4 posts tagged “television”
L and I just finished caught the most recent Battlestar Galactica episode, "Revelations", over at my favorite TV-on-the-Internet website, Hulu.com. This was the last episode created before the Writer's Strike started, meaning we won't be getting any new Battlestar Galactica until 2009 at the earliest.
Just what the frak do they expect us to do? Do any other TV shows really compare with the awesomeness that is the new Battlestar Galactica? Maybe we'll take Anthony up on his offer to rewatch the Terminator movies, which might inspire us to watch the Sarah Connor Chronicles. I still have to get L through the last two seasons of Six Feet Under, but I don't think that will take us long. (And there's still season five of Babylon 5, but it's tough to watch since it pales in comparison to the rest of the seasons of that great scifi epic.)
So, any suggestions on TV shows we might try watching? We tend to prefer serial-type shows, rather than episodic ones, as we prefer our storylines to be long and complicated, but I'm game for any suggestions. I guess what I'm saying is: has anyone seen anything good lately?
Had a great day off from from work yesterday, lighting up Independence Day with Anthony, Matt, Anica and some pandas. (I'm still pretty clueless why they refer to themselves as pandas, since Anthony or Matt haven't enlightened me yet. Unless it's one of those secret society things?)
We kicked the good times off with Anthony and Matt inviting L and I to see Transformers with them. (I was originally planning on holding off and seeing it with my brother when he got back from Wisconsin, but I figured I might as well as go while the going was good.) I wasn't expecting a whole lot from a movie based on a two-decade-old toy franchise, but it was surprisingly well-done. (Quite a bit better than TMNT, for sure.) Even with all the blatant product placement (I choose you, Mountain Dew bot!) and frickin' awesome special effects, that managed to squeeze in a workable plot.
Following the movie, we nabbed dinner out and then adjourned back to our place for various geeky activities. Anthony and I tested out the limitations of Pokemon Battle Revolution on the Wii (and I must admit that it is far better for multiplayer than it's weak single player mode). L also showed off TEH OVERLORD. We wrapped the whole holiday off by watching and roasting the late Dungeons and Dragons animated series. (We all pretty much agreed that Uni is the most annoying cartoon character ever.)
On a different note, my birthday's coming into view next week and I'll tell you all what I'd like to see for it: more blogging from my neighbors. What's up with the lame ghost town that Vox has become? Are you all too busy having fun without me to stop and blog about it once in awhile? I feel awfully self-conscious shouting into the tubes of the Internets all by my lonesome. So please start sharing those fun summer stories and anecdotes that I know you've all been holding back on!
Thanks to a generous loan from Ernie, I've been exposing L to one of my favorite childhood television shows: Star Trek: The Next Generation. I was shocked (shocked!) when I realized that she had barely watched any ST:TNG when she was growing up, given that it was such a staple pastime in my family.
You see, while I was growing up, my family would spend huge amounts of time up in the mountains of rural Idaho. Fortunately, we had an old color television, solar power and batteries to gather around once the day's work was done. Unfortunately, our little antenna only received one station with at least marginal quality. However, it just so happened that station was FOX, which ran current ST:TNG episodes. Pretty soon, it had become a family ritual to gather in front of the tube every evening to catch the latest episodes and reruns.
Thus, I have wonderful memories of ST:TNG, associated with family togetherness and especially of great times with my brother. ST:TNG was a jumping off point to many other things, including collectible card games (picked up at our first Star Trek convention), roleplaying games (first one we ever owned was an old used copy of the original ST:TOS RPG), and science fiction in general.
So, it was with great expectations that I revisited ST:TNG with L -- and those great expectations were met mostly with disappointment. It turns out that my tastes in television shows have evolved, mostly spoiled by the likes of Six Feet Under, Firefly and Battlestar Galactica. While I do get a warm fuzzy feeling of nostalgia, it's still a bit sad to me that ST:TNG doesn't inspire me like it used to. It hasn't changed, but I certainly have.
I'm curious, what media (shows, movies, books, etc) from your childhood disappoints you now that you're an adult? Surely we all have things we remember as being frickin' awesome when we were young, but then when we see it again as an adult, its no longer frickin' nor awesome.
The first season kicks off with the murder of Veronica's best friend which sets off a cascade of difficulties for her, including her mother's disappearance, her father losing his job as town sheriff and her boyfriend breaking up with her. Unfolding a piece at a time over the course of the first season, this show sucks you in and doesn't let go. The second season follows a similar pattern, but raises the stakes even further, challenging Veronica to solve the mystery of a bus crash that killed eight students.
Whether you want a smart, witty, funny, puzzling or downright poignant television series, Veronica Mars has it all. Give it a shot and you might just be surprised by this sophisticated show about teenagers and high-school with a twist. As for me, I'll be eagerly awaiting the release of season three on DVD.
