FICK IT

So, we have an official 2 word sentence.

"Fix it!' (FICK IT!) William exclaims "FICK IT, FICK IT!" when a show ends and he wants me to get the clicker and start it over. More often than not, it's Yo Gabba Gabba. It is honest to god, the only show my boys will watch and I am ALL OVER that.

This is a momentous day! 26.5 months old, first 2 word combo. We are making progress. A tip of the hat to you, Yo Gabba Gabba.

Ramblings from my DVR

Every once in a while, I feel the need to discuss my television viewing habits with the world. Humor me, please. I know a lot of this is trash television, but it’s my vice.

First off, the Lost finale. Stellar. I’m left pondering possible fertility statues, light vs. dark and biblical references, not to mention the possible death of a character that was starting to grow on me (hated that scene!) - but bottom line? They delivered and there is more than enough to chew on for the next 8 months. 8 months! Gah!

I happened upon the Housewives of New Jersey the other day and OY! This looks juicy, will definitely be tuning in. These women scare me. They do. But yet I watch. I’m fascinated by the makeup, the hair, the clothes.

Speaking of scary, there is Daisy of Love. For the love of…. What a train wreck of a show. She is an emotional basket case and most of the guys are misfit, future inmates, musician, alcoholic/druggie types. Good times. We’re only a few episodes in and already the show is well on its way to train wreck status.

And speaking of train wrecks, I am also watching the new Charm School. Lots of tension and drama there!! Is it nice to see Ricki Lake again? Yes. Do I think there’s any chance any of these girls is going to come out of this making a positive change in their life? No. But watching the Blontourage vs. Real Chance girls is just good television. It doesn’t get much better.

These shows are like junk food. I know they are so bad for me, even toxic, but I can’t.stop.watching.them. I get some sort of twisted comfort from their predictability.

Dancing with the Stars finale is on tonight and I have to admit, I am torn. I have been on Team Melissa (natch) since day one, but I’ve noticed over the past few weeks, she seems to have peaked. Shawn is outshining her and it’s going to be very close. Overall, I am definitely on Team Gilles, although I don’t always love all of his overtly sexual dance moves with Cheryl. I know he’s hot, but back off, woman! Family man! I didn’t care for the “freestyle” segment at all. I would prefer to see a freestyle that incorporated more of the ballroom elements. I felt like I was watching “So You Think You Can Dance” or “Breaking 2 Electric Bugaloo” or something. What ever will I do with my Monday nights?

Oh yes, then there’s the Bachelorette. I love Jillian, she is so adorable. Anyone who repeatedly says “Nice,” “Wicked,” and “Right on” is ok in my book. Unfortunately, most of the guys came across as douchebags. I had high hopes for the pilot, but then he gave her the wings within seconds of meeting her. Ughhh. Talk about jumping the shark. The musician bugs me. I kind of like David, but time will tell. Kypton was cute. The foot guy was lascivious and a prick. It looks like a drama filled season, can’t wait!

The Office finale brought a tear to my eye. I didn’t see that coming! My husband thinks the show is over now, but I disagree.

It’s going to be a good summer of television, I suspect. Mad Men will start somewhere in there, only the BEST show on television, so there is something to look forward to.

Hi - My name is Melissa and I'm a LOST-ATIC

Just so you know.

From the summer I spent poring over Season 1 DVD's while on maternity leave with Sofia, I have had a love affair with this show. It re-ignited my interest in scripted drama. It made me think and I was excited to tune in week after week. I remember the first few months post partum with the twins, being sick as a dog and going to bed at 8 p.m. only to wake 15 times during the night, watching the latest episode through bleery, profoundly exhausted eyes while simultaneously diapering and feeding the twins (not to mention attempting to avoid a nervous breakdown. ) You know I am a fanatic when I am framing my recent life's milestones around what Season of Lost I was watching at the time.

Tonight, I'm rewatching Lost because a) watching Lost is one of my top 5 favorite things to do and b) there were 2 hours of complex happenings that really necessitate e a second and third watching to fully digest.

So, ok. The producers are leading us to believe that yes, there is time travel involved. They have spent the better part of the past few years implying there was no time travel, alternate universe mumbo jumbo, dream, etc. causing the wacky island happenings only to present us now with the current time travel storyline.

I know this because for almost 4 years now, I've been a member of a hard core Lost message board. Some of the members have spent hours, weeks, hell, YEARS coming up with full fledged theses on different aspects of the show. It's fascinating to read, but almost makes it impossible for the show to live up to. There are some major Mensa member Lostatics out there spouting some mind blowing theories.

Some hefty discussions are out there: QH/Homoplasmates & Z2 QUANTUM NUMBERS, Homer’s constant meta-conflict theory: Athena versus Poseidon,Theory of infinite regression related to Lost, Time, and art, explaining the "?" and The Four Toed Synthesis Meta Theory just to name a few. My personal favorite? Time Loop Theory.

Maybe I've spent too much time reading all of this stuff online, catapulting my expectations to a level that no mere mortal could ever deliver on. I mean, bottom line, this stuff is fun to read (well, maybe fun isn't the right word) but the average viewer will never understand theories this deep. The answers have to be presented to them in an accesible way and accessible these.are.not.

(For anyone who has some interest or experience in quantum physics, there is a great thread with screen caps of Daniel Farraday's notebook and chalkboard writings. )

Some of the Lostatics expaneded their discussion by starting their own website for the critical study of Lost called Lost Studies. This blog is not for the faint of heart. Example? One of the topics - "Lost: Poststructural Metanarrative or Postmodern Bildungsroman looks particularly wieldy. Uhhhh? Gesundheit?

Just some light reading, really, for a mom of three with lots of free time on her hands.

I marvel and bow down to the level of analytical thinking that goes into these topics. Just reading them makes my brain hurt.

Honestly, I love this show. I love the way it looks. I love the music. I love the jokes. I love having something to look forward to on Wednesday nights. I love the swooshy noise when we are going to a flashback (or is it a flash forward?) I love that it weaves themes from philosophy, art, literature & science into the narrative, but sometimes, every once in a while, I kind of feel like they are messing with me. That I'm pulled in 15 different directions and they don't really know where they are going with all of this and I'll have hung on for 5 years only to be profoundly disappointed.

The time travel stuff is intruiging to me, but I'm definitely in a wait and see mode. I half expect to see Doc Brown pop out of the jungle with his flux capacitor and start offering rides back to the mainland in his Delorean. Time will tell if they take this to a satisfactory, yet accessible conclusion.

Yes, I said time will tell. Pun intended.

Solid as Barack

I find it kind of cute that the general population is now watching SNL again. The Palin stuff has been great, Tina Fey is great, all the players are, but other than the political stuff and weekend update, this season has been inconsistent at best. I have watched SNL for over 30 years, through the good years and the bad. Last night's episode with John Hamm (Mad Men) hosting (be still my heart) was probably the most consistent of the season. It was great to see Maya Rudolph again and congrats to Amy Poehler (she will be missed) on the birth of her son, Archie.

This clip just rocked it out for me. When I see Darell Hammond "do" Bill Clinton, I practically pee my pants...every time.

Guilty Pleasures

Project Runway tonight. Woo hoo! I am starting to think that Leanne may win. I sort of want Korto to win, but dunno, they have really been liking Leanne's simple elegance and she may.just.sneak.in.under.the.radar.

How sad that my days are highlighted by my favorite shows. Sad, but true.

Sunday - Mad Men, Charm School 2 (haven't started watching yet!)

Monday -- Dancing with the Stars, The Hills

Tuesday -- DWTS again, Frontline

Wednesday -- Project Runway (almost over), The Island

Thursday -- The Office, 30 Rock

Friday -- Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) What will I do when my free HBO goes away?

Saturday -- Saturday Night Live (watched on Sunday via DVR, I do *not* stay up that late )

I also DVR the View every day, watch when I have time or there's someone interesting on...

DVR Conan and Jimmy Kimmel, Oprah, skim through to make sure I don't miss someone interesting...

Watch Hannity and Combes, Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow and Keith Obermann pretty much every day (as I cook dinner, do baths, etc.)

I think that's it! Talk about TMI!

And yes, I know, I watch too much TV! (If you're thinking "when does she find time?" I would just say that everything is DVR'ed and watched when I have a moment. I don't always watch things the day they are on. The boys are asleep by 7 p.m., Sofia by 8...)

Secrets

Ok, I admit it. I'm hooked on AMC's Mad Men.

I watched a bit last season, but came in at the end and didn't quite know what was going on. The show is incredibly subtle, but even though I was confused, I knew this was a show I needed to take the time to catch up on...

It's dark, stylish, intense and shocking at times. Just my cup of tea. Other than The Office and Lost, I don't watch a lot of scripted television anymore. I am so thrilled to have found something smart, edgy and juicy to look forward to on Sunday Nights, a la Six Feet Under.

Last night's epi had me thinking a lot about dark family secrets. (Lots of those in this show) I grew up with this kid who was raised to think that his mother was his aunt (apparently everyone knew this but him). How much of a mind F#@K is that?

I also had a situation when I was younger in that my best friend was extremely troubled (lots of abuse growing up) and would manifest this by extreme promiscuity. One night, we had a double date and long story short, she slept with her date and mine. She ended up pregnant (already had a 1 yr old baby out of wedlock whose paternity was questionable as well) but she (thank god) found out she was pregnant too late to "do anything" about it.

She obviously was not sure who the father was. When the baby was born, her aunt out of state adopted him. He looked exactly like my date, so it was clear who the father was, but it just blows my mind that there's some guy walking around who doesn't know he has a kid. What also blows my mind is that this kid is now 18 years old. I ran the numbers. At first, I thought - that can't be right! But it is. My friend and I stopped talking to each other in the late 90's (she got my sister in law fired from her job - long story) so I don't know what happened, if he was ever told who his mother was...

Oh yeah, my best friend's father was a priest who had left the priesthood for his mother (his student) so I'm always fascinated with that sort of thing. Not sure where they are going with the whole priest storyline. I got a weird feeling when they showed him alone with the two little boys who looked scared shitless, though. I'm tellin' ya, this show is dark.

My Guilty Pleasures

Ok, so a little tv talk to start the week.

I watched Jon and Kate a bunch last night. God, I love that show. She absolutely inspires me.
I could not believe how she flew with all the kids to Utah. WOW. Just the thought! Then again, they didn't bring carseats and had a passenger van with carseats installed already waiting for them on the other side, so that's a huge deal. Probably a perk of being who they are. If I had that sort of service while traveling, I'd definitely fly with all 3. I guess it could be arranged for the right price. Still, carseats aside, it was a major undertaking!! That woman is so organized and really holds it together, considering the stress level and planning involved. She's a rock star.

I love how she insists on making sure the kids have fun life experiences, no matter how difficult or frustrating it is for her and her DH. She said the reason she is like that is because she never had fun experiences as a child and the reason DH is like that is because he did - I could really relate to that.

They also showed them going to their church - which they rarely talk about, but I know is a large part of their life.

I could learn a thing or two about running a tight ship. Kate is so in control with the kids - some would say too much -- but I tell ya, the way Sofia has been running us ragged, throwing tantrums if everything isn't exactly to her liking and just generally becoming uber high maintenance - I'm thinking I could use a little Kate Gosselin Mojo to reign her in. I'd love to know how the twins were when the sextuplets were born, how she handled jealousy issues. I'd love to pick her brain!

Oh and the season finale of The Office! Brilliant, just brilliant! Best show on tv. (sell, scripted, that is)

Very excited for finale of Lost this week. I have been spending a little time trolling my old Lost boards, seeing what all the smarty pants super geeks are theorizing this week. Most of the time, I come away thinking they have too much time on their hands, but sometimes there is a little gem of info in there.