Friday 1/2/15
I've been watching the "Broadchurch" DVD. I had put
off watching it because I was watching "Gracepoint" (the
American version) and didn't want to get influenced or
confused. I've enjoyed both, but I think they would have
been better off if they'd either a) made "Gracepoint"'s plot much
more different, or b) waited a while before making the US
version. People nowadays have access to UK shows on the net
and on BBC America, so those who already watched the UK
version are going to naturally prefer that version (even if
"Gracepoint" were better---I think most people like the one they
saw first better). Many critics, too, saw "Broadchurch" and
panned "Gracepoint," (unfairly, I think) which probably told some viewers not to
bother watching. Trying to watch one when you just watched
the other is too difficult. It's like if you watched the
same play with two different casts, and in one version, they
changed the dialogue quite a lot as well. I don't even like
to read a book and then watch the movie or series, unless
it's been so long that I've kind of forgotten what happened
in the book. Otherwise, your mind keeps trying to make
comparisons, whether you want it to or not. But there weren't enough
changes, so you can't just watch it like it's a different
show... that's why I had to give up reading the "True
Blood" books for a while, too.
I'm not sure it would have mattered, though, because I
think that both shows are too slow-moving for most American
viewers, particularly FOX viewers. It might have done okay
on a cable channel, where viewers tend to be more patient.
FOX does a lot of fast-paced, high-action shows, so this one
really doesn't fit that mold. Not only that, but "Gracepoint"
was actually longer than "Broadchurch" by 2 episodes. They threw in a lot of unnecessary
plot and character stuff - more red herrings. "Broadchurch" is
much tighter. Still, I did like the ending of "Gracepoint" way
better, so it might have worked if we hadn't had ""Broadchurch
to compare it to. Also, I don't think those boys in "Broadchurch"
look 11.... more like 13 or 14. In the "Gracepoint" version,
they definitely look more their ages. Especially Danny.
I think that American TV dramas nowadays have very
complex plots (overly-complex, a lot of times), with 2 or 3
subplots at least, and so that's why they felt they had to
add a lot more to the American version, as well as
stretching it out to 10 episodes. They had to add in more
romances, and make the plot twist more.
There are a lot of American TV shows that were based on
UK shows, and many of them have been successful, but
unfortunately, there are other factors besides just the
quality of the writing and acting that affect the show. It's
too bad because I really liked "Gracepoint," and seeing
twice as much David Tennant is always better! Also, I
particularly liked Anna Gunn's character and the way she
played this part, and the relationship between Ellie and
Emmett was intriguing. Lastly, the way they ended the show was a
fascinating cliff-hanger that I would have liked to have
seen resolved. Disappointing!
"Broadchurch"'s second season starts in the UK in a few
days, but it doesn't air here until March on BBC America. I
should be finished with season 1 tonight, so I'll be ready!
Actually, I just thought of one thing that I didn't like
about either version. When Ellie asks Susan how she could
not have known that her husband was having sex with her
daughters... Ellie's a cop, as well as a mother, so she
should know that this happens all the time. Pedophiles are
very sneaky and take advantage of every possible
opportunity. They also threaten their victims and prey on
ones they know are vulnerable. She should know all this
stuff. I know it, and I'm not either a cop or a mom.
Susan's not half as smart as Ellie, so it would be pretty
easy to fool her, too. It's an important plot point as Ellie
later finds out just how wrong she was, but to me it seems a
bit contrived and not very realistic. Other than that, I
love the show. Both versions!
I frequently write letters to both Soap Opera Digest and
Entertainment Weekly, and sometimes they publish them. My
latest letter is in the 12/29 issue of SOD.
You can see
it here or check it out in the issue on page 94. They'd
had an article about how, despite the fact that soaps repeat
some of the same stories and dialogue over and over, they
try to keep it fresh. I object to that whole premise,
anyway, that they should be so repetitive, but also, in the
article, both the writer and the quotes from actors made it
sound like they HAD to repeat and it was part of what made
it a soap. So that's why I wrote this letter, as you can
see...
Soaps have always been repetitive, but they're much more
so now. I guess they feel that everyone who watches is
either old or doesn't watch too often, so they want to make
sure we know what's happening. Viewers are just not that
stupid. Or at least, they don't have to be. If they wrote
the shows better and didn't treat their viewers like idiots,
they'd get more viewers. Word would get out! There would be
many articles about how the soaps are no longer just stupid
and repetitive, and full of clichés. People would seek them
out. Obvi.
I'm still annoyed that "Selfie" has been canceled by ABC,
and I'm not the only one! There's a Save Selfie campaign
going on.
You can see the tweets about it or
sign the petition and see how else you can help!
Back in the spring, I got the idea for this new site
fame1000.com It'll be basically a list site for
celebrities (lists about celebrities). Then I got
really busy and put it off. One of our site's volunteers,
Thane, is working on it with me. I got a design from a
professional designer, so as soon as Thane does the
technical stuff, and then I do my part with the lists of
famous celebrities (based on this algorithm) then we can
start it up and at least do the beta. This will be a
separate site from The TV MegaSite, but of course we'll make
them work together in tandem. It's very exciting to start a
new site!
Saturday 1/3/15
I've been trying to catch up on my DVD's - the ones I
review for the site! I finished putting up the "Smallville"
transcripts that Suzan D. sent me. It took me a little
while! She's still helping us out with others.
There's a great movie on Hallmark Channel tonight
"Surprised by Love", with Tim Conway. I definitely need to
watch that one. He's awesome! I grew up watching him on TV,
especially "The Carol Burnett Show" Saturday nights.
If you're a big William Shatner fan like me, you might
want to know two things. First of all, he did this great
show in the 70's called "Barbary Coast" where he played a
master of disguise in San Francisco in the 1800's, and it's
finally out on DVD! I just bought a copy. I hope it holds up
to the test of time. The second thing is that if you get a
Priceline credit card (on their site), it has a photo of
William Shatner on it! I had to get one :) Yes, I'm a big
geek and a lifelong Shatner fan. I even watched T.J. Hooker,
which is probably the worst show he ever did. He did much
better shows later on, like "Boston Legal" and "Shit My Dad
Says", and the reality show "Invasion of Iowa" (one of the
few reality shows I ever watched).
Honestly, I hate reality shows, so there has to be
someone I really like on it, in order for me to watch, or a
bunch of someone's. Or some really great comedy on it. I
also liked "Dirty Soap" on E! a few years back because it
had a lot of soap stars, and I've watched them all for
years.
Lisa Rinna and Eileen Davidson are on "Real Housewives of
Beverly Hills", but I don't watch that one. I do like those
ladies, but it would have to be all stars I like, in order
to watch it. Maybe if it had Cady McClain or Finola
Hughes...
Sunday 1/4/15
I'm glad that it's a new year and all of my favorite
shows are coming back! It was great to have "The Good Wife"
back tonight. I'm so glad Cary got out. Great episode as
always. I also ordered Season 1 because I only saw last
season and this one so far.
I miss "The Mentalist", though. Looks like they've moved
it to Wednesdays! I hope that means it'll get better ratings
there.
I watched "Miracle
on 34th Street" this weekend. It's my favorite Christmas
movie, but I haven't seen it for a while. It's still really
good.
I was reading about "The Goldbergs" on ABC, a show that I
tried and didn't like. It takes place in the 80's. I
remember last year, they had an episode about "Return of the
Jedi". This week, I read that they discovered their sister's
"New Kids on the Block" memorabilia (from when she was
younger). I was shocked because they didn't come along
until around 1989, so how is this show now in the 90's?
Well, someone told me that the guy who runs the show doesn't
write them in any particular order and that they all just
are about "sometime in the 80's". That's awful. Just another
reason I wouldn't watch that show. I remember that time, so
it would really bother me to see them jump around like that.
Well, maybe if the show was really really funny, it wouldn't bother
me...but it's not.
I've been spending the rest of my time working on our
news and schedule pages. Next week's is at
this page. I
usually work on them on the weekend so check back!
Monday 1/5/15
I've been still trying to catch up on the DVD's that the
TV networks send me, so I can
review them, and also new shows on
my DVR. I don't know how I always get so far behind!
I came down with a cold, so when I'm not sleeping, I'm
just watching TV.
This morning I got to interview "Archer" executive
producer Matt Thompson. I just watched 6 episodes they sent
me! The show comes back this Wednesday. It was great to chat
with him. He's very funny!
There's a new "General Hospital" web show, hosted by
Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis), called
GH Now, starting soon!
As usual, I watched "Major Crimes", which is always
great. I was very glad to have "Gotham" back, too! Woo hoo!
In my bedroom DVR, I recorded "Revenge"
last night. I'm way behind
on that one!
I also watched 3 episodes of "Justified", which returns
soon. I love that show SO much!! Raylan is really bad-ass
this year. It's just an awesome show.
Later on, I watched "Empire", a new soap on FOX. It's
very good and starts this Wednesday. It's a really intense
soap opera set in a music company.
Speaking of soaps... we have a lot of great volunteers
who work on our site every day writing
Daytime Recaps
(short recaps) and
Daytime Updates, so please check them out! They also
choose the funniest lines from each day's episode in our
Best Lines for "Bold &
Beautiful," "Days
of Our Lives," "General
Hospital," and "The
Young and The Restless." We have a lot of great
volunteers!
Tuesday 1/6/15
Today was a miserable day of being sick and sleeping
along. After I got up, I still watched a lot of TV.... I
don't have much energy for anything else! Good thing I have
tons of stuff to watch.
Well, I did update my blogs and put up the
soap
transcripts, and a few other things. But nothing like usual.
I enjoyed watching "Forever" again this week. So glad to have that show
back. It's always good. One of the Baldwin brothers was on
it as a guest-star, and he did a good job. Of course he
turned out to be the murderer. Too many shows do this.
There's a famous guest-star -- of course he's the murderer!
Wednesday 1/7/15
I was still sick today and spent most of the day in
bed... I watched this new upcoming FOX show "Backstrom".
It's pretty good. It's about a police detective who's very
self-destructive and unlikable (kind of like "House" but
with a gun). I watched 3 1/2 episodes on FOX's press site,
but then it stopped and I couldn't get it to re-start. I may
try it again later. Perhaps their website was just getting
too much traffic or something! It premieres January 22.
I also watched "The Mentalist", and it was a very good
episode. The ending was a bit weird, though. I wonder if
they'll carry the stuff from this episode over to the next.
Jane seemed very confident that Abbott's former boss Bill
would back off, but it seemed ominous that they left it at
his confident assurance. Also, it was kind of weird that he gave that note to
Theresa about her birthday present and it just said, "I have
no idea." That's not like him at all.
I also watched some older episodes of "The Daily Show"
from a few weeks ago. Paul McCartney sure is looking and
sounding old now. His voice is all husky. I guess that
happens when you get older, from a lifetime of singing rock
and pop music (not to mention smoking!).
Then I went to OnDemand and watched "Marvel's Agent
Carter" and "Galavant". I love both!! Great, fun
entertainment. I'm a sucker for anything scifi or
fantasy-related, anyway.
Someone emailed me about our "Days of Our Lives" Updates
page this week... apparently she's not used to the internet, so when
she saw an ad on our page that asks for you to click on it
to make a donation to Amazon, she thought you had to donate
to see the updates! I wish I could make everyone do
that...LOL! We'd have a much better site because I could
then hire people to actually work for a salary. Anyway, I
went to the page to see what she was talking about at first,
and the page was messed up for some reason. It still had the
old "Merry Christmas" sign from last weekend, which I'd
taken down. The coding somehow got messed up. Irritating
because then I had to fix it. Just one more thing to do. I
did explain that it was an ad and told her to keep scrolling down
to find the
updates...
But anyway, none of us get a salary - we're all
volunteers. The little bit of ad money we get goes towards
hosting costs. Because our site (and some associated
sites) is so huge, it costs money for me to host it, and for
the domain names, and a few other expenses like postage.
Also, every year I give our volunteers Amazon gift
certificates for the holidays. Some of it comes out of my
pocket, though, because the ad money we get doesn't quite
cover all of that. In fact, up until recently, I was
paying off a huge credit card debt that I'd run up for the
site years ago, when I thought we were going to be making
more money, but I just decided to pay it off ourselves, so
we would no longer have that hanging over us.
So every little bit helps - if you enjoy this site and
buy anything from Amazon, please buy it through our site, or
help us out with the donation thingy or clicking on other
stuff. I don't plan to ever charge people to read updates or
anything else... we want to keep everything free.
The ads support this site. Google ad rules prevent me
from asking you to you-know-what on them. Honestly! Isn't
that a really stupid rule? But they mean it. They've shut
down my ads before when they thought I violated their dumb
rules...
Thursday 1/8/15
Don't forget to check out our
What's New Page. We add
things to the site every single day!
I was supposed to interview Aaron Stanford & Amanda
Schull of Syfy's new show "12 Monkeys" this morning, but I
was just too sick and went back to sleep instead.
Do you have certain shows you like to watch? If so, make
sure you let the networks know. They're all on Twitter and
Facebook, you know, as well as having websites. They all
have contact info on their websites so you can contact them.
They do keep track of the emails people send, and tweets and
posts, and what they say in them. I usually go on
their websites once or twice a year to ask them not to
cancel my favorite shows and to tell them which of their
shows I like best. I did it this week on Twitter and
Facebook as well.
I watch more CW shows than any other network, followed by
ABC, then FOX, then CBS...and only one on NBC. It's hard to
keep up, though. On The CW I watch "The
Flash," "Supernatural,"
"Beauty & The Beast,"
"Reign," "Arrow,"
"Vampire
Diaries," "
The Originals" & "The 100". however, I'm only caught up on
the first three. On ABC, I watch "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,"
"Revenge,"
"Once Upon a Time,"
"Agent Carter," "Galavant," "Forever," "Selfie," "How to Get Away with Murder," &
"Castle." I'm caught up
on all of them except for the first two (and they canceled "Selfie"). On FOX, I watch
"Sleepy Hollow,"
"Bones,"
"Gotham,"
"Empire," "Gracepoint," and "Family Guy." I'm caught up on all of
them except for the first one (and they canceled "Gracepoint").
On CBS, I watch "Person of Interest,"
"Big Bang Theory,"
"Good
Wife," "The Mentalist," and
"Elementary," and I'm caught up on all
except for the first one. On NBC, I only watch "Constantine."
I like "Grimm," but I'd have to go back and watch all of the
past seasons still.
If not for cable TV, I'd probably be caught up on all of
the shows! There are lots of great shows on cable as well.
I saw on the net that on yesterday's "General Hospital,"
Luke thinks that "Fluke" is really Bill Eckert. He makes an
allusion to his older sister Patricia and jokes that he and
Luke are cousins (he could be lying, of course). Now, I
guessed months ago that it might be Bill because he seemed
to only recognize places and people from the 90's. However,
it still makes no sense, and this is why I dismissed
it....Bill was a good guy. He was not a mobster or into
hurting people, and he wasn't a lecherous creep. He didn't
know Sonny and he had nothing against Luke. So all of this
makes no sense. I hate when they try to re-write history. It
would have made MUCH more sense to be Damian Smith, who was
already a villain and had reasons to hate them both.
Whatever lame excuse they come up with to explain why Bill
Eckert is now a completely psycho, I'm guessing it's not
going to make any sense to me or other long-time fans. We
probably won't buy it. I've pretty much stopped watching the
show regularly, so it doesn't matter, I guess. They've
already lost me, and people like me, who expect better
stories.
We really miss our nightly fix of Stephen Colbert. Jon
Stewart is ok but not nearly as funny.
It's great to have my favorite sitcoms back: ""Hot in
Cleveland," "The
Big Bang Theory" and "Two and a Half Men."
Friday 1/9/15
My TV was being taken up by
Daytime
Transcripts (trying to catch up on those since I've been
sick all week and way behind!) so I decided to try out "The
Fall" on Netflix. So many people said it's great. Yeah, it's
a good drama, and very intense, but for me it was too slow.
Also, just so violent and full of sex, and mixing of the two
in a kind of gross way. I'm no prude, but I've just seen so
many of those shows, like "Criminal Minds," "Law
& Order: SVU," "The Following" et al. so it was just too
much. I love the actors in it, but I just couldn't bring
myself to watch a second episode.
I decided to check out the show "Outlander" that I've
heard so much about. It's on Starz, which we don't get, and
I couldn't find it anywhere else except
iTunes. Turns out, it's a really great show, especially
if you like romantic historic fiction and don't mind time
travel as well. I used to read romance novels, and of course
watch soaps, so that aspect of it is great. I love time
travel stories, too. It's so well done and right up my
alley. Make sure you watch it with the closed-captioning on,
though...they sure have some thick accents! In case you
don't know, it's about a British nurse right after World War
II who goes on vacation in Scotland with her husband and
ends up traveling back to 1743! I'm only on the second
episode now but enjoying it.
It's wonderful to have "Real Time with Bill Maher" back
tonight on HBO! We were very relieved that he didn't use any
of the same jokes that he did when we saw him on New Year's
Eve in concert.
From what I've seen now, I guess that Fluke on "General Hospital"
didn't actually say he was Bill Eckert -- Luke just assumed.
So that's good. I hope he's someone more plausible, like
Damian Smith.
Have a great weekend!
You can find my older blog posts at
http://www.tvmegs.com
Chronicles
- My personal blog, which is not about TV.
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