Best TV of 2013

I am tasked with writing the TV profile, because I am the most avid TV watcher of the PTA. But TV has been really, really different for me this year. I officially cut the cord and do all my TV watching now on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and iTunes. And part of that was motivated by the fact that I am less and less impressed by what Network TV has to offer. There are a few shows that I am excited to see what happens next (Parenthood, Scandal, Nashville) but not as many as there once was.

So, my top show of 2013 was Broadchurch

Even googling images from this show made me emotional

Broadchurch was on the BBC earlier in the year and now can be had on iTunes for about $20. In British fashion it is only 8 episodes long and tells the story of a small, English, seaside town where a young boy is found murdered on the beach. It's about the investigation that follows, and because the town is so small, it's also about the impact that that investigation has on everyone in town. It's one of those places where literally everyone knows everyone else. The finale was like a gut punch and I couldn't stop thinking about it for weeks.

Other shows I loved this year: Breaking Bad: A satisfying finish to the series that was a modern day Shakespearian tragedy. The Returned: I blogged about this before. It's French, it's terrifying and it's awesome. Orange is the New Black: so smart and funny and original and SO rated R. So do not watch this show and then send me angry emails. Scandal: I was late to this bandwagon, but devoured the first three seasons in about a week. So campy and insane and fun to watch.

Ken's picks

Thanks to the miracle of Netflix and a lackluster TV line up this fall, I'm watching very few current TV programs, but enjoying a few series of yester-year (Cheers, West Wing). 

My loyalties are still with Parks & Rec, though I am upset with the way NBC is treating this gem of a show. It is consistently funny and entertaining. 

I also occasionally tune in to The Goldbergs because A) If Wendi McClendon-Covey, who plays Becky Goldberg, ever died, my dear friend Lisa Valentine Clark could step right in and America would never miss a beat. They wouldn't even know. And B) I always enjoy a throwback to the 80s. That being said, this show drives me absolutely out of my mind with its inconsistencies. Hey Goldbergs, the 1980s did not happen IN ONE YEAR! When the son references this new Rubik's Cube (1980) while he's dressed as a Ghostbuster (1984) and watching Alf in the afternoon with his brother (never happened), I scream to myself, "Is ANYONE working on this show even TRYING?!" 1987 was NOT the same year as 1981. I assure you. I was there. I tried wearing Parachute Pants in 1987. It did not go well. 

Topher's picks:

I watched a lot of TV this year by my own standards, but I'm a loser within the PTA ranks. My TV selections are admittedly strange and I can't really help it. I like what I like. So here's what brought me to the boob tube in 2013:

Game of Thrones. Lisa and I started with seasons one and two this year, and holy crap. Holy, holy crap. I'm addicted. Even though I have to look up every episode online after I watch it to make sure I understood it. Yes, even though that. The acting, writing, and art direction are mind blowing. You can skip all the sexy parts, it's ok. 

My other favorites:

Parks and Recreation

Mad Men

Nashville (I still watch it!)

The Americans

Bates Motel

Orange is the New Black

Patrick's picks:

Why is Hatty in this picture? She hasn't been on the show for like 20 years. 

Parenthood...it's Parenthood. I died. I watched all the back seasons on Netflix (only 3...maybe 4) then hopped over to Hulu for the current season (Kristina as the Mayor, bleh, but real into Ray Romano...I KNOW?!)  

My wife would say Scandal.  She tore through them so fast I couldn't keep up, so then I refused to watch them and now I'm in the dark.

Still loving The Mindy Project and New Girl.

Sad about: Happy Endings...though it's nice to see it's actors farmed out to The Mindy Project and New Girl.

Stopped watching Nashville, but I feel bad about it.

Dove in to: Orange is the New Black but I can NOT tell you to watch it, it's super filthy and your kids will walk in at just the wrong spot and you'll blame Part Time Authors...so please don't watch this amazing show whose next season comes out early next year...which is in a week.

Did not want to watch but then it hooked me:  House of Cards.  When I heard that Kevin Spacey was going to talk to me in my living room about his schemes in Washington DC I was reminded of the first season of Sex in the City where, if you watch it now you're all like, "Oh, Carrie, don't do that....you're better then this, just live your life and act like I'm not here."  But when Kevin Spacey does it...I die over it!  It's like I'm part of his team...no, gang...yeah, I am getting the inside scoop and it's just me and him and Robbin Wright taking over America!!! 

Brett:

It's hard for me to pick a favorite show this year. But I think, for its penetration into all of pop culture, its near panic-attack-inducing pace and story, its ability to create conversation like nothing else, my favorite drama is Breaking Bad. My favorite comedy is The Wrong Mans, a little British export on HuluPlus. This show is funny, sweet, action packed, and has a cliffhanger almost every episode. It's about two guys who work in an office and accidentally get thrown into a murder, mob, spy, robber thing and bumble their way through it. Please check it out so we can talk about it?

Here's my top 10 list of dramas and comedies with an honorable mention thrown in for good measure:

Dramas	Comedies
1. Breaking Bad 2. Justified 3. The Americans 4. Top of the Lake 5. Luther 6. Orphan Black 7. Broadchurch 8. House of Cards 9. In the Flesh 10. Elementary Honorable Mention: Sleepy Hollow	1. The Wrong Mans 2. Parks and Recreation 3. New Girl 4. Brooklyn 99 5. Mindy Project 6. Bob’s Burgers 7. Moone Boy 8. South Park 9. Happy Endings 10. Regular Show Honorable Mention: Modern Family

Top 10 Reasons Why We Are NOT Giving Up TV This Fall

It seems like they come out more frequently in the fall. I suppose it is the start of school year and the feeling that things at home are out of control and you are craving some structure. Perhaps you feel that you can finally get your kids to turn off the video games, put the Pokemon cards away and yes, the evil of all evils, turn off the TV. Your friends FB feeds are littered with likes on articles about "How We Became a TV Free Family" or "Top 10 ways to get your family to turn off the TV." And they kind of make me crazy.

Full disclosure: I am a lover of TV. I watch every day. I discuss TV shows with my friends. I read articles online about TV. And maybe you are not that way. And that is fine. If you just don't find TV interesting or entertaining and would rather do other things, then that is great. But the people who write these articles aren't doing it because they just don't like TV. I don't like sports and you don't see me writing posts saying "10 ways to get your family to stop playing sports." I just don't like them and so their not really on my radar. But if you are going to take the time to write an article about it, it is because you feel like you have done something sanctimonious, or that you're better than all those rubes still watching TV. And you're wrong.

So I present to you, The Top 10 Reasons Why My Family is Not Giving Up TV This Fall

1. Fall is the best time for TV. It gets dark earlier. Some days are cold and rainy and the kids don't want to go outside. And there is tons of new stuff to check out. Yes, most of it is crap (I'm looking at you Dads) and will be canceled in 3 weeks (Sorry, Lucky 7. You we're decent.) But there is some great fun stuff out there. Have you watched Sleepy Hollow like I told you to? Are you watching Marvels Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D with your older kids? (Wow - they need to change that name. It is a pain to type.) You should be. They're great. You think TV is lame now? My friend Daryn said it really well, "Every Fall season is full of failures. When a new season starts, it's easy to to think: Well, this season sucks. TV sucks right now. But every classic TV show was born (or grew) among from the pile of manure made up of every other terrible and/or failed show."
2. As my friend Lisa always says, "It's not like those people who give up TV are out there curing cancer." And it's true. And maybe cancer curing is too high a bar to set. But we all have things we do to unwind at the end of the day and for me it happens to be watching TV. For you maybe it is playing Candy Crush. Or knitting. Or...ahem...blogging. At the end of the day it is all entertainment, and what is wrong with that?
3. Your kids love it. I'm not advocating for unlimited access to TV and media for kids. Have some rules. Set some boundaries. Be a parent. But maybe I just want to finish my magazine article or fold laundry or take another go at beating level 153 on Candy Crush and so, yeah, maybe I don't care that my kids want to watch another episode of Dude, What Would Happen. 
4. TV is not the anti-reading. But that is the argument one frequently hears. "I am giving up TV, ergo I will read more." But that is silly. The two are totally unrelated. I love TV and I love reading and I do a lot of both. They can co-exist.
5. "There's just so much garbage on TV,"you say. And that is true. There is. So eliminate the garbage, not the entire medium. Did you catch Broadchurch on BBC America? (Not yet on Netflix, but I am sure it will be soon.) It was one of the most heart wrenching, beautiful, emotional shows I have ever seen. What about Parenthood? I swear it is like they have spies living in my house because it is such a realistic portrayal of, well, parenthood I've ever seen. Parks and Rec makes me laugh out loud every week. There's a lot of good, clean stuff out there.
6. TV can make you smarter. The West Wing is what first got me interested in politics. Breaking Bad is one of the great morality tales of our generation. It's like a Jacobian tragedy. When people hear I have a son with Asperger's syndrome, many of them know about it because of America's Next Top Model or Parenthood or Grey's Anatomy (just kidding - no one has ever learned about it from Grey's Anatomy because I am literally the only person left on earth watching Grey's Anatomy.) I know more about dance and have been moved by beautiful dance performances because of So You Think You Can Dance.
7. Why do we vilify TV, but don't do the same with movies or plays? Isn't it all just storytelling? No one would every say "We're really trying to cut back on films as a family" or "I just feel like we are spending way too much time going to the theater! We need to quit, as soon as we see In the Heights at HCTO because I hear it is INCREDIBLE!!" Art is art and yes, TV is art. And certainly there is good and bad art. And isn't part of being parents/artists teaching out kids what is good and what is bad? How will your kids know that Two and A Half Men is ridiculous dribble if they don't get a chance to watch Cheers or Freaks and Geeks? 
8. The pop culture of today is the high culture of tomorrow. Shakespeare was low-brow entertainment, made for the masses. Dickens was published as serials in magazines and newspapers. Do you wonder what students from 100 years from now will be studying in their English classes? Breaking Bad? Call the Midwife?
9. We live in the lovely age of DVRs, Hulu and Netflix. Remember when TV was only on at a certain time and if you missed it, there was no way to ever see it again unless it was randomly re-aired? When Topher and his wife were living in England, I remember recording hours of TV on VHS tapes (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, mostly) and carrying them in a suitcase (with a box of Cinnabon) across the ocean to deliver them to Lisa, Topher's wife. There was literally no other way to see those shows. Now you are in control of the schedule. So reward your kids with an episode or two of their favorite show when they finish their homework. Take a break after soccer practice and watch the next episode of Doctor Who in your queue. It can work with your lifestyle. TV: It's not just for sedentary people anymore.
10. TV is better than it has ever been. New and interesting shows are popping up every day on network TV, cable, Netflix, online, etc. And now it's easier than ever to access an amazing back catalogue of shows that shaped the cultural landscape that we live in. So you don't just have to watch The Rules of Engagement because this is what is on. If you're not sure what to watch, start with some of the shows I've highlighted above (links take you to either Hulu or Netflix.) Or send me an email. I could recommend shows all day.

So don't click on those articles anymore about why you will be a better person for giving up TV. You won't. You'll be a better person if you immerse and surround yourself with interesting, thought provoking, beautiful, difficult, moving, inspiring pieces of art. And those may be books, or newspaper articles, or theatrical productions, or dance performances, or paintings, or lectures or movies. But they also just might be TV shows. And that's OK.

Special thanks to the Superviewers who inspired this post and made it possible. You are the Penny to my Max. 

Me and My TV

Here’s the thing about TV. I hate it. 

I really do. 

It’s like I’m in a bad relationship with it.  I get all excited then I’m getting ready to spend time with it and when things get rolling everything is fine and we face each other and I listen as TV talks and we get into a rhythm and then I think, “I need some cereal.” (cereal: another thing I love that I hate) and soon the dog is licking the last of the milk out of the bowl on the floor and I am totally engrossed with everything TV is saying.  I’m like, ‘You are kidding me?!” and TV’s all, “No, for reals.”

Then it’s 2:30 in the morning. 

“Son of a pistol, those stinkin’ kids are gonna wake up in 5 hours regardless of what Senator Underwood is gonna do now.”  So I make a vow.  Never again. And the shows almost over and I hate myself for doing this, I’ve got TV on my body, on my body like a tattoo and then…HE KILLED THE CONGRESSMAN!! You are joking me?!!

Then it’s 3:30 in the morning.

“I WILL KILL YOU!! I hate you so much for doing this to me TV! I have to work in 3 hours I will never get this sleep back! YOU DON’T EVEN CARE!  This is always your plan! Whether I sit down at noon or a midnight you goal is the same, never ever let him leave that couch*.”

And so it goes.  I have canceled the cable and found myself at 4:30 am waiting to see how much this lady’s grandmothers candlesticks, which she found in 1921 next to a dead hobo in upstate New York, will now fetch at auction. 

It literally doesn’t matter. Golden Girls? Love ‘em, I know every name. Nashville? Check. Glee? Okay…well?...okay fine.  Frasier? Oh you bet! Scrubs? Yes, but not the ninth season. Arrested Development? Duh. Buffy the Vampire Slayer? There has never EVER been a better show to grace the frame of my television. Freaks and Geeks? Own it.  It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia? Filthy! Fine I’ll watch…oh, love it.

I have horrible taste in TV and that’s because I have no hang ups. I’ll watch whatever as long as I keep liking it and as long as TV keeps pumping it at me, with that said, here are my recommendations for this Falls line up:

First: Get off the couch and play with your kids, because guess what, they canceled "Happy Endings" which is real sad to me.

Then watch: 

The Mindy Project

The New Girl

Modern Family (forever and ever!)

Community

Scandal (Lindsay's)

House of Cards (very...let's say grown up)

and probably Nashville and Grimm (but don't think it's Buffy, cause it ain't.)

Have fun! 

*Excepting collusions with cereal.    

Parental Discretion Advised

Can you smell it in the air? Season premieres of all your TV stories. They are about to launch. You can almost feel it. Of course nowadays we have the luxury of DVRs. Could you imagine how laborious it would be to try to watch all these shows live or record them on a VCR - like ANIMALS?!

As a child it was more visceral. Nobody really informed me of season premieres or reminded me what the cliffhangers were from the season finales. (It's like my parents completely ignored their civic duty all together of keeping me up to speed on what happened on Mork & Mindy.) I could just kind of sense when it was happening.

I do remember that when I was younger my siblings and I were forbidden to watch the television phenomenon known as Three’s Company. Probably for the same reasons you were forbidden to watch it. (Too many pratfalls.)

It was not uncommon for youth my age to be banned from Three’s Company. But my television restrictions did not stop there, ladies and gentlemen. My parents also forbade me to watch such popular small screen sensations as Diff’rent Strokes, Happy Days, The Dukes of Hazzard, and The A-Team, among others. And it wasn’t due to the violence, language or suggestive subject matters. You want I should tell you why I was not allowed to watch the Dukes and Boss Hogg squabble over bootlegged moonshine in Hazzard County? “Because those shows are stupid,” said my dad, laying down the law.  (How Mork & Mindy made it through the approval process remains a mystery. Child Protective Services is still investigating.)

That’s right, not because these shows were inappropriate, but because Dad thought the writing on these shows was sub par. We had one TV in the house, and we were going to watch what Dad wanted to watch. What’s interesting is that my parents were not overly moral about television. They were not the type to threaten to throw out the television or unplug it. They didn’t lecture us about mindlessly spending hours in front of the TV (because we didn’t, because there were only 13 channels). My dad’s legitimate concern was that these shows were not entertaining to him, but were, by his definition, dumb. And he would not expose his children to such drivel.

What DID we watch? M*A*S*H, All in the Family, Rockford Files, Magnum PI. See, it wasn’t that he didn’t like television in general, he just didn’t care for specific shows. 

In fact, to illustrate my dad’s appreciation for television, I will share with you a quick story. We were moving across town, and everything we owned was loaded into the moving truck, including the TV. We couldn’t unload the truck until the next day. It was a Thursday.

“Dad,” I began, as we sat, eating Kentucky Fried Chicken on the furniture-less kitchen floor, “it’s Thursday, and we’re going to miss Magnum PI.”

“I’ve thought about that,” he said, searching through the bucket for a leg. “And I think I’ve figured it out. The furniture section at JC Penney has their couches facing their new, color televisions. We’ll just go down to the mall and make ourselves comfortable.”

“That’s brilliant,” I said, marveling at his ingenuity.

“Not completely,” he said. “JC Penney closes at 9 p.m., and that’s when Simon & Simon comes on.”

Yes, my dad had discriminating tastes. And now that I have children at that same age, I totally get it.

I don’t want to brag, but my kids watch pretty awesome shows, and Katie and I have successfully steered them from watching the Disney Channel as well as other twaddle and rubbish. And that’s my contribution to the world. Uh-you’re welcome, Society.

Nanu-nanu, and good day to you, sir or madam. 

Thinking of Cutting Cable for the Summer? 4 Sites to Help You Be a Streaming Champ

Quick post today. No time for sentiment. Iron Man 3 is out and I'm barely able to write this, let alone make it poignant. (Confession: I just spelled that last word as poingnoint, I'm in such a hurry.)

So, here comes summer and you want cut back on your $50 to $200 dollar cable bill. I don't know how much you spend but let's say you don't want to spend it anymore. What are your options?*

Books, games, outings, vacations, movies (theater or DVD), regular TV, tube storage TV, and ... STREAMING everything. I won't focus on anything but streaming here.

The technology we have available these days for streaming TV and movies is remarkable. It's nearly perfect except that, to remain competitive, companies have to offer exclusive content (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon) or keep the content you buy from them locked into their services and/or hardware (Apple, Amazon, Google). So, it won't be perfect until they can all get along and that will never happen. Moving on ...

How can you be a champion streamer? Well, it's more than just having the services. You have to know how to get the most out of the services. Assuming you have access via web, Roku, AppleTV, etc. to the big names in streaming (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Vudu, etc.), you can use these sites to queue nearly everything you'd ever need to replace cable for a season. Here they are:

WatchItStream.com
Why it rocks: "Have you ever rented a movie, only to find it streaming on Netflix? Or paid for a show on iTunes, not knowing it was cheaper on Amazon? ... With so many streaming services available, it can be time-consuming to hunt down ... Watch It Stream will show you if it's available on Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime Instant. Even if your show is not streaming, the search results will guide you to the cheapest way to purchase the title online or on DVD/Blu-ray."

CanIStreamIt.com
Why it's brilliant: "A free service ... that allows you to search across the most popular streaming, rental, and purchase services to find where a movie is available. If the movie you're looking for is not available, just sign-up, set a reminder and voila we will shoot you an email when your chosen service makes the movie available." It breaks down the services into movies (streaming instant/rental, digital purchase, DVD purchase, and Xfinity subscription) and TV (streaming instant, digital purchase, and Xfinity subscription).

InstantWatcher.com
Why it's helpful: "If you're a frequent viewer of Netflix's streaming fare, you're probably numb to how inefficient the rental service's browsing and search pages can be. InstantWatcher is a soothing balm of clean, fast movie browsing."— Lifehacker Feb 16, 2009

HackingNetflix.com
Why it's hacktastic: This site gives you all the Netflix New Releases for each week including the full list of new DVD releases that week (if you're still having DVDs sent to your home) and a list of interesting streaming releases in that past week. I like that option because I'm always looking for content new to Netflix.

There you go. Use these and you're off to a great summer of viewing in between all the other unfreakinbelieveable activities I'm sure you have planned.

Did I miss any? Have you used any of these? Let us know in the comments.

*This post was inspired by this one.

An Analysis of the Contents of My Comcast DVR

Unfortunately, this is not a Comcast DVR.

Have you ever pondered what your viewing habits really look like on paper? Have you ever been unable to sleep because you wish you knew the comedy vs drama breakdown of your series season passes? How about kid shows to mature-themed shows? Do you wonder which network has you in their pocket?

If the answer to any of these questions is YES, then hold on to your remotes! Well, I can't show you your habits ... you'll have to settle for mine.

Note: this is DVR only, not streaming. I tried to do fancy HTML tables but I didn't have enough time to make it look good. I'm still learning.

Total Series Recordings - 43

Comedies - 10
Parks And Recreation
New Girl
Community
Happy Endings
Psych
Modern Family
Bob's Burgers
The Mindy Project
Childrens Hospital
Saturday Night Live

Dramas - 15
Doctor Who
Masterpiece Classic (mostly for Downton Abbey)
Once Upon A Time
Justified
Southland
The Americans
Mad Men
Nashville
The Walking Dead
Pretty Little Liars
Suits
Elementary
Falling Skies
Smash
Bates Motel*

Reality - 13
Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance
The Voice
X Factor
America's Got Talent
Secrets From A Stylist**
HGTV Design Star**
Fashion Star
Property Brothers
Counting Cars
Extreme Homes
America's Funniest Home Videos***
The Ellen DeGeneres Show***

Kids - 5
Gravity Falls
ThunderCats
Adventure Time/Finn & Jake
Kung Fu Panda: Legends
House Of Anubis

Network Representation
NBC - 6
ABC - 6
FOX - 5
HGTV - 4
Cartoon Network - 3
Nickelodeon, USA, FX, TNT, AMC - 2
CW, CBS, BBC, ABC Family, PBS, History, A&E, Lifetime, Disney - 1

Watching Distribution
Shows I watch with just Amelia - 6
We watch as a family - 5
Only I watch with both the kids - 1
Only Amelia watches with both the kids - 6
Amelia watches with B - 1
I watch with B - 1
Amelia watches with A - 1
I watch with A - 1
The kids watch "alone" - 3
Amelia watches alone - 7
I watch alone - 10

Genre Distribution
Competition - 7
Sit-Com - 7
Cop/Detective/Mystery - 6
Animated - 5
Sci-Fi/Fantasy - 4
Home/Self Improvement - 3
Period Dramas - 2
Musical - 2
Horror - 2
Legal - 1
Other - 4

Shows that someone likes but don't catch up on well:
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Nashville
The Americans
Southland
Kung Fu Panda: Legends
House of Anubis

Shows I delete often in order to make room for other shows:
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Kung Fu Panda: Legends
America's Funniest Home Videos Elementary
The Mindy Project

Shortest show: Childrens Hospital - 15 min

Longest show: Project Runway, SNL - 90 min

Show I was surprised to see on the DVR: Counting Cars

Shows recently removed from the DVR: American Horror Story, The Following, The Office, Alphas, Arrow, Zero Hour

Show we most often watch in real-time despite being recorded: Once Upon a Time

Estimated hours of TV our DVR records each week: One million?

Here's what I learned ... We watch more stuff than I realized but less than we did 2-3 years ago. We watch more shows as a family than I thought and more than we did 2-3 years ago. I thought there would be more legal-themed shows. Many of the shows we hope will last don't. Some shows that start out good don't stay that way but we keep watching because we are completionists. (Or, I am.)

Was this helpful? Does it make you want to audit your DVR? If you're reading this from 2002, does it make you want to have a DVR? Was it a waste of your time and mine? Let me know in the comments.

*Hasn't actually started yet.
**Not sure if these are canceled or not.
***These shows feature real people doing real things but I don't know if they are "reality" per se. I don't know where else to put them.

Let's Go Back to Neptune

I love TV. A great, great deal. And I watch a lot of shows. Some are fun, but come and go. And some are the Great Ones. Those TV shows that change the TV landscape and that you think about for years to come: Friday Night Lights, Felicity, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The West Wing, and Veronica Mars.

That's right, Veronica Mars. In case you missed the news today, this canceled TV show that went off the air 7 years ago just made over $2 million dollars in less than 8 hours all from fans. Let me break it down for you:

• Veronica Mars was a TV show on the CW that lasted 3 seasons and then was unjustly and untimely-ly canceled.
• There was talk of making a movie but of course it didn't happen, because it NEVER happens (Serenity being the one exception.) 
• We moved on with our lives.
• Today, Rob Thomas, the shows creator launched a Kickstarter campaign. Essentially, he had gotten the major stars to agree to the movie but lacked the funding because big movie studios don't typically want to put the money down for a movie based on a TV show that had low ratings and was canceled.
• The fan's, excited by the prospect of not only a movie, but cool swag like signed posters and t-shirts, rallied and the movie met it's funding goal of $2 million in about 8 hours. (And the money is rolling in.) 
• Next year, there will be a Veronica Mars movie, and I am thrilled.

Here's the Kickstarter video and if you are a VM fan you will be filled with glee. (Warning: Adult language. Don't watch withe the kiddies!)

Not only is this amazing because I get to see all my old friends from Neptune, California again. (Veronica! Logan! Keith Mars! The Piz! Dick! Weevil! Wallace!! Mac!!) but it kinda might change the face of the TV/ Movie industry.

Whenever a culty TV show gets the can, the fans panic and there is always talk of the show being made into a movie or moving to another network. And it almost never happens. When Buffy the Vampire Slayerwas canceled there was talk of a movie, even though that TV show was based on a movie. And no one backed it.

But a few years ago when NBC canceled Friday Night Lights it was picked up by DirectTV and lasted another couple of seasons. And the fans rejoiced. But it seemed like kind of a weird fluke. And then Arrested Development was canceled far too soon. And suddenly Netflix stepped in and it is coming back. Soon. And now this - a show that ended 7 years ago still resonates with fans enough that it raised $2 million in less time than it takes me to work a shift at Old Navy.

I think my friend Daryn (who is a filmmaker) said it best:

This is kind of genius. Made a show with devoted fans? Get the fans to pay for the movie by giving them fan stuff. Unlike investors, who would expect to make money on the money they invest in the movie, the fans get the movie and the geek stuff. The filmmakers get paid and keep all the profits. Everybody wins. Especially the filmmakers. 

 And it feel like this is changing in a lot of creative endeavors. While the studios (and the publishers and the music moguls) still have most of the power, that power is shifting slightly. If you want to make a movie, get your fans to pay for it. If you want to release an album, put it online. If you write a book, self-publish. We are taking the power away from the gatekeepers and putting it in the hands of the artists and creators. And I think it is pretty awesome. And I hope you all do too when I am begging you to buy my self-published novel or back Patrick's Kickstarter to get his play produced. If Veronica Mars can do it, why can't we?

Best of 2012: TV

Everyone at PTA is a bit of a TV Junkie, some more than others. I am a bit obsessed. When the Entertainment Weekly Fall TV preview comes out, I literally get highlighters and use a spreadsheet to plot out which shows we will DVR (Parenthood, Top Chef) , which we will catch up watch online (The Glee Project) and which we will wait for on Netflix (Breaking Bad, Revolution.) So me picking a favorite TV show is tricky, because I love so many different shows for different reasons.

And as Chris said yesterday, we love and welcome your comments. They validate us, let us know what you like and what you don't and help us know that we aren't just sending these posts out into the void. I promise that we won't keep begging for comments every day (let's be honest, its a little pathetic and needy seeming.) but don't be shy. Weigh in.

I struggle to recommend my favorite show, because I know it is definitely not for everyone, but when I think about which sow I would immediately watch when it appeared on my DVR, it was The Walking Dead. It's not for everyone: incredibly violent, pretty gross and incredibly violent. But it makes me sit up in my seat in shock. The end of season 2, which aired at the beginning of 2012, had two moments that were totally unexpected and made me gasp out loud.  No one seems safe on this show - good guys die regularly and if they live they often do things that make you question how good they are.

Guilty Pleasure: Happy Ending I don't know anyone else who watches this show. Its a wacky comedy about 6 friends and is definitely played in a zany style. No one really talks that way, I know. But it consistently makes me giggle.

Ken's picks:

Best: Parks & Recreation. Why? Ron Swanson and Andy Dwyer. And Tom Haverford and Donna Meagle. And a splash of Rob Lowe.

Guilty Pleasure: I am realizing I don’t watch that much TV. Maybe that’s what I should feel guilty about! And I want to apologize to….I guess whoever is offended by that. I have been catching up quite a bit lately on Psyche episodes. I’ll say I feel guilty I was ever so far, far behind on those.


Patrick's picks:

Best:  The Mindy Project. I die.  She gets to write her own ticket and on her own ticket Mindy Kaling writes herself as a valley girl OBGYN...come on, it practically writes its self.  This opening scene where she wakes up her boyfriend while wearing his shirt, she's super cute and they both think it's super cute, then he accidentally puts on her pants and she is horrified, he tries to recover by saying, "This is what we're doing, you wear my shirt and I wear your pants." To which she responds, "What I am wearing is adorable, what you're wearing is an ad for Lap Band Surgery!"--forever made me a fan...of the show and it's beautifully witty writer.

Runners up: Happy Endings (Every week, Josh...every week), The New Girl, and Shaun the Sheep (go find out...you think it's for kids but you will laugh every episode...every single one.)

Guilty Pleasure: Nashville. I die. First off Connie...WHAT?! She beguiles and she can't even really sing...though they let her.  The music is good, like go download after the episode good, and I'm super in to Hayden Panettiere's super mean Taylor Swift! I didn't think I would like her and turns out...she's good, they all are and you are missing something if you are thinking, "Who needs a Country version of Glee?" It's not...it's better!

Brett's picks:

Best: Sherlock. I love this show so much that I get angry every year when it's only three episodes. Three brilliant two hour episodes that will make you laugh, cry, and poop.

Guilty Pleasure: American Horror Story: Asylum. This stupid scary show. I really love it and I feel horrible because I'm sure it does nothing for my spiritual well-being but stomp on its face.


Topher's picks:

Best: My favorite show of the year is New Girl. Nothing makes me laugh like it does, and no show has the caliber of across-the-board casting that it has. I love every character, and they all make me laugh. I know I’m supposed to hate Zooey Deschanel, but I can’t. I still think she’s funny. I also loved Parks and Rec and 30 Rock, but I always have and probably always will. Even though 30 Rock is ending.

But judging a comedy with a drama is also like apples and oranges. I loved some good dramas this year: Mad Men, Downton Abbey, and my current favorite: Nashville.

Guilty Pleasure: Portlandia. This show is silly and quirky and ridiculous, but it’s also kind of genius. How Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein can come up with that many eccentric characters is beyond me. And when I visited Portland in September and actually ran into just about all of these characters? Amazing. PUT A BIRD ON IT!!!

So there you have it. What do you agree with? What did we miss? Please let us know in the comments! Don't be shy!!

HU the LU Do You Think You Are?!

So, I've been watching Project Runway on Hulu...and here's the problem with Hulu:  If you are gonna make me watch commercials on the TV that I am purposely NOT watching on my real TV so I won't have to watch commercials, at least let me watch more then just one commercial over and over and over and over.  Honestly, even regular TV mixes it up a bit, but if you watch a show on Hulu they tell you at the beginning this show is brought to you by The Chevy Volt and then you get the same Chevy Volt commercial every commercial break!  It's almost enough to make me not want to buy a Chevy Volt even though if did, I would never have to buy gas again! AND I HATE TO BUY GAS!  It seems like the people who are smart enough to stream all my favorite shows straight to my computer would be savvy enough to figure a way for me to, at the very least, watch a different commercial at each break. Also, don't ask me to participate in the commercials.  Like when they ask me to choose my Ad Experience, just so you know Hulu, I have left the room for every commercial break. I don't watch any of them so don't ask me to pick anything.  It's like I'm at a dinner theater and actors have descended from the stage in their tights and fake accents and are asking me to " 'elp them ough wiv de plot" in someway. Blach. You just do what you gotta do and I'll just watch...and by watch, I mean leave the room...cause I don't watch commercials.  

That being said, here are three commercials that I was forced to watch on Hulu and I love them so much that I thought I would make you watch them even though you have chosen not to watch TV but to read your favorite blog...which now has commercials.  I love them in descending order as shown below.  Enjoy.

The Spit One:

The Hamster One:

The Funniest One:

Funny?!  Well, I thought so but when I went over to steal them from Youtube there was almost 400 "Dislikes" for the last one. Maybe it's controversial? You tell me.  All I'm saying is I can't remember the last time spaghetti sauce has made me laugh.

We'd love to hear you thoughts.  Also we would love you to click anyone of the ad's on this page...well not the ones I posted but the other ones.  That way we can taylor you ad experience here on Part Time Authors. Because that's what we do here. So "Gaow On!  Push de but-tan Guv-nar!"

The 4 Best TV Shows You Aren't Watching This Summer

It's summer. To most people it may seem like a barren wasteland for television when there's nothing on but competition reality shows and baseball. Now, don't get me wrong, SYTYCD is a great show but, if you're like me, you want a little drama, comedy, or even dramedy in your life too.


What are your options? I have some doosies (do-sies? dewsies?) for you*:

1. Suits
This show is not you're regular legal drama procedural. Mike Ross has dropped out of Harvard Law, his dream derailed after he's caught selling an exam to the Dean's daughter. Because of his natural intelligence and photographic memory, Mike makes a living taking tests for other people, particularly LSATs.


Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) is one of New York City's top attorneys and is forced by company policy to hire an associate now that he is a Senior Partner. After an accidental interview with Mike, Harvey is impressed by Mike and hires him. Because the firm exclusively hires Harvard alumni, they go about fixing things so Mike appears to be a Harvard grad.


The comedy and the drama in the show comes from Mike and Harvey's conflicts over one's ethical the other's uncaring demeanor. There's also romance, impressive legal cases, former partners, internal politics, and the threat of knowing Mike could be discovered as a fraud at any time.


You will recognize: Gina Torres from Alias, Firefly, and Angel. Rick Hoffman from The Practice, Chuck, and other weasely parts.
Watch if you like: Legal shows, witty banter, office politics, and sexy, attractive people such as The Practice or Boston Legal.

2. Alphas
From Wikipedia (with some edits): The series follows five people, known as "Alphas," or people with some kind of special power. They are led by noted neurologist and psychologist Dr. Lee Rosen as they investigate criminal cases involving other suspected Alphas. 


Rosen and his team of Alphas operate under the auspices of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the criminal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Defense. While investigating these crimes, it does not take the team too long to discover that a group known as "Red Flag", which was thought defeated and eliminated long ago, is using other Alphas to commit crimes. It takes place in a shared universe with Eureka and Warehouse 13. 


It's action packed, often funny, and has great contained and arching story lines.

You will recognize: David Strathairn from the Bourne movies and Good Night and Good Luck.
Watch if you like: Action or Sci-fi such as Heroes, Misfits, Alias, Eureka, Warehouse 13, Dollhouse, and Torchwood

3. Falling Skies
From Wikipedia with my edits: Falling Skies tells the story of the aftermath of a global invasion by extraterrestrials. Within a few days the invaders neutralize the world's power grid and technology, destroy the militaries of all the world's countries, and apparently kill over 90% of the human population.

The story picks up six months after the invasion and follows a group of survivors who band together to fight back. The group, known as the Second Massachusetts (an allusion to a historical regiment from the Continental Army), is led by retired Captain Weaver and Boston University history professor Tom Mason who, while in search of his son Ben, must put his extensive knowledge of military history into practice as one of the leaders of the resistance movement.


It has its melodramatic moments but overall it's a very compelling story of human survival, relationships, and what we'd do to keep our families safe.


You will recognize: Noah Wyle from ER and Will Patton from a billion movies, Numb3rs, and 24.
Watch if you like: Post-Apocalyptic Action Dramas like Walking Dead, Battlestar Galactica, and Jericho or movies such as District 9 and 28 Days Later.

4. L.A. Complex
The Canadian series depicts Abby Vargas, an aspiring actress who moves to Los Angeles with nothing but her Maple Leafs hockey bag and dreams of being a famous actress.


"The L.A. Complex follows the lives of twenty year olds living in the same apartment complex in L.A. trying to make it as actors, dancers, producers and comedians. Relationships begin and end, the need to succeed is tested and all characters are pushed to their breaking points."


We just started this one and it's better than I thought it would be. It's fun, silly, gut-wrenching, dramatic, soapy, and addicting. Everything you want from summer TV.

You will recognize: Jewel Staite from Firefly and Jonathan Patrick Moore from Neighbours.
Watch if you like: The darker, less glitzy side of Melrose Place, The Hills, 90210, or Degrassi: The Next Generation.


So, there you have it. Something to watch this summer instead of Howard Stern's witchy, old woman face judging mediocre singers. Did I miss anything? What are you watching this summer?

*The series descriptions were borrowed from Wikipedia and then edited and commentary added.

What Not to Wear: Caillou Edition

As parents, you are subjected to a lot of crappy entertainment for your kids' sake. When someone gets it right, it is like a breath of fresh air (I'm looking at you Phineas and Ferb.) And when it is bad, its like adding insult to injury. You already gave up everything that made you cool when you had kids, and now you have to sit through inane, painful TV shows as well? (I'm looking at you, Twist.)

The number one offender of the "Shows That Make Parent's Want to Scrape Their Eyeballs Out With Spoons and Stuff Them in Their Ears" category is Caillou. If you are not familiar with this little French Canadian jerk, then consider yourself lucky. Basically it is a show about a super entitled 4-year old who gets whatever he wants and teaches his parents valuable lessons - you know, just like real life. Part Time Author friend, Kacy already did an amazing job describing how Caillou makes us feel sorry for ourselves as parents. She was spot on. So I want to focus on what is most offensive to me about this show: what we are teaching our kids about fashion. Let's break it down character by character, shall we?

First of all, what season is it? Caillou is dressed in shorts and a t-shirt and everyone else is ready to run the iditarod. When you look at these are cartoons, you might be thinking - no biggie. Primary colors, blah, blah, blah. But dig a little deeper. Imagine these clothes on real people. It's unbearable. Do people in Canada really dress this way?

Caillou's mom (Doris) is wearing high waisted baggy jeans (?,) an ill-fitting red sweater/sweatshirt over top a yellow, lacy long sleeved blouse with lace cuffs. Or maybe it is a yellow dickie? I wouldn't put it past her. And to really make it pop she has paired it with some teal and green ballet flats with bows on the front. And somehow, none of that is the worst part. The worst part is the blue headband that smooshes her bangs down to her forehead. Who does that?

Don't you want to punch him?

Caillou's dad (Boris) is sporting jeans. OK so far. Then he layered a green sweater over a red mock-turtleneck. And since that burst of red at the neck line wasn't enough, he has cuffed the sleeves to really show it off. Daring. And what says douche bag more than finishing your outfit off with red penny loafers with big gold buckles? I'll tell you what: the fact that Boris wore a top-hat to his wedding. What a tool.

Rosie is Caillou's little sister (In Canada her name is Mousseline, which, correct me if I am wrong, is a kind of meat patè?) I don't want to be too hard on Rosie, because she is only 2 and I don't want her to have self esteem issues as an adult and start a blog about how she was never good enough. Suffice it to say she is dressed like Laura Ingalls waiting to go out into the ice and snow and make maple syrup candy. Seriously, is it winter? Summer? PICK A SEASON!

Which leaves us with Grandma (Floris? I don't know.) Oh, Grandma. I think when wearing a red mumu, it is always best to have a blue mandarin collar blouse underneath to give some definition and shorten your neck. You can see where Doris got her great hair styling tips from. Nothing frames your face like a big green headband pushing your hair onto your forehead. Sigh. For the record, I kind a dig the over-sized green purse for a nice color pop. Good job!

Which leaves you, little bald Caillou. Why do you have no hair when the rest of your family has in such abundance. When I googled "Why doesn't Caillou have any hair" the internet rumor that came back was that he has cancer. Or lice. Which, according to PBS, is not true. He's just bald. I don't judge him for that. I have no hair and it isn't my fault. I do judge his parents for his baggy yellow henley with red trim. And I judge him for being so whiny and entitled and siging that song about how "growing up is not so tough, cept when I've had enough." Too true...too true.

Friday Link Roundup: Garden of Your Mind

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Friday Link Round Up. I have scoured the Internet this week for the "best" links from around the web (it's subjective). Today we have an auto-tuned Mr. Rogers that turns out to be quite amazing, a game where you can play as the cast of Community, some ingenious beer passing from experts in Milwaukee, Gandalf, and more.

As always, I have tried to find something to please everyone. I'm such a pleaser.

YouTube: Mr. Rogers | Garden of Your Mind [Video]

Foreign Policy: Does the Pentagon have the right weapons to fight off an alien invasion? [Article]

MacHints: Adjust Your Mac's Volume in Smaller Increments [Forum]

Vulture: 10 Great Medieval Battle Scenes [Slideshow]

Reddit: Download and Play Community's 8-bit "Journey to the Center of Hawkthorne" [Download]

Funny or Die: Hey, Pass Me a Beer! [Video]

What caught your eyes and your hearts this past week?

Tube Storage

When you Google Image Search Tube Storage, this is what comes up. Perhaps  if I wrote a blog about how to store tubes, some of you would find it more interesting?

My friend Lisa coined the phrase Tube Storage a few years ago. Tube Storage is that thing you do where you DVR a show and don't watch it during the regular season. You save it to watch during the long, bright, hot days of the summer when the only things on TV are reruns of The Real Housewives of Atlanta and Big Brother 17. It's brilliant! Sure, some of you may spend your time in the summer "being outside" or doing things like "hikes" but I'm going to side with Patrick on this one. Hikes make me think of Doc Martens filled with blood. 

It's during this time of year that I start feeling the panic of TV seasons ending. Weren't you a little sad on Tuesday when you watched the last episode of New Girl? This week we lose Parks and Recreation. Next week, no more Glee (However, that does mean The Glee Project starts, which is better than Glee.) If you don't have your tube storage ready, the DVR starts to look like a cold and empty place.

Of course, in the age of the internet things like Netflix have almost replaced the need for Tube Storage. And while I think using Netflix to supplement your Tube Storage is a good idea (we've got The Vampire Diaries queued up.) I feel better knowing have have some stuff recorded and local. I mean, what if there was an internet outage and you wanted to watch TV? WHAT WOULD YOU DO THEN?!?!?!

So, what about you. Do you have anything stored up? Do you plan on spending the summer catching up on movies you missed? Or do you just really love The Real Housewives and American Ninja Warrior so you are not worried. Weigh in.

all hail!

This past weekend was General Conference, and I'm not going to assume you aren't Mormon by explaining what that is. Even if you live in Brunei or wherever. Just google it. Anyway, it's basically church on TV and we get to do it twice a year. But the conference sessions come in two hour blocks with a two hour break between them, in which we get to watch documentaries about church members in Africa and people who make pioneer movies. And in between those shows we get a smattering of commercials, all of which are local and/or LDS based. This year was an exciting conference in the Clark household, because my wife Lisa and I crowned ourselves the King and Queen of Conference Commercials!

Lisa's been all over the place lately, but you couldn't have failed to notice her as Cindy, the protagonist of this Deseret Book commercial:



Lisa does a really nice job here. She really glows, even with that painful back! Ouch. I've been there. For real, Cindy, pace yourself with those books. Get a life! Maybe one book at a time? That's my motto. And all those Mormon books? For reals? You know she's got Fifty Shades of Grey tucked in there somewhere - we're all human.

Then, just when you feel like you've learned your lesson about bulky book bags, here comes me to teach you about food storage!



Let me tell you something. I was with those animals for six hours. They smelled super bad and one of the chickens bit me. There's a huge horse in the back, but you can't really see him. He would freak out about every four minutes and start to stamp and kick. So we took lots of breaks. The cows were super nice. I guess the point I'm making is that Lisa got a nice warm set with calming music and soft lighting and I got the underground bunker with the crazypants pony. But I don't bite the hand that feeds me! I was happy for the work.

These commercials played sporadically throughout conference, and we always knew when one was on because our phones would blow up. But the ultimate stroke was just after the final conference session, when these two commercials played back to back! And that was when I think the general public finally came to realize that the perky bookworm from Deseret Book was totally hooking up with the paranoid nerd from Honeyville. A match made in heaven! Or, in this case, conference.

Sell it to me, baby!!

When you watch this, what do you think?

Do you think, "Why, that commercial is right!! Let's not get into why I voluntarily purchased an animal who lives in my home and poops in a box in the corner...let's focus on the fact that kitty litter IS heavy and that funny cat gave that woman a massage and I AM going to go and buy that kitty litter! Well done, advertisers!!" Of course you don't. You more likely think, "What the?! That's creepy?! Why is that cat rubbing her? I am going to go take a shower and talk with my bishop about just how wrong that commercial made me feel!! I will never buy a cat OR kitty litter again!!" Advertisers, you failed.

Let's try another one. What do you think when you see this:

Did you think, "Well, that is INDEED what my life is missing (no pun intended, self.) I need more Ashley Judd running around with an angry face yelling a lot!" I don't think you do. I think you think "Oy vey. That looks AWFUL." Advertisers, you failed again. (Or maybe TV developers are the ones who failed on this one.)

I am not an advertiser. But you know these things are seen by dozens of copy editors, managers, executives, creative types and janitors before they ever make it to TV. And why doesn't ONE of those people say "Wait a minute. This is terrible! No one wants to see this on TV! Our brand is doomed!!" Why must everyone just nod and say, "That's it! That massaging cat is our ticket to success!!"

Now try this one on for size:

Wow. Polio? Toddlers with razors? Leaf blowers? Dee-lighful. And, don't you think paying $1 a month for razors is the greatest idea ever? I signed up (click here if you want to sign up too.) I mean, they are $1! And the people who make them are funny! Even if they send me slightly sharpened grapefruit spoons to shave with, for $1 I'll give it a go. 

So, advertising executives who read this blog, take note. Hire people who will tell you "No. That is a terrible idea. People don't want to see cats giving back rubs." We're not dumb. You can't convince us that Ashley Judd is going to be anything but verry, verry boring, no matter how many "I just smelled a fart" faces she makes (seriously, watch that video again - I count 13.) If you are an advertising executive, hire funny and creative people. And if you are not funny and/or creative, then don't go into advertising. And if that cat made you smile, please go talk to your bishop. There is help out there for you.