Thursday This N That

Vacations are nice, but it’s coming back to work after the vacations that really bites you in the ass. It’s hard to get back into the groove of things.

-- Rizzoli and Isles
Last week while I was gone, there was the Rizzoli and Isles summer finale, bringing the return of Eddie Cibrian as Dennis Rockmond – who ends up being a baddie and threatening to kill Maura. At least they didn’t leave us with THAT cliffhanger. What they left us with is Jane finding Lydia’s baby alone on the doorstep. All I hope for is that they don’t turn the show into “Raising Hope” anytime soon with baby hijinks. No, I still haven’t done my full R&I review yet, and not sure if I will or not as it seems no one’s missed it.

-- Bunheads
Earlier this week, ABC Family had the season finale of Bunheads. This is one show that’s really grown on me. I wasn’t sure what to expect when reading the previews this spring, but the show has had so much wonderful snarkasm from Michelle, Fanny, and even the girls, that I just can’t resist watching. It’s actually been a show that has learned how to successfully combine humor with just enough seriousness that makes it worthwhile. It’s not a ‘mindless’ comedy.


-- Shining Stars
I’ve only caught a few episodes so far of the reboot of Dallas, and even missed the finale, but from what I’ve seen, the brightest star of the show is Brenda Strong as Bobby’s wife, Ann. I love a lady who knows how to handle a gun (and can handle J.R. Ewing as well.) Another shining star on my radar is Reed Diamond. I usually never watched Franklin & Bash (the show that follows Rizzoli & Isles on TNT) but actually started casually watching just because of him. Yes, he was also on Common Law, but what I remember him from most is the guy with the biting fetish on CSI’s 6x03 episode “Bite Me.”


-- the 'reality' is…
I saw yesterday that "The Facts of Life’s" Lisa Whelchel is going to be on the new season of Survivor. All I can imagine is Blair Warner eating insects and no Jo Polniaczek to make a snarky remark. Will Lisa’s presence actually get me to sit & watch my first episode of the show? I’m thinking that it’s doubtful, but I’m sure I’ll search out the clips of her on there. I’m not sure I could sit through that show even if Marg, Amanda, Dina, Angie, Teryl, Jorja or a small number of my other favorites were on it.


-- looking ahead
now that the summer shows have wrapped up, it’s scary to note that the fall shows will already be starting in just a couple weeks. I saw the individual character promo pics for the new season of Sons of Anarchy yesterday and it surprised me to realize that the show is already starting its fifth season. I can’t believe it’s been on that long already. I was disturbed to see yesterday that three new shows I was looking forward to seeing are already on the critics’ list of worst shows. I had done so well for the past year of getting rid of my "show jinx" where every show I liked would usually get canceled quickly. Last fall I only lost a couple shows, and even added some to my list that I hadn’t thought I’d enjoy. I’d like that to continue this fall season as well, but I’m guessing that’s as rare as the current drought that we’ve gone through this entire year.