"Television: A medium - so called because it is neither rare nor well done. " - Ernie Kovacs
I really hate being sucked into TV shows, especially when I could be doing something more enlightening, like reading or interacting with live individuals.
That's why I tend to watch informative television, the kind you could actually learn something from. Like the Food Network, or the History Channel.
Sure, there are some serials I enjoy on TV, like "24," but since I've been forced to cover more and more meetings on Mondays for my paper, I've been missing more and more episodes. It's not that I hate videotaping them, it's just the managing my time to actually watch them that bothers me, because then it turns into a chore, which TV viewing shouldn't be. It should be relaxing; a chance to unwind and turn your brain off (which I do advocate from time to time just for the mental health value).
But now there are two series that have caught my attention and tickle my imagination.
The first is a Sci-Fi Channel series called The Dresden Files about a private investigator in Chicago who also happens to be a wizard. It's like Harry Potter for adults, and it's incredibly addictive. Based on a series of novels by author Jim Butcher, the stories revolve around Harry Dresden, a practicing wizard who offers his services to the Chicago PD for cases that seem to have a supernatural connection. I'm a new comer to the book series, but I've loved what I've read so far, and while the TV show is not completely faithful to the books, it does capture the atmosphere, which is usually what most adaptations fail to achieve. Also rare is that the series has actually improved with each episode. Unfortunately, some of the police characters do come across as cliched cardboard cutouts, but hopefully they can improve on that as well.
My other new addiction is the FX show The Riches starring Eddie Izzard as the patriarch of a family of Irish American con artists, known as travelers, who assume the identities of a family that died in a car accident. The dead family turns out to be extremely well-off and, as luck would have it, were on their way to their new home which they purchased online. This allows Izzard's brood to easily slide into their new identities, as none of their new neighbors have actually met the dead family. While it is pretty dark at times, it can also be darkly comic and even lighthearted at times, as well. Eddie Izzard makes his Wayne Malloy character incredibly likeable, despite being a thief and a con artist--you kind of wish he was your father. And it is fun to see him talk his way into opportunities that are completely beyond his scope, such as bullshitting his way through an interview with a law firm. "The Riches," although only two episodes into its season, is already one of the funniest, most entertaining, and yet thought provoking shows on TV.
That's why I tend to watch informative television, the kind you could actually learn something from. Like the Food Network, or the History Channel.
Sure, there are some serials I enjoy on TV, like "24," but since I've been forced to cover more and more meetings on Mondays for my paper, I've been missing more and more episodes. It's not that I hate videotaping them, it's just the managing my time to actually watch them that bothers me, because then it turns into a chore, which TV viewing shouldn't be. It should be relaxing; a chance to unwind and turn your brain off (which I do advocate from time to time just for the mental health value).
But now there are two series that have caught my attention and tickle my imagination.
The first is a Sci-Fi Channel series called The Dresden Files about a private investigator in Chicago who also happens to be a wizard. It's like Harry Potter for adults, and it's incredibly addictive. Based on a series of novels by author Jim Butcher, the stories revolve around Harry Dresden, a practicing wizard who offers his services to the Chicago PD for cases that seem to have a supernatural connection. I'm a new comer to the book series, but I've loved what I've read so far, and while the TV show is not completely faithful to the books, it does capture the atmosphere, which is usually what most adaptations fail to achieve. Also rare is that the series has actually improved with each episode. Unfortunately, some of the police characters do come across as cliched cardboard cutouts, but hopefully they can improve on that as well.
My other new addiction is the FX show The Riches starring Eddie Izzard as the patriarch of a family of Irish American con artists, known as travelers, who assume the identities of a family that died in a car accident. The dead family turns out to be extremely well-off and, as luck would have it, were on their way to their new home which they purchased online. This allows Izzard's brood to easily slide into their new identities, as none of their new neighbors have actually met the dead family. While it is pretty dark at times, it can also be darkly comic and even lighthearted at times, as well. Eddie Izzard makes his Wayne Malloy character incredibly likeable, despite being a thief and a con artist--you kind of wish he was your father. And it is fun to see him talk his way into opportunities that are completely beyond his scope, such as bullshitting his way through an interview with a law firm. "The Riches," although only two episodes into its season, is already one of the funniest, most entertaining, and yet thought provoking shows on TV.