Television

[Kätzchen]

I've been watching TV shows with my elderly roomie, Shirley.

Last night we watched Shark Tank....both of us weighing in on dilemmas presented by 'sharks' .... often noting the outrageous mindset behind their reasons of denial or approval of business proposals. Sometimes we'd look at each other with knowing silent glares...sometimes it was gigantic eye rolls, lol. : /

We always watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. That's our nightly 'church ' service. LOL

Shirley got me hooked on the TV show called The Voice.

I don't have TV at home, so returning home might be slightly awkward feeling after enjoying nearly a month of TV.

I need a TV now, with bunny ears.

[*Anya*]

The new season of Top Chef started this week.

It is one of my favorite shows but I am kind of missing my ex-girlfriend because we used to have a running commentary throughout the whole show.

I just have to remember all the things that she used to do that pissed me off instead.

[*Anya*]

I'm watching Nightwatch on A&E.

It is a really good reality show about the EMS, PD and FD on the night shift for New Orleans.

The EMS picked up an older man that called because he was having a lot of pain in his foot and he was having trouble walking.

Turned out, he worked nights at WalMart in a part of town that doesn't have buses run at night so he leaves 5 hours earlier than his shift to walk the 15 miles to his job at WalMart every day.

The paramedic said: "There are people that can walk and won't walk 5 blocks and this guy walks 15 miles".

The guy wasn't complaining, he was very matter-of-fact about it and said: "Well, I can't be late for my job every day".

He made me teary.

[JDeere]

Currently watching Kindred Spirits on TLC. Paranormal show.

[Orema]

I like ten-best lists and here's another one from Vulture. I've only watched a few shows on this list (American Crime Story, Atlanta, Strange Things), but I agree that all were top-notch shows I'm glad I watched.

Ten Best TV Shows of 2016 from Vulture.com

If there's one thing all Americans might agree on, it's this: 2016 was an exceptional year for television. More specifically, it was an incredibly rich year for new scripted shows. Below, Vulture counts down the ten very best of those rookie series.

A few notes before you dive in: There were so many strong debut seasons that it was tough to cap a list at just ten, so I added a few honorable mentions that just missed the cut. Also, there's some inevitable overlap between this list and my picks for the year's best TV shows. Finally, I locked in this list for Uproxx's TV critics' poll, so I'm leaving it as it was when I shared it for that purpose.



Let's get to it, shall we?

1. American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson: Yes, this was technically a limited series, but there will be a second season of American Crime Story that focuses on Hurricane Katrina, so, in that respect, The People v. O.J. established what is possible for a show of this particular, precarious sort. It retold a very real story, using actors in a way that raised the viewing experience far above the typical reenactment. Although there was a salacious element to reliving the Simpson trial, the quality of the performances and the high level of work throughout — from the writing to the spot-on sense of period detail — gave The People v. O.J. a surprising intelligence and emotional heft that didn't seem possible until you started watching. For Ryan Murphy & Co., the bar has been set even higher for next season.

2. Atlanta: This comedy knew what it was from minute one. That's true of a number of shows on this list, but it's most striking in regard to Atlanta. That's partly because Donald Glover's textured exploration of racial and economic frustration displayed such immediate confidence, but also because what "it" was so often changed. One week, the show would focus on Earn and his attempt to help his cousin Alfred navigate his rising hip-hop status. Then the next it would side-trip into an episode solely focused on Van and her relationship with narcissistic bestie Jayde, or temporarily turn into a talk show interrupted by fake commercials. Glover has said that Hiro Murai, who directed seven of the season's ten episodes, didn't necessarily know what was "normal" for a TV show, so they just did what felt right. You could say they were reinventing the wheel. Really, they were coming up with a whole new way to manufacture the car.

3. Better Things: The family sitcom has been imagined from new vantage points for decades, which is why it's such an achievement that Better Things still felt so entirely fresh. By giving Pamela Adlon the opportunity to dig into the genre from her specific perspective, we got a series that felt deeply personal, relatable to parents and frustrated teens alike, and unafraid to let moments of warmth or utter cruelty develop with natural spontaneity. Watching Sam, her three girls, and her dotty mother deal with their daily dramas was akin to viewing a livestream of a single mom's existence, except with better editing and a deeper commitment to thematically intertwined storytelling.

4. The Good Place: It's hard enough to make a network sitcom that's genuinely funny right out of the gate. With The Good Place, creator Mike Schur managed to do so while simultaneously building an inventive and specific version of the afterlife. In the process, this NBC half-hour slyly morphed from mere mistaken-identity farce into a mystery that asks significant questions about what it really means to be the change you wish to see in the world.

5. Stranger Things: Netflix's '80s sci-fi throwback dragged nostalgia into a new realm. Yes, it was a blatant callback to early Spielberg, Stephen King, and John Carpenter, among many others. But it was also a compelling series in its own right, which built a sense of eerie, must-binge Demogorgon suspense while making it very clear that it could do so because it had learned how from the greats.

6. Search Party: This TBS series also hooked in audiences by creating a sense of mystery around a character who suddenly disappears, but where Stranger Things steeped itself in '80s sci-fi monster scares and good ol' government conspiracy theory, Search Party marinated in the now, critiquing contemporary tech-obsessed society and all the ways it enables young adults to disappear into their social-media feeds — especially the kind of young adults who live in Brooklyn. It was Gone Girl mixed with Girls. Which I guess makes it Gone … Girls?

7. Fleabag: In a year of increased television experimentation and more (though still not enough) opportunities for women, Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag was a particularly explosive, gutsy, unapologetic look at a floundering feminist's attempt to disassociate from grief and guilt. Like Search Party, it also was a gut-punching portrait of narcissism. Is it narcissistic to appreciate so many shows about narcissistic people? Discuss amongst yourselves, preferably while staring in a mirror!

8. High Maintenance: Like Issa Rae's Insecure, this new HBO series proved it was possible to skillfully transition from web series to premium cable show. The main reason I included it here over Insecure — which was an extremely tough call — is because it surprised me more often. In keeping with the other comedy-drama hybrids on this list, High Maintenance defied categorization and typical TV conventions. It was a weekly Richard Linklater or Robert Altman movie, where one vignette flowed purposefully into the next and moving moments could emerge from something as wondrously simple as witnessing the secret life of a pet.

9. Speechless: This ABC sitcom is an excellent case of high-wire humor. By focusing on a disabled teen and the ways in which everyone around him tries to be sensitive to his needs, but not too sensitive, it sets itself up for a fall from great heights every week. But so far, it's mostly kept its feet moving forward on that thin piece of twine, which feels especially refreshing when networks like CBS skip the high-wire act entirely and go straight for the clown car.

10. The Crown: My time as Vulture's Downton Abbey recapper confirmed that I can be a sucker for a good British period piece. The Crown was a very, very good one that made sumptuous use of its reportedly significant budget, offered excellent performances (Mr. Lithgow, please report to the podium so you may collect your Emmy), and also was sneakily educational. I probably should have known more about the smog that overtook London in 1952, but I didn't. That episode, among others, both informed and riveted me.

Honorable Mentions:

Insecure: As previously noted, I almost had it in my top-ten new shows, but then removed it. Then I put it back again, then I removed it again … you get the idea. The point is, it's a terrific new series that introduced Issa Rae and her vital voice to a wider audience. That's always worth celebrating.

The OA: Since the Netflix series just started streaming on Friday, I didn't factor it into my year-end lists. But, as noted in my review, I was pretty wowed by it.

Pitch: The problem with TV right now is that it's hard to keep up, even if it's your job. I've fallen a few episodes behind on Pitch, so I didn't feel like I could include it on this list. But what I have seen, I've liked. A scripted show on network television about a female athlete? Yes, and more of them, please.

[*Anya*]

Netflix

December 30, 2016

Bill Nye the Science Guy!!

History is full of iconic, distinguished men and women of science, but there’s only one Science Guy. Bill Nye was a smart, quirky, and memorable science ambassador for a generation of PBS-watching millennials, and fans were delighted to learn that his signature bowtie would be coming back to screens in 2017 for a new Netflix show, Bill Nye Saves the World. Of course, that was before Donald Trump — about as anti-science as a politician can get — won the presidency. Now, with truth and the fate of the planet seemingly on the line, the title of Nye’s show seems a little more urgent.

Netflix announced Nye’s show in late August, before Trump’s stunning upset in the election, but from what we know about it, Netflix seems to be eerily prescient. “Each episode will tackle a topic from a scientific point of view, dispelling myths, and refuting anti-scientific claims that may be espoused by politicians, religious leaders or titans of industry,” a Netflix press release explains. Nye has said that he wants the new show to be entertaining, sure, but he really wants to educate and, if possible, change minds.

“We’ll discuss the complex scientific issues facing us today, with episodes on vaccinations, genetically modified foods and climate change,” Nye said in a statement. “With the right science and good writing, we’ll do our best to enlighten and entertain our audience. And, perhaps we’ll change the world a little.”

[*Anya*]

Giant Prozac pill now holds the ashes of Carrie Fisher, noted mental health advocate

The HBO film "Bright Lights" follows the mother and daughter pair, who died within a day of each other in December 2016, as Fisher prepares to start work on "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens" and Reynolds performs in Las Vegas aged 83. Fisher and her mother, who starred in "Singin' in the Rain," lived next door to each other in Beverly Hills.

Using personal family films, "Bright Lights" gives a revealing insight into the lives of the eccentric pair. It premieres on HBO Saturday, Jan. 7. HBO Documentary Films.

An outspoken advocate for those suffering from mental illness, actress Carrie Fisher had her ashes placed inside a giant Prozac pill.

Her brother Todd Fisher confirmed the decision in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. Fisher was spotted carrying the urn in Twitter photos from at a private memorial service for his mother, Debbie Reynolds.

The 60-year-old Carrie Fisher, an author and actress best known as Princess Leia in the “Star Wars” movies, died on Dec. 27 after suffering a heart attack a few days earlier on a flight from London to Los Angeles. Reynolds, her 84-year-old mother and an accomplished actress, died the next day.

“Carrie’s favorite possession was a giant Prozac pill that she bought many years ago. A big pill,” Todd Fisher said in an interview. “She loved it, and it was in her house and (Carrie’s daughter) Billie (Lourd) and I felt it was where she’d want to be.”

A private memorial service was held for Carrie Fisher on Thursday.

Some of Carrie Fisher’s ashes were also buried with her mother, according to multiple accounts.

Carrie Fisher battled bipolar disorder, depression and addiction in her life, battles that she was very public about.

“I outlasted my problems,” Fisher told ABC’s Diane Sawyer in 2000. “I am mentally ill. I can say that. I am not ashamed of that. I survived that, I’m still surviving it, but bring it on. Better me than you.”

Fisher was diagnosed with bipolar II, which combines both manic and depressive symptoms at the same time, in her late 20s, she told USA Today, though she began experiencing symptoms when she was 14 or 15. In 2013, she told People Magazine that others should seek treatment.

“The only lesson for me, or anybody, is that you have to get help. It’s not a neat illness. It doesn’t go away,” Fisher said.

Read more here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/n...tml#storylink=.

[Kätzchen]

Originally Posted by Kätzchen

I've been watching TV shows with my elderly roomie, Shirley.

Last night we watched Shark Tank....both of us weighing in on dilemmas presented by 'sharks' .... often noting the outrageous mindset behind their reasons of denial or approval of business proposals. Sometimes we'd look at each other with knowing silent glares...sometimes it was gigantic eye rolls, lol. : /

We always watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. That's our nightly 'church ' service. LOL

Shirley got me hooked on the TV show called The Voice.

I don't have TV at home, so returning home might be slightly awkward feeling after enjoying nearly a month of TV.

I need a TV now, with bunny ears.

Last year (Nov. 2016) Shirley and I were roommates at the nursing home....but she passed away last June (2017). Shirley had an very interesting hobby: she was a local celebrity in her hometown, as part of an acting troupe, putting on theater shows to raise money for local women's shelters and for disadvantaged children. Toward the end of my stay at the nursing home, I met her only daughter, who carries on in her mother's memory, directing projects to raise money via the theater troupe for Shirley's favorite local charities.

I miss her, we had such fun watching TV shows together after the supper hour.

[*Anya*]

I have watched Survivor since the very first episode.

A lot of the seasons I did not really like part of the cast but always wound up enjoying it when the numbers got down to 6 or 7.

I usually root for the underdog but only if they have nerves of steel, a backbone (i.e., not like our current Congress and Senate) and are not cruel towards others (same).

Deception is part of the game but cruelty is not.

Ben the Marine.

Boy, did I feel an infinity for him. He is an Iraq war vet that came back with PTSD. He was tough as nails, was always focused on his mission but allowed his vulnerability to slip through; usually in reference to his wife and children. He would talk about how he was "in the gutter" when he came back from Iraq and how his wife "saved" him. His bright blue eyes would fill with tears and it would choke me up.

Yep. Hooked on Ben.

Blogs and articles did not think that he would win (and did not want him to) but he always knew that he really had no alliances, that everyone in the game wanted him out and that he could only count on himself.

He was relentless. He would search for idols for hours. I loved the 3 episodes when the other 4, 5, or 6 were so smug thinking that "we got him this this time" and no, no, they did not. It was classic.

It was beautiful to watch.

I guess, in some way, for me; goodness won out this time and I don't see much of that happening in our world these days.

[Kätzchen]

I couldn't find the forum thread for documentaries, but I'm watching the documentary about Moms Mabley, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg and other Afro-American celebrity stand up comedian's. Excellent doc and SO VERY informative. If you've never heard of Moms Mabley, I highly recommend watching this documentary.

[homoe]

Originally Posted by Kätzchen

I couldn't find the forum thread for documentaries, but I'm watching the documentary about Moms Mabley, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg and other Afro-American celebrity stand up comedian's. Excellent doc and SO VERY informative. If you've never heard of Moms Mabley, I highly recommend watching this documentary.

Yes, I agree very interesting indeed!

[homoe]

For anyone interested ........

CNN will premiere the critically-acclaimed ‘RBG,’ for television Monday, Sept. 3, at 9:00pm and 12:00am Eastern (6:00pm and 9:00pm Pacific) on CNN/U.S.

The film, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen, explores the singular legal legacy and life of U.S. Supreme Court Justice, and multigenerational pop culture icon, Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

[homoe]

Candice Bergen, 71, is set to return as the show's eponymous main character.


The reboot of the 18-time Emmy Award-winning series will feature the smart, straight-talking TV journalist, but this time in a "world of cable news, social media, fake news, and a very different political and cultural climate,". This time around, Murphy will anchor a cable morning show called Murphy in the Morning.

As far as I can tell the first episode airs on Thursday September 27th.