One couch potato, comin’ up.
At least.
I know, I know. All you mamas of babies and toddlers out there are feeling super sorry for me.
Hey, I hear ya. I endured about seven years with a child who refused to go to sleep and when she did she’d either have nightmares all night or just scream and whine a lot in her sleep and I spent many a night curled up in a fetal position in my bathtub wearing earplugs so I could try to get a few winks.
Don’t worry, I didn’t fill it.
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| I know just how you feel, Boo. |
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| Two Friday gifs today. That’s how excited I am. |
I’m not ashamed to admit it — I love TV.
I always have.
When I was a kid, my mom got on this typical mom “NO TV” kick for awhile. I remember one time getting totally busted because my sister and I (who were home alone and not supposed to be watching TV) watched like two hours of The Brady Bunch and when we heard my mom pull in quickly turned the TV off and put it back in the closet where it was kept (obviously). For some reason my mom was suspicious of our story of having spent the afternoon working on our needlepoint samplers or our butter churning and went to the closet and felt the top of the TV.
Which, of course, was warm.
Craaap.
Thankfully, that phase didn’t last more than a few years and by the time I was in middle and high school we all had our TV addictions and watched shows together like Kate & Allie, Family Ties, The Love Boat, Dallas and Knot’s Landing without fail.
And judge me all you want, but I’ve never really been one to limit my kids’ TV watching. Oh, sure, I’ve put limits through the years on what they are allowed to watch (strong limits) and have been known on more than one occasion to pick up the clicker and turn the TV off mid-show, but that’s because the annoying voice of some Disney Channel star is coming thisclose to making me jab my eyeballs and eardrums out with a BBQ fork, not because I’m bothered that it’s been on for four hours straight.
Maybe the fact that 99% of the time my kids are doing other things while watching (cartwheeling, dancing, drawing, playing with small figures or play-doh (when they were younger)) has something to do with it (hey, they’re learning to mulit-task like a boss) or maybe it’s the fact that they’re both extremely imaginative and devour books just as much as they watch TV, or perhaps it’s because Husband and I watch a lot of TV and don’t want to be hypocritical.
Whatever.
We love TV in this house.
Moving on.
As you know, I hate having to say goodbye to summer. But one thing that makes it a little easier every year is the anticipation of the new TV season. (Pathetic, I realize, but I believe over the past year and a half we’ve established the depth of my personal qualities.)
Every year I create a very scientific and complicated DVR recording chart listing the returning shows we watch with the new shows we want to try.
There’s multiple highlighters involved.
It’s very pretty.
So for this week’s Favorites (good lord woman, finally) here’s a list of my returning faves, and a few new ones I think will be worth watching.
RETURNING SHOWS that are my favorites:
Parenthood
Despite the fact that I don’t think I’ve ever made it through an episode without bawling, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this show. I can’t tell you how much I want to be part of the Braverman family…or at least have Zeke and Camille’s house. NBC only ordered half a season last year, so I’ve been in Braverman withdrawl since January.
September 26th cannot come soon enough.
This will be the last season for HIMYM, and we’ve been huge fans since the beginning. Seriously, if you’ve never watched this show, binge watch on Netflix or get the DVD sets and (v. important) watch from the beginning. It is one of the most brilliantly written sitcoms I’ve ever watched, and the inside gags and jokes that run from one season to the next are key to “getting it”. I’ll be sad to see it end.
Truly legen – wait for it – dary.
Homeland
I know — unoriginal. But have you ever met anyone who’s watched it who hasn’t loved it? Watching this show makes me feel smarter for some reason…and in my mind somehow cancels out my obsession with The Bachelor/ette.
Shut up.
Modern Family
NEW SHOWS that I’m excited to try…or will try once and never watch again:
The Blacklist
I just discovered this new NBC show last night when I was on TVGuide.com reading all about the new shows that are premiering this season (shut up). And you guys, I am completely obsessed with this show already.
Here, watch this promo. It’s kind of long, but if you’re still reading this post you don’t really want to be doing what you’re supposed to be doing right now anyway, right?
Seriously, I could just watch the promo for an hour and be satisfied.
James Spader becoming very Hannibal Lecterish.
I cannot wait.
The Michael J. Fox Show
Since it’s practically un-American to not like Michael J. Fox, it’s no mystery why this show is on everyone’s buzz list. I’ve watched the trailers (of course I have) and I have to say, it looks okay. If I’m being honest, I think they’re trying waay too hard to milk the whole Parkinsons thing (his character also has it) and in the trailer almost every set-up joke is at the expense of the disease.
Funny? Sure. But the kind of funny where you feel like a total shit for laughing.
Having said that, I did laugh out loud at the scene where the entire family is sitting at the dinner table waiting….waiting…waiting…for him to shakily spoon out the casserole, and finally the wife grabs the spoon and snaps, “Can you not have a personal victory right now, we are starving.”
See what I mean?
You laugh…and then apologize.
But still, I’ll give it a try for two reasons:
1) Self-depricating is always funny
and
2) It’s Michael J. Fox, and if I don’t, I’m pretty sure someone’s gonna come and rip my “child of the 80’s card” right outta my pocket.
Mom
I’m with you, sister! I LOVE TV! I also love your blog, you’re hilarious!
Thank you! Can you tell my kids that?
It makes me so happy to read this. Also, I want to hang out.
I LOVE TV. I have also been fairly lacks with limiting my kids’ television. The scene you described is exactly what goes down in our living room. Truthfully, I don’t know that either of my children have watched an episode of anything in its entirety because of all the moving and jumping and cartwheeling. Meh. Whatever.
They’ll be fiiiine, right?
Thanks for the tips on the new shows I hadn’t known about yet! And I share lots of your favorite returning shows. I LOVE new fall TV season too!
We love Parenthood so much that we’ve been binge-watching Gilmore Girls all summer — had not seen the show when it came out — really adorable and stars one of the Braverman sisters!
Um, GILMORE GIRLS IS LIKE MY ALL TIME FAVORITEIST SERIES EVERRRR! I have the entire series on DVD so I can get me a Lorelai fix whenever I need it! (Lauren Graham doesn’t know it, but we’re actually best friends.)
🙂
I LOVED Kate and Allie as a kid! The one I’m most looking forward to this season is It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia…the most irreverent, politically incorrect show you’ve ever encountered. Have you seen it?
Yay Kate & Allie! My mom has a season on DVD and my girls actually loved watching it when they were younger!
I’ve heard nothing but great things about Sunny in Philadelphia but have never found a free spot to start it! I’ll definitely put it on my ‘must see’ list. Do you have to start it at the beginning?
We love that you love TV as much as we do. We are SO EXCITED about the upcoming Fall season especially HIMYM and Homeland. We totally have our fingers crossed about Mom. It has potential!! –The Dose Girls
Seriously, I might inhabit a tiny part of your brains.
I have a TV show spreadsheet … and a website where I get all the episodes – so I can make the same DVR listing each week! So, yes I totally got your post.
I couldn’t love or respect you more right now…
One word…Scandal!
Oohhh! I’ve watched only a handful of episodes (season one) on Netflix and I did really like it! I really want to keep watching because I love Scott Foley (Felicity) and I hear he’s on it now. That’s definitely one I have on my ‘one day’ list!
I’m with you on Parenthood, I can’t wait for it to come back on well and just about every show on your list. I can’t wait for some new t.v.
Ronda
I know. Next week can’t come soon enough!
[…] New TV (finally)You might remember a couple of weeks ago the Friday Favorites post was all about the new TV season and some of the shows I was excited to watch. Here’s the status […]