CBS Lineup Fall 2013

Nothing like doing this the night before the big night!!  CBS has more new shows than usual this year--eight!  Looking back, in 2011 it offered six new shows; last year it only had four newbies, and boy was I wrong about nearly everything.

I said Partners and Vegas would make it. I quit watching both of them after a few episode.  I said I wouldn't like Elementary--I still don't, but it's still on the air.  I was right about Made in Jersey. Anyone remember that one? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Take a look at the Fall lineup. Only one doesn't make the cut.

Here are my thoughts by night and time (Central time).

We Are Men (Monday at 7:30)--I added this one to the DVR. It looks really funny, and the cast is great! Tony Shalhoub (Monk), Jerry O'Connell (lots of stuff) and Kal Penn (Robin's phychologist boyfriend in How I Met Your Mother) star in the show along with a couple of newcomers.  Sweet, young Carter gets dumped and moves into transitional housing.  Several other divorced guys live there too, and they take Carter under their wing and help him get back in the dating game.  I'm kind of excited about this one.

Mom (Monday at 8:30)--Chuck Lorre, the genius behind 2 1/2 Men, is the executive producer of this comedy, so it has a chance of being really good.  Like the aforementioned show, they have a talented cast. Anna Faris of the Scary Movie movies and Allison Janney (she's been in everything), and French Stewart (the annoying guy on 3rd Rock) are just a few of the stars. Anna Faris' character is a newly- sober single mom, and she's trying to re-connect with her estranged mom (Janney). I think this one will make it.

Hostages (Monday at 9)--Thank you CBS, this is the show I have been waiting for!  It looks smart, suspenseful, well acted, and all around good.  CBS really pulled out the cash to hire good talent this year--Toni Collette, Dylan McDermott, and Tate Donovan star, and I love all of them, especially Tate. I've been a fan of his since he was in Space Camp, Friends, (as Rachel's boyfriend Joshua) and then in The O.C.  Plus, he shares a birthday with Scott (and so do Barbara Walters and Heather Locklear).
Collette's character is a surgeon, and she and her family are taken hostage by McDermott (I can think of worse things), only to be released if she kills the president while he's on the operating table.  I'm extremely excited about this one. Give it a try!

The Millers (Thursday at 7:30)--Even though Beau Bridges is a co-star in this show, I'm just not feeling it. I think it's going to be over-acted and generally not funny.  I could be wrong though.

The Crazy Ones (Thursday at 8)--I'm really surprised at CBS's decision to make Thursday a comedy night, but I'm supportive of this decision, especially with this show.  Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar are father and daughter ad agency executives. Williams' character is kind of crazy in his approach to advertising. Gellar's character is pretty professional.  And they got Kelly Clarkson to guest star, so it has my vote.

I'm sad to see Hawaii Five-O moved to Friday--not a good sign.  However, I'll admit that I have not been such a loyal fan in the last year.  One other change:  I have divorced The Good Wife. It's a good show, and I have really enjoyed it, but I'm a little tired of the story line and want to give some other shows my attention.  Best wishes, Alecia Florrick.  Plus, the show aired on Sunday nights, so during football season, only half of the show got recorded.

How I Met Your Mother is in its last season. We have watched that show since its first episode, and I don't really want to see it go.  It's a great show, but it has run its course, and I really, really want to know how Ted meets the kids' mother!

So here is our CBS DVR list:

Sunday:  Nothing.

Monday:  All but 2 Broke Girls.

Tuesday:  Nothing

Wednesday:  Survivor (eyes rolling, heavy sigh, yes, Scott still watches this foolishness).

Thursday:  Big Bang Theory, The Crazy Ones

Friday:  Hawaii Five-O


P.S. Thank you CBS for having a nicely navigable website with easy to find information.  Other networks should take a cue from your web designers.

ABC Lineup Fall 2013

I'm extremely late to the party this year.  I have never done my show reviews this late and I'm freaking out!! Fox already started its new shows this week; however, its website wasn't playing video so that I could review its shows, so that network is dead to me.  Except for Brooklyn 99. I'll give that one a try.

OK, back to ABC. I have been a pretty loyal ABC fan since NBC took a dive, but I have to say, I'm really disappointed with this fall's shows.  Plus, they're not making it very easy to do this blog...I had to go to some rando website to find this graphic, which is helpful to those that switched cable companies and have to re-program the DVR.

It looks like ABC is in a bit of a slump.  They had five new shows last fall, and only two of them, Nashville and The Neighbors, made it.  It appears someone may need a new program director....

Here are my thoughts of the eight new shows by night and time (Central time).  Eight!  That's a lot!! Tuesday nights are completely new shows, and I'm not all that interested in them. 

Betrayal (Sunday at 9)-Meh.  It kind of reminds me of Desperate Housewives but in a different package.  

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Tuesday at 7)-This isn't my type of show; however, I think this one will make it.  There are a lot of people that really get into super hero shows, just not me.  ABC has put a lot of air time into promoting this show, and it was on the cover of Entertainment Weekly several weeks ago.  If you like super hero movies, you may like the super hero t.v. show. Here's the trailer:

The Goldbergs (Tuesday at 8)-OK, I'm pretty curious about this one.  The trailers make me laugh (out loud!) and I think it's a cute, creative concept. Plus, George Segal plays the goofy grandpa, and I think that will be a nice touch.  It kind of reminds me of Little Miss Sunshine, but without the pageants. It's set in the 80s and a lot of the show is through the lens of the little brother's Super 8 camera.  I hope this one works out. It looks really funny. 

Trophy Wife (Tuesday at 8:30)-This is another one with a fun concept, and they have some good talent--Malin Akerman (I know her from How I Met Your Mother), Bradley Whitford and Marcia Gay Hardin!  Marcia is the smart, successful, but sort of boring first wife; Malin is the hot, fun, new wife.  This one may work out, but I'm not considering it DVR worthy. I'll watch it at my desk at work to see if I like it.

Lucky 7 (Tuesday at 9).  I can't figure out what is going on with this show. The only thing I know is that several people win the lottery.  Maybe they all did a pool to buy the ticket, maybe seven people each randomly won. I just can't decide what's going on.  So if the trailer confuses me, I'm not going to give it the time of day.

Back in the Game (Wednesday at 7)-This one looks cute, and James Caan plays the grumpy old dad.  I'm not terribly excited about it, and I don't think it'll work.  Too bad. I really like James Caan.

Super Fun Night (Wednesday at 8:30)-I can't decide if this one is going to be awesome or stupid.  Rebel Wilson, the super weird roommate from Bridesmaids is the star.  She was also in Pitch Perfect, which apparently, I am the only person in the world that has not seen that movie.  The previews look funny--a group of roommates decide they're done with staying in their apartment every night, and they decide to go out to chase boys. Hilarity ensues. I'm curious to see what kind of depth the show will have after the first episode.  I'm willing to give it a try, but it's on a three episode probation period.

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (Thursday at 7)-I was very wrong about Once Upon a Time. It ended up being a hit, and I said it looked dumb and wouldn't give it the time of day.  But I'm too stubborn to go check out the show, and I'm going to stick to my stubborn guns and pass on the new version.  Plus, I was never a huge Alice in Wonderland fan, which I realize makes me a wierdo, but because of my lack of Alice knowledge, I'm afraid I wouldn't understand much of the t.v. version.

Here are my ABC shows:

Sunday:  Revenge

Monday:  Nothing--and I realize that I'm one of two Americans that doesn't watch DWTS. That other American is Scott.

Tuesday:  The Goldbergs

Wednesday:  The Middle, Modern Family, Super Fun Night, Nashville (Wednesdays will be awesome!!)

Thursday:  Grey's Anatomy and Scandal (I LOVE THURSDAY!!!)

Friday:  Shark Tank and 20/20

Saturday:  Football when it's relevant to me.

The Carmen Home

This week, Gaylen Culver of KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City did a story on a piece of my childhood.

The Carmen Home, or "The Home" as we called it, is about a half a mile north of my parents' house. In fact, the first shot of the story was taken almost directly in front of their house.

The Home was built to be a orphanage, and it was later turned into a nursing home. My great grandma Ada lived there for the last few years of her life. We visited her nearly every week.  Our 4-H club went out there frequently. We would go Christmas caroling, perform our talent show acts, go visit in our Halloween costumes, and one time we even took our pets out there and let the residents play with them.

The Home closed when I was in college, or maybe right after I graduated.  The building is empty now, and is slowly turning into a state of disrepair.  It makes me sad to see it, but it was really neat to see the video shot from inside in this story.




Lots of people say that it's haunted now. Several years ago, some ghost hunters went through it and shot some creepy pictures. I tried to find them online, but they must have taken them down.