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

[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?