Television Guilty Pleasures

How did I not know Breaking Pointe existed it's like the very best things about the c dub mixed with ballet!

blixie wrote:How did I not know Breaking Pointe existed it's like the very best things about the c dub mixed with ballet!

Well, the first episode last week was mostly boring intro stuff, so you're not far behind. I'm glad that Ronald decided to stay instead of following Katie to Boise; diplomatically handled, Ronald's family.

You all might want to sit down because this is going to shock you.

House Hunters is kinda fake.

It's gotten to the point, for me, where when a house-hunting friend sends me a listing of a place she's interested in, if it has furniture in it in the pictures my first thought is "oh, they can't get that one, they never get the one with the furniture in it." Mostly these days I watch it in the background, and look up for the wrap-up of the three houses and the "after" when they've put the furniture in. I do still enjoy it for the travelogue aspect. I mean, you get to see inside houses. I like to watch the beginning shot too, when they show scenes of the city. But then I zone out (or fast-forward) for the loooooooooong part where they intro the house-hunting couple. I do not need to watch five minutes of your kids making sandwiches in a fake house in Texas. Get to Malaysia already.

Another rule: If one of them is half-renovated because "the owners ran out of money," they ALWAYS pick that one. (Especially if they express a lot of doubt about whether they want to take on such a big project.)

When I was lurking over at the Knot, one of the girls on a national board was on the international version of the show. (The one in Chile.) If I remember correctly, they were already married and had a dog when they filmed it, but had to pretend they weren't married yet and that she was just moving there from CA. And they'd been living in their apartment for ages. I think their friend was a realtor in Santiago, he was contacted to be on the show, and he thought their story was interesting to pitch. Something like that.
But yeah. Fake. I've only watched it a few times, and I don't think any of the people I've seen ever picked the one I liked best, heh.

This has gotten so much press it's weird to me. I mean one of the casting requirements listed on the HH site is that you be in escrow or already purchased the home, so it's not something that they were doing much to hide.

I don't mind that it's fake. I hate when I can tell which house they picked right from the start though. I'd prefer they hide it better. I just like looking at the different houses and apartments and bitching when they pick what seems like the worst one.

I'm so excited that Dance Moms is back! Abby screaming that "some kids are just more special" or whatever the hell when the moms complained about her leaving the competition when Maddie forgot her routine? Priceless. And then her angrily correcting Kelly's grammar in that one fight was hilarious, too. "It's Christy and I, idiot! Christy and I!"

For reasons unknown, I started watching the first season of Pretty Little Liars on Netflix. I can't decide whether this show is just dumb enough to be good, or just...dumb. It's pure eye candy with the actors, clothes, and sets, but I'm having a hard time finding ANY of the story lines the least bit believable, especially the teacher/student relationship. You can tell both of the actors think it's icky, and aren't really selling it, so there is a total lack of chemistry there. I do think it's hilarious how the teacher didn't even bother putting up a fight when it came to banging one of his students, though. His first teaching job out of the gate, and he's gunning for a baby-faced 16 year old, taking her to bars and shit. Hilarious.

Also, I'm having a hard time believing these girls would put up with Alison's controlling bullshit, no matter HOW insecure they are. In every flashback I've seen, the girl is shrill, unpleasant, and bitchy. I was an incredibly insecure teenager myself, but there is no way in hell I would spend more then ten minutes with a girl like Alison, let alone be her BFF. Oh, and where is this incredible blonde beauty all the girls were supposedly mesmerized by? Alison was average-looking. I actually think Spencer is more attractive than she is, in a nerdy way. Spencer stands out at least, whereas Alison just sort of blends in.

Finally, the plot seems kind of...disjointed? I remember seeing the promos for this show when it first came out, and I was under the impression that the girls murdered their friend or knew who did, hence the title and the "shush!" in the opening credits. It would make more sense for the group to share one BIG secret, rather than A. having dirt on all four of them for things that have nothing to do with Alison's death. This one has an eating disorder, this one is sleeping with her teacher, this one is a lesbian...NONE of these things have anything to do with Alison, so WHY are they being kept secret? I mean, I can understand the girls not wanting these things to get out, but how does it all tie in with their dead friend? I'm just not getting it.

Maybe I should give this one a rest for a while and give Girls another try. I caught part of the second episode, and it was a lot funnier than the first. :/

Most of your questions would be answered by watching more episodes, I think. The girls end up figuring out who killed Alison by dealing with A and A's bs. I think it was 6 episodes in before I became shamelessly addicted.

If you'd like a more adult version of something that's rather intricately plotted and slightly more believable, try Revenge. I avoided it for ages but got sucked into a 3 day viewing marathon.

Speaking of PLL, I'm totally shipping Ella (Aria's mom) and Ezra. I wish the writers would hook them up because that plot would be amazing.

Also, I kind of hate Caleb mostly because the actor is terrible, even for this show, and I hope he and Hanna break up. They are a snorefest.

I spent all last night watching Stephen Fry in America, a British miniseries where he drives around the U.S. in a British taxi talking to people and being generally charming. And it is completely awesome. He gets drunk on bourbon in Kentucky (?), takes a hot-air balloon tour of North Carolina and REALLY hates Miami (I agree, Stephen!). He does different jobs here and there and most people have no idea who he is.

Crowbridge wrote:

Also, I'm having a hard time believing these girls would put up with Alison's controlling bullshit, no matter HOW insecure they are. In every flashback I've seen, the girl is shrill, unpleasant, and bitchy. I was an incredibly insecure teenager myself, but there is no way in hell I would spend more then ten minutes with a girl like Alison, let alone be her BFF. Oh, and where is this incredible blonde beauty all the girls were supposedly mesmerized by? Alison was average-looking. I actually think Spencer is more attractive than she is, in a nerdy way. Spencer stands out at least, whereas Alison just sort of blends . :/

One of the things that got changed from the books was the age of the group when they were friends with Allison and when she disappeared. They were in middle school at the end of 7th grade, and the show made them older and in high school. So that change, while small, is fairly significant re the girls' relationships. And Allison had been missing for about three years when her body was finally found, not just a year.

I've been mondo depressed and numbing the pain with competitive food network shows and crime cornucopias on Investigation Discovery. You know it's bad when you find yourself mumbling in irritation because you already saw this "Deadly Woman" on "I Survived." Or you recognize a Top Chef contender still making enemies on TFN. Or laugh in maniacal glee when someone is required to make a cupcake using olives or a dessert with canned corn and ketchup. But I can't stop watching!

YESSSSS

THE MURDER CHANNEL

Um. I've been there, is what I'm saying.

Investigation Discovery has always been my go-to channel when I'm depressed too. I don't know what it is -- maybe seeing stories about people being hacked to pieces or thrown into the ocean makes whatever you happen to be going through seem okay in comparison?

ActonBell, that's totally it. Oh, look--that woman had to beat an attacker to death with a claw hammer. And that girl was forced to watch her father jump up and down on her mother's corpse to fit it into a small freezer. At least that hasn't happened to me! (Yet?)

I just really truly deeply love the way the reenactments on Deadly Women end with the actress staring melodramatically into the camera. And reruns of Dateline and 48 Hours. I just really love those. I did get frustrated with Disappeared when I realized the unspoken half of the title was "And Never Found, Actually."

I love watching cheesy sci fi movies on the Syfy channel especially if the theme is sea monster. I still haven't seen Sharks in Venice.

I don't generally enjoy cooking or Food Network, but I watched a ton of cupcake competition shows at physical therapy the last two months and I'll kiiiind of miss it.

Is anyone watching American Ninja? It's like Wipeout with more insane challenges and more in shape people! It is crazy! Though the show itself could use some work, I think they could have edited down the six episodes I have seen into one or two because there is so much filler.

I do! I do! I originally watched the original "Ninja Warrior" from Japan, which is how I knew about the new American version. Both versions have the same courses, but Japan had a male and female competition. Which I think is fair, because in the American version no woman can get past that trampoline onto the rope thing you climb over and roll down. It's not a matter of skill, but women who are in shape for the course are not going to have enough body mass to jump high enough to grab on.

Oh, also Johnny Mosley is a tool. I enjoy the American version as I don't have to read subtitles, but he is a total waste of space.

We've been watching American Ninja Warrior. I still prefer the Japanese version, but this one is pretty good. I love the Japanese commentators!! They get so excited!!

And waaaaaay too many competitor profiles. We get it, they all have sob stories, move along to the giant spinning ball bridge. And where the hell is Brian Orosco??? At my house we call him Senor 'Stache.

I'm watching it too but DVRed and in FF mode. Agreed about too much other crap. They did a 10 minute profile of a guy who lost on the first obstacle but then when they come back from commercial they tell us that "while we were away, contestants X, Y, and Z all conquered the course." It's just stupid.

I watched the series finale of Eureka last night and I'm glad everyone got their happy endings (esp. Jo and Zane. They were my faves) but the last season was a total mess. Dark, depressing for the first half and focused on a new and grating character for the second half. I like Felicia Day as much as the next person but she was not what I wanted to see for the last season of the show.

I've been mainlining Deadliest Catch on Netflix streaming for days while I paint in a second window. You would think that I would get tired of hearing about so-and-so being "on the crab" or how opilio crab pop their legs when it's too cold outside, but no. And every time I hear the Music of Death Defiance I look away from Painter to watch the repeated slow mo with helpful red circles illustrating the impending disaster. And the CG guys working on that show must have an awesome time animating death and horror, because their animations are quite exuberant.

I just finished watching Captain Phil die, so I think I need a few days off from crab fishing. Maybe I'll join the Whale War.

Ugh, the Phil season is so hard. It's really amazing though, with that and Jake's addiction, and the other Jake's dad being missing - one of the best reality TV seasons I've ever seen.