To say that I hate reality television unfortunately isn’t much of an overstatement. I recognize that there is some quality programming in the genre, but I think that the genre, in general, has done more to hurt scripted programming than they have to help television in general. Shows like Survivor, American Idol, and The Amazing Race (shows that I will give their due credit) have given rise to an industry that now provides programming like Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire, More to Love, and Who’s Your Daddy.

I blame reality television for the death of shows like Journeyman, Firefly, and Life. Right, wrong, or indifferent, I do. But as much as I detest the genre, I still have managed to get sucked into Hell’s Kitchen. I watched a couple episodes this spring when I was visiting my parents (My mom is a fan). When nothing else was on tonight, I was pulled right back in.
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I’m not really old enough to remember much about the original V stories. Despite that fact, I’ve been told that, as a kid, I was rather addicted to the mini-series and the show. I was a sci-fi geek before I knew what being a sci-fi geek was. Since I first heard that they might do a remake, I’ve been looking forward to seeing the story played out in a more contemporary setting. I recently had the opportunity to preview the first episode, and I’m really excited about where the show can go.

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“She’s a Lump” (Season 3, Episode 2)

When I previewed the third season of Saving Grace, I was working with what I thought were the first two episodes of the season. Turns out they’ve decided to run the episode “What Would You Do” later, which I think was a pretty good switch. Tonight’s episode continues the storyline of the Jane Doe that Earl (and Grace) have been watching over, whereas it doesn’t play a major role whenever we see it (Looking at the previews of next week, it won’t be then). As it was a part of the second season finale, and the premier last week, I’m grateful for the change.

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In some ways, I think that Father’s Day is totally more important than Mother’s Day.

This isn’t because I think fathers are more important or do more than mothers, or that I’m anti-feminist or whatever, but it’s because I feel that dads just don’t get as much recognition as mothers do. It’s probably some sort of collective psychological thing that has sociological studies behind our view of gender roles and the father’s place in his children’s life, that someone smarter than me has actual facts and knowledge can talk about.

All I know is this: dads need some love, too. And generally, they do not have a lot of places to turn to for it. My father personally has a black list of books and cartoons — The Berenstain Bears being the chief offenders, though I believe he also may have had a vendetta against The Flintstones — that portray fathers solely as bumbling idiots who were completely lost without the sanity and wisdom the mother provided. (Though he’s a big fan of Family Guy. I don’t think it’s worth figuring out.) Heaven forbid I ask him to read a Berenstain Bears book to me (okay, I could read it myself, but my dad did voices) or he would not only refuse but launch into a rant on the stereotypical role of the father and how it was corrupting my brain and wildly incorrect and blah blah blah. Which I knew, Daddy, geez. It’s just a book. It wasn’t until I started watching TV that wasn’t on PBS that I really started understanding where my dad was coming from with his whole vendetta. Read the rest of this entry »

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a massive political dork.  In fact, I am such a political dork I have a blog using my dorkitude to explain politics to people that don’t share my — well, let’s just call it “passion.” Most people, for instance, upon being told that that Brian Williams (who timeshares being my favorite non-fake news anchor with Rachel Maddow) would be hosting a two hour special about life in the Obama White House would have, like the rest of my family, rolled their eyes and turned to the baseball game. And I? I set my DVR and eagerly awaited until no one was around to make fun of how excited I got while I watched it.

What I had hoped for is what every political nerd hopes for — a re-enactment of The West Wing that has the side benefit of being entirely real. I wanted to jump to meetings and perhaps see Rahm Emanuel cut a bitch. I wanted to watch meetings and see the process of how people worked while simultaneously ogling my two favorite White House hotties, Reggie Love and Jon Favreau. (Hey, either of you — I’m single and would be totally okay with your long hours. Call me?)

What I got was slightly different.

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