In light of my horrid fucking unending PMS (seriously--it's been over two weeks. And NO I'm not pregnant, silly) and today's third-time-this-week wicked migraine--which is leading to an incredibly short temper and complete lack of patience--I thought I'd post about something innocuous: summer television! That way I don't have to get into the email I got from someone who wants me to believe that aborted babies are left to die in janitorial closets at hospitals (which, if you are a labor and delivery nurse, you already know, right?) and therefore I should STOP EVERYTHING AND SAVE THE BABIES. Or the fact that my freelance client is growing more distant and more folks are being laid off at that company and at any moment I am going to lose three quarters of my income and I am UTTERLY PANICKED about that fact (although the last time I took the dog to the vet the vet practically begged me to come work for her--"even one shift" she said, so I guess I can do that if I have to). I totally do NOT want to think about those things.
So on to television!
There's not much on that's new that isn't a reality show. And I'll admit it--I have watched a couple. I'm watching Nashville Star (of course you know that she is my favorite, right?) even though they cannot seem to match the tension of American Idol and OH MY FUCKING GOD Billy Ray Cyrus is the worst fucking host in the universe (seriously, I doubted that there was anything that could make me think Ryan Seacrest is brilliant, but Billy Ray has managed to do it). But I do love country music (classic and alternative country, thank you, not the current popular stuff I like to call "bimbo country" and "if he really was a country singer his hair wouldn't be frosted" country). But there's nothing else on. So I watch.
I've also watched one episode of The Baby Borrowers, but I couldn't stop feeling totally freaked out that there were people who would give their children to these teenagers, even just for three days, even if you could watch from a monitor, and even if a "nanny" was nearby to supervise. FUCK THAT SHIT. So, um, I shall not be watching again.
I got sucked into Wipeout, and since it was during an early evening re-run of the first episode, so did Tori. She LOVED it, saying "Uh-Oh!" and "Silly!" while we watched. I will admit to laughing, quite hard, as these idiots bounced on the big red balls. I'm rapidly becoming a horrible bit of humanity, I know.
OF COURSE I watched Battlestar Gallactica, and am utterly devastated by this completely and utterly unreasonable interruption in the final season. Although I do NOT want the show to end, I also MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. Very frustrating.
I am very, very eagerly awaiting the start of two of my absolute favorite shows ever. I am a HUGE fan of Keira Sedgewick's brilliant show The Closer, which is starting up again in a couple of weeks (oh, for the sake of completeness, July 14). I don't think there has been such a perfectly nuanced female character on television, ever. She is utterly spectacular as Brenda Lee Johnson, a deputy sheriff with a gift for making suspects crack. She is smart as shit, bent, and with weaknesses (watching her fight, and fail, her addiction to sweets is awesome. Oh, and she was diagnosed with PCOS last season). I adore her, and want her to be my friend. Yes, I want a fictional person to be my friend.
Also starting at the same time is the equally awesome Saving Grace staring Holly Hunter as the functional alcoholic I wish I could have been (she makes being an alcoholic look like so much fun sometimes I need a meeting after watching the show). She is a cop NOT in search of redemption with an angel named Earl following her around determined to give it to her. While it may sound as sappy as Touched By An Angel, I assure you it is NOT since Earl tends to appear at times, say, when Grace is tied to her bed naked and left there by a one night stand with writing on her ass. I seriously love this show. But I don't want to be Grace's friend because she would totally convince me to relapse in about ten seconds.
Not quite as well constructed and yet still highly enjoyable is In Plain Sight, staring a woman who was on ER for five seasons although for the life of my I can't remember who she played (yes, I still watch ER, and I will until the bitter fucking end). This show is a bit campy but is often laugh-out-loud funny, and I really like her mildly-funny looking partner. Bonus--Lesley Anne Warren plays her down-on-her-luck mother with panache.
Lastly, for some reason while flipping channels I ended up watching the pilot episode of The Middleman, a show that would so totally suck if it weren't for two things: an amazing actress playing the lead role, and a script that is so funny, snappy, and full of esoteric references that I actually have to pause it and rewind--often--to catch it all. It is not a show geared to adults--I'm guessing tweens are the audience--but DAMN. It is hilarious. The show is majorly campy (think Hercules, but with shades of Men In Black) but still worth a watch. If you have kids eight and up, I'd suggest you watch this show with them (there is some cartoonish violence, but it's bearable). After all, I imagine that there will never be another show that references Simone De Beauvior, Johnny Cash, Mexican wrestlers, and makes fun of Hooters in a single episode.
If you don't have cable, all of these shows are available for viewing online. Aren't you thrilled? Because I know you aren't spending enough time online already.
The only other shows I'm watching are Showtime's Weeds (really a disappointment so far this season) and The Secret Dairy of Call Girl (also not that interesting, yet I watch).
Anyway, I am much cheered by thinking about all these mindlessly entertaining shows and not my problems. Forgive me. So, what are you watching?
