My husband likes to laugh. He loves Comedy Central and he enjoys watching comedians and funny movies. When we first started dating, he was constantly quoting lines from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I had to watch the movie to see what he was talking about.
These days, he is fascinated with Jeff Dunham. Jeff is a ventriloquist and comic. You can view some of his skits on his website here.
I just wanted to point the ventriloquist out in case someone hasn't seen him. Some of his work is a little irreverent. I like his character Peanut the best. You can find more of his stuff on youtube.com if you care to look.
Moving on.
I have seen two movies in the past two months. While not a record, it is close. We don't get to the theater often. We both have a thing about paying $7.75 for a small soft drink and a bottle of water. We can stay at home and drink out of the tap for free.
Anyway, I saw The Golden Compass in December. I was disappointed in the movie because it could have been so much more. It had the potential to have the scope and depth of Lord of the Rings, but it did not. I think it failed the book. Philip Pullman's vision was not realized. I found the lead character unappealing and I never felt I knew her or her motivations. Others have said otherwise, of course.
Sunday we saw National Treasure: Book of Secrets. I enjoyed this film, probably because I took no expectations into the theater with me. I enjoyed the first movie, too. I love history and I love mystery so these movies work well for me.
For Christmas, I received all but one of the remaining seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer which I was missing. Buffy was a show I enjoyed but until this year I did not see the seasons beyond Season 4. I thought overall the series ended better than Xena: Warrior Princess, which is the only other set of DVDs for which I have the entire show.
After the New Year I ordered the last missing Buffy season, and while I was at it, I ordered the first season of Cagney and Lacey.
If you're seeing a pattern as to the kinds of TV I watch, well, then you know why I don't watch TV much anymore. You rarely see well-produced and written shows these days about strong women who overcome the odds and move forward with their lives. Apparently those women have turned into ... well, I watch so little TV these days I don't even have anything to compare them to.
The only show I make any effort to watch now is Ghost Whisperer and while Melinda is an interesting character she is not in the same league as Buffy, that's for sure. I attempted the new Bionic Woman and it didn't do it for me - she was just a puppet, not a thinking woman.
Other shows that I used to watch include La Femme Nikita, Murphy Brown, and Designing Women. I even liked Charlie's Angels, the (real) Bionic Woman, and Wonder Woman when I was (much) younger.
I am always up to checking out a show, so you if know of something that might fit the "strong woman" bill, let me know. I rather miss knowing that on X night of the week, there will be good TV.
In the meantime, I have this big pile of books... and I will continue to read.
I wanted to see the Golden Compass but have heard from others that it is disappointing.
ReplyDeleteI might still have to watch it though just to check for myself.
TC - I would tell you to check Golden Compass out - but maybe wait until you can rent it or watch it on the movie channel. I think the movie could have been much better than it was. The book was very imaginative but I didn't feel like there was much imagination in the movie-making.
ReplyDeleteI saw His Dark Materials at the National Theatre in London. I did not like it. In my opinion Phillip Pullman is over rated, or he is the type that people either love or hate him. I wouldn't say hate, but boring. It just seems lackluster. Not Lord of the Rings, not Harry Potter, and not even in between.
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