Mom whats on the TiVo?

December and early January are dull not only outside with grey sky, streets, and snow but also with Television. The vanilla replayed network and cable shows are nothing but boring as we as viewers can't stand to wait any longer for new episodes of our favorite shows. As a television viewer in the 21st century we are shocked when a show takes a week off or there is a three week hiatus. "What am I supposed to do without Modern Family this week? How will I survive without a new Glee fix?" We as consumers in this fast age of production and consumption cannot fathom or take a week without our favorite guilty pleasures. We need the instantaneous satisfaction of a new show, a new shoe, a new boy. So what is a girl supposed to do when all that is on the E! network is Bridalplasty and Knocked Up and The Christmas Story is playing every day non stop?

My answer: DVR/ TiVo. As I relaxed on the couch and flipped through my DVR I found some old favorites that I was smart enough to record while I was away at school: The latest seasons of Entourage, Little People Big World, and Grey's Anatomy. All very diverse but at the same time of favorites. I do not have a TiVo or DVR at school well because I know I would spend too much time watching TV and catching up on long lost shows, plus there is something about coming home for break and finding a nice surprise waiting for you on a fresh full DVR.

It's a Wonderful Life

As my family and I sit down to coffee and breakfast and eye and ohhh our presents I look back on this past year and have to say it has been a wonderful year as well as it is a wonderful life. I am thankful for my family which sounds so cliche but they are the best brothers and parents a 20 year old gal asks for. As well as my friends, old, new, young and old I look towards them for guidance and laughter. As you sit down or snuggle up on your couch and watch The Christmas Story remember and charish the real meaning of Christmas beyond Hallmark and Santa Clause.

Out With the Old in With the New

The show, Bridalplasty, on the E! network showcases a dozen brides who are married or are soon to be married to their Prince Charming's. The catch is that the dozen contestants will win prizes throughout the show with different wedding related games, the prizes: plastic surgery. As a young woman who hopes to marry in the future... lets hope not too near.... I think it is quite odd that you would want to transform not just your waist size but also your nose, your mouth, your eyes, ect. The men of these lovely ladies either are in it for the money or the fame. Wouldn't it be weird proposing to one woman and pulling of the veil on your wedding day to reveil a contorted version of your fiance? E! network must be desperate in this low time between Kardashian seasons.



Young girls dream of the day they will walk down the isle... or at least I do... in a white or cream color princess gown. Never in a million years would I ever picture myself competing on a cable network game show to contort my body for that walk down the isle.



This show puts vanity and plastic surgery or tries to put them on a pedestal but as a viewer one feels disgust and anger towards these women who have found love but feel that they have to cut their bodies up to be the "perfect" bride.

Bad Girls are the new Good Girls?

The Oxygen T.V. Show Bad Girls Club showcases so called bad girls from around the country, put them in a house, and see how they get along. Hmmmm it sounds quite similar to the MTV long running reality show Real World. The first time I watched Bad Girls Club I had to ask myself, "is this show for real?"

The Oxygen Network which is owned by NBC Universal, broadcasts in my opinion some of the most trashy women in America doing nothing but partying, fighting, and hooking up with guys. What is so special and enticing for almost 600,000 viewers per week?

This show has zero substance. The American pop culture and the average reality T.V. viewer cherishes shows that have more style over substance. If you look at the Nielson weekly ratings for all ages the most popular T.V. Shows are all broadcasts that have less substance than style. The outlier, 60 minutes, with 7.8 million viewers is one of the only shows in the top 25 for the week that showcases and presents hard facts to the American Public. But if you look deeper even shows like 60 Minutes have a few in depth stories in their newscast, as well as a few light hearted stories. They have to keep those 7.8 million viewers engaged watching the broadcast as well as the advertisements that ultimately keep 60 Minutes alive.



So how does a show like Bad Girls Club which airs on a predominately Woman focused network keep viewers engaged as well as the advertising dollars and revenue flowing in? Viewers that watch shows like Bad Girls Club, Rock of Love, and Flavor of Love, which both air on the Viacom owned network VH1 feature vulnerable girls who have bad girls qualities. Viewers across the country and the World feel bad and are thankful that their lives are not as "messed up" and are less focused around hitting the bottle 24/7. As a viewer we feel better about ourselves, our lives, and our persona if we watch a 30 minute show on girls or boys humiliating themselves on television.

Who wants to sit down and watch a day in a life of a successful lawyer eating lunch, talking on the phone, meeting with clients? Yes it would be interesting for the first few episodes but after about episode 3 the fact that the show has more substance than style would cause loss in viewership and soon people would be turning back to Oxygen or VH1 for their trashy style over substance reality T.V. Show.

Dead Week Corpse

It is dead week on campus.... I have just arrived to our four floor main library and every cubicle, table, computer, and comfy chair is in use. Students write, read, and study away anticipating finals, working on final projects and finishing final touches on term papers. I have taken a few minutes out of this well now 12 hour day of class and school work to watch this uplifting and timely duet. Enjoy.

Hot Anatomy

The other night I rediscovered Grey's Anatomy... a show that premiered my Freshmen year of High School and has been a fan hit ever since America got a glimpse of McDreamy. This is a show that I go in and out of watching and find it not too time consuming to get caught up of what is happening at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital.

Friday night I got snuggled in on my couch with a hot cup of tea and found five episodes available for free on hulu for the current season. Yes I was slightly confused because I have not watched it since last years season finale but Meredith, Derek, and Christina had not changed too much.

Grey's Anatomy follows a very basic plot line with on a few twists and turns through out different episodes. There is the saga between Christina and Owen, lust and now love of Derek and Meredith, Dr. Sloan and various women and other characters. From an outsiders perspective the doctors on Grey's are quite slutty... I mean half of the cast has slept with each other or other doctors and nurses at Grace/Mercy West Hospital. My favorite part of the show is the stories of the patients and their triumphs or falls. The fact that most story lines of the different medical cases are real is fascinating. The viewer is killing two birds with one stone, watching t.v. as well as educating themselves of different serious medical conditions.

Now I will probably be obsessed with Grey's for a couple more weeks than move on to a different show I have forgot about but until then I will keep my eyes on the eye candy that is Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital. I personally think they should have called the show "Hot Anatomy".