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Random thoughts about Winter TV 2012 so far…

Y’all. I don’t even know where to start, so I guess I’ll go by day of the week.

Downton Abbey: Maggie Smith’s awesomeness continues to be showcased, but I haven’t been wowed by the rest of it so far. Will I continue to watch? Absolutely. Masterpiece and a glass of wine is Sunday night tradition at my house. Am I excited about it? Not really.

House of Lies: SO disappointed by this show. I’ve seen two episodes now, and that’s all I really need to see. A fantastic cast squandered. It hurts me to say this because I really want Kristen Bell to have a successful show, but I’m going to let this one go by the wayside.

Shameless: I really like that it’s becoming more of it’s own thing with every episode and leaving the BBC original behind. The Gallagher children are all excellently portrayed and Emmy Rossum has been a revelation. I do, however, continue to find William H. Macy’s Frank distracting. It’s continually perplexing to me that such a fine actor is the weak link in this show, but he is.

Alcatraz: Honestly, I fell asleep. I’m going to give it another try, but it’s still waiting on my dvr.

Castle: The way they’re setting up the big bad for the rest of the season is intriguing. Monday night’s return was a great episode, and I’m really looking forward to see where the writers are going to go with it.

Raising Hope: Miss Smartypants, the mid-season premiere, was quite possibly the funniest episode to date. Do yourself a favor, get to Hulu.com and see it if you haven’t already.

Justified: Oh. My. Gosh. So much goodness. No discernible drop in quality from last season. 100% pure awesomeness.

Southland: If you like the show, it’s more of the same, but with a surprising number of name brand guest stars.

White Collar: Is it groundbreaking television? Hardly, but I do enjoy the chemistry between the leads, Tim deKay and Matt Bomer. It doesn’t hurt that Matt is exceptionally easy on the eyes, either. lol

The Finder: The changes made from the pilot were all good moves, but I just didn’t get that I HAVE TO WATCH feeling.

Bones: pretty gruesome, but the chemistry between the characters continues to be excellent. That’s the real reason I keep tuning in, not the procedural stuff.

Vampire Diaries: so much goodness, so little time. I’m loving the new dynamic to Damon/Elena, Stefan makes an excellent bad guy, and insane amounts of stuff continues to happen every episode. You’re going to think I’m nuts, but I really think they have some of the best writers in television. They go through more stuff in an episode than some shows have in an entire season.

Secret Circle: Do I watch? Yes, on dvr. Is it appointment t.v.? not in any way, shape or form.

Supernatural: I’m watching, but several episodes at a time. It just hasn’t been as good this year, and the leviathans haven’t been particularly scary. HOWEVER, I thought this past episode with the trip back to the 40s was a lot of fun.

AWESOME NEWS! Cougar Town comes back on Feb. 14. I’ve already got my Big Carl ready to go.

I’ll make another post soon as more shows premiere and/or return. What are your feelings about t.v. so far in the new year?

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Visions of Winchesters: Supernatural Link Roundup, January 13

Previous Episode

Tonight’s Episode

News & Views

Supernatural Wins at the People’s Choice Awards, But Is There Evidence of a Genre Conspiracy?

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Visions of Winchesters: Supernatural Link Roundup, Jan. 6, 2012

Previous Episode

Best Tweets: Death’s Door
Supernatural Round Table: Death’s Door
Supernatural Farewell: Thoughts on Death’s Door

Tonight’s Episode

News & Views

Spoilers

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A Toast to Champagne

So I am apparently all about infographics this week. This one from wine.com talks about champagne. As I mentioned on Mom-amo earlier this week, I’ve been reading French Women Don’t Get Fat, and it has made me want to drink wine or champagne at dinner every night.

Brought To You By Wine.com, Purveyors of Fine Wine and Champagne

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Some Interesting Stats about World of Warcraft

I am a WOW player. In fact, that is what I did today for longer than I care to admit — I’m working on some of the holiday achievements. Anyway, I was interested to learn that we ladies make up 20 percent of the players.

See Larger Graphic

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House of Lies

I’m not gonna lie. Showtime’s new show, House of Lies, was almost custom designed to get a glowing review from me. It features Don Cheadle, who’s amazing in just about anything he tries, and Kristen Bell of the late, great, Veronica Mars. It even has Jean-Ralfio from Parks and Rec – just looking at that guy makes me giggle!

This won’t be an in-depth review, but I do have a small laundry list of notes:

1) Thank you, Showtime, for giving Kristen Bell a role worthy of her talents. She’s smart, wry and funny, and way better at acting than you’d think from her recent string of rom-com movie bombs. Seriously, I know that working actors can’t always be choosy, but damn.

2) There were moments when I laughed out loud. Unfortunately there were far more that felt like the show was working a little too hard to be shocking. Honestly, though, it should fit right in with Showtime’s brand of 30-minute dark comedies that have far more in common with hour-long dramas than they do with sitcoms.

3) It was a very interesting peek into the world of spin-doctoring. While I kind of appreciated the fact that they’re taking advantage of their client by billing them for expensive restaurants and strip club trips, it really felt more like the public was getting screwed all over again.

Showtime has kindly released the first episode for viewing online. Check it out and let us know what you think!

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A Movie Recommendation in Honor of the Body Worlds Exhibit Travelling through Portland, Oregon

I keep seeing ads for the Body Worlds exhibit that is currently here in Portland.

I am torn whether I want to attend. The exhibit looks fascinating, and the process of preserving the bodies is amazing. But I’m a little squeamish about being so close to actual human cadavers. Maybe the next time it comes, PCC Jr. will be older and like the idea of seeing dead bodies. We’ll see.

Every time I think of this exhibit, I am reminded of the Anatomy films, which feature the bodies. The movies are German, so they are subtitled, but like any good foreign film, the story is so involving that you quickly forget you are reading. Even Mr. PCC, who is not a big fan of foreign cinema, likes these movies.

The thing I like about these films, especially after laughing through Piranha last night, is that they don’t rely in gruesome scenes to build tension. They are just scary.

Find Anatomy and Anatomy 2 on Netflix or your favorite video service.

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And now for the more interesting part of our excursion… During the trailers, we were treated to a trailer for Bryan Singer’s Jack & the Giant Killer with Nicholas Hoult. You may remember Nicholas from About a Boy or the BBC’s Skins. I think this is supposed to be his first serious, grown-up role. Judging from the crowd’s reaction to the trailer, the studio that is releasing it needs to be VERY concerned. There was laughter and jeering, some booing and a few were even so disgusted that they walked out. See for yourself and tell me what you think in the comments below:

Unfortunately for Jack, it was followed immediately by a trailer for Batman: the Dark Knight Rises which was watched in a theater so still and quiet, you could have a heard a pin drop if not for the noise of the trailer itself. When it was over, there was a second of silence and then a thunder of cheers and applause. It was really kind of eye-opening.

The exact trailer that I saw wasn’t available online, so I’m posting this one instead.

There were also trailers for John Carter and Battleship, both of which star Taylor Kitsch, my beloved Tim Riggins from Friday Night Lights. Both looked to be on the fairly cheesy side, but entertaining. Besides, what’s not to love about Tim Riggins in a loin cloth, or Tim Riggins serving in the Navy with Landry Clarke? I’m not embedding the trailers, but you view John Carter here and Battleship here.
Do you plan to see any of these movies? What do you think about the trailers?

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Five Favorite Christmas Movies

Wow, y’all. I didn’t realize it had been more than two weeks since I made a blog post of my own! Time flies by a little faster every year, but even more so during the holiday season from Thanksgiving to Mardi Gras.

In honor of the season, I decided to post my five favorite Christmas movies. Here they are in no particular order:

It’s a Wonderful Life – Don’t laugh. I know it’s on the sentimental side, but who doesn’t love a movie that makes you tear up and smile all at the same time? Besides, Jimmy Stewart’s George Bailey is one of the most iconic characters in movie history.

Millions – Probably one of Danny Boyle’s lesser known movies, but one of my favorites. It’s visually interesting, filled with heart and sweet without being saccharine. Who knew that the director of such fare as Trainspotting and 28 Days Later would make such a wonderful, heartfelt family flick?

Christmas Story – “All I want for Christmas is a Red Rider beebee gun!” Do I really need to say anything else? Or stick my tongue to a flag pole when it’s freezing?

Die Hard – You’re probably asking “What?!?” right about now. Don’t forget that this movie is really about Bruce Willis’ John McClane character trying to get home for Christmas with his family.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever – The title is pretty self explanatory, lol. This one may be a bit of a cheat, since it was made for t.v., but I don’t care. It was one of my childhood favorites, and I still love it.

Honorable mention goes to Simon Birch. The movie actually takes place over a much longer period of time than the Christmas season, but it does have one of my favorite pageant scenes ever. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a clip of that specific scene, so I’m posting the trailer instead. If you haven’t seen Simon Birch, check it out. It’s great.

Do you have a favorite Christmas movie that isn’t listed?

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