Well, just when you thought today was going to be no shittier than a normal day...I've spent a significant amount of time watching comedies (The Five Year Engagement), Christmas movies (Desperately Seeking Santa) and old TV shows (Highlander) just to get away from the news.
If you're a worrier or a depressive or a cynic, it can be difficult to listen to breaking news like we got today without going a little nutty, even if you don't know anyone directly involved. So, my prayers go out to everyone in Connecticut and let's get ourselves to an extra long list of internet goodies. Be well, friends.
1)Christmas is around the corner. If you ever wonder what the super rich give each other, Hello Giggles has an idea. The $52,000 playhouse might be my favorite. And by favorite I mean most insane waste of cash ever.
I don't know if you remember this about me, but I love, LOVE watching TV. Now that we're heading into winter hiatus for all our favorite shows, I thought it would be a good time to let you know what I've been filling my nights with this television season. Since many of you will have vacation days coming up, it's the perfect time to check these shows out if you haven't already, just follow the links. Let's go!
1) Arrow: The CW knows how to do superhero shows right. The first episode was the most exciting hour of network TV I've seen since the third or fourth season of LOST. The basics? Spoiled super-rich boy Oliver gets stuck on a dangerous island for five years, learns how to kick serious ass, gets rescued and then sets his sights on cleaning up his corrupt, crime-ridden home town as a masked vigilante. If you like action and good-looking people this will hit all your buttons. Granted, sometimes the actors (especially the occasional guest star) are better at looking good than acting, but no one has embarrassed themselves and the writing is just good enough to keep you interested.
2) Nashville: If you like soapy drama, good writing, excellent acting and amazing music, look no further. I love it when I have high hopes for a show and it makes me love it even more than I thought I could. The basics? The core of the show is aging country diva Rayna trying to stay relevant and feuding with the much younger Juliette, who's a country-pop superstar. But, there's a lot more going on, including embezzlement, dirty political campaigns, old loves interfering with new ones and some musical newbies trying to find their way in the industry. This is good stuff, people. Anyone who misses nighttime soaps but wants something more realistic should find this to be right up their alley. And, the music? The actors do all their own singing and...God, the music is awesome! Just watch the clip above for proof.
3) Scandal: This actually premiered at mid-season early this year, so I admit to being late to the party. After watching the first season fly by in the Netflix instant "newly added" options one too many times, I finally decided to check it out. I was shocked by how much I enjoyed it. The basics? Olivia is a high-powered attorney who helped the current president get elected and runs her own crises management firm, meaning she helps lots of rich folks get out of trouble when they do really stupid shit. This is the sexiest show I've seen in ages; everyone's smart and talks really fast because they know what they are doing, and the plots always keep you guessing. Plus, I like that not everyone on the show is super-outrageously attractive. This is good stuff, guys.
And now, a couple of honorable mentions to show that have already been canceled:
4) Emily Owens, M.D.: Yes, this is a lot like Grey's Anatomy without all the sex. But, it makes me feel warm inside when I watch it. It's just a simple, pleasant show filled with folks who are nice to look at. Sometimes that's all I need. I'll miss you, Emily.
5) Last Resort: Well, hello there, action drama about a navy sub crew that has to flee government conspiracies on a small island populated by drug lords. I really enjoyed watching you start off strong and get mired in minor ridiculousnesses that continued to grow week by week. I'll miss the intense acting and your crew of sweaty seamen. God speed!
What new show has become appointment viewing for you this year?
Well, that was quite a weekend for me, folks. I spent most of Thursday writing the first draft of an essay I hope to have published, got badgered by my doctor about losing weight on Friday and later had a panic attack at the grocery store. Nice, right?
I will admit that even though I'm planning to make nifty food gifts for everyone this year, I am not feeling Christmas spirit at all. HUBS and I tried to remedy this by getting five holiday films from the library this weekend and watching all but one so far. The result? I now want to stuff my mind with as many cheesy Christmas movies as possible. Here's what we've watched so far:
1) Jingle All the Way (Sigh...)
2) Arthur Christmas (Nice, better than I expected.)
3) The Santa Clause (Possibly the most boring Christmas movie I've ever seen.)
4) Santa Baby (Notable mostly for the fact that Jenny McCarthy's chin is broken out for the whole movie. Look, girls! Sure, she's got a hot body, but she's also got acne! She's just like us!)
Next up is the live-action version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The Grinch has always scared me a bit, so I'm a bit nervous about my response to this, but I'm diving in anyway! Any recommendations for holiday films we should watch to prep for the season?
