What I'm Not Watching

So the second season of V starts airing tonight.  I have a suspicion that many of the viewers from season one will not be coming back for season two, and I have to say that I am going to be included in that number.

It's not that the show did anything wrong exactly (though I may be harboring some resentment that it got renewed while Flash Forward was axed), I just realized over the weekend that I really just did not care at all about the new season.  I vaguely remember what happened in the season finale, but I honestly have no urge to find out where things go from there.  So Sunday I pulled up my recorded series listing in the DVR and went ahead and just deleted it.  I won't lie, it felt kind of good.

I watch so frakking much television, it is ridiculous.  I can admit that, heck, I can even own that.  But I am getting to the point where I have realized that I am watching some of it, at least, for the wrong reasons.  I kept watching Smallville for at least two seasons after I got completely fed up with everything happening on that show, because I kept telling myself, "I've put in the time, I can't stop watching now.  I have to find out how it ends."  But before season eight started up, I was watching the season seven DVDs and got maybe a disc and a half into the season and then just stalled out.  I started finding excuses of anything to watch other than the next episode of Smallville.  When I realized what I was doing, I pulled the disc out of my DVD player, pulled all seven seasons of the series off my DVD shelf, sold them (for a really decent price too), and went on to never watch the show again.  I have not once felt the least bit cheated that I don't know what happened next, or that I won't get to finally see Clark don that iconic cape.  The show entertained me for a while and then it stopped being appealing to me.  Sometimes it takes something like that happening to remind me that it's just television.  I take it so seriously sometimes that I forget that simple fact.  It's nice to be able to prove to myself I can just walk away and not look back.  Every once in a while, at least.

I don't know if I can say I was watching V for the wrong reasons--I only gave it a try because there were so many actors in it that I have enjoyed in other series.  It was amusing enough, I remember actually liking it despite myself (I never watched, nor had/have any interest in watching, the original series of the same name).  But I didn't like it enough to get even remotely excited about its return, and as crowded as my DVR is these days, that's enough to get off the rotation I think.  Especially with so many shows coming back from hiatus and the new shows that I am getting excited about.

It was my wont, once upon a time, to watch every new genre show that I heard about or every new show that featured an actor I really enjoy watching.  I have found some true gems that way (Human Target, anyone?), but I have also, like with V, ended up watching a show I just wasn't that into for far longer than was necessary.  Maybe it is the fact that my daughter is getting more interactive with each passing day, or maybe it is that "new year, new possibilities" feeling I've got, but I just don't have the time or energy anymore for that kind of watching.  Flick Filosopher mentioned in a post yesterday that she is going to stop watching new series until they have at least one season under their belts and have been renewed for a second one as well.  I applaud her decision, though I don't think I'll be able to follow in her footsteps completely.  I am going to try to be a little bit more reserved, going forward, about which new shows I choose to watch though--as well as about which shows I continue to follow after the first season.  After all, there's so much good television out there that I really do get excited about watching, there's no point in me watching the stuff that bores me.

I have been waffling on whether or not to watch two new genre shows that are about to start, and I think I have finally decided not to bother with them.  The first is Syfy's adaptation of the British show Being Human.  Look, I'll level with you, I probably should be watching this show.  Not out of any obligation or sense of duty, but because everything about the premise just screams that it is something I would absolutely love.  But you know what, I already gave it a shot, back when BBC America started airing the original incarnation.  I watched a few episodes and then just gave up on it because I really didn't care.  It just didn't appeal to me.  I honestly don't know why, either, but there you go.  Nothing I have seen about the American version tells me I will enjoy it any more than the British version, either.  I know that it is (probably) its own show, but I am just not interested.  Despite my firm conviction that any actual scripted genre show that Syfy comes out with needs to have my eyeballs in front of it so that they keep actually making scripted genre shows...I just can't do it.  (I will, however, be watching Alphas when it debuts, because that sounds pretty much awesome-sauce.)  The other show I have been waffling over is The Cape.  I totally adore Summer Glau, and I really want to give this show a try, but I am likewise completely unengaged by anything about it except for the fact that Summer Glau is in it.  So maybe once the first season is on DVD I'll give it a go on Netflix.  But for now, I'll just look forward to the new shows I actually am excited about--Falling Skies (on TNT), Fairly Legal (on USA), and The Outcasts (on BBC America).  There are certainly plenty of them.

So instead of watching V tonight, I'll be over on Syfy watching as many of the final five episodes of Caprica as I can squeeze in before bedtime, basking in the brilliance and regretting that this is all I am going to get of such a wonderful series.

Now that the holiday doldrums are ending, what are you watching?

That's Okay Rangers, You'll Do Better Tonight

Game one of the World Series has come and gone with a Giants win, sigh.  BUT, it was just game one after all.  We can still do this.  Watching the game last night I was struck by a funny realization.  I have crocheted in exactly two baseball stadiums.  And do you know which two?  That's right, the ballparks for the Rangers and the Giants.  I even have photographic evidence, see:

San Francisco Giants v. Colorado Rockies September 23, 2008

Right next to me that's my mom (knitting) and then my little sister (who lives in the bay area, which is why we were at that game).  I was making a shawl for one of my best friends for her wedding at this game.  AT&T Park really is a beautiful ballpark, especially at night.  Also, the seats in front of us had cup holders attached to the back that made a perfect yarn holder!

Of course, I have also crocheted at the Ballpark in Arlington, my home team's home:

Texas Rangers v. Boston Red Sox August 15, 2010

I was making a dish towel there.  I've done a few other crochet projects at that stadium (including my first pair of socks) but I can't find any other pictures.  It was frikkin' hot that day and we were directly in the sun, until about a third of the way into the game, after which it got much better.  This was Baby Girl's first baseball game.  You can see her on the right sitting in her daddy's lap, trying to chew her way through the cap on the Sprite bottle.

It didn't even dawn on me until I was talking with my sister on the phone today that it is both of our home teams going up against each other in this series, that's just crazy!  So naturally there's been a little bit of good-natured ribbing.  I have a feeling whichever team wins, one of us will have teasing ammunition for a while to come!  My poor mom doesn't know who to root for (though I think she's leaning towards the Giants) but my grandmother told me she's rooting for the Rangers for me.  It is possible we're a baseball family.

Adding to the blow of my team losing the opening game of the series, Syfy officially canceled Caprica last night.  Sigh.  Remember that rant from Tuesday, about how I am not too sure that Syfy actually cares about its scifi programming anymore?  Yeah.  They aired half a season, waited until the start of the next television season to air the back half, after moving it to a new night where it was up against some extremely stiff competition, and gave it four episodes before pulling the plug.  Way to show faith in your programming, Syfy.  They're not even going to burn off the remainder of the season and let us end the year with a bang.  Oh no, they're holding off the rest of the season until some unspecified time in  2011's first quarter.  Grr.  Argh.  Think happy thoughts Cori, think happy thoughts.


Hmm...happy thoughts...ooh!  I did get my new comic books for the month yesterday!

In the top photo, clockwise from the top left corner we have the newest issues of Dragon Age and Buffy Season 8, the first issue of Warlord of Mars (based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series), and the newest issue of Angel Aftermath (a.k.a Season 6).  In the bottom photo, clockwise from the top left corner we have issues 3 and 5 of The Wheel of Time:  The Eye of the World (they sent me issue #4 last month, ah WOT comics, you are eccentric), the newest issue of The Last Unicorn, and the first issue of Star Wars Knight Errant.

Ooh, I am excited to do some comic reading!  I realize I have absolutely no credibility as a comic book geek, since all of the series I read are either adaptations of existing novels, series set in various video games or scifi franchises, and continuations of canceled television series.  But that will not stop me from getting excited about my new comics nonetheless!  Maybe I should keep the stack close by during tonight's game to read in between plays, just to keep my spirits up....

Out With the Old, In With the New

TUESDAY PSA:  Don't forget, new episodes of Stargate Universe and Caprica tonight on Syfy starting at 8 p.m CST!!!

With The Guild wrapped up for another season, and the Legend of Neil series finale getting ready to air tomorrow, there is a sad empty spot in my heart that was once filled by web series.  But, never fret!  Syfy has the answer (scary as that may seem)!  A new web series is premiering today on the Syfy website called Riese:  Kingdom Falling.  Here's the "about" blurb for the series:

Riese: Kingdom Falling takes place in Eleysia, a dying kingdom where distrust and anxiety have clouded people's minds, causing a regression into primitive ways of thinking. Rituals and mythology have resurged, and the darker side of mankind has begun to reveal itself. Riese, a wanderer, travels across the decaying land with her wolf, Fenrir. Marked as a heretic by religious group The Sect and the new Empress, Riese must evade their assassins and discover their true intentions for Eleysia.

Narrated by Amanda Tapping (Sanctuary), the series stars a cavalcade of talent from the world of popular speculative drama including Christine Chatelain (The Bone Collector); Sharon Taylor (Stargate Universe); Ben Cotton (Harper's Island), Allison Mack (Smallville); Ryan Robbins (Caprica); Patrick Gilmore (Stargate Universe); Alessandro Juliani (Battlestar Galactica) and Emilie Ullerup (Sanctuary).

Of course, this isn't actually a new series.  Riese was running under it's own steam for at least one whole story arc before the creators brokered a deal with Syfy and pulled all the episodes off the air so it could be retooled and they could have exclusive rights to it.  I watched the first episode about a year ago and was very intrigued.  I didn't get a chance to delve too deep into it before it was pulled though, so I am really excited that it has come back.  I can only hope Syfy does it justice.

Though looking at their website I can already see a big issue.  They don't seem to understand that part of what makes web series so popular is that they don't follow the BS scheduling practices of network and cable television.  They've got its scheduled "air time" plastered all over the page--which isn't until 11 pm CST.  What the heezy?  Sigh.  Once the episode is up, it should be available for viewing at any time though (hopefully), but still.  Come on, Syfy, don't jerk us around and try to make us dance to your schedule--that defeats the whole purpose of a web series.  If I get excited because Tuesday is web series day, that means I get excited because I can hop on my computer at any point on Tuesday and watch my shows, not have to wait until the end of the day or the next day for you to get it put up.  At that point, you may as well just decide that Riese day is Wednesday, not Tuesday.  I really do want this series to succeed though, because it truly does have a fantastic cast--those listed above don't even start to list all of the awesome people involved. 

But this just reminds me again that the heyday of the SciFi Channel is long long gone.  There was the name change, of course.  I'm not going to get into my rant about that, it's been done already and often, and has been done well.  Plus, there's the wrestling thing.  Look, I am not a fan of professional wrestling.  I really just don't get the appeal.  Many people I know (my brother-in-law in particular) love it, and I am totally cool with that.  Not everybody enjoys science fiction on the level that I do, after all.  To each his own.  BUT.  Syfy is supposed to be a specialized cable channel.  Changing the spelling of your name doesn't change the expectations a name like "Syfy" is going to give your viewers.  The programming decisions that the network has been making over the last several years has made it very clear to me that the people now running the show don't believe there is an economically sustainable demand for a purely science fiction and fantasy channel.  So they've got this Ghost Hunters crap, and they've got wrestling.  And they keep making ridiculously substandard monster and disaster movies instead of devoting those resources to well-done series.

Update:  It looks like the first episode is already up and can be watched here.  Thank goodness for Ryan Robbins' FB account keeping us all in the loop!  Though, this does make me wonder, why the heck do you even have an air time listed on your website at all Syfy?  

The decision to move Stargate Universe and Caprica to Tuesday nights is another clue that the people running the show don't really care about the actual scifi programming anymore.  They moved the shows primarily because they got Friday night wrestling and didn't want to risk losing any of those shiny new viewers by changing the night of the program, so they decided instead to screw over all of the existing viewers by canceling the long-standing SciFriday and shunting our programming to Tuesday nights.  The argument was that this should actually help these shows succeed because their summer programming does so well on Tuesday nights.  Okay, see, here's the thing, summer programming that is original is going to do better simply because it isn't reruns.  But your fall shows?  Why would you put them on against such a seriously stacked existing Tuesday night lineup on other channels?  An io9 article yesterday stated that SGU and Caprica are "circling the drain" and it made me bristle--but it's true.  The ratings have been abysmal.  The shows themselves have been outstanding, but there is simply too much competition on Tuesday nights for anyone who isn't a straight up fangirl/guy to bother about watching the shows live in the days of DVR.  The +7 day numbers for SGU, at least, are something like an additional 70%.  What does that say when 70% of your viewers aren't watching your show live?  It says it's on at a bad day and time.  The end of the year is coming up, and along with it the decision of whether or not to give these two shows new seasons.  I think the yea or nay here is going to say a lot about the network's devotion to its scifi programming, because the move to a new date should definitely be taken into account when they start crunching numbers.  I try to keep watching this channel, because the genre shows it does air are a lot of my favorites, but it is getting harder and harder to trust the people behind the scenes to look out for my viewing interests, I'll tell you that.

Hmm, well, that was a kind of unintended rant.  Sorry about that.  I'll wrap up with some costuming updates.  I only ended up having one party to go to last weekend because one got called on account of rain and rescheduled for a few weeks from now.  As predicted, no one at the party recognized my costume, but that's alright.  Here's a reminder of what I was going for:

Karen Gillan as Amy Pond

And here's what I ended up with:

Cori as Amy Pond

Considering I am a bit shorter and quite a bit rounder than Karen Gillan, I think I pulled it off rather well.  I do think however, that when I do wear this to a convention, I'll probably just go ahead and invest in getting my hair colored, because when push came to shove, I couldn't bring myself to wear the wig.  Here's what it looked like with the wig though, in case you're curious:

This wig adds +6 to Silliness.

And, to close things out on a happy note, here's another picture of a baby dressed as a giraffe.  

Baby Girl checks out her costume.

Enjoy your Tuesday, folks.

Kitties! Crochet! Life in General!

Okay, first things first.  *cough* Ahem.  *cough*

Don't forget to watch tonight's new episodes of Stargate Universe and Caprica on Syfy starting at 8 pm CST!!!

Right, then.  Getting on with it.

I've got a couple of finished crochet projects for you today.  Here's the birthday present I was working on week before last.  It was a poncho for a good friend of mine, her birthday was this past Saturday.  

Poncho of Happiness by Cori 2010.

The pattern I used for this was the Groovy Granny Poncho from Lion Brand's free pattern database.  (To see the pattern you may have to register with the site, but that's free, it just gets you a newsletter, which you can even opt out of.)  I love LB's pattern database.  Because one of their big lines is Vanna's Choice, designed by Vanna White, who crochets, they have a ton of crochet patterns as well as knitting.  And they have patterns for all sorts of different fiber types. 

For this project, I used their Homespun yarn, in Baroque, Amethyst, Edwardian, and Black.  I absolutely hated Homespun the first time I tried to use it because I am really just not used to the bulkier yarns, but now that I've worked with it a bit, I have to admit, I kind of love it a little.  It is so soft and warm.  The pattern called for one skein of each color, but didn't use it all up, so I ended up having enough left over to make one (with a few modifications to the pattern) for my daughter as well.

Pint-sized Poncho by Cori 2010.

Baby Girl models her new duds.

I am now hard at work on my next project, another birthday present, which I'll post more about once it has been given to its recipient.  

In other news, I thought I would share with you some photos of my kitties, since I am bound to mention them from time to time.  They are my furred children, so I thought you should get to know them a bit as well.  I have two kitties that live inside with us and suck up all of the love that I don't give Baby Girl.  They've done a pretty good job of adjusting to her arrival over the past year.  Wally pretty much took to her right away and has adopted a "big brother" attitude of sorts.  He is extremely patient with her and endures her vigorous "petting" attempts, because he knows he will be well repaid with love from me after the baby has gone to bed.  Also, they both love to play with my yarn when I am right in the middle of the tricky part of any given project.  Tony finally seems to be warming up to the newest addition to the family.  He no longer flees the room when she enters it, and will even let her touch him occasionally--though not without flinching.  I think a big part of his deciding to come around (aside from the realization that she is clearly not going anywhere) is that now that she is feeding herself, there is a lot more people food being dropped on the ground for him to get to.  

I do also have two stray kitties that I have more or less adopted, though they stay outside.  One of them, a Siamese that I have oh-so-cleverly (insert sarcasm) named Sy, is very personable and sweet.  Part of me really wants to bring him inside to live with us (after a visit to the vet and a bath, of course), but I know that wouldn't be fair to him, because he is so completely an outside kitty.  So for now I am just doing my best to make sure that he has a safe and comfortable place in our backyard, as well as a regular food supply.  The other stray (who I don't have a photo of) is definitely Sy's companion, and I know he eats the food I put out, but I only see him very rarely.  He is extremely skittish around people and tends to dash off the moment he realizes he's been spotted.  I have dubbed him Skittles. 

Sy, the stray Siamese.

Tony, who will be 6 in December.

Wally, at 9 years old.

I started playing Star Wars Republic Commando last night, but alas, I don't think that I am going to be able to play this one all of the way through.  It is in the first person point of view, and you're looking out through your character's helmet display, which is just crazy.  It made me a bit nauseated.  I had this same problem when I played Portal, but that didn't have the added craziness of a whole slew of control buttons to remember, so I was able to adjust to it, though I had to limit my playing to only about an hour at a time.  I don't think I'm gonna make it through this game though.  It's sad, because I really really love the books and was hoping that playing the game would add an extra dimension to my enjoyment of them.  But it doesn't really have the RPG aspect I prefer in my games, and with that plus the controls just totally throwing me off, plus the POV, I may just have to set this one aside.  At least for now.  On the plus side, I only paid $6 for it, so I don't have to get mad at the waste of money.  So it looks like I might be finally diving into Morrowind next instead, to my husband's great excitement.  He has been trying to get me to play that game forever. 

DVR Duels

Don't forget, new episodes of Stargate Universe and Caprica on Syfy tonight starting at 8 p.m. CST!!!

You know, as much as I love my DVR, sometimes, just sometimes, I almost wish they had never been invented.  This thing enables me to watch way way too much television.

Since the last of my summer shows have finally cleared the airwaves, I thought I'd give you a little rundown on all of the shows I am watching this season, just so you can see for yourself how absolutely lost I am to the idiot box.  (Though in all fairness, I pretty much never get to go out to the movies any more and given the quality of most movies versus the quality of a lot of television shows today, idiot box probably really isn't even the right term any more.)

Monday

How I Met Your Mother (CBS):  I watch this one live.  I am torn between loving this show so much I want to see it go on forever, and loving it so much I want them to go ahead and just wrap it up already so it can have the end game we all deserve, rather than just dithering to a gasping halt.

Chuck  (NBC):  This starts at the same time as HIMYM, but is an hour versus half hour, so I fire this up right after HIMYM finishes.  So while I technically don't watch it live, I do start it in the hour during which it airs.  That's got to count for something, right?

The Event (NBC):  I watch this on a little bit of a delay (right after I finish Chuck), so part DVR, part live.  This show has had some stumbles, but mostly I am finding it, if not intriguing, then at least curiosity-inducing.  I very much want to know why Leila's dad was chosen by the aliens to assassinate the president.  It seems like a lot of trouble to kill his wife, kidnap him and his daughter from his home AND go kidnap his daughter on a cruise (and make her boyfriend think he's crazy/frame him for murder).  Also, I really really really want to see Sterling get what's coming to him.  Mostly because I've enjoyed watching characters played by Zeljko Ivanek get their comeuppance ever since School Ties.

Castle (ABC):  I watch this live (or sometimes on a little bit of a delay if I don't catch up with The Event by nine).  Nathan Fillion being the twenty-first century's answer to Jessica Fletcher.  What's not to love here?

Hawaii Five-O (CBS):  I watch this on my DVR first thing after Jeopardy! on Tuesdays.  The only reason I don't watch this live is because, well, I'm gonna pick Captain Tightpants (read, Nathan Fillion for you non-Browncoats) over Grace Park in a bikini pretty much any day.  But honestly, I am really digging this show.  It is in a tie for first place among my favorite new series this season.

Tuesday

Glee (Fox):  I love Glee.  I mean, what's not to love?  It's a bunch of quirky, entertaining kids doing enthusiastic covers of (mostly) songs I enjoy.  And it actually has a pretty good grip on the story portion of the show as well.  I would call it the modern musical, but I feel like that's not quite right.  It is just in its own little niche of awesomeness.  Though I will have to say that I am a bit disturbed by how convincingly Cory Monteith (who plays Finn) portrays a high school kid, given that he's only two years younger than me.  WTF? Oh, yeah, I watch this one live.  Definitely live.

No Ordinary Family (ABC):  I watch this one on DVR, and though I usually find time on Wednesday to watch it, sometimes it gets pushed back to the weekends.  While I am liking this show, and I think it's got decent potential, I don't love it.  If I ever come to my senses and decide to drop some shows from my viewing rota, this is gonna be the first to go, sad to say.  But that said, it is really not a bad show, it just hasn't hit any of my "must love" buttons so far.

Stargate Universe (Syfy):  Um, yeah, I watch this live.  I think I've probably delved into my love of Stargate in general, and this show in particular, enough that I can leave it at that for this entry.  Moving on.

Caprica (Syfy):  I watch this live as well.  This Battlestar Galactica prequel series really does have its own voice, and it provides a truly fascinating look at the origins of the Cylons and at the 12 Colonies before the Cylon wars.  I really hope this one gets a second season, because it is very smart "make you think" television, with the added bonus of being highly entertaining and utilizing scores of really talented actors.

The Good Wife (CBS):  This is another one that I would watch live if it didn't come on at the same time as something with greater priority.  Also, I am pretty sure this is a ratings juggernaut for CBS, so it doesn't need my help in that department, unlike poor Caprica.  So I watch this on DVR next day, first thing I watch after Jeopardy! is over.  I started watching this show last season on a whim, because I love Julianna Margulies, and am very glad I did.  It seems like most of the non-genre shows I watch are all procedural cop or lawyer shows, but I would have to argue that is because that's where the truly good shows are playing these days.

Wednesday

Undercovers (NBC):  I watch this one live-ish.  Sometimes I don't start it until 7:30 (depends on how quick I am getting dinner together for the kiddo).  I don't have anything on at the 8 p.m. hour on Wednesdays, so as long as I watch this before 9, I am good.  But, that said, this is the second show tied for my favorite of the new season.  The married couple who used to be spies at the same agency, but never actually worked together, and now are being called out of retirement to work together is a fun little formula.  I know it gets compared to Mr. and Mrs. Smith a lot, but it's really not the same thing.  These two aren't working against each other ever.  I also love the dynamic added by the character of Leo, who worked with each of them on and off during their previous spy careers (as well as having dated Samantha back in the day) and is now the third partner in the group.  It's fun and lighthearted and just amusing. 

Law & Order: Los Angeles (NBC):  Of the three shows I have that come on at the 9 p.m. hour on Wednesdays, this is the one I've chosen to watch live.  They're all new shows, so it was kind of an arbitrary choice.  After so long in New York, it is kind of nice to see the L&O formula get shaken up a bit, considering how different things are in La-la-land. 

The Defenders (CBS):  I watch this DVR, next day.  James Belushi and Jerry O'Connell definitely make an interesting duo.  Plus, it is kinda neat to see the off-the-Strip side of Vegas the show is portraying.  And really, who doesn't have 45 minutes to watch Jerry O'Connell's amazing eyebrows act?

Terriers (FX):  Okay, I definitely picked this one up on a whim.  I actually started it a week late, but through the magic of cable television, I was able to catch the pilot the night before the second episode aired.  A friend had mentioned on Facebook that she was really enjoying it, one of the Whedonverse elite (Tim Minear) is executive producer, and I have just liked Donal Logue since his Grounded For Life days.  I have to say, I am really enjoying it though.  The show is building a very rich mythology and giving a lot of attention to character development.  I really do want to find out what happens to these people, and that's a big plus in my book.  

Thursday

Bones (Fox):  I totally watch this show live, because it is AWESOME.  I have long since learned, though, that it is not the best idea to be eating dinner while watching.  I guess it's a good thing that I've instituted a "no more meals in front of the television" policy, then.  

The Big Bang Theory (CBS):  I would totally watch this show live except that CBS moved it to Thursday nights for some ridiculous reason this season.  But really, what isn't to love about nerds living their lives being nerdy?  Such a funny show.  Now that I think about it, I guess I could do the same thing I do on Monday nights with HIMYM....hmmm.  I think I thought it came on later than 7.  This will merit some thought.

Fringe (Fox):  This is my other live choice for Thursday nights.  I've already discussed how much I love this show in an earlier post, so we'll leave it at that for now.

Grey's Anatomy (ABC):  I watch this on the DVR right after Fringe.  I used to watch this one live and watch Fringe later, but come on, GA isn't ending its run until Shonda Rhimes decides she's done, while Fringe can still use as much fan support as possible.  Also, it's nice to have the commercial-provided breather in between the action on Fringe, while with GA I would much rather be able to fast forward the commercial breaks to get back into the action and find out what happens next.

The Office (NBC):  I watch this one on DVR, and usually not until Sunday afternoon.  The reason is that this is one of two shows my husband actually watches (this is why we can get by with only one television in the house), and it's more fun to watch it together.  Occasionally there is the rare Friday night while he's not gigging and we'll watch it then, but usually we wait until Sunday after lunch.  It's a nice little routine that I enjoy quite a bit.

Friday

The Good Guys (Fox):  I watch this one live.  I really wasn't going to watch it at all when Fox started showing previews for it last spring, it just looked so stupid.  But then I found out it was set in Dallas.  And that, plus the fact that I really do adore Colin Hanks, and Bradley Whitford is not that bad of an actor either, led me to go ahead and give it a try.  Folks, if you haven't seen this show, please, give it a try.  It is HILARIOUS.  Unless you don't like cop/procedural dramas at all, I promise, there is something here for you.  I about fall over laughing at least once during every episode.

Star Wars:  The Clone Wars (Cartoon Network):  I watch this on DVR, partly because of scheduling conflicts, but mostly because that way I can fast forward through all of the ridiculous toy commercials.  Seriously.  Toys today are kind of stupid, has anyone noticed that?  I am already dreading the day my daughter starts to fall prey to advertising, sigh.  I'll usually pick this one up on Saturday morning.  Call it my more sophisticated (sometimes) alternative to Saturday morning cartoons.

Law & Order:  UK (BBC America):  I also watch this one on DVR because, well, I actually have the first season on DVD and have already seen these.  But it's nice to get a weekly fix of Jamie Bamber and Freema Agyeman.  Also, I am kind of hoping that since they waited so long to air it stateside, maybe they'll just start running the second season when they finish up the first and I'll get some new episodes to watch. 

Sanctuary (Syfy):  And this one I, of course, watch live.  The third season starts back up this week and I am super excited!  I love this take on things that go bump in the night.  I am very eager to see how the new season deals with the changes last season brought to the status quo.  

Saturday

Actually, right now, I don't have any series that air on Saturday nights.  This used to be Legend of the Seeker night, but that didn't get a third season, more's the pity.  Though once new Doctor Who starts up, that will be what goes in this slot.  That, and the occasional Lifetime or Syfy movie.  (Okay, yes, I do watch the occasional Lifetime and Syfy movie--but only if there's an actor I really like in it, and if it truly is terrible enough, I don't watch the whole thing.  Stop judging me.  Please?)

Sunday

Family Guy (Fox):  This one I usually watch on DVR, because this is the other show my husband watches, and he's got a standing Sunday night gig.  So usually we'll catch this up the next Sunday afternoon.

And there you have it, my ridiculously packed fall television schedule.  There are at least two shows that haven't aired yet that will be added to this list:  Human Target and V.  Human Target was supposed to start up on Friday October 2 and be the lead in for The Good Guys, which I was actually super excited about, but after canceling Lonestar, Fox had to rearrange its schedule and for some reason decided to put House in the 7 p.m. Friday slot.  Sigh.  Whatever.  Funnily enough, I did watch the pilot of Lonestar, and was planning, up until the day the second episode aired, to give it a try, but I realized that day that I just didn't care enough about any of the characters to keep watching a show about a situation I find so repugnant (dude had two wives and really was purporting to love them both, which I just don't buy).  So I canceled the series from my record list and put it out of my mind until a few days later when I heard it had already been canceled.  So, good call there, I guess.  

Tuesday is Your Friend

Howdy, folks! 

Just a few quick reminders for you: 

There's a new episode of Stargate Universe on tonight! 

(Syfy @ 8 p.m. CST)

Caprica is finally back with new episodes right after Stargate!!

I will, of course, have my Stargate write-up for you tomorrow.  Speaking of Stargate, I found out today that there is a series of comic books out about the SG-1 character Vala Mal Doran (fabulously portrayed by Claudia Black).  It gives a glimpse into some of her back story, which, given that it's Vala, has got to be pretty interesting.  Geek With Curves did a write-up of the series here.  I so far have been able to stay away from the Stargate comic books (I know, I don't really know why either), but I think with this I might have to cave in.  It looks like the first four issues are out and a trade paperback collection of them is due out next month, so I went ahead and preordered it.  I will definitely let you know how it is. 

Speaking of Stargate reading material, I don't know if you are familiar with the Stargate novels that Fandemonium has been putting out, but they are mostly pretty fantastic.  They've got a pretty good batch of writers who are familiar enough with the shows and their mythology that usually each book feels just like its own stand alone episode.  There are a few hit or miss moments here or there sometimes--usually when someone doesn't get a character quite right or an author that is clearly much more familiar with SG-1 takes a stab at an Atlantis story and doesn't quite get all of the Pegasus nuances down.  But still, I highly recommend these books for anyone who misses SG-1 or Atlantis and is looking for new adventures of a better quality (or with less, um, monkey business) than fan fiction.  Which isn't to say I don't love me some Stargate fan fiction, but these are better, trust me. 

My only really big bone of contention with these books is that they have got some serious kinks going on in their marketing/distribution system.  See, in order to keep up enthusiasm in between book releases, they'll go ahead and announce new titles well before they have finished the publication process.  They'll even have them up for preorder on Amazon.  This is cool and all, except that when there are delays, you're sitting there waiting for your book that you preordered and it doesn't come for another month or three or twelve.  The SGA title Brimstone, for example, was initially slated to come out in March or May of 2008, and I preordered it on Amazon two days before its scheduled release date.  But apparently there was some sort of glitch in the approval process, and well, you know what, it still hasn't come out.  I tend to hop on Amazon once or twice a year and just preorder any of the new books that they have showing available--but after all of the delays from the last batch I swore to myself that I would never do that again.  I would just wait until each book was actually in stock to order it. But, I am kind of addicted to preordering, and also, apparently, a masochist.  So  after I finished the most recent stack of Stargate books in my reading pile, I went ahead and preordered all of the ones that were available to preorder.  Sigh.  So, when I got three emails today from Amazon telling me that there had been a delay in my order and that some items would be arriving later than originally expected, was I surprised?  Not really.  I can't even be mad about it any more, but still.  I wish they could get their act together, because honestly, that have a really good thing going. 

On the bright side, it isn't as if I don't have plenty to read while I wait for those to finally come out, do I?

Read us, Cori, please--before the dragon gets to us!

And that's just my pile of books to read.  And despite my attempts to whittle my way through it, it keeps getting bigger.  I keep saying, oh, no, I won't buy any more books, but really, how can you not buy more books if you're a bibliophile?  I am lucky that my husband is not only a patient man, but also an understanding one who happens to have the same problem.  Man, and those Outlander books?  When I get to those, I'm going to have to reread the first three in the series first anyway, because I haven't read them since the start of 2009, and I'll need to refresh my memory.  AND I'll have to take a break in whatever I am reading next month when the new Wheel of Time book comes out, because that is an immediate must-read, of course.  And I guess I shouldn't complain too much about the lack of Stargate books, because fourth and fifth down from the top on the right are actually two more Stargate books.  Hmm.  Time to stop complaining, Cori. 

Right, moving on.  So, it's Tuesday, yay!  That means a new webisode of The Guild, huzzah!  Sadly, it's the season finale, but that just means that Felicia Day and crew are hard at work on making a new season now, so I am trying to not be too sad about the end of season four.  It's not that hard, because today's episode was AWESOME.  Check it out here. 

There's also a new webisode of Legend of Neil.  For those of you unfamiliar with that series, it follows slacker Neil who is "magically" transported into the original The Legend of Zelda game.  It is not for the easily offended, but I for one find it extremely hilarious.  It manages to make fun of video games and video gamers in a loving way that you realize is really a tribute to us and an acknowledgment of how far video games have come since the original Zelda. The current season is actually the last--but I am okay with that.  I think American show makers have a lot to learn about just telling a story and ending it where appropriate, rather than stretching it out as long as possible.  I would rather have three outstanding seasons of this series than six or eight mediocre seasons.  You can check out the newest episode here.  Kill Link!


And, lastly, I shall close with...crochet!  Yay!  This past Saturday my husband and I attended the wedding of one of the guys he is in a band with (Holy Moly, they are awesome, check them out), and so of course I made the happy couple a blanket for their wedding present.  Instead of going with an actual blanket pattern this time, I went to my pattern book and picked out a cool stitch pattern and used that.  The stitch I picked out is called Diamond Mesh, and I would love to give you a link to it, but I can't, because my copy of the pattern is a photocopy from a pattern book and I don't know what pattern book it came from.  Boo me, I know.  But, here is what the stitch looks like:

Diamond Mesh

And here is the entire blanket:

Diamond Mesh Blanket by Cori (2010)

And that's all I've got for you.  Enjoy your Tuesdays!  Oh, and if you're looking for something to watch before Stargate and Caprica, there's a new episode of Glee on Fox.  It looks like they are doing their version of Only the Good Die Young, which is one of my top five favorite songs of all time, yay!