"Who doesn't like hot girls who carry guns?"

This week my DVR was extremely busy and I watched A LOT of television. So much that is all kind of mush in my brain right now.

My returning shows that started this week were How I Met Your Mother, Castle, Hawaii Five-O, Glee, NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, Community, Grey's Anatomy and Blue Bloods.

Glee seems to be reverting back to season one quality, which is a good thing. If it continues on this path I will continue watching it, if it goes back to where it was last season, I may have to stop watching it because last season got a little crazy. Hawaii Five-O is the same quality as last season, which is not necessarily a good thing. I do not love this show, but it is entertaining enough to keep watching for now. However, it might get dropped this season if my schedule gets too crowded. The same thing goes for Grey's Anatomy. I just do not love this show as much as I did the first couple seasons. I mostly continue to watch it out of obligation to the friends with whom I watch it. On the other hand, Castle and Blue Bloods continue to be great, and Community and How I Met Your Mother are both still hilarious.

My only real complaint is with NCIS. This is one of my favorite TV shows and I watch the reruns on USA every time they are on. My complaint is that over the past couple seasons the major plots for each season have gotten too convoluted. The acting has been as great as it has always been, I just feel like they are trying to do too much with the storylines and it is just gets confusing. This also applies to NCIS: Los Angeles.

Nathan: I'm not strong enough for this...

My whole life, I've willed myself to face things.  Anything that was bigger than me, anything that defeated me, I just kept going until I beat it.  Not this.  This is too big.  I never really understood what you faced when you lost your mom until today.  I'm not strong enough, Haley
Haley: Yes, you are, and when you're not, you have me
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All of my shows have premiered and I am ridiculously over-scheduled this year.  Luckily, there is not much to watch on Wednesdays, so I have a day to catch up on what I DVR'd Mondays and Tuesdays :o)

I really enjoyed Lone Star and am very sad that FOX has canceled it after only two episodes.  Although, I am not terribly surprised because FOX has a habit of canceling really good shows (ie. Firefly and Dollhouse).  I really liked James Wolk and am hoping he will land an even better role.  Of my other new shows, I have also really enjoyed Blue Bloods, My Generation, No Ordinary Family and Hawaii Five-O.  Nikita, on the other hand, despite its continued good reviews, I just could not get into.  I love Shane West, but it just is not holding my interest at all.

Other new shows that I have checked out OnDemand include: Terriers, The Event and Chase.  The jury is still out on The Event.  I really, really liked Terriers with Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James and it has now been added to my list of shows to watch.  I was hoping Chase would be better, because I like Cole Hauser, but it was just not.

My newest TV obsession these days, though, is Friday Night Lights.  I did not like the movie with Billy Bob Thornton very much so, when the show started in 2006, I had no interest in watching it.  I am also not a huge football fall in general, so I figured it was a show that I could skip.   Over the past couple years though, it has gotten really good reviews from the critics and it seemed like maybe I should check it out, but I was already watching way too much television, so I continued to ignore it.  But then, a few weeks ago, ABC Family started playing the entire series from the beginning every week day.  So I decided, now was as good a time as any to see what all the hype was about and, from the first episode, I was hooked.  The show is focused around the town of Dillon, Texas and their obsession with high school football, but it is really about the people of this town and how they deal with every day issues.  As one of the actors, Scott Porter, put it in one interview, "You can't build a show around a sport, you build it around the people."  It is beautifully shot on location in Austin and the writing is simple, but brilliant.  I am a little disappointed that I waited so long to find this show, but highly recommend you watch it.  

As you can tell, I have been mostly occupied with television the past two weeks, but I did get out to the theater to see a couple new movies: The Town and Easy A.

The Town was awesome.  It was gritty and exciting and everyone should see this movie.  I was particularly impressed with how good Blake Lively was in her role.  I enjoy her on Gossip Girl, but...well...it is Gossip Girl, so who is really expecting all that much?  Her part was not very big, but she played it very well.  Jeremy Renner and Jon Ham were phenomenal, as usual and Ben Affleck did a great job directing and starring.  If this does not at least get nominated for a few Academy Awards, I will be shocked.  Seriously, go see this movie.

I also found Easy A to be very well done and pretty hilarious.  While I was not a huge fan of the theater full of obnoxious teenagers, the movie kept me entertained throughout.  Emma Stone is great as Olive, the modern-day Hester Prynne, and Amanda Bynes is great as the pious antagonist.  I think my favorite characters, however, were Olive's parents played by Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson.  How Stanley Tucci does not have an Oscar is beyond me, because he is amazing in every role he plays, no matter how small.  Some of my favorite lines from the movie include:

Brandon: Is there an Olive here?
Olive's mom: There's a whole jar of them in the fridge!

I know, totally corny, but it made me laugh, as did this:

Olive's Mom: No offense, but you kind of look like a stripper
Olive: Mom!
Olive's Dad: A high-end stripper, for governors or athletes

This movie is not going to win any awards, but if you want to be entertained and/or just need a good laugh, then this is the movie for you :o)

Starting next Wednesday, my Phillies start their run at world domination...or a World Series, either is fine with me :o)  I will, therefore, be distracted by baseball for a little while.  Also, make sure you check out my dream Phillies movie cast.

I hope you are all enjoying some new fall TV shows and please let me know if there are any movies you think I should be seeing!

xoxo
c
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"I do believe in killing the messenger. You know why? Because it sends a message."

Just like I did last August, I have decided to give you a list of the TV shows on my schedule for this year. My list seems to be significantly longer than last year, so I either will not have much of a life or several shows will eventually get cut. Needless to say, my DVR will be a blessing, as usual...and who am I kidding, I do not have a life :o)

My Returning Shows:
The Vampire Diaries
Gossip Girl
One Tree Hill
Life Unexpected
Parenthood
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
How I Met Your Mother
Castle
Glee
NCIS
NCIS: LA
Community
Grey's Anatomy
Private Practice
Brothers & Sisters

New Shows:
Nikita
Lonestar
Hawaii Five-O
My Generation
Blue Bloods
No Ordinary Family

I am super excited about the start of The Vampire Diaries, Castle and Community. Grey's Anatomy, despite the AWFUL Thanksgiving/Christmas/NYE episode, was getting really good again last season, so I am hoping that trend continues this season. I am not sure that I will get into Nikita or Blue Bloods, but Nikita has been getting good reviews and Blue Bloods has Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg and Will Estes (who you may remember as JJ Pryor on American Dreams), so I will at least give them a shot.

Greek is also one of my shows that I will still watch this year, but it does not start again until January, so I have not included it on my list.  I also do not know when the second season of Justified is starting.

Tonight is the season finale of White Collar and my other shows will probably be wrapping up over the next few weeks. Nikita and The Vampire Diaries start this week on the CW and the rest of the premiere dates can be found at TV Guide.

What shows are you excited about this season? Are there any shows you think I should be watching that I am not currently watching? Let me know and maybe I will check them out.

I hope everyone had a good Labor Day weekend! Happy Start of Fall TV!
xoxo
c
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