via GregEnslen.com | Greg’s Ramblings, 05/15/13: What’s On TV?: I have been watching a lot of TV and movies lately — I won’t bore you with my exercise routine, but suffice it to say that it involves me and an exercise bike in front of my television. And it also involves my DVR and the great folks at Netflix. So, what have I been watching lately, and what am I looking forward to?
Regular TV
My DVR gets a pretty good workout. And it seems like I’m constantly deleting things to make room for other things. A few weeks ago, I took some time off from my exercise routine to finish up my latest novel, and the DVR filled up pretty quickly. And few things make me more angry then getting ready to sit down to watch something and that “100% Full” warning comes up. Dang-it!
The Amazing Race – one of the Enslen family favorites, this perennial “race around the world” never disappoints. We watch it as a family, learning about exotic destinations and the value of teamwork – and perseverance. It amazes me how excited the kids can get about this show, rooting for their favorite teams during the challenges and LITERALLY jumping up and down in their seats to find out who will make it to the weekly “pit stop.” This show, which regularly wins Emmys, has fantastic production values — though I’m glad I don’t have to cart those HD cameras to all those distant, exotic locations.
American Idol – oh, you used to be so good! Where have you gone? I tried to watch this season, but I really don’t like any of the three new judges. Keith Urban and Mariah Carey are all right, but they aren’t very exciting and don’t seem to bring a lot to the table. And Nicki Minaj is so completely and utterly annoying that I cringe every time she opens her mouth. I miss Simon Cowell — actually, I don’t miss him. I miss having someone honest on the panel. I’ve read that they will be doing a clean sweep, with all new judges next year. The three new judges were let go, and then long-time judge Randy Jackson announced that he would be leaving, as well. Do you think they’ll hold a competition to pick the new judges? Who would judge that?
Craig Ferguson – I watch this nightly talk show, although sometimes I miss a few and have to catch up. I’m always interested to hear Craig’s opinion on current events and topics in the news. He has a comedic bent that I love, but it’s not appropriate for the kids — or anyone who might be offended by Ferguson’s gay robot skeleton sidekick, Geoff.
Cable TV
And while free TV is great, there are a lot of shows we watch on cable TV.
Robot Combat League – The first season of SyFy’s robot fighting show just wrapped up, and I already miss it. Twelve fighting robots, operated by two humans each, faced off in a grungy warehouse somewhere in Los Angeles and duked it out for the title of champion. And while this first generation of robots could be a little clunky and hard to maneuver, the producers of the show figured out how to get my family to root for nine-foot-tall metal fighters with names like “Scorpio” and “Crash.” A lot of fun, and the kids really enjoyed it. And I’m for anything that makes kids interested in math or science — or building giant robots.
Justified — another great show that just ended their season, I love the writing on Justified. Raylan Givens is a U.S. Marshall who, after years of working in other parts of the country, returns to his roots in Harland County, Kentucky. He’s a modern-day cowboy, a concept that doesn’t sit well with his superiors, but he (nearly) always gets his man.
Next time, I’ll share what I’m watching in the movie realm – and why Netflix is so crucial to my exercise routine.
Next Time
Feel free to drop me an email at ramblings@gregenslen.com or use the “Contact Me” page on my website if you’d like to let me know about what you think about Children’s Hospital or share your lifehacks with me. And hopefully I’ll talk to you soon!
via GregEnslen.com | Greg’s Ramblings, 05/15/13: What’s On TV?.
