I Tried PlayStation Vue

I did the free 5-day trial with PlayStation Vue on the Roku platform & I also accessed it via Windows. I'm going to warn you right now that usually my reviews generally consist primarily of things I don't like so I'm going to do my best to also comment on what I do. I wrote the review as I was using the service.

Right off the bat the things I can't stand about the service so far are: when you're done with something it goes all the way back to the beginning not where you left off. For example I check BBC and realize the movie I wanted to watch just ended and now it's going into Star Trek so I hit the back button and instead of going back to BBC it flips all the way back to the beginning of the channel list. FYI this only seemed to happen on certain channels. Navigating through the channels was fairly self explanatory so finding something to watch right away was easy.

Because it's internet-based there's a delay with everything and I move too fast so I start watching things I don't want to watch and then they start showing up as recently watched things & clog up my feed.

I don't like that when I'm watching something I can't just scroll up and down with the remote arrows to move to the next channels I have to go back to the list & search back through and find something else to watch.

I find the service to cater more to males or rather sports fans, there is a lot of sports content and I don't need any of it. It's really lacking the fluffy and/or female directed content that I require like Lifetime, Logo, Comedy Central and Hallmark.

You can't record something while you're watching it you have to go back to the channel screen to set it from there which is kind of annoying.

As I'm trying to navigate around the app I just keep getting sent back to the Roku home screen because of this annoying delay it seems to have. This is by far my biggest frustration with the app. I click nothing happens, I click again it happens twice it's very annoying. I think I recorded an episode of a TV show but now I can't find it.

Once you save a show to your shows that will always record new episodes but also dumps a bunch of random OnDemand stuff in with all your DVR shows so you keep having to filter through to find what you're actually looking for. I can't find a way to only see what I've dvr'd and what is scheduled to record.

You cannot fast-forward through new OnDemand shows but you can at least with the one I tried that was a week old.

The biggest issue I was worried about was only being able to ff 10 secs at a time. I'm guessing that's an Apple TV issue as I was able to ff as much & as fast as I wanted.

Every time I go to log into my account I have to wait for a code via text...this happened at least 4 times in the 5 days I had it & more than once it was on the same device.

When I'm scrolling through “All Live TV” it shows a show image w/ the episode name rather than the show name & I can't see the words on most of the images to know what the show is.

Sometimes when I click to watch a live show it takes me to a landing page first.

Pro/con based on preference, the app didn't close/ go to sleep all day.

I don't like that I can't see what else is on while I'm  watching something.

I can say that I never had an issue accessing the service on any device I tried it on, the picture on my television was clear as a bell and the app has a lot of potential. If you are into sports this might be a good option to at least test out. I know that the user experience varies by platform whether it's Apple TV, Roku, PlayStation, etc. so being able to try it is great I just with they gave it a full week.

I basically tried to record/watch everything on Vue via my Roku while I was recording everything with my cable to see what was lacking. For me, a lot was missing that I really rely on & I wouldn't want to miss out on these shows so even with hulu, channel apps & antenna and more this service doesn't give me enough to allow me to cut my cable.

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life...my very tardy review

So Gilmore Girls a Year in the Life…I have many thoughts.  First, where the hell was the damn theme song?  Second I think my favorite season was spring & my least favorite was summer even though I assumed it would be my favorite but that stupid musical sucked up half the episode & the ending was terrible.  Summer just felt out of place to me…like they needed content so enter a musical.  They also suddenly have a community pool?  I don’t ever recall (though it’s been a while) a pool being in Stars Hollow & while I enjoyed the clothes & parasols, them going to the pool to do nothing but complain about the heat while young boys wait on them just seemed moronic.

I did like Rory saving the paper & Jess stopping by but he really should have had a larger role.  Perhaps I just feel this way because I don’t (and never did) like Logan, perhaps I just didn’t like that Rory was having an affair for a year & acting like she wasn’t…or maybe it’s just because Logan reached his “Ace” quota with me half way through winter…not really sure but I would have definitely liked more Jess.

At the end of summer Lorelai decided that she was going to head out into nature & do “Wild”…this was beyond dumb & a good sign that fall would be underwhelming as well.  Spoiler alert…Lorelai didn’t do “Wild”.  She bought too much shit that wouldn’t fit in her backpack, she met some other broads also doing “Wild”, 2 of her Parenthood costars played Park Rangers & due to the over packed pack she couldn’t find her permit & therefore had to go home.  The only good thing that came out of it was her decision to marry Luke.

Other than the wedding (which I was pissed only half happened) the Dragonfly expansion and Sookie’s return this was not the best episode either.  For starters I thought it was completely absurd that Lane was present for the unplanned last minute vows but Sookie wasn’t…Sookie wasn’t…WTF is up with that?  I thought the life & death brigade bit was stupid, mainly because Logan was involved but then the ending of the whole thing was the WORST part of all 4 episodes.  I find it even worse that there won’t likely be another season of this so why end with a cliffhanger?  Will she have the baby?  Whose baby is it?  If it’s Logan’s will he tell his soon to be wife?  Assuming Rory even tells him.  Is it Paul’s?  That would actually be funny…he was beyond forgetful but certainly left something behind!  

My favorite character of the whole thing was Emily.  She had the chance to completely reinvent herself even though she was doing it with an entire family that she couldn’t even understand.  I think Emily finally understood the Lorelai way of life & realized that it’s really not all bad when you allow yourself to get past appearances, expectations & being proper all the time.  My second fave was Paris…I loved her, she didn’t disappoint once!

All in all I’d like it to come back & just give us closure in some sort of way because it didn’t & that was really the only thing I wanted from the return since we didn’t get it the first time around!  I’m sure I could share a million more opinions but I’ll end it here for now.

Parks & Rec and Girlfriends' Guide wrap ups

So...Parks & Recreation ended forever this week & I am so sad to see it go!  I thought the finale was so well done with the team finishing one last ride.  Getting to see the whole office back together to get a swing at a park fixed was like a warm hug especially since the show had moved away from that over the last season.  Granted, this last season took place 3 years in the future so it would only make sense that things weren't the same.  My favorite part was getting to see how they wrapped up each individual character showing them all in various stages of future...most in the future was Gerry/Gary/Larry/Terry who was 100 when he died.  Now, was it everyone's impression that Leslie was POTUS at the funeral?  With all of the bouncing around I couldn't keep things straight.

I was happy to see Anne & Chris return, they had definitely been missed over the last year but most of all I was happy to see both Tom & Donna treat themselves to very happy futures full of love.  Seeing Andy & April with a kid was quite hilarious because come on, Andy as a dad?  Please, poor April already had a kid before she had the baby!  

My favorite happy ending was Ron...he's always been my favorite character on the show, I want to be him when I grow up even though I don't like the outdoors as much as he does.  As for Leslie & Ben, well we all kind of knew they would end up on the political route, but seeing them as besties with April & Andy was kind of funny.  The best was that in the end so many people were moving back to the area to be back together as one big happy family again...all in all the season/series/episode was wrapped up with a nice bow & I feel satisfied.

So...Girlfriends' Guide...I wish I had a better review to offer but honestly, the finale pissed me off.  I loved the first half of this season when Janeane Garofalo was still on it...not that I have anything against Alanna Ubach (I'm a fan of hers as well) but I love Janeane & the show was more cutting edge during the first half.  The show is called Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce & in the end she went back to the husband...are you kidding me?  I was slightly disgusted with Abby when she left her divorce party to go back & meet up with Jake. Actually, I was disappointed in all of the ladies in the final episode.  

Phoebe...she's such a mess I can't even stand it & her big upset with the photographer was built up to be some big scandal yet like everything else it truly ended up that she is pissed at herself for allowing someone to take advantage of her.  Of course, like always she's going to blame everyone else for her problems...from her home the size of an effing hotel!  At 14 she was taken in by a photographer who took her to parties & offered her pills & booze that SHE accepted & then awful photos were taken...duh, what would you expect?  Here I thought the woman had sold her into sex slavery for a couple years!  Oh and, her new boyfriend Marco...yeah, he'd never date her, not in a million years, she's way too superficial for a guy like him.

Delia...she plays this super power woman who isn't going to take shit from anyone & some tool box rolls in & just changes all of that.  Seriously?  Every time I see him all I can think of is The Wedding Singer so perhaps that's why I just can't take her being with him very seriously.  I was really happy to see her get partner under her own conditions but the relationship wrap up left a bad taste in my mouth.

Jo...she is the one who needs therapy more than her daughter, she treats her child like a parent & is so codependent it's ridiculous.  Thankfully she's freaking hilarious because not many other people on the show are and speaking of others on the show can I just say that Abby's brother & his story line became completely pointless through the 2nd half of the season.  Oh and Charlie...if I behaved that way & spoke to people like that when I was that age I'd have been back handed.  What a little dick that kid is & nobody ever does anything about it because he's fragile with the divorce, I can't stand it, it's not cute or funny & ignoring the behavior isn't going to help anyone in the long run!!

So back to Abby, I can't believe she was so awful to poor Will, I'm livid that she got back with Jake & when Becca showed up at his house I said "well, you know she's going to be pregnant" and then she said she was & I threw my hands up in the air.  This show went from cutting edge girl power with divorced women taking their lives back & being OK with it & then poof...it's all gone.  This is now just another show about a bunch of sex crazed women who have no identity without men in their lives & who will spread for any kind of compliment.  Now that Jake has a job Abby thinks things will work out this time around?  Seriously, if the writing doesn't get better & these women don't get more respectable I won't continue watching this one! 

Laid up round up!

So I've been really behind on my DVR for a while now & I was laid up for 2 days with a stiff neck so I made my way through almost everything on there over the last couple days & here's my thoughts on a bunch of stuff.  There may be spoilers here if you are behind on any of these shows.

1. The Honey Boo Boo family is disgusting & I spend a lot of time covering my eyes when I watch the show BUT they are the happiest family on television.  They are real, they all love each other & while I get grossed out watching them eat & play in nasty things like mud & butter I still love them because they really don't give 2 shits what anyone else thinks of them.  It still boggles my mind though that all the girls have boyfriends & I'm still single...then again, I require my men to have all of their teeth.

2.  Bad Teacher was funny but I totally see why it was cancelled...every episode has to have some lesson & end on a happy note...that's not entertaining...we want to see a teacher behaving badly not a bad teacher learning to be a better person.  Plus Kristen Davis' teacher's aid Kim is a pointless & annoying character that I like to ff through.

3.  Californication...boy am I glad this is over.  Seriously, every single season was the same thing & I honestly wish that Karen would have died in the car accident to add some point of interest to the end of the series.  Instead it ended just like it started with Karen & Hank at a good place...why was she so stupid to keep going back to him when he just always treated her like shit?  Nothing will ever change but at least we don't have to watch it anymore!

4.  Welcome to Sweden...I didn't find this to be the least bit funny for the most part.  There was 1 funny scene (the sauna) but the rest was pretty lame.  I'm not a fan of having to read what I'm watching as I'm always doing other stuff while the TV is on & there's just too much Swedish talk going on for me.  I hoped that since this was Amy Poehler's brother it would be hilarious so perhaps that's why I was so disappointed...I don't know but this one won't be getting a series recording from me.

5.  The Leftovers is beyond confusing...I generally give a show 3 episodes before I walk away but this one will get 4.  I just watched episode 3 & there was just way too much dreaming & imagery going on...just get on with the damn story.  Nothing makes sense, the characters are poorly developed for this far into a season & when they jump back to a previous story I never know if it's a dream or just a look back to give us more information.  Regardless, I'm always rewinding due to confusion but that never helps!

6.  Game of Crowns...this show is horrendous & I will not be tuning in again.  

7.  Murder in the First is good, I like the cast (Taye Diggs is my world & seeing Clare from 90210 again makes me smile) & am really getting into this story about Blunt & can't wait to see who actually killed that flight attendant.  I haven't seen this weeks episode yet but will be watching right after work.

8.  Halt & Catch Fire I am still indecisive about this one.  I like the story but the show is too technical so a lot of the "drama" that goes on makes no sense to the general public.  People don't even know what a BIOS is!  I know the show is about the computers but they need to take a backseat to the story or this show will tank.  Like Mad Men, it's not actually about advertising it's about the people working in the agency but so far, this one is mostly about computers.  In the last episode I watched (I've yet to watch last weeks) they started getting a little more in-depth with the characters like the thing with Joe's dad & Cameron & stupid Gordon & the Cabbage Patch Kid.  My biggest question here is who is Gordon's wife going to sleep with, Joe or the guy at work?  I'll watch the whole season but I can't yet say if I'll be back for the next one if there even is one. 

9.  Working the Engels has potential but I need to give it a couple more episodes.

10.  Sister Wives...this one is just getting boring...I watched 2 episodes last night & honestly couldn't tell you anything that happened in either one!  Since the family doesn't get drunk or make poor choices the entertainment value is gone now that the shock value of public polygamy is gone.

Scandal...I'm binge watching it & not that impressed

OK slaves, go ahead & get all over me if you like but I recently started watching Scandal…I watched all of season 1 over the weekend & just started season 2 yesterday & I like it but I don’t find it as amazing as everyone says it is.  I’m hoping that as season 2 moves further along the show begins feeling less forced because that’s my biggest issue with it…the acting.

The show has a good plot overall and a different subplot in every episode which makes it nice if you don’t actually follow the show.  If you do follow the show it can get in the way because you are expecting it to pick up where it left off but a lot of times it picks up at the subplot until that story crosses the main plot & if the subplot isn’t all that interesting you’re kind of screwed waiting for the main story to show up.  For the most part there are interesting stories but I can tell this is created by the same people as Grey’s Anatomy which by the way I stopped watching after a few seasons because it became so repetitive & unrealistic.  So far I’m like 11 episodes in & I’ve found myself saying out loud “oh, as if” more than once & in the past when I’ve made that remark the show hasn’t lasted much longer for me.

So season 1 ended with a bang & picked up at the beginning of season 2 but there were inconsistencies like they showed the team rolling up the rug but when they were walking out it was still there.  They didn’t show them removing or disposing of anything & these “gladiators in suits” were cleaning up a bloody crime scene in said suits…I mean come on!  Also at the beginning of season 2 a staff member is missing & it’s barely mentioned why he’s gone & unfortunately he was one of the people on the cast that I liked!  I was happy to see Guillermo Diaz from Weeds is part of the team, I like him.

(A week after I started writing this) I’m now half way through season 2 & the story finally perked up some when the President was shot but that just caused me to say “as-if” even more.  Like when she crawled into the hospital bed with him…come on, it’s a hospital & there is absolutely no way that someone wouldn’t have photographed & leaked that to someone.  They are way too sloppy for the entire country not to know what is going on & it’s kind of annoying.  So why do I keep watching?  I like Huck’s story line.  I still think Kerry overacts too much & watching her hurriedly walking in heels constantly is enough to drive me insane with that hair bouncing & the overly dramatic look on her face.  Anyway, I know I’ll continue to watch & continue to be less than thrilled with the show but I’m currently at the point where I am finding out where everyone on the team came from & that’s interesting. 

I really like Cyrus & Huck & their 2 storylines but the rest of them I could do without & the person that bothers me the most is the main character…once I get through all 3 seasons I’ll decide if I will pick up in real time next season because as of right now that’s a no.

Hannibal & How to Live With Your Parents...I watched them

First up new this week was How to Live With Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life) which I recorded & was expecting to not like.  I'm not the biggest fan of Sarah Chalke to begin with but I do like Brad Garrett & Elizabeth Perkins so I figured I'd check it out.  I'm happy I did record this because I really enjoyed it...I even liked the kid which is just unheard of for me.  There were a couple things that I thought were stupid or confusing like at the beginning Polly (Chalke) and her kid arrive at the home of her mom & step-dad because Polly left her husband Julian so they need a place to stay.  They are in an old beat up VW Bug & both look a mess & they happen to catch the fun loving, always drinking, never serious parents in the middle of some one on one time.  The show flashes to 6 months later & Polly has a job at a smoothie place & a brand new VW Bug, the parents are exactly the same & the ex Julian is always at the house.  

If she can afford a brand new car then whey are they still living with the parents?  If she was leaving her husband then why he is always at the house?  It's only been 6 months & she's already divorced & dating...this was confusing to me because we all know that's never the case & if she is still so chummy with her recent ex-husband then why did they divorce?  It's pretty clear from the first episode that Julian still loves her & that she still has feelings for him too...not just because he's the father of her kid but because she always has.  All in all, this show is funny, the parents are the best part & I plan to continue watching it but it has the possibility of getting really old really fast.  I also wish the name were about 10 words shorter!

Next up is Hannibal...this show was beyond confusing for the first 20 minutes & well I guess was confusing all the way through.  First off I can't tell when this show is supposed to take place...theoretically it should take place in the 80's but I believe I saw a smart phone involved at one point so this must take place in current times.  I don't like these shows that are made from movies (which in this case were based on books to begin with) & change the time frame of things like Bates Motel...Norman Bates & Hannibal Lecter wouldn't have had iPhones...period.  So anyway, I thought this show was about Hannibal Lecter but really it's not, it's about a special agent/teacher named Will who has the ability to empathize with serial killers & put himself in their mind frame to figure out why/what they are doing.  This is the most confusing part because you think something is happening but really it's not, he's just thinking it so then the next time something awful happens you think he's just thinking it but it's really happening.  

In the first case they are on the trail of a cannibal & we see Hannibal cutting up lungs (which was unsettling & disgusting) & assume they are looking for him but no they aren't...they actually use Hannibal to assist with the case.  I"m assuming that he's not yet "Hannibal the Cannibal" or he would be in prison & not still seeing patients.  Apparently he's also being used to keep an eye on Will as a patient but it seemed to me like Will wasn't aware of this & neither were we.  As I sit here thinking about the episode I'm even more confused than I was watching it...I don't know why Hannibal is even on the show because it's not really about him, it's about Will.  Laurence Fishburne plays Agent Jack Crawford who in Silence of the Lambs was white & middle aged...now he's black & older than middle aged & it's 20+ years later?  Honestly, the time frame is the most difficult of all of this...they have taken characters we know & muddled them all together to make some TV show that doesn't relate to all of the other stories that we already read/watched decades ago!!  For instance, in Silence of the Lambs, Crawford was younger than Lecter and in this TV Show he's older...Silence was made in 1991...it's now 2013 & as I said the show seems to take place in current times.  

I think I might just be too much of a realist for this TV Show...I will give it 3 episodes like I do every show I try but based on just the 1 I'm not much of a fan yet.  The show is full of creepy & gross & some scary too but overall it's just full of confusion.

Bates Motel...I watched it

There are spoilers ahead.  So I watched Bates Motel on A&E last night and for the most part I liked it but of course I had issues as I always do.  First off I was very confused because I thought the show took place in the 50's or 60's just because of the movie and then when I saw how they were dressed I still assumed as such though I found it odd for him to have a TV in his room since they were such a commodity then.  When Norman was sitting waiting for the bus he was listening to his iPhone but it didn't really register with me until Norma's phone rang that the show actually took place now.  

My other issue was with Freddie Highmore's accent & the fact that it often came through in his speech...I'm sure people who don't know that he's British wouldn't even notice but I sure did.  Quite a few of his monologues would have a British word or two rolled up in there & threw me for a loop but really this was my biggest issue with this & hoping that over time he gets better at pinpointing the American accent.  Aside from this I thought the acting was good, Vera plays creepy mother very well and Freddie plays creepy Norman very well.  

We can already see why Norman was such a mess & where the idea for the shower murder stemmed from & while I expected more "creepy" in the first episode I think we will get plenty of it in coming episodes.  I look forward to meeting Norman's brother & seeing just how creepy he is...if at all & this woman with the needle marks that we saw at the end...who the hell is she & what's going to happen there?  Also of course, what's going to happened with the murdered rapist guy?  I was a little annoyed that they didn't just call the cops about that, I thought that was pretty stupid. Her logic that nobody would want to stay there if she called the cops was pointless because the issue happened in the house not at the hotel & he wasn't just some nut bag, he was a local & people obviously will be looking for him.  I thought Lost was one of the dumbest shows to ever be on television so I am really hoping that this doesn't go that route, keeps the intrigue & gets more creepy.  I'll keep tuning in for this season for sure & I'm hoping to wowed by future episodes & I want to thank whomever the sponsor was for last night & the lack of extensive commercials!!  

Tune in to A&E Mondays & check out Bates Motel for yourselves & let me know what you think.

The Following...I'm hooked!

If you haven't watched The Following yet you need to...especially if you are a fan of a good suspense & or murder drama.  I described it as a cross between Dexter and Pretty Little Liars if that makes any sense.  I don't really watch cop shows or I'm sure it would be a cross between one of those and Dexter, even though Dexter is a cop show it's a serial killer show to me & then PLL is a suspenseful drama.  The gist of The Following is this...Kevin Bacon (Ryan Hardy) is a retired cop who in the past had caught a serial killer (Joe Carroll) that is on death row & later wrote a book about it.  During his run in with Carroll he was stabbed in the heart which caused him to require a pacemaker & led to his retirement & Carroll had 1 victim who survived, Sarah Fuller.

So it's now & Hardy is an alcoholic & he wakes up one morning, sips his vodka & turns on the TV to find out that Carroll has escaped from prison.  The cops call him up & ask for his assistance apprehending Carroll again.  Carroll is a former English/poetry professor who had an affinity for Edgar Allen Poe and often refers to him in various ways with his victims.  Hardy of course wants to help, he calls Sarah as well as Carroll's former wife Claire (they also have a son together) and lets them know that he's involved which makes both of them feel better.  At the police station all of these women (fans) have come in to talk about Carroll and then one of them suddenly stands up, takes her clothes off to reveal words all over her body, pulls an ice pick out of her bag, says a Poe quote & stabs herself in the eye & dies.  This is where the excitement begins.  

After this Hardy has to go see Claire who we learn he hooked up with & Carroll had sent her a letter referencing this matter but we don't yet know what it says because Hardy tells her that the cops don't need to know about it.  The son Joey has a nanny who is doing her best to keep him away from the TV & all of the drama that is going on with the police given that Carroll is on the run.  While here Hardy has an epiphany about Carroll breaking free to finish what he started with Sarah so then he goes to see her.  Sarah is at home being watched by numerous cops & her neighbors who are a gay couple & her besties.  When Hardy arrives he's taken in by a cop & shown around to all of the other cops & when they arrive outside of her bedroom the 2 cops who were posted aren't there so Hardy goes in her room to find one of the cops dead in her bed. He follows a trail of blood to the closet which leads to the neighbor closet so Hardy follows the blood to find that the house is empty except for the other cop who is dead in the garage & the word Nevermore written in blood on the wall.  The cops outside tell him that the gay couple left a half hour before in their SUV & Hardy steals a cop car to head out to a place he saw in a photo inside the house.

Hardy arrives at this B&B and begins to hear Sarah screaming so he follows the screams and runs into Carroll whom he can't shoot because he doesn't have a gun!  Him & Carroll get into an exchange of words regarding Sarah and then bam, she comes flying down from the ceiling dead with her eyes removed!  I completely freaked out when this happened & probably jumped 20 feet it was some crazy shit.  Hardy goes crazy & jumps Carroll & starts choking him & then the other cops show up & arrest him.  After this Hardy interrogates Carroll & the other cops find out about the letter so I can't wait for next week to see what it said.  

At the end of the show we see Claire go into Joey's room & surprise, he's not there...we then see him asleep in the back seat of an SUV being driven by the nanny who meets the "gay couple" (they are just 2 guy pretending to be gay for the last 3 years befriending Sarah to get her to Carroll) in a parking lot & they all pile into one vehicle & drive off.  Throughout the episode Hardy figured out that the ice pick girl & the gay couple are working for Carroll...as is one of his guards from the prison (Jordy)...obviously, he had to play a major role in Carroll's escape.  So now they know that Carroll had internet access while in prison (at the library) & had communicated with tons of people to do his dirty work, one important one being Jordy who was stealing dogs & practicing his murder skills on them (so sick) and at the end we saw him heading into a sorority house dressed in his uniform to "check the windows" with one of the girls.  

This show is crazy good, I had to take a sleeping pill after watching it because I was so freaked out...I checked the closets before going to bed too.  I haven't had a show creep me out this much since I don't know what so I just hope that it doesn't get so creepy that I have to stop watching or I'll need more than 1 refill on my Xanax.  I know this post has a lot of information & is kind of all over the place so you need to watch it to see exactly what it entail because they packed a lot of information that you need into one episode.

The Carrie Diaries...my review

So I watched The Carrie Diaries and while it wasn't a bad show, it's not for us "older" ladies who spent our 20's & more with the ladies of Sex & the City.  I get that Carrie clearly has a family and all that (we never heard anything of it during the series) but I felt a real disconnect...her mom died when she was really young according to this new show but in SATC that was never mentioned & you would think it would have been when Miranda's mom died.

My biggest complaints with the show were the lack of the World Trade Center in the city views...this is supposed to be 1984 and they were there, I don't see what the point is in pretending they never existed, it makes no sense to me at all.  Next is the fashion...there is some actual 80's fashion in the show but most of it is current fashion with an 80's twist & we already saw what Carrie looked like in the 80's when she moved to NYC and it was nothing like this version of her.  My last issue which is small is that Carrie had a Mogu/Squish pillow on her bed & they didn't come out until the early 2000's because if they had existed in the 80's I would have had tons of them.

I will give it another episode but I just feel as though this doesn't really relate to SATC at all & I assumed that it would.  We never heard about Carrie's sister or her internship in NYC when she was in high school and those are kind of big things and since she was the main character I just think we would have known these things, especially when she got married!!  For those who didn't watch SATC this would be a good show, it's for the younger demographic who's older sisters/moms watched the original show and didn't allow them to watch it because they were too young.  I think if you are 12-18 you should check out this show but if you are 25-50 you can probably ignore this one & pop in your DVD collection of the 6 seasons of Sex & the City or catch the first movie at 1:00 am on E!

Real Housewives round up!

Atlanta premiered Sunday night & of course it kicked off with a bang named Kenya Moore crossing the line with Cynthia when they were doing a Jet casting at the Bailey Agency.  Kenya is a former Miss USA who thinks very highly of herself & she was making some rude ass comments to the girls who were auditioning for the Jet gig.  One of the agency employees said something to her & she got all up in his face calling for "security, security" and some dude in a suit came up & moved the employee which caused a problem as the employee clearly works there & the security guy was brought by Kenya who stated that people are always all over her so she has to have security.  I'm sorry but I've never heard of her & according to the cast she has absolutely no need for security because most people don't know who she is either.  I have a feeling she'll bring all kinds of insanity & drama this season.

We also learned that Gregg is trying to get back with NeNe & I think it's great...granted he messed things up but he clearly knows that & is really doing everything he can to get his woman back.  NeNe of course is blowing up in Hollywood with her new role on The New Normal & in the first episode we got to see Ryan Murphy & her have some dinner & drinks & try to call Tyler Perry who apparently changed his number.

Now miss Phaedra Parks is not only working toward her degree in mortuary science she wants to be the "Vera Wang" of funerals & also include animals in her practice & not just people...she cracks me up & while she's out there she's totally authentic & I can't blame her for that.

I need to touch on Kim as well, she's pregnant again & moving & so far it's not an easy venture for her after they were quoted $100,000 for the move she threw in the towel saying "evict me" but Kroy is much more level headed reminding her that they are just moving, not flying to the moon.  We did get to see Kim go to check out Kandi's new house that she bought with her man (he's cute & seems super sweet) & it is huge & gorgeous but it needs a lot of work & decorating too.  Kim of course said the house was in the hood & she was afraid when they got off the freeway even though Kandi reminded her that the Mayor lives around the block.  Kim is just one of those people who knocks everyone else for everything they have because it isn't as nice as hers but lets not forget that she's about to be homeless!  We haven't had an opportunity to meet the other new girl Porsha but I assume we will Sunday.

Beverly Hills was a great first episode with a party at Villa Blanca that Adrienne wasn't invited to.  Apparently Lisa is still not speaking to Adrienne after the shizz that went down during the reunion from last season...Adrienne accused Lisa of selling stories to the tabloids.  We saw Adrienne & Paul having dinner & Taylor called to ask Adrienne to go shopping for something to wear to the party & that's when the cat was let out of the bag...oops.  So Taylor & her went shopping...Taylor has gained a bit of weight & looks better & she seems to be getting better mentally as well after the loss of her ex husband.

Kyle & Portia made calls to invite people to Portia's 4th birthday party & she was so damn cute!  Portia called Lisa "dahling" and I about peed myself, she's adorable & growing up so fast...she also said "so annoying" after trying to reach her aunt Kim a few times & getting voice mail...full voice mail of course.  So speaking of Kim, she's been out of rehab & sober for I think she said 3 months or maybe it was just 1 month but she's sober & that's all that matters.  Kim & Brandi still aren't getting along because, according to Brandi,  Kim's problems are all her fault.  Brandi wishes they could move on but clearly Kim isn't ready for that although Taylor seemed to be less offended by Brandi than she used to be but they didn't interact much at the Villa Blanca party.  

Brandi & Lisa are BFF now so Brandi came to check out Ken & Lisa's new house & brought them a gift of tequila & rubber sheets.  She may be a vulgar trashy girl but she's grown on me & her and Lisa really are quite funny together, especially with Brandi always hitting on Ken...it's all in good fun, I don't think she's serious especially after being cheated on herself.  Now back to the Villa Blanca party...Adrienne sent a flower arrangement that looked like an art piece that would go inside of a fish tank, a HUGE fish tank!  I swear the thing must have been 5 feet long & looked like driftwood adorned with bouquets of roses & calla lilies.  It was fugs in my opinion & a very calculated move on Adrienne's part...clearly, she wasn't invited so she sent the arrangement with a personal card saying congrats on the anniversary.  How petty!

This season is going to bring so much drama & excitement with Adrienne & Paul's split, the fire at Lisa's former home, Brandi has a face to face with one of Eddie's mistresses, the guys seem to get more involved with the drama this season too & I can't wait!!

Start-ups Silicon Valley...I watched it

I checked out this new show last night & I don't really know what to say other than...it's not that great.  These kids...I call them kids because they are all under the age of 31...so these kids are all so annoying.  The girls are all very arrogant & superficial except for Hermione who is from England & lives with her brother Ben.  Their story is odd, their parents divorced when she was 2 or 3 & they each lived with a different parent so they really didn't know each other very well & had not lived together until now when they are living & working together on a new startup.  They are working on getting investors to help them create an app that provides real time life expectancy information...I don't know that I would want to know that honestly!  These two are the least annoying of everyone thus far.

There's a guy named Dwight that I can't stand, he's a drunken fool who is working on some other startup that I honestly can't recall the point of.  I think I've just gotten too old at this point because he drinks so much & acts like a freaking 5 year old, it's obnoxious.

Sarah is apparently a big deal in her world, she lives at the Four Seasons with her dog & everything is comped because she's working for them in some fashion.  Her dog gets room service daily, yep, room service.  Sarah is smart & makes things happen but she of course bugs me, she smiles while she talks & it drives me bananas plus she acts like she's too cool for school which I can't stand.  She is getting her makeup & hair done to go to a toga party & apparently it takes 3 to 4 hours...I don't even think it takes a celebrity that long to get ready for The Oscars!

There's a gay guy named David that I kind of like but he was only on briefly so I'm just guessing...he's BFF with Sarah so I'm hesitant to like him more at this point.  Last we have Kim who rubbed me the wrong way from her initial interview, I'm not quite sure why but again she acts like she's all that & I'm not against confidence but I am against arrogance.  When people allow their heads to get that big it ultimately ruins them because they can't see anything else other than their awesomeness.  I hate to say it but this is the third show I'm adding to the "sorry Bravo but I won't be watching" list.

The Houstons: On Our Own...oh hell no!!!

OK...we all know that Whitney Houston died earlier this year and we all heard all kinds of stories about the drama within the Houston family but now, we get to watch it all as they proceed to capitalize on the death of Whitney.  It's bad enough that this show is airing less than a year after her death but to make matters worse...they started filming 3 months after!  Whitney wasn't even cold yet & the family was signing contracts to start their own reality show, this to me is beyond tacky & I don't know who is more to blame...the Houstons or Lifetime for making & airing the show.

Anyway, Lifetime aired 2 back to back episodes of the show & I reluctantly watched them both & will not be watching further.  First of all, Krissy (Bobbi Kristina) is a mess & we get to see plenty of it starting with her damn teeth...you can't tell me that she doesn't have the money to get that huge damn gap in her teeth fixed, I mean, it's big enough for another damn tooth!!  Then, we learned that Whitney's godson Nick who was like a brother to Krissy is now her boyfriend (in the second episode her fiance) so it's like incest but not really...regardless, it's gross.  Nick has huge eyebrows, he's a total mooch & she's obsessed with him.  

So aunt Pat is now Krissy's guardian & Pat is Whitney's brothers wife & Krissy doesn't listen to a damn thing she says but I don't blame her...she always says it to the camera rather than Krissy.  We see Krissy at dinner drinking & Pat whispering to her husband that she won't stand for that yet she doesn't say anything to Krissy.  She of course bitches to the camera about Krissy drinking saying that she won't be acting like that on her watch & in the next scene she's sipping wine in the kitchen with the rest of the family.  Sure, Pat tells her she can't be doing that & takes the bottle from her hand but that's not going to do anything...it was pretty clear that Krissy was already wasted on something when she arrived for the family dinner to begin with.

The whole fam went to see grandma Cissy in Jersey for mothers day and on the trip they visited Whitney's grave site (the tombstone is pretty plain & small & generic) & we watched Krissy sit there & weep & then learned that it was only 3 months since her passing that this was taking place.  The whole family also went to church that morning but Krissy & her boyfriend didn't show up & when Pat asked why Krissy said it was too soon to be in that church again because the last time she was there her mother was in a casket.  Pat said "oh yeah, you're right, I didn't even think about that, I'm sorry".  Seriously?  Are you effing kidding me?  She hadn't thought about it?  Right then I knew who must have been behind this entire show & everything else...aunt Pat, trying to make a buck.  

Pat's husband Gary & daughter Rayah are secondary on the show...I feel bad for Rayah because her mom is so focused on Krissy & getting her singing career going that she really seems to care less about her own daughter.  Speaking of Krissy's singing career...her mother had her working with a coach to get her moving in the right direction & Pat is trying to get her to work with someone else & Krissy isn't having it so she just doesn't show up for a meeting.  She instead spent the day with her man at the arcade...yep, sounds like she's ready for a career.  There isn't anything about this show that is good, I am appalled that I even watched it but I had to so I could report back to you & tell you all about it.  If this gets picked up for another season then James Cameron really might have to dive down to the bottom of the ocean to raise the bar (this is a South Park reference) because we all need to check ourselves.

I know this post is all over the place but I had so many thoughts going through my head that I was typing like my fingers were on fire.  Here's some of what was said on Get Glue by myself & other viewers:

@michl what does Nick DO?? he's 23 and it just looks like he's mooching of bobbi kris
@Darrell James I have no words for this child...
@Toni Varone Bobbi Kristina is SO high..This is like a repeat of her father in their last reality show!
@Sherrie Ann White Back again...I think Pat has a lot of nerve! I really believe that when she looks at Bobbi Kris , she sees $$$, just like she did w/Whitney. So sad :(
@DVR Slave "We're 2 people who stand each other up" uh, does he know what it means to stand someone up? What a fool & he needs an eyebrow wax too!
@Jasmine Suntrell Whitney didn't die for this...

As you can see...most people were horrified by this show, I'd say about 1 out of every 20 comments was a positive one or one calling out the other 19 for being so rude.

This season of Dexter...my opinion

There are a couple spoilers in here so if you haven't caught up yet don't read this.  So this is the 7th season of Dexter that we are watching now and I hate to say it but so far after 3 episodes I'm not impressed.  As most of you already know I can't stand Deb & she has such a large role this season that it's driving me insane.  I don't like the fact that she knows about Dexter's dark passenger because it removes so much of the tension that kept me on the edge of my seat...all of the "oh no, he's going to get caught" is over & that's a huge part of the show.  Dexter is spending so much time trying to convince Deb that his work has a purpose and not enough time killing people and that's the whole point of the show.

The second line of intrigue that I was enjoying was that of Dexter & Louis but the Russians killed him off so there goes that...I couldn't wait to see what Louis was going to do to Dexter but now he won't be doing anything.  Now, speaking of the Russians, I'm really not liking this whole story with the strip club, the strippers & the Russians who own it all...it's boring, it feels a little to Sopranos for me, I keep expecting Tony to come out of the back room telling Batista & crew to leave the Bada Bing.  I really hope that story line gets a little more interesting, more so than dipshit Quinn banging one of the stripper/witnesses which is nothing new.

Now...about this Hannah broad, I'm not sure if she's going to be a new love interest for Dexter or if she's going to end up just being connected to Mike, the cop who was killed in the first episode.  It's because of Mike that this whole Russian stripper thing is going on...one of them killed him & then Dexter killed the killer which now that I think about it is a big waste of money.  Dexter kills these people while the police are wasting time, money & manpower to attempt to solve these cases...that's not cool!  So these Russians are on to Dexter & are looking to take him out for killing their guy and I don't think he knows yet so I'm looking forward to that exchange & also looking forward to seeing what happens to Harrison.  Dexter sent him to spend some time with his grandparents in Orlando which tells me that either he won't be in the rest of the season or something will happen to him & his baby-sitter while on their journey.

I have no plans to give up on Dexter but I'm about as into this season as I was season 3...basically, I'm bored & need more killing, more intrigue, more nail biting suspense and so far this season isn't giving me any of that.  Also, like every other season...I want Deb to die, I can't stand the way she talks & she's gotten on my nerves since episode 1!

Question, did Dexter send the hand to Masuka & note that it was from Louis or did Louis send it?  I could have sworn in the previous episode it was Louis who was drawing on the hand but then again Louis did send it to Dexter so maybe it was Dexter.  Clearly I was confused by that part & probably because I was on vacation so I had a week off to forget everything that had already happened.

Anyway, that's my take on this season so far...what are you thinking?

Revolution...I watched it

So this review of Revolution will also be a bit of a synopsis so if you haven't watched it yet you might want to do that first.  I tuned in to the show & it grabbed me right at the beginning but when it came back from the intro it was fifteen years later and I was of course confused.  There is no power, no batteries, no turbines, government has crumbled and a ton of people are dead including the mother of the family we met first.  The show opened with a man rushing home from work to his wife & two kids telling the wife that it's happening any minute now.  He begins downloading something to a flash drive & instructing his wife to fill the sinks & tub with water and the panic begins...the guy also calls his brother who is out driving with a colleague on their way back to a military base.  He tells his brother that it's about to happen & that everything is going to shut down...and so it does, all of the cars, phones, lights, water, shut off, everything that ran before no longer does.

With the 15 year jump we see the dad (Ben) in a village where they are growing their own food, hunting & living off the land among their homes that are now boarded up & nothing like what they used to be.  We soon see his two kids who are out hunting & we meet Ben's girlfriend & find out that mom died during the collapse of everything...due to no hospitals or scientific research or even medicines being made a lot of people died of just every day kind of illnesses.  So anyway, Gus from Breaking Bad shows up with the militia looking for Ben & Ben's brother Miles but when the kids try to interfere with them taking Ben it ends up being Danny (the son) who is taken & dad gets killed.  Yes, that's correct, 15 minutes into the show & both parents are dead but prior to dad dying he gave a necklace which included that flash drive to one of the other town guys Aaron.  

With Danny hauled off it's now time for his sister Charlie, Ben's girlfriend & Aaron to head out to try & find him & bring him back.  Of course this won't be easy given the fact that Danny has been captured by the militia so in order to find him they need to go to Chicago (they live in a suburb) to find Miles and see why they were being looked for to begin with.  Charlie meets a hot guy along the way who seems like he could be useful, his name is Ethan & he saved the day after a couple scary looking guys woke the crew up & one of them tried to rape Charlie.  See, they camped out in an abandoned plane at O'Hare & the creepy guys weren't too keen on them being there...but as the one was tossing Charlie around he was suddenly shot with a bow & killed & Ethan was the archer.  

The crew & Ethan then headed off to Chicago to find Miles meanwhile Danny escapes from the Militia and while he's running through the woods he has an asthma attack & collapses.  He then wakes up in a house with a woman with a gun who hands him an asthma inhaler & starts questioning him.  We then go back to the crew arriving at a hotel in Chicago where they find Miles & he realizes that Ethan is actually Militia & cut out of the equation.  The Militia then arrive at the black woman's house asking about Danny but she plays dumb & claims she hasn't seen him event though they suspect she has.  The Militia also arrive to see Miles but he happens to be able to take them all...apparently he's quite the skilled killer as is his buddy from the beginning of the show who we learn is now the head of the Militia!!  At the end we see the black woman go to her attic, plug another one of those usb necklace things & turn on a light as a computer fires up & we see the old school green digital writing on the black screen come up.  She says that the Militia was there and whomever is on the other end says "did they find it" and she says "no".  I assumed that "it" was the necklace thing but clearly it wouldn't be because without it she wouldn't be communicating with whomever this person is.

So while the beginning & the end were intriguing I think I'll skip this one...it's a little too Hunger Games meets Lost in my opinion & I watched one ep of Lost & thought it sucked & never saw Hunger Games because I don't get into that kind of crap.  If this series gets picked up I don't know how long it can last...I assume it will take the whole of the season to find Danny & then next season they will be on to something else...I'd rather watch something like Revenge. Anyway, if you were a Lost fan & you get into sci-fi then check this show out but if you aren't then this totally isn't for you.  I would also like to note that the daughter in the leather pants & jacket 24/7 seems a bit ridiculous when everyone is always all sweaty...I'm just saying.  Also the makeup is a bit stupid...I highly doubt that the ladies are putting on their face when they have to hunt in order to eat!

The Week the Women Went...I watched it...once

Lifetime has a new show called The Week the Women Went & it's about a small town in which all of the women over the age of 18 leave for a week.  The husbands, other men & children are left to handle things on their own.  Now I'm not your average woman, I don't want kids, I don't really like kids to be perfectly honest & I now realize that I wasn't raised by or around the average woman.  The women in my life have always worn the pants, had no problems leaving their husbands & or kids behind for any reason.  During the day to day women & men both worked, men did the outside housework (lawn, trash, handyman stuff, car repairs) while the women did the domestic stuff (cooking, dishes, laundry, daily kid stuff) but when it came time for trips dads were capable of taking care of mom stuff & moms were able to take care of dad stuff.  That is NOT the case in this town!  So many of the women were worried about leaving their men...it's only a freaking week!!!

I can understand not wanting to leave your child for a week with absolutely no communication with them for fear that something might happen but the men?  I don't understand any of the women who didn't have kids & were worried about leaving their man for a week because he can't take care of himself, that's clearly a problem.  There's a mom who is all beside herself because her 24 (might be younger) year old son, who happens to be the town Fire Chief , will suffer without her.  Right before all of the women left he proposed to his girlfriend & mom was so upset...she was sobbing & so disappointed that her son would dare to leave her.  Now she's away with the new fiance that she doesn't approve of...I sure as hell hope that the fiance is able to get in moms good graces & I also hope she doesn't have to do everything for her husband like his mother does!

There is another woman who is in her 30's & she's a single mom & is leaving her 3 kids (2 of them are teens) with her younger boyfriend to see if he can handle it.  There are two women who own businesses that are leaving them to their young kids to look after in their absence...the kids are in charge of these grown men, it's quiet funny to me.

As for the men, there is one guy (with a baby & a coffee drinking child) who found out the day the women left that he had to put together a fashion show in his mother's absence.  He enlisted the help of some other guys who have teamed up with their kids in one house hoping that they will make a good team & make things easier on each other.  All of the men were freaked out for the women to leave, it was quite funny to see them the first night trying to put kids to bed & trying not to break down within the first five minutes.  Some of the kids were...well, assholes when their mom's got on the train to leave though I'm sure I would have been the same way when I was that little too.

Clearly I wasn't all that impressed by this show because I completely forgot to watch it again except for a few minutes of the second episode...I think it was the second.  Anyway, I was at a friend's house and was walking through the kitchen & I heard one woman say that another one of the women had already gone back home because she missed her husband too much.  I said out loud "are you freaking kidding me?" and then they showed the woman who left & she said that she "wanted" to go home, she didn't "need" to.  I decided that this show was not for me because I don't buy that shit.

All You Can Meat...my review

All You Can Meat is a new series that airs on Travel Channel & premiered this past week after the finale of Best Sandwich in America which by the way let me say congrats to Slow's for their Yardbird which made it to the top three!!  So this new show is all about meat & so am I which means that this is already a series recording on my DVR.  The host is Chuey Martinez & the first episode featured him travelling around the country eating pulled pork which happens to be one of my absolute favorite things.  My mouth watered, I sat there drooling & wishing that I had the tasty food that he was eating.  The second episode was all about brisket which I also love and I was extremely excited to see that next week the episode focus is ribs which are on the top of meat list as well.

The setup & design of the show don't reall need any major description, it's 30 minutes & he visits 3 places so it's clips right along making your mouth water just enough to wish you hadn't eaten so much at dinner.  If you like meat you'll love this show so watch it.

Gallery Girls, I watched it

Gallery Girls, Gallery Girls...I'm not quite sure what to say about these ladies...wait, yes I am, they are all a mess!  First we'll start with the Manhattan girls & first is Amy, originally from Coral Gables who I swore was the girl who played Cindy in the Brady Bunch movies!  She's blonde & drinks a lot & is always anywhere that's anywhere to network, especially if there's free booze.  Her daddy pays for everything for her.  I'm not a big fan of her at this point, she's so fake & drunk, it's just not attractive but she's got quite a history in gallery work so she must know her shit.

Kerri is originally from Long Island & she works full time as a high-end concierge to the rich & famous but she also works an internship as well.  She has always had a love for art so she really wants to be working in that world rather than one she's in but she also needs money since she pays for her own apartment in Manhattan. Kerri is my favorite Manhattan girl because she seems "normal".

We also have Liz, originally from Florida who is kind of likable but also lives off of daddy's dime.  Her daddy is a big time art collector & while she was coming to NYC to make it without her father's connections she used one for her internship!  Her father is a very "plain Jack" kind of guy, jeans & t-shirts and a bit shaggy but for those who know him know that he's a big deal.  She name drops him all the time in her interviews which is pretty annoying.  On her first day at her internship she complained about the work she was doing & in her interview said "I'm happy to do anything that involves sitting down or using the phone" and made a remark about calling her dad to complain if that wasn't the case.  We'll see what happens with her because I'm on the fence about this one.

The last Manhattan gal is Maggie who is originally from Easton, PA & so far I don't like her.  She's another one who is really thin & she's pretty whiny.  She also appears to have possibly had a fling with one of the gallery owners who mind you...is super gross.  I can't stand watching her on screen because she constantly has her hands in her hair...I mean constantly, it's so freaking annoying, I want to shave her head.

Now we move over to the other side of the bridge & first up in Brooklyn is Angela who is originally from the OC & was raised in a strict Vietnamese household.  She's a photographer, model, waitress who loves the arts & is extremely outgoing & loves the spotlight.  I'm not really sure why she's a main character on the show though, she's not a gallery girl.  Then again, most of the Housewives aren't actually wives either!

Next in Brooklyn is Chantal who is originally from Atlanta & doesn't wax her eyebrows.  This girl is super thin, always wears dark red lipstick & after she's been drinking it's all over her face & teeth & she gets pretty sloppy when she's drinking.  Chantal & Claudia (both names that make me cringe by the way) own their own "gallery" & Chantal just loves telling everyone at every opening that she owns a gallery.  Dude, it's a boutique with art...they sell clothes, jewelry, accessories & they also display & sell art.  Right off the bat I don't like this girl, I don't think she's going to be good for business.  Regardless of your opinions of people you have to make nice in business & when a couple of the Manhattan girls attended the gallery opening she was totally rude to them & that's bad business.

That brings us to Claudia who also doesn't wax her eyebrows either & is originally from Flossmoor, IL.  I like Claudia more than Chantal but I'm still not sure that I like her, she has valid points but she's also a bit obnoxious with her constant bitching.  She's the part owner of the "gallery" End of Century with Chantal & her family gave the most money to get the store up & running so she's in a constant panic about money & they hadn't even opened yet.  I'll make my mind up next week how I feel about this girl.

All in all this show is what I expected it would be & I don't know that I'm all that impressed with it.  I will give it two more episodes to see if it tickles my fancy but I can't really identify with these girls so perhaps that's why it's not really doing it for me.