About Me

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Recent retiree--35 year's experience teaching reading, English, adult basic education and volunteer leadership skills. Started this blog to exchange ideas and commentary with friends and others having an interest in joining the discussions. Greatest life accomplishments include: 1.organized my 3rd grade class to check out library books for me to get around librarian's weekly limit--Amazon.com, the Mullins Elementary 3rd Grade Class of 1956 is still waiting for "thank you" notes; 2. volunteered in the Peace Corps, island of St. Kitts, West Indies; 3.taught adults to read, earn their GEDs., and speak English as a second language; 4. bought a border collie puppy for $6, got evicted rather than give him up, and began a life-long love affair with all things "Dog"; 5. joined a physical fitness boot camp in my mid-50s--don't mess with someone who's been doing regulation pushups in wet grass at 5:30 a.m.; 6. walked across Northern England with best friend Sally--over 80 miles from the Irish to North Seas; and 7. travelled to many foreign countries for pleasure and work.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

TV Love


Oh dear. I'm afraid this is how I look when in the grips of my favorite TV show. Except I usually wear pants. . .
Fun Monday topic for August 31 is TV viewing. Our hostess with the mostess is Janis over at Life According to Jan and Jer . Janis asks us to share a bit about our tastes in television programming. Since September is TV premier season, what shows do we look forward to--either old favorites or a new possibility? Well, as you'd guess from my "double" photo, I love television. Usually don't turn the TV on until evening, but there's something almost every night that I don't want to miss. In fact, my buddy S still complains about having to stay in our hotel room on vacation to watch Dancing with the Stars and America's Next Top Model when the rest of our group went out on the town for dinner after a hard day's walking.

So, when dark falls on Summit Court I crawl in one corner of our brown leather sofa and Willie takes the other corner. We make no pretense at multi-tasking to justify time in front of the TV, like reading, flipping through a magazine or folding laundry. Heck, most of the time we don't even have a light on. Our sole purpose is entertainment. Here are the favorites by category:

News/Current Events
BBC America World News--preferred evening news because you get one hour of national news in context with what's going on in the world, good in-depth interviews from unexpected sources.
Meet the Press -- best Sunday AM news show, admire David Gregory as moderator because he's fair and balanced and have no hint of his politics--good thing for a host.

Crime/Police Shows
The Closer -- Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson, lately of Atlanta, takes on a male chauvinist L.A. police department and earns their respect when she turns into a confession-getting ninja disguised as a dumb southern belle.
Lie to Me and The Mentalist -- very smart observations of behavior, psychological profiling to identify the criminal. And Simon Baker, aka Sweet Baby Jane, is just irresistible in The Mentalist.

Travel
Globe Trekker -- smart young guides help us tour some of the world's most out of the way places, on the cheap. Especially love scruffy Ian Wright and the way he's game for any local fracas. Doubt that he brushes his teeth the whole tour. . .
The Amazing Race --great concept of couples flying off to all corners of the world where they complete physical and mental challenges that demand that they work together in a strange culture. Being a closet travel snob, I also like to say, "I've been there, done that." :-)

Fashion
Project Runway -- ten young fashion designers compete weekly for the Top Designer title of the season. Heidi Klum, Seal's wifie, is the runway host, Tim Gunn is the designers' mentor, and judges are Michael Kors and Nina Garcia (Elle Magazine)
Tim Gunn's Guide to Style -- spin off from Project Runway. Tim takes on individual clients who need wardrobe rescues in the real world and teaches them how to select and wear clothes that are fashionable and right for them. Tim's fashion mantra is: Ten basic wardrobe pieces selected for silhouette, proportion and fit. . .

Food
Top Chef --on Bravo, ten aspiring chefs already working in their own or other well-known restaurants compete in various challenges--catering a movie premier buffet for 200 ppl, for example--for the title of Top Chef
Next Food Network Iron Chef -- established chefs compete to become a member of the select Iron Chef's club. Totally agreed with Michael Simon's being selected last year.

Viewing Gifts from BBC
Masterpiece Theater -- 9 pm Sunday night--be there be square for the best English drama from Jane Austen's Persuasion to Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit.
Masterpiece Mystery -- Foyle's War set on the coast of England in midst of WW II, Inspector Lynley Mysteries pair blue blood and blue collar for an unbeatable crime solving team with a good measure of romantic tension thrown in, Wallander set in a sleepy Swedish town--local detective battles increasingly violent crime and personal demons.
MI-5 or Spooks --working from Thames House in London, a small group of intelligence officers (spies) work to protect the UK from international terrorism, and other threats to the peace. Richard Armitage just joined the Grid in Season 7 as Lucas North, a MI-5 operative who has been held in a Russian prison for the past 7 years. Also, my lesson in patience since we won't be able to see it, except for snatches on YouTube, until early 2010.
Robin Hood -- Richard Armitage as the evil Guy of Gisborne battles Robin Hood for control of Nottingham and Maid Marian's heart--plenty of swashbuckling, horse riding, sword fights, brotherhood, thievery,and intrigue to satisfy the whole family. Season 3 starts on September 6 on BBC America.

Entertainment, Simple and Not So Pure
Dancing with the Stars --Gilles Marini, of Sex in the City fame, dances the tango with Cheryl Burke. 'Nuf said.
American Idol -- please don't embarrass my hometown by telling the audition judges that your hobby is shooting rats at the local dump on Saturday night.
Survivor -- will the real sleaze please step forward? And is there a clause in the contract that says you must show your butt or boob in every challenge?
The Bachelor and The Bachelorette --I should be required to do community service for watching this trash, but still I do even though it's wrong on so many levels. (Jillian, I warned you that Ed was a jerk, but you had to hear it from US Weekly before believing it, didn't you?)

Now I fear that I've vastly overestimated your interest in TV viewing at this house. Don't spend too much time here. Instead, be sure to check out other Fun Monday TV obsessions--it may make you feel less guilty about how you waste your time! :-)

21 comments:

Swampwitch said...

I agree. Your TV watcher IS much cuter than mine...BUT, at least mine is moving ! TeeHeeHee
Wow ! What a list ! I must make notes and add those to my DVR.

Jan n Jer said...

Thats too funny of Willie watching TV. Boy Faye, I think you covered just about everyting on the tube. You should be a critic for TV guide. Thanks for playing and Happy FM.

KittyHawk said...

Oh. My. God.
And I thought I watched a lot of TV!
I have been glued to the TV for all the Kennedy memorials. Very sad. WHo will carry the torch now?

Pamela said...

now you have me so curious. I need to find out what happened with Jillian.

There were so many good choices -- and she chose drop dead ed.

Deborah Carr (Debs) said...

Love the photo. Doesn't he look handsome?

I love the Mentalist, although the first series has just ended over here. Can't wait for the next one.

All your BBC choices are favourites of mine. My step-son saw Richard Armitage recently when he was filming a scene from Spooks in London. I was so envious.

Hootin Anni said...

A very eclectic list of programs. Multi-tasking while viewing TV....great.

My F M is now posted. If you can find time, won't you stop by? Have a great week!!

Faye said...

swampy--as I mentioned, when we watch TV we don't MOVE!

janis--as a TV critic I'd probably get about as much respect as I give--if I like a show or movie tend not to care about the critics.

kittyhawk--the list looks worse than it is--some shows are not in season. I watched all the Kennedy ceremony as well. Laurie over at Three Dog Blog has a really good piece on the day. "Ritual" at Kennedy Funeral .

pamela--according to US Mag, Mr. Ed had two girls stringing along the full time and even after the big engagement. I think Jake or Kipton would have treated her right.

debs--oh no, there's no justice! Your stepson gets to see Richard Armitage in London, not you!

hootin' anni--eclectic? That's a nice way to describe my habit! :-)

Jill said...

I had to go back and add lie to me and the mentalist to my list!

m (the misanthrope) said...

Cool shows, Faye! I also feel that I have to "justify" TV time by sewing or knitting - or, um, blogging - while the tube is on ;-) However...we all need our downtime. And thanks for the hilarious pic, and the tips on MORE (still more) British TV shows to check out.

Jan said...

Wow, that's a wild TV post.

Ali said...

Spooks is excellent, I liked that too

KittyHawk said...

I just saw that Louisville is getting AT&T Uverse, which lets you record as many as 4 programs at one time. Maybe that would help with your schedule. That way you could save time for more program watching by fast-forwarding through the ads! ;-)

Sayre said...

We're currently airing the Masterpiece Theatre and MI-5 series. Unfortunately, we could only afford to buy the first three seasons, so unless the viewing public increases its donations, they won't get to see the next three.... Even TV stations are hit by this slow economy!

At least Masterpiece will always be there...

Patience-please said...

I love Inspector Linley! I want to marry him. My entire TV repertoire is Antiques Road Show, Masterpiece Mystery, American Masters, and now America's got Talent because of our local Chicken Catcher.

Hula Girl at Heart said...

Oh, I forgot about The Closer when I did my post. I like that one, too.

Also, loved the Matthew video. Thanks for posting it!

Living Life said...

I love the dog! He certainly knows how to relax!

You have provided a great list! The tv does provide some good entertainment and is also a good learning tool when you are tuned into the educational programs, that is!

Gattina said...

I couldn't watch TV at all if I had this companion sitting besides me, I would laugh all the time !

I also like to watch Bargain hunt, the ??? attic, house hunters etc. Or the series where somebody comes to clean up a messy house ! Geez there are sometimes terrible cases !

Tracy said...

I love the picture of Willie on the couch. What a couch potatoe. You must have more cable channels then I do because some shows you mentioned I haven't heard of or maybe it's because cartoons are usually on. Be sure to tune into Dr. Oz's new show which will be airing this fall. Love that guy.

m (the misanthrope) said...

Hello my friend! Just popping in to answer your questions about the at-home cardio workout thingy.

J and I bought a Nordic Track "AudioStrider 990" in a New Year's sale back in January 2007. It has a hookup for an iPod if you so desire; however, there's a TV in the basement, and so I usually use my workout time to catch up on DVR'd shows. Holler if you have other questions!

m (the misanthrope) said...

PS I put in everything but the most important detail, of course - the NordicTrack is an elliptical machine. I can't do the treadmill or stair-stepper (too hard on the knees) so the elliptical is a good, low-impact alternative ;-)

ChrisB said...

Faye having just read your list I realise I maybe watched more TV than I realised! You've mentions a lot of my faves but they are not running here at the moment.