Still so far behind

Let's see. I've watched a lot of TV lately but I'm still about a month behind. I still haven't seen the season finales of, say, ER, The O.C., Desperate Housewives, Smallville, and so on. I have seen the finales of Veronica Mars, Eve, Joey, etc.

All in all, the end of this year's TV season has left a bland taste in my mouth. I'm not saying I'm not digging the way the networks have finally realized what everyone (including Fox and all of the cable dial) has known for at least 10 years: That people do, in fact, watch TV during the summer, so a little original programming will be appreciated. It's just too bad that, at least what I've seen and what was reviewed in last week's EWeekly, is 90 percent reality shows. That look like they're going to suck. What's the name of that Jerry Hall one, anyone?

But, to attempt to stay on point, I'll move back to the realm of what I have seen.

A friend of the family has called me over and over again to tell me how much he loves Veronica Mars and now how much he digs Grey's Anatomy. I love Veronica Mars and was super glad to hear that Kristen Bell will be back with her merry band of misfits again next season, but, as much as I try, I can't really get into Grey's Anatomy. I simply can't get to the point where I care about the characters. I like Sandra Oh (hello. Arli$$ anyone?), I like that little nebbish-ish guy that has a crush on his room mate Meredith, I like their head doctor lady and I'm even starting to like the girl who cooks instead of sleeping. But I simply can't seem to grasp any reason why I'm supposed to care about the lead character, Meredith, why she can't seem to get what she wants from what's-his-face and how hard it's supposed to be to be a doctor, when, when you see them in scenes, it barely looks like they've even practiced holding a stethoscope much less anything more difficult. A long time ago I read a little thing that gave the percentages of jobs in TV, and something like 85 percent of the people on TV are doctors or cops. What I'm trying to say is, we don't really need any more medical dramas. Especially ones that don't really have very much to do with medicine. ER is still doing fine and I don't really need too many more shows to gross me out on a weekly basis.

I think Joey is pretty funny. It moves along well and there are some real jokes sprinkled in. But really it's not that great. The other night I caught a few back-to-back episodes of Friends on TBS and it made me realize just how far Matt LeBlanc has fallen. Instead of the Central Perk-ers he now has Drea DeMatteo who is definitely the life of the show if a bit over the top raunchy at times, the guy who plays her son who I actually do think is funny but the whole "dude can't get a date" lost most of its funny after the first few episodes, Alex, the girl next door who is almost as lifeless as her soon-to-be-ex-husband, and who can forget Howard, the dorky guy in the building who pops up every few episodes to latch on to how cool Joey is. Even Madchen Amick can't do anything for this show. Perhaps the reason she didn't hook up with Dr. Carter wasn't his fault after all, perhaps it was her distinct lack of ability to act. One saving grace for this show is that woman who was Stiffler's mom and Elle's friend in Legally Blonde movies as Bobbie, Joey's agent. Her grating character adds spice to this show that no one else has yet. With the exception of Lucy Liu. This show has done guest stars pretty well, much like Friends, but guest stars aren't enough. The show's stars are going to need to shine next season.

Everything else is going along kind of as planned. I'm not sure where Smallville is going next season with everyone graduating, but it looks like at least Clark and Lana are sticking around. I know Paul dies in the finale of Desperate Housewives (EWeekly spoiled that one for me) and Alfre Woodard arrives (that happened in the second to last one which I've seen) but frankly I'm not totally sure I care. Here's to hoping for something actually exciting in the finale of The O.C. and far, far less manufactured drama next season. The one I'm really looking forward to though is the finale of the Gilmore Girls. I've heard it's a real doozy.

I'm really going to miss American Dreams next season. And I'll also be missing Third Watch. I thought the finale was truly disappointing. You could really tell they didn't see the cancelation coming either.

P.S. I at least tried to change the settings so that anyone and everyone can leave posts (not just registered users) so please do so. No, really, do it.

I see a pattern here

Well, it's been nearly a month since my last post (for those of you keeping track, it's been a while since I've posted on the radio show blog as well) and I still don't really have a topic. But I'll just start and see where it goes.

Last weekend, I saw the Longest Yard with a couple of friends and I was told that a posted review would be in order (I think this was supposed to come after all three of us had seen the original as well but that appears to be a long time coming so I'm just going to get to it). Let's start with the quart Nalgene filled to the brim with Lipton iced tea and Jack Daniels. Like Eazy-E said "and from the first sip, my breath starts stinkin'" but that didn't bother me. It apparently did bother Nason though. I guess he was planning to start playing Dungeons & Dragons with the teenagers in front of us or something. CK refrained from helping me with my big mixed drink too claiming something akin to an allergy to JD. Crazy talk I tell ya. I'd just like to say for the record that if you walk into a theater and then enough teenagers to fill an entire row in the theater come in shortly after you, you can rest assured that you are now allowed to talk as loudly as you want about anything you want whenever you want. This is a rule. Just like if you go to a movie with a date and sit in the back, you are allowed to make out as much as you like and no one can give you dirty looks about it.

So, by the end of the movie, I'd finished my quart of Jack and tea and it was time to meet up with the others (who had opted to see Star Wars instead). Heading over for a few beers (and, much to my chagrin, also the Red Sox game) at Sebago, I managed to down a really big beer and half a plate of potato nachos (CK scarfed down the other half and then told me I'd really pigged out).

I'd forgotten how drinking hard liquor works for me. In the theater I noticed I was drinking but it wasn't until much later that I realized how thoroughly drunk I was. I must drink a lot faster than my blood stream absorbs the charming effects of alcohol. Not that there's a lot wrong with that, I guess I just need to drink more often to keep reminding myself of this fact. The other realization of the evening (and this should come as no surprise to anyone but, frankly, I'm really just starting to realize how much it is really true), I don't seem to really have an "inside voice." I mean I do when I'm just talking to people but in any kind of group I'm bound to get a little animated while talking about something and I've come to realize that along with this animation comes a much louder volume to my voice. Now, before you all write snide comments telling me how dense I am for not having noticed this before, I have. Several times. I've noticed that I get done talking and there's an eerie hush that is simply the vaccuum left behind by the absence of me talking. Anyway, just a personal observation. I'd say I'm gonna do something about it but I doubt I will or even can.

Oh yeah, the movie was pretty good. Adam Sandler had some really good one-liners before the football stuff started. The guy who played the jerk with the gun on the space shuttle in "Armageddon" played a jerk in this too. CK almost jizzed about all the ex-football players and pro-wrestlers in the movie. Chris Rock's schtick gets old fast. Courtney Cox-Arquette has weird tits - eerily separated. Burt Reynolds is a pretty old dude but he was The Bandit and the dude who actually knew what he was doing in "Deliverance." And, yes, Rob Schnieder does pop up at the end and shout "You can do it!"

I'll save my other ramblings for later.