There are a lot of parenthetical asides in this entry.

[katernater]

So it's the first week of November and my aspirations of starting a NaNo project have been hijacked by a visit (and two subsequent class observations) by home office, a cold, and an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion on account of both. I don't think I'm going to be nearly as productive as I had hoped this year. This week was pretty rough and I pretty much came home tonight, turned off my cell phone and fell into bed. If you texted or called and I didn't call you back, it was because I was engaging in some pretty serious Kate-and-pillow time and having my cell phone in the other room was roughly the real life equivalent of Frodo and Sam trying to get the ring to Mordor (albeit with less Lembas bread and a great deal more chintz, on account of my pillow scheme) and me starting to come down with a cold, which makes moving an even less appealing enterprise than usual. I have spent most of this evening watching episodes of American Horror Story (with Dylan McDermott replacing Matthew Fox as the most weepy character on prime time television) and mainlining cold medicine.

Last week was my birthday and I had a pretty good time. Tim came up for the weekend and we went to a staff Halloween party (as Johnny Cash and June Carter, respectively) and took a couple of walks, and held hands, and watched a football game, and stop me when this all gets too mushy to bear without an insulin shot. I'm going to Indianapolis to see him next weekend. We've already decided to spend Christmas together this year. There's even been talk of a skiing trip out west, maybe to Colorado. Neither of us can really afford extravagance -- he's a graduate student and I'm making a teacher's wage -- but I think we're mutually agreed upon the idea that, as long as we can see each other, anywhere we go will become like home. For my birthday, he bought me an Escher print (we had talked about our mutual love of Escher and Dali the first time we went out this year, which I really have to give it up to him for remembering), a bouquet of flowers (some of which I am pressing so I can keep), and an X-Men wall calendar of "epic battles" from 1995. (I love that this guy is as brilliant as all get out, but at the same time has total nerd tendencies. Like me.) On Sunday of last weekend we woke up and Tim cooked breakfast for us both -- complete with eggs and rashers and toast smeared with pumpkin butter -- and we listened to an episode of Cabin Pressure while we ate and my god, is there anything better than eating bacon and listening to Benedict Cumberbatch's voice with someone you love? You'd be hard-pressed to convince me that there is. Really.

I'm all caught up on my television shows and don't know what to watch next. another_myself recommended Revenge, and my dad has been talking up Person of Interest (of which I have watched half of the first episode, mostly because of Michael Emerson), but I haven't really found anything that captures my attention. Do you guys have any recommendations? What are you watching these days?

Comments

[juryrig.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed the first episode of Grimm, though I seem to be in the minority. I grew up on Grimm's Fairytales, and I went in thinking "fairy tale" rather than "police drama," so maybe that has something to do with it. :)

[katernater.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen Grimm, though I've been watching Once Upon A Time (and ridiculously enjoying it, despite its overblown production values). Have you seen the latter, and if so, how does it compare to the former?

[juryrig.livejournal.com]

We're on opposite sides! I haven't seen Once Upon A Time, so I couldn't compare it to Grimm. :)

[ohbilliejean.livejournal.com]

Breaking Badddddd

[katernater.livejournal.com]

I've seen the first episode. Is it worth watching after that?

(p.s. I miss RPing with you liek woah).

[ohbilliejean.livejournal.com]

YesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES

AMAZING SHOW, I CANNOT EXPLAIN HOW AMAZING IN WORDS

I miss RP'ing with you, too. :-( What are you RP'ing these days?

[katernater.livejournal.com]

I'm not, really. I was gung ho about doing NaNo this year but I think I've missed my window. I don't really write much anymore. Not for lack of wanting to, though. I'm just busy.

How have you been? It's been a while, just in general. XD

[farstepper.livejournal.com]

I watch mostly panel shows these days but I have a few older series you might like. I assume by now you've seen Slings and Arrows? What about Blackpool? Or The Invisibles?. I also like Doc Martin but it might be a bit slow for you (it's very much a regional feel series, like Kingdom but in Cornwall and with a crabby lead). I can hook you up with torrents of any of these or, if you prefer, set up a designated download. Or, hell, just mail you them. Whatever works for you. :)

[katernater.livejournal.com]

I just finished watching Slings & Arrows for the second time and the Paul Gross fix (which explains the Paul Gross/Due South extravaganza) and I have seen a bit of Blackpool. I have tried Kingdom,but found the first episode kind of clunky.

But I trust you (more than I trust many) and would be happy to give any series another try.

[farstepper.livejournal.com]

Kingdom isn't for everyone. It speaks to a subset of British television (and film and literature, for that matter) that doesn't appeal to everyone and doesn't always transfer well. I think I liked it because of my love/hate relationship with Stephen Fry, which let me get into it enough that I ended up liking quite a few of the characters.

Doc Martin is somewhat similar, but with a very heavy dose of the British Eccentric trope. Cornwall is generally seen as a bit of an odd place to start with, and certainly the villagers are (very) odd. But the lead (who is a Londoner) is even odder in his own way (antisocial & possessed of a blood phobia, a bad thing for a surgeon). It's not something I'd recommend to most people, in part because it takes awhile to grow on you. Also, as with Kingdom, I have a fondness for the lead that saw me through the rough starter episodes.

What sort of things do you like? Do you prefer action in your series? High drama? Pathos? Do you need an undercurrent of humor in what you watch (I do, for example)? Are you okay with negative messages? Would you prefer only positive messages? Is it important that your shows be unique or different? Anything like that will help me think of stuff for you.

[katernater.livejournal.com]

I like "smart" television and, despite the glut of what's usually on the air these days, I don't think those two ideas have to be mutually exclusive. Generally, I like a show that has an overall narrative arc. I was a fan of The X-Files for a number of years because of the complex mythology that went into the show; you had your monsters of the week, of course, but there was always a bigger story hanging over the narration (which eventually came to involve black oil and alien bounty hunters and a couple of years of Mulder getting abducted every two weeks while David Duchovny renegotiated his contract). I also really liked The West Wing, mostly for Sorkin's snappy dialogue.

For me, story is important. I also like characters who are complex or slightly damaged, who have to deal with their baggage in a world that might be diametrically opposed to their personalities (like House, for instance, or Geoffrey in Slings & Arrows). Of course humor is important. I have a couple of sitcoms that I habitually watch. I would say that, mostly, I'm a fan of a drama. And if they can inject a little black humor into the dialogue, so much the better.

I can get Doc Martin on Netflix. I might give that a try.

[farstepper.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. Give Doc Martin a go. You might like it (or at least you might like the title character). Consider The Invisibles and Hustle as well, both of which you can get off Netflix. The Invisibles only lasted a year, but it had an interesting mix of drama and comedy, plus a few fan favorite cast members. Hustle gets a bit samey after a few seasons, but the concept is pretty cool and the characters are appealing outsiders. Other stuff I just personally enjoy include Eureka, Warehouse 13 (it's a bit cheesy at times, but I adore the artifacts), The Closer, and Community. Nurse Jackie is compelling, but got too dark for me to finish in series 2. I'm still in mourning for Lie to Me, but I think we've discussed that you watched it in the past. Hmm, what else? I assume you've seen Firefly and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, but if for some reason you haven't then run, don't walk, to your Netflix queue and order them.

Hopefully you'll find something you fancy in that mess. I'll keep thinking about it. TV is hard to recommend given how personal it is!

[farstepper.livejournal.com]

Oh, oh, oh! What about Boston Legal?

[ohbilliejean.livejournal.com]

DOC MARTIN IS AWESOME

[farstepper.livejournal.com]

;) He's a crabby and weird git. But I sort of love him for it.

[farstepper.livejournal.com]

Also, happy belated birthday. :)

[katernater.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much!

[farstepper.livejournal.com]

You are very welcome :)

[antiquitea.livejournal.com]

I've been watching a lot of television lately, mostly things I'm trying to catch up on. But, if you haven't already you may want to check out Downton Abbey (Edwardian era England! WWI! Heirs and the girls that love them!) and The Walking Dead (ZOMBIES!).

[katernater.livejournal.com]

I've seen the first few episodes of Downton Abbey and heard really good stuff about the rest of them! And I always think zombies when I think of you, Megan. (And I mean that in the most positive of contexts. XD)

[antiquitea.livejournal.com]

That just may be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. *sniff* ;)

[another-myself.livejournal.com]

TOAST AND PUMPKIN BUTTER?

That's kind of fantastic.

Also, I love you. :)

[highlander_ii]

oh yeah - tv watching things...

Once Upon a Time is pretty good. it's not 'thinking' tv (like House used to be), but it's good enough to watch week to week

Hawaii Five-O - s1 was really good; s2 is working at it really hard - *shrug* mostly I just like watching Danno and Steve snark at each other *g*

aside from watching the House, MD trainwreck for the rantability of it and Glee, I don't watch much else until USA starts up its stuff again.