Book Club

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Friday Filter-More TV Premieres

Thought we were done? I told you I am obsessed. But don’t worry, we still find time to do other things.

I believe this is the last one for awhile. And looking back my shows are all over the place theme-wise…

Hart of Dixie

This show is a gem. I love it’s light-hearted stories and silly drama. It is about a NY doctor who was transplanted to a small town in the deep south. Some of the things that she experiences are things I went through when I moved to SC, so it is pretty funny to watch. Although until I moved to SC, this Missourian never really thought of myself as a Northerner. My dad turned me onto this show, sweet huh? He says that he sees a lot of me in Dr. Hart, which is probably true. Except, I could never pull off her heels on a daily basis. There is a continuing love triangle between her, George and Wade. I think she should be with Wade, but I see a lot of Tom in him, so it makes sense why I like him more. There is a lot of hilarity in the small town of Bluebell. Small town traditions at its finest. My favorites are the antics of the Belles, which is the women’s social society, which were shook up in the first couple episodes when Lemon and AnnaBelle up and quit. The disgrace! This guide says that my personality matches that of North Carolina, so it seems only natural that I would love a show about the South.

The Biggest Loser

This show is a feel good reality show. These are people looking for a second chance to become healthier and more active. I become a sap and feel really connected to the people on the show. To me, it is really inspiring. For the past few years, I have moved my schedule around to watch this as I train so I can watch this show as I run on the treadmill. For someone who was not a runner a few years ago, this show was really inspiring to do something about my own inactivity. It was like the trainers were yelling at pushing me through the screen, and it was a huge motivator to keep going with my running. It is only the second week, so there is not a lot of drama yet and they seem to be working well together. There are some seasons that I feel that the contestants are super selfish and overly dramatic in a bad way. I haven’t seen that yet this time around. I love seeing what creative ways the trainers get the contestants moving. It has really showed me how to be creative with my own workouts and the important thing is your life style. I do like that they focus on changing the lifestyle, and it is not just about dieting. They seem to do a lot about educating about healthy foods and exercising so these people can go back home and succeed without the trainers. It’s just a feel good show that I love to watch!

Pretty Little Liars

I started watching this show last Christmas when Tom was deployed. It was exactly what I needed as a distraction. It is ridiculous and awesome. I usually have no idea what is going on, and they keep me guessing every episode. Just when I think I know who A is, my hypothesis is proven wrong. They are making you believe that Ezra is A right now, but I just can’t believe it. I still think there is someone else controlling the game. And big shocker this week on the Halloween episode, Allie is really alive! WHAT? How does this happen? In all seriousness, how does she look that good and not disheveled after a couple years in hiding? This show is silly and totally not realistic, but that is why I love it. It will suck you in with the mystery and how things are overlapped. The intricacies of the details are numerous, and often times I have to play an episode over again so I can see an important piece of the puzzle. You have to come back each week because you have to figure out A! I think this was just a Halloween special instead of a premiere, so we’ll have to wait a bit for another episode.

Awkward.

I really liked the first season this show. It was perfectly awkward. The last season, I wasn’t so keen on. As like many MTV things, there is now a lot of focus on teen sex. It still has some pretty good moments, but I am not as invested as the first season. I will probably come back just for Tamara. I love her quick witty remarks, and spastic abbreviations for everything. The first episode made me really disappointed in Jenna. I thought she was better than what they have made her. So we’ll see how this affair goes. This is a good show that just gets your mind off of things. Its so random and awkward in its teenage angst. And who doesn’t love watching awkwardness when it’s not you in it? I think we can all relate.

The Walking Dead

Ahhhh! This show makes me have a heart attack or puke almost every episode, and yet I am addicted. I have only watched the first episode, so some of my question may be answered once I get through this week’s episode. In the first episode, they came back after 6 months from the huge chaos that the Governor let out. It was nice for them to ease back into the storyline to show how they have progressed over the last 6 months. (They never show how they get through the winter in this show.) There really wasn’t anything crazy until the last 15 minutes, which I am ok with because I watched it by myself this time…ahhh! This show scares the daylights out of me. I have had so many zombie and ambush nightmares in the last month. I really want them to stay in this life that they have made for themselves at the prison, but with the last 5 minutes I know this won’t happen. So is the zombie stuff like a real disease now-airborne or passing through food? I think there was something between Violet the pig and Patrick. That will mess things up fast. This show is pretty raw, and besides the zombie action, I appreciate the realness of the emotion. It really pays homage to the spectrum that we as humans can possess on the emotional/compassionate scale. It has sparked some interesting conversations. It is fascinating to see how morals evolve through the season, or stay the same for some. It brings up a great debate on whether character and what moral fiber will last at the end of the world as we know it. I love these debates, and I love this show, as long as I can fast forward through the scary parts or Tom tells me when it is a jumpy moment…

So that is all of them, I think. I hope you enjoyed it.

Send good thoughts our way today! Tom is having minor outpatient surgery today, so positive thoughts in our direction is welcomed.

Friday Filters offer a review that are my own opinions. I was not contacted by anyone associated with these works or compensated for my review. My review has not been influenced by anything other than my love for entertainment and art.

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Friday Filter-TV Show “Southland”

Before all the shows started back up this fall, Tom and I kept busy watching the entire series of Southland.

This is a cop drama based on a department in the heart of LA.

You will have a love/hate relationship with all the characters, except for Detective Ruben. I always liked him.

This takes a very raw look at police departments and all that they deal with. Since this is Tom’s chosen profession, it was interesting to hear his take on the accuracy. For the most part, being from Hollywood, it wasn’t too bad.

They dealt with everything from murders, addiction, gang wars, under cover, family dynamics of cops, and everything else under the sun.

What I appreciated about this was the focus on the actual day to day calls, and how in a split second everything can change your day. For the most part, it never really followed one single plot line. And life is really just a web full of plot lines instead of one steady stream.

This show only had 5 very short seasons, but it was all good. It was nominated for several awards throughout it’s airing, and was even brought back after a pro-longed hiatus for the last couple seasons.

It reminded me a lot of the real-life show Cops, just with a script. It had very in your face camera angles, which I believe helped catch different emotions than we see in other cop shows. The lighting and hues highlighted I believe also added to the “realness” effect. It didn’t have that “shot in a studio” feel to it.

You see how cops (new and veteran) struggle with trying to find a balance of upholding the law and how the job fits into their own lifestyle, views, and morals. The show talks about instincts and what can make or break a cop.

It also does not follow just one pair of cops. You get to see a variety of layers in the department and how they all may interact. This was particularly refreshing because for the most part it was not just a single story-line as with most shows.

I will say that the finale didn’t really feel like a finale. There were so many unanswered questions and ambiguity in how it ended. The fact that the show was not sure if they were going to be coming back for a 6th season or not probably played a huge role in how the last three episodes went down. They must have known that it was a possibility that they may not come back so they went out pretty heavy with these episodes, but also left enough open in case they did get the nod to go ahead with another season.

I also liked that most of the actors in this were unknown to me. Regina King was the only one that I knew off the bat. So that was nice to see some fresh faces get some screen time.

This is a great show that we binge watched in a couple weeks. If you are looking for something new, I highly recommend putting this in your Netflix queue.

Friday Filters offer a review that are my own opinions. I was not contacted by anyone associated with these works or compensated for my review. My review has not been influenced by anything other than my love for entertainment and art.

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Friday Filter-More TV Premiere Reviews!

I am really enjoying reviewing the premieres. Here is another round of goodness. These are both brand new shows.

Super Fun Night is a new show starring Rebel Wilson. She is the reason I thought to try this. I loved her in Pitch Perfect, and all the interviews I have seen her in, she is just hilarious. The first couple episodes have been moderately funny. It follows Kimmy (Rebel) who is a lawyer who seems to be an odd duck in most situations. She lives with her two best friends, and when the three are together they really remind me of moments of the Spice World movie (yes I watched this). So it is pretty corny, but it has some good moments. It does connect with me though because you can tell that Kimmy is trying to prove herself and overcome some confidence fears. She obviously does it in a more humorously graceful way. It’s only a 30 minute show, so I will probably keep watching but I am not sure that it will keep going. Don’t quote me on that though; Rebel has a pretty big following.

I am convinced that they attempted to do a spin off of Once Upon a Time too soon. However, that didn’t stop me from tuning into it this week. It follows Alice in her search to find her love, who happens to be Genie. He disappeared and is being held hostage by Jafar. There is some agreement between the Queen and Jafar to get something from Alice and Genie. There are some hints of the original Once, but it is a separate story. This one is a little more fairy talesque and dreamlike with the hues used. It reminds me of a mix between the Wizard of Oz and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the layout. I think if they continue to show connections to the original, they will continue to keep people coming. It is pretty good, but again, I wonder if they are trying to have too much of a good thing.

There are a few more shows that will be starting back up at the end of October. Goodness my schedule is full!

Friday Filters offer a review that are my own opinions. I was not contacted by anyone associated with these works or compensated for my review. My review has not been influenced by anything other than my love for entertainment and art.

Come back on Sunday for “Autumn on My Mind.” Sunday’s is the last episode, and we want you to make a fall collage. What are the things that you love most? You can see the full schedule here.

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Friday Filter-TV Premiere Week 3

Here is round three of my initial reactions to season openers!

The Crazy Ones

This is a new comedy staring Sarah Michelle Geller and Robin Williams who run an advertising firm. I was intrigued because of Robin Williams being on a prime time show. I figured I would give it a whirl. It’s not horrible, but it is not a hit yet. There were some pretty funny moments which is to be expected with Robin Williams. But also to be expected the story was kind of all over the place. The concept is fresh, so I liked that it was something new on TV. It’s not about the law or doctors, so it is something different from my usual shows. I am hoping the banter picks up and gets an even flow. I have a three time rule of thumb when it comes to to new experiences, so I will watch again for the next couple weeks to see if I get sucked in or not.

Parenthood

Parenthood

I love everything about this show. The cast, the story, the emotion.  I feel like it is the most real show that I watch. There are real problems and the reactions are as real as they can be in Hollywood. There are some dramatic moments, but for the most part they don’t go overboard with the theatrics.  I also love the family dynamic going on. You really see how one life can affect a whole bundle of people. It shows the web of family and the quirkiness when they overlap and intersect. I envision my family like the Bravermans-someday. You miss out on this when you are in the military or are far away from family all the time. I am interested to see how this relationship with Amber and Ryan plays out. I wonder how true to the military lifestyle they will be. Naturally though, I was crying at the end of the episode with the homecoming ceremony. There really is nothing like that moment, and it brought me back to seeing Tom for the first time off the plane. If you don’t watch this, you should definitely add this to your list! Just trust me.

Glee

Much like Grey’s Anatomy, I am not really into this show anymore. I have watched it since the beginning, so I feel the obligation to stay until the end. I really only come back to see what covers they do. I love the music, but the story isn’t so hot. It is so unrealistic. I mean really they make it seem like Ohio and New York are a 5 minute drive from each other. They all just need to get over themselves and stop being primadonnas. The music though is phenomenal. I love some of their renditions better than the originals. I am interested to see what happens to Finn’s character, which I guess is revealed in the third episode of the season. So we’ll see how this goes.

Once Upon A Time

I constantly have to pick my jaw off the floor when I watch this show. I am in awe of what is happening on the screen, and have to ask myself what just happened all the time. This is such a magical show. They make the fairy tales I grew up with come alive again, but with a very different spin. I love how they are all intertwined. How they make up these storyboards is beyond me. So creative and original. Every week it is like they are peeling off a new layer of an onion, and you aren’t really sure how thick it actually is. It is weirding me out that Pan is bad though. Peter Pan was never my favorite story, but he was always portrayed as a happy boy, not a sadistic lying kidnapper. They have sucked me into Storybrooke, and I want to see them have a happy ending. I don’t even know what to say about the awesomeness that is this show. I still haven’t been able to wrap my head around what is happening, but I know in  my heart it is marvelous and addicting.

Scandal

The Gladiators are back! The show is full of sharp turns showing the deception and corruption in politics. I heard it described once that West Wing is how we want the White House to look like and Scandal is how we fear the White house actually is. Pretty much. First of all, I love Olivia Pope. Her clothes, her smarts, her can-do attitude. I could live in her closet and be a happy camper. We were left off last season thinking that her dad wanted to kill her, at least that’s what I thought. After the premiere, I am still not really sure what his role is in everything. All I know is that he has a funny way of showing his affection for his daughter. It seems as though she has been a burden to him ever since her mom died. This first episode was full of people trying to cover things up and how to make the media believe something new to make the American people look the other way. It is full of word play and how powerful the display is, which I find facsinating This is a show that you can’t blink otherwise you will miss something. It’s like I am in a trance for an hour while watching all the scandals and Olivia’s team trying to be fixers. What do you think Cyrus saw in that folder in the last 5 seconds? President Grant might not be the dreamboat I had always thought. Bummer.

I am still trying to find a balance with not controlling the TV every night. The bonus with Tom committed to the hunting season is that I can watch all the shows he doesn’t like while he is out sitting in his new tree stand. The downside, I have to avoid social media so things don’t get ruined before I watch them. Problems of a T.V. junkie.

Friday Filters offer a review that are my own opinions. I was not contacted by anyone associated with these works or compensated for my review. My review has not been influenced by anything other than my love for entertainment and art.

Come back on Sunday for “Autumn on My Mind.” Sunday’s episode is about fall date activities that you can do in your community. You can see the full schedule here.

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Friday Filter-TV Premiere Week 2

Here is round two of my initial reactions to season openers!

Castle

CastleIntertitle.jpg

This is my favorite show that is currently on TV. It has drama, romance, and humor. I love cop dramas, and this show puts a different twist on it with an author who shadows NYPD as the main character. I wrote about my obsession here, and I am beyond ecstatic that there is new content in my life. AND SHE SAID YES! (Sorry I spoiled it for you.) However, with the long distance relationship, obviously they are heading towards some hard times. There is some new hilarity going on with the added layer of the FBI. I just love the quirky flirtation. I think that Becket will end up back in New York by the end of the season. I think they are showing a different side of Beckett now though with the engagement/relationship with Castle. She doesn’t seem so rough at the edges, which is nice to see her a little softer and showing some smiles. And you can tell that this distance is making Castle cukoo. He doesn’t like being left out of the loop or “waiting in the car.” This provides some opportunities for great one liners/moments. It was a fantastic first episode, and it mentioned the new book, which I need to get…Seriously is this real life?

Nashville

This is a phenomenal show. Who doesn’t love Connie Britton? This is the second season for the show, and there is no way they are dying anytime soon. The season premiere was great. It was just enough drama to keep you entertained, but not too much that you feel that it went overboard. They did a few flashbacks to show the early days of Deacon and Rayna. Loved it! It was great insight on their love but how Deacon’s issues with alcohol poisoned their future. I am interested to see if Juliette will use the information she found out from Rayna’s daughter against Rayna down the road. Juliette has some genuine moments, but most of the time she is so blinded by her need for attention that she doesn’t always make the best decisions. I also don’t want Scarlett and Avery together, so I hope they don’t go back to that. It seemed to me that they may have foreshadowed her going back to Gunner since they sung together at the Blue Bird. Have I confused you enough? This show is full of sex, drugs, and country music. It’s a country prime time version of a soap opera. I will say it is really fun being this close to Nashville too. It’s like I am really living in the world…yea? Ok maybe not, but it’s still fun none the less. I will say that I want to see more of Rayna’s daughters singing. They are the best!

Grey’s Anatomy

I am so over this show. I have been watching since it aired 10 seasons ago, so I feel like I need to watch it until then end. I think the actors are great, but the story lines seem to be one uppers each week. “How high can we go this week? What outlandish crash/disease/scandal can we come up with?” Don’t get me wrong, I am invested (which is why I come back week after week), but they don’t seem to be going anywhere. The season opener was no different. Heather (who I remember from the movie Andre) and Richard were electrocuted, so in the midst of the mudslide everyone is on edge with personal emotions all over the place. Ridiculous. All I know is, I would never want to work at the hospital. You either get cheated on or you die. That is some bad luck. Kepner is my favorite doctor. I just love her crazy spasticness and how she loves big. I really wanted her with Avery but I can do with this other guy too…I just want her to be happy. She is even more fun when she is throwing her positivity on everyone. That hospital needs a little happiness.

There are several shows that came out this week that are in the DVR waiting to be watched. Apparently, everything is on Thursday nights this year, and I could only commit to watching one last night. Problems of a T.V. junkie…

Friday Filters offer a review that are my own opinions. I was not contacted by anyone associated with these works or compensated for my review. My review has not been influenced by anything other than my love for entertainment and art.

Come back on Sunday for “Autumn on My Mind.” Sunday’s episode is about fall date activities that you can do in your community. You can see the full schedule here.