"If I could give myself a quizzical look right now, I would..."

A few days ago, I mentioned the website "Give Me My Remote" and how it had a tendency to hook me on new shows. It struck again. Kath (the girl who runs the site, I guess) was having "Greek week" in honour of the TV show "Greek". One day, she had a post with a bunch of quotes from the show and a video. Here is the video:

After watching the video, I have to admit I was intrigued. So I watched one episode, and then another. Five episodes later, I was admittedly hooked. Most of it had to do with Cappie but I am sure there are other reasons as well. So today's favourite thing is the TV show "Greek".

Yet another post about TV...

In June, my work did a bunch of renovations. After renovations ended, a rather large TV showed up in the breakroom....with satellite. I don't watch the TV often but for the last few days, it has been perpetually tuned to the Discovery Channel. I really enjoy the Discovery channel because it has so many interesting programs. I have watched a lot of MythBusters in the last couples and have really enjoyed it. I also enjoy the shows "Disasters of the Century" (where I first heard about the Boston Molasses Flood) and "Frontiers of Construction". I always feel at least a little bit smarter after watching that channel.

Life. Better.

A few months ago, I watched a few episodes of the show "Better Off Ted". The show is about a man named Ted (go figure!) who works at a big corporation (Veridian Dynamics) and the people and problems that come with the job. It's quite an amusing show and I am glad it was renewed for another season, no matter how bad it's ratings were. Right now, they are airing some of the episodes that they didn't air during the regular season and I quite enjoyed tonight's episode. My favourite thing about the show though is that there is some sort of commercial for the company. The commercials are very tongue-in-cheek and I get a kick out of them. I believe the following video is from the first episode:

This next video was made when the show was pre-empted for a speech from President Obama:

So today's favourite thing is the Veridian Dynamics commercials from "Better Off Ted".

I so thought I could dance....

Tonight, I watched most of "So you think you can dance". I don't watch it often for a variety of reasons, but since I was home tonight and they were finally through the awkward pre-top 20 stage, I decided to watch. Those dancers are amazing. After watching them and seeing performance of Flamenco and amazing tribal dancers in various places, it really puts my own dancing in perspective. Specifically, the fact that I will never be at that level. It is a fact that I am perfectly okay with but it is still humbling to watch. So today's favourite thing is watching incredible dance performances.

Insert uncomfortable pause here.

Today, I had a rather unenjoyable day at work. It left me grumpy and annoyed and just in a bad mood. It was rather difficult trying to find something good that happened. So I watched tonights episode of "The Office" before coming down to do stuff I normally do before I go to bed. It was nice to sit down and watch a show that's so familiar and just unwind. They seem to be making Michael a bit less obtuse and I am able to watch without cringing for more than a few minutes at a time. I don't talk about it much but it continues to be one of my favourite shows.

I thought I lost it

Last Saturday, I bought the "Corner Gas" DVDs for seasons 3 and 4. I watched them all by yesterday morning. Unfortunately, the second disc of Season 4 had a scratch on it so I couldn't actually watch parts of at least two of the episodes, so I exchanged them yesterday. My sister dropped me off at work afterward so I just left them in the car. Last night, my sister (who is pretty darn awesome) picked me up at work at midnight. I mentioned something about the DVDs and she said she didn't remember seeing them. This made me start to think that I had left them in the shopping cart at the grocery store rather than puttin them in the car. I was kind of worried about them but not enough to actually check the car. Eventually, I did check the car but only because to not would have been the heights of laziness seeing as I was two feet away from it. They were sitting right in plain sight for which I was greatly relieved. So I was very glad that the things I thought were lost were not lost at all.

Spoiler alert....

I tend to get overly excited about stuff, nearly to the point of obsession. When I am first introduced to something that I really like, I have to find out everything I possibly can about it. The length of this phase of my relationship with it varies and eventually a) I find out everything there is to know about it, b) I lose interest or c) a causes b. Part of the whole information gathering expedition, particularly for books or television, is looking at spoilers. I have to find out what happens next. One week between episode is too long. Especially if I have the option of finding out sooner. Invariably, the show is kinda ruined because I saw some stuff beforehand and I know I really show stay away from looking at the scoop, but I can't help myself. Because of this information obsession, I actually know great places to get scoop, especially for TV. My two favourite places for TV spoilers are Ask Ausiello and Watch with Kristin. Anyway, today's favourite things are spoilers (I love them and hate them in equal measure).

Not a lot going on...

Last week was the final episode of a TV show called "Corner Gas." "Corner Gas" is a Canadian TV show that was filmed in Regina,SK (where I am from). It's pretty much a show about life in a small, fictional Canadian town called "Dog River." It was quite funny and lasted for 6 seasons. I had the first two seasons on DVD and watched them a lot when I was living in Boston and homesick for Saskatchewan. I didn't tend to watch the episode when they were actually airing but I loved having the DVDs around. They definitely make me laugh. In its six season, it featured two of Canada's sitting Prime Ministers as well as various Canadian celebrities including politicians (PM-Paul Martin, PM - Stephen Harper, MP - Ralph Goodale, Sask Premier - Lorne Calvert, Regina Mayor - Pat Fiacco), musicians (the Tragically Hip, Jann Arden, Colin James), reporters (Lloyd Robertson) and actors (Shirley Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland) and that's just off the top of my head, I probably forgot quite a few. Yesterday, I bought seasons 3 and 4 and have been working my way through them for the past couple of days. I have been enjoying them quite a lot. So has my sister.
Here's a clip from the first episode ever:


The show has a good mixture of language based humour and snarkiness that is a combination I really like. Plus, it is filmed in and about Saskatchewan so I am really able to relate to it.

Do you really want me to do that?

I think by now a regular reader of this blog would probably know that I watch quite a bit of television. Pretty much everything I watch, I record (except the poker tournaments and reruns of old shows and Simpsons marathons --wow, considering how many shows I record, I really do watch alot of TV). I find this really nice especially because we can start watching TV shows from the beginning even when they aren't finished recording yet. This is especially nice to skip commercials or to replay something, although occasionally it can be pretty sad. Particularly when you deliberately start watching the show fifteen minutes in just so you can fast forward the commercials. Or worse, pausing the TV just to be able to fast forward it (not that I've ever done that). Lately my sister and I have been watching certain shows live but then come across something my sister wants to replay or pause. Of course, we are watching it live so we can't, so I sarcastically ask if she wants me to play the tape and fast forward to the point she wants to see. Of course, she says yes. I feel a bit foolish but I do (while she mocks me for trying to fast forward too far). I am glad I did but I think in the future, I might just start watching the recording right from the beginning even when we do watch it live just so I can actually pause it without having to fast forward it just to pause it. That being said, today's favourite thing it the Chase-Play function on the DVR.

What a thoughtful birthday present!

For my last birthday, my sister bought me a 37" flat screen TV. It was awesome and very, very generous. Well, that's what I like to tell people anyway. The truth is that she bought herself a 37" flat screen TV on my birthday. You can see where I may be confused, can't you? Anyway, she gave me her old TV to watch downstairs. I have to say, I enjoy having a TV that I can watch downstairs because I can do things down there while watching it or during commercials without having to worry about when it comes back on. I only tend to watch the TV on Sundays and Mondays. Sundays, because I tend to watch the Amazing Race while she watches The Simpsons, and Mondays, because Castle (a new show starring the awesome Nathan Fillion aka Captain Hammer aka Mal Reynolds...........where was I?) doesn't come on until 10 and I don't really like watching TV that late upstairs because Colette goes to bed earlier than that. I am usually done watching TV by 10 but Mondays, not so much. So, today's favourite thing is having a TV in my room.

"Within minutes, I become an atheist."

At the end of both "The Big Bang Theory" and "Two and a Half Men," the Chuck Lorre vanity card flashes on the screen. Until I started recording "The Big Bang Theory," I had never actually read them because the writing's pretty tiny and it goes by really quickly. But having it recorded makes a difference because I can pause it and actually read them. They definitely tend to amuse me. It is also enjoyable that there is a website that has past Vanity cards posted.

It's amazing!

I don't watch a lot of reality shows. In fact, until a few weeks ago, I didn't watch any. For some reason, I started watching The Amazing Race and have really been enjoying it. I like seeing the different countries and seeing what the different challenges will be and how well or badly the different teams handle everything. I don't really have a favourite team yet but some of the teams amaze me at how dense they are.

By the way, this was my 100th post. Wasn't it great?

"I'll be there for you!"

Every night on one of our TV channels (or actually, possibly more), Friends comes on at around 6:30. I watch it every now and then and I remember how much I enjoyed that show. It still makes me laugh. I continue to quote the show to this day; the most commonly used quote is the line about the 'moo point' and how "it's like a cow's opinion, it doesn't matter." I don't ever use the word 'moot' anymore, it's always 'moo.'

"Spare the snark, spoil the networks!"

I was introduced to Television Without Pity a few years ago. It continues to be one of my favourite websites. It is basically, at the very least, a site that had recaps of various TV Shows. The great thing about the recaps are that they don't just tell you what happened in the various shows, the recaps are really quite snarky and sarcastic, my favourite adjectives for reviews and recaps. The creators of TWoP also published a book about various TV related topics that is quite amusing as well. You can check their archives for shows they have covered in the past and maybe catch up on their recaps for shows you are currently watching. They don't recap every show out there but they cover quite a few.

Catching up

Last year when I was living in Boston, I didn't have a TV so any of the shows I wanted to watch, I watched online. Preferably on Hulu because many of the video players specific to different networks pretty much sucked (I am going to go ahead and say that I liked the one on abc.com the least, it didn't even load). This caused me to be very choosy about which TV shows I watched and actually made me stop watching some shows if I couldn't watch them on Hulu. Since moving back to Canada, I actually have access to a TV so I don't have to watch the shows online that often; although, sometimes, if I hear something interesting about a show I don't watch and/ or record, I will in fact watch them online. So today, I watched the crossover episodes for Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice online. I stopped watching Grey's after the strike last year (not on Hulu, ABC show) and had only seen a few episodes of Private Practice. I enjoyed them but I don't think I will go back to watching the shows on a regular basis. But I will say that I like the network video players in Canada much more than I liked the one's in the states. So today's favourite thing is being able to catch up with TV shows online.

A show for the whole family, but really not....

"Bones" is definitely one of my favourite TV shows although I haven't always felt that way. I stopped watching after the episode "Aliens in a Spaceship" because it annoyed me that they didn't catch the guy. Oddly enough, that episode is the one that got one of my sisters watching the show. This week's episode brought closure to that episode and I really enjoyed it. As with many "Bones" episodes, it had moments that brought up more questions that they answered but it was enjoyable enough that I didn't mind. Apparently, my niece had to call my sister to tell her that she was scared in the middle. Yes, my four year old niece watches "Bones." It is totally an inappropriate show for her to be watching but she loves it. Especially the parts where they actually show the bones. At the end, my one sister called back to make sure my niece was okay. Her mom said she was but they were going to have to have a discussion about ghosts.

And that's what I did all day.......

I pretty much go on the internet everyday. In fact, I probably can't go more than a few hours without going on the internet....which sounds startlingly like an addiction.....which it probably is...(Me addicted to something? Never......Oh!) (I think I just used way to many of these ".....") (I am also using too many brackets (Crud!)) Where was I? Oh right...the internet! I have a few websites that I check first thing such as my iGoogle page, Yahoo!, Twitter, Facebook, and my blog, anyone of which can lead me on some sort of timewasting yet enjoyable journey through the internet. Checking one thing leads me to something else which leads me to something else which leads me to IMDB, which wastes even more time because checking one thing leads me to something else which leads me to something else which is probably why I am still unemployed. For those that are unaware, the IMDB or Internet Movie Database is a website where pretty much anyone who has ever worked on anything TV or movie related is listed. So if you are watching a TV show or something and you recognize someone but can't place where you know them from, you can go to the IMDB and type in the show name and Voila! For TV, it helps if you know either the character name or episode name/number. Occasionally, you will read the list of what the actor has done and still be completely baffled but at least you tried. The IMDB also has Trivia, Memorable Quotes, Actor biographies, and Viewer reviews and forums. I end up spending way too long on that website.

Whoops......

I knew this day would come, because I didn't avoid it very actively. This is my third TV related post in three days and I feel odd about it, but sometimes it just works out that way. I have a French class on Thursday nights which interferes with my Office watching time. It wouldn't be a big deal because my sister and I record every show that we watch with her DVR. Today something awful happened. The DVR was recording but the cable box timer was somehow not on. It was awful. In my sad, sad, TV obsessed world. Luckily, there is something awesome called timeshifting. So we are now taping it at midnight on the Global station from Vancouver. We only have time shifting channels from Canadian stations so we get multiples of A Channel, CityTV, Global, CBC, and CTV and maybe a few more. Unfortunately, because we are in the East, all of our time shifts move the shows to later times. When I was in Saskatchewan, we got the shows earlier and later. So that was pretty cool.

More TV

I don't watch a lot of TV on Tuesdays because, well, nothing really interests me. The one show I do watch is the Mercer Report. It is similar to the Daily Show and the Colbert Report but it deals with Canadian issues. That show is probably why I know anything at all about Canadian politics. Each show follows pretty much the same format. Introduction, Him doing something with a Canadian politian or celebrity, a commercial parody, The Front Page (where he shows pictures from the newspaper and makes fake captions for them), another segment of him off doing something somewhere in Canada, another commercial parody, the infamous RANT, and finally, the closing where he plugs his website, photo caption contest and Spread the Net campaign. I may have a few of those things out of order, but that's the basic gist of the show. That show is definitely the highlight of Tuesday TV for me.

Mwa ha ha ha!

My evil, evil sister has this ability to get me hooked on to various things. Many of the things that I enjoy, particularily of the TV variety, it is because she is the one that said you should watch this. And I do. And I pretty much get hooked. It's happened with the Office, Bones, Buffy and to a lesser extent Angel. Yesterday she taught me a solitaire game that I had a difficult time not playing today. So when I know that I have gotten her interested in a particular show it makes me happy. The shows that I started getting her to watch have been Big Bang Theory, Chuck and 30 Rock. Knowing that I am the reason that she watches those shows makes me quite happy and I feel that is justifiable payback for all of the shows she's hooked me on over the years. So today's favourite thing is getting my sister interested in stuff and then not telling her how it ends.