The TV MegaSite's Blog Post #85

Things have going about the same with our site...we have a couple of new volunteers that will hopefully help us improve some of our sections. It's so hard to find enough people to help. I have been trying to write some of the daily soap updates, but it's been hard. The Fall allergies have been killing me, making me just want to sleep all the time. Ugh!

As most of you know, I watch a lot of TV. I love TV. I like characters, and good writing, and drama, and laughing, and good acting, and action. With a movie, it is over in two hours, and I don't know if I will love it or hate it. If I love it, it's over, and that's disappointing. With a good TV show, I know it may come back next week. Having a show week after week also means there is a lot of time for them to work on character development and have long stories that are complex.

There is so much good TV out there now, and so many channels, that it's impossible for me to keep up with them all (that's sad). Some shows I know I would probably love if I watched them, like Desperate Housewives. I hope to one day catch up with them on DVD, but the likelihood of doing that is not very good. I already have tons of DVD's that I don't have time to watch!

Every year, they come out with more shows I like. Some I like more than others, of course, so I try to only pick one or two of the best ones. I am a sucker for anything having to do with superheroes or science fiction, especially.

This summer I watched a lot of great shows on cable. There are still some great ones out there, like Terriers on FX. This one I have to watch online because DISH Network no longer shows FX (bummer). It is really good, though, so I will go out of my way to watch it.

I really love this year's Outlaw, but unfortunately, it looks like they are canceling it. This does not make me want to watch more NBC shows, even though I do like Law & Order: LA and The Event. I am still upset about last year's shows that got canceled, like Dollhouse and Heroes and the original Law & Order. I try not to hold a grudge, but it's hard. Blue Bloods on CBS is also good, as is Detroit 1-8-7 on ABC. I also like Nikita and $#*! My Dad Says, among others. I still have my old faves like Medium, Bones, Fringe, Glee, Supernatural, Brothers and Siseters, et al.

I tend to watch shows with actors I like, even though sometimes the shows are not so good. I really like that actor who stars in Hawaii 5-0, but his show didn't wow me. It is a good solid drama, but I watch a lot of those already. Same with Rob Morrow, whom I love-- not loving his new show "Whole Truth". But please judge it on your own. I only saw the first episodes of these shows.

I don't know why I still watch Criminal Minds. I started watching it for Shemar Moore, so I guess that's why I still watch it. I really miss Mandy Patinkin, though. The show really hasn't been as good since he left (well, in truth, it started sucking before that). I don't know, it just seems to revel in the violence and grossness, and it makes me feel like taking a shower sometimes. I think people watch it for voyeurism reasons (same with SVU). I did laugh out loud at the episode a few weeks ago when they had the serial killer whose son took over his murdering to jog his memory since he had Alzheimer's. I think it was supposed to be sad, not funny, but it was hilarious to me, especially when he peed his pants. Some things are so bad they're funny.

Same with NCIS--it is really mediocre. Sometimes it makes me laugh. I like the characters, and the actors. I am a big fan of hunky actors Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, and David McCallum. That's why I don't watch the other NCIS. It is ok, but the people on there just don't grab me the same way. I do like all of the CSI shows, and the writing on them is solid. Even though, the original CSI is not the same without Grissom.

I wonder how many of these shows I would still watch if I didn't have a DVR? I remember the old days when I had to actually choose each hour which show to watch or tape. Or even before I could tape. If you went out, you missed your show. Yikes! I'm sure the networks would like to go back to those days because they don't want you to record their shows. They want you to watch them live. I wonder if they don't realize that even before that, we used to go to the bathroom during commercials, or get a snack, or talk, or just plain tuned them out? I know that I sure couldn't sit still during a TV show nowadays and watch the commercials. For the most part, I can't even just sit and watch a TV show, I have to be doing something else, like surfing the web or looking through a catalog, or playing with the dog-- something! Most of them are not so good that they hold me rapt with attention.

Family Guy, American Dad, South Park, The Simpsons - none of these shows are as funny as they used to be. The Simpsons and Family Guy have their moments. House is not as good, either, but still worth watching. I will watch as long as he is still funny. I do think that there some good comedies, like Two and a Half Men and 30 Rock. Humor is something that you can't really define and it's hard to imagine why some people think something is funny and someone else doesn't. I didn't laugh at Community or How I Met Your Mother or The Office or Modern Family, but they all have lots of fans. I guess I am somewhat pickier when it comes to comedies because I wouldn't sit through one that was as mediocre as some of the dramas I watch. I have to laugh, or what's the point?

My favorite show is still Dexter. I am loving that, as always. I wonder why all TV shows can't be as well-written as that one? Smallville is another one of my favorites. I can't help that - anything to do with Superman is my favorite. It's been really great this season. I am thrilled every time I see him fly (or attempt to fly) or bring out the costume, or anything like that. Last week's episode was great, especially at the end when he and Lois were dancing and he flew a little. I have to admit I am not the biggest fan of this Lois, but I am resigned to her now. I tried watching Ordinary Heroes but it does not really grab me. I do really love The Mentalist...that one is great!!

The TV MegaSite's Blog Post #84

In case you're wondering, here is mostly what I do on my site (in my job).

The networks TV send me tons of stuff. They send me news and info every day, and some I get on other websites. I forward a lot of it to my volunteer Danielle, who posts it on our Primetime Forum.

I condense it a little and put it on our Primetime News Page. You'd be surprised how much time this all takes.

We have lots of soap opera daily summaries, and we never have enough people to write them, so if I have time, I write them myself.

We have daily transcripts for all the soaps, so I run a lot of those on my computer (it grabs the closed-captioning from the shows):

I also do emails and stuff dealing with volunteers and other things.

Warner Brothers, Universal, and various networks send me tons of DVD's to review, so when I have time (Ha!) I watch those and write reviews.
I also try to watch all the new shows at least once (not reality shows for the most part) and post the reviews there, too.

On Sunday nights, I usually collect news and spoilers for the soaps and post it in various newsletters on Yahoo groups (that people have signed up for) and on our forums.

Also on the weekend, I go to a page that lists all the talk show appearances for the week and look for actors I recognize so I can post that info on our site. Like for instance if William Shatner were appearing on Jay Leno, I'd post that on our Star Trek Appearances Page. I also look for appearances in other places like press releases, magazines, and Twitter.

Once a month, I choose winners for our DVD giveaway and also add any new DVD's they send me when I have extras.

Sometimes the networks offer me interviews with the actors or producers, and so I have to come up with questions, and write it up. I put those up on our Primetime Articles Page.

I have other stuff I do, too, whenever I can fit it in, but that is the most of it.

Oh, and every time I work on our site, I post it on the What's New Page so people can see what the latest stuff is:

This is why I'm always way too busy :)

Of course, the site has other volunteers who run transcripts, write updates or articles, or write interviews or reviews, too. Most of them do not do it full time like I do, though. Only Gisele, who helps me run the site. She works on all the daytime stuff. I don't know what I'd do without her!