Tag Archives: FOX

What I am Watching

Posted on by renmiked

I have decided to cut back most of my TV watching this fall season.  I just do not have enough time to keep up with the mediocrity that networks are pumping out these days.  From Lost rip-offs to medical dramas there is so much garbage on right now, that it was incredibly easy to pare it down.

I started this process last year.  This year I decided to go all out, and eliminate anything with more than a twenty episode season from my viewing schedule.  I do have two hold-overs with long seasons, Glee and Supernatural, that I have already been watching so I will continue even though they are long seasons.  I have concerns for Glee, since they are planning to do a 25 episode season.  There is no way to keep up quality with that length of a season.  I haven’t actually started Supernatural this season yet, and still have the finale from last season to watch, but I do plan on watching it eventually.

I did watch the first season of Fringe during the summer but, I really did not have the desire to watch another 23 episode season and commit to a long season this fall as well.  Another show I picked up over the summer was Eureka, and it has been added to my TiVo season passes.  I’m not sure when it comes back on, but I like that it is a lighter show and is only around 15 episodes on average.  Also it is not overwrought  with an intense overly complicated mystery that drowns out the characters and fun.  Basically, I can accept a lighter show having a slightly longer season, 15 – 20 episodes, but serialized dramas with an intense mystery need to be shorter.

I am looking forward to The Walking Dead in a few weeks, I really hope it lives up to the expectations.  The bar is going to be set very high for a show that is on the same network as Mad Men and Breaking Bad.  AMC has definitely done it the correct way, by giving us shows that concentrate on characters and story, not an event or mystery.  I tried watching the first episode of Rubicon but it was far too slow and uninteresting, so that may be the exception.  Mad Men on the other hand, had its best season to date.  The characters, except Betty, are compelling and complex, making the show a pleasure to watch.

The big four networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX) have no concept of how to produce shows with great characters anymore.  There is not one thing on those networks that spark my interest at all.  There may be a show or two that I am missing but I doubt it.  I’m not a huge fan of the network comedies either but they are not as bad as the horrible dramas they put out.  I’m not sure if these networks will survive to the next generation.  The only shows getting serious ratings are watched by older people.  Shows like Two and a Half Men, The CSI‘s and the Law and Orders have ratings, but I’ve  never met anyone under 50 who watches any of those shows.  What are they going to do to appeal to an audience that wants quality and won’t tune in just because it’s on a major network?

I’m not going to rant about the networks any more, they are digging their own graves without any help.  Let me just run off a few other shows I am watching or will be watching once they come back.

Terriers I believe it’s on FX and is a great and gritty detective show

American Pickers is on History Channel and a definite to check out if you like Antiques Roadshow or Pawn Stars

American Chopper the show is much better than it has been in the past two season, a guilty pleasure.

LA Ink 100% guilty pleasure, I’ll put it on in the background or buzz through it

Eureka this show is probably nearing the end of its run but I suggest picking it up from the beginning

Please stop!

Posted on by renmiked

This is a quick rant on news organizations calling the rescue of the trapped Chilean miners a “miracle”.  THIS IS NOT A MIACLE!  There is nothing miraculous or supernatural or unexplainable about a rescue team executing a plan to save the lives of these men.  Did the drill, that bored the hole that the miners were rescued through, run on magic?  Did a supernatural being blast through the Earth and save the men?  Did anything happen that was not done by the minds and bodies of the men and women on the rescue team?  Also if your going to proclaim a miracle how about blaming the same miracle worker for trapping the men in the mine in the first place.

White Folks Can Be Terrorists Too

Posted on by renmiked

Last week Joe Stack flew a plane into an IRS office killing himself and one IRS employee. He did this in response to a tax dispute and left a long suicide note explaining his actions. This is text-book terrorism. He had a political agenda and used a suicide attack to force his beliefs to be taken seriously and as retribution for perceived wrongs. There has been a hesitation in some circles to call this terrorism, because in my opinion, it stains the current anti-government movements that many media members support. I in no way blame anyone other than the murderer himself but people need to realize that rhetoric can have consequences. We’ve strayed so far from civil debate at this point that I don’t see a way back to normal discourse.

For the past twenty years ,we as a nation, have allowed our political institutions to become like a kindergarten school yard full of cliques and childish behavior.  We accept lying and extreme exaggeration as long as it backs our views.  We watch stations like FOX and MSNBC that do nothing but stoke the fires of ignorance and add almost nothing to the political discourse.  People like Limbaugh, Olberman, and Beck have thrived in this enviroment  of stupidity.  Rational commentators are almost never seen on TV anymore and it has become way to easy to pick the “news” that fits you beliefs instead allowing ourselves to be challenged by the truth.

The constant stream of bullshit has let the conspiracy theorists to run wild.  If you believe 9/11 was an inside job there is news for you.  If you think President Obama is an African Muslim Communist there is a news source for you.  Joe Stack is a terrorist but he is also a symptom of our ignorance and lack of curiosity.  Stop being afraid to hear things that challenge your beliefs.  Stop seeking out shows that only express one point of view no matter the evidence.   Most of all, America, grow the fuck up and expect more from politicians and news sources and don’t seek out what you want to hear. Seek out what you are afraid to hear.