tv

My Week in Books, Movies and TV(9/21)

It’s been an odd week for me. My work schedule was different. I’m at the end of my seven-day stretch with no day off. I’ve only had one day off in the last two weeks. I usually work one evening shift a week, but this week I worked two. I’m tired and sometimes I don’t know what day it is.  I’m going to use all of that as an excuse for not finishing a book this week. I did spend a lot of time in front of the TV.

Books – I’m still working my way through A Land More Kind Than This by Wiley Cash. I’m also re-reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman for my new book club at work. I guess I shouldn’t be shocked by how much I had forgotten about Neverwhere since it’s been 20 years since I last read it. It has taken more time than it should to finish these two books.

TV –  In addition to watching episodes of the shows I’ve already talked about here, I started watching two shows on Netflix. I watched all of season two of American Vandal. I wasn’t sure if season two would be as good as the first, especially since most of the cast was new, but I really liked it. I might have liked it more than season one. I would recommend not eating during the first fw minutes of the first episode. Also, if you have issues with poop, maybe don’t watch at all. We also started watching Shooter after my wife rewatched the movie version. It is much better than I expected. I am wondering, though, how the story can span three seasons. I also watched the first three episodes of Mr Mercedes. So far, so good.

Movies – It took me a second to remember that I did actually watch a movie this week. We finally got around to watching The Greatest Showman. I knew that I would probably like it I tend to like musicals. I was surprised that my wife liked it. Besides Grease, I’m not sure she’s every really liked a movie musical.

On Deck – I hope to actually finish the two books I’m reading. I’m not sure what I will read next. There will be a lot of TV as the new fall season starts. My most anticipated shows are Magnum PI and Single Parents. I will report on those during my week of TV posts next week. With all the TV, I don’t know if I will watch a movie. I guess that depends on what DVDs I might get from the library.

Advertisements
2 CommentsLeave a comment

Coming To This Space Next Week

I only have a few minutes this morning before I have to leave for work, so I will use it to write a short post warning my new followers about what is coming next week.

If you read my week in review posts, you know I watch a lot of TV. I’ve watched a lot f TV since I was a kid. I once completed a poetry assignment in high school by converting the TV Guide in to a poem. The Entertainment Weekly Fall TV Preview issue for me is like the toy catalogs for kids around Christmas. I really like TV.

I started doing a daily “What’s on TV Tonight” post at the start of the fall TV season a few years ago. I will post one every day until everything has premiered. I will go through the 4 major TV networks and list what is on. I might have a few listings from cable if I am aware of them. I won’t talk about streaming services. It is pretty much the big 4 because I still watch a lot of network TV. One new shows air I will give my impression of them. I wouldn’t call the reviews. I can’t write a decent full review.

So, there might be a few other posts mixed in, but for the next couple of weeks it will be mostly TV. Sunday would be a good day to unfollow me.

1 CommentLeave a comment

When Do You Give Up?

I have a few shows on my DVR that I never feel like watching. I’ve watched a few episodes of one of them and find myself looking at my phone more than the screen. One I haven’t had the urge to watch once. I watched the first seasons of the shows and liked them enough to record season two, but apparently not enough to watch season two. Yet, they are still there, taking up space on my DVR. I have no idea how long they will sit there until I give up and delete them. Probably when the new TV season starts and I start having a disk space crisis and something has to go to make room for the shows I actually care about.

I will occasionally give up on a book if I read 50 pages and it’s not grabbing me. I have problems giving up if I’ve made it past 50 pages and then get bored after 100 or so. I feel like I’ve committed too much time to give up at that point so my reading slows down while I spend days finishing a book I no longer care about. Why do I do that? There are too many good books out there to waste time reading one I obviously don’t like. It’s the same with movies.  We recently watched an entire 90 minute movie that none of us as enjoying because no one wanted to be the one to suggest turning it off.

How long do you leave a show on your DVR before you admit you will never watch it and delete?

Do you have a page number for how long you read before you stop? Do you have a point of no return where you will finish no matter how bad it gets?

Do you turn movies off halfway through if you aren’t enjoying it?

Why do we waste precious time on things we aren’t enjoying?

11 CommentsLeave a comment

My Week in Books, Movies and TV(8/31)

It is slim pickings this week. I did read and watch TV, but I am having trouble with focus. Rather than read or with something on which I need to focus, I prefer the TV as background noise as I read dumb articles online. Hopefully, I will get out of my funk and get my focus back soon. Anywho

Books – I finished Smoke Thieves by Sally Green. I did enjoy the book, but I am a little tired of the whole series thing. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find any fantasy books that are not a part of  series these days. This is one with each chapter focusing on a different character and it’s not until the end of the book that all of the characters are in the same place. I’m not sure I will be motivated to read the next one. I have started Feared by Lisa Scottoline and I’m sad to report that I feel like the characters in the Rosato and DiNunzio series are becoming annoying caricatures and not real people. I used to love this series, but unless she can fix this, this might be my last one.

TV – Not a lot to report here. I’ve been slowly working my way through season 2 of Westworld when alone and season 5 of Blacklist when my wife is home. Westworld is a little boring this season and I find myself distracted by my phone when watching. Blacklist is OK, but I’m not sure I would keep watching alone. I need a good, light half hour show on Netflix to not focus on when I’m home alone.

Movies – The only movie I watched this week was Last Sharknado. I only watched because my wife wanted to watch it.The first Sharknado was in the “so bad, it’s good” category. This one was just bad. There was not one redeeming thing about it. It was just terrible.

3 CommentsLeave a comment

My Week in Books, TV and Movies(8/10)

I’ve gone from a week of a lot of reading to a week of a struggle to read. TV and real life has had more time devoted to sports than to shows and movies. I still have some stuff to talk about.

Books – I am still working my way through You by Caroline Kepnes. It is not a book that compels me to read. It’s not a bad book, but it is a book filled with terrible people. Usually, that doesn’t bother me, but I think the book would be better if I cared about the person being stalked.  I don’t know of Kepnes made her so unlikable on purpose. if so, it was an interesting choice. I was just about to give up on it when I saw that there will be a TV show based on it on Lifetime next month. Now I feel like I should finish. We’ll see where I am at the end of the weekend.

Movies – I watched two movies this week. The first as Annihilation. I have not read the book, so I can’t speak to how it is compared to it. I did enjoy it. It was weird and I will admit to being drowsy during a good portion of it(this is the story of my movie life), but I would recommend it as long as you are OK with weird. The second movie was the Netflix original Like Father with Kristen Bell and Kelsey Grammar. Nothing groundbreaking, but it was an enjoyable comedy about a woman who is left at the altar and then goes on her Honeymoon cruise with her estranged father. It helped that I love both Bell and Grammar. I would recommend it.

Television – We finally watched the Kevin Costner show Yellowstone that I’ve been recording this summer. Costner plays the wealthy owner of a ranch battling both the new leader of the Indian reservation and business leaders and politicians trying to build housing near and on his ranch. It is a very good show, though my wife hates it because there have been a couple of scenes of animals being harmed. It does have a very “nighttime soap opera” feel to it, but I’m hooked.

On Deck – I’m excited to have the new Simon Rich book and plan to start it as soon as I finish or give up on You. We will be watching Death Wish with Bruce Willis tonight and possibly a Wrinkle in Time. We have a lot of Yellowstone to watch, so there might not be new TV next week.

6 CommentsLeave a comment

My Week in Books, TV and Movies(5/19)

I’m a day late with my weekly review due to my post about the fall TV schedule yesterday. I’m not sure how much I will remember from the week. My mind is muddled from a combination of constant rain, waking up very early for no reason and my daughter’s prom last night.

Books: I finally finished the arc of Splinter in the Blood. I’m not sure the conclusion was worth it. I also finished Sunny by Jason Reynolds. I liked it, but not as much as his other stuff. I read Last Message Received by Emily Trunko, an adaptation of a Tumblr about the last message you received from people. It was kind of depressing. I am now currently reading As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti and Uprooted: The Japanese American Experience During World War II.

Television: It is the season of finales and reveals of what is coming next fall. I’ve spent the entire week writing about TV, so I won’t say much here. I did end up watching the series finale of New Girl this week while waiting for my family to be ready to watch something else. I didn’t see any of the rest of the season, but the finale did a good job of wrapping up the show. The Timeless season finale was very good, but still no word on its fate for next season. I finished season 2 of Dear White People on Netflix. Now, on to season 2 of Thirteen Reasons Why.

Movies:  I slept through my wife watching Last Jedi. I have already seen it and was very tired, so I was OK with missing it this time. I watched The Post with my daughter. It was very good, but I can see why people like my wife, who needs action in movies, would be bored watching it. I loved the ending and would be interested to see if they bring back some of the cast to do the Watergate story as well.

I think next week’s post will be heavy on books and light on the others as I will be reading to prepare to do book promotions at a high school and the rest of the time at home will be preparing for guests for my daughter’s graduation and then a trip immediately following graduation.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Tater Takes on the Entire Fall TV Schedule

Now that we know what is on when, I will now tell you what I think is worth watching each night. Now that I can record 6 shows at a time, I will likely try more new shows than I normally would. I am not going to rebuild the grid. Click here to see the TVLine.com grid I am using for my information.

Sunday – There’s really not a lot here for me. I will likely try God Friended me because it sounds interesting, but I am not hopeful. I will keep watching Supergrl and Madam Secretary I might try Rel because I like the people in it. The rest is just not interesting to me.

Monday – The most exciting new show for me is on Monday night  – Magnum PI. I loved the original and the trailer for the new one looks really good. I will try the two new sitcoms on CBS, but I’m not hopeful. I really like The Resident, so I will continue watching and if I can catch up over the summer on Netflix, I will watch the CW superhero shows.

Tuesday – As far as new shows go, New Amsterdam is likely the only one I will try because I’m a sucker for medical shows. I watched the trailer for The Rookie. It didn’t look as bad as I expected. I might change my mind and try it. I will keep watching Lethal Weapon and hope that the cast change doesn’t ruin it. I will stay with the superhero trio of Flash, Black Lightning and The Gifted and the two ABC comedies I like: Roseanne and Splitting Up Together. There’s a lot on Tuesday nights.

Wednesday – Two of my most anticipated new shows are on this night. A Million Little Things based completely on the cast(I really need to watch the trailer) and All American because I watched the trailer and it looks really good. Survivor is still one of my favorite shows and I like SEAL Team. American Housewife is one of my favorite sitcoms and I still kind of watch Modern Family.  I watch one of the Chicago shows(Fire) and if I catch up over the summer I will keep watching Riverdale.

Thursday – I will keep watching(with no embarrassment) Grey’s and Station 19. The two NBC sitcoms, Superstore and The Good Place are very good. I will try the revival of Murphy Brown and continue watching SWAT. Neither of the new shows is interesting to me.

Friday – I like the ABC comedies Fresh Off the Boat and Speechless a lot. I liked Last Man Standng on ABC, so I will watch it on FOX. The Cool Kids might be good if they give the cast decent writing. I still really like Blue Bloods as well.

Saturday – Nothing here. Time to watch a movie, read or watch all of the shows I’ve recorded.

8 CommentsLeave a comment