Monday This N That

After a week of vacation, sitting at home doing basically nothing, I’ve realized that…I really LIKE doing nothing!

However, vacations must end and it’s time to return to that 4-letter “W” word. (please, don’t make me say it.)

For the tv viewing schedule, this week seems to be kind of “messed up.”

First of all, tonight brings the mid-season finale of Revolution. I will admit that this show has grown on me more each week. I attribute that to the increased screen time of Daniella Alonso as “Nora.” She brought a female toughness to the show when all of the other females seemed to be whiny, timid, and scared.

Daniella’s “other” show returns tomorrow night. Yes, I know that Daniella was only a recurring character, Riley, on Rizzoli and Isles, but it was because of seeing her on this show that made me want to keep watching Revolution. And the Angie Harmon ‘kiss of life’ syndrome continues as well. Donnie Wahlberg, Billy Burke, Chris Vance, and now Daniella Alonso all hooking on to other shows after being on R&I. Hopefully, since R&I is actually a “summer” show, maybe we’ll still get to see Riley in a few episodes. I know she’ll be in at least one of the upcoming 5 “winter episodes.”

I had re-watched Sasha in “The Last Lullaby” and “Coming and Going” again last week. I keep enjoying her performances a bit more every time I see them. However, no matter how many times I re-watch her NCIS episodes, I still don’t like her as Kate. For some reason, I see Kate as too whiny, bumbling, and nowhere near an equal to any of the guys. I didn’t like that.

Speaking of NCIS, I saw this lovely list for Sasha’s ‘replacement’, Cote de Pablo.

The other day, I ordered an NCIS Bert the Farting Hippo keychain. It should arrive in the next couple days. It would be cute to have a big one like Abby, but this small one should suffice. 

Let’s not forget about the guys now. ‘People’ had their list of ‘hot guys’ in a recent issue, and it included Michael Weatherly, along with Michael Ealy (did they really have to cancel Common Law? Damn!) and Eric C Olsen. However, I have a big issue concerning their ‘graying’ list. Seriously, no Mark Harmon, or even Bruce McGill? Really?

Speaking of Bruce – I heard that he was on the latest episode of “The Good Wife.” I’m not a regular watcher of the show (legal shows bore me to death) but I’ve gotta track down that episode to see him. I still wish that CSI would have revisited the storyline of Bruce as Catherine’s mentor, Jimmy Tadero, in the later seasons. Although, I guess at least they mentioned him in her final episode.

On the subject of CSI, even though I’m not a faithful watcher of the show anymore, I do somewhat enjoy Elisabeth Shue’s character, which I categorize as a mix of early Cath & Sara – fiery, spirited, outgoing, and confident. Two of my favorite EShue movies are “Adventures in Babysitting” and “Cocktail.”

On a sad note, I heard that Larry Hagman passed away on Friday. He was such a wonderful actor. I remember him from his comedy days as Major Nelson on “I Dream of Jeannie” with Barbara Eden. Of course, he will forever be known to all as the ruthless J.R. Ewing on “Dallas.” The catch phrase “Who shot J.R.?” will probably make the Top 10 list for an entire millenium.

 

A Finally Friday This N That

Yay. Friday is finally here.

To make things even better, there are actually 49 hours in this two-day weekend, thanks to the switch back to Standard Time. So, I guess for everyone who's been wishing there were more hours in a day to get things done, then Sunday is a day especially for you.

There are a few things to talk about for this weekend for your tv viewing.

* The first is "John Sandford's Certain Prey" that airs Sunday night on USA network, featuring the adorable Mark Harmon. From the promos, his character doesn't seem much different than Leroy Jethro Gibbs on NCIS, but I still can't wait to watch. And did you catch the great NCIS episode this week with Gibbs, Fornell and their mutual ex-wife?


While we're on the subject of Mark Harmon, I saw Cote de Pablo was on ET yesterday, talking about her list of top hunky Latino guys. I also saw this short Q&A with Cote in a recent issue of People. I like that she loves to get "Down & Dirty".


* Something else to check out this weekend is the series premiere of Hell on Wheels on AMC. I've heard that Christopher Heyerdahl and Ian Tracey are both making appearances in this. That would get me to tune in -- if I actually got that channel, but I don't, so I'll have to hunt that series down the hard way.


* on a final note for this time around, I saw a little blurb about actors doing double duty on different shows, like Ted Danson and Kenny Johnson.

Friday This N That

I was pleasantly surprised to see Sheryl Crow gracing the cover of the new issue of Ladies’ Home Journal. Also, as I’m playing "catch up" on some old This n That, I love seeing Sheryl with her boys. My, how Levi has grown. I last saw a pic of him as a tiny baby.





Since the forum at Sheryl’s website went down, I’ve really been out of the loop – even more so than I had been previously. Even though I didn’t post there much in the past couple years, I miss some of the regulars from the past decade. Hopefully when the “new & improved” forum emerges on the site, most will find their way back. Maybe some can find their way here as well. I miss ya Nancy, Ronnie, Johnny, Jen, Gregg, Bill, Liz & the rest of the gang. A hello from MissDJ.

Moving on –
I got the new issue of CBS Watch yesterday. I was pleased to see another pic from that great photo shoot that Cote did earlier this year. She’s so elegant.


The magazine also had a short article on Michael Weatherly (and others) moving into the director’s chair. It’s becoming a trend.



Speaking of NCIS –
I was kind of disappointed with the show’s season finale this week. I loved how it was revealed that Jethro made Mike’s casket. However, we’re left with the question of Tony’s "secret" project? Why does every show need to have some kind of season-long arc these days? It’s extremely annoying. Sometimes it’s just real nice to have a stand-alone episode where you don’t need to remember all of the backstory for the entire season and it’s just the “crime of the week” scenario.

Also disappointing was my now-defunct Chase. What the heck did they do to Daisy? Yes, it was a great episode with a wonderful, haunting backstory for the character, but having it end the way it did – her taking matters into her own hands, thus throwing her entire career in the toilet? – so disappointing. Now I think I’m glad that they ended the series. I’m not sure I could have continued with the extremely cliché’d Annie/Jimmy UST storyline that was overtaking the show. Marco & Daisy were fast becoming my favorite characters, when initially it was Annie & Jimmy. It just goes to show how writers can really screw up a good thing.

On the other hand, there’s Sanctuary.

After three somewhat depressing (dull? Boring?) episodes in succession, we FINALLY get a wonderful episode that’s worthy of this show. Magnus & Tesla are so great together with their serious-but-playful banter. I even loved the B-story with Kate being haunted by her past. Now, I’m still giddy with excitement for next Monday’s episode, “Normandy”, where we take a look back at The Five in their heyday. I love episodes that include The Five.