So there might have been a show that starts with an O and a T and an H that called me today and asked me to extra in a two-day shoot tomorrow on Thursday. And I might have awesome family members and a flexible job that are helping me go to Wilmington for two nights. And I might be SO SUPER EXCITED!!
tv
FridayNightLightsFan.com. Yeah, I did.
Did I even go a week after letting Melrose Place Blog go before I created another site?
I can’t help it. Friday Night Lights has swept me off my feet and I have every intention of promoting the heck out of it. I would go on and on about how good it is but I think my post the other day pretty much spelled it out.
Kaitlin, who got me into this whole thing, is working super hard with me to get everything up to speed.
So first of all, watch the show if you aren’t!
Get the DVDs (yes that’s an affiliate link):
Friday Night Lights – The First Season
Friday Night Lights: The Second Season
Friday Night Lights: The Third Season
Or check out
surfthechannel.com (although they don’t have every episode)
And…go visit the new fan site and follow us on Twitter!
Friday Night Lights
This is long. If you don’t want to read it, the whole post can be summarized in one sentence: Watch Friday Night Lights.
It is also not spoilerish so feel free to read it if you haven’t watched the show.
Anyone that has been listening to me at all on Twitter or in real life knows that I have been caught up in a new TV series Friday Night Lights. Like I needed one right? But Kaitlin insisted in my Fall TV post that I should watch it. I had heard before that it was good so I found myself at surfthechannel.com to check it out. Well. I think I can safely say halfway through the first episode I was hooked. By the 3rd episode I was ready to start a fan site. And in my world, that’s the highest compliment I can give.
I spent hours upon hours this weekend during the late evenings and early mornings (thanks 2 two sleepovers for the girls) catching up on Season 1. At episode 8 Friday night, surfthechannel.com failed to deliver an episode. Saturday morning, my first stop was Blockbuster and then Wal-Mart to find it on DVD. At that point I knew I wanted them anyway. Saturday evening, I handed them off to my parents and sister insisting they had to watch it. And they loved it too. At 2:30am on Sunday night/Monday morning I finished Season 1.
It’s so. good.
Like, really, really good.
As in, you should RUN to Wal-Mart and buy it for $14.99.
So what’s to love?
Every. single. character.
I’ll give this from a Season 1 only perspective because I’ve watched some of Season 2 and I realize things start to change…
I always start with Riggins. I love Riggins. I love that he’s the bad boy. Tall, greasy hair and screws up a lot that you want to save. I love that he is vulnerable because his parents flaked out and he has a barely supportive brother. I love that on one hand he’s a womanizer and then the other he says “Lyla…Lyla” in that Texan accent. Yep, he’s the ultimate bad boy in love with the good girl. The couple that should be together but isn’t. Do I love that he does all the bad stuff? No, of course not. But I love watching how he deals with it. I love trying to figure out what drives him. What motivates him. Who he really loves and doesn’t. Ah, I love Riggs.
Next is Matt. Matty. That’s what I call him. Cause yes, I do talk to him through the screen. Matty, that’s so sweet. Poor Matty. I love how he stutters. I love how he’s a gentleman. I love how he has no clue what to do with Julie. I love how he’s fiercely loyal to his team. I love him and Landry. They crack me up. Yep, he’s the boy you want to take home to your Mom. He’s the one you want next to you at your wedding.
And Riggins is the one you want at the honeymoon.
Just sayin’.
Coach Taylor and his wife. Can you really separate them? I love them together. I love how they love each other. I love that they make out in the kitchen. I love that she’s always right and he knows it. I love that they parent Julie together. I love the looks they give each other. I love how they care about the students on the team and at the school. I love how Coach Taylor goes out on a limb for them. I love that he goes against the rules when it makes sense.
Now Jason. I’m not a huge fan of his. I like him, yes, but I’m not as invested in him. I do love that he called out Riggins and Lyla. I love his determination although at times it can be a bit much. I just want to say “calm down” to him sometimes.
Lyla. The good girl. One that made a huge mistake. Of course I love her with Riggins. I love how she tells him how crappy he’s being. I love that she supports Jason. Even though she screwed up, she was at that hospital A LOT. I love that she tries to hold her family together. I’m not her biggest fan but there are definitely things I can relate to in her.
Smash is hilarious. I love that towards the end of the season we got to see the boy behind all the smack-talk. His character has really evolved and I like that.
Tyra. I love that she tells it like it is. She doesn’t take crap from anyone. And yet, under all that she’s as vulnerable as any of them.
Landry. I love him. I love him with Matt. Did I mention they crack me up?
Matt’s Grandma, Smash’s Mom even Buddy Garrity. I can’t help but be glad they’re on the screen too.
It’s amazing that one show could make you care about so many of the characters. Of all the shows I watch, there are NONE that have a cast of characters that I care about and feel invested in like this one.
I love the writing. It’s smart, it’s funny. The timing is impeccable. The storylines are dramatic yet handled a real way. Or maybe the storylines are just realistic and they are able to dramatize them. I don’t know. But there has yet to be a time where I say, you know, I really don’t like this storyline. Because somehow it’s not a storyline. Somehow it’s just their life. And doesn’t life have enough drama? I of course love the Christian undertone of the show. That many of the families are Christians. That they aren’t afraid to have scenes in a church. That they’re not afraid to talk about God.
So yeah, I love this show.
And that was my brain dump after watching 880 minutes of one show in a matter of days.
And I can’t recommend enough that you do the same.
A Blog Bites the Dust
Beware, I’m on a bit of a soap box in this one.
So I did it. I sold my Melr*se Pl*ce blog (it’s not a bad word, just don’t want search engines picking it up). I sold it to an online friend and I know it will be well taken care of. But yesterday when I took it out of my stat site, it honestly made me choke up a bit. It was like giving a well cared for treasure away. I guess I’ve put more effort and energy into it than I thought.
The thing is once the ads came out recently, they were too racy for me. It’s in very poor taste considering it’s on a network geared toward teenage girls. “Tuesdays are the new Hump Day” or “Menage A TUES” are just examples. Have fun explaining that one to your 13 year old. The main character is “try-sexual” because she’ll try anything with anyone and another character is literally a prostitute on the side. The latest ad says “Lauren’s on call and it’s not at the hospital”. Hopefully the ads are going a bit over the edge and the show will handle the subjects more appropriately. But I doubt it.
I’m no saint when it comes to TV watching but I guess I just didn’t feel comfortable being a part of the promotion of that. I do put a lot of effort into my blogs and since it’s not something I feel 100% about, I just can’t justify the time and effort. The thing is I’m giving up a source of blog income as it was finally making a profit after about 6 months and I expect it only to go up, way up, in fact. I still can’t say it didn’t hurt a bit to give it up. But I know deep down I’m doing the right thing for me.
Sooo…I have some time to blog about something else now…watch out!
Fall TV
You all should know I love my TV. Probably a downfall of mine but I love getting lost in the stories and after a full day of staring at code and answering to Mommy, it’s my way of not having to think about anything and relaxing.
I do have to say I have REALLY enjoyed the break this summer and love that I rarely if ever turn the TV on for myself.
Each season though, I find that there are always new shows I want to check out and invariably I’m sitting in front of a TV for hours. It’s really too much.
Over the last few seasons I have started cutting back. Over time, I threw out Big Brother, Biggest Loser, 24, Desperate Housewives, Survivor, Private Practice, So You Think You Can Dance, even House. Not to mention HGTV altogether. I really could spend all day watching TV if I let myself.
Sometimes I have to throw shows out just because of the time conflict. And yes, I have DVR but I have other shows on other nights to watch. There are some I love enough to DVR and watch later but usually, I like to watch shows live. I KNOW I’m probably in the minority there.
So all that to say, this is what my schedule is looking like in about two weeks:
Monday
- One Tree Hill 8-9
- Greek 9-10
- Gossip Girl 9-10
You can see I already have a conflict on Day 1. But I do love both Greek and Gossip Girl. Greek is all thanks to Heather who wouldn’t keep raving about it. Because of my OTH blog and all the posting I do on Monday nights, I’ll probably be DVRing both of those and watching both later. Also worthy of note is Greek is only 10 episodes.
Tuesday
- Melrose Place 9-10
If you didn’t already know, I started a blog for MP. I’m not very happy with what I’ve seen with it so far (racy storylines and advertising) and am thinking about selling it. Any takers? Either way, I’ll probably check it out before I write it off completely.
Wednesday
- Glee 9-10
Glee is very questionable. I almost didn’t include it. But the pilot episode was good enough to make me check it out again. I think.
Thursday
- Vampire Diaries 8-9
- The Office 9-9:30
- Grey’s Anatomy 9-10
I usually watch The Office first so Scott will watch it with me before going to bed and also so I can fast forward through all of Grey’s commercials. I read the Vampire Diaries books so I definitely want to check out the show. Or, I read the books so I could watch the show. Something like that. Either way, I’m going to check it out. It will probably be a DVR thing though because it comes on before the kids go to bed.
Friday
- Dollhouse 10-11
Dollhouse was a solid show last year and Scott will watch it with me. Plus, it’s the only show I watch on the weekends.
Also, others I’d like to check out if I had the time is The Secret Life of the American Teenager. A show I threw out that I wish I had time to watch is Lie To Me. And I do miss House. The others I’ve gotten rid of I like but I’m not missing them too much.
As you can see, I’m looking at 1-3 hours of TV every night. *sigh* I honestly feel tired already.
But are there any other shows you think I HAVE to watch? I don’t mind catching up on several seasons if it’s worth it!
The Bachelorette: After the Finale
Not to be confused with After the Final Rose.
So, as predicted, I’m ok with Ed. But as well spoken as the guy is, I was a little disappointed with his proposal. Even Reid’s comment about what was going on there without him was wrong was more moving. Nevertheless, I think Jillian and Ed or “Jed” as some hardcore fans might say will be quite happy.
I was a tad disappointed with her not picking Reid after him coming back for her. It would have been good drama for her to pick him and he’s such a cutie. He will make someone very happy. As for Kiptyn, after I saw the home visit I was sure it wasn’t going to be him.
As much as I twittered about the show tonight, there’s not too much left to say. Although I have to end with mentioning the funniest 2 seconds of Bachelorette history. The shot of the volcano at the end of Ed and Jillian’s date was probably unnecessary and unprofessional but I was laughing for the entire commercial. And then? The tweet at the end of the show: Cue the volcanoes!
For a season I hadn’t planned to watch, I have to say it was a good one. Congrats, Jed!
The Bachelorette: Thoughts Before the Finale
Even though it’s Ed and Kiptyn in the finale, we all know Reid shows up tonight. We also know that someone has a secret and things go awry. I have no idea what that means. Even RealitySteve doesn’t know what it means this year.
But since I didn’t get to blog last week, here are my thought going into tonight.
She still has great chemistry with Kiptyn and I think she likes him. It just worries me that she worries too much about him and doesn’t seem to be 100% comfortable.
For Ed, she seems 100% herself but I do know there are rumors swirling about a girlfriend back home so he might be the one with the secret. He also seems to be a sweet talker and I just wonder when reality sets in and he’s not all the time convincing her how much he’s thinking about her what will happen.
As for Reid, I really, really like Reid. I was sad to see him go last week. I really think they are great together. I love how she is giddy with him. Their lifestyles seem to mesh. Reid just lacks the ability to commit and communicate, all of which I think can be taken care of with time.
All that said though, a tiny part of me is rooting for Kiptyn so I can say “I called that”. Part of me is rooting for Ed because they seem like they’d make a great couple. And then a larger part is rooting for Reid because he’s the underdog and well, I just think he went too soon.
So, all in all, I think I’ll be A-ok with any of the 3 and trust me, this is the first year I’ve ever not cared very much. Which leads me to think…maybe if I’m not convinced on any of the 3 that she really shouldn’t pick any of them.
Seven minutes to go for me and I can’t wait to see how it goes down.
The Bachelorette: Men Tell All
Hi! Still on vacation. Terrible, terrible Internet here. Sitting in a parking lot getting signal. No time to blog the week/pictures.
No big surprises on Men Tell All. I missed the preview but I hear Reid is coming back. Just one thought…Chris said tonight he couldn’t be there because of a previous engagement. Maybe he meant that literally and didn’t finish the sentence…”previous engagement….to Jillian”.
Just sayin’.