Anyone that knows me knows that I love Television. I talked my wife into getting a DVR a few years ago because I work nights and it is far easier to record shows then take the time to download them later. We also record enough shows to make the DVR worth having.
Every show has that moment when you become hooked to the show and vow to watch it on a weekly basis while it is airing. Without that moment the interest in the show slowly dies until you remove it from the Series Record list and never watch it again.
Below are eleven moments from some of my favorite shows ever. It's not really a top ten list. Really it is the eleven moments I could find on YouTube for the list.
Why eleven? Because I am doing this list at the same time my friend Amy will be posting hers on her blog. She informed me she had thirteen shows and I tried to match but YouTube was just not cooperating with my picks so I threw in the towel and stopped at eleven.
This was the scene where I could really see the four main characters really being friends. I thought the show was funny but I just didn't fully see the characters connecting with each other until dancing to Groovy Kind of Love. After that the show clicked for me.
Everwood
Season 1 Episode 2
I had to watch the pilot twice before moving on to the second episode. I just didn't love the pilot but by the end of episode 2 I was hooked to the dynamics between Andy and Ephraim. I grew to love more about the show but that is the storyline that initially drew me in.
Smallville
Season 1 Episode 1
I have always been a fan of Superman and the thing that drew me in was the idea of Clark and Lex being friends before becoming mortal enemies. I was hooked from their first scene together to the growing friendship plus Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum work so well off each other.
One Tree Hill
Season 1 Episode 1
The pilot grew like a movie leading to the climatic basketball game at the end where the hero wins the game. Except that game wasn't the end of the story since it was a TV show I got continue to watch for years.
The OC
Season 1 Episode 3
It's not that I didn't enjoy the show for the first two episodes. It just took Ryan becoming part of the family for the show to really work for me.
Friday Night Lights
Season 1 Episode 1
There wasn't really a scene in the pilot that hooked me as the entire pilot hooked me in. I immediately connected with the characters and instantly loved what the show was trying to do with the storylines. Extra points for actually paralyzing the star Quarterback when I expected him to be walking by the third episode.
Scrubs
Season 1 Episode 4
This was the episode that showed that the show could be more then just a really funny comedy. It showed that the show could have a more emotional side to it which added to the story.
Lost
Season 1 Episode 1
The scene was the first one that made me over think everything that was happening on the show. I would spend the next five seasons analyzing everything that happened only to be slightly disappointed in the end.
Fringe
Season 1 Episode 1
What initally drew me to the continue watching the show was the relationship between Walter and Peter and how they worked off each other. The ending of the episode helped because it presented a mystery worth coming back for.
Survivor
Entire Season 1
The scene I was going to use was actually the first tribal council but let's face it. Every twist and turn in the first season and the way Richard Hatch played the game is what hooked me in for the next 25 seasons.
Grey's Anatomy
Season 1 Episode 9
I didn't get hooked on the show until the finale when I had to wait an entire summer to see what would happen with the cliffhanger. I had downloaded Season 1 after it aired all nine episodes because some friends said it was good but it was the cliffhanger that hooked me and got me to watch Season 2 when it aired in the following fall.
My DVR messed up last Sunday and I ended up missing ten minutes of the episode but I caught most of the action. Team Hockey coasted to an easy win thanks to the Fast Forward and in a surprise the Besties got themselves eliminated because they panicked and switched Detours when they were surrounded by other teams. Thanks to that mental mistake we were denied the chance to see the Newlyweds be eliminated and are "treated to another episode of them.
With the Besties sent packing I think Team Hockey are the clear leaders now but the race can get weird sometimes. All it takes is a wrong turn or a bad cabbie to send you home so I'm prepared for some more unexpected finishes. At this point the only team that I think do not have a chance are Chuck and Wynona.
Thanks to the ACM awards there is no new episode this week but you can read my full recap of last week's episode here at MJ's Big Blog.
Survivor
We got the merge on this week's Survivor and with it came some solid strategy. I loved the idea Malcolm and Corinne planned but Corinne's execution of the plan was weak. She was working too hard to plan Phillip's elimination when she should have held firm and waited to ensure Sherri was sent packing.
And with her bad move it puts Malcolm on the outside with Reynold, Eddie, and Michael. Malcolm is a great player but I think at this point the other alliance is tight enough to wait until the rest of the fans (minus Sherri) and Malcolm are gone before attacking each other. It's a classic example of a great player being down in by someone else's bad moves.
I like Malcolm so I hope he can turn it around but I think it's a done deal that he will be gone in a few weeks now.
For my full recap you can go to MJ's Big Blog here.
The Voice
I continue to not really have any deep liking for the people going through on the voice. Especially the people who went through on Thursday night. I can't really see any of them lasting past the Battle Rounds but hopefully one or two will surprise like Amanda Brown last year.
I did like the quirkiness of Michelle Chamuel and I think she can be interesting with the right song choices. I also liked Taylor Beckham's voice but fear she will fail to sing songs she can actually connect with since she is so young.
The artist I really liked was Warran Stone. I like when people connect with the songs they sing and I think she has the experience to put on some interesting performances and become a fan fave. I also like that he chose Adam over Blake. Blake's team this year is really country heavy and I think had Warren went with Blake he may have been lost in the shuffle.
But let's be honest. I watch the show for the judges and at this point the coaches on The Voice are destroying American Idol. Shakira has been a pleasant surprise because I didn't expect her to be such a breakout star and highly entertaining with the other guys. She also blows away Christina as a coach and a personality.
You can read the recaps and watch videos at MJ's Big Blog here and here.
Hell's Kitchen
We have seen people done in by Scallops and Beef Wellington but I never thought someone would be have their game destroyed by Pancakes. It was amazing seeing the women have so much trouble with flipping pancakes and that lead to another dinner service win for the men.
It's amazing that the men can do anything right as they keep losing the reward tasks to the ladies but they actually had a good service this episode.
We were left off with another cliffhanger ending as the Ladies' nominations of Mary and Jacqueline were sent back in line as Chef Ramsey had someone else in mind to send home. I think he is starting to get pissed off with the ladies nominations as they continue to nominate people who should not be nominated for elimination and we will see who he sends home next week.
Big Brother Canada
The week started with a crazy twist on Sunday where Topez had to nominate two people right away. For some crazy reason she proceeded to spell out her plan outloud even through this was an unexpected twist and she should have expected others may be listening or atleast find out what happened. She ended up nominating Andrew and AJ but made it clear that she wanted Andrew to go home.
This is where the week got interesting. The housemates were told they would be voting right away and Alec and Peter decided to take this chance to turn on Topez and Gary. They went against Topez's wishes and voted out AJ helping send him out the door. This was the beginning of the end of the Topez/Alec showmance as they took the time to actually "break up." The rest of the week was filled with awkwardness with Topez arguing with everyone. The low point was when Topez discovered Alec and Talla sharing a bed because Talla was scared from watching Evil Dead as an award earlier. Topez over reacted and started calling Talla every name in the book.
Sunday's episode also included a new Head of House competition. It was a quiz competition that Andrew one. This also allowed him to pick the have nots for the week and he choose Peter, Talla, Gary, and Emmitt who had a Slop Pass and could use it to get out of being forced to only eat slop. Andrew also took the time to nomimate Gary and Topez. While he stated he wanted Topez out to avenge AJ he actually wanted Gary send packing.
My favorite part of the week was watching Gary over react to being placed on slop. There is no way to explain it in words but it was hilarious to watch. Unfortunately Blogger claims to not find it on YouTube but you can watch it here if you want a good laugh.
On Wednesday's episode Andrew won a Power of Veto that also included a reward to watch a pre-screening of the Evil Dead movie and he choose to share it with Talla and Jillian. It may have seemed like a good idea to take the two hot girls but sitting beside a screaming Talla would have driven me crazy.
For Andrew it was good that he won the PoV since he wants Gary voted out so this allows him to keep the nominations the same.
On Thursday Gary was voted out in a 5-0 vote and the episode ended with an endurance competition so if you do not watch the Live Feeds you will need to wait until Sunday to see who won.
American Idol
Let's be honest. This season is falling apart. And it's not even because of the talent. Outside of Lazaro the entire top ten were competent singers. It's a combination of poor song choices and horrible theme weeks.
Take this so called "Classic Rock/No Ballads" week that ended up being switched to Rock Week and including Ballads. And I don't buy into the whole "It's a power ballad" idea. A ballad is a ballad.
We lost Burnell this week and it's a shame because even through he was horrible this week singing Bon Jovi he is still miles ahead of Lazaro. Burnell's problem wasn't his singing but the fact that he never really seemed to connect to anything he was singing. He was definitely hurt by the dated American Idol song options more so then some other people.
Lazaro is the last hope for the guys and a part of me actually hopes he wins it all just to piss off the producers who have tried so hard to have a girl winner that they stacked the decks in the girl's favor. In all seriousness it is the first season I've watched since season three where I really didn't care who won the season. If I was forced to pick my favorite it would be Janelle but even that isn't a slam dunk for me. I just think she takes the most chances with her performances rather then rehashing the same performance every week (Kree/Amber). Angie continues to seem fake to me. I enjoy her when she is playing the singer/songwriter role behind the piano but once she steps away from the piano she loses so much of what makes her unique. As for Candace I still admit she is an amazing singer and deserves to last to the top three or even win but I don't connect to her performances in any way.
I'm not going to bother picking songs for the contestants this week. I mean I really don't care about the Burt Bacharach and Hal David song book. It's nothing against Burt Bacharach and Hal David but I just don't see this crop of idols being to do decent performances of the songs and it's obvious that it'll be plenty of ballads.
The "Songs You Wished You Wrote" could be a little more interesting if the contestants are brave enough to actually fight for a song like past idols of done rather then just simply picking off a list of 20 songs.
I've decided on doing a weekly look back on the Reality TV I watch. I'll post it every Friday since that is when the shows I watch will all have aired and I have nothing better to do on Fridays.
Amazing Race
For those who visit MJ's Big Blog you can read each episode recap every Sunday night after it airs. I won't go into details about the episode because you can read about it at here. Overall it was a straight forward episode. While I enjoy the cast this season the Newlyweds are really the only team who annoys me when they are on the screen. Even they aren't that bad when compared to villains in past seasons but ever season needs villains and they fit the role for now.
There is still no real front running teams with the lead seeming to go back and forth. I like that aspect of the season because it can be an unpredictable ending. We will see where it goes.
Hell's Kitchen
With another season of Hell's Kitchen upon as we are treated to more delusional chefs who give confessionals about how they know how to cook and then prove that they have no clue what they are doing in the kitchen.
It always amazes me how people fail to ensure they can cook the essentials in Hell's Kitchen. Every season people mess up on scallops, chicken, and beef wellington. You would think that someone would make sure they can cook these before entering the show. It's like people who go on Amazing Race and cannot drive standard or go on Survivor and cannot use a flint. Pure stupidity.
On the upside we got rid of Danielle this week who was totally drowning in the kitchen. For multiple episodes she looked like a deer in the headlights but was continually saved because her team saved her and the guy's kitchen is dysfunctional. The guys did better in this week's dinner service but I am really looking forward to Michael stabbing Dan soon.
The last item worth mentioning is poor Mary being forced to run the 3k marathon for the reward challenge. She didn't volunteer while others on the ladies' team did and Chef Ramsey still choose her to run. She looked like she was going to die by the end of the race as she finished in last place while the rest of her tribe waited for her to finish so they could start cooking. Luckily for the girls the guys can barely do anything right and they still won even through the guys had an early lead advantage since Dan easily ran the 3k.
Survivor
Another week and another Gota victory. Like Amazing Race you can read my full recap at here at MJ's Big Blog but I'll still offer few thoughts on the episode.
I can understand the need to merge the tribes next week. I mean in all honesty there was no way Gota was going to win another challenge before the merge. I mean how can they win with The Specialist "throwing" challenges. It makes sense to merge now and get some drama pumped back into the show.
I mean more drama then Phillip and Corinne arguing with each other. Their pointless argument led to someone being voted out. I'm trying to remember her name but she didn't make much of an impression so it has already slipped my mind. Now that we are at the merge we will see who has the most backing since I am sure both Phillip and Corinne will push to have the other person voted out. I'm banking on it being Corinne who is sent packing as it just makes more sense to keep Phillip at this point. Lost in the downfall of Bikal was Reynold's continue success and throwing just about anything. It's kind of amazing how good he is at throwing things.
Also Malcolm realized that he will be a big target after the merge and he started solidifying an Athlete's Alliance by first approaching Reynold who is all in on the alliance. He is so in that he freely admits to having the idol. Malcolm wisely keeps his idol a secret since telling a basis stranger that information is simply crazy.
The first few weeks after a merge can be boring because usually the tribe with more people simply starts voting out the other tribe before we have to start stabbing people in the back. I'm not convinced that is how this season will play out. I see the favorites choosing sides right away and having drama as soon as the merge happens. One can only hope anyways.
The Voice
The biggest surprise to me is how much I enjoyed the chemistry between the new judges and the old ones. Especially Shakira who is fun to watch as she argues her strengths as she tries to win over team members.
I'll just be honest and say that I watch the show for the coaches more then the singers. With so much lack of post-show success with the contestants it is obvious the success of the show is based more on the coaches. Of course I do think Cassadee Pope can actually be successful going first that seems like the exception on this show.
If you do follow the show you can read last week's recaps here and here. For the first contestants through I enjoyed Christian Porter but I would have liked it more if he didn't cop someone else's arrangement. Even still I look forward to what he does going forward. If Idol refuses to have a WGWG maybe The Voice can take over that aspect of singing shows.
On night one I also really enjoyed Judith Hill even if she is obviously a ringer. I just fear that the show will push her too hard and it will hurt her in the voting rounds. Regardless she good an amazing job on one of Xtina's more annoying songs.
And while I try not to get attached to contestants until after the Battle Rounds I loved Sarah Simmons' version of "One of Us." She sang with some real emotion and I think she can do well in the competition and I think Adam is the perfect coach for her.
Most of the other singers getting through didn't really leave a lasting impression but I did like Midas Whale especially since people I follow on Twitter are in love with one of the members and they had big expectations for him. Sadly groups are usually treated poorly on the show so hopefully they can turn that around.
Big Brother Canada
Nothing is like the craziness of the Big Brother house and Canada has shown that we have lots of crazy. The show is like watching an accident. You want to look away but you just can't. This week we saw the elimination of Suzette and Topez finally do something by winning Head of House.
The rest of the week was straight forward with Alec making the easy nominations and Emmitt choosing to keep them the same. Alec and Peter (The Shield) continue to run the house but it will be interesting to see what happens this coming week.
Topaz has a showmance with Alec but sometimes seems closer to Gary. If Gary can get in her ear and get her to nominate Alec and Peter for him it could cause some big drama in the house. Alec and Peter haven't had to sweat too much so it would be nice to see how they do with the pressure on them for once. Of course Topez most likely will not nominate them and we will see Andrew and AJ thrown up or if we are lucky Emmitt and Jillian. Emmitt makes the most sense to target as he is the biggest physical threat left and they may not get another chance.
That or try to blindside him by putting up two pawns. Gary has a special power that allows him to replace one of the Power of Veto players so if Emmitt is picked he can be swapped out for a weaker player and then he is open to the blindside. If anyone is smart enough to think of that it is Gary.
American Idol
MJ does a great Idol Live Blog that can be found here for last week's episode. Also I would recommend just going to her blog for anything Idol or Reality Show related. She is great at keeping up with the news on past and present Idol seasons as well as other shows.
The biggest thing I hate about this season of Idol is that I feel that instead of having a contestant or two shoved down our throats we are getting an entire gender shoved down our throats. I understand the show is sick of WGWG winners but to sabotage the male gender is by choosing singers who may be good singers but have little to no personality is just turning me off. I have nothing against a woman winning a reality show. I still think Crystal should have beaten Lee but for the other four Idol WGWG winners you could easily find an argument to show they deserved to win that season.
But to harp on the guy issue takes away from five great female contestants. I can into the finals liking Angie but as each week passes by and she keeps being something that she clearly is not I was getting closer to jumping ship on her. This past week's performance of Shop Around finished it for me. Luckily I was blown away with Janelle's arraignment of You Keep Me Hanging On. It added such a haunting feeling to the song and made it a new song. For the first time this season I actually wanted to buy an iTunes version of a performance. I am firmly now on the Janelle bandwagon and hopefully not leaving anytime soon.
Kree also did an amazing song but I find as she becomes more confident she seems to be less connected to the performances. Maybe it's just me but her performances have slowly been getting less impressive and I think she needs a good scare to get her back on track.
I don't have much to say about Candice and Amber. They are both still amazing singers but just not really my cup of tea. I totally understand why they are seen as front runners with their voices but I worry about Amber now that she can't sing a ballad this week.
With "Classic Rock, No Ballads" week among us I am actually excited to see what the final seven decide. We haven't seen any of them really go uptempo and I am hoping we aren't tricked by having classic rock songs turned into ballads.
For my picks for the contestants I am picking any rock song that is twenty or more years old.
Lazaro Arbos: Bon Jovi "Livin On A Prayer" - It's kind of a joke that I picked this song for him but it's also true of his situation on the show. Also he could get lost in the lyrics and then people will feel sorry and continue to vote for him when he inevitably cries.
Plus I predict it could sound like this:
Burnell Taylor: The Band "The Weight" - Burnell seems to like to sing songs with meaning behind the lyrics and this one is one of the best songs I have even heard. I think he could do good things with it.
Amber Holcomb: Fleetwood Mac "Go Your Own Way" - Amber knows singing ballads and there is a really good cover version by Lissie that I think she would be great at singing and still get the feeling of Classic Rock.
Angie Miller: Pearl Jam "Jeremy" - I think she needs something that will get her noticed again and something that would seem out of the box but also something that can be special ans tell a story of something that is still happening in the world today. If she can do something like Boyce Avenue's acoustic version it could be a show stopper.
Candice Glover: The Rolling Stones "Gimme Shelter" - I stole this from Michael Slezak but only because Candice singing this classic would be amazing with the emotion she puts into singing.
Kree Harrison: Bob Seger "Turn The Page" - I think Kree would sound amazing on this song although it could continue to look like she is coasting because I think the song would come easy to her.
Janelle Arthur: Lynyrd Skynyrd "Freebird" - I think this song would fit in nicely with her country style as well as showing that she can be a threat for the win without needing to change like other ladies who are still in the competition.
The shows been on what feels like forever but I still enjoy watching the way the cast makes strategies and alliances. I also like complaining when they do something that I feel is stupid. Plus the challenges should be good since they are returning to water challenges.
New Shows
Arrow
Personally I think this will be the best new show on TV this year. The trailer for the show makes it look really good and there are so many directions they can take the show.
Guys With Kids
Originally Nessa said she wanted to try this and after watching the promos for the show I decided I'd give it a try as well.
Nashville
This one can go either way. I really like Connie Britton as an actress which is why I want to give it a chance to see how it does.
