TV TV TV!

(House is probably my favorite show)

I'm back. Sorry for the little break from blogging, but I've been really busy lately with all sorts of things to do and issues clogging and fogging up my brain. Luckily I have TV to numb my brain temporarily or at least to have on in the background to make mindless tasks more enjoyable. So, I thought I would write about the many, and I mean many, shows I watch. Thanks to tivo/dvr I can watch like 5 primetime shows on some nights in a lot less time because I can fast forward through the commercials and about 90% of American Idol and Biggest Loser.

I used to be embarrassed by how much TV I watch, thinking that TV=couch potato, but I'm fairly active, I read and am often productively responding to emails and blogging while enjoying my favorite primetime dramas. (I also addictively play internet backgammon and go on facebook for no reason while watching TV, but that's multitasking too!) So what if it's melting my brain - I think I'm smarter than the average bear, so a little rotting of the brain isn't going to kill me right? I'm not even embarrassed to say that I have so many shows to watch on Tuesdays that I have to download one because there are 3 shows on at the same time. So here's the rundown of the shows I generally watch:

• Mondays: How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, House, Law & Order 
• Tuesdays: American Idol, Biggest Loser, Lost, 90210, Parenthood
• Wednesdays: Modern Family, American Idol, SVU, Top Chef/Masters, ANTM (sometimes)
• Thursday: Survivor, Project Runway & Models of the Runway, The Marriage Ref
• Sunday: Celebrity Apprentice

I also watch Jeopardy when I am home and remember, The Soup, The Hills when it's on and my guiltiest pleasure... I recently started dvring Days of Our Lives again, but I think that will have to stop soon. Holy crap I watch a lot of TV. Now some of those shows are not on for that long during the year, especially the reality shows and all of the shows are not on during the summer. So even though it is a lot of time, I'm just not ashamed. Here are a couple more rationalizations anyway: I watch all the shows recorded, so it takes a lot less time; this is my last season watching American Idol, The Hills and Lost; Project Runway, Top Chef and Celebrity Apprentice are hardly every on. Whoa, I what do I do with all that extra time in the summer and when shows take winter breaks? I can't even remember... maybe I socialize.

A few of the show I watch are fairly new. Here are my thoughts on them.

Modern Family is just about the funniest show I've ever seen. First of all, one of the stars is Al Bundy. Who knew he could be so funny? Second, it stars Sofia Vergara, who is just about as ideal a person as I can think of. So the jist of the show is that it follows 3 families, which are actually one family. Al Bundy is the patriarch, re-married to a Columbian women much younger than him who has a son around the age of his grandkids. He also has 2 biological kids, who are grown up, married/partnered with their own kids and live in the same town. I want everyone to watch this show so badly that I won't write more... yet. Download the episodes, watch it on hulu, whatever. Just watch it! You'll be laughing out loud, and that's a promise.

Parenthood is about a guy played by Craig T. Nelson, (you know Coach) who has a wife and kids who are all grown up with their own families and all live in he same town. Sound familiar? This show is basically the one-hour drama version of Modern Family, a not that funny Modern Family. It has it's funny moments and is entertain in general. I'm still not sold on it entirely, but it didn't start until after the Olympics, so I'm giving it a shot for this season. One of Coach's kids is Lauren Graham, who plays a single mom just like she did in Gilmore Girls (my favorite show of all time). Sidenote - has anyone seen Lauren Graham in any sort of interview or award ceremony? She is a complete spazz, unable to read a teleprompter and kind of annoying. The jury is still out on this show. Since it doesn't conflict with any other show, it's staying on my list for now.

The Marriage Ref is a new show by Jerry Seinfeld where a panel of 3 celebrities discuss issues that specific married couples are having and bring to the show, and the host (or ref) listens to their thoughts and then decides in favor of the husband or wife. The tiffs between spouses have been things like: should a husband be allowed to keep is stuffed dead dog in foyer, should a wife be allowed to floss in bed, and can a wife keep a formal dining room that no one can go into except for Thanksgiving. The problems run from mundane to gross to crazy. So far, the show has been really funny. The couples have been interesting people with interesting problems. The panel of celebrities have been funny. My favorite trio of celebrities so far has been Kelly Ripa, Alec Baldwin and Jerry Seinfeld. The three of them have been on together twice so far, I think. I was most surprised that Kirstie Alley was at times funny instead of being horrible the whole time like I expected. Ricky Gervais was another one of my favs. So as long as they continue to find funny couples with funny problems and funny celebrities, this show should continue to be entertaining.

So those are my thoughts on TV for now. I am sure I will write more in the future. Surely there will be rants on Lost and the disappointing contestants on American Idol and much more. When you watch as much TV as I do, you're bound to have a lot to say about it.

VFF UPDATE: Feeling good with my 3 mile or so runs. I feel completely used to running in them, having had them for 2 weeks or so. I haven't had any toe issues or anything like that.  All in all, my feet and legs feel better than with regular shoes. I'm tempted to put on my Nikes and go for a run to see what it feels like again. I am also starting a new training program that is has some Fartlek integrated (speedwork), so wish me luck with that!