Somusing

I forgot this show when I wrote that novel-length post about TV. Better Off Ted has hilarious fake commercials for the company depicted in the show. The rest of it is funny, too. I like it.

On Hulu:

Lie to Me: Based on the research of Paul Ekman, this show is about a deception expert whose consulting firm helps solve crimes by looking at microexpressions and other facial indications that people are lying. The main character is cranky and otherwise entertaining. The show just finished its first season.

Burn Notice: Nice cinematography and some MacGyver elements that are especially entertaining. This is about a spy who's been "burned" and takes odd jobs while trying to figure out how to get his real job back. His odd jobs are the kind that require spy skillz, so there's a lot of action and fun. Also, good music. The third season started a few weeks ago.

Southland: I've only watched a couple of these; it's pretty graphic, but graphic for broadcast TV, not graphic for cable. It's about a bunch of L.A. cops who are not particularly likable. Kind of painful to watch. In its first season.

Royal Pains: A new USA show about an ER doctor who gets fired from his New York hospital and becomes a concierge doctor in the Hamptons. It's mildly funny and pleasant. Sometimes I think the medical conditions he's spouting are made up. Campbell Scott plays the wealthy, reclusive German guy in whose guest house he lives, and that's entertaining.

The Philanthropist: There's only one episode of this so far, and I'm intrigued. A billionaire starts getting personally involved in philanthropy, personally delivering supplies and such, which makes for adventure and escapades. I can't think of anything quite like this show; it's a curious mix of your typical action/adventure show and realistic people in need.

Kingdom: A British show about a small-town lawyer whose brother has recently disappeared and is presumed dead. Funny, quirky characters and a pleasant and slower than usual pace.

On ABC's website:

Castle: This is about a famous mystery writer who starts hanging out with a homicide detective for research purposes. It's funny and interesting. Second season starts in September.

The Unusuals: Yet another cop show, this one in New York. (Surprise!) But it's kind of the seedy underbelly of New York. I like the cops on this show, although they're pleasantly quirky.

Lost: Jon and I watched the first season of Lost on DVD soon after it came out but then couldn't bring ourselves to get into it again--too much of a commitment! Until now. I discovered that ABC had every single season, every episode available online. So that's been my life the last couple of months, especially while Jon and Zed were gone. I'm pleased that the show continues to be interesting and complex, but I think it was easier to watch it quickly than it would have been to watch it when the episodes were actually airing. I'm looking forward to the last season. (Jon, by the way, chose not to start watching this again with me, but I think I might tell him the whole story and make him watch the last season with me.)

And if you're really bored, here's my run-down on the TV-watching sites I've been using. (And I mean really bored; I think about this way too much.)

I really like Hulu, which has Fox, NBC, USA and a bunch of other stuff, including a pretty varied collection of movies. You can watch all of NBC's shows on nbc.com, too, but I like the clean look of Hulu and the fact that it's silent until you actually start watching something (unlike ABC's site, which starts obnoxious ads as soon as you open it). You have to watch 15-30 second commercials (ABC occasionally slips a 60-second break in) a few times during each show, but the video quality is excellent. For some reason, Hulu's commercials are quieter than the show, while ABC's are louder, just like we're used to from real television. Hulu streams everything without stopping (though you can pause it), while on ABC, you have to click to continue after each commercial, which is sometimes annoying but also sometimes convenient if you have to go do something during the commercial (like pretend to fulfill your role as mother). ABC also requires you to download their own video playing software, but it hasn't given me any trouble yet, except that it doesn't work on my favorite browser Google Chrome. I have to use Firefox.

I guess I've mostly been sticking to NBC and ABC shows, and I'm not sure why. It seems like CBS is all reality TV and CSI variations, and since I watch a lot of these shows by myself, I haven't been brave enough to try any of the interesting-looking Fox shows. They look too freaky.

The best things about online TV are that it's free (no cable or satellite bills!) and you can watch whenever you want to. Most shows appear on the website the day after it airs on television, and that's fine with me. I suppose if I worked in an office where people congregated around the water cooler to talk about last night's episode of whatever, I might be annoyed, but as it is, I'm pretty happy with online TV.

Now that TV is available online (as it always should have been), here's what I've been watching:

The Office: Of course.

30 Rock: Very funny, and differently from The Office.

Ugly Betty: The last episode of the first season was a masterpiece. It's getting less interesting, but I still enjoy it.

Lipstick Jungle: Maybe this is entertaining to me because the women's lives are so different from my own. Or maybe because the people who write it have no idea how successful relationships work, but they're trying.

Chuck: Oh, I love this. The action is over the top and the plots impossible, but who cares when it's so funny. I love that Buster from Arrested Development is on it now. Buymoria rules!

Grey's Anatomy: I had never seen this before a few weeks ago, and now I'm totally into it. What a soap opera! But with way better acting, some funny lines, a decent set, and some very interesting, improbable though possible medical conditions. I'm watching it on surfthechannel, and I'm almost at the end of the third season, so don't give anything away from the fourth or current seasons, please.

Jon has mentioned the word "intervention" in reference to me and my TV watching, so I'm trying to keep it reasonable. But the Interwebs make it so easy!

In the last few months, I have watched almost every episode of all seven seasons of Gilmore Girls. Ridiculously, I feel a sense of accomplishment about this. Also a sense of embarrassment. That's approximately 106 hours of TV watching.

In my defense, while I watched, I did a lot of knitting and caught up with a few years worth of entering receipts in GnuCash.

Mostly, I enjoyed the show. I liked all the references to books, music, art, etc. I liked the quirky characters. I liked the clever, funny, fast dialog.

I did not like the soap opera-like pace of the show and obvious manipulation to keep people (me) watching. It was so convenient for the money-makers that nobody on the show learns that honesty in a relationship is the best policy until the seventh season. But at least it all turned out right, and I can pretend that they've all learned their lesson and will never act like idiots again.

This is the nature of TV, though, and I'm hoping to stick with the 20-minute stuff in the future--The Office and 30 Rock. I feel kind of dumb that I've resisted 24 (2 1/2 seasons of which Jon and I watched) and Lost (watched the first season on DVD), but then I let myself get sucked into Gilmore Girls. Of course, part of the problem is that you can watch this stuff online now, which is really cool but requires more self-control than I have.

Oh, and I hated the theme song and the similar-sounding music that cropped up during the show. But I liked the town troubadour's music and other music in the background.

I watched the series premiere of this TV show while I was at Ivy's house and liked it pretty well. The next day I read that it was watched by so few people that it probably wouldn't air a second episode. Ha ha! Considering how often I watch TV, this has happened to a large proportion of the TV shows I've watched and liked, like Keen Eddie. But Quarterlife apparently began life as a web series, so I guess if I really care, I could watch more of it. Maybe someday. I don't think it was great, just not as inane and annoying as the rest of what's typically on TV.

Since I was at Ivy's when this aired, I got to watch it. But it was kind of boring. Jon Stewart was funny in an I-think-the-Oscars-are-stupid kind of way that I find interesting. It's fun to see pregnant actresses (Nicole Kidman, Jessica Alba and Cate Blanchett). And I'm glad Juno won at least one of four awards it was nominated for (best original screenplay). Otherwise, like I said, kind of boring. But I got my TV fix for a while!

What can I say? It's still great. Now Jon and I are watching every last piece of whatever they've put on the DVDs. We might be able to make it last a couple more weeks. In the meantime, Season 4 is well underway, and we know nothing about it, so don't tell us!

Arrested Development is some of the best television from the last few years. I love the Segway-riding Gob and the son named George Michael (and they only mention the singer/songwriter George Michael once in the whole series!) and the manipulative, drinking mother. It’s all smart and hilarious. Many thanks to Chris and Camille for loaning us their DVDs. We’ll send them back soon, but probably not before reviewing some episodes.

Oh, I love The Office. It seems ridiculously exaggerated at first, but it’s actually pretty realistic. I knew a guy just like Michael when I was in college. And I think it’s brilliant that even the most normal characters, Jim and Pam, are frustrating as well as a relief. I’m looking forward to the third season—I know it’s already over, and there are ways I could see it now, but I want to wait for the DVDs. (No spoiler comments, please!)

I really enjoyed this and even started to feel a little addicted to it by the end. I like watching TV shows on DVD—it’s great to have no commercials and to be able to watch as many episodes as you want. Although this can also be detrimental if you watch six or eight episodes and find it’s 1:00 am when you finally force yourself to stop. Anyway, “Arrested Development” is very funny. All of the characters are hilarious and well-acted, and one of them rides a Segue! Shouldn’t more people be making fun of Segues?

I’m looking forward to seeing the second season, but I don’t know if we can bring ourselves to buy it. We like to leach off of other people for our DVD needs, especially when it comes to TV shows.