Summertime. What we always looked forward to as kids. Now, as adults, most of us have to work year round, so summer isn’t what it used to be. Another downside of Summer is that all our favorite TV shows are on hiatus. So, while we are waiting to be entertained this fall in HD I thought I’d share with you all what I will be watching.
What I’m watching:
Modern Family: (Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC) In my opinion this is the best TV comedy series in a very long time. Though I caught on to this marvelous show late in its second season, this is by far one of my favorite shows. And the awards this series has gotten speak for themselves. Modern Family is hilarious! I love it when Phil says, “gotta fix that step.” I own the first and second season on DVD and have kept up with the third season. This fall Modern Family will return for its fourth season and I can’t wait. The show’s title really says it all. It portrays modern families in today’s age. We are long past the Ward and June Cleaver days, and Modern Family has characters that are not as traditional but ever so prevalent in today’s world.
Claire and Phi Dunphy (Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell) are married and have three kids, Hailey (18), Alex (14), and Luke (13). Claire’s parents are divorced and her dad Jay Pritchett (Ed O’Neill) remarried a much younger woman named Gloria (Sofía Vergara) who happens to be Columbian and has a son named Manny who is 13 going on 30. Claire’s brother Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) lives with his partner Cameron Tucker (Eric Stonestreet) and they adopted a Vietnamese baby named Lily who is four years old and turning into a terror. Cam and Mitchell are trying to adopt another baby but are having a little trouble because they want to adopt within the United States. This show is great to watch and you just can’t stop laughing practically the whole time. I look forward to many more seasons of this great comedy series.
The ABC website on Modern Family: “First, let’s meet the Dunphys. Phil is the enthusiastic, “tries too hard” husband/dad who loves his slightly-uptight (but in a good way) wife, Claire, and their three way different kids. Haley is the independent, eye-rolling teen. Middle sister Alex is wise beyond her years and little brother Luke, well, isn’t.
Claire’s no-nonsense dad, Jay Pritchett, married a much younger Colombian beauty named Gloria Delgado. Her passion for life has rubbed off on her young son Manny, who marches to the beat of his own drum, usually in a burgundy dinner jacket.
Jay’s lawyer son, Mitchell, embraced a major life change when he and his free-spirit partner, Cameron, adopted their super-cute Vietnamese baby, Lily. They’re learning all the parenting ropes as they go. Fortunately, they have the loving support of their extended, eclectic, ever-funny family.
Modern Family won 11 Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series two years in a row.”
The Middle: (Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC) I missed the first season of this great show as well. You got to love this quirky family. Although they are all odd, you really get to like the Hecks. Sue, that’s another story… She has a crazy and not so cute fashion sense that always strikes up a good laugh as well as a twisted view of the world. The show is humorous and each episode always ends well. The family has ups and downs but at the end of each episode you feel good inside because the Heck family usually shares a sense of togetherness. They may not have that much money and their house is always falling apart but they are a close family who loves one another. I highly recommend this humorous show.
The ABC website on the Middle: “Forget about athletes, movie stars and politicians. Parents are the real heroes—but we think Frankie Heck (Patricia Heaton), must be some kind of superhero. A loving wife and mother of three, she’s middle class in the middle of the country and is rapidly approaching middle age.
Frankie and her husband, Mike (Neil Flynn), have lived in Orson, Indiana, their whole lives. A man of few words (every one a zinger), Mike is a manager at the town quarry and Frankie is the third-best used car salesman (out of the three) at the local dealership. She may not be a high-powered career woman, but when it comes to her family, she’ll go to just about any length. And with kids like these, she had better. There’s Axl (Charlie McDermott), her semi-nudist teenage son conceived while under the influence of Guns N’ Roses; Sue (Eden Sher), the awkward teenage daughter who fails at everything… but with the utmost of gusto; and their seven-year-old son Brick (Atticus Shaffer), whose best friend is his backpack.
Sometimes it seems like everyone is trying to get to the top, or struggling not to hit bottom, but we think Frankie and her family will find a lot of love, and a lot of laughs, somewhere in The Middle.”
The Office: (Thursdays at 9 p.m. on NBC) In the fall, this comedy will return for its ninth season. Depicting the everyday lives of office workers of Dunder Mifflin/Sabre in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the show is shot to look like a documentary. In the early seasons of The Office, the focus was mainly on the romance between Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer). Virtually unknown actors before they show, they still remain my favorite characters on The Office.
Even though Michael Scott (Steve Carell) left the show, The Office did not go downhill. In fact, it may have gotten even funnier. The awkward humor is still there. I think Andy (Ed Helms) did a great job (at first) of taking over Michael’s position as manager. When Andy went to Florida to get Erin (Ellie Kemper) back Nellie (Catherine Tate) declared she was manager, even thought she had no rights to the job. But, in the last episode of season eight, Andy reclaimed his managerial position and his old office thanks to David Wallace (former company CFO) who decided to buy Dunder Mifflin/Sabre.
Fringe: (Fridays at 9 p.m. on FOX) The best show you’ve possibly never heard of. This science fiction marvel follows the strange lives and cases of a division of the FBI that specializes in Fringe Science. It’s just a whole lot of weird stuff, but that is what makes the show so interesting. You really learn to like the characters, especially Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson), and Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble). I especially like Walter’s random comments which mainly are about what kinds of food he wants to eat next. Also known as “Walterisms.” Overall, you really see some cool science fiction that could never happen in real life — or so they want you to believe… From alternate universes to shape shifters, you are not going to believe your eyes. If you are not watching this show, start! I would recommend watching it from the beginning on season DVDs. That’s what I did, but I’m still on season 2. There is a lot of background information you need to know if you have not seen the show before. However, I also watch new episodes so it gets a big confusing for me. Luckily my boyfriend has seen the series from the beginning and fills me in on the things I miss.
Hell’s Kitchen: (Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on Fox) Gordon Ramsey has many shows on television, but Hell’s Kitchen is my favorite. A well respected and fantastic chef, Ramsey brings in 18 chefs from all over the country to compete for a head chef position in a five star restaurant. This season, which is currently on television now, they are competing to be a chef in Ramsey’s restaurant inside the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. They are divided into two teams, the red team of women and the men have the blue team. Some of the chefs on this season are cut-throat, doing anything they can to make sure their fellow team members do not succeed. Although this show is a competition and only one chef will win, they still have to work together as a team to finish challenges and complete dinner service for the Hell’s Kitchen restaurant. There is a lot of screaming, yelling, cursing (all bleeped of course) and Chef Ramsey getting so mad that he throws chefs out of the kitchen or completely shuts down the kitchen during dinner service. You never know what to expect next from this season’s chefs. If you like cooking and drama, this show is for you.
New girl: (Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Fox) This fairly new show is “simply adorkable.” Jess, a really sweet and weird teacher who likes to burst out singing funny songs, lives with three men who are best friends and early-thirties bachelors. It’s fun and makes you laugh. You should watch New Girl.
The Fox website on New Girl: “After a bad break-up, Jess Day (Zooey Deschanel) needs a new place to live. An online search leads her to a great loft…and three single guys she’s never met before. But Jess moves in, and through her unique sense of self and the support of her new roommates, she learns to move on.
Of her three new male roommates, Nick (Jake Johnson) is the most grounded…and also the most jaded. A law school dropout, he spends most of his time hiding under his hoodie and tending bar. Schmidt (Max Greenfield) is a hustling young professional who’s pretty proud of his own abs. Winston (Lamorne Morris), is an intensely competitive former athlete who doesn’t know what to do next-but whatever he does, he wants to win it.
Rounding out the group is Jess’ childhood best friend, Cece (Hannah Simone), a model with a killer deadpan. As their relationships progress, these five realize they need each other more than they thought they would and end up forming a charmingly dysfunctional – or strangely functional – family.”
Newish and awesome:
Revenge: (Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on ABC) This drama is fantastic. I love Emily Thorne (Emily Van Camp), or shall I say Amanda Clark. When Amanda was a kid her father was framed for a crime he didn’t commit. Now, Amanda has changed her identity as Emily and is trying to seek revenge on the Grayson’s who framed her father for a terrorist act that ruined both their lives. This fast paced, spiteful series draws you in makes you want more. The season finale was unexpected, and I can’t wait to see what happens next in the Hamptons.
The ABC website on Revenge: “Wealth, beauty and status define the people in this town, but one woman is willing to destroy everyone for the sake of revenge.
Emily Thorne (Emily Van Camp) is new to the Hamptons. She’s met some of her wealthy neighbors, has made a few new friends and seemingly blends into the town. But something is a little odd about a young girl living in a wealthy town all on her own, and the truth is that Emily isn’t exactly new to the neighborhood. In fact, this was once her old neighborhood, until something bad happened that ruined her family and their reputation. Now Emily is back, and she’s returned to right some of those wrongs in the best way she knows how – with a vengeance.”
Scandal: (Thursdays at 10 p.m. on ABC) This very new show is about a bunch of lawyers who do not work in a law firm. Instead, they investigate cases for their clients and make things happen. Olivia Pope is a former communications director to the President of the United States and is the leader of her business. But she couldn’t do it without her highly talented and experienced team. There is a lot of drama in this series, but it’s very good and keeps you wanting more.
The ABC website on Scandal: “Everyone has a secret… and Olivia Pope has dedicated her life to protecting and defending the public images of the nation’s elite and keeping those secrets under wraps. Revered and feared at the same time, Olivia, a former communications director to the President of the United States, left the White House to open her own prominent crisis management firm. She is hoping to start a new chapter in her life—both professionally and personally—but she can’t seem to completely cut ties with her past. Slowly it becomes apparent that her dysfunctional staff, who specialize in fixing other people’s lives, can’t quite fix the ones closest at hand-their own. The creator and executive producers of Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice delve into the behind-the-scenes machinations of a mesmerizing top crisis manager in ABC’s highly anticipated new drama, Scandal.”
Guilty pleasures:
The Secret Life of the American Teenager: (Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC Family) Yes, I am embarrassed to admit that I still watch this show and have not missed an episode. It’s so stupid, you just have to watch. Main topics on this ABC family drama include sex, teenage pregnancy and moral issues that executive producer Brenda Hampton (Creator of 7th Heaven) thinks teenagers should be aware of. While I’m probably not in the targeted demographic of Secret Life, I started watching this show from the beginning and the drama kind of sucked me in. My old roommate came up with an alternate name of this crazy show: Teenage Baby Momma Drama — and it surely is.
In recent episodes, Amy and Ricky tell their parents they eloped. On Amy’s first day back at school, her classmates surprise her with a flash mob to congratulate her complete with photos of Ricky on a stick… (Seriously). Then, when, Ricky and Amy watch their wedding video you find out that they didn’t really get married, rather walked out of the crazy wedding chapel Amy found on the internet. I’m sure that in the next episode the secret will be out and that will raise all kinds of hell.
The ABC Family website on Secret Life: “The teens at Grant High are living life in the fast lane. Between their love triangles, secrets, drama, accusations, gossip, confusion, and scandalous rumors, there’s never a dull moment. The he-said, she-said gets intense! Their parents’ lives are just as complicated. From paternity questions to happy reunions and unexpected romances (past and present), there’s always something going on. You can’t stop watching, because you’ve just gotta know what’ll happen next.”
I can’t wait until this show finally ends, so I can stop watching the gossip and craziness that is Secret Life!
Switched at Birth: (Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC Family) This is actually the best show I’ve ever watched on ABC Family. Sure it’s got plenty of drama, but it really gives you a first hand look on what it is like to be deaf in a hearing world. And the characters are relatable making it an overall interesting and great show.
The ABC Family website on Switched at Birth: “Switched at Birth tells the story of two teenage girls who discover they were accidentally switched as newborns in the hospital. Bay Kennish grew up in a wealthy family with two parents and a brother. Meanwhile, Daphne Vasquez, who contracted meningitis and became deaf at an early age, grew up with a single mother in a working-class neighborhood. Things come to a dramatic head when the families meet and struggle to learn how to live together for the sake of the girls.”
I can’t wait for the new season to start, and according to ABC Family’s website, new episodes are coming soon. That means in a few months they will start promoting the new season.
Shows that got canceled and I’m sad to see go:
You might say that I watch too many shows, but hey, that’s what they invented the DVR for 🙂
pieces of april blog 