“Five players on the floor functioning as one single unit: team, team, team – no one more important that the other.”-Hoosiers

As the title of this blog suggests, I am a Jayhawk fan. I’ve been a Jayhawk fan since I was a young man. I grew up in Western Kansas, in a town that had two choices for colleges. Those two choices were Fort Hays State University and Kansas State University. However, at the age of 9, I rebelled against the common thoughts of the day and began cheering on the University of Kansas. My precious Jayhawks.

What caused me, at the tender age of 9, to rebel against the common flood of purple that surrounded me in my small town? Well, two things combined to make me a Jayhawk fan at that age. First, my grandmother, while basically clueless about sports, has always supported the Jayhawks above and beyond all other things. Secondly, in 1988, when I was 9 years old(yes, I’m an older than your average Junior, I know), Danny Manning happened. For anybody who has paid any attention to KU basketball, and on a more general level, college basketball, over the past 20 years, they know that I am, of course, referring to Danny and the Miracles, the KU National Championship team from 1988. Larry Brown, you did us proud.

From that moment on I was a KU athletics fan, as well as a KU fan in general. I knew that I would go to college in the wonderful town of Lawrence(unless the Ivy League dreams came through) and I knew that I would enjoy it immensely. So, you can imagine my thrill when, 20 years after that last title, 20 years after I became a fan of KU athletics, I have had the privilege of being a KU student during one of the most remarkable sports years in recent college memory. Yes, I said recent college memory, not just KU memory.

On Monday night, the University of Kansas Jayhawks became the 2nd team to ever win the NCAA National Basketball Championship and a BCS Bowl Game in the same year. That’s right. The inept KU football program that has been second fiddle in this very state for over a decade lost only 1 game all season, including a win over in-state “rivals” K-State. That spectacular season was capped with a huge win in the Orange Bowl over Virginia Tech, thus making us a BCS Bowl Game winner, unlike Mizzou. Then, Monday night, in one of the greatest championship games I’ve ever seen, Mario Chalmers became a god on the KU campus by leading us to victory over the Memphis, not Mizzou, Tigers. I feel spectacularly lucky to be a Jayhawk this year.

And, if the long time frustration being relieved was not enough, the party on Mass St was insanity, in the best possible way. Now, if I could just end 100 years of misery with my Cubbies this would be the best year imaginable.

I searched for a clever quote to start this post, but I wasn’t able to find one really.

The truth is that the title of this post is multi-faceted. No quote I could find could possibly encapsulate the dual nature of what I’ve got going through my head right now, so I won’t even try. First, let me tell you a little anecdotal story from my day.

Now, I’ve got no sense of understanding of Ron Paul supporters. These people put all their political support behind a bat-shit insane crackpot with less of a chance to get his party’s presidential nomination that I do of converting to the Republican party, but yet, there they are, supporting him. So, it came as no real shock to me to hear some dumbass Ron Paul supporter in my American Political Parties class make the asinine statement, regarding the Republican presidential primary in Florida, that Paul would finish ahead of both Giuliani and Huckabee. The statement was supported by the fact that the number of undecideds in Florida’s last tracking poll were 30%, though he just didn’t seem to bother to see that these people aren’t undecided between all the candidates, but moreso between the three main candidates, and even more so between Romney and McCain. This has been proven by the fact that, as I write this, with 26% of the districts reporting, Giuliani and Huckabee both lead Paul by double digits, thus proving this man’s inability to function in reality.

However, then the conversation in class shifted to “switcher issues”, which are issues that, if a politician doesn’t support them, will cause a voter to choose somebody completely different as their choice. Now, some common “switcher issues” are abortion and capital punishment. In fact, both of these issues are “switcher issues” for me, as it makes sense to have view similar to mine. At least one would think that. However, this very same Paul supporter then said that his “switcher issue” was gun control. In fact, his stance is that any attempt by a politician to limit the weaponry that he is able to have access to at all would cause him to vote for somebody else. Now, I don’t think it is hard to see why, upon hearing this, I turned to my classmate sitting next to me and said “That motherfucker scares the shit out of me”. I mean, with the common sense to support Ron Paul, and what I can only imagine is a fucking arsenal sitting in his closet, this kid is one step away from being in the first line of my obituary, and not in any way that I want him to be. The level of naive, ignorant people that I run into amazes me.

However, I promised that this post was multi-faceted, so let us visit the other facet of people that amaze me.

Now, as probably comes as no shock to anyone, I am in therapy. I spend 50 minutes, every two weeks, conversing with a very kind and learned therapist who I trust to help me get through many, many issues that I have. However, my biggest issue, the one that actually drove me to therapy in the first place, is anxiety, both generalized and, more specifically, social anxiety. I had reached a point in my life where I couldn’t look a new person in the eye, thus making the act of interpersonal communication difficult. However, through work with my therapist and an amazing group of friends, I’m getting better at that.

So, the reason that people amaze me in this regard is that, through all the shit I’ve been through, I have some of the most loyal and caring friends a guy could hope for. Even when I felt so low that I didn’t think I deserved a single goddamn friend, they were there and making sure I was doing alright. With nothing at all in it for them, these people, my surrogate family, have taken care to make sure I was ok through one of the toughest patches of my life, and now, as I come through it to the other side, I can really take the time to appreciate what I have.

And that, my friends, is why people truly amaze me.

“I remember how the meaning of words began to change. How unfamiliar words like “collateral” and “rendition” became frightening, while things like Norsefire and the Articles of Allegiance became powerful. I remember how “different” became dangerous. I still don’t understand it, why they hate us so much.”-V For Vendetta

I haven’t been inspired by Pop Culture recently to write much about it. In fact, what has been inspiring me lately is, without a doubt, my fear for what is happening in this country. Now, I’m a political science major, so I frequently spend time pondering things that seem boring to many people in the world. However, as I am known to connect everything to Popular Culture, I can describe my fears and such in Pop Culture terms. For instance, my roommate and I had a very interesting exchange the other night.

We were watching Children of Men, which he had never seen before that night, I was struck by the depiction of the world having gone to hell in a hand basket. My amazement at how our world was moving towards that very scenario led me to say to my roommate that when the world does drop into the inevitable hellhole depicted in that film that I will be the first one in line to say “I told you this shit would happen” to the entire world. How do I see this happening? Easy. If you’ve ever read “1984″ by George Orwell, one can’t help but see that we are slouching towards that particularly horrible Bethlehem. In fact, the idea of “Freedom is Slavery” of doublespeak is, without a doubt, the best description of Bush’s homeland security policies that one can think of. One can find the same level of correlation between the other phrases of doublespeak and the Bush administration, with very little effort. However, I don’t really want to spend all my time whining about the way the world is going to be destroyed, so I’ve decided to accept that this world is fucked. Accept that we’re moving towards a recessions that could easily be the worst to hit this country since the Great Depression. Get involved in politics anyway I can and try to make a difference. It is just vital that I spend a great deal of time trying to stop the descent into hell in anyway I can. And how am I to do that? Well, it isn’t easy. Especially not with somebody like me, who has issues with anxiety and dwelling on things.

Well, I’ve attempted to adopt a view of life that says that “Life isn’t yesterday, life isn’t tomorrow, it is now”. Granted, this is something that is much easier said with the Latin phrase “Carpe Diem”, but I prefer my way. I could also say that it as “One Day at a Time” but that makes me feel both like I’m in AA and on a bad ’70s sitcom, so I’m sticking with my phrase. So, I am doing my best to avoid taking people’s problems on myself, which is something that is hard for me. The reason I want to work in politics and with NGOs is because I do take everybody’s problems as my own and want to make the world a better place. So, here I am, doing everything in my power to help change the world in my own little ways, but accepting that there are things I cannot change. Hell, now that I think about it, my current philosophy on life is best described by the oft-quoted Serenity Prayer of AA.

“God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.”

Day to day I hope that I will be able to embrace that thought. I may not be a God-fearing man. Hell, I may not even believe in the deity, but I will say that I do get the sentiment. If only that wisdom will come to me on a daily basis. Until then, I’ll keep living my life, one day at a time. We can each do our little bit to make the world a better place. Whether it be environmentally or socially, or just voting for a candidate that seems to want to make the world a better place and has a plan to do it, we should, each of us, make this world better one person at a time. If every person does one thing, how can it not improve?

Oh, and vote Obama.

“I can’t really remember when I last had any hope, and I certainly can’t remember when anyone else did either. Because really, since women stopped being able to have babies, what’s left to hope for?”-Children of Men

I believe that, in my lifetime, there has been a golden age of television drama. In fact, if I we weren’t in the middle of the WGA Strike, I’d say that that very golden age was still continuing today, but, due to the idiot producers, I can’t make that statement right now. However, I do believe that the television that has been on the air in my lifetime has been some of the best scripted entertainment to ever be seen, not just on television. With no end to the strike in sight(as shown by the frequent posts over at United Hollywood),  a television addict, such as myself, has to turn to DVDs and fond memories for solace. So, as a way to help any other TV addicts out there, I’m presenting my top 5 TV shows that are no longer on the air.

5. Sports Night
A TV show that focuses on the behind the scenes workings of a TV news show, albeit a sports show, is not exactly a new idea. What self respecting TV junkie hasn’t seen, or at least heard of, The Mary Tyler Moore Show? However, the difference between that show and this masterwork by Mr. Aaron Sorkin is seen in several aspects. For one, Sorkin was lucky to work in an era that didn’t have the tyrannical censors of the 70s that were able to make sure that MTM’s show wasn’t able to be as free-wheeling as TV today. But, even more so, Sorkin refused to be pigeon-holed into the role of a sitcom. The genre-defying Sports Night was not really a comedy. In fact, the tone of the show can be much more closely linked to the dramas of today, and in particular a few that will be mentioned in this list, than it can be linked to the sitcomy nature of Seinfeld or Friends, which probably contributes in no small way to it being the only 30-minute show to make this list. Combine all of that with the stellar cast that included Peter Krause, Josh Charles, Felicity Huffman, Joshua Malina, Sabrina Lloyd, and the incomparable Robert Guillaume, and it will quickly become apparent why I was heartbroken when this show was canceled after only 2 seasons.

4. Angel
This is going to begin a theme in this list. This spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is, in some respects, stronger than the show that spawned it. The core characters of Angel, Cordelia, and Wesley are direct transfers from that show, but the depth that their characters gain upon their move to LA actually makes this show much deeper and darker than the brilliant Joss Whedon was ever willing to go with his original creation. Throughout the 5 seasons of Angel, David Boreanaz showed both the dramatic chops, and the comedic timing, that has served him well in his new hit show, Bones, in the time since. Also, Whedon’s stable of writers are top notch when it comes to being both intelligent and fanciful at the same time. The fact that the strongest season of the show was the 5th and final season, during which it was completely rebooted into a new premise of sorts, shows that the powers that be in television are frequently blind to the creative value of the products they put on the air.

3. Firefly
I told you that a theme would begin to develop. Joss Whedon’s third series was, arguably, his most original. I mean, who the hell sits down to write a pilot for a TV show and thinks “I want to do a Western…in space…with no aliens”? If you removed the spaceships and distant planets, and substituted the Old West and distant towns, you really wouldn’t miss a beat in this spectacularly crafted sci-fi epic. However, by placing his series in a speculative future, Whedon is able to look at political and societal issues that he cares about and place them in a “safe” scenario that doesn’t disturb the viewer too much. The performances by Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Adam Baldwin, and the fantastic Summer Glau make this show much more than just another trite, quirky, sci-fi space show. The real focus of this show was family and loyalty, which is a theme one sees throughout Whedon’s work.

2. Buffy The Vampire Slayer
The theme seems to have continued. The first show from genius creator Joss Whedon is, despite a few comments made in previous posts, the best of his babies. The way that Whedon, along with that brilliant stable of writers(especially Jane Espenson and Marti Noxon), is able to capture the true feeling behind people whose lives are spiraling out of control is amazing. From the high school seasons, where the monsters serve as metaphors for the trials of teenagers everywhere, to the college seasons and beyond, as the challenges become more real life and less metaphorical, this show is written with such wit and truth that one can easily see themselves as members of the Scooby Gang, if they lived in a hellish world of demons, vampires, and witches. The show was also never afraid to take chances. Whether Whedon chose to do an episode with almost no dialogue(“Hush”) or as a musical(“Once More With Feeling”), he wasn’t ever happy to just sit on his laurels and rake in the money. After 7 spectacular seasons on the air, I, for one, was very sad to see Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon, and Anthony Stewart Head standing together for what was very likely the last time. I’ll admit, a tear may have been shed.

1. The West Wing
Yes, I realize that my 5 all-time best TV shows no longer on the air consist of only two creators. This is not my fault. It just happens that Aaron Sorkin and Joss Whedon are freakin’ geniuses. Case in point, Sorkin comes off a very dissapointing failure with his fantastic Sports Night and delivers a TV show about the political process that doesn’t bore everybody to death. Not only is it embraced by critics and viewers, it is often cited as one of the greatest television shows of all-time. It won 4 straight Best Drama Emmys in its first four years. In the 7 years that it was on the air, it was nominated for Best Drama 7 times. Yes, for those of you bad at math, that is every single time it could have been nominated for Best Drama, it was. However, if you aren’t one who puts a lot of stock in industry awards, I defy anybody with half a brain to sit down, watch 3 or 4 episodes of The West Wing, and not be inspired to get more involved in the political process. The “inside baseball” of many episodes and storylines would be shockingly boring in most hands, but with the combination of great writing and amazing casting and acting, there is never a boring moment in the Bartlett Administration. Kudos to Bradley Whitford, Richard Schiff, Allison Janney, the late John Spencer, and Martin Sheen for sticking out the entire run of the best show TV has ever been graced to have on its air.

“She said I was wasting my youth… so she took it.”-Buffy The Vampire Slayer(TV)

Now, I’m not an old man. Seriously. No matter what some of my so-called friends try to say about my “advanced” age, I’m only 28 years old(at least until March), but I find myself more and more saying things that being with something along the lines of “These kids today…” and end with me decrying the lack of cultural touchstones that my classmates in college and I share. I mean, hell, some of my co-workers have never even seen The Goonies, and I believe that to be a crime punishable by death in most civilized nations. So, it should come as no shock to me that these very same co-workers couldn’t understand my trepidation when I heard about the proposed A-Team movie. However, thanks to the fine people at the Movie Blog, I now have less fear about that particular bit of nostalgia from my younger days. Still, the mere thought of an A-Team movie that may, indeed, not suck and a very fine live-action Transformers has got me thinking about what other staples of my childhood could use an updating. So, I present to you the 3 creative properties from my youth that I would like to see updated into modern versions, along with my prediction of how Hollywood would fuck them up.

3. GI-Joe
Reasons For: Nothing would make me happier than seeing a live-action GI-Joe movie that didn’t make me want to commit random acts of violence on the producers, directors, writers, and actors immediately afterwards. I mean, how can you not make a badass action movie out of this concept? An elite group of America’s soldiers, trained to fight the ubiquitous terrorist organization of COBRA, fighting skirmishes in the war on terror. Hell, it’s even topical. That’s why it should be no shock that this movie has been on the development slate for quite some time now and is moving forward with a script written by Stuart Beattie and Skip Woods for an August 2009 release.

Reasons It Will Suck: First, and foremost, Stephen Sommers is the director. This is the man behind such craptastic dreck as The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, Van Helsing, and the live-action version of The Jungle Book. That’s right, this man has already ruined a live-action adaptation of a very nice comic property. Secondly, every synopsis I’ve seen of the plot of this movie has Destro as the leader of COBRA. Now, granted, this is just speculation, but if you don’t give me Cobra Commander, I will have my own group of VIPERs to take you down. Don’t doubt me on this one. And don’t get me started that they’ve cast Sienna Miller to play the Baroness. Yep, Sienna Miller, who to my knowledge is most famous for her relationships with talented people, rather than for being talented herself.

2. Ghostbusters
Reasons For: Because, after 20 years, my roommate and I can sit down to watch it and still find ourselves quoting along with the movie, and that’s the less impressive second film. The first inspired some good comedy, good copycats, bad copycats, and horrible videogames, but it also introduced a lot of people to the comic genius of Billy Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis. I don’t think it is too much of a stretch to say that this film helped to inspire many of the comedic actors we enjoy today. This is why I think it would be a perfect time for Ghostbusters 3 to find its way to theatres. If you had Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd writing, and the entire cast back, you’d be able to get every nerd boy of my generation in line, right off the bat. Maybe even make it a passing the torch flick, introducing a new band of Busters. Plus, who can resist a “crossing the stream” joke? Of course, since they are making a Ghostbusters 3, in the guise of a videogame, I don’t think I’ll be seeing this movie anytime soon.

Reasons It Will Suck: They are making a goddamn video game. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love video games. I’ve played them since I was a kid. But, no matter the quality of the storyline, the quality of the graphics, and the quality of the voice acting, no video game has ever been as good as a movie of the same subject and story could have been. Now, they have got the entire original cast involved, but Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray don’t strike me as the type of guys that are going to be giving 100% to voice roles in a video game. Why the hell couldn’t they have given me a movie, then done the game as a tie-in? I don’t ask for much.

1. Porky’s
Reasons For: Now, stay with me on this one. For an entire generation of boys, now men, our first introduction to nudity was this film series, usually caught late at night on HBO, or at a friend’s house on a sleepover. The movie that made Kim Cattrall a sex object, a status that continues to this day, also made many young men want to be Billy, Tommy, and Pee-Wee, yes, even Pee-Wee. What young man coming into his own can’t identify with the sexual awakening of horny teenage boys and girls? Unfortunately, the fact that this movie was made in 1982 has dated the filmmaking technique and the sexual references. Even with a movie that is set in 1954, an edgier, spiced up modern version of the film could easily reconnect to an entire new generation of sexually frustrated young men.

Reasons It Would Suck: There is absolutely no reason this film would suck. None. This would make American Pie look tame. However, due to worries about MPAA ratings and such, I’m guessing I have a better chance of becoming Pope than this movie has of being remade, but I still hold out hope, if for no other reason than seeing a new version of Wendy, played by somebody somewhat hotter than the ever annoying Kaki Hunter.

There you go. Do you have any ideas of old properties that would be a great addition to our Pop Culture world? Let me know.

“I’m the driver.”-Eastern Promises

Yes, I am going to jump on this train and highly recommend that anybody who has yet to see it immediately see Eastern Promises. You may question why I’m jumping on the bandwagon for this movie so late in the hype season, since it just came out on DVD, but I can answer that with one sentence. I just now started writing a blog devoted to Pop Culture, so this is my first real opportunity to espouse the virtues of this film. That, coupled with the fact that I am guilty of not watching it until today, makes it obvious that I hadn’t had an opportunity to praise this movie to anybody and everybody that will listen until now. So, here goes.

First, a word of warning for anybody who happens to be the least bit squeamish. This movie is violent. Hell, violent doesn’t actually even begin to describe it. This movie is, for lack of a better descriptor, fucking brutal. Now, on first blush, this violence can seem to be a bit gratuitous, that is until one considers the fact that this is a movie that, at its core, is about the Russian Mob. Now, while I have had the good fortune to never have any dealings with that particular group of upstanding citizens, I’m guessing that they are not exactly cuddly little puppy dogs. So, when, in the first few minutes somebody has their throat graphically slit, don’t let that put you off.

Secondly, the movie is graphic in its nudity also. There are prostitutes, and one fight scene that is known all around the internet already. I’ll leave that alone though, because homophobes may disagree, the movie is actually stronger for the plot point that makes that scene occur. I’m trying to avoid spoilers here, so that is all I can say there.

Now, the real reason to watch this film is the performances of three people. First, Viggo Mortensen is amazing as a limo driver/enforcer for the Russian Mob. He does a great accent, capturing the feel of a man who has seen entirely too much in his rough life in Russia. Secondly, Naomi Watts is very good as Anna, a female who is drawn into the world of the Mob by happenstance and coincidence. Absolutely pitch perfect performance on her hand. Thirdly, and finally, Vincent Cassel portrays a repressed, possibly homosexual, Mob prince as well as anybody could hope. The final scene featuring all three of these actors is enough to make the entire movie worthwhile, and that is if everything leading up to it had not been pretty much perfectly done.

The script written by Stephen Knight is pretty much the top level that one could hope for. It is clear that he either has done extensive research into the world of the Russian Mob and their traditions, has been involved in the Mob for years, or is extremely adept about making believable shit up about a secret society like the Russian Mafia. I’m guessing it is a combination of the first and third things, though I wouldn’t put the second possibility past him. The movie is, for the most part, unsentimental in the way it portrays these brutal killers, so who knows where the information came from.

Finally, the fact that David Cronenberg helms this one definitely makes it worth a look. If anybody hasn’t seen the last film in which Mortensen and Cronenberg worked together, A History of Violence, then it is the other movie that you absolutely must see right after this one. I’ve reached a point in Cronenberg’s career that I will watch anything he puts out, as he has yet to dissapoint.

Anyways, that is what I have to say. Go, watch the movie, stop reading this.

“Elbert “Ickey” Woods, the Bengals were fools to cut you in ‘91. Your 1,525 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns will not be forgotten. So, Coach Dave Shula, screw you and your crappy steakhouse!”-How I Met Your Mother

So, I was planning on trying to post something everyday, yet, here in my first week of my new blog I’ve missed two days. Why did I miss these days you ask? Well, it was because of my X-Box 360, pure and simple. It is an alluring temptress that sucks me in, and seven hours later, finally releases me from her evil grip. This time it was video games that sucked me in though it is often DVDs. At the moment, my drug of choice in her evil little virtual crack den is Smackdown vs Raw 2008, though I’ve tried to detox a bit by playing some Madden to wean myself off. Now that that is out of the way, let me get to my week in preview.

In order to check out my TV week in preview, I’m going to go through my DVR looking at my reminders and scheduled recordings, pure and simple. Also, since some of my choices may be a bit on the less conventional side, so I will offer a defense of everything that I plan on watching, pure and simple. So, let us begin.

Today(Saturday)
NFC Divisional Playoff-Seattle at Green Bay

Why I’m Watching:
For one, it is playoff football. For two, as a Chicago Bears fan, I despise the Green Bay Packers and everything they stand for, thus I watch praying for the Seattle Seahawks to pull off a huge upset and, possibly, cripple Brett Favre if they aren’t too busy. Granted, I expect it to go the opposite way, but a man can dream, can’t he?

AFC Divisional Playoff-Jacksonville at New England

Why I’m Watching:
Once again, playoff football. But in this case, it is also a chance to watch the New England Patriots continue their march towards perfection. As I stated before, I’m a Bears fan, but I feel a certain affinity to the Patriots because the last time the Bears won the SuperBowl, we destroyed them. Also, my best friend is a Pats fan, so I feel obligated to cheer them on in this pursuit of perfection.

Sunday
More Playoffs, but I don’t feel like doing more information about them. Just know I like football.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Why I’m Watching:
Now, this is going to be the debut of this show, so I can’t defend it on the merits of the show at this moment. However, I can defend my love of the Terminator movies, and the idea of exploring that universe more thoroughly is quite appealing. Also, because of a love I have for all things Joss Whedon, the fact that the Terminator assigned to defend John Connor is played by the always adorable Summer Glau. On top of all that, John Connor is played by the cheerleader’s ambiguously gay best friend from the first season of Heroes and Sarah Connor is played by Lena Headey who is both stunning and talented, as shown in her work in 300.

The Wire

Why I’m Watching:
My roommate has been obsessed with this show for awhile. He owns all the seasons, but I have never actually gotten into it. However, with the one HDTV in our apartment, it seems like a good idea for me to at least try to get into it. That coupled with the fact that it is often, if not always, included on almost every top 10 list of TV shows every year, and often in top 10 TV shows of all time. So, I’ve seen a few episodes in my life before now and always found it somewhat enjoyable, but after the premiere of this final season, I think that maybe I’ll have to dig into the old seasons my roommate has and get myself into it from the beginning. Still, this season seems like a good jumping on point for now.

Monday
How I Met Your Mother

Why I’m Watching:
This is one of my favorite shows on television today. With the interplay between the main characters, the writers have accomplished capturing the very real dynamic of a group of late-20s friends. Why can I say this with authority? Well, I am a member of a group of late-20s aged friends, and, often feel that we have interactions that are on par with those found on this show, if not quite as well scripted. This episode on Monday is the 3rd season premiere, which, while a repeat, is worth me watching since the strike makes new episodes impossible.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Why I’m Watching:
Well, in all actuality, if it is horrible on Sunday, I won’t be. But the reasons I will be are detailed in the Sunday portion.

October Road

Why I’m Watching:
This show is a guilty pleasure of mine. I don’t think it is the best written show by any means, nor do I think it will last past this season, but I identify with the protagonist. A 28-year old who feels like his life hasn’t exactly been the way it was planned, and who has returned to his hometown to pursue his old life. While I haven’t done the last part, the first part is quite easy for a 28-year old college junior to understand. Thus, I watch the show.

Tuesday
NCIS

Why I’m Watching:
Mostly because I like crime procedurals. Mark Harmon is always solid. It is well-written, even if not very believable at times, but oh well. It is hard to defend police procedurals, past just saying that you enjoy procedurals. It is why they are so common on the airwaves now. Also, it seems this episode is scheduled to be new, which is a rarity among scheduled shows that had a full season this year.

American Idol

Why I’m Watching:
It is an audition episode of American Idol. As a guy who has sung for most of his life, it is fun for me to watch these people delude themselves into thinking they have talent and make fools of themselves. Also, on occasion you stumble across a truly talented person and get to see that. But mostly, Simon is fun when he’s had to listen to horrible singers for 6 hours straight.

Reaper

Why I’m Watching:
This is one of my favorite new shows this year, along with Chuck, so I try not to miss any episodes, even if this is only truly a repeat of the pilot. Ray Wise as Satan is worth the watch alone, even though Sock makes it even more worthwhile, and is the type of friend that we all wish we could have. This is a fun show about normal people in abnormal situations, which is always fun. Also, shows about slackers tend to make me identify with them, and I don’t want to dwell on that.

Law & Order:SVU

Why I’m Watching:
Christopher Meloni is genius. I’ll watch anything the man is in. Whether it be this or his turn as Freakshow in Harold and Kumar, or any number of other comic turns he’s done, he’s got more range than almost any other actor working today. Also, it is fun to, from episode to episode, see which of the actors are trying to win an Emmy. Trust me, it isn’t a hard game to play.

Wednesday
American Idol

Why I’m Watching:
Same reason as before. Schadenfreude, baby!

Law & Order

Why I’m Watching:
I used to watch this show regularly, but in recent seasons have sacrificed it to my busy schedule. Now, with the strike creating a bit of room, I decided to give it a shot to return to my schedule. I have not been disappointed thus far. With Jeremy Sisto, an actor I truly enjoy, joining Jesse L Martin as his partner creates a very believable team of detectives that I enjoy more than any team of L&O detectives since Chris Noth and Jerry Orbach were teamed up. Also, Linus Roache seems to make a nice ADA.

Thursday
The Office

Why I’m Watching:
This one is easy. My roommate is obsessed with this show, so I have been subjected to it. The happy by-product is that I find it quite amusing. Still, if not for my roommate, I wouldn’t be watching.

Supernatural

Why I’m Watching:
I’ve got an affinity for the occult themed shows. This one features two actors I like, whose characters are supposed to be from Lawrence, KS, which is always something that will get me interested. Luckily, the good writing and clever stories truly hooked me after the premise got me to check it out. This show is one of my top 10 of currently airing, so I highly recommend it to everybody.

Big Shots

Why I’m Watching:
This show is Sex and the City for men. It has already been canceled, but they are burning off episodes in this strike ravaged time, so I get to see what they did. Not great, but good fun.

Friday
Bones

Why I’m Watching:
Good writing, fun cast, a nice procedural. Also, if you put David Boreanaz in a show, I, as a Joss Whedon fanatic, will watch it. I own all the seasons of Angel on DVD. He’s got great chemistry to Emily Deschanel ’s Temperance “Bones” Brennan. This show is one of my favorite bits of escapism I get on a weekly basis.

House

Why I’m Watching:
Yet another bit of escapism that I absolutely adore. Hugh Laurie is beyond fantastic, especially when you consider that he has such a thick British accent in his real life and can accomplish the Greg House American accent with such aplomb. House’s relationship with Wilson and Cuddy, as well as his employees are what make this show great. The cases each week are treated in the same way as my crime procedurals I love so much, so that is a bonus, but the true show is House’s relationships with those around him.

Numb3rs

Why I’m Watching:
David Krumholtz, Rob Morrow, and Judd Hirsch. That is the reason. Plus, some great writing, even if the stories are often contrived, they are quite good. Plus, it makes smart seem cool again, which I enjoy.

Psych

Why I’m Watching:
Hysterical. And I like buddy comedies. Those are the two reasons, really. Also, Dule Hill was on the West Wing, and thus I’m contractually obligated to watch due to my adoration of that show.

That is my weekly rundown for the time being. It was long and boring. Sorry about that.

“Whoa, Glies has a TV. Everybody, Giles has a TV. He’s shallow like us.”-Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Before I say anything else, I need to point out that I fully and whole-heartedly support the writer’s strike. In fact, if you want to see why I support it, you should read this. That being said, I am a bit sad that most of my TV shows are about to enter a re-run purgatory. But, alas, all is not lost.

Now, I love television. I’ve been a self-confessed TV “addict” since I was very young. I grew up on Andy Griffith re-runs, The Cosby Show, and Cheers. I then moved on up to Highlander: The Series, Saved By The Bell, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. In high school, I was the guy who would stay home Monday thru Thursday nights because I didn’t want to miss my shows, which by that point consisted of a mixture of Friends, ER, Chicago Hope, and many others. Yet, only in recent years have I maximized my viewing potential and pleasure through the use of technology.

Now, I don’t have anything that is really cutting-edge, “state of the art” in my home theater system, but it isn’t a black and white TV with bunny ears, either. My living room set-up consists of a 32-inch Sanyo HDTV, with a Pace HD-DVR. When it comes to accessories, I have an X-Box 360, with an HD-DVD drive(though with recent announcements, that will soon be obsolete). Now, like I said, this isn’t exactly a high-end set-up, but it definitely gets the job done. Also, on this set-up, I pretty much exclusively watch HD channels, so it is good that my local cable company provides me with 30 HD channels with my cable package.

All of that being said, it still requires good television to play on the pretty screen and the pretty technology. I have found plenty of it this season. Luckily, television schedules mean little to me nowadays, what with the rise of DVR technology, therefore I can watch plenty of shows that air at similar times without having to let my life be ran by the TV Guide. Now, this is rambling post that doesn’t exactly make much sense, but in the coming days and weeks, I will be running down the recording schedule of my DVR and making impassioned defenses of everything on there. Now, some of these shows will be embarrassing for me, but I will be open and honest about why I watch them. I’m also going to, in the coming months, go through my DVD collection and defending the reasons for owning those, though I do have 1 that I can’t defend and I will explain that when I reach it in the rotation. But for now, I think this is a good introduction to my television obsession.

Now, if you’re looking for something more interesting than this to read, may I recommend checking out how, despite a minor setback last night in New Hampshire, Sen. Barack Obama(the next President of the United States) picked up some major endorsements in the Nevada Primary over at dailykos.com.