Saturday Afternoon TV Catch-Up

I had a pretty good streak with my “this week in TV” posts until about three weeks before Christmas when life happened and I didn’t watch any TV for a month.  Seriously, my DVR got so backed up I only had 4% of the space available.  Then, we went out of town for two weeks, so it didn’t get any better.  HOWEVER, my husband is gone for the next six months, so thanks to what my friend, Heather, coined as “deployment insomnia” (mixed with my general lack of need to sleep), I have allthetimeintheworld to catch up on my shows.  And I have started doing just that--especially since all my favorites started back up this week.

Here are some thoughts about the Best(ish) Shows on TV:

I have been an advocate for Brothers and Sisters since the first episode.  As far as family dramas go, the writing has been smart and with a star-studded cast, the acting has been superb.  It pains me--pains me--to say this, but someone needs to punch the whole cast and all the writers in the face.  I thought the holiday break would bring us around to something worth watching (after the ridamndiculous episodes including a Moroccan-themed-old-people-love-triangle dinner and a Christmas Carol-esque journey through time for Nora).  Alas, this most recent episode, centered around Justin’s budding relationship, Nora’s failing relationship, and pick-a-foster-child party for Kevin and Scotty.  The whole thing had me falling asleep (which I guess is a good thing at this point since nothing else seems to be working).  Pick it up, B&S, or I’m going to ask to be emancipated from the family.

On the COMPLETELY opposite end of the spectrum, Parenthood started off a little slow for me but has quickly become one of my favorite shows.  This most recent episode covered the triple Ds of the parenting world: dating, drinking, and death.  Oh, and cleaning your room (also a very big thing in the parenting world, but it doesn’t start with a D).  I am inloveinloveinlove with the teenagers on this show (and having flashbacks to high school with every episode).  I laughed out loud and cried during the story line revolving around Haddie’s relationship with Alex (played by Friday Night Lights hawtie, Michael B. Jordan), and I’m looking forward to some major teen vs. parents conflict.  (On a related note, I’ve had four different people tell me I look Erika Christensen and act like Julia Braverman in the last month or so...I think this is a compliment???)

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, people!  FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS!  I don’t understand why this is the last season.  What am I going to do when Coach Taylor is gone?  What am I going to do?  The beauty of this show is that I never get tired of watching these people live their very normal lives.  Oh, Julie Taylor!  That girl has been on my last nerve, what with her affair with a married TA and crashing her car and such.  But, you brought me back, girl!  I was so glad to see Matt Saracen’s* sweet face in the last scene.  I think Julie is going to work all her issues out, and I’m glad because I think she’s a good girl who has just made some poor decisions.  (I promise I’m not projecting here.)  As we move toward the end of the series, I’m hoping for a sense of resolution without a happy ending because that’s the only way the show can go out and be true to itself.  *Zach Gilford is the only reason I’m going to give ABC’s new completely cheesy medical drama, Off the Map, a chance.  In the same vein, I really hope Michael B. Jordan’s character, Alex, remains a staple on Parenthood for awhile.  With those two characters and Scott Porter’s appearances on The Good Wife, I can pretend I’m watching the beautiful men of FNL in pieces all week long.

The Good Wife hasn’t come back from break yet, but I think it’s worth mentioning that it left on a weird note.  I’m not really sure what the writers are trying to do, but it seems as if several of the characters are entering into a time of (quite evangelical) spiritual awakening, which seems an odd but interesting story line.  The writers have also been hinting at Kalinda’s deep dark secrets all season, and I’m interested to see that play out.  I really, really hope they don’t take the easy way out and come up with something stupid.  So far, I’ve enjoyed the story lines, and if she turns out to be a man or something equally preposterous, I’ll stop watching.  

I spend so much of my time washing, folding, and putting away laundry that I've gotten into the habit of watching entire seasons of shows in an effort to not drift into laundry oblivion.  If you're looking to watch some good ones (that you may have missed when they were originally on), pay $9/month to Netflix, and your laundry woes can gone, too!  I just watched both seasons of Better Off Ted (apparently any show that Portia De Rossi is on is bound to be cancelled), both seasons of Parks and Recreations (which starts back up hopefully on 1/20), and THREE seasons of Veronica Mars (don't judge me until you've seen it--my BIF [best internet friend], Lacie, will totally have my back on this one).  Happy TV watching!