12.17.2013

The Last Five: TV Shows We've Binge-Watched

Do you have some time off for the holidays and need TV programming to fill your days and nights?

Have you already watched every Christmas special and It's a Wonderful Life more times than the law should allow?

Do you want to get your Netflix money's worth?

Is it sad that I thought this deserved its own post (in chronological order)? Probably.

Nevertheless.

The Walking Dead.  We got hooked right around this time last year. Like, to the point that we almost blew off the Holiday Boat Parade of Lights to watch Season Two (we took a break to go see the boat parade, it's a delightful annual tradition). To the point that E dreamt of a zombie attack and sleep-punched me in the head (luckily his fist was buffered by three layers of blankets so I was cushioned from the blow). To the point that we came home at 8pm on New Year's Eve to start Season 3.
  • What I keep telling my brother and his girlfriend who kind of fell off the wagon mid-Season 2: just get through it, or if you must, just skip ahead and watch the finale of Season 2 because I didn't realize how boring Season 2 was until we got into Season 3. Also, Season 3 is kind of frustrating because it keeps building up and can feel slow at times, but the payoff is worth it.
  • Come for the zombies, stay for the Arm Porn: i.e. - Norman Reedus gets better every. season. (How is he equally lovable and sexy being tough and insanely vulnerable? Also, see photo below for a completely true story.)
  • On that note, 50 Shades of Grey: Almost every character (at least the ones with more than a few minutes of talking time) is totally complex. They have good moments, they have bad moments. They can be heroic and weak. They make tough choices and stupid decisions. You hate them one episode and are in awe of them the next. This isn't a show about surviving a zombie apocalypse, it's about humanity and building society.
  • Which character am I most like? Honestly I wouldn't have survived more than about a week. But I'm sure I'd be like Beth... probably not overly enthusiastic about killing things but I'm happy to pitch in how I can, whether that's taking care of the kids or helping to decorate the camp.

We also really enjoy The Talking Dead, although we often don't watch it until a day or two later and it can sometimes take us like, 90 minutes to watch because we keep pausing and injecting our own analysis (it's best that the two of us watch it alone because we're obnoxious).

Game of Thrones. It's as epic as everyone said it would be, even if it took me a few episodes to get the hang of who people are, where they are, why we hate certain people, get used to the limb-chopping, etc.
  • Favorite Person: Jon Snow (obvi, I like cute boys with long curly hair despite his generally poor decision-making skills. Sidebar: Trying to convince E he should grow his hair out again to be more Jon Snow-esque.. he tells me it's not as curly, I tell him he knows nothing.) Also, this video is awesome if you enjoy a good training montage.
  • What Makes Me Want To Throw Things At My TV: Whenever Theon Greyjoy chews soemthing, Ugh. Stop. HOWEVER - his situation has dragged on too long and -- sidebar -- I ADORE the squid fireplace (as shown below).
  • Person Who Needs To Be Introduced To Daenerys Targaryen's Dragons The Sooner The Better: Joffrey, duh.
  • WTF Moment (besides the Red Wedding): The Red Lady getting naked just to do some moderate leeching of Gendry... like, sure she's got a nice bod but why was that necessary? It wasn't.
    It wouldn't be weird to have this fireplace
    in a suburban home, right?
Sidebar #2 - My Aunt Gloria designed some of the jewelry that Daenerys has worn, cool right?! You can see it here - http://www.pinterest.com/farringnearrain/game-of-thrones/

Sidebar #3 - Once you've gotten to know the characters you will find this video hi-freakin'-larious. The people behind this are genius..it's gold... like, this is what Glenn Beck should be telling people to buy to secure their assets.

Orange Is The New Black.  It's smart, it's sassy, it's diverse, it tells interesting stories. This article summarizes most of my concerns.
  • Most Compelling Inmate: Pennsatucky. Yes she is absolutely nuts but I absolutely have to know what she does next. But I am also dying to know Suzanne's life story.
  • Made Me Cry Moment: Pretty sure it was Piper saying goodbye to Larry in the first episode. Also when Miss Claudette finally had a visitor.
  • I Cannot Deal With: Healy you sonuvabitch. I really started out thinking you might be alright. I hope your green card wife makes you miserable.
  • Have Such Mixed Feelings About: Pornstache. Part of me feels sorry for him. Also E nixed the idea of being Pennsatucky and Pornstache for Halloween. No sense of fun, that guy ;)
  • Unintended Consequence: E now calls me "Chapman" whenever I wear my college sweats. Whatever, I love my school and my worn-in sweatshirt. #SorryImNotSorry


House of Cards. Dear Netflix you are so good to us. ohhhh Kevin Spacey -- you make me simultaneously want and fear you. Princess Buttercup - are you ever not stunning (except when you're being a B)?
  • Person I Started Out Not Liking Who Has Grown On Me: Zoe Barnes, once she started doing actual journalism (it still exists!).
  • The Event Planner in Me Adored: The impromptu moving of the CWI gala to the outdoor entrance of the hotel. Of course it still looked great and the BBQ ribs are going to be better than any hotel rubber chicken dinner.
  • Why I Couldn't Make It On Capitol Hill: I still have some integrity.
  • Reason I Don't Fast-Forward Through That Chase "Pay-Your-French-Teaching-Crafty-Babysitter-With-Your-Cell-Phone" Commercial: Because Lucas is in it. Also, I didn't really buy him as an undercover cop who would pose as picking up high-class hookers. Not because he doesn't come across as a legit actor (the "Surrrre, send her an extra $20 for teaching our kid French" little nod is a total Dad move -- you know the one), but because he just seems nice and normal.
  • Phrase I Have Been Randomly Texting to E and Want to Put On A Tee-Shirt: JUSTICE FOR PETER RUSSO


The League. Had heard good things and even watched an episode or two sporadically but finally dove in at the insistance of a good friend who warned me to prepare for the crude humor.
  • Person Who Needs a Break: Andre. Poor guy. How he tolerates those guys and being the butt of their every joke I do not understand. Like, most of it I can laugh at but seriously just be nice once in awhile (the clothes are awful, agreed there). Sidebar #4: When Worlds Collide Moment - my first observation of the show was "Doesn't this guy look like a gumpy Peter Russo... Justice for Peter Russo!!"
  • I Still Don't Understand: Does Pete have a job?
  • Why I Only Played One Season of Fantasy Football: I drafted really well but got kind of attached to my players and when they started getting injured I felt bad about dropping/replacing them.
  • Probably Wasn't Supposed to Absolutely Love This Moment, But: Promising a romantic "Terrific Lady" weekend that involved a posh hotel room, dressing up, classy drinks sounds fun, but political talk puts it over the top.
  • Phrases We Have Been Over-Using at Inappropriate Times: "Fun With Feces" and "Try the Veal, Child."


And I would be remiss in not mentioning that our first TV series binge-watching experience came via Mad Men. Still such a great show. The clothes! The hair! The Don! The -isms (alcohol/sex/race/age/etc)!

Ok, but the only thing about watching three seasons worth of TV in 3-4 weeks is the huge let-down when you have to wait for more episodes to be completed, and being on normal-people-time, waiting a week between shows and months betwwen seasons. RUN ON MY TIME BECAUSE I HAVE DARYL DIXON AND JON SNOW WITHDRAWLS!

What shows are you binge-watching (or regular-watching)? What should I add to my list? What are you getting emotional over and to which characters are you unreasonably attached? What kind of actual hobby should I get? Most importantly, WHEN ARE DARYL DIXON AND JON SNOW GETTING NAKED (not together, the TV and Internets couldn't handle that)?

Happy viewing!!!!
 

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