The Great Binge

Late November of 2021, I started a great binge of television. I only read one book in December because I was too busy watching TV. And I liked it!

I started with Homeland, the acclaimed Showtime series about CIA officer Carrie Mathison (actress Claire Danes) and her hunt for terrorists. I was instantly hooked. At the height of my TV watching, I would get through three or even four episodes in a single weekend day. On a weeknight, if I started early enough, I could power through three episodes. Many nights I wanted to gobble up the episodes as the show was so good. I won't spoil it (even though it was released in 2011) but suffice to say I gobbled the first four seasons and was craving more.

In an attempt to hold off consuming the remaining four seasons of Homeland, I switched to House of Cards, the political thriller/drama featuring Frank Underwood (actor Kevin Spacey) on Netflix. Though I didn't watch it at the same feverish pace as Homeland, I certainly devoured it, getting through three seasons by mid-January. I would leaven the darkness of House of Cards by mixing in episodes from the first season of The Mandalorian (Disney+). I would sometimes watch The Madalorian first to warm-up for my evening TV or I would watch it second to cleanse my mind from the lurid action from Cards.

Unable to stop my rampage of television, I moved over to Ozark (Netflix), the crime drama featuring money launderer Marty Byrde (actor Jason Bateman). I had watched the first season back in 2017, the year it debuted. This time around I had to watch some recaps to reacquaint myself with all the characters, but it was not difficult to get back into the flow of the series. I really liked the overall arc and direction of Season 2 and I came close to answering "Yes" when Netflix asked if I wanted to watch the next season but I didn't.

Instead, I started Homeland Season 5. This kept me occupied until late January. A Reddit post has commenters giving this season low marks in terms of quality but I enjoyed all the plot twists. By this point I realized that I was watching way too much TV so I searched for a spy novel to ease me out of TV mode and into reading mode. (This search lead me to "The Finish: The Killing of Osama bin Laden" by Mark Bowden and "Damascus Station" by David McCloskey.)

The last series I binged was Season 3 of "The Wire" from HBO. It's a testament to the density of this show that it's very difficult to watch multiple episodes in one evening. I had to read the HBO synopses and during my watching I would often rewind to remind myself who was who, and to read what was said by turning on the captions. The climax of Season 3 devastated me, but like all great endings, there was an inevitability to it that made perfect sense.

It was fun experiencing the modern way people consume television, but I'm done for now. People reading this: recommend me a TV series to watch. I may add it to my future binge list!

TV Time

"Law & Order": At Least We'll Have Repeats

The "original" Law & Order is being canceled by NBC. This is the hour-long cops and lawyers television show which takes place in New York City. The first half-hour focuses on the cops chasing the bad guys (the crime is almost always murder), and the second half-hour focuses on the prosecutors who try to put them behind bars. The show has been on the air for twenty years, a feat of endurance that has given it the nickname "the mother ship" for those in the television business.

I'll miss Law & Order, but I wasn't a regular viewer of the current show (featuring Jeremy Sisto and Linus Roache). I primarily watch Law & Order on syndication (TNT), where I root for episodes with Benjamin Bratt and Jerry Orbach.

Part of the joy of watching repeats is the comfortable familiarity. In the first minute of a Law & Order repeat, my wife and I will see who can identify the episode the fastest. In a show with over 400 episodes, we are frequently stumped. However, even when we know who the perpetrator is, it's still entertaining watching the cops finally grabbing them, and the prosecutors (almost always Sam Waterston, who plays ADA Jack McCoy) finally "nailing" them.

Since the show has run for so long, the list of supporting cast is very long. If you pull up IMDb's "full credits" page for Law & Order, be prepared to spend lots of time scrolling! And because of its longevity, the repeats often feature a star or two (notable to me: Edie Falco, who went on to play Carmella Soprano on "The Sopranos"; Sam Rockwell, who recently starred in Moon; Laura Linney, who was in "Mystic River"; and Denis O'Hare, who had that great opening scene in "Michael Clayton").

It's replacement? Law & Order: Los Angeles. I love LA, but it's not New York City. New York's neighborhoods are more dense, and closer together. For the LA series, I would think that the cops will spend more time driving to get to the scene of the crime (Los Angeles is over 490 square miles). I also have this suspicion that the LA version will feature more car and helicopter chases, at which point I may as well be watching "Cops".

That said, one of my favorite L & O episodes is a three-part show (Season 7, Episodes 15, 16, 17) in which the cops and prosecutors have to cross the country to nab a suspect in Los Angeles. Hollywood lawyers versus New York lawyers (with Carey Lowell playing Jack's assistant district attorney). The cops are gleeful fish out of water: Jerry Orbach hitting golf balls, and Bratt's character getting hit on by an attractive movie producer, played by Lauren Graham.

Is it too soon to ask the screenwriters to create the "Los Angeles cops visit New York City" episode?

Top Chef: Season 3

I'm enjoying Season 3 of Top Chef, the reality television show/cooking competition. A full season has nearly finished, and we're down to four contestants: Hung, Casey, Dale, and Brian. My money is on Hung, and my wife has picked Casey. All I can say is thank goodness my wife roots for the same sports teams as I do!

One of the things that make watching Top Chef so pleasurable is the "additional content." The judges on the show have blogs that are lucid and helpful in understanding what happened during a particular show. It's must reading for fans. And Anthony Bourdain, author of Kitchen Confidential, has been writing about Top Chef, which is the equivalent of reading how Curt Schilling might break down your favorite baseball game.

Bravo constantly replays episodes of Top Chef. I encourage you to watch and get on board!

Bobby Flay

Last night, I watched the "chefography" of Bobby Flay on Food Network. The bio-pic of Mr. Flay was pretty flattering. I don't consider myself a foodie, but I do enjoy Bobby's fluid explanations when he does a cooking demonstration. (It was fun to see the early TV years of Bobby Flay.) When he was a judge during "The Next Food Network Star" competition, I found myself drawn to his steady manner. His "Throwdown" show is not so much about competition as it is about celebration, and I enjoy watching it. Out of all the celebrities on the Food Network, he's the one I'm most interested to meet.

I haven't been to New York City in quite some time, but when I get to that great city again, I'm going to try to eat at his restaurant, the Mesa Grill.

5 and 4

Ashley Prange won the Golf Channel's "Big Break V"! In match play, she beat Jeanne Cho by the score of 5 and 4.

All of Jeanne's great shots and lag putts seemed to be for par or bogey to halve the hole. Ashley played very steadily, not making any mistakes. In the end, Ashley couldn't believe she had a simple two-putt to win the thing. Jeanne couldn't believe the match slipped away as quickly as it did.

Congrats to Ashley! Well wishes to Jeanne and the other competitors.

Big Break: Ashley v. Jeanne

In Big Break V (a reality golf show on The Golf Channel), the final two contestants (whittled down from eleven contestants over the past three months) will be facing one another in match play tomorrow night (9PM EDT). I know that this is a recorded television show, and that there's much creative editing, but I believe The Golf Channel has a terrific match in the final pairing between Ashley Prange and Jeanne Cho.

On the show, Ashley is loose, often irreverent, and very vocal about her capabilities. I get the sense that Ashley knows how to relax and have a party. Jeanne seems very much the opposite: reserved, very 'internal'. I can almost feel her 'strict Asian upbringing'. But both are pretty fierce competitors. Both have really good golf skills.

I'm rooting for Jeanne, but I'm wishing both of them luck!

Off the Hook

America has voted, presumably, for The Next Food Network Star (the polling closed on Thursday; I missed placing my vote).

Guy Fieri ("Off the Hook") is my choice. I'm so glad he's one of the two finalists.

Reggie Southerland ("Simply Spectacular") is my wife's choice.

I've posted before about Guy, and as I watched the last few episodes, I'm convinced he's the real deal. For his sample pilot, he made Tequila Turkey Fettuccine and Breathmint Pie, and I wanted to eat both those dishes (and I already had dinner!). That's when I know a TV chef is reaching me...when I want to eat what they're making.

Good luck to both contestants this Sunday!

The Next Food Network Star

I predict that "The Next Food Network Star" will be Guy Fieri. He's got it all: cooking chops, restaurant experience (he's a restaurant owner), a bust-through-the-TV personality, and a healthy confidence about what he wants to say.

I wish the Food Network would open up a bulletin board so I can vent about the show with other fans!

Was it a Dream...

...or did I really see Tony Soprano get shot?

Law and Order

Happy New Year! Today, my wife and I sat through a lot of the "Law and Order" marathon on TNT. Great episodes! We are big fans of this long-running series.

When I was growing up, I was a huge fan of "M*A*S*H", and I felt I had seen every episode of that series. Of course, I was a fan of M*A*S*H before cable and all-day marathon viewings. I probably saw only 80% of that series. Back then, however, when I caught an episode that I hadn't seen, I'd be amazed. "How did this get past me?" Nowadays, with fan websites and episode guides and entire seasons on DVD, a TV series fan can be very certain that they've seen every episode. As for "Law and Order"? I know I haven't seen every episode, not by a long shot.

The Planes Operation

While watching the documentary Inside 9/11 a few days ago, I was struck at how precise and deliberate the terrorists were in their planning of the attack. They had been planning this for over two years! And for the last year, the pilots were here in the United States, no doubt hating every minute of it.

Osama bin Laden and his "team" called this mission "The Planes Operation." Al Qaeda drew their crew of "muscle hijackers" from their "Department of Martyrs", men who were predisposed to becoming martyrs for their radical cause. And when Mohammed Atta relayed the day he decided to attack, he used this code: "Two sticks. A dash. A cake, with a stick down." 9-11.

Random Thoughts

My brother pointed me to Darth Vader's BLOG. It is very funny! I wonder if Han Solo has a BLOG?

Danielle Aimee, whom I've posted about already [1] [2], shot 8-over 79 in the first round of her first LPGA event, the Michelob Ultra Open. The leaders Silvia Cavalleri and Catrin Nilsmark are both at 4-under 67. It's a tough start for Dani, but when I look at her score card, I see that she really had a tough front nine, then settled down on the back nine. She scored a birdie on the par-3 13th. That had to be a good boost!

I did finish The Boys of Winter last month. I'm ready for the movie now.

Big Break III: Congrats Danielle

Danielle won the Big Break III. I was rooting for her, and she managed to win! Congrats and good luck!

Big Break III

Tomorrow night is the Big Break III's final episode. This reality television show on The Golf Channel started with ten women, each hoping to win the ultimate prize: chances to play on the LPGA tour. The ten contestants have been whittled down to two finalists: Pamela Crikelair and Danielle Aimee. Their final will be match play golf.

No one on The Golf Channel's Discussion Board can quite believe how caught up we all have become in the fates of these ladies. The two ladies are very different from one another, on and off the golf course. Pam is a relative beginner with some excellent raw golf talent. Dani has played professionally in the lower tours. Heated discussions have broken out as the Pam and Dani camps have tried to defend their choices. I'm rooting for Dani, but more importantly, I'm rooting for a good match. It should be fun!

The Big Break III

Tonight is The Big Break III, a reality television show on The Golf Channel. On the show, ten ladies compete in various golf-related contests. At the end of every show, one woman is eliminated, until two are left. These two then play a round of match play golf for the big prize, exemptions to select LPGA golf tournaments.

My favorite to win the whole thing, Jan Dowling, is still on the show. The discussion boards about the show are filled with posters making cases for each of the remaining women. As the series progresses, the stakes keep getting higher and higher. I'm not a regular fan of reality television, but I'm a fan of this particular show. Check it out!

Moon Landing

Thirty-five years ago, man first walked on the moon. The President has declared that we would return to the moon, and I am eager to see it happen.

Tonight, in a brief celebration, I watched the episode from the HBO mini-series From the Earth to the Moon featuring the lunar landing (episode six: "Mare Tranquilitatis"). The show focused on the preparation by the crew (Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins) and the flight operations team. In a series of flashbacks, the episode described the easy-going attitude of Collins (who never set foot on the moon, orbiting instead in the command module), the decision behind Armstrong walking on the moon first before Aldrin (Armstrong was the mission commander), and the strain of working in simulators, preparing for the worst.

The moon landing was the singular human achievement of the 20th century. I hope we try it again in the 21st century.

Train

What's on my mind right now: My commute is a real bear! Mother's Day in one week (and yes, I have gotten gifts already). Really enjoying Train, by Pete Dexter. Missed the Kentucky Derby on television. New England Revolution (soccer) won their first match of the season (2-1 over Los Angeles Galaxy). Really want to get started editing my Jersey City footage. Have only written two letters out of the fifty I resolved to write on New Years. Mia's been having trouble sleeping lately (we think it's my work hours; I'm coming home much later). Haven't yet watched last the two episodes of the Sopranos which I've recorded.

Mike Hall

Big ups to Mike Hall, who won ESPN's Dream Job. Later that same evening on SportsCenter, he played a trivia contest which determined his starting salary. Starting at $70,000, he answered four easy questions at $5,000 apiece to crank his starting salary up to $90,000. I think a reality show crew should follow him around during his one year on-air contract, just to see if he's up to snuff. It'd be also interesting to see him negotiate his salary next year with an agent.

Mike, if you're googling this, congratulations!

Dream Job

Yes, I'm a fan of the reality show Dream Job on ESPN (it airs Sunday night at 10 PM EDT). This show is a contest between twelve people trying out for one on-air news anchor job at ESPN. At its core, it's a show about hiring a television newscaster. The cliffhanger element at the end of every episode is that one or two people are eliminated from the contest.

It's very clear that all the participants love sports and all desire to be a sportscaster, but love and desire don't translate to good television without talent, and Dream Job is a talent competition.

Dream Job also reveals that we have certain expectations from our television anchors, and that it is jarring to not have these expectations met. We want our anchors to have a certain look (and nearly all the contestants are telegenic). We want our anchors to have a polished eloquence (i.e. they speak better than we do). We want our anchors to project a certain credibility.

There are only six contestants left: Aaron Levine, Casey Stern, Kelly Milligan, Maggie Haskins, Mike Hall, and Zachariah Selwyn. My money is on Aaron Levine or Kelly Milligan. Aaron is a young kid studying broadcasting at Stanford, whereas Kelly Milligan is a lawyer, trying to do the impossible: break into television at the age of 37. Both of these gentlemen look very convincing as sportscasters.

Six contestants have already been eliminated: Chris Williams, Alvin Williams, Lori Rubinson, Michael Quigley, Chet Anekwe, and my personal favorite: Nick Stevens. Nick is a local product (from Braintree, Massachusetts) and his quirky, wry-delivery worked for me, but alas, not for the judges, who found him too "smug."

When the show ends, I will usually watch the opening segment of the real Sports Center, which immediately follows the show. The contrast between the wanna-be anchors and the "real" anchors is very stunning. The 11 PM Sports Center anchors are invariably highly polished and highly witty. They are on-cut and on-mark. They look great and speak with conviction. If the anchors on Sports Center are a ten on a scale from one to ten, then our contestants on Dream Job are around five or six. It's great fun to see who'll get the shot to become a ten in the future. Check out this show!

This is SportsCenter Live

Last night, ESPN broadcast their news show Sports Center on two channels. On ESPN2, they ran the show as viewers normally watch it. On ESPN, they had cameras covering the behind-the-scenes activity as on-air talent Dan Patrick and Kevin Frazier ran through sports news.

It was great television.

Dan Patrick says doing the show is one big adrenaline rush. While on the air the announcers display a calm wit and an off-the-cuff bravado, just outside the television frame, and in their ears, and in a very rushed control room, is a swarm of activity, from people editing tapes, to the technical director counting backwards from commercial break, to the producers changing and adding to the coverage to make the show as newsworthy as possible. The show, This is SportsCenter Live, captured the in-the-ear chatter, the prep work for a highlight (situation, action, result), and revealed that the anchors wear sneakers to set. And yes, production assistants run with video tape of sports highlights to be shown during the show.

It all looks so easy watching television news. This program was a great peek at all the hard work needed to pull it off. Kudos, ESPN!