"Good cop and bad cop have left for the day. I'm a different kind of cop."

For the past few weeks, I have been making my way through the first six seasons of The Shield and am about the start season seven. I have to be honest, it did not interest me at all when it was on the air. Even though it was getting great reviews from the critics, I do not remember a single one of my friends ever telling me that I should be watching it. At least, not until the last few seasons. But I am also not sure that I would have appreciated it as a freshman in college. Actually, the only person I ever remember telling me that they loved the show was the receptionist at my high school swimming pool :o)

So, why did I start watching it now? Well, it took a little while to get me to this point, starting with the FX show, Terriers.....

"I traded my pig for you!"

Since everyone else on the internet seems to be making these lists, I have decided to share with you who I would pick if I could vote for Emmy nominations.

Actor Drama
1. Charlie Hunnam - Sons of Anarchy
2. Timothy Olyphant - Justified
3. Mark Harmon - NCIS
4. Kyle Chandler - Friday Night Lights
5. Matt Bomer - White Collar
6. Donal Logue - Terriers

Actress Drama
1. Katey Sagal - Sons of Anarchy
2. Connie Britton - Friday Night Lights
3. Jennifer Beals - The Chicago Code
4. Mirielle Enos - The Killing
5. Lauren Graham - Parenthood
6. Julianna Margulies - The Good Wife

Supporting Actor Drama
1. Josh Charles - The Good Wife
2. Ron Perlman - Sons of Anarchy
3. Walton Goggins - Justified
4. Matt Czuchry - The Good Wife
5. Joel Kinnaman - The Killing
6. John Slattery - Mad Men

Supporting Actress Drama
1. Michelle Forbes - The Killing
2. Margo Martindale - Justified
3. Archie Panjabi - The Good Wife
4. KaDee Strickland - Private Practice
5. Mae Whitman - Parenthood
6. Christina Hendricks - Mad Men

Best Drama
1. Sons of Anarchy
2. Justified
3. The Good Wife
4. Parenthood
5. NCIS
6. Friday Night Lights

Actor Comedy
1. Joel McHale - Community
2. Josh Radnor - How I Met Your Mother
3. Jim Parsons - The Big Bang Theory
4. Zachary Levi - Chuck
5. Steve Carrell - The Office
6. Charlie Day - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Actress Comedy
1. Mary-Louise Parker - Weeds
2. Kaitlin Olson - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
3. Tina Fey - 30 Rock
4. Kaley Cuoco - The Big Bang Theory
5. Amy Poehler - Parks and Recreation
6. Melissa McCarthy - Mike & Molly

Supporting Actor Comedy
1. Chris Colfer - Glee
2. Neil Patrick Harris - How I Met Your Mother
3. Danny Pudi - Community
4. Jason Segel - How I Met Your Mother
5. Eric Stonestreet - Modern Family
6. Adam Scott - Parks and Recreation

Supporting Actress Comedy
1. Heather Morris - Glee
2. Kristin Wiig - Saturday Night Live
3. Alyson Hannigan - How I Met Your Mother
4. Alison Brie - Community
5. Busy Philipps - Cougar Town
6. Jane Lynch - Glee

Best Comedy
1. How I Met Your Mother
2. Community
3. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
4. The Big Bang Theory
5. Chuck
6. Weeds

I do not watch a lot of comedy shows, so some of those choices are a little random. They mostly came from liking specific actors in other projects that they have done. I also only watch about three reality TV shows, so I did not list my choices for that at all.

Do you agree/disagree with my selections?! Let me know! The actual nominees will be announced July 14. Make sure you are following me on Twitter and/or Facebook for that.

xoxo
c
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"The true outlaw finds the balance between the passion in his heart.....

and the reason in his mind. The solution is always an equal mix of might and right."

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As you all should have realized by now, I watch a lot of television.  I know that I have said this before, but I think you need to know that I know I watch...probably way too much television :o)  As such, I have recently been trying to weed out the not-so-good shows that I only really keep following out of habit.

One of those shows is Gossip Girl.  I went to my DVR a few weeks ago to watch the new episode and just realized that I had no interest in watching it.  The first season was pretty good and there have been some intriguing episodes here and there over the following three seasons, but overall, the plots are just getting more and more ridiculous and I cannot take it anymore.  There also happen to be two other good shows in that time slot on Mondays.  So instead, I will be watching Being Human on SyFy and The Chicago Code on FOX.  Both of which, I think you should all be watching as well.

One Tree Hill is another one of those shows that I pretty much just watch out of habit these days.  I have watched it from the beginning and while it was never a great show it was entertaining enough.  Then, after the fourth season and the characters graduation from high school, the show jumped ahead four years and all of a sudden it became more relevant to my life, so I kept watching.  However, the past two seasons have not been all that interesting, but I cannot seem to stop. I am kind of hoping it does not get renewed for another season.

On the other hand, The Vampire Diaries seriously just keeps getting better and better.  I know I have said it before, but I really feel like I need to say it again because, while it does have a huge following, it is on the CW Network and I think a lot of people my age rule it out due to that fact.  I am truly impressed at how they continue to keep things exciting each and every week.

Another show that I have recently become addicted to is Sons of Anarchy.  When it started in 2008, it did not really appeal to me.  It did not star anyone that really made me want to watch it and the motorcycle club angle was not something I cared about either.  However, three seasons later it is still getting a lot of good buzz from the critics, so I decided to give it a try.  I have to say, it is very good.  Even though I am not interested in motorcycles or motorcycle clubs, the smart writing, great acting and interesting story lines keep you invested in the characters.  Also, after further inspection of the cast, it does contain a lot of people whose names you may not recognize, but who have actually been in things you have probably seen: Katey Sagal - Married with Children and 8 Simple Rules; Maggie Siff - Mad Men; Charlie Hunnam - Undeclared and Cold Mountain; Tommy Flanagan - Braveheart and Gladiator; Kim Coates - Black Hawk Down and Pearl Harbor; Ryan Hurst - Remember the Titans; any several more excellent actors.  Season 3 just finished in November and is not yet out on DVD, so I have only seen the few episodes that are on Hulu, but I can already tell that it will be just as good as the first two seasons.  I highly recommend that you check it out.

I have also decided that, despite my aversion to most things zombie related, I should probably watch The Walking Dead.  I am not expecting to like it, but it has gotten such good reviews, that I feel like I cannot just ignore it.  I will let you know how that goes.


In completely un-television related news, my friend, Chris Despo, is releasing his first album at the end of this month and I CANNOT wait.  It will be on iTunes, and I will give you that link when it is available, but until then, I leave you with his "behind-the-scenes" video:

And, as always, if you have any thoughts, or feel there are any TV shows I should be watching, please use the comments section below!

xoxo

c

Lionel: I believe sucking smoke into your lungs will kill you

King George VI: My physicians say it relaxes the throat

Lionel: They're idiots

King George VI: They've all been knighted

Lionel: Makes it official then

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I know that I have been a little m.i.a. lately and I really have no excuse, except laziness.  But I am back and have lots to talk about, so get excited!

Over the past month I have seen True Grit, The King's Speech and Country Strong.  My TV shows have also started to come back and I have checked out a few new ones.

True Grit was very good...until the end.  I will not ruin it for those of you who have not seen it, but I just did not like the way it ended.  It was a little too drawn out for my taste.  I also did not think the narration was necessary.  Other than that, I really enjoyed it!  I have not seen the original, so I have no idea how similar the movies are to each other, but the performances from Jeff Daniels and Matt Damon were as good as usual and even funny at times, and newcomer, Hailee Steinfeld, was excellent.  It has the Coen brothers typical quirky humor and is a fun, modern Western.

The King's Speech was amazing.  Colin Firth as the stuttering King George VI, Helena Bonham Carter as his Queen and Geoffrey Rush as his quirky speech therapist, Lionel Logue, are all excellent performances.  The story is based in fact, is very interesting and, apparently, was not allowed to be told until Queen Elizabeth I (the current Queen's mother) had passed away.  Firth has already won the Golden Globe for this role and I would not be surprised if an Academy Award is on the way as well.

In contrast, Country Strong was not horrible but it was also not that great.  I just felt like they were trying to do too much and it would have been so much better if they had just simplified the plot a little bit.  On top of the story of the country star just getting out of rehab, there is also a love-square-type-thing going on. Garrett Hedlund is having an affair with Gwyneth Paltrow, who is married to and still loves Tim McGraw, but he also falls in love with Leighton Meester, who Gwyneth thinks is having an affair with Tim.  My brain almost exploded just writing out that sentence.  The soundtrack, however, is awesome and if you are a fan of country music, I highly recommend buying it now.  The movie you can probably skip, or at least wait until it comes out on DVD.

I still would like to see Blue Valentine and will hopefully do so in the next week.  Also, Oscar nominations are announced on Tuesday, so a few other movies will probably be added to my list of things I need to watch before the end of February.

Now onto my crazy television-habit...

The second and final season of Party Down was just as awesome as the first season. This season brought us the return of Jane Lynch, Kristen Bell and Joey Lauren Adams, as well as appearances from Tamala Jones, Loretta Devine, Rachael Harris, Paul Scheer, and Patrick Duffy and Steve Guttenberg as themselves.  As I have mentioned before, I do not get Starz, so I unfortunately could not watch the series when it was on.  However, I really do not understand why no one else watched it!  It was so funny!

As always, a few new shows have had mid-season premieres.  I do not plan on checking out all of them, but there are a few that seemed worth trying.  The first two episodes of Shonda Rhimes' new show, Off the Map, were pretty good.  I was definitely not blown away, but I will keep watching for now.  I also really enjoyed Harry's Law with Kathy Bates, mostly because of Nathan Corddry who is HILARIOUS.  Other new shows that I will probably test out are Mr. Sunshine (which has not gotten good reviews, but stars Matthew Perry and Allison Janney) and The Chicago Code.

I have also, finally, started watching Arrested Development.  I know, I know, I am a few years behind, but better late then never, right?!  I am only about a third of the way through the first season and I am not yet sure how I feel about it, but I will forge on and let you know how it goes.  I never really had any interest in watching the series, but have been pressured into it by a friend :o)

We are almost one month into 2011 and many places in the world still need our help, including Haiti, Australia and the Gulf Coast (land and water).  So, as I have done before, I give you my plea for assistance and my suggestions for where it can be sent.  I am generally a bigger fan of hands-on mission when possible, but money is always good too:

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance

Habitat for Humanity

United Way

StillerStrong

The Nature Conservancy

National Wildlife Federation

American Red Cross

World Vision

I hope that everyone is having a good start to their year and I look forward to hearing about what you have been watching!

xoxo

c

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