Category: Television

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In A Blink

Tiger and Stevie together again. At least for 2 days at the U.S. Open. Seems like yesterday they were winning majors every week. Not one since… Tebow newly signed with Pats. On one knee. Why? And after a Blue Heron wedding in Sunderland 3 years ago, Jane Lynch and her wife are done with a wink.

Game of Thrones marathon complete. Red Wedding carnage. Lorca would be proud. Dragons are cool. Kids rule. MadMen6 almost done. Series began just a blink ago. But, before the NY advertising world was a twinkle in mAdBen’s eye.

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Sang Froid

Viewer frenzy. Season 3 Game of Thrones, too gruesome grotesque. Did they see Season 1? Brutal porn. Beheadings, heart-eating, animal skinnings. Season 2 starts with baby-cide. Hard to believe it could get gorier. Usually eschew blood & guts. But, characters are compelling, acting good. Soldiering on.

MadMen. More Megan foreshadow. Sharon Tate-esque bandana this week. Real-life murderers. MadManson like MadKing Joffrey. And 5th anniversary of Jodi Arias’ fatal attraction throat-slicing frenzy. Froid. Sang. RFK. Hmmm.

Weather too perfect for this. Out to the garden. Red roses poised to pop.

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Mad Cap

Betty is back. So is the show. She’s lookin’ good again, and Don falls for her during a nostalgic night at Bobby’s summer camp. But, Betty has learned that Don punishes women who love him. She smartly stays happy with Henry.

Don tries to reconnect with Megan, but she’s also figured him out. At work, Joan is in charge and gives Roger the heave-ho. Her young white knight is spreading kindness wherever he goes. We get another glimmer of Pete’s heart. Peggy is petulantly uncreative. Ted thinks so. Don knows her best. Everybody seems more true to character, though. Just in time for the season’s bow.

Rainy TV~ PBS: The Bletchley Circle. Based on true story of four women who cracked a code in WWII England. Suspend disbelief as they become sleuths. Dirk Gently. Quirky detectives. Laugh out loud with a jaundiced view. CNN: Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown. Remote world food with soul.

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Daffo Dilly

Daffodils up. Finally. Welcome distraction from bombs, cowardice, guns. Explosions, more blood. Ted Cruz gets scarier every day. Turning off the tube to take long-awaited refuge on the porch. Until Sunday night.

Lured back to MadMen. Once more, Creamer nails it. His hero is Ted Chaough, the real Ad Man. Ruthless, shrewd, but not morally corrupt in his personal life. Peggy has escaped to an agency where boundaries are defined by the office door. Not sullied by unseemly relationship spillover. SCDP the whorehouse, with no clear pimp. Hard-drinking, bad-living aging johns in an ever decaying brothel. Still want to see more triumphant Joan for a modicum of redemption.

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Mad Men 6

The return of Don. He’s still with Megan. I want my story. The one where Don does Megan’s betrayed friend. Weiner & Co. are still on vacation in Hawaii. What did that have to do with anything? It’s as if last season didn’t happen. No transitions. Fast-forward to somewhere boring. A disjointed, erratic script.

Megan as  soap actress, wanting more scenes with Victor. Must be Y&R. Joan looked like a bloated clown in her purple outfit. The long sideburns on the men were revolting, if authentic of the day. Peggy has become silly strident. Betty has morphed into her mother-in-law, capped by the black hair. What was with the St. Mark’s Place sojourn and Sandy? Random. Not cleverly so. Don has disappeared into himself. Hope they wake up from their sunburns and next week is better.

No offense, MadMen. It was 2 hours of ads and very little show.

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Weekend Liaisons

Downton out. Killing off cast faster than General Hospital. Heartwarming liaisons formed. Baby boy born. Happy. And then, poof. No more Matthew. Speaking of silly, GH bringing geezer couples (Luke&Laura) back. Fast-forward.

Woodward smacks down Rove on Fox! Bob looked at Karl and told him he’s writing a book called, Some People Never Go Away. Priceless. McCain and Graham non-stop steaming as Obama and Woods tee off together. Hope Tiger doesn’t take Prez “out” while Michelle and girls are skiing in Aspen. Dangerous.

Sweet to meet the lovely and captivating Lilly Leigh at La Fiorentina.
Another visit to my favorite Bryant barn in winter. Thanks Dr.Photog.

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Slippery Soap

Fellowes’ Downton is sliding into daytime telly contrivances. This longer episode was packed with one-line zingers, though less story substance. The classes become more muddled as they all ready for a game of cricket. Bates’ whisper of “soap” to O’Brien, gives terrible Thomas a reprieve. He’ll stay around to stir the hornet’s nest, but the evil witch is finally muffled. For now. Lord Grantham’s political correctness is an anachronism at best. He’s my favorite nonetheless.

Sybil’s Tom has climbed upstairs with ease. Even Carson approves of his exemplary behavior. Edith’s editor is a younger version of her fey old beau. Is there another jilt in her future? The hackneyed wife-in-the-asylum plot. Next week season finale. Already? Too much TV.  Monday workout, here I go.

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DownTon

There’s a pall over Downton Abbey as we greet Season 3. Despite our long-awaited anticipation of a lavish, happy wedding, it quickly turns into a bittersweet affair with everyone pocketing morsels of joy where they could. Shirley Maclaine pulls off the nouveau riche American pretty well and brings a level of levity to the cliché. Maggie Smith’s pallor mirrored the downbeat mood, and her jibes didn’t rise to their usual hilarity. So, the contrast of wits was lacking.

Upstairs, the men held the higher moral ground. While, it was the women’s strength of character that dominated Downstairs. In the end, it’s an uppity soap opera. There will be bumps along the road. Still, glad it’s back.

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GOP Smacked

Evil GOP pundits got smacked. Gloating Alert. Loved Rove going nuclear when he didn’t think Ohio should be called. Megyn Kelly lost her smirk. Had to watch Fox & Friends this morning. Deer caught in headlights. Listened to Beck blubbering. Rush ranting that he’s outnumbered. Howie Carr crying like a baby. Eric Bolling bawling on The Five. This was a major reason I was so nervous that Romney may win. I’d have to endure these guys. Ok, gloating done.

What was Diane Sawyer on? Somebody said, only time they want to hear Gallup or Pew again is if a horse breaks wind. Now what are we going to do?

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UnToward NewYork

Quick jaunt to New York. First stop Katz’ Deli in New Haven. Next stop the Bronx. Pastrami on rye at Betsey’s Kingsbridge digs. Down to the Flatiron to our fave Hotel Giraffe, then for a sunny late afternoon Fika iced latte on Madison Park. Cebicheria La Mar al fresco dinner previewed mAdBen’s upcoming travels to Lima, Cuzco, Machu Picchu. All good.

Sunday morning, car gone. Towed. Legal spot. No! Officer Ward, with her Irish brogue, appreciated Dr.Husband’s kindness to a lost old lady and drove her NYPD buggy around the ‘hood and found our “re-parked” car. Whew.

Speaking of Irish cops in New York. BBCAmerica’s Copper set in 1864 New York, is a period piece of grit, grime and unbridled brutality. Mount Holyoke College Professor Daniel Czitrom the historical consultant for the show. First episode tonight was reminiscent of Kurt Anderson’s novel HeyDay.