Shows you should be watching, part 2

Did you miss part 1? No worries... you can read it here.

Okay, now that you've caught up, here are a few more shows that I cannot live without and I think you SHOULD be watching.

RIZZOLI AND ISLES:

TNT: Returning Tuesday, February 17th, 9pm EST

If you haven't heard of this show, I'm so sorry. It's a great one. Yes, it's going into Season 6 but you can catch up! That's what the internet is for, right?

This show is about Detective Jane Rizzoli (Angie Harmon) and Medical Examiner Maura Isles (Sasha Alexander). They solve crimes and are BFF's although they are so different. Jane was raised with 2 brothers in the streets of Boston and LOVES baseball. Maura is like a walking encyclopedia... smart as hell but not totally socially ignorant like Brennan on Bones.

The writing is great... so many great lines. And these ladies are gorgeous. And I've been in love with Angie Harmon's voice for YEARS.

TREEHOUSE MASTERS:

Animal Planet: Fridays at 10pm EST

I will admit with pride.... I grew up wishing I had a treehouse. And back then, I was just picturing a few planks of wood in a tree. When I found this show, my jaw hit the floor and my inner child went WILD thinking about playing in these kinds of treehouses. These are literally little houses, in trees. Kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms.... my dream! Makes me wish we had trees around our house.

Pete Nelson is the Treehouse Man. He is a happy, giddy, crazy sort of guy that you can tell LOVES his work. He runs a bed and breakfast with his wife in Washington (weddings allowed, no kids) and all of the rooms are in the TREES!

He has a team of builders that roam the country with him making dreams come true for people with budgets large enough to put a house in the trees. 

The crew is entertaining and the treehouses are really awe-inspiring. 

Watching the show, you see sites such as:

 This:

And this:

This is Alex... rock climber and carpenter

FOREVER:

ABC: Tuesdays at 10pm EST

Meet Doctor Henry Morgan, the star Medical Examiner in NYC. Henry is not like other doctors of death. He's immortal... no not a vampire. Over 200 years ago, he died and then came back. He doesn't age but has to watch everyone in his life die over time. By trying to understand his immortal curse, he has learned more about death than most doctors could hope to learn in a normal lifetime.

Henry partners up with Detective Jo Martinez, who does NOT know his secret.

He reminds me of a British Patrick Jane from The Mentalist.

If you aren't watching this show, you should be. It's smart, warm, and funny. And when you figure out how Henry knows Abe (Judd Hirsch), you might need a tissue. (Nope, no spoilers.)

I love this opening title graphic. I pointed out to my husband that I think it shows NYC throughout the last 200 years... every century Henry has ended up in New York. I  could be wrong but look at it... on the left, low buildings and plain.... it changes as you look to the right. Neat.

That's it for today, folks. I hope you at least give a few of these shows a chance.

Shows you should be watching

When it comes to television shows to watch, there are A LOT of choices. Some shows make me want to run screaming from the planet just by having to see their commercials. (At least they canceled Honey Boo Boo, right?)

I've written a little in the past about my favorite shows. If you'd like to read it, click here. Some shows are still on that list and some won't be talked about anymore because they aren't ON ANYMORE. Yes, I'm bitter. Just a bit.

Let's start off with a newer show on USA Network, because I need to give you enough time to watch the NEW SEASON this Tuesday, January 27th!
If you don't like vulgar jokes and swear words, skip this first show, mmkay?

SIRENS: 

USA NETWORK: Tuesdays at 10pm EST, starting January 27th

My husband and I saw previews for this last year and it looked decently funny. We set the DVR to record and when we watched it, we were dying. See, it's vulgar. But it's smart vulgar. Hell, it's spurred by none other than Dennis Leary.
It's about EMT's and the crap they see a day on the job. (Castle fans may recognize one of the stars since Michael Mosley is none other than Jerry Tyson, 3XK.)

It's on later at night so they allow some hellacious swear words, which I don't have an issue with at all. Some of the topics on the show may make some pearl clutching ladies blush but I love it.

ELEMENTARY:

CBS: Thursdays at10pm EST

I am so in love with this show! Jonny Lee Miller does a hell of a job bringing Sherlock Holmes into modern day. And even though for years I was not a fan or hater of Lucy Lui, I am loving her as Watson. The show is smart, brings in characters from the Sherlock Holmes stories, and it's got a catchy little tune for an intro.

Alaska: The Last Frontier

Discovery Channel: Sundays at 9pm EST

Warning!!! If you are against killing animals for food/survival, don't watch the show.

I stumbled upon the show one night in a hotel room in Paducah, KY on a trip to TN.

The Kilcher family lives on a homestead in Alaska. There are 4 generations living on this homestead now and the shows follows them throughout spring, summer, and fall and captures the hell they go through to procure enough meat, veggies, and everything else they need to survive 8-9 long months of Alaskan winters.

In the 1930's, Yule Kilcher and his wife moved to Alaska from Switzerland. They carved out a homestead and proceeded to raise a family. They had 8 children, 2 of whom are a feature on the show. The two main people featured on the show are Atz and Otto Kilcher, sons of Yule and Ruth. Atz's 3 sons (Shane, Atz Lee, and Nikkos) are now on the show on any given night. Atz Lee's wife Jane, Shane's wife Kelli, and Atz's wife Bonnie are also featured and you see what it's like living on the homestead from a female perspective.

Otto is married to Charlotte and their son August is on the show sometimes. (Interestingly, Charlotte is a vegetarian and lives in an area where you really cannot afford to be against eating meat.) 

From a previous marriage, Otto's son Eivin is also on the show along with his wife Eve. They now have a baby and he is PRECIOUS.

I have learned more about Alaska and what it must have been like living in the Pioneer Days from watching this show. It's great. I would love to have the will and get up and go to live that life. Even though they bust their asses procuring food and supplies each year, they have a far more laid back life.

I didn't know until after watching it, but there is a member of the Kilcher family that EVERYONE reading this has seen and heard before and you probably don't make the association.

Jewel? Sweet little, yodeling Jewel? Yeah. She's the only daughter of Atz Kilcher, sister to Shane, Atz Lee and Nikkos, and niece to Otto. Don't believe that could be so? Read this.

That's all I have today. I will surely be making a part 2 because lord knows I have more than 3 shows.

Boldly going where I never thought I'd go

Last week, I had a "suggested post" pop up on FB. 99.9% of the time, this annoys the hell out of me. I usually NEVER care a thing for what FB suggests. FB just doesn't know me. At all.

But that night... FB got it right.

The post was for Wizard World Comic Con in Minneapolis, the first time for that Con here. And while I am not normally that interested in comics or Cos Play, the picture accompanying the post got my attention.

The photo was of Nathan Fillion. And the post said that I could meet him. MEET HIM.
So I zipped over to the site it linked to and bought tickets for my husband and myself for the Nathan Fillion Experience. (I know... in a way it sounds a little dirty.)
I first remember seeing Nathan in Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Caleb in season 7. And then he was in Firefly. You might not have seen of heard of Firefly but I bet you know Castle.

I didn't tell my husband until after I had bought the tickets. And even then, I just handed him the printout of the tickets and let him read and find out naturally. His reaction was priceless. And yes, it was happiness.

And to make it even better, I bought him a photo op ticket for William Shatner. THE SHAT! My husband has always been a fan of Star Trek and even though I never watched it much as a kid, I did watch a few of the movies.
And of course, The Shat played Stan Fields in Miss Congeniality.
He also played Juliet's dad in Psych.

Of course, I had to add Adam Baldwin. It's Jayne Cobb from Firefly, duh! And he was in Angel. And Chuck.

And while I was at it, I added James Marsters (Spike from Buffy and Angel). I HAD to meet Spike. I loved Spike. And you're not usually supposed to love the bad guys but Spike was the shit.

The rest of the week, my husband and I were giddy at the thought of meeting Mal, Jayne, Spike, and Kirk. (You know you usually think of your favorite celebrities by their character names, too.)
We told the kids we were going (and so were they) and they seemed happy enough. We knew not to expect much since they've never seen those shows.

Saturday morning I got up early as hell to do my hair and make-up. I don't normally care to do either but when you are going to meet famous people and have your photo taken with them, you try to not look like the walking dead.

We got downtown and entered the Con around 9:45. It was a sight to see. SO many comic books, t-shirts, buttons, and incredible artwork by comic artists. We walked around and tried to look at everything but there was a lot of.... everything.

About half an hour before we were scheduled to get a photo with Shatner, we got in line for the photo. (The website said not to be late and recommended at least get in line 15-30 early.)
Once that line started moving right at 11:10, it went QUICK.

We walked in and were instructed to put our bags on a table, hand over our photo ticket, say HI to Shatner and smile. Then we got a stub to collect the picture later and we were out.
(They have that shit down to a science. No dallying. Everyone gets equal time.)

When we came back out, we basically got right back in line to meet Marsters. When I saw him, the only thing that popped in my head to say was "Spike". And I did, with a smile. He's shorter than I expected. And I love that in the photo, he was Spike with that snarl.

After that photo, we hopped BACK in line but this time we were in the VIP line to meet Fillion. I admit, I was a little nervous on that one. It's Malcolm Reynolds. It's Rick Castle. Holy shit.

He was just as handsome in person and really nice. He told the kids to smile and pretend that he was cool in the picture. Peanut responds by giving a thumbs up with a smile. It was over so fast.
But it was worth it.

After the photo with Fillion, we had a chance to get OUT of line and grab a bite to eat and just sit for a few minutes.

By 2:00, we were back in line for our last photo of the day with Adam Baldwin. I knew he was taller than Fillion due to them co-starring together in Firefly and an episode of Castle. But damn! That man is tall! And super nice.

After that, we looked around a little again and then got in line for Fillion's next autograph signing. While in line, I saw a few celebs walk by on their way to and from the photo rooms. I saw Sean Astin (to me, forever Mikey from The Goonies) and Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger) and also saw Shatner and Marsters go by.

My husband and I both got an autograph and got to talk to Fillion for a moment. He remembered us and was just a truly nice guy.

Mine:

 

I chose a pic from Firefly. You can't take the sky from me.

My husband's choice:

This was from Buffy the Vampire Slayer back in 2003.

 

Then we headed to get a drink and take a break before the Q&A Panel with Fillion and Baldwin. Having a VIP ticket got us fairly good seats for the panel and we had a BLAST. Seriously... those two together are hilarious. I laughed so much during that time and even Button got a few jokes.
(While waiting in line for the panel, we saw Michael Rooker of The Walking Dead go by.)

After the panel, it was time to go home. We were downtown for 8 hours and 41 minutes, according to the parking garage ticket when we paid it. My feet and legs were tired and I needed food and a nap after our day.

But it was a blast no matter how tired I was when leaving.
The kids had a blast and they can now say they've met 4 celebrities and have seen way too many rear ends poking out from under costumes at the Convention Center.

Memories of my childhood.... bastardized

After a long day yesterday, I sat down to mindlessly look at Pinterest. On my way to my biggest time-suck, I stopped on FB and noticed something trending.... Jem and the Holograms.

Wait. Jem and the Holograms? Truly, truly, truly outrageous Jem?

Yep. Jem. They are taking one of my old favorite cartoons and turning it into a movie.

I am really not sure how I feel about this.
For one thing, from the stories so far, it sounds nothing at all close to what the show was about at all.

Second?
It seems like every time Hollywood 'revamps' something, they bastardize it.

Against my better judgement, I watched the Dukes of Hazard movie with Johnny Knoxville, Stifler, and Jessica Simpson. I will never get that hour and a half back.
They turned Bo and Luke into bumbling idiots.
Uncle Jesse was just a pothead.
When I was in Kindergarten, I wanted a white Jeep, just like Daisy Duke's white jeep. That show was my world and I still love it when I stumble onto a rerun.

But that movie... dear lord. I wanted to punch the writers until they felt as bad as I did.

And 21 Jump Street. I watched the TV show back in the late 80's/early 90's. It was a DRAMA, not a dick and fart joke comedy. It's what put Johnny Depp on the radar for most fans and the rest of Hollywood.

I am starting to believe that Hollywood is out of ideas. It seems like every time you turn around, a remake is coming out and the press is eating it up. Most of the time, a lot of the fans aren't.

Take Footloose for example. The original (and best) was released back in 1984. The remake was released in 2011.
Footloose 1984's total domestic gross was over 80 million.
Footloose 2011's total domestic gross was around 50 million.
(Now factor in that tickets to movies in 1984 were a LOT lower than in 2011.)

It's as if the movie people in Hollywood are sitting around saying "This was popular as hell in the 80's and still has a huge fan following... let's remake it and capitalize on the name".

Yes, Footloose was totally awesome in the 80's. IN THE 80'S.
High school boys these days wouldn't be caught dead dancing like that.

And the Dukes were the best, cuz. But that was back in time when life was a lot simpler and the south had a small moonshine problem... not meth labs around every other corner.

What made those movies and shows back then such a hit? People my age and older who couldn't care less about a remake featuring kids young enough that they weren't even alive when the movie/show was on the air.

Seeing as how Hollywood has killed many of my childhood memories already, I am a little worried about the Jem movie. The cartoon was popular with little girls because it was family friendly and kid safe. I'm not sure what direction the movie is going to take but I don't see me letting my girls watch it like I would let them watch the old show. Teenage girls, running around LA? I doubt it's for 8 year olds.

And really... anything that makes Paris Hilton so excited makes me want to run the other way.

They're coming! My shows are coming!

It's that time of year.
The summer months are behind us, the summer shows a memory.
And I do actually love me some summer shows.
My favorites are The Glades on A&E, Rizzoli and Isles on TNT, and Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family.
(Yes, I am aware that PLL is marketed towards teens but I cannot help myself. It's addicting. And those story lines are a little more adult than most high school kids. And they have a LARGE following in the women 18-34 range.)

With Rizzoli and Isles and PLL, I get to call these my summer/winter shows.
Each has half a season air in the summer and then the other half comes on during the winter months, usually when the bigger network shows are on break.

The Glades? Kills me. It airs in June, it's over by September and I have to wait a freaking YEAR to find out what happened.

But what I live for are my network shows.
My 'September- May' shows.
My reason for living.
Nah.
Well, yeah.

First, my oldest love, CSI.
I have watched this show almost the entire 13 years that it's been on television.
And I miss Grissom before we go any further.
I miss him like a celebrity misses carbs.
I also miss Warick and HATE how he left. Sucks.
For a little while, I am pretty sure the ratings were dropping.
With Grissom, Warick, and Sarah being gone, it was like losing family.
And I worried they might leave me.
But then DB showed up. Oh, how I love Ted Danson. 
And now it's like the CSI of old.

Next, my second oldest love, Criminal Minds.
How I love this freaking show.
I have seen most episodes over 10 times, thanks to A&E and ION Television.
I would love to hang with this cast.
And even though the stories can get super creepy, I love this show.
When Elle left and Emily came in, I thought I might not like it. (I HATE cast changes.)
But I LOVED Emily.
When Gideon left after season 2, I thought I might not like it.
But I love Rossi.
When they pretended to kill Emily and she was gone a season, I hated it.
When Emily came back, I was overjoyed. And then she left again.
I love the team dynamics. I love the team. I love the writing.

And then there's The Mentalist.
If they don't tell me who Red John is soon, you'll find me in a padded cell trying to eat my own toes. Seriously, it's been 5 years and it's killing me.
But I love how Simon Baker plays Patrick Jane.
The writing is great and I have fun watching it.

Also, I love The Big Bang Theory.
When it first aired, I heard the description of the show and thought it would tank.
But then I started watching it and got totally hooked.
I love Sheldon. I love that Raj cannot could not talk to women.
I love the hideous outfits that Wolowitz wears.
And I have loved Johnny Galecki since his days on Roseanne.
Also? I freaking LOVE Amy Farrah Fowler. She has some of the best lines and Mayim Bialik plays her so well.

Sadly, I'm down a few shows this year.
I lost Without a Trace and Cold Case a little while ago on CBS.
And it will be a year this Christmas since we were told that TNT was canceling Leverage.
Also, ABC can bite me for canceling Body of Proof.

And it's only a matter of time before CSI bids a fond farewell... it's 14 years this year.
Same goes for Criminal Minds, who is entering year 9.

Psych is a BELOVED show and one of my most favorites of all time.
But I'm not sure where to label it.
It's not a winter show. It's not a summer show. It's not a spring show. It's not a fall show.
It's a 'whenever the hell USA airs it during the year' show.
They just finished filming season 8 and from what we hear, that's going to be the last.
I'll cry. I'll be in a padded cell. Joy will no longer be apart of my life.

We could watch Castle if we could just catch up on the DVDs.
That's our plan but we seem to have hit a snag and the new season comes on soon.

But that's what the DVR is for, right?



What about you? Any shows you cannot live without?