Watching The CW

In my other blog, watchingsitcoms, I wrote about my love of Christmas and Christmas music. (You can read about it here, if you care.)

I mentioned in that blog that I had found a CD of an old Christmas album from my childhood on iTunes and I was loving it. But I forgot to mention one track on my LP, that was not on the new CD. I’m not exactly certain why. I guess it might have something to do with copyright issues, but I’ll bet it was for another reason altogether.

The missing track wasn’t actually a song, it was a story told to music by Red Skelton. Probably no one under 40 even knows who Red Skelton is anymore, but when I was little, he was still a fairly popular comedian. Over many years, from the 1930’s into the 1970’s, he had both radio and TV shows. He has gained some little notoriety in recent years because of something he did back in 1969. It was a monologue about the Pledge of Allegiance, but this blog isn’t about that. If you’re interested in it, I know a Google search will bring it up for you to hear.

What I’m talking about is a story he told on my album, First Christmas Record for Children, entitled “The Littlest Christmas Tree.” I think that it was probably not on the CD because it is somewhat controversial. I never realized it as a child, but the story, which is a conversation between Santa Claus and a little tree in someone’s house on Christmas Eve, was basically anti-communist propaganda. It’s still an adorable story, but somehow, listening to it as an adult, it makes me laugh.

In any case, I did manage to find a .wav file on line so that I could put it on my CD, after I downloaded the rest of the songs from iTunes.

Here is a version that someone uploaded to YouTube. Enjoy!!

One thing is true. Biblically, angels are warriors.

The last two episodes of Supernatural (”I Know What You Did Last Summer” and “Heaven and Hell”) were basically one long ep. They were all about a young woman, Anna, who was being hunted by angels and demons alike. I’m just not buying it.

Look, I’ve this kind of love/hate relationship going on with Supernatural from the very beginning. Don’t misunderstand me, I really like the show, but sometimes they take it (I’m not sure who I mean by “they,” but probably the writers) in directions that I just don’t get. It’s like I don’t want to follow them around that bend.
(more…)

Maybe its because I haven’t watched Smallville from the beginning. Perhaps its that I’ve missed an episode here and there, even for the seasons I have watched. But I just don’t get it.

Like this week, Chloe starts losing her memory like a computer, erasing things and people out of her mind. Supposedly, this is something caused by Brainiac, but I don’t know how or why, exactly. I don’t get Brainiac’s involvement in all this, either, with Chloe, cause I guess I missed that, too. I thought I had seen every ep with Brainiac - the only reason I ever watched a single ep of Smallville in the first place is cause of James Marsters - but apparently, I missed some.

And I wonder, (more…)

I admit it. I got way behind on Smallville. It’s never been one of my favorite shows, but I watch it cause I feel like I should. It should be a favorite. It really should. It has everything I would be looking for, except that I think the writing is bad. Sorry, I just do. Sometimes its just so stiff and serious, I can’t get past it.

But I am liking it more. Just not enough to go back and watch the three episodes I missed when I had no CW on my TV. To be fair, I did try to go back and watch them. But I kept having computer issues and I just ran out of time, energy and interest. I did, however, watch the last two weeks of shows, “Identity” and “Bloodline.” I was behind on those, too, but I had DVRd them and I finally got a chance to watch.

I’ll admit, (more…)

Last week’s episode of Supernatural, “Wishful Thinking” was just OK for me. Not enough Dean, for one thing. When I first saw the trailers, I thought it was gonna be like Pleasantville or something like that anyway. But it wasn’t. Once again, for some reason, I missed out on any good Dean lines. I usually either write them down when he says something awesome, or I just remember them. But not this time. Which is sad, cause I’m sure he said some things worth remembering.

In any case, the story of the ep was that wishes were coming true in this small town. It sounds great, but it’s not, since people can wish for lots of things that might not be good for the general public. Like, there’s the kid who wants to be invisible so he can hang around in the ladies locker room. One woman thinks he’s a ghost. There’s a little boy who is always picked on by bullies who wishes to be very strong. He now has the bullies on the run. There’s the little girl who wants her teddy bear to be alive, but it turns into a huge depressive alcoholic monster.

The teddy bear was kinda fun:

The wish that has started all of this, however, was a lonely, geeky guy who falls in love with a beautiful woman who doesn’t even know who he is. He wants her to love him, and she does. But he finds out that its not all it should be, since she does nothing else but be in love with him. She doesn’t seem to care about anything else.

Well, the boys have to track down the first wish, which they do, because only the first wisher can undo the spell that has been laid on the wishing well with the ancient coin he used to make his wish. At first, he doesn’t want to change it, because he does want her to love him, but then when he sees how destructive her obsessive love is, he changes his mind. It was kinda sad to see her not even know who he was after the wishes were undone, though.

Anyway, I’ll try to keep better track of Dean during tonight’s ep.

OK, I think I’m finally getting it. I consistently trashed the first season of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles (Mondays at 8:00 pm on FOX) in this blog. I have, however, been watching the second season and its much better, but I haven’t said much about it.

I’m not even sure why I watched again this season, because if you read my blogs about the show for last season, I was pretty much never watching again. But then, somehow, as these things happen, when the show aired again this year I felt like giving it another chance. I’m glad I did. Somehow, the show has become one of my fave’s this year. It’s the show I actually wait all week to see.

I think I realize one of my main issues with last season. (more…)

OK, you know I love Supernatural , right? But Sam Hane. What in the Sam Hill is Sam Hane? The word is Samhain, but it’s pronounced Sah-ween or Sow-een or even Sah-veen, but not Sam Hane. Shouldn’t someone have done some research and learned that? And its a time of year, not a person.

*sigh* I just hate stuff like that. I love this show, but I hate silly mistakes. I know its their show and their world, so they can create their own mythology to go along with it, but why not just use something that already exists, the correct way, like say some actual evil demon from what ever mythology or religion they choose. And then learn to pronounce it properly. Its like an unnecessary thing that causes people, well people like me anyway, to get all unhappy.

Overall, though, the episode was good and creepy, which I like. I’m not a big fan of gore, though and while there wasn’t a lot, the razor blade thing really grossed me out. I think I may have been so upset by all the Samhain wrongness, though, that I totally missed any good lines. And there are always good lines in Supernatural.

I knew Sam was gonna need to use his mind mojo on the big bad, for sure, cause I didn’t think any silly little knife was gonna do the trick. I’m still not sure I understand why Dean is so against his using it, since it does help save people. I mean if you have special powers, you should be able to use them, right? I know I would use mine. I’m just saying.

Hopefully, I’ve watched my last ep of 90210 on the computer and from now on I can watch them all on the TV. It wasn’t as much fun as you might think for me to not have the CW on the TV. Sure, you can eventually watch the shows online, but you’re at the mercy of some other person, a complete stranger, to upload the show you want to watch online somewhere. And then you have to find it.

Anyway, some may recall that the last new ep - Hollywood Forever - was really awesome. Or at least I thought so. Well, this ep, There’s No Place Like Homecoming, was equally as good. In a complete side note, I saw that the random person (Cherilyn Wilson) who was listed as being in at least 12 episodes of the show is now marked down to 3 on IMDB. Clearly, someone read this blog, and straightened out.

So back to Homecoming. (more…)

Finally, I get to watch America’s Next Top Model when it’s on and can write my notes online as I watch, instead of taking all the notes long hand while I watch on the computer and then trying to decipher what I wrote!! Yay for having the CW back on my TV!

The show this week starts out with the remaining girls flying to Amsterdam. They are met at the airport by someone who speaks to them in Danish (maybe . . .), and who, it turns out, is the host of Top Model in Holland, Daphe Deckers. She teams them up and gives them a list of tasks to complete and then meet up at the house. The teams are Analeigh and Marjorie, McKey and Sheena, Samantha and Elina.
(more…)

Last week’s episode of America’s Next Top Model was a recap. Since I still don’t have the CW on my TV, I had to hunt it down on surfthechannel, which I eventually did. Then, I watched it and took notes by hand, like the week before. But honestly, I don’t care about the recap eps. I actually stopped taking notes, probably about half way through, and didn’t even realize it until later. Like when I went to write this blog.

So here’s what I remember. They took us back to a place I had tried to hard to forget, the Model Institute of Technology. They reintroduced us to Alpha J and Beta J. I wish they hadn’t. That was all pretty stupid and now they’ve gone and reminded us just how stupid it was.

Um, let’s see. They also showed (more…)

“Well, that’s gonna be . . . horrible.” Dean’s quote pretty much sums up Thursday’s episode of Supernatural. No, wait, the episode was good, but it was also pretty gross and horrible. Dean did have some great lines, but when doesn’t he.

The point of the ep was Dean finding out that Sam has been lying to him about using his powers. Sam seems to want to help people more than he wants to kill demons, which sounds good on paper, but can end up getting people hurt or dead. Which they find out when an old hunter friend, Travis, calls them to his town to help fill a rugaru (I’m not sure of the spelling, but that’s what it sounded like). This creature comes out when a person is about 30 years old (apparently) and runs in families. The rugaru they are after is just a nice suburban kinda guy, with a lovely wife and a nice home. He starts getting really hungry. Then he starts eating wrong stuff, like raw hamburger.

From there, it isn’t too long before he wants to take a little nip from a human. At first, the Winchester boys try to talk to him, it being Sam’s thought that they might reason with him and explain what’s happening to him. If they can do that, maybe he can stop himself from eating a person or as Dean calls it “manburger helper.” Instead, the guy gets angry and orders them off his property. (”Good talk” says Dean as they walk away.)
(more…)

I had to watch America’s Next Top Model on little youtube videos in 8 minute increments, taking all my notes by hand, instead of how I normally do, right onto the computer. All because my TV lacks the CW. Sooooo sad. My review may not be as extensive as usual. But who knows, maybe I’ll ramble even more than normal.

The show starts with Elina and Samantha complaining about super strict parents. Yes, Elina’s parents do sound like they were on the very strict side, but I think its nice to have parents who are more on the strict side. Kids don’t need more friends growing up, they need parents. Lauren Brie is packing some of her stuff, fully prepared to go home this week. The other girls are busy discussing Analeigh, in front of her, trying to determine if she’s really model material. Poor little thing.

The girls meet up with Tyra, who wants to teach them about having a signature style. Tyra coaches them through a photo shoot, helping them choose their own style. Analeigh is a rebel skater, McKey is a boxer, Samantha thinks her style is in her hands, Lauren Brie is uncertain and says her style is “just me” but Tyra calls her a surfer chick, Sheena says its her butt while Tyra says her style is cultural dance, Josyln says its posing wide but Tyra says its her profile, Elina wants to be the top model of the world, and Marjorie says she’s the Hunchback of Notre Dame. So basically, they either didn’t know their style or picked something stupid. After the shoot, Tyra tells them it was a challenge, and weirdly enough, Marjorie won. Her photos as a hunchback were really pretty good.
(more…)

I loved this week’s episode of 90210. I’m not even sure what exactly made it seem so much better than other weeks, but I found myself a bit dissatisfied when it ended. Not with the show, you understand, but just that it had ended. Let’s see how much I can remember to tell you about. I can’t give as thorough a recap as usual, since I couldn’t DVR it, since I don’t have the CW anymore, so I’ll just do my best.

Annie and Ethan get partnered up in health class to be the parents of a baby. Ethan is a stay at home mom and Annie is an attorney. *giggle* They therefore have to spend a lot of time together and end up at Silver’s half-birthday, which is in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery where they are showing Psycho on a crypt wall. At one point, Ethan almost kisses her, but they get interrupted by the big finish scene in the movie.

Silver loves horror films and she is trying to get Dixon interested, too, but he just doesn’t like them. He even falls asleep at her house when they were together watching them. But after he sees Psycho, he changes his mind.

Annie and Adrianna both try out for a part in a movie, (more…)

The next time you think television is all about entertainment, think again. It’s not. Hardly at all, actually, cause it’s all about money. Yes, money is the driving force behind television and broadcasting.

How do I know this?  Well, gather round, my children, and I’ll tell you a little story. As I believe I may have mentioned a few days ago, LIN Broadcasting, the parent company of the CW (and CBS) has decided to pull their stations from my cable provider, Time Warner.  LIN Broadcasting would like everyone to believe that this is all Time Warner’sfault.  But it most empathetically is not.  When the contract expired, LIN had the ability to allow their stations to keep playing on Time Warner during the negotiating process, but they instead chose to pull the stations.  This is evil. 
(more…)

This week’s ep of Smallville was a little different for me. Maybe for them, too. Actually, it was just confusing, I guess.

It revolved around Oliver Queen (Justin Hartley), who had been poisoned while at some party, along with his date, who’s name I can’t remember. But she dies anyway and no one seems to care overly much, so it hardly matters. Oliver manages to tell Clark and Chloe, before he succumbs to the poison’s effects too much, that he only has 12 hours to live.
(more…)