TV Right Now: The good, the bad and the totally sucky

[Radha]

Does anyone else here watch Samanth Brown on the travel channel? She's adorable, I think. Her "Passport to Europe" series is so good.

[Dave Cullen]

"Carrie's War" on Masterpeice Theater was decent this week.

Enjoying Veronica Mars more and more.

especially after i found this chart tracing all the relationships.

http://www.upn.com/shows/veronica_mars/whoswho/veronica/

i can follow it so much better now.

[Dave Cullen]

Ty Pennington does pull alot of heart strings 

He could pull more than my heartstrings. lmao

really? he does nothing for me. cute, but so full of himself, i can't even look at him.

[Dave Cullen]

Survivor was sad tonight.

I didn't like Bruce at all, but it was very hard to watch him in all that pain.

And I love Cirie more with every passing week, though she might have gotten herself in a little trouble tonight. I thought she was going to do herself in giggling at all the answers through that challenge, though I can hardly blame her. It's actually what I love most about her: she is living among lunatics and she doesn't get angry, just amused. And when they start to sober up and act sane, she tries to figure out how to stir them up again and stay out of their way, so they can attempt to strangle each other.

I have rarely had a strong feeling on Survivor that a single person was going to win, since there are so many turns, and because Burnett carefully withholds key info and misleads us. But I have had the feeling all season that he's slowly setting her up to look like the outsider destined to loose, but he's really trying to win our hearts toward her. It's certainly working for me.

Meanwhile, it's so hard to decide whether Shane or Courtney is the bigger ass. I was leaning toward Courtney again, and was sure everyone was going to vote her most annoying, but then felt bad for her when they did. Especially since she was so shocked. Poor girl had no idea. She's been annoying people her entire life and had no idea.

But then Shane, Mr. Sensitivity, doesn't even get it, is all consumed how he has been wronged. Her look was priceless when he was surprised she was disturbed by the game and she goes, "Are you kidding?" For once she was dead-on when she asked him how he thought he would feel if he had been voted nearly everything undesirable. What a dick. She's probably more annoying, but at least she's not unfeeling.

She major lost major points again when Bruce was writhing and she asked if it would help to sing, he said no please don't, and she started up anyway. She doesn't try very hard, but at least she has the inclination that she should try something.

[annabel]

The Animal Planet has a couple of good shows "Animal Cops" is good, but upsetting and they have this show where they count down the 10 most.....  For example, they had one called "The 10 most prolific pro-creaters"  Totall creepy because they were mostly bugs, but kind interesting, too.

[KJ]

Tonight's episode of The Sopranos confirms me in my opinion that the best gay storylines - at least, those involving men - show up in non-gay dramas.  Fat mobster Vito has been outed, and most of the hour was devoted to the consequences.  Mob boss Tony Soprano was everyman wrestling with his own bigotry, his culture, and his personal loyalties.  And the concluding scene, with Vito temporarily stranded in a self-consciously quaint little New Hampshire town, oddly echoed Brokeback for me, because it was written to suggest that Vito could have been a very different person if he hadn't been more-or-less born into crime.

I don't know if it is too convoluted to make sense if you don't follow the series, but HBO and all the little HBO's will be repeating it several times this week.

I watch the Sopranos too and  I think this story line is very interesting. I love that Vito is Tony's number one money earner. I hope he gets away but it doesn't look good. Someone on another message board said this is based on a real story. A New Jersey mobster was outed and the consequences brought down the "family". Does anyone have more info on this?

Jason

On tonight's episode Vito's character was refered to as "La Cage Aux FAT". Well, that's one i've never heard before.

[Cletis]

I watch Boston Legal, Sopranos, Amazing Race, Survivor almost weekly.  I have been disappointed by every episode this season.  Blandness seems to have set in for me.  Thankfully the Simpsons never disappoint.

[Dave Cullen]

When did Masterpiece Theatre turn into Hallmark Hall of Fame.

Another lame production this week. I gutted through 15 minutes of "Under the Greenwood Tree" and gave up. It's style is clear: Hallmarky schmaltz, like one character freezing when he sees the young maiden for the first time, the world literally stopping around him, then gazing up at her with while the huge showflakes waft around just him--you can practically see the prop guy standing behind him tossing out handfuls of fake snow--cute little fat characters run about calling "wait for me, wait for me," and banging into things (i see a banana peel coming at any moment), and the first five minutes of dialogue is all explication, people supposedly conversing, but actually just reciting the background information, and addressing each other as "sister" or "neighbor" or first and last name, to identify the characters and their relationships.

what the hell kind of crap is this? adapting a famous british novelist doesn't make it good. it has been crap nearly every time i've tuned in this season.

[Casper]

The Animal Planet has a couple of good shows "Animal Cops" is good, but upsetting and they have this show where they count down the 10 most.....  For example, they had one called "The 10 most prolific pro-creaters"  Totall creepy because they were mostly bugs, but kind interesting, too.

I watch "Animal Planet" from time to time.  It is sad to watch some of those dogs and cats abused on "Animal Cops."

annabel, I know what you mean about those animal shows where the "10 most" are featured.  Last week there were "the 10 most fearsome constrictors."  I did dream about snakes after watching that segment.

[Castro]

Okay, so not everybody likes him.  I do, and I was delighted to see Huffington's link to this story.  It seems he may show up from time to time on 60 Minutes:  http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/67641.htm

[Daphne and Chloe]

Does anyone else here watch Samanth Brown on the travel channel? She's adorable, I think. Her "Passport to Europe" series is so good.

I really like her too. Fun to see all those places and hotels. She is fun and quirky. I'll never see those places she stays at though. I'm a much cheaper traveler. I also like Rick Steves shows.

Animal Cops is so hard to watch but I still do. I really like that one lady on the detroit show. She doesn't take any crap from anyone.

I also watch way to much HGTV. I like the cheap shows.

[Castro]

Has anyone here been watching The Unit?  I figured it might be more testosterone than I care for (love The Wire, Sopranos, and The Shield, but the armed forces are something else).  However, the current New Yorker gives it a glowing review, and I see that one of The Shield's creative folk is working with David Mamet on this one. 

(The review is here: http://alternet.org/mediaculture/35496/.)

[Cletis]

What do you have to say about As Queer as Folk?   Showtime just ran the final season again.

Sure, it was a soap opera and could get corny at times.   

But it was sexy and fun most of the time. 

It did make the point that there is some truth in stereotype, and there is a wide diversity within. 

Masculine gays with family values who shun femmes and promiscuity recapitulate judgemental, shame- based notions.

[Casper]

What do you have to say about As Queer as Folk?   Showtime just ran the final season again.

I praise QUEER AS FOLK.  It was always my dream for Sharon Gless to get an Emmy for her role as "Debbie."  Such a shame she never did!    The show is non-judgemental and I like that quality.  I own four seasons on DVD and will certainly get the final season when it comes out in May.  I'm sad to see this show come to an end.

[jayiijay]

"Drawn Together" is doing a cute Brokeback spoof as I type. 

Left the tv on Comedy Central post-South Park and found it by accident, forgive me if this is a repeat and everyone already knows, I don't normally watch that show.  If it is new, no doubt they will re-run it.

P.S.  It is now 5 minutes later...the program is quickly becoming unwatchable, especially sub-plot re: flatulence, but some might still enjoy the spoof remains affectionate towards Brokeback...so far...yikes...this post might have been premature, LOL.