It seems appropriate to start a post about TV with a quote from TV. It's how I do. As anyone who knows me knows, I love television. Good television. And I am particular about how I watch it. My coworkers/friends are always asking me "hey did you see that commercial?" and the answer is almost always no, because I never see commercials. I almost never just sit down, turn on the tv, and find something to watch. All of my tv viewing is pre-planned and calculated, and either pre-recorded or streaming online, so I'm just watching the content I want. I love it.
During the year, I have a variety of shows that I'm watching throughout the regular season. However, there is very little out there for me in the summer. I don't really like reality TV, and most scripted TV that comes out in the summer is not to my liking. This makes the summer perfect for season/series catch-ups, or, binge watching, as it's come to be known. This is when you watch a lot of something in a small amount of time (just to be clear, there is no purging associated with this, unless you count the purging of valuable braincells that I'm no doubt losing from all the tv I'm consuming).
This summer I took on 5 full series and dabbled in a few others during regular season hiatus. A few shows are starting to come back on, so I've slowed down, but we'll see how far I get. In case you're interested in what I've been watching, here it is, with the miniest of reviews.
Friday Night Lights - this was the first series I took on this summer. I had seen the movie back when it came out, and had heard really great things about the series, but I had just never gotten into it. I posed the question on the old FB this spring for summer-series-viewing-suggestions, and this got a lot of chatter, so I decided to try it. LOVED. It's the perfect combination of good writing, interesting characters, excellent music, and high school/relationship drama. (if you hate the latter, you might not like this show, but if you enjoy a little drama to get caught up in - I highly recommend). I watched 76 episodes in 10 days. It was glorious.
Arrested Development - after FNL I needed a comedy purge for my brain. This was a good choice. I heard a lot of bad reviews about S4, but decided to try it anyway. I liked it, it had its high points, but I wasn't as compelled by it as I was the first 3 seasons. But I finished it anyway and was glad I did.
House of Cards - back to the serious tv. This show was dark (a friend advised me, "you might need to shower between episodes," but it was. so. good. Well written, well cast, well acted. I didn't care how dark it was, I kept wanting more. And that Kevin Spacey - MAN he's good. Took me 3 days to watch all 13 episodes, could have easily done it in less, but tried not to totally isolate myself from life. Heard they're shooting season 2 now in the area, fun to see b.more sites popping up.
Breaking Bad - Okay, the same friend who told me I should watch H.O.C. also told me to watch BB. In fact he said "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE NOT WATCHING BREAKING BAD?!?!?! IT'S THE BEST SHOW ON TELEVISION!!" So, based on his highly enthusiastic recommendation I decided to give it a try. (and he has yet to fail me in the 15 years I've known him. In fact, he's who introduced me to imdb circa 2001, so clearly, he knows what's up). I have to be honest, the first "season" (only 7 eps due to the writers strike of 2008) didn't really grab me. I might have given up after 7 if he had not so strongly recommended. So I kept going. SO GLAD I DID!!! Oh my gosh. It is dark, and twisted, and gruesome at times, but it is so fascinating and well done. I blazed through Seasons 1-4 in about a month, and was majorly bummed to find the Pt 1 of Season 5 was no where to be found in all of my streaming mediums. So, I got sad and moved on. THEN they released S5 part 1 and I caught up in time to watch the final 8 live w/ the rest of the world. So glad I am caught up to join in the hype. It's super fun (and I can't wait to see how it ends, though I'm already going to miss it!)
Orange is the New Black - Took this on in my sadness to fill the Breaking Bad void. I really enjoyed it as well - super well done, and I love the depth they give not only the main character but all of her prison-mates. Again, 13 eps in 1 weekend - it watches really fast, and I have to say that the 2 Netflix-run dramas I watched the summer were probably the 2 most captivating shows. With both after I finished ep1 I couldn't wait to dive into the next.
Portlandia - I've seen so many of these sketches online, but have started working thorugh the full eps when I need a humor break (as all the shows I've been watching have been SOOOO dark). This is super entertaining.
Mad Men - So many people have recommended this and it's gotten so much buzz over the years and I've never seen an episode, so I decided to start. However, I have only gotten about 3 episodes in and I got distracted and haven't gone back. A lot of my friends have given it mixed reviews on whether it's worth sticking out - any suggestions??
Prison Break - So, the reason I got distracted from Mad Men was Wentworth Miller. I was so into him when this show first came out - and it was probably one of the first shows of its kind that I got super into and watched religiously (other than Alias). I even had W.M. on the desktop of my computer for years. That's how into him I was. I've long heard the rumors of his sexuality, but when he officially came out last week I was both moved by his boldness, and totally bummed out. (I had literally just had a convo days before with a friend about who would be on "my list," and I had still included him, seeing as he wasn't officially out). So, I got to reminiscing about Prison Break and decided to go back to it. Still awesome. And even though I watched every ep when it aired, I'm still on the edge of my seat. There are so many intricate details that I clearly don't remember them all. I remember broad themes, but in many ways, it's as exciting watching again as it was the first time.
So, that's how I spent my summer (when I wasn't working or at the pool). Whew, it was hard work (and this was long....) but it was fun!!!
Just a few more weeks til new shows are back on!
