let's talk tv, part II

Any other Medium watchers out there? Marc and I really enjoyed the series, especially the family dynamics and Bridget. They did a lot of interesting, different things over the years. But the series finale? Seriously disappointing. I can't believe they resorted to the old "it was all a dream" cliché. Really? And that whole ending shot killed me with its cheesiness. It's too bad a good series had to go out on a low note.

Dear Joe: I love you. Congrats on surviving all those years of being awakened by Allison's dreams and having crazy things happen (like when she doesn't recognize you).


House. I love the repartée in this show. Also, it seems that they finally quit using that stupid tactic of taking you inside the body to see what's happening. Good call.

I guess the story line of House getting clean and being a teeny bit more of a caring person wasn't very popular, because that is all out the window now. It's truly remarkable how much of a jerk someone can be, and perhaps even more remarkable that people genuinely care about him. And I wish I knew how Hugh Laurie can portray such a convincing American. When I hear him speak with his British accent, that sounds fake to me. That's how good he is.

video of Laurie on Ellen. I love him.

Survivor. We watched it at the beginning, and then for some reason we missed several seasons. Jill got us back into it a few years ago, and I have to say it does not disappoint. This is one show that manages to stay fresh and entertaining despite being in its 20th season!

Could you stand Russell's huge ego? And what happened to his mad immunity idol-hunting-without-clues skills? For once, his tribe wised up and voted him out when they had the chance.

Boston Rob. Charismatic and funny as ever. I love it when he talks to the camera. It's funny that even though he is about the biggest threat anyone could be, no one seems to think about getting rid of him. (Except for crazy Philip, that is. How funny is it that they put a question mark after his "former federal agent" title?) Rob's definitely still got it.

I think Redemption Island is a great twist. We are totally rooting for Matt – with such a great run of wins, he is a serious competitor. How cute was it when he was so excited to receive that pink Bible?

We do like tv around here. But lest you think it's all lowbrow fare, I do love me some BBC productions. Season 1 of Downton Abbey is currently on my docket. And my sister-in-law Lisa sent me Persuasion for my birthday! Rupert Penry-Jones, ooh la la.

let's talk tv, part I

1. What do you think of American Idol this season? I was wary at the beginning because I thought it might fall apart without Simon. 'Tis to laugh! Steven Tyler and J. Lo are great! I especially liked the way they handled the auditions. They said what needed to be said without being cruel. (Now Randy's the cruel one?) Since the voting portion started, I think they have been a bit overly generous, though.

The talent this year is over-the-top. I had no idea how they were going to narrow it to the top 24 or top 12. But then the performances get going in earnest and some of your favorite people disappoint you! What gives? I think perhaps it is the artificial contrivance of the themes. Songs from the year they were born? Come on. Motown, though – you can't argue with that.

Why is it so hard for the contestants to choose good songs? Do they need consultants to help with that?

Thoughts on specific contestants:

- Scotty. If I could go back in time and un-hear his performances, I would. His cockiness, extreme twang, and sneer just push me over the edge. But apparently he has loads of fans because he's never even in the bottom 3!

- Paul. I really liked him until he sang the Rod Stewart song. Now I can only think of Rod Stewart when I hear him. I can't stand Rod Stewart. Still, his smile does light up a room.

- Naima. Love her story. She needs to be singing, not cleaning up at a concert venue! And her African dancing? She rocked it.

- Casey. He's been growling too much in recent weeks, but I am rooting for him anyway. His performances early on in the season (Hollywood week) totally won me over. Could you stand his reaction when he was saved? So cute. (Although apparently he has quite a dirty mouth!)

- James. I like him more every time he performs. He is so poised and is a great performer. His Tourette's is endearing to me. I just want him to have something really great in his life, and he keeps knocking it out of the park! But I do have one small complaint: the tail. I don't get it. You don't need the tail, James.

And finally, why aren't they playing their instruments more? I love it when they play and sing.

one good thing

One good thing about being sick and not wanting to go to bed at night (because it's always worse at night and it makes it hard to sleep) is that I just happened to be sitting on the couch and saw this video: Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake singing a medley of the history of rap with The Roots.

Hilarious. I wonder how long it took them to work that up.

some current favorites

Do you know this man?

(Adam Carter a.k.a Rupert Penry-Jones)

If you haven't watched MI-5, you really should. Marc and I have been working our way through this superb BBC series on Netflix, and just finished season 5. MI-5 is the UK's intelligence organization and this show is reminiscent of Alias, only -- I think -- more intelligent and with a more realistic feel. The actors are great, and it's one of those rare shows that seems to only get better over time. Every episode is like watching a good movie. Highly recommended.


There is a whole series of books about Martha, a dog who learns to speak when she's eating alphabet soup and the letters go up to her brain instead of down to her stomach. I adore these clever books. I discovered them at the library and checked them out many times when Lucas was a little boy, and I just got them last week to read to Eva. She loves them, too!

Eva picked up this little book while we were at the library. Judging by the cover, I would have conveniently left it in the stacks, had she not been so insistent. I noticed it was written by the same author as Bedtime For Frances, a favorite from my childhood, so I decided to give it a chance. We read it last night, and it's actually quite charming.

The little Brute family lives a dismal life, until...

"...one day Baby Brute found a little wandering lost good feeling in a field of daisies, and he caught it in his paw and put it in his tiny pocket."

Everything changed for him and for his family after that. The book's dedication is: "For Esmé, who carries little wandering good feelings in her tiny pocket." That image just made me smile.

I bought this peanut butter fudge ice cream at Target last week. Holy moly, this is good stuff. Very chocolatey ice cream with little slabs of peanut butter, and they don't skimp on the peanut butter. It reminds me of Umpqua chocolate peanut butter, for those of you Oregonians. But I might possibly like it even better (gasp!).

In checking their site for this photo, I discovered that they also have a sea salt pretzel caramel ice cream flavor. Be still, my heart.

you never know who you'll meet...

...on Sesame Street!

Max & Lucas were never really into Sesame Street, but Eva has definitely caught the vision. I'm thrilled because I am a dyed-in-the-wool Sesame Street fan. We have watched a lot of it this last week and it's fun to see how appealing it still is, even to adults.

I don't know of any other children's programming where you can see a Jewish fairy godperson with wings and a cellular wand, complete with that great accent, saying Yiddish words like "gefilte fish" (in muppet form, no less!). For some reason, it is endlessly entertaining to me to hear the puppets saying words like: albeit, ordinarily, and ergo.

Cookie Monster was always a favorite of mine. I remembered the part where he said things like, "Me come back". I didn't remember him saying things like, "me not going to eat letter of the day. Me promised research department". So I'm wondering, has it evolved or is my adult self noticing things my child self glossed right over?

When Lucas caught the flu bug, our daytime programming included a lot more SpongeBob. Still entertaining, but it's no Sesame Street.