Seasonal Premiere

September 1 starts all the new shows and the season premieres will roll on until the end of October.

Now that I have little free time and by October I'll have none. My shows will be watched any time I have 45 minutes to waste so TiVo will be my best friend.

Ain't that lil' guy great.

Monday Sept. 1
Prison Break yes it has jumped the shark after the first season but let's see how ridiculous it gets.

Tuesday Sept. 2
90210 I never watched the original except for the pilot and last episode. The middle stuff was unwatchable. I will do that again.

The Shield hell yes. Nothing like bad guys and bad cops in a series finale, they can all die.

General Hospital: Night Shift mind-numbing soapy goodness.

Wednesday Sept. 3
Bones is back and in London take that Scotland Yard.

Thursday Sept. 4
Kitchen Nightmares I like seeing people getting yelled plus I think I've ate in a few of these places.

Redskins at Giants the first game of the season.

Friday Sept. 5
Samurai Girl some teen thing that is supposed to be like the Karate Kid, who knows I'll give it a shot.

Monk has it's 100 episode and Psych is new. So is Stargate Atlantis.

Stand Up To Cancer a multi-channel event, let's see who cries.

Saturday Sept. 6
Cops starts its 21 season back in the town it showcased in season 1.

Sunday Sept. 7
True Blood another teen thing except about vampires.

Jets at Miami and Brett Faveerrre, I'll get that right once he starts winning.

I listed them here mostly because I tend to forget during the semester and need a place to quickly see what I have recorded back at home.

Allergic to the Sun

I've been home relaxing and doing nothing of any importance when suddenly I realized I have a TiVo. So quickly I enable TiVo suggestions to automatically record anything that pops up.

One month later I'm still bored with TV.

The last few years there 6 to 10 summer shows worth watching, now there is nothing.

I'm so desperate for TV I started watching Law & Order: Criminal Intent, CSI: Miami, Cold Case, all are TiVo suggestions. Apparently my TiVo thinks I'm a cop show freak.


I do enjoy these shows, except for CSI: Miami the acting is just horrible.

It got so bad I started watching Life on Mars online the British version because the upcoming U.S. version is not officially out yet. This time traveling cop show reminds me of The Odyssey a Canadian kids TV show about a boy who falls into a coma and enters a mysterious world and searches for his missing father.

TiVo also recorded Weeds for me which turned out to be nicer then when I originally tried watching this show.

Then after words they have Secret Diary of a Call Girl which is about the worlds most boring hooker. She starts of the series by saying she does not do drugs, was never touched by an uncle, and is just horny. That statement alone turned this show from fiction to fantasy. I wonder if these women were any other ethnicity would they still be comedies.

Either way during every episode we are treated to Belle the hooker's different trysts. Each one more boring then the next. In the "all-nighter" she had to go to we were treated to a two minute montage of her being bored.

Where are my shows? My sci-fi, my mid-season replacements, and even reruns.

Sure I could go out and interact with real people but that is too much work.


Minisodes are not enough.

New Devices Means More TV

TiVo
I got my new TiVo it is an 80-hour dual-tuner TiVo. It cost $90.00 give or take a few bucks in shipping. I had some issues setting it up but now it is working great.

It records channels 2-22 on basic cable and records all the other channels through the box. I have to be careful because the basic cable channels are fuzzy and are not good for archiving.

TiVo Flame Replacement Remote
Because I ordered the TiVo through a recommendation I got 5,000 rewards points and then ordered a flame colored remote.

It turns out it is just a regular remote with a flame sticker you place over the buttons.
Yeah cheap! I should of got the TiVo slippers. Now I have 3 TiVo remotes and cold feet.



Dell E1505 Laptop/Notebook
I needed a computer for college so after much research I got a desktop replacement with as much as I could afford to cram in.

It has Windows Media Center, a TV tuner, an extra mouse and a remote.
I already hooked up an antenna and the cable to it and it records nicely but the channel changing is a problem.

I did get $380 off of the final price using online coupons from Cheap Stingy Bargains.
the final price was over $1,000 but I need to run the real MS Office 2003, Open Office, AutoCAD, and a few other engineering programs.

Two weeks until the semester starts and I have to fix all these things to record my shows and run my software all while trying to get an early start on the tougher classes. Last semester I had to drop a class and I'll be damned if I have to do it again.

New Year New Problems

My TiVo is dying. It is sticking, freezing, and not recording. It is only 3 years old but from what I understand that is when the hard drive starts to fail. Replacing the drive cost $119 getting a new TiVo is $90, my choice is simple.

It recorded 7 hours of shows a day for over 1000 days, more during sweeps. The software is running fine and I guess maybe one day I'll try a self-installation to see if I have any computer skills.

Apparently TiVos have a 5 year time limit. If I buy a new one I'll let y'all know which one I chose. So 80-hours or 180-hours?

Back to TV I've been watching the Friday Night Lights marathon on Bravo it's a good show well made, well acted. No other shows are on this week so might as well start something new.

Happy New Year

Sci-Fi Friday vs. TiVo

Stargate SG-1: Uninvited
Mitchell and the General are bonding at Jacks cabin for some odd reason. While Sam is in charge of Stargate command.
Both the cabin boys and the Stargate teams are getting attacked by mutant monsters. They figure out that transdimensional worms are causing all the mess and find a way to stop them.

Stargate Atlantis: Progeny
The team finds an ideal planet but it's made of Replicants, damn. So they learn the true origins of the Replicators and try to free them of there warped ways but only suceeded in getting them angry.

TiVo
My nice little black PVR has gotten kid friendly. They upgraded to KidZone a feature that filters shows for kids according to age. It is customizable and completely unneccesary for me.They also changed the "Pick Programs To Record" option to "Find Program".

This kid safe crap is getting ridiculous I bought Tivo for a simple recording device not some restictive complicated computer. Yes I know it's optional to use but it still takes up precious space on my TiVo.

TiVo Fights For My Attention

First Mayor Bloomberg interrupted my regularly schedule shows to deal with the transit strike, most professors said if a strike happens finals will be canceled. Now if want to go to the city I must hitchhike or take a ten dollar per mile taxi.

Oh well back to TV.

TiVo updated again and they gave me a whole bunch of new options.
Under Music, Photos and More...
-Yahoo! Photos with a direct link to your Yahoo account.
-Yahoo! Weather with a direct link to your Yahoo account or just a zip code.
-Yahoo! Traffic with a direct link to your Yahoo account or just a zip code.
-Browse & Buy Movie Tickets directly from the TiVo Box with a zip code to local theartes.
-Live365 hundreds of radio stations with commercials or without if you have an account.
-Podcaster lots of Podcasts including TV Guide and Diggnation.
-SameGame a matching colors game.
-Wordsmith a scrabble type game.
-Skulls & Bones a Connect Four type game.
+ The usually links to my photos, music, videos, BestBuy music & Nikon photographer.

But I still watched some TV.

Bones: The Man in the Fallout Shelter
It starts out with Booth dropping off a dead man on December 23 and Bones making everyone work. The dead guy has a killer fungus and everyone is sealed in including the boss.
We see everyone share their family stories and find out Booth has a son. Angela's father is from ZZ Top. Bones does get emotional.
The story surrounded the murder of a white guy who tried to sell his coin collection to go to Paris to marry his pregnant black girlfriend. But a coin buyer decided to kill him instead. When the murder is solved the team tries to get the knowledge to the now old black girlfriend.
They find her and her grandaughter the mother/child died. The old lady is releaved that she wasn't abandoned but the granddaughter wants to go to medical school but can't afford it.
Well what a coincedence the dead man had a 1943 copper penny in his pocket. Bones gives the penny to the granddaughter 'cause it's worth up to $100,000.

As a coin collector it's nice to see a story line about coins. Now is it true. Yes the 1943 copper cent is rare and one sold in New York for $112,500. According to some, there are seventeen 1943 Bronze Cents known (10 from Philadelphia, 6 from San Francisco, and 1 from Denver) not 12 as Bones stated, but that is still debated in real life. But this coin was touched by so many hands that it can't be in good shape, not to mention it laid in the pocket of a corpse for 50 years. It still may be worth close to $100,000 if the auction was right.
Good episode, there was even a Firefly reference.

House: Deception
Well House is not happy and he is pushing the limits. A woman, played by Cynthia Nixon, is admitted to the hospital by House and presents with one disease. Dr. Morrison thinks she's a faker and gets proven right. House thinks the faker has a terminal illness and injects her with rugs to prove himself right.
It turns out she is sick but by a simple grape smelling fungus and almost kills her.
I felt bad for Dr. Foreman because he was doing so good at being in charge but since he didn't stop House he won't keep his position.

Weekend Updates

Starting with those free TiVo exclusive downloads. I got the first two Cnet downloads straight to TiVo called Tech Tips and Reviews. They are just a review of products like digital cameras and mp3 players with a couple of simple tips. They are usually less then 15 minutes and more or less useless. Just go to Cnet.com to get a more in depth review. Next was the TiVo Video Down Load Trial of Red trousers: The Life of the Hong Kong Stuntmen. My word that was the most boring documentary of stuntmen I ever had to fast forward through. Unless they improve the quality of the downloads it’s best to stay away.

Grey’s Anatomy: Much Too Much
Everyone is sexing each other except for Dr. “Izzie” and Dr. Karev. Dr. Karev can’t perform with his better half so he ends up doing a lower nurse who he once shared an STD with.
Meanwhile Dr. Grey’s one night stand ends up standing up all day long. He has a permanent woody that is caused by a tumor but everyone finds out that that Dr. Grey was the one who broke is manhood.

Charmed: Vaya Con Leos
Death has come for Leo and the Charmed ones must freeze Leo and fight a finally ultimate battle to save him on some future episode. A nice emotional episode.

Ghost Whisperer: Ghost Bride
Typical silly episode but one thing did stand out, when Andrea tells Melinda that this ghost seems strong Melinda says, “There is definitely something going on up there, they’re getting stronger.” This is where the show is going. Something has changed in the ghost world and Melinda must be the key or figure out what is happening.

Sunday Shows

First in TV news the Aquaman guest appearance on Smallville was so popular that a pilot has been ordered. I’m not completely excited because I remember the crap that Birds Of Prey was on the WB.
Also I learned while Oprah was on a date with Roger Ebert, twenty years ago, he basically guided her into the career she has now.
Just checked my TiVo and now they are offering a six week subscription to CNET Download Product Reviews. A 15-minute video of reviews of tech products for broadband customers. Let's see if this screws up my computer like most TiVo downloads does. I love my TiVo and I like my computer but the two of them don't seem to get along well.

Desperate Housewives: Color and Light
Blah, blah, blah…sleeping with exes…blah, blah, blah…creepy actor Page Kennedy’s last episode…blah, blah, blah…ridiculous marriage proposal…blah, blah, blah.

Grey’s Anatomy: Let It Be
Great episode. A woman comes in with a gene that may lead to cancer and wants all of her woman parts removed as a preemptive strike. Once again the medical side of the show is a little on the soft side but the drama is strong.
Dr. Grey is still whining pining over “McDreamy”(their word not mine). George avoided a near death experience and tries to help a suicidal patient but fails. Cristina and Burke have an awkward date, and Bailey is pregnant.
One reason I like this show is that half of the characters are people of color and all of them have rich and deep storylines, unlike ER that still can’t right a storyline for a black character without making them angry.

Rome: The Spoils
Pullo gets into deep problems after becoming an assassin but in a gory and violently cool scene resurrects his spirit and his friendship. Meanwhile Brutus has a choice to make with Caeser…hmm I wonder what he’ll do.

Veronica Mars: Rat Saw God
Joss Whedon made a small appearance in this episode as a rental-car agency manager. Also Harry Hamelin was back talking to his son in prison who was rearrested for the murder of some Mexican. The pieces of the bus crash and Veronica’s life seemed to be intertwined. Also we learned noting new about Wallace.
The “Rat Saw God” title has to do with a rat that Mr. Mars found taped to the bottom of the seat in the school bus after it was pulled from the water.

I miss Extras that was a funny show with a great last episode.

TiVo Fall Preview

For those of you who don’t have TiVo they sent a small fall preview for FOX, UPN and the WB. It shows previews of each show in commercial form. I’ll give my impressions of each show and whether or not I will watch any of them. THIS IS GOING TO BE A LONG POST.

First on FOX:
Reunion: Six relatively unknown actors play six friends whose life unfolds into death for one of them over twenty years. We see one of the rich kids let his friend takes the blame and go to jail. The investigator is Matthew St. Patrick, of Six Feet Under.
Verdict: I may watch but it seems kinda wandering & pointless.

The War at Home: Anita Barone and Michael Rapaport play parents of a sexy girl, weird middle son and a young cool trouble making boy. They seem to be a New York family with the typical white stereotypes. The funny moments were when the middle boy is accused of being gay when he isn’t and when the sexy girl bring homes a black boyfriend like her mother did years ago.
Verdict: Typical sitcom and narratives from dad I’ll watch the first episode.

Bones: David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel play FBI agnets who solve crimes, along with four others.
Verdict: I think this is the first failure, I’ll still watch the first episode.

Killer Instinct: Three detectives including Chi McBride solve San Francisco crimes.
Verdict: Crime show nothing special, may watch if nothing else is on.

Head Cases: A wacky legal show with Chris O’Donnell and Adam Goldberg, Goldberg is the wacky one.
Verdict: Seems funny I may watch if it doesn’t conflict with anything else.

Kitchen Confidential: A comedy in a restaurant with many familiar faces and from Darren Star, of Sex and the City fame.
Verdict: Looks funny and good I’ll watch it.

Next on the WB:
Supernatural: Two brothers witnessed something strange when they were kids and now they are adults and after their father goes missing after a “hunt” the brothers reunite to find him.
Verdict: The show looks great I can’t wait.

Twins: Melanie Griffith, Mark Linn-Baker, Sara Gilbert and Molly Stanton. An all-star cast that center around a plain twin versus a trampy twin. Baker and Gilbert are my favorites and Griffith and Stanton, of Passions, play perfect airheads.
Verdict: I also like it even if the sitcom is unoriginal.

Just Legal: Another lawyer show with Don Johnson and some kid. A comedy with heart from Jerry Bruckheimer.
Verdict: I won't watch it unless nothing else is on.

Related: Four hot chicks and one guy are rich and good looking. Jennifer Esposito and Callum Blue, of Dead Like Me, are the married couple. Oh yeah they live in NYC.
Verdict: A new Sex and the City clone, the youngest one is the most interesting, it looks decent I'll watch it if I remember.

Finally on UPN:
Everybody Hates Chris: 1982 Chris Rock's life growing up in Brooklyn.
Verdict: It's the most anticipated show and hopefully it will last, I will watch it.

Sex, Love & Secrets: Denise Richards in a drama about young horny people.
Verdict: Most likely the second failure, I won't watch it.

Veronica Mars: TiVo recapped last season in about a minute and showed nothing of the next.
Verdict: Great show I will watch it.

Top Model: Reality crap.
Verdict: I won't watch it and I hope no one else will, please don't tell me if you do.

My TiVo

I bought a 40-hour TiVo in February of 2004 and it's great, I can't imagine TV-life without it. When I first got TiVo I only had regular-premium cable since then my cable company has gone digital and the at least 250 more channels have been added. TiVo dealt with this change easily. I canceled my TV Guide subscription because the guide that comes with Tivo is more accurate and simpler to use, recently I started getting TV Guide for free.
The set-up was simple I used a dial-up connection it took about thirty minutes with no problems. I have taken it off the phone line and now use a router to connect to high-speed cable.
At first TiVo starts recording "TiVo recommendations" according to your zip code at least that what I believe since it kept recording Spanish children's programs that I never even knew existed.
That stopped after I started picking my own programs to record.
Now the Pro and Con list, these are my own experiences and may not be typical.

Pros:

1. Never miss an episode: I just put the name of the show and it will record it on any time and channel, I can pick to reord new or repeats, add extra time for longer recordings.
2. Pause live TV: Also rewind I don't ever have to recap a show for anyone who comes in late, I can get a phone call and actually tell them to call back later instead of just leaving a message on the machine.
3. Save to VCR: If I decide I want to keep a show forever I can wait to buy a tape and then save it even months later.
4. Remote Control: It works great and look good.
5. The Future: There plenty of Java apps for new TiVo that actually work and it seems the want to expand beyond just a passive Guide.
6. Not home, no problem: I've set recordings from a computer miles away and got to see the show when I came home.
   

Cons:

1. TiVoToGO: The first two version were highly unstable and still to this day communications between my computer and TiVo goes out on a weekly basis.
2. Four-digits: because my cable box takes four digits and the TiVo only takes three-digits there is a lag time which is annoying.
3. Networks: By this I mean ABC & NBC they now start and end shows at just one minute difference so that two shows can not be recorded at the same time on different channels, TiVo will adjust for the time and record one but cannot then record the other.

Nitpiks:

• In a quiet home you can hear TiVo's fan humming away.
• If you are an insomniac, like me, and just are cruising the stations you occasionally are shut out while TiVo downloads data usually at 2-3am.
• It's too small I now want a 140-hour TiVo with DVD recorder and HDTV tuner.
• Subscription fees are just $12.95 but it should be less.
• Hacking the TiVo still seems a bit scary.
  

I bought this TiVo at three times the price it goes for now but I'm still happy. What I'm not happy with is that I had a $150 rebate that I lost due to the incompetence of the Dell staff. If you have a rebate which is TiVo still offers go purchase your item in person or go to online store that has an actual physical store in your area.
I have many other gadgets I will start to review such as my Dell PC, a Canon camera and my cable company, these will all be things I have owned and used. Hopefully this weekly/monthly review will let you make a decision on your future purchases. they may not all be TV related but I'll try to make some sort of connection even if I have stretch and make six-degrees-of-seperation connections.