television

3

90210 is a no-go...

Posted 2nd September, 2008 in by Andrea
Okay, so I HAD to watch the new 90210.  I mean I did watch EVERY SINGLE episode of the original 10 seasons....most of them several times in re-runs on the Soap Network.  So as a devoted fan, I owed it to the zip code to watch the new version.
 
But, I gotta say...I give it a thumbs down and will not allow myself the stress of having to record the show each week.  While it was fun to recognize the West Beverly news anchor as "Hannah Zuckerman-Vasquez" (aka Andrea & Jesse's daughter), and "Silver" (aka Erin Silver, Kelly & David's half-sister), and to see Nat, and Kelly, and Brenda etc...the new cast didn't engage me enough to hang on and find out little tidbits about Donna and Steve and Brandon and Dylan, etc.  Although...I do admit to being intrigued about "Sammy" possibly being Brandon & Kelly's son...ooh, juicy!  But not enough to keep me tuned in.
 
Maybe I'm naive and I'm the first to admit that I watch some trash television on occasion, but I was not thrilled with the constant underage drinking, cursing, and sex shown blatantly in the first two episodes.  We actually put Ayla to bed earlier than we had planned because just having her in the room with us while we were watching made us uncomfortable.  The old 90210 dealt with those issues, but in this version, everything seems to be portrayed as "normal" for 15 and 16 year olds.  If that's true, God help our kids!  I know things are different now, but this seems to be over the top.  
 
I *could* watch the new show every week, purely for the old 90210 connections, but it would be hard for me to get excited about the new group because I'm constantly waiting for story updates on the old class of 1993.  Wow. 1993.  Seriously.  Maybe I'm just too old to watch teeny-bopper soap operas!
 
So, I guess instead of 90210 I'll continue watching the slightly more adult shows like Samantha Who? and Lipstick Jungle and leave West Beverly High School behind.   
 
3

10 Things to Miss (or maybe not) About the 2008 Olympics

Posted 25th August, 2008 in by Andrea
Just as I promised at the beginning of my Olympic Fever, we managed to watch nearly every aired Olympic event on NBC for two weeks straight.  Our couches are well worn and the end table is nice and cluttered with glasses, snack crumbs and empty bowls of ice cream to prove it. 
 
 
We concluded the two-week long binge with the closing ceremonies last night, and I admit to being a little sad it was over.  I felt sort of like I'd been through all the events and visited Beijing right along with the athletes (but of course without four years of intense training under my belt).
 
So, now that they're over, here's what we'll miss (or maybe not) about the 2008 Olympics:
 
10.   running to the TV at 6 p.m. every night to see what was on the lineup, even though we had both already checked online hours ahead of time.
 
9.   realizing how young, determined, and focused all those athletes are and wondering if in the end, they all think the time and sacrifice was worth it.  I imagine they felt it was.  As for me, I dunno if it would be.  I'll bet they all wake up before 7am on a daily basis--I don't (and won't).  So that probably counts me out of the running in  the "determined and focused" category.
 
8.   the diving competition's lady commentator's incessantly negative and demeaning comments.  She got the mute button at our house.
 
7.  calculating the height of the building needed to train for the trampoline-ing events.  An airplane hanger might not be tall enough....seriously.
 
6.   Morgan Freeman's voice-overs in daily-changing VISA commercials, based on event results.  He must have made 20 different voice-overs for the ads before the Olympics even started.
 
5.   trying to figure out what Misty May-Treanor's roman numeral 5 tattoo was all about...is she really THAT obsessed with Jason Kidd?
 
4.   eating Chinese food in honor of Beijing...chinese food we were able to get at the grocery store in the US...not scorpions on a stick thank-you-very-much.
 
3.   Ayla pointing at the TV and asking to eat dinner in front of it so she can watch the "wimpics".
 
2.   seeing Nastia Liukin shoot dagger eyes at her competitors throughout the competition.  I've never seen anyone so set on winning.  The girl might want to expand her horizons a little bit now that she's got the "queen" status.  I'm proud she won, but she was a little intense.
 
1.   slow motion replays of Michael Phelps' gorilla-style victory yell.
 
I could go on and on (about Usain Bolt, the relay races, marathon water-bottle throwing insanities, and more), but either you watched it and know it all, or you didn't and this means nothing to you. 
 
So, here's to London 2012, and to hoping for a HDTV mega screen to watch it all on!
2

Olympic Fever

Posted 9th August, 2008 in by Andrea

We have Olympic fever.

This happens every time. I have no real interest in anything leading up to the games, nor do I know who any of the contenders are until the competition begins. But...as soon as the competitions begin (or are aired as the case may be), we find ourselves glued to the television during all hours of the day and night.

I distinctly remember during the 2004 Olympics going to sleep and waking back up in the middle of the night to watch some volleyball or gymnastics competition. Ben reminded me that he stayed up all night one night and got to watch a trampoline competition.  Did you even know that existed???  The gross amount of television we watched during the Olympics was ridiculous. Especially since we rarely have the TV on at all in our house unless we're watching a movie in the evening. We'll watch about anything, but my favorites are gymnastics, volleyball, and diving.

But now we will probably watch NBC non-stop for the next two weeks. That could also be because we have only the very basic channels and this is the most exciting thing that has been aired in the past year (with last years' writers strike and this summer's reruns and ridiculous game shows).

And I won't feel bad about Ayla watching hours and hours of athletic competitions. That's encouraging exercise, right?

How about you? Have you caught the Olympic fever?

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