My long weekend gave me the chance to plow through the rest of the Nip/Tuck series available on Netflix (currently through season 6). I was going to find somewhere online to watch s7, but decided against it as I needed a break and I figure that eventually it'll be on the queue anyway.
For the most part, I loved this series. Not for the characters though. The plot lines were interesting and got weirder as the series went on. Spoilers ahead for anyone who hasn't seen this series and would eventually like to. Stop here if you want to be surprised.
For anyone not familiar with the premise, the show starts in Miami and centers around two plastic surgeons who own a business together. Christian is womanizing and vain, the Sean is sort of like a lost puppy dog who wants to be a good person but somehow always ends up just being weak. Sean's wife has a thing for Christian, Sean's oldest son turns out to be Christian's kid, Christian's porn star girlfriend is nutso and at some point during the series ends up having an affair with Sean and marrying the oldest son, Matt. Matt's a trainwreck from the very beginning and gets caught up in all sorts of bad situations: older girlfriend turns out to be a transsexual who likes young men, same age girlfriend comes from a white supremacist family, third girlfriend/wife drags him into Scientology, then gets him hooked on meth, then leaves him to be a porn star again, fourth girlfriend ends up being his biological sister, fifth girlfriend is his prison cell mate. When he finally does find someone who seems normal, he leaves her at the alter to run away with the transsexual. Did I also mention he becomes a mime at one point in time?
His storylines are probably the most tragic, but the rest of them are just as messed up. Season 2-3 brings us the Carver storyline, where a serial rapist is disfiguring people. Season 4 has a ring of organ thieves as their main conflict. In season 5, the doctors re-open their business in Beverly Hills and hilarity ensues when Sean takes a role on a television show. The cameos are pretty good in that season, my favorite being Alanis Morisette as Liz Cruz's (the nurse at the practice) short term girlfriend.
For me, the show jumped the shark in season 6. The fun tone from s5 disappeared and it turned into a bunch of dark, angsty plotlines and fighting. Plus, the same storylines seemed to be recycled and the characters were only proving that they were never going to learn anything and were just going to keep making the same mistakes over and over again. It was fun the first time around. The second time it was just annoying.
I think season 7 ends it and I do plan on watching that one when it comes on Netflix. Even with the fact of having to crawl through s6, I would definitely recommend this show if you're okay with darker, more graphic shows. Be warned...they show the surgeries so there's alot of cutting, scalpels, and needles. And alot of sex, so send the kids to bed before watching.
ALF
Showing posts with label television series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label television series. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Thursday, September 24, 2009
The Biggest Loser 8 - Episode 2 (w/ spoilers)
Two nights later I finally got around to watching this week's episode of TBL while the rest of my TV watching friends are watching "Survivor." My poor mom even called to tell me she didn't know if she could handle Evil Russell this season, which is strange because my mom usually gets a kick out of that stuff. But enough about that, more Survivor stuff tomorrow if the planets align correctly.
I bring you tonight's recap from my corner chair with a heating pad under my neck. Not sure what I did to it, but here's to hoping it's better tomorrow so I can function at work and maybe get some stuff around the house done.
Allison told the contestants at the beginning that if they lost a combined total of 150 pounds, they would keep everyone on campus for another week. If they couldn't, two people would go home. Sean mentioned that week 2 is always the worst for weight loss, so I have to admit, I was thinking two people would be going home. Where's my sense of "Go team?" Lost somewhere with my neck mobility tonight, obviously.
Mo stepped up into the coach role to get everyone motivated to work together. I like that guy.
During their first trainer session, Bob took half the group to workout, and Jillian took the other half for what seemed like an information session on weight loss. It looks like they were in the recovery room, since some of the contestants had ice packs on. I think they need to show more of that room, and I think it's a good idea to have those moments where the logistics of weight loss are explained.
What hasn't changed about TBL? Product placement...tadah!!! Product placement and the pimping of TBL merchandise was pretty major this episode. Jillian pimped the TBL calorie counter book and food journal. Bob brought out The Biggest Loser protein powder. And Curtis Stone introduced the BL food scale during the challenge. It's fairly annoying, especially because the things are bound to be expensive. My advice: if you're going to use these things, buy cheap.
Mo went and saw Tracy at the hospital. I find it a little disturbing that she's still in the hospital after all that time. You'd think they take her out of the competition and either bring back Alexandra or a back-up contestant. But she did end up back at the ranch in the first half hour. She didn't elaborate on what was wrong with her other than to say that "It was serious." Of course it was all blamed on being overweight/obese, and while I don't contest that it played a factor, I'm pretty sure being told to walk a mile when you've been inactive for God knows how long played a big factor as well.
As much as I didn't like Alexandra, I could understand everyone's frustrations at Julio who didn't seem to be pulling his weight. It was funny watching the orange team watching Julio as he sort of sauntered into the gym, grabbed some water, took a leisurely stroll up the stair stepper. In the competition, I can see why he's irritating, but that's sort of how I've been feeling at the gym lately.
The first BL quiz was a nutrition quiz based on Curtis Stone's presentation. The prize was a fifteen pound advantage at the weigh in, which made the 150 goal seem a little more obtainable. The group was going strong until the green team missed it. Then the red team missed it. The blue team stepped up and made the fifth point so the team won their prize. I was left with a craving for raspberries with dark chocolate.
The challenge involved contestants having to get everyone safely across balance beams to rafts. They had to work as a team, and the challenge would be over if just one person fell off. At least they split the prizes up by raft, so it wasn't an all or nothing prospect. I still had visions of someone falling off two minutes into the challenge. Lucily, even with Allison the Obnoxious never shutting up, they won the challenge: another 20 lb advantage and phone calls home (phone calls home always make me cry).
Jillian and Bob are always good for a buzzkill. They reality checked the group's excitement over their advantages, which I think is justified but still kind of a bummer.
If it was mentioned last week, I'd missed the fact that Shay's mother was a heroin addict. I know she had some issues with her, but I hadn't realized that's what it was. Another heartbreak story. I hope the good things about TBL help her get past that.
Besides Bob and Jillian looking swanky in leather at the weigh-in, the groups did really well! Of course the pink team fell short. To be fair, they are smaller than the others. The group made their goal even before the last team weighed in, and that was kind of nice. Elimination tends to be tedious and over-emotional, so it's nice for the viewer to get a break too. In the end, they beat their original 150 pound goal by five pounds.
Not one of the most exciting eps ever, but enough to give me warm fuzzies for another week.
I bring you tonight's recap from my corner chair with a heating pad under my neck. Not sure what I did to it, but here's to hoping it's better tomorrow so I can function at work and maybe get some stuff around the house done.
Allison told the contestants at the beginning that if they lost a combined total of 150 pounds, they would keep everyone on campus for another week. If they couldn't, two people would go home. Sean mentioned that week 2 is always the worst for weight loss, so I have to admit, I was thinking two people would be going home. Where's my sense of "Go team?" Lost somewhere with my neck mobility tonight, obviously.
Mo stepped up into the coach role to get everyone motivated to work together. I like that guy.
During their first trainer session, Bob took half the group to workout, and Jillian took the other half for what seemed like an information session on weight loss. It looks like they were in the recovery room, since some of the contestants had ice packs on. I think they need to show more of that room, and I think it's a good idea to have those moments where the logistics of weight loss are explained.
What hasn't changed about TBL? Product placement...tadah!!! Product placement and the pimping of TBL merchandise was pretty major this episode. Jillian pimped the TBL calorie counter book and food journal. Bob brought out The Biggest Loser protein powder. And Curtis Stone introduced the BL food scale during the challenge. It's fairly annoying, especially because the things are bound to be expensive. My advice: if you're going to use these things, buy cheap.
Mo went and saw Tracy at the hospital. I find it a little disturbing that she's still in the hospital after all that time. You'd think they take her out of the competition and either bring back Alexandra or a back-up contestant. But she did end up back at the ranch in the first half hour. She didn't elaborate on what was wrong with her other than to say that "It was serious." Of course it was all blamed on being overweight/obese, and while I don't contest that it played a factor, I'm pretty sure being told to walk a mile when you've been inactive for God knows how long played a big factor as well.
As much as I didn't like Alexandra, I could understand everyone's frustrations at Julio who didn't seem to be pulling his weight. It was funny watching the orange team watching Julio as he sort of sauntered into the gym, grabbed some water, took a leisurely stroll up the stair stepper. In the competition, I can see why he's irritating, but that's sort of how I've been feeling at the gym lately.
The first BL quiz was a nutrition quiz based on Curtis Stone's presentation. The prize was a fifteen pound advantage at the weigh in, which made the 150 goal seem a little more obtainable. The group was going strong until the green team missed it. Then the red team missed it. The blue team stepped up and made the fifth point so the team won their prize. I was left with a craving for raspberries with dark chocolate.
The challenge involved contestants having to get everyone safely across balance beams to rafts. They had to work as a team, and the challenge would be over if just one person fell off. At least they split the prizes up by raft, so it wasn't an all or nothing prospect. I still had visions of someone falling off two minutes into the challenge. Lucily, even with Allison the Obnoxious never shutting up, they won the challenge: another 20 lb advantage and phone calls home (phone calls home always make me cry).
Jillian and Bob are always good for a buzzkill. They reality checked the group's excitement over their advantages, which I think is justified but still kind of a bummer.
If it was mentioned last week, I'd missed the fact that Shay's mother was a heroin addict. I know she had some issues with her, but I hadn't realized that's what it was. Another heartbreak story. I hope the good things about TBL help her get past that.
Besides Bob and Jillian looking swanky in leather at the weigh-in, the groups did really well! Of course the pink team fell short. To be fair, they are smaller than the others. The group made their goal even before the last team weighed in, and that was kind of nice. Elimination tends to be tedious and over-emotional, so it's nice for the viewer to get a break too. In the end, they beat their original 150 pound goal by five pounds.
Not one of the most exciting eps ever, but enough to give me warm fuzzies for another week.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
The Biggest Loser 8 - Episode 1 (w/ Spoilers)
Due various and sundry things, it took me a couple days to get around to watching the season premiere of The Biggest Loser. Just in time for the motivation Jon and I need to get back into our own workout routine. I'm serving this up with some spoilers, so if you haven't watched yet and want to enjoy any and all surprises, then move on...nothing to see here.
In their ratings quest to outdo themselves, this season brings in heavier people than last season. Dan from last season is back to continue to lose weight. I really like that guy. He seems genuinely nice and he was a real support and motivator to start out. I also really like Shay and I was glad that Dan chose Shay to partner with. I think he can definitely be a good influence on her.
I'm on the bench on the fact that two of the people are already having medical issues. Of course they need to work on getting healthy, that part's not disputed. And its hard to to play the exploitation card when the contestants are more than willing. But I'm not sure if it's supposed to be motivating in a "This could happen to you" way or if it's just a reflection of how much the show pushes these people. It took me weeks to be able to walk a mile. I was thrilled when I finally did it, but to be thrown on the road and told to do it when you're almost completely out of shape (Dan being the exception here and maybe a few others) is insane.
It's really too early to get a good idea of who I do and don't like, but there were a few first impressions stood out.
I'm not a fan of the pink team. Amanda is just kind of pointless and Rebecca left a bad taste in my mouth with this quote: "I'm so much more than a pretty face." This would be true, but in the context it was said, she was basically saying she needed to lose weight so people would see her more than just a pretty face. Like what, a thin body? I'm all about being healthy and feeling good about yourself, but bitch, please...some of us weren't even given the pretty face part and actually had to develop a personality. Aesthetics won't last, and while that may have just been an emotional offhand comment, it kind of irritated me.
Besides Dan and Shay, I really like Abby and Mo. My heart completely broke for Abbey, who lost her family in a car accident a few years back. If the show didn't get me emotional already, then that will do it. She seems like a really cute and genuine and honest person too, and I think she's there for all the right reasons, no matter how hard they are. She even said that death would be easier, but she chooses to get up every morning and now she's chosen to do TBL. Go Abby!
Mo is the sweet old guy who makes me want to drink coffee and visit with him because his voice is so soothing and he just seems nice.
I like the decision of the trainers to train at the same time, but I'm not sure how long that's going to last. At some point I expect they'll split off into teams, but I would think double teaming the contestants would be the most effective way to do it. I wonder if this decision is based on Jillian's track record (not being fair to poor Bob) and all the whiny crap that happened last season. I noticed Bob trying to be a little more hardcore and I had to laugh when one of the contestants said that Bob seems nice when you watch him on TV but in real life, he's not. Of course with Jillian what you see is what you get.
It's obvious that alot of these people are carrying emotional baggage and I hope they deal with it at some point during this show.
I was ambivalent about Alexandra until she made the comment that she wished her partner would have stepped it up more. It showed a lack of support aht bugged me and I was glad to see her go, though I am now intrigued to see who her "crush" was. First instinct: Dan. But my mom made a point that she may not have specified if it was from this season, so maybe it's Mike from last season. Or maybe it's neither and we get to wait three months to find out.
First episode down and now of course I feel like I should be running laps around the block. Not going to happen, but at least I know it'll offer some motivation down the line.
In their ratings quest to outdo themselves, this season brings in heavier people than last season. Dan from last season is back to continue to lose weight. I really like that guy. He seems genuinely nice and he was a real support and motivator to start out. I also really like Shay and I was glad that Dan chose Shay to partner with. I think he can definitely be a good influence on her.
I'm on the bench on the fact that two of the people are already having medical issues. Of course they need to work on getting healthy, that part's not disputed. And its hard to to play the exploitation card when the contestants are more than willing. But I'm not sure if it's supposed to be motivating in a "This could happen to you" way or if it's just a reflection of how much the show pushes these people. It took me weeks to be able to walk a mile. I was thrilled when I finally did it, but to be thrown on the road and told to do it when you're almost completely out of shape (Dan being the exception here and maybe a few others) is insane.
It's really too early to get a good idea of who I do and don't like, but there were a few first impressions stood out.
I'm not a fan of the pink team. Amanda is just kind of pointless and Rebecca left a bad taste in my mouth with this quote: "I'm so much more than a pretty face." This would be true, but in the context it was said, she was basically saying she needed to lose weight so people would see her more than just a pretty face. Like what, a thin body? I'm all about being healthy and feeling good about yourself, but bitch, please...some of us weren't even given the pretty face part and actually had to develop a personality. Aesthetics won't last, and while that may have just been an emotional offhand comment, it kind of irritated me.
Besides Dan and Shay, I really like Abby and Mo. My heart completely broke for Abbey, who lost her family in a car accident a few years back. If the show didn't get me emotional already, then that will do it. She seems like a really cute and genuine and honest person too, and I think she's there for all the right reasons, no matter how hard they are. She even said that death would be easier, but she chooses to get up every morning and now she's chosen to do TBL. Go Abby!
Mo is the sweet old guy who makes me want to drink coffee and visit with him because his voice is so soothing and he just seems nice.
I like the decision of the trainers to train at the same time, but I'm not sure how long that's going to last. At some point I expect they'll split off into teams, but I would think double teaming the contestants would be the most effective way to do it. I wonder if this decision is based on Jillian's track record (not being fair to poor Bob) and all the whiny crap that happened last season. I noticed Bob trying to be a little more hardcore and I had to laugh when one of the contestants said that Bob seems nice when you watch him on TV but in real life, he's not. Of course with Jillian what you see is what you get.
It's obvious that alot of these people are carrying emotional baggage and I hope they deal with it at some point during this show.
I was ambivalent about Alexandra until she made the comment that she wished her partner would have stepped it up more. It showed a lack of support aht bugged me and I was glad to see her go, though I am now intrigued to see who her "crush" was. First instinct: Dan. But my mom made a point that she may not have specified if it was from this season, so maybe it's Mike from last season. Or maybe it's neither and we get to wait three months to find out.
First episode down and now of course I feel like I should be running laps around the block. Not going to happen, but at least I know it'll offer some motivation down the line.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Sunday's Random Thoughts
Our internet was finally hooked up on Friday night and since then I've been enjoying watching our Netflix Instant Viewer through Jon's XBox 360. While I'm missing out on True Blood since we don't have HBO, I totally feel like we're getting a deal with our less than 10 dollar a month Netflix subscription, at least at the moment.
Does anyone else remember "Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theater"? My siblings and I used to watch it when we were growing up. We'd head down to the Glens video rental kiosk (when they still had it) and find all the episodes on VHS to watch at home. Back then it was the epitome of cool. When it came in Instant Viewer, I snagged it to the queue right away and watched a few episodes. Still love it, even though the cool factor has shifted to total cheese. But it's still fun! Robin Williams as the homeliest frog prince ever kicks it...I love Robin Williams, just never would have thought of him as a "prince."
But the random thought comes from the fact that the second episode was "Rumplestiltskin" and I realized how much I don't like that story for several reasons. Now quick disclaimer here, I dont' know if I've ever read the original version, or if there really is an original version. Jon said he thought there might have been something that to do with collecting body parts which probably would change things, but the story itself and the way I know it to be portrayed just bugs the heck out of me.
First of all, you have a miller who puts his daughter's head on the chopping block and promises her services to the king. It might not be the same as pimping, but it's close. Then you have a king who for all intents and purposes couldn't care less about the girl. He just wants the damn gold. I've read enough historical and fantasy romance novels to know that this may have actually been realistic. That doesn't make it any less annoying.
Now I understand that Rumplestiltskin is supposed to be the "bad guy" and that of course you wouldn't give your first born child to a weird little man. But let's face it...he DID help the daughter out when she needed him. If he were a mob goon, I'm sure the new Queen wouldn't have even had the chance at a little name guessing. It's pay up or check out with those guys (from what I hear). So here this poor little dwarf is, helping a girl out, and she stiffs him, all the time keeping the big secret from her jackass husband because after all, he only married her because "she" made him rich.
The whole thing seems ridiculous. And I don't know why it even bugged me today of all days, and it really didn't bug me enough to lose any sleep over, but I felt the need to rant about it since ranting and TV could both me considered hobbies. Maybe.
Does anyone else remember "Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theater"? My siblings and I used to watch it when we were growing up. We'd head down to the Glens video rental kiosk (when they still had it) and find all the episodes on VHS to watch at home. Back then it was the epitome of cool. When it came in Instant Viewer, I snagged it to the queue right away and watched a few episodes. Still love it, even though the cool factor has shifted to total cheese. But it's still fun! Robin Williams as the homeliest frog prince ever kicks it...I love Robin Williams, just never would have thought of him as a "prince."
But the random thought comes from the fact that the second episode was "Rumplestiltskin" and I realized how much I don't like that story for several reasons. Now quick disclaimer here, I dont' know if I've ever read the original version, or if there really is an original version. Jon said he thought there might have been something that to do with collecting body parts which probably would change things, but the story itself and the way I know it to be portrayed just bugs the heck out of me.
First of all, you have a miller who puts his daughter's head on the chopping block and promises her services to the king. It might not be the same as pimping, but it's close. Then you have a king who for all intents and purposes couldn't care less about the girl. He just wants the damn gold. I've read enough historical and fantasy romance novels to know that this may have actually been realistic. That doesn't make it any less annoying.
Now I understand that Rumplestiltskin is supposed to be the "bad guy" and that of course you wouldn't give your first born child to a weird little man. But let's face it...he DID help the daughter out when she needed him. If he were a mob goon, I'm sure the new Queen wouldn't have even had the chance at a little name guessing. It's pay up or check out with those guys (from what I hear). So here this poor little dwarf is, helping a girl out, and she stiffs him, all the time keeping the big secret from her jackass husband because after all, he only married her because "she" made him rich.
The whole thing seems ridiculous. And I don't know why it even bugged me today of all days, and it really didn't bug me enough to lose any sleep over, but I felt the need to rant about it since ranting and TV could both me considered hobbies. Maybe.
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