Recent TV Watching

Please note that I will RETURN to podcasting in time. For the moment, I am writing individual posts reviewing recent purchases/watches/whatever. I'll be posting a few at a time, divided by subject. It should be set up so that everything viewable on this page is from the same day.

Following is a review several TV shows I have been watching in recent weeks.  Rating system is out of five-stars, with five being GREAT, and zero being worse than having George W. Bush record your outgoing voicemail message.

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House

Well...apparently the DVR decided that I shouldn't watch "House" anymore, because it has failed to record for the past two weeks...but up until then, I'd really been enjoying this season. House and Cuddy got together. Then broke up. House is back on Vicodin, and is doing crazy shit. That's always gold. The show has remained consistently funny, emotional, and well written, despite some real hurdles (some self-inflicted) in cast-changes, plot deviations, and just the challenges of still being "fresh" in season 7. But I've never been the type to look at a show and say, "Well, it USED to be good WHEN...." I am pretty loyal to the shows that I like, and I've stuck with "House" blow for blow. The quality is just as good--in fact probably better--as when people fell in love with it in the first place, and I wish some of you Prodigals would return. You're missing out.

Rating: ****

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Deadliest Catch

New season's about to start up. I. LOVE. THIS. SHOW. Been a fan for a while, but became a religious fan during the last season, once I heard of the death of Captain Phil Harris. Captain Phil was my favorite person to watch every time I'd catch the show. He had a wonderful realism about him, and it was a sad, sad thing to watch his eventual lost struggle for life as the show played out last season. Fortunately, the other regulars on the fleet are engaging personalities as well, so there's still plenty to dig into. I re-watched season six on DVD (bought it last week or two weeks ago or something), and was just as gripped by episodes I'd watched three times as the ones I somehow missed during their initial broadcast. I'm READY for season seven. I can't wait to see how the Harris Boys are doing. How Sig's getting along without Edgar. How Jake Anderson's coping with the disappearance of his father. How the Hilstrand Brothers are doing in their search for a man to promote to (Co?)Captain. ...oh yeah, and I also want to see how the fishing's going, too! :)

Rating: *****

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How I Met Your Mother

This is another one of those shows where some people are saying they've lost interest as things have changed over the past couple of years. I am not among those people. I still love the show. It still makes me laugh every time. I am still deeply invested in finding out who the mother of the kids is going to turn out to be, and I feel no reason to turn away. This season has been a roller-coaster with Ted having a romantic entanglement with the girl who used to be on "House." And it's had some really moving moments (and showed off the full range of capabilities of Jason Segel) in the plot-line where Marshall's dad dies. There's been a lot to dig into this year. It feels like the show has a renewed motivation to move forward, and make us laugh, and it's been great.
 
Rating: ****