spent a few weeks watching all the episodes. Now I'm watching the fourth season on SyFi. The first season wasn't fantastic, but each season has improved. They play fast and loose with the Arthurian legend, but if you can let go it's pretty good.

Some other SciFi shows I've discovered on NetFlix are Warehouse 13 and Eureeka. Both shows my brothers have been after me to watch for a couple of years, but didn't as I hadn't seen them from the beginning.

Now I'm in the middle of watched Midsommer Murders. A&E, back when it had real shows, used to broadcast these movies in the late nineties and early in the 2000's. Lots of murder and mayhem.

Karen of Ohio fame: I too love Doc Martin. I discovered it on Netflix this summer and watched all the episodes available. I get two separate PBS stations and neither has ever broadcast this quirky little dramady. It's a UK Northern Exposure set in Cornwall. I don't know how long it will take for the next season to appear on Netflix, but I anxiously await it.

I've about had it with Glee. It's hardly worth watching anymore.

We're big Masterpiece fans. Found out that season two of Sherlock will be shown in May. If you haven't seen season one, it's a must see. It was almost a Star Wars type of experience for me the first time I saw it and I'm pretty blase about most TV shows.

We love the Voice also. If you watched it the night after the super bowl you would have seen my niece's husband in the video clip shown of the Air Force Band Sidewinder during Angie Johnson's audition. He's the one on the left playing quitar. She's on CeeLo's team.

[Laura (in PA)]

I could go on all day - I watch WAY too much TV. I watch a good majority of the shows mentioned so far.

I really enjoy The Voice - much more than Idol, though Christina Aguilera annoys the living shit out of me. I LOVE NCIS, and also watch NCIS LA just so I can look at LL Cool J. I love Once Upon A Time, and watched the first Smash and enjoyed that too. I watched a few episodes of Grim, but didn't stick with it. We watch The Mentalist, Body of Proof, Rizzoli and Isles, The Closer (I'm so sad it's ending), Covert Affairs, White Collar, Royal Pains, Criminal Minds, Leverage - and that's not all. I told you - I watch way too much.

Also love Blue Bloods, A Good Wife, Hawaii 5-0. I'm obsessed with Downton Abbey, and even got my husband into it.

Love, love, love Castle. And the Jennifer Beals thing smelled of a spin-off to me. I liked the show she was in last year, The Chicago Code, but of course it got canceled.

Justified. Holy crap, great show.

Love Mad Men, and I'm really enjoying Pan Am. Also, new show Alcatraz is pretty good.

Never miss Big Bang Theory or Modern Family - hilarious. Also, Graham Norton makes me laugh until I cry. Still watching Glee.

Things everyone likes that I don't and have never watched: Survivor, Top Chef, Top Models, Grey's Anatomy, Revenge.

I need to look for Warehouse 13, Doc Martin, and Kingdom. Because clearly, I'm not watching enough TV.

[Tom]

Leverage, Kathy. You want it. You just don't know how much.

Fringe. Not all will agree, but it's a lot of fun to watch John Noble veer back and forth across the thin line of sanity, with impeccable timing. Grand cast of characters.

Doc Martin and Kingdom are a lot of fun (never seen an Alvis before, have you?). We are counting the days to the return of Sherlock

Didn't really enjoy what I saw of Justified; guess I may have to reconsider.

[Gaylin]

Let's see, NCIS, I watch but not with a lot of attention. There has not been enough growing up among the characters and I find them getting stale.

Castle I still enjoy but don't get heartbroken if I miss an episode.

I love Once Upon a Time, the costuming and make-up alone is terrific. Grimm, eh, I tried and didn't like it.

I enjoy both Lost Girl and Covert Affairs. Just enough intrigue in both of them without over-the-top ongoing conspiracies.

Never miss Big Bang Theory. Bazinga.

Eureka is among my favourites but has a tendency to move around as to when it shows so I know I have missed lots of episodes.

I don't watch Idol or Survivor. I tried to watch The Voice but Christina referring to her self as Xtina is creepy, her boobs mashed together is icky and her make-up, wow she needs help. And stop with the sniping, she seems so mean and petty. And Ceelo, keep it in your pants.

[Lora in Florida]

Modern Family and The Middle

The Middle is my family...I don't know how they got the camera in my house every week without me seeing it.

Revenge...oh to have that kind of money! Just for a week.

I don't know what I am going to do when The Closer is over. I want to be Brenda Lee when I grow up.

My boys love NCIS...I watch it with them sometimes...