Media

I hate television. I hate it as much as peanuts.
But I can't stop eating peanuts.
--Orson Welles

Television

You sure watch a lot of TV.

If we've ever met, you know I watch too much TV. All this stuff used to be on my page about myself but half of the page ended up being about my favorite TV shows so now there's this page.

Current

My favorite shows as of late May 2007, according to my Media Center PC. I don't have cable, so you won't see Road Rules or Entourage here:

1. Grey's Anatomy
   • Amazing show... like a cross between Scrubs and ER. Keeps me watching week after week. I never thought I'd get this engrossed in a medical show.
2. How I Met Your Mother
   • Started watching cause Alyson Hannigan from Buffy is in it, and kept watching cause it's really funny. It's a comedy with high-quality recurring storylines, Friends-style.
3. Lost
   • I hate how J J Abrams never resolves any plot mysteries (why's there a polar bear? Rambaldi?) which will forever put him below Joss Whedon who always resolves everything in a great, shocking way. Season 2 was devatating but now that they've starting tackling these mysteries the show's getting tons better. Check out this crazy Lost blog.
4. Heroes
   • Reminds me a little too much of X-Men, but interesting characters and addictive storylines. The first season finale was really disappointing though.
5. Survivor
   • Just got into this recently and I can't believe what I've been missing. I've watched Cook Islands, the original, and Fiji. Survivor makes me want to go camping. If it weren't for the lack of food, I think it'd be really fun!
6. The Office
   • About a horrible boss. People either love this show or hate it. I think it's awesome. Go Jim and Pam!
7. Las Vegas
   • About employees of a Las Vegas casino and their zany adventures. I think secretly I'd like to work at a casino too. Just got into this show last summer, watching a few reruns.
8. 60 Minutes
   • This is the only TV news show I watch though it makes me feel old when I hear the average viewer's age is like 50.
9. The Apprentice
   • There's nothing awesome to be learned from Donald Trump, but the show's very entertaining. Heard this might be cancelled though.
10. Battlestar Galactica
    • I'm almost thinking this is better than Star Trek. It's got very similar themes as Deep Space Nine (religion, war against overwhelming force, enemy within, being an outsider, nice multi-episode story arcs) but Battlestar is much darker. Not as good starting in season 3 though.

Older

• The West Wing -- A great show. The dialog is witty and even though I wouldn't call myself left-wing or a political junkie by any means, I enjoy it a lot. It went downhill after Aaron Sorkin left during season four.
• Star Trek -- I've been a die-hard trekkie (or trekker...?) for longer than I care to remember. I've watched each of the nine movies and the Original, Next Generation, and Deep Space Nine episodes countless times each and I've seen every Voyager and Enterprise episode at least once (*shutter*).

  Like many, my favorite episodes are Trouble with Tribbles (TOS), Best of Both Worlds (TNG), and The Way of the Warrior (DS9). My ranking of the movies from favorite to hated: 6, 8, 2, 4, 3, 9, 7, 5, 1, 10. (You have to be a trekkie to appreciate that) Favorite Trek characters include Geordi, Spock, Data, Sisko, Bashir, Dax, Nog, and Rom. On the other hand, I can't stand Wesley (so annoying), Kirk (so stupid), Janeway (so mean), Worf, or Seven.

  The best online episode guide is Jammer's Star Trek: Hypertext, hands-down. He has detailed reviews of practically every episodes in every series. The Nitpicker books point out goofs in every episode and are also fun to read while watching each episode.

• Law & Order -- I'm hooked on Law & Order and its spinoff, Special Victims Unit. The newer Criminal Intent series is slightly more tedious though. I've always been a fan of murder mysteries and this franchise gives me my fix week after week.
• The Practice -- This show is just a great drama. I preferred Law & Order to it before, but now I think I like this show better, just because there's more character development and continuity. There's less focus on the cases and more on the people. It got pretty bad in the later seasons though after most of the cast got fired to cut costs.
• Buffy, The Vampire Slayer and Angel -- I really used to think Buffy was weird, but I'm now a huge fan. I enjoy the great writing, unique plots, and creative humor. It's one of those shows whose bad episodes are still decent. Angel is much darker, with long storylines that span multiple seasons.
• The O.C. -- Got hooked after season one. The core characters are predictable yet still very entertaining.
• Desparate Housewives -- Great season one. Season two was just something to watch before Grey's and season three just sucked.

Best Season Finales

Here are some unforgettable television cliffhangers. These weren't gimmicks either; part 2 for these actually met expecations.

1. Best of Both Worlds (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
   • The Borg have assimilated Captain Picard. You really don't know whether they'll be able to get him back.
2. Becoming (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
   • Buffy kills Angel. A really sad musical score. Graduation Day is another great Buffy finale, and who can forget Once More With Feeling, the Buffy musical episode, or Hush, the episode with nearly no dialogue. The latter two episodes were nominated for Emmys.
3. Through the Looking Glass (Lost)
   • What?! They get rescued off the island?
4. Two Cathedrals (The West Wing)
   • Will President Bartlet seek re-election after it's discovered he covered up the fact that he has MS? West Wing has tons of other good episodes like In The Shadow of Two Gunmen and Shibboleth.
5. Call to Arms/A Time to Stand (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
   • During the Dominion War, Starfleet abandons Deep Space Nine. The Way of the Warrior is also quite memorable.

Movies

• The Matrix -- Since this was the first DVD I ever bought, I've seen this movie at least a hundred times on my computer. The Oscar-winning special effects are beyond words. The second movie had even crazier visuals. Just don't watch the third one.
• Glory -- My favorite war movie about the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, an all-black regiment during the Civil War. It has an unforgettable soundtrack.
• Shrek -- This modern-day fairytale about a big green ogre and his donkey sidekick is just too funny for words. Dreamworks' first really big hit.
• Back to the Future -- It's got a unique plot and catchy music. Titanic and Star Wars don't even compare. Who wouldn't want to travel back in time to "improve" the past? I'm not a huge fan of the part III western though. Grab the trilogy DVDs if you haven't already; they have great commentaries and Q&As from the producers and director.
• Winnie-the-Pooh -- I just love that bear (who doesn't?), both the Milne/Shepard originals, and the Disney remakes. I've seen the movies and own most of the books too. Actually, in general, I'm a big fan of most of the Pooh Disney cartoons (no offense to Disney boycotters). Pooh is still Disney's second most popular character, second only to that funky Mickey Mouse. He does have some mental problems though.

Books

To tell you the truth, I mainly read software and business books, but that's not as much fun to talk about as this trash.

• Harry Potter -- Reading this series about a wizard going to wizard school is a real time-killer!
  
• Sherlock Holmes -- I'm typically not obsessed with British writing, but I really like this series. I've read the vast majority of the short stories and two of the novels. Did you know many of Doyle's short stories are no longer under copyright?

Music

When I'm not listening to podcasts, I listen to trashy contemporary music or to stuff that was recently featured in TV shows I like. Think Pink, Avril, and Enrique.

I also like Vienna Teng, notably the songs Harbor, Hope On Fire, Gravity, The Tower, Recessional, and Whatever You Want. Three of those are available for free MP3 download on her web site.

Media Related Links

Apple - Movie Trailers	Quicktime trailers for all the latest films
BuffyGuide.com	Buffy plot descriptions, review, great lines, and goofs
Roger Ebert	thumbs up or thumbs down?
MetaCritic	sums up what critics have to say about movies, music, and games
Mr. Cranky's Guide to Movies	reviews of how bad current movies are
Sev Trek	hilarious satire comic strips answering the great Star Trek mysteries