Blogs by David A. Schwinghammer
Reality TV
8/9/2013 7:28:23 AM
Why can't the Biography Channel feature biographies and MTV center on music videos?
I usually watch a little Leno while doing my exercises just before bed. Meredith Viera was a guest, and one of the questions Jay asked was how an intelligent woman like her could be a fan of "The Bachelorette". She didn't have a good answer, or if she did, I don't remember it. He then showed a clip of a man crying after being dumped by the bachelorette. Of course that wasn't enough to change her mind. Women probably like men who show their feelings. Most men, on the other hand, would give this guy a G.I. shower if they could.
Then there's the Paris Hilton factor. How does a girl with no obvious talent make it big in entertainment? And she's a hundred times more worthy than the Kardashians. Please don't watch this stuff. I'm begging you. You're just encouraging them. Newton Minnow thought television was a vast wasteland in the fifties. And that was the golden age of television with such shows as "Playhouse 90" and "Gunsmoke," the later being the first adult western.
Somebody ought to tell the entertainment honchos on the four major channels that HBO, Showtime, AMC etc. win all the major awards these days because they're not afraid of such drama as "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men". Even "Monk", which would have been a blockbuster if it had been on a major station, was rejected by the major networks. The closest it got was when it was a replacement, along with "Dexter", I might add, during the writers' strike. Anyway, the real reason we're stuck with such dreck as "The Big Brother" is because sitcoms and dramatic shows are more expensive to make and actors like Jerry Seinfeld extort over two million dollars an episode.
Enough preaching. I'd like this to be more of a promo about the shows I actually do watch, none of which could be classified as reality. Actually, I'd rather read, but my back won't let me. So . . . here they are.
1. “Longmire”. A&E, Mondays, 9 P.M. central time. Walt Longmire is a laidback sheriff of a Wyoming county. His best friend is an Indian, played by Lou Diamond Phillips, and his deputy, Vic, a much younger woman. has a crush on him. He won't succumb because he believes he's too old for her. Hmmm.
2. “The Big Bang Theory”. CBS, seven P.M. Thursdays. Believe it or not, this is about two physicists who live next door to a hot blonde. One of them is in love with her, and she returns the favor, but she doesn't think she's smart enough for him. This is the number one comedy on television, so quite a few knuckleheads must be watching it, too.
3. "The Good Wife". CBS, eight o‘clock, Sundays. Julianna Margulies is so damn nice I'd watch her if she were playing the wicked witch of the west.
4. "The Mentalist". CBS, nine, Sundays. This is about a former carnival barker clairvoyant who helps the California Bureau of Investigation solve crimes while simultaneously looking for Red John, a serial killer who murdered his family. The Australian actor who plays the former clairvoyant has a better American accent than I do, and he's really cocky. Lisbon, his boss, is almost as nice as Julianna.
5. "Bones." I think it’s supposed to be on Monday night on Fox, but it keeps moving on me. This show is kind of gross in that it's about a forensic anthropologist who helps an FBI agent solves crimes. The really original part is the "guest" interns who show up to help Dr. Brennan. There's a different one every week; they kind of rotate. One of them is a Moslem who falls in love with the head of the center where Temperance Brennan works. Temperance has recently had a kid with the FBI agent, but they're not married yet, unless I missed that show.
6. "Monk". It's in reruns, but I still watch because I missed so many of the original shows, and Tony Shaloub is absolutely great as a obsessive compulsive former detective who helps solve crimes in San Francisco. You may remember him from "Wings," where he played a cab driver. Who knew he was this good?
7. "Elementary".Thusdays, CBS, nine o’clock. Johnny Lee Miller, Angelina Jolie's former husband, plays Sherlock Holmes, updated and moved to America. He's a former heroin addict with an aide played by Lucy Liu, of “Alley McBeal” fame. Think "Monk" with a British accent, but it's still good because of the various tweaks and the rapport between the two actors.
8. Rachel Maddow. MSNBC, M-F. I believe she's on at eight P.M. Central, but since Olbermann left they move them around. For a liberal wonk, she's really gracious. She even said “hi” to one of Cheney's daughters at one of those conservative conferences.
9. NCIS. CBS, Seven, Tuesdays. Another very popular show. The plots are repetitive, but the cast is great. Mark Harmon plays a crotchety team leader, Gibbs, but it's Abbie the Goth forensic genius and Tony, one of Gibbs's investigators, who make the show. They add quite a bit of humor and originality to an otherwise pedestrian show. Of yeah, the team includes a woman, one of whom has already bitten the dust. The actress couldn't stand the fourteen hour days. And now her replacement, Ziva, just quit for apparently the same reason.
10. "The Killing". AMC, eight o’clock, central. This one has a Scandinavian feel to it (It originally was a hit in Denmark). The lead detective is this sad woman with an unlucky love life. Her partner is this cool ex-drug addict. They're looking for a serial killer. They smoke a lot, so you can't put this stuff on a major network. The third season just ended, and you will not believe who done it. There were a few hints along the way, and I read a lot of mysteries so I'll admit I considered him a time or two. The serial killer kills young girls and most are homeless. There's one who's a homeless lesbian named "Bullet". She's great.
So . . .if you find yourself tempted to watch “The Duck Dynasty” or whatever while one of the above is on, give your brain cells a break and give it a try.
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