procrastinationchronicles.com – Page 8 – how television rules my life…

new and noteworthy: 2/13-2/26

February 11, 2023 No Comments

Wrapping a few more things, the very well done if not a bit odd Atlanta. I also did Fleishman is in Trouble which was pretty good but I was a little too annoyed by everyone to fully appreciate. And I Love That For You before my Showtime wraps up which was kind of amusing but very personality driven with Vanesssa Bayer and Molly Shannon. Also checked out Mo the dramedy of Palestinian refugee from Mohammed Amer and Ramy Youssef which I liked but it didn’t quite stick with me.

Red Rose (Net) Series Premiere, Wednesday 2/15 – Teens are in terror from an app, in this British drama, early reviews seem to say the cast elevates it.
Animal Control (Fox) Series Premiere, Thursday 2/16, 9pm – Joel McHale heads up a workplace comedy with lots of Animal Control hijinks.
Hello Tomorrow! (App+) Series Premiere, Friday 2/17 – Starring and EP’d by Billy Crudup, as a salesman selling lunar timeshares in this futuristic comedy.
The Company You Keep (ABC) Series Premiere, Sunday 2/19, 10pm – A con man and an undercover CIA operative kick off a little passion that can only lead to complications.
Black Snow (SundN) Series Premiere, Thursday 2/23 – A small-town murder never solved kicks up again when a time capsule is opened.
The Consultant (Am) Series Premiere, Friday 2/24 – Christoph Waltz in this comedic thriller based on the novel.
Liaison (App+) Series Premiere, Friday 2/24 – A French/English thriller, will the mistakes of their past destroy their future?
Party Down (Starz) Series Premiere, Friday 2/24, 9pm – This is billed as Season 3 but we’re picking up ten years later with our fave caterers, excited they got the gang back together headed up by Adam Scott, the original series was funny.

And for anyone on the lookout for Magnum PI it’s moving from CBS to NBC on 2/19.

The procrastinator lists mostly scripted items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted are typically PST, please check your local listings.

tv

i don’t want to wait

February 4, 2023 No Comments

I know that streaming shows use a few different models but I am tired of waiting for shows to be released weekly.

Like a drug dealer, they give you a few upfront. The first four episodes of Poker Face sure you can have them. But after that, you need to wait a week for a single episode. This early release of some for me seems to counter the argument that you should space them out. Though I will admit rewatching early broadcast shows tends to give me a bit of a disconnect with time.

I’m honestly not a huge binger. I’m not going to be up until 4 am watching a series. But I do often like to watch them quicker than one a week. With Poker Face even two a week would feel better. I just finished Leverage: Redemption and skipped a week so I could do two together.

And yes I know we used to do this all the time. Part of the problem is that I’ve gotten soft with a DVR. I no longer even know what time and day some shows are on. My TiVo grabs it when it’s on and then I check in and there is a queue of stuff that I have selected. The streaming services just don’t have a great interface for that.

And don’t get me started on a new season. Some shows are in my “watch again” list when I haven’t even caught the final season. Also because streaming seasons tend to be shorter and you do watch them more quickly it can be a full year or more between seasons. I honestly don’t remember what happened. I really would have it all there, even if it takes me forever (from a modern perspective) to get through Better Call Saul or Lucifer.

Now there is a little bit of a water cooler component about some shows. I find that Stranger Things for example is something that people watch right away. So if I want to stay up on things I have to jump on it. But for the most part, everyone is watching something different, there are just too many shows to be immediately up to date on everything.

So if I’m not being cutting edge I could just wait until the entire series is completed. But if everyone did that everything would get canceled because no one would be watching. I get it, it’s a business. Another reason for them to string you out a bit.

Overall I tend to do a mix of catch-up on the full series I’ve missed, a slight delay so I don’t have to wait between episodes, and real-time viewing. Has anyone solved this?

tv

new and noteworthy tv: 1/30-2/12

January 29, 2023 No Comments

Cranking through a few streaming items with the latest season of Ramy which is still good and odd, Girl From Plainville which left me a little unsatisfied with its take on the real scenario, and the latest season of Leverage: Redemption which I find fun. I also started Poker Face on Peacock and my only complaint is the weekly spacing out of episodes.

Over the next couple of weeks I’ll check out Not Dead Yet and of course the latest season of You, though I may delay a bit on that while I catch up with 2022 shows to do my Top Tv post.

The Watchful Eye (Free) Series Premiere, Monday 1/30, 9/10pm – Everyone has secrets including a new live-in nanny at an affluent NY family.
The Great British Baking Show: The Professionals (Net) Series Premiere, Wednesday 2/1 – I don’t particularly dig cooking shows, but I feel like people are into these ones.
Gunther’s Millions (Net) Series Premiere, Wednesday 2/1 – We follow the rich and famous in reality why not a wealthy dog?
The Ark (Syfy) Series Premiere, Wednesday 2/1, 10pm – In the future when we’re trying to colonize other planets damage to a ship tests their mission.
Freeridge (Net) Series Premiere, Thursday 2/2 – I didn’t stick with On My Block, but this is a spinoff in some way.
Dear Edward (App+) Series Premiere, Friday 2/3 – Based on the book a story of a kid who survives a plane crash that kills his family.
State of the Union (Various) Tuesday 2/7, 6pm pacific.
Not Dead Yet (ABC) Series Premiere, Wednesday 2/8, 8:30/9:30pm – Gina Rodriguez stars as a broke and newly single obituary column writer.
You (Net) Season Premiere, Thursday 2/9 – Our favorite obsessive gets a new chapter, let’s see what the body count looks like this time.
Superbowl (Fox) Sunday 2/12, 3:30pm pacific – Sportsball and related content.

The procrastinator lists mostly scripted items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted are typically PST, please check your local listings.

best, books

procrastinator’s best books of 2022

January 22, 2023 No Comments

As usual, I’ll just share all the books I read last year since the list isn’t much longer than ten. And as usual, most of them are book club books*. I didn’t get a ton of outside reading in and I also somehow mostly stopped reading nonfiction which I’ll take a look at this year. And though I’m at least a year behind due to holding for paperbacks, you can check out the critic’s best of 2022 here.

The First Bad Man by Miranda July* – My review was ‘it’s not not weird.’ Book club overall was amused and we had a great discussion, overall it wasn’t my fave.
Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry* – Two ‘old’ dudes reminiscing as they wait for a daughter, meh, book club may have liked this more than I did.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid* – I missed book club for this one but thought this older starlet telling her story to a writer was fun.
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro* – Generally favorable discussion of a unique narrator and her intriguing perspective with limited POV.
All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris* – This was a fun book club in that we enjoyed talking about all the things we hated about this book including the so dumb protagonist.
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr – A between book club book took me a bit to wrap up around reading, not for lack of interest, a compelling journey with our two main characters during the Nazi occupation of France.
Severance by Ling Ma* – For me this was a little ‘too soon’ with the pandemic parallels but I also found the office humor more real than humorous, book club enjoyed it.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers* – A somewhat interesting setup of different aliens but not enough story or character, etc. mostly I am totally over the first of a trilogy, make a book a book even if there’s more.
The Idiot by Elif Batuman* – Some appreciated the book more than others (me less so), decent moments but could have used more editing and story, amused but no LOL for me.
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead* – I enjoyed this tale of a man looking at how to live an honest life in 1960s NY, or is he?
(March by Geraldine Brooks*) – I actually read this book ages ago but honestly didn’t remember, and decided my not remembering wasn’t a sign to reread.
Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates* – I truthfully finally finished this today, at 738 pages it’s hard for me not to suggest some culling, an interesting look but for a fictionalized version felt like more Marilyn insight was warranted.
The Netanyahus An Account of a Minor and Ultimatelyeven Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family by Joshua Cohen* – I was sick for this book club but think the gist which I agree with was that it was a fun fictionalized look into 1950s upstate New York college though at times got a bit academic.
Breath by James Nestor – My dentist recommended this and while interesting and jam-packed with history more intrigued by trying some of the breathing exercises in the appendix, which I didn’t really follow through with.
Essentialism by Greg McKeown – Very readable and pretty in sync with the Less is More philosophy I work with so many of my clients on, and of course, continue to try to focus on myself.
Negotiating with Your Kids by Alice Shikina – A fun addition to the negotiating class, a short book about negotiating with the younger set, with illustrations by her mom.

What were your faves last year?

technology, tv

HBO has landed!

January 17, 2023 No Comments

I finally got HBO. Technically HBO Max. With this statement there seem to be two responses. 1) Really you didn’t have HBO? 2) It’s about $%^& time.

Clearly, my fine pchron readers know I’m a big fan of tv. So why didn’t I have HBO, the home to some of the greatest tv?

It was a little bit about money but it was mostly the principle of the thing. I pay for cable, not the premium channel version obviously but the version below that. And it is not cheap. And I pay for Netflix. And I pay for Hulu. And I pay for Amazon Prime.

Now I actually first threw down for Amazon Prime because they had a backlog of shows from HBO. The Wire, you bet! So I had done a basic pass over all the old greats. And I think I watched some things live with various friends and family.

But there was still so much TV to watch. I constantly have a backlog of tv. And so I didn’t need more shows. I didn’t want to get hooked on even more shows. I had already started dabbling with having a streaming option for a bit to watch shows and then cancel it. AppleTV and Paramount+ filled the gap on a few things. But I felt like if I got HBO it would be hard to cancel and just dip back in for a few things.

And to be honest I am planning to do some research into tv options. I think with everything I pay for it’s somewhat duplicative and probably too expensive. So maybe I’ll switch to Hulu Live or YouTube TV or whatever. And whenever I got around to that I was going to reevaluate everything.

Well, that ‘whenever’ has dragged on for a while.

And Saturday I sat down to watch a movie and really didn’t want to watch anything available. I’m trying to catch up on some of the ‘best of 2022.’ And I used to go to the movies a good amount. But since the pandemic, I’ve never quite gotten back to the in-person theater. I’m not saying I’m done for good but I definitely have moved to more streaming. And last year even paid for a few flicks.

So getting HBOMax doesn’t seem like that big of an investment. Done.

So I’m starting with the more current options. Saturday night I watched The Banshees of Inisherin (odd but good) and The Menu (a sweet and savory sendup). And have started in on The White Lotus and Barry. So far it’s worth the investment.

I’ll also get to catch additional seasons of a few shows that moved to HBO Max like The Other Two, Search Party, and Harley Quinn (this might have just been a tease on non-HBO).

What should I watch next?

tv

new and noteworthy tv: 1/16-1/29

January 13, 2023 No Comments

When I was sick I gave myself permission to binge through the latest season of Emily in Paris which continues to be trash but entertaining trash. I also cranked through the sweet Heartstopper. I typically save half-hour streaming comedies for when I exercise with my in-apartment bike pedals. Once I got that back in action I wrapped up the final season of Derry Girls, which was definitely a fun series. And a few new things hitting the radar.

Night Court (NBC) Series Premiere, Tuesday 1/17, 8/8:30pm – The early version of this show had charm and sounds like this might need a beat but has potential.
That ’90s Show (Net) Series Premiere, Thursday 1/19 – Continuing the reboot trend, That ’70s Show characters return this time with Kitty and Red dealing with their grandkid and supposedly everyone (not currently facing rape charges) is reprising their role as guest appearances, again the original had some charm so we’ll see.
Accused (Fox) Series Premiere, Sunday 1/22, 9pm – This anthology series brings a different crime told from the defendant’s POV.
Extraordinary (Hulu) Series Premiere, Wednesday 1/25 – If everyone develops a superpower when they turn 18, what happens if yours doesn’t show, a look at a world with and without powers.
Poker Face (Pea) Series Premiere, Thursday 1/26 – Natasha Lyonne going from place to place solving crimes, yes please.
Wolf Pack (Para+) Series Premiere, Thursday 1/26 – Sarah Michelle Geller in a werewolf tv show, sure I’ll check it out.
Shrinking (App+) Series Premiere, Friday 1/27 – Jason Segel plays a grieving therapist who actually starts telling his patients what he thinks.
Lockwood & Co (Net) Series Premiere, Friday 1/27 – A small ghost-hunting agency in London made up of some gifted teens.

The procrastinator lists mostly scripted items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted are typically PST, please check your local listings.

tv

midseason fun

January 8, 2023 No Comments

While I think we’ve all become accustomed to less official tv seasons, the networks do still have a slate of offerings that roll out in the new year. Here are a few things to keep your eye out for. Along with a few returning shows including a couple I watch, 911: Lone Star (Fox, 1/17) which is super random but somehow I got hooked, and American Auto (NBC, 1/24) which had some potential last year but hadn’t quite found its footing yet.

Will Trent (ABC) Tuesday 1/3, 10pm – Based on Karin Slaughter’s book series we follow a Georgia Special Agent who brings his own upbringing baggage for good and for bad, I caught the first one of these and thought the cast had promise.
Alert (Fox) Sunday 1/8, 8pm – This focuses on a missing person’s unit with a woman whose son is missing and early buzz is not good but we’ll see.
Night Court (NBC) Tuesday 1/17, 8pm – If you remember the old Night Court, it’s back, and John Larroquette reprises his role alongside Melissa Rauch who will play judge Harry Stone’s daughter.
Accused (Fox) Sunday 1/22, 9pm – A look at defendants in criminal trials as an anthology series, based on the British series.
Not Dead Yet (ABC) Wednesday 2/8, 8:30/9:30 – Gina Rodriguez plays an obituary writer trying to restart her life and I think talking to the dead.
Animal Control (Fox) Thursday 2/16, 9pm – Joel McHale heads up a cast focusing on the people, and animals, that animal control has to deal with.
Found (NBC) Sunday 2/19, 10pm – I guess this is like Alert in its focus on missing persons, this one features a person who was once missing. (Update: This is apparently being held until fall)
The Company You Keep (ABC) Sunday 2/19, 10pm – Can a con man and undercover office find love?
True Lies (CBS) Thursday 2/23, 9pm – A series adaptation of the film where a suburban wife finds out her hubs is a spy and she gets in on the game.

There are also some new reality/gameshow options: The Parent Test (ABC, 12/15), America’s Got Talent: All Stars (NBC, 1/2), Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test (Fox, 1/4), Lingo (CBS, 1/11).

Stay tuned to New & Noteworthy posts for biweekly updates and check your local listings.

tv

new and noteworthy tv: 1/2-1/15

December 30, 2022 No Comments

I have been playing catchup and was on the brink of wrapping up a few series… This Fool on Hulu (mildly amusing but not my thing), Killing It on Peacock (dumb but pretty funny), HighSchool on Freevee (I liked the idea of the twins’ story more than I felt compelled by the execution though would come back), and Evil (still too creepy but good) and The Good Fight (sad to say goodbye to these peeps) on Paramount+. I’m poking around for a minute on Paramount+ before canceling that subscription. I’m also adding a few other shows from best of 2022 lists before switching to movies. And of course, midseason is officially kicking off.

Will Trent (ABC) Series Premiere, Tuesday 1/3, 10pm – Based on a book series this agent in the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (huh?) uses his unique POV to clear cases.
Ginny & Georgia (Net) Season Premiere, Thursday 1/5 – I was surprisingly engaged with the first season of this family looking for new beginnings that find more than a few complications, it’s sweet and a little edgy.
The Rig (Am) Series Premiere, Friday 1/6 – A supernatural mist comes to an oil rig.
Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches (AMC & others) Series Premiere, Sunday 1/8, 9pm – Based on the books, a woman discovers she’s part of a witch fam and of course, there’s some drama.
Alert (Fox) Series Premiere, Sunday 1/8, 9pm – A new missing person drama set in Philly.
Velma (HBOM) Series Premiere, Thursday 1/12 – Mindy Kaling voices the key member of the Scooby gang in this adult animated comedy.
The Last of Us (HBO) Series Premiere, Sunday 1/15, 9pm – A futuristic look at a man and girl trying to survive after the collapse of modern civilization.
The Way Home (Hall) Series Premiere, Sunday 1/15, 9pm – I don’t follow any of Hallmark’s series but assuming they’re relatively formulaic, this is a multigenerational family drama.

The procrastinator lists mostly scripted items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted are typically PST, please check your local listings.

tv

new and noteworthy tv: 12/19-1/1

December 18, 2022 No Comments

Trying to do a little damage to my list of shows on other people’s top tv lists and should continue over the holidays when new selections are low. There’s plenty of holiday fare and some specials. I wrapped up Dead to Me which was an odd and interesting journey about these two unlikely friends. The Patient might have been good but the subject matter (serial killer holding his therapist hostage) ended up a bit too dark for me. And Reboot with a cute enough premise and cast to make it work. The procrastinator wishes you lots of celebration and connection and lots of good things to watch.

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (Am) Season Premiere, Wednesday 12/21 – Is anyone watching this show, seems like it might be entertaining in a formulaic sort of way but I haven’t tried it?
Emily in Paris (Net) Season Premiere, Wednesday 12/21 – I don’t like this series but it’s one of the few series I find myself doing a quick binge on.
The Snap (Allblk) Series Premiere, Thursday 12/22 – Not to be confused with “The Slap,” a ‘god’ challenges peeps to see situations in a new light, it’s a comedy?
Pinata Masters! (Net) Series Premiere, Friday 12/23 – Reality spotlight, there is no area we can’t make a competition out of, will the kids like them?
The Witcher: Blood Origin (Net) Series Premiere, Sunday 12/25 – If you’ve always wondered about the story behind the Witcher.
Treason (Net) Series Premiere, Monday 12/26 – The past catches up with an MI6 agent, will secrets be exposed?
Kaleidoscope (Net) Series Premiere, Sunday 1/1 – Giancarlo Esposito, Rufus Sewell, Paz Vega among others are part of a crew looking to pull off a big ass heist.
Paul T. Goldman (Pea) Series Premiere, Sunday 1/1 – A mix of real life and dramatized scenes in the style of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.

The procrastinator lists mostly scripted items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted are typically PST, please check your local listings.

tv

new and noteworthy tv: 12/5-12/18

December 3, 2022 No Comments

Nothing much to see here. Which is allowing me to play some catchup. Wrapped up the oddly compelling Yellowjackets (Show), not sure how those girls are dealing with things and all the secrets from the past but I’m in. Welcome to Wrexham (FX/Hulu) which was like a real-life Ted Lasso for those of us who don’t follow football aka soccer, they did a good job weaving the stories of the players, the town, and the big purchase by Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds. Grace & Frankie (Net) which felt like kind of a throwback sitcom but you can’t go wrong with hijinks with this cast headed by Jane Fond and Lily Tomlin. Reservation Dogs (Hulu) continued to bring it in season 2 with engaging and offbeat stories of four indigenous teens in Oklahoma. And Mind Your Manners one of the latest reality fare from Netflix, I try to limit my reality but the combo of learning new things and heartwarming stories sometimes slips through, this was fine enough.

And I start to look at all the series folks are starting to say are the best of the year. While I used to be able to do my top tv of the year posts at year close, now I always try to do a little catchup. Target Feb (because then I need to move on to movies). Until then I’ve got a busy slate. Still working through The Good Fight and Better Call Saul. Just started High School on Freevee and This Fool on Hulu, and while both had moments they didn’t immediately grab me.

But we can’t get away without anything new:

Kindred (Fx/Hulu) Series Premiere, Tuesday 12/13 – Adapted from the novel, a woman relocating her family to LA starts being pulled through time.
The Recruit (Net) Series Premiere, Friday 12/16 – New to the FBI and into big secrets.
1923 (Para+) Series Premiere, Sunday 12/18 – If you haven’t gotten enough of Yellowstone here’s Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren in a pre-prequel?

The procrastinator lists mostly scripted items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted are typically PST, please check your local listings.