This that and television reviews..
Sep. 24th, 2016 05:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. THIS is a fun little site. It's called Pottermore. You can choose your patronous, your wand, your house, etc. I ended up with Neblung Cat (patronous), Ravenclaw, 13 3/4 Applewood Phoenix wand, and Pudewukie house for North America.
2. Just finished watching the season premiere of Big Bang Theory and Designated Survivor. In case you haven't figured it out by now, I've decided to sample as many of the new television shows as humanly possible without being a professional television critic who is paid to watch these things and has an inordinate amount of time to do so. In short, it will not be all 137 shows...more like 20-30, if that. Mainly because the shows I was watching I've either gotten tired of or were recently canceled.
* Big Bang Theory - still works and makes me laugh, even though it's into its 10th Season. It's managed somehow to stay fresh by evolving the characters and their relationships with each other, while not quite changing the central set-up. In other words the nerdy geeky boys and gals have grown up, gotten married and one is about to have kids. In this week's episode we got to meet Leonard and Penny's parents/family who are portrayed by comedy vets: Kathy Segal, Keith Carradine, Judd Hirsch, Christine Baranski, and for Sheldon, Laurie Metcalf. Also Penny's brother is played by 30 Rock vet - the sort of dumb aid, with the blond hair, named Kenny. Here he's a meth dealer/maker who just got out of prison.
* Designated Survivor - this is starring Keifer Sutherland (Secretary of HUD who becomes the President), Maggie Q (FBI Agent), Kal Penn (speechwriter) and Natasha McElhone (Sutherland's lawyer wife).
The set up is - Tom Kirkland the current Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, aka HUD, has been asked to be the Designated Survivor during the State of the Union address. During the State of the Union, a cabinet member is selected to hold up in a bunker in an undisclosed location in case something horrible happens and we need a President to run the country. Because you know, everyone in line of succession is in the Capital. Prior to being asked to be designated survivor, Kirkland was asked by the Chief of Staff to step down from HUD, mainly because the somewhat conservative president didn't like Kirkland's views on Housing. And was thinking about the next election. As a consolation prize, the President was giving Kirkland an ambassador post in Montreal. Which of course wasn't going to sit well with the family, because you know, moving again.
But as luck would have it, things change on a dime. Someone blows up the Capital and everyone inside.
No one knows who.
Maggie Q plays a lead FBI agent on the case, Agent Wells, who figures out that this is just the beginning. She's clearly lost someone in the disaster or believes she has.
Kirkland is thrust into the White House as the President. And he has to figure out how to make it work. I noticed Sutherland had aged, he's about my age. Give or take. I've always loved the actor - so am tuning in partly for that. But we'll see if it holds my interest. 24 didn't because I couldn't buy the premise. This premise, I actually buy better than 24. Also it hit many of my story kinks hard - reluctant leader, disaster movie, solving impossible problems, trying to find ways to handle things without resorting to violence.
But this isn't Kirkland's only problem. Turns out his teenage son is a drug dealer. And the head of the Pentagone is planning a mutiny of sorts to get Kirkland kicked out, so he can take over, because Kirkland isn't enough of a war-monger for his taste. He asks the Chief of Staff who he'd pick Kirkland or him to run the country, I'm thinking...hmmm, Kirkland, you are an asshole and will take the US into WWIII and destroy everyone.
Overall it's a fast-paced hour. Although it may want to do a bit too much, seems a little ambitious.
As if it's trying to blend West Wing, 24, and Madam President into one series. Not sure how well that will work. I'd have cut the kids from the storyline.
I will, however, continue watching for now.
2. Just finished watching the season premiere of Big Bang Theory and Designated Survivor. In case you haven't figured it out by now, I've decided to sample as many of the new television shows as humanly possible without being a professional television critic who is paid to watch these things and has an inordinate amount of time to do so. In short, it will not be all 137 shows...more like 20-30, if that. Mainly because the shows I was watching I've either gotten tired of or were recently canceled.
* Big Bang Theory - still works and makes me laugh, even though it's into its 10th Season. It's managed somehow to stay fresh by evolving the characters and their relationships with each other, while not quite changing the central set-up. In other words the nerdy geeky boys and gals have grown up, gotten married and one is about to have kids. In this week's episode we got to meet Leonard and Penny's parents/family who are portrayed by comedy vets: Kathy Segal, Keith Carradine, Judd Hirsch, Christine Baranski, and for Sheldon, Laurie Metcalf. Also Penny's brother is played by 30 Rock vet - the sort of dumb aid, with the blond hair, named Kenny. Here he's a meth dealer/maker who just got out of prison.
* Designated Survivor - this is starring Keifer Sutherland (Secretary of HUD who becomes the President), Maggie Q (FBI Agent), Kal Penn (speechwriter) and Natasha McElhone (Sutherland's lawyer wife).
The set up is - Tom Kirkland the current Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, aka HUD, has been asked to be the Designated Survivor during the State of the Union address. During the State of the Union, a cabinet member is selected to hold up in a bunker in an undisclosed location in case something horrible happens and we need a President to run the country. Because you know, everyone in line of succession is in the Capital. Prior to being asked to be designated survivor, Kirkland was asked by the Chief of Staff to step down from HUD, mainly because the somewhat conservative president didn't like Kirkland's views on Housing. And was thinking about the next election. As a consolation prize, the President was giving Kirkland an ambassador post in Montreal. Which of course wasn't going to sit well with the family, because you know, moving again.
But as luck would have it, things change on a dime. Someone blows up the Capital and everyone inside.
No one knows who.
Maggie Q plays a lead FBI agent on the case, Agent Wells, who figures out that this is just the beginning. She's clearly lost someone in the disaster or believes she has.
Kirkland is thrust into the White House as the President. And he has to figure out how to make it work. I noticed Sutherland had aged, he's about my age. Give or take. I've always loved the actor - so am tuning in partly for that. But we'll see if it holds my interest. 24 didn't because I couldn't buy the premise. This premise, I actually buy better than 24. Also it hit many of my story kinks hard - reluctant leader, disaster movie, solving impossible problems, trying to find ways to handle things without resorting to violence.
But this isn't Kirkland's only problem. Turns out his teenage son is a drug dealer. And the head of the Pentagone is planning a mutiny of sorts to get Kirkland kicked out, so he can take over, because Kirkland isn't enough of a war-monger for his taste. He asks the Chief of Staff who he'd pick Kirkland or him to run the country, I'm thinking...hmmm, Kirkland, you are an asshole and will take the US into WWIII and destroy everyone.
Overall it's a fast-paced hour. Although it may want to do a bit too much, seems a little ambitious.
As if it's trying to blend West Wing, 24, and Madam President into one series. Not sure how well that will work. I'd have cut the kids from the storyline.
I will, however, continue watching for now.