procrastinationchronicles.com – Page 67 – how television rules my life…

new and noteworthy tv: 7/23-7/29

July 18, 2012 No Comments

Scheduling conflicts are giving us a head start on next week, good thing there’s lots of Olympics to get ready for…

Monday

Bachelor Pad (ABC, 8pm) Season Premiere – The super fans join a new crop.
Warehouse 13/Alphas (Syfy, 9/10pm) Season Premieres – More freaky stuff for the team to stick in the warehouse and more freaky abilities and the struggle to keep them on the straight and narrow.
In the Big House (Logo, 10pm) Series Premiere – More reality families.
I’m Having Their Baby (Oxy, 11pm) Series Premiere – A look at people having other people’s babies?

Tuesday

15 Awesomest Boy Bands (E!, 9pm) – What else are you going to do on a Tuesday.

Wednesday

Clios (NBC, 8pm) – Best commercials.
Top Chef Masters (Brav, 10pm) Season Premiere – Vegas baby!
WakeBrothers (MTV, 11pm) Series Premiere – What do professional wakeboarding brothers do when they hang out?

Thursday

Code 9 (Dis, 8pm) Series Premiere – Hidden camera hijinks.
3 (CBS, 10pm) Series Premiere – A few, let’s say three, ladies meet some eligible dudes.

Friday

2012 Olympic Summer Games (NBC, 7:30pm) – The opening ceremonies officially kick things off, though women’s soccer starts on Wednesday, check out MSNBC, NBCSN, CNBC, and when all else fails: http://www.nbcolympics.com/ for additional listings throughout the run.

Saturday

2012 Olympic Summer Games (NBC) – Cycling starts at 5am with Tour familiar Mark Cavendish and then we get some early rounds of swimming, women’s basketball, rowing, women’s and beach volleyball before leading into primetime coverage including swimming finals, men’s gymnastic qualifying and early-round Beach Volleyball; followed by late night weight lifting and table tennis.

Sunday

2012 Olympic Summer Games (NBC) – More cycling, swimming, men’s and beach volleyball, gymnastics, water polo, rowing leading into primetime coverage for women’s gymnastics qualifying, swimming finals, and diving; followed by late night canoe and kayak.
Hillbilly Handfishin’ (AnPl, 8pm) Season Premiere – Fishin’.

The procrastinator lists items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation other than those underlined. Times noted are typically PST.

watch this: bunheads

July 16, 2012 No Comments

First let me say this is one of the dumbest titles. That said, much like a Cougar Town we must accept and get past it. Even with all of the television that I watch there are certain categories of shows that I’m missing. I like some good dramas, I like some good comedies, I like some good procedural, and then there’s Bunheads.

The easiest and most apt recommendation for this show is if you miss Gilmore Girls this show is for you. Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino doesn’t stray far from the GG feel and although it’s not quite Lorelei and Rory it’s got enough of the good ingredients and enough potential that it fills a spot for me that I missed.

Main character Michelle (not Lorelei) played by Broadway star Sutton Foster is a classically trained dancer who ended up as a Vegas showgirl. In a moment of weakness she marries an admirer who sweeps her off to a small beach town, Paradise (not Stars Hollow). And lo and behold his mother is played by Mrs. Gilmore herself Kelly Bishop, but this time as a former dancer she channels the more artsy while still managing to spar delightfully with not Lorelei. The not Rory role is filled by four aspiring ballet dancers, aka bunheads, who each fit a type of girl. This is an ABC Family show after all.

From the quirky small town traditions to the eccentric characters (yes in need of development) to the overly verbose witty banter, so far I dig it. And as noted it’s still hitting its stride but I’m interested to see Michelle’s fish out of water gal get entrenched with the ballet studio and the main characters while they continue to develop the world they live in. Here’s hoping that it lives up to the potential and becomes something so that I actually don’t think of it as not GG.

Details: Bunheads, ABC Family, Mondays at 9pm (catch it from the start with On Demand).

new and noteworthy tv: 7/16-7/22

July 14, 2012 1 Comment

The final week of the tour should be getting folks in shape for Olympic coverage coming next week…

Monday

The Batmobile (CW, 8pm) – Sadly I don’t know if we’ll see any Christian Bale in the evolution of the Batmobile.
Eureka (Syfy, 8/9pm) Series Finale – What will go wrong in Eureka next and will they live happily ever after, I’m kinda over this show but always kinda sad to say goodbye.
Market Warriors (PBS, 9pm) Series Premiere – Flea market fun.
Degrassi (Teen, 10pm) Season Premiere – More teen Canadian drama.

Tuesday

American Gypsies (NGC, 9pm) Series Premiere – Let’s follow along with some Manhattan psychic gypsies.
The LA Complex (CW, 9pm) Season Premiere – When Canadian teens want to make it big they go to LA, this was so bad it was good and then it just got bad, do I tune back in?

Wednesday

Mama Drama (VH1, 11pm) Series Premiere – Mothers and daughters together again.

Thursday

Project Runway (Life, 9pm) Season Premiere – We’re back from the All Stars!
Great Lake Warriors (Hist, 10pm) Series Premiere – Sailors operating tugboats on Great Lakes.
Sullivan & Son (TBS, 10pm) Series Premiere – A son returns to buy back his dad’s bar, and the actor is a comedian, so I think it’s supposed to be funny.

Friday

King of Dirt (DIY, 9pm) Season Premiere – Landscape away.
John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show (Com, 11pm) Season Premiere – More stand-up.

Saturday

30 Greatest NBC Olympic Moments (NBC, 8pm) – USA, USA, USA!
Rove LA (TVG, 10pm) Series Premiere – Australian comedian interviews US stars.

Sunday

Tour de France (NBC, 10am) – The final week’s coverage on NBCSN rides into Paris for the glory lap and a final sprint stage, will the jerseys change hands before then?
Teen Choice Awards (Fox, 8pm) – Because our teen icons need to be honored.
Bar Rescue (Spike, 9pm) Season Premiere – Transformation of failing bars.
The Bachelorette (ABC, 8/10pm) Season Finale – I have at least one friend who still watches these, she picks and then they all talk…
Flip Men (Spike, 10pm) Season Premiere – Turning foreclosures around.

The procrastinator lists items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation other than those underlined. Times noted are typically PST.

technology

there’s an app for that…

July 12, 2012 No Comments

Someone I know has just made the big switch to the iPhone, which of course led to the ‘what apps do you use’ conversation. I’m not a huge app person, but I’ve downloaded a smattering that I don’t use and a few that I do. In addition to standard email, web, phone, camera, clock, and text functions here’s where I spend my time:

System Options:

Calendar, Notes, Contacts – Sync with my Outlook so all my info is at my fingertips.
ITunes – I’m dabbling with Pandora and Spotify but on the phone this is still my go to for tunes.
Maps – Who doesn’t want to know where they are and how to get places?
Weather – Who doesn’t need a weather report?

Social Networking:

Twitter and Facebook – These are great time killers when you’re stuck somewhere or desperately need to tell people what you’re up to, right now.

Entertainment:

Fandango – Movie times with reviews and all that.
IMDB – Having a conversation that starts with something like ‘you know that guy who was in that movie,’ look it up.
TV Guide/Comcast – On occasion I haven’t memorized the TV schedule and for some reason need to check it, haven’t developed a preference to one or the other of these.
Yelp – Love the search where I’m at option on this.

Transportation:*

Routsey/Transporter – I recently tried using Transporter when Routsey had times wrong for muni but I think it’s just muni, so I’m back to Routsey for quick checks on next bus, train, bart.
Taxi Magic – Want to call a cab?
Uber – Want to pay a little bit more for a car that will actually show?

Functional Stuff:

Dictionary.com – I swear they don’t always have a lot of words but sometimes the easiest lookup.
Evernote – I’m pondering greater embracing of this system, love the possibilities but still have some stuff on straight up Notes.

Misc:

All Text Picture/ASCII TextPics – A friend of mine got into texting ascii pics so I had to return.
Groupon/LivingSocial – I do occasionally purchase these so having this on my phone is user friendly when I want to redeem.
Lotto – When I remember that I have a lotto ticket in my wallet that I haven’t checked I need to check it immediately.
Mustache – My first received recommendation, pick a stache and hold up to your face for fun filled talking.
RL Classic – I occasionally need to view a bar code, but you know, almost never.

There are a myriad of apps that I have downloaded for one reason or another but don’t actually use… What apps am I missing? Tell us in comments what apps you can’t live without.

*My transportation stuff is SF focused but I’m sure there’s local action for each locale.

new and noteworthy tv: 7/9-7/15

July 6, 2012 No Comments

Relieve to have the Tour as my only sports obligation, I mean it’s a fun obligation but it’s a lot of tv…

Monday

Tour de France (NBCSN, 5am) – Another week kicks off with the time trials, will Wiggins prevail?
Bizarre Foods in America (Trav, 9pm) Season Premiere – $750 cupcake?
The Closer/Perception (TNT, 9/10pm) Season/Series Premiere – Goodbye to Brenda and hello to Eric McCormack and his psychotically induced imaginary friends as he joins Rachel Leigh Cook to solve FBI cases.
The Bad Girls Club (Oxy, 10pm) Season Premiere – More bad.
Opening Act (E!, 10pm) Series Premiere – Picking a band from the online competition sounds like a recipe for success.

Tuesday

Destination Truth (Syfy, 8pm) Season Premiere – Bigfoots and Goblins oh my!
Hardcore Pawn (Tru, 9pm) Season Premiere – I’m sure there is a difference amongst the pawn shows but…
Trust Us With Your Life/NY Med (ABC, 9/10pm) Series Premieres – Celebrity improv and another visit to another hospital to see how the real healers heal.
White Collar/Covert Affair (USA, 9/10pm) Season Premieres – How Neal gets back into the FBI fold from his island escape is I’m sure one plot twist away and more CIA thrills.

Wednesday

Beverly Hills Nannies (ABCFam, 9pm) Series Premiere – Writing that title makes me physically ill.
Damages /Hit & Miss (DirTV, 9/10pm) Season/Series Premieres – Those crazy legal ladies are back, and then Chloe Sevigny as a contract killer who happens to be a transsexual, you bet.
Toddlers and Tiaras (TLC, 9pm) Season Premiere – More of this.
The Franchise (Show, 10pm) Season Premiere – A season with the Miami Marlins.
Picked Off (Hist, 10pm) Series Premiere – Throw team competition into a pawn show.
Restaurant: Impossible (Food, 10pm) Season Premiere – Steak and Seafood done wrong?

Thursday

Big Brother (CBS, 9pm) Season Premiere – Is this show still on?
Natural Born Sellers (HGTV, 9pm) Series Premiere – Too lazy to look up what they’re selling.
The Real L Word/Polyamory (Show, 10/11pm) Season/Series Premieres – NYC lesbians join and relationships multi partner style.
Property Wars (Disc, 10pm) Series Premiere – Battle on.
Top Spot (Trav, 10pm) Series Premiere – Your pick of the best of three.

Friday

Tyler Perry’s for Better or for Worse (TBS, 9pm) Season Premiere – I guess worse is more dramatic…

Saturday

Dark Matters (Sci, 10pm) Season Premiere – Looking into the dark?

Sunday

Leverage (TNT, 8pm) Season Premiere – I just can’t resist this fluffy con/heist show.
Breaking Bad/Small Town Security (AMC, 10/11pm) Season/Series Premiere – Walt and Jesse appear to have survived another season and the reality of private security.
Political Animals (USA, 10pm) Series Premiere – Word is good on this Sigourney Weaver as fictional not Hillary Clinton.
Strange Sex (TLC, 10pm) Season Premiere – More sexual irregularities.
3 Days to Open with Bobby Flay (Food, 10pm) Series Premiere – Can he help in time?
Combat Pawn (Tru, 10:30pm) Series Premiere – How much pawn can we take?

The procrastinator lists items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation other than those underlined. Times noted are typically PST.

random

random bits of pinterest…

July 2, 2012 No Comments

Summer is in the air and it might be time to share some pins from the more nature oriented randomness…

more about the wild thing than the outfit…

a châteaux can only be surrounded by these…

Of course you can always check out the rest of my pins. Happy pinning!

new and noteworthy tv: 7/2-7/8

July 1, 2012 No Comments

Still wrapping some sports, but taking it a little bit light for the American holiday week…

Monday

Four Houses (TLC, 10pm) Series Premiere – Decorating times four.
Web Therapy (Show, 11pm) Season Premiere – Lisa Kudrow returns as the therapist most in need of therapy.

Tuesday

Michael Wood’s Story of England (PBS, 8pm) Series Premiere – History.
Haunted Highway (Syfy, 10pm) Series Premiere – Paranormal roads.

Wednesday

A Capitol Fourth (PBS, 8pm) – Host Tom Bergeron brings music and fireworks.
Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular (NBC, 9pm) – Regis hosts with performers and fireworks.
America’s Lost Treasures (NatGeo, 9pm) Series Premiere – Treasure, historical style.
Boston Pops Spectacular (CBS, 10pm) – Orchestra and fireworks.

Thursday

Breakfast at Wimbledon (ESPN, 4am) – Recover from the fourth with a little preshow the the Wimbledon action.

Friday

And recover from the fifth maybe by going out.

Saturday

Tour de France (NBC, 5am) – Stages 7 & 8 hit the network for a little weekend viewing, otherwise catch one of the many showings on NBCSN.
Wimbledon Highlights (ABC, 1pm, Sat & Sun) – Randomly the Wimbledon finals for both men and women are noted as “highlights” on ABC so keep the recording set for ESPN at 6am for what should be the full events.
Dog Whisperer (NatGeo, 8pm) Season Premiere – Cesar begins his final season of dog (or owner) interventions.
The Walking Dead (AMC, 8:30am) – Catch up from the beginning starting on Saturday or just the TiVo lost second half of season two starting Sunday at 11:30am.

Sunday

Big Ang (VH1, 9pm) Series Premiere – A mob wife gets her own show.

The procrastinator lists items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation other than those underlined. Times noted are typically PST.

summer series roundup

June 25, 2012 No Comments

There’s something about the tone of a summer series almost across the board, mindless and fluffy, and the somewhat year round cable offerings are more than happy to keep catering to that. So far only a couple are sticking around for another look from me, but I am making some progress on old Battlestar Gallactica.

Anger Management (Fx, 6/28) – We watched him crash but is this latest vehicle funny enough to get us watching Charlie Sheen again?
Baby Daddy (ABCFam) – Ah the hijinks of a young dude and his two buddies when left to care for a baby, I’ll pass.
Bunheads (ABCFam) – Gilmore Girls creator takes another stab at quirky chatterers in a small town, this time with a dumb title to convey the dance slant, I’m intrigued.
Common Law (USA) – What happens when the two best police detectives just can’t get along, couples counseling of course, not the best of the formulaic but watchable though I’ll pass.
Dallas (TNT) – Picking up characters old and new, I wasn’t ever quite on board the first time but I made it through the pilot with little interest, pass.
Hit and Miss (Dir, 7/11) – Chloe Sevingy is a pre-op transsexual contract killer, stay tuned.
Inside Men (BBCA) – Plotting of a scheme has me intrigued, it’s on the TiVo, stay tuned.
Longmire (A&E) – Can’t get enough of a quiet damaged small town sheriff, so far I’m on board.
Men at Work (TBS) – I sampled but couldn’t get on board with this four buddies hanging in and out of their magazine jobs, pass.
The Newsroom (HBO) – Alas no HBO for me but I was intrigued by the latest from Sorkin tackling a news show.
Perception (TNT, 7/9) – Eric McCormack as a schizophrenic neuroscientist who helps former student and FBI agent Rachel Leigh Cook solve crimes.
Political Animals (USA, 7/15) – Sigourney Weaver plays a similar to but not Hillary Clinton Secretary of State.
Saving Hope (NBC) – So if the main character, a brilliant and engaged doc of course, is in a coma and can’t talk to anyone… I barely made it through the pilot, pass.
Soul Man (TVL) – The latest old school feeling new sitcom of R&B singer turned Preacher, just not intrigued enough to check out, pass.
XIII (Reelz, 6/29) – A memory wiped secret agent tries to find out who he is, slightly intrigued but no Reelz for me.

As always the reality shows outweigh the scripted but I just can’t pay attention to every profession or kind of crime. There are also some early fall August releases like Come On (Matthew Perry’s return to NBC sitcom), Major Crimes (Mary McDonnell’s Closer character takes center stage), and Copper (AMC’s latest dated drama), stay tuned as we lump those into fall.

new and noteworthy tv: 6/25-7/1

June 22, 2012 No Comments

Starting the sporting portion of our summer schedule…

Monday

Wimbledon (ESPN2, 3:30am) – The fortnight of tennis begins!
Tour de France Preview (NBCSN, 8am, and various) – Who’s who and who to watch at this year’s tour.
Olympic Trials (NBC, 8pm, ongoing + NBCSN) – Swimming! The trials are starting and the focus on the pool begins as we get a look at the times Lochte and Phelps will be throwing down, other trials are taking place on cable including Track & Field, Diving, and Gymnastics.
Mobster Confessions (Disc, 9pm) Series Premiere – Mobster tales.
Hollywood Exes (VH1, 10pm) Series Premiere – Stop the madness, if you stop watching these shows they will go away.

Tuesday

Craft Wars (TLC, 10pm) Series Premiere – Tori Spelling hosts this competition of crafting.
Retired at 35 (TVL, 10pm) Season Premiere – Has this dude been unemployed for a year?

Wednesday

Final Witness (ABC, 10pm) Series Premiere – I think this is a combo of investigating and reenacting crimes.
The Real World (MTV, 10pm) Season Premiere – Apparently they haven’t run out of people or places to be real.

Thursday

Wipeout (ABC, 9pm) Season Premiere – Nerdy dudes vs. hot dudettes.
Anger Management/Louie/Brand X with Russell Brand (FX, 9/10/10:30pm) Series/Season Premieres – A new start for Charlie and Russell and another bad day for Louie.
Trip Flip (Trav, 9pm) Series Premiere – Excursions.
Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell (Food, 10pm) Series Premiere – Anne finds someone to turn restaurants around.
Awkward (MTV, 10:30pm) Season Premiere – Welcome back another season of romance and public humiliation as only high school can bring.

Friday

Chasing UFOs (NGC, 9pm) Series Premiere – A skeptic, a believer, and an undecided go chasing lights…
XIII (Reelz, 9pm) Series Premiere – A secret agent looks for his true identity, I’m thinking Bourne-esque, might be worth a look.

Saturday

Tour de France (NBCSN, 5am) – The boys are hitting the road for the first stage in the tour, get your dvrs cleared off!
X Games (ABC, 10am, various and ESPN/2) – The games kick it off on Thursday hitting network on the weekend for another crop of crazy runs and hopefully only minor injuries.
ER Nights (Health, 10pm) Series Premiere – Night time medical visits.

Sunday

Queen & Country (PBS, 8pm) Series Premiere – Starting with a look at the guards of the queen.
Weeds/Episodes (Show, 10/10:30pm) Season Premieres – Kicking off the final season of Weeds, do I move on past season three? and another season of Joey.

The procrastinator lists items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation other than those underlined. Times noted are typically PST.

watch this: the glee project

June 18, 2012 1 Comment

Here’s a new feature we’re trying out at pchron, ‘watch this’ throws a light on some shows that may be under your radar and are worth checking out. This first feature is a little nugget on Oxygen, The Glee Project. I caught this show last summer and was sucked in. But this year with deciding that singing competitions and Glee just sort of sucked, I wasn’t sure I’d be as enamored.

What keeps this engaging is its unique slant, this isn’t a competition for the best singer, it is casting for a specific show, Glee. And with the actual casting agent, vocal coach, choreographer, and creator of Glee making the call we get insight into the reality of the process. I don’t think watching Glee is a prerequisite, but having seen it might enhance your enjoyment.

The format is jam packed, the gang starts with a ‘homework assignment’ which is basically them being given a song and doing a group number, each person has to try to shine. The special mentor (someone from the Glee cast) picks the winner who gets some one-on-one time and an extra feature in the video. Then there’s the video, first they learn choreography, then they get in the vocal booth, and then we watch the shoot. It’s always a bit of a mess but at the end of the day they piece together a pretty good video, though they are all aware of who flailed.

The mentors (casting, vocals, and dance) pick the bottom three who then get to do a ‘last chance’ performance in front of creator Ryan Murphy. The first part of the show is more about whether they can bring it while fitting into the group and keeping up with the multiple demands of the musical numbers that make up the show. This second part gives them opportunities to not only perform but share a bit of their personality for Ryan who needs to decide whether the person is someone they can create a unique misfit character for. And when I say unique, they pick people from your standard geeky musical theater backgrounds but also like to add in peeps with a good story like a blind kid and a transgendered kid.

The kids are of course a mix of sweet, and annoying, and driven and all that, and there’s just a touch of their off screen time to add to the mix. As with all reality competitions at the end of the day I don’t so much care who the winner of the next The Glee Project is, but I enjoy tagging along for the competition.

Details: The Glee Project, Oxygen, Tuesdays at 10pm.

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