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Dufus On TV



What is it with TV these days? A couple of years ago I switched from cable to satellite TV. Every channel in the universe was at my command, or at least at my remote control (see that play on words, there? If I'm in control, how can I be remote? Ha!)

But so what? There's still nothing on. Especially now - between summer's end and the beginning of the new television season which apparently stretches anywhere from mid September to well into October.  I've already seen every repeat of Two And-A-Half men...at least three times.  And if I have to watch one more edition of House Hunters on HGTV I'm gonna not only lose control but throw it at my television screen.

To paraphrase a rock group from my generation (another play on words!) The Who, it's a tee-vee wasteland.

So as I wait for the return of my favourites like House, Heroes, Flash Forward, Two And-A-Half Men and NFL Football *grunts, snorts, farts* what's a boy to do?

Well, funny you should ask. Oh, yeah, you didn't ask, I did. Well to answer my own question, I've been spending more time with my wife...watching TV. How can that be I hear you say. I heard somebody say it. Well we've been watching a couple of great series on DVD.

First up was Battlestar Galactica. Not that crappy original version with Lorne Green. The one with Edward James Olmos as Commander Adonis and that hot blonde chick who plays the cylon. We got hooked. Four seasons. But we had to watch them in spurts because we borrowed them one season at a time from my wife's son who lives in Montreal. Each visit between them was infrequent so we've spent the better part of the summer watching this great series in fits and starts. Not unlike the storyline, if any of you have seen the series.

The other series we've become addicted to is the mid 70s BBC comedy The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. This one's a hoot. It's about a guy, fed up with work who fakes his suicide; comes back; starts up a business of his own that becomes wildly successful; whereupon he goes through the same ruse he undertook previously. One of the comedic devices is every time his wife mentions her mother Reggie visualizes a trotting hippopotamus. Another is the chairs in the boss's office that when anyone sits in them or stand up from them they emit a sound like a fart. Well, it worked for me. I guess you had to be there.

The third series waiting in the wings is the original British Life on Mars series. We watched the American version, which ended abruptly after one season. We liked it so much I bought the series it was based on.

If we time things just right, we'll wind up our DVD viewing in time for the fall season, or when the NFL season starts.

For some reason the wife's not as interested in the latter as I am. I don't know why.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I stayed up the other night and watched 5 hours of Season 1 of Mad Men on my computer. I just started watching the series on Sunday nights and so I have 3 seasons to catch up on.
I just noticed that you are reading a Dennis Lehane book. Funny Man loves his stuff. (By the way, he always laughs at the funny comments you leave. When he reads my blog, he likes to read aloud the really funny comments and I always say,"Oh yeah, that's Nonamedufus!" My husband loves a good pun. - G
Donnie said…
This time of year on the tube is truly a wasteland. I've watched Mike Holmes repair the same lady's basement ten times already.
I've seen so much of nothing that when I say "nothing" is on tv I mean the usual summer fare is playing. Junk.
nonamedufus said…
G: It's addictive watching these DVD's, isn't it? Glad you're sharing my stuff with the family and thrilled they enjoy it. Lehane's the guy that wrote Mystic River and Shutter Island, which I've read. The Given Day was given to me last Christmas and I'm just getting to it now. When I read your comment I thought you meant Lehane as a funny man and I went "huh?'. But now I get it.
nonamedufus said…
Don: Ah,ha,ha,ha,ha. You made me laugh so hard... Either Homes keeps screwing up and has to keep coming back to fix that lady's basement or you seriously have to stop watching HGTV my friend. Step away from the television.
Cruella Collett said…
I find the problem with watching shows on DVD (or online streaming as I do a lot) is that you don't have the restraint of having one episode per night. "Just one more" seems to be the curse that keeps me from getting a whole lot of other things done...

(And the only exception to the summer rule I so far have found is "True Blood". I love it.)
Ziva said…
I spent one summer watching every single episode of the Office and Weeds. It was a good summer.
nonamedufus said…
Cruella: You know you're absolutely right. My wife and I find ourselves looking at each other and saying simultaneously "One more?" I like the pause button though, so I can get up and go to the bathroom.
nonamedufus said…
Ziva: Um, has anyone told you that you need a life?! Ha, ha.
I don;'t watch live tv. sometimes i catch up with a series on hulu, but only so i know what everyone is talking about in the blog world.

i do like a fun bbc mid 70's comedy, i'll check it out.
nonamedufus said…
Goddess: Ha, that's a good approach! If you're going to look for Reginald Perrin, and you're into mid 7-s BBC comedies, you've absolutely got to get "Yes, Miniser" and it's spin-off "Yes, Prime Minister" absolutely hilarious!

(Hey, and thanks for dropping in again. I really appreciate it.)
Anonymous said…
Oh my goodness! We are are the same dufus wavelength! I mentioned House Hunters on my post today too!

Whee!

And you are correct sir, there is definitely a t.v. drought.

I recommend Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, Billy The Exterminator (KIDDING!).

Hmm. Yep, thank goodness for Netflix!
Hubs and I got into "24" only after the first season. We had to rent a few episodes at a time and we lost our mother lovin' minds if the next ones we needed happened to be checked out.

Hey, so if you find out when the House Hunters Anonymous meetings are, let me know. Total addict here.

"Oooo! Granite counter tops! Tray ceilings! We'll have to fence in the yard. Love the stainless steel appliances. This is a small master. This kitchen living room combo is perfect for entertaining."

Does that about sum up every episode?
nonamedufus said…
Quirks: I've seen that "Exterminator" show. It's wild. And what about the slightly fey guy who renos houses on Flip Out or some such similar title. Then there's the 3 young realtor guys in Los Angeles. Geez I watched a marathon of that show one weekend. Help me...I've got HGTV-itis.
nonamedufus said…
Kathy: I knew that lead-in over at Tribal Blogs would draw you here! Yeah, I've got it bad for House Hunters and HH International. I used to watch Location, Location, Location and Relocation, Relocation religiously until they started recycling themselves. There was just something about that woman's accent and frumpy wardrobe. Couldn't get enough.
It is a wasteland out there these days... not that it keeps me from wasting time watching television.
BTW... I got addicted to House Hunters International this summer. Just checking out all those retirement places I can't afford!
nonamedufus said…
CL: Yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about!
nonamedufus said…
CL#2: I love HH Int'l. Can't we all afford a winter home in the south of France or the Galapagos Islands? Keep buying those lottery tickets!
I always loved "Yes, Minister" and its spin-off "Yes, Prime Minister," but my wife hated it. Luckily, I think it's now on Netflix Instant so I might be able to catch up on it without her. She's watching a BBC show right now called "Chef."

We live on BBC shows. Just finished watching as much MI-5 as we could and want to see Life on Mars too.

Battlestar Galactica: Oh, yeah. One of our favorites too. TV? Sure, I could talk about it for a bit too. ;) Okay, I'll stop now...let you get back to watching your own.
nonamedufus said…
UR: I've seen YM and YPM - watched it last year - but I'm about to watch it again with my wife who hasn't seen it. As a former bureaucrat I find it just hilarious.

I just ordered the Jeeves and Wooster series from Amazon with Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. Comes highly rated Looking forward to seeing House with a British accent.
brookeamanda said…
This is the time of year when I read. A LOT. Although Hulu.com is great for watching new shows...for free!
I love TV. Really, I do. I know I'm supposed to be reading and doing productive things with my life, but I don't care because TV is fun. I guess I'm shallow.
cardiogirl said…
Do you remember when NBC had a campaign over the summer when they referred to reruns as "New to You"? It was when Friends and Seinfeld were big.

I remember being jazzed because I didn't pay attention to what they were saying. Then when I watched the show I was pissed off that it was just a rerun.

They I realized they were shucking it as "new" if you missed it the first time. From a marketing point of view that's a clever tactic.

As a TV viewer I found it annoying. I guess it depends on which side of the screen you're sitting on.
Nicky said…
I've been trying to leave a comment since yesterday, but for some reason, couldn't. And now I don't remember what I was going to say. But it was funny. Really funny. Could you just pretend you read it and laugh now?
nonamedufus said…
BrookeAmanda: Yeah, I recently good back to reading after about a year. I'm on my fifth book since late July. We don't get Hulu, here, in Canada. Although my brother-in-law seems to know someway around it. I should see how he does it.
nonamedufus said…
Mike: I particularly love the movie channels, especially over the summer. For example, Last night I caught the classic 53 flick War of the Worlds. TCM has some great classic films.
nonamedufus said…
Cardiogirl: And now of course networks have 3 seasons: fall, mid season and summer. And, of course half the time when I get interested in a new show it's gone after 4 months or so. Sheesh!
nonamedufus said…
Nicky: Hoo, hoo, ha, ha, that comment you didn't leave was perhaps the funniest comment I've ever received! (I hope the problem wasn't at my end.)
injaynesworld said…
Totally love what you've done with the place. I feel the same way. By now it's no longer a surprise which house they picked.

I think I liked it better when there were only three channels (yes, I'm that freakin' old). Oddly, there was almost always something good on to watch.
nonamedufus said…
Jayne: Hey thanks for the decorating kudo. And, hey, growing up in Ottawa we had 3 channels and one of them was French. But for a kid, yes, there was always something on: cartoons, Captain Kangaroo, Wonderful World of Disney and for us Canadian kids, Friendly Giant and Razzle Dazzle with Howard the Turtle!
I stayed up the other night and watched 5 hours of Season 1 of Mad Men on my computer. I just started watching the series on Sunday nights and so I have 3 seasons to catch up on.
I just noticed that you are reading a Dennis Lehane book. Funny Man loves his stuff. (By the way, he always laughs at the funny comments you leave. When he reads my blog, he likes to read aloud the really funny comments and I always say,"Oh yeah, that's Nonamedufus!" My husband loves a good pun. - G
injaynesworld said…
Totally love what you've done with the place. I feel the same way. By now it's no longer a surprise which house they picked.

I think I liked it better when there were only three channels (yes, I'm that freakin' old). Oddly, there was almost always something good on to watch.
Don said…
This time of year on the tube is truly a wasteland. I've watched Mike Holmes repair the same lady's basement ten times already.
I've seen so much of nothing that when I say "nothing" is on tv I mean the usual summer fare is playing. Junk.

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