Another gap :)

Hello again internetz

Been busy watching stuff on the tellybox and I’ve also been sucked back in to World of Warcraft so this poor blog has suffered. I apologise to my readers, both of you.

Also had to bugger about with my PC – not easy with one hand! Firstly, the unbranded RAM that came with my motherboard/CPU bundle failed – had to buy more (8gb ftw!) then my HDD started with the SMART errors – I did the sensible thing – disabled SMART monitoring. Finally got it all backed up on a eSATA device and installed a SSD.

Let me say this – SSD is the way forward. Windows 7 in 30 seconds from cold, about 15 or so is the BIOS detecting stuff. The only drawback is price – being a poor disabled cripple on benefits, there’s no way I could afford a decent sized one – I had to opt for a tiny one – big enough to hold Windows, Office, Kaspersky and my browser, Chrome – anything that gives the option to customise install goes on my D drive. I’d love to run WoW off a SSD, man that would fly!

All this results in my PC now having a Windows Experience Index of 7.4 – quite a jump from 5.9 prior to the SSD. I also added up my total storage – internal and external – 6TB. Blimey! That’s a hell of a lot of porn TV episodes and music

Speaking of TV, I seem to be enjoying the old favourites more than the new stuff. Bones, CSI (all), Criminal Minds, Fringe, House & Supernatural.

Fox’s Lone Star was binned after TWO episodes, so another of my favourites, Lie To Me, was bumped to fill it’s gaping hole. This makes me happy, as Lie To Me has been used as mid-season and hiatus filler for the last 2 seasons, hopefully the increased exposure will increase it’s popularity and hence it’s longevity.

On the UK scene, Sky broke with tradition and made something worth watching – Thorne, based on Mark Billingham’s books. So far his first 2 books have been adapted – 3 episodes each. as of August this year, there’s another 7 books to cover – I do hope Sky continues with them and does as good a job. The first 3 – Sleepyhead, also starred Natascha McElhone, of Californication fame. The director was Stephen Hopkins, who directed Californication (as well as 24 and other stuff) – coinkydink?

Also on the UK scene, the 9th series of BBC’s Spooks recently finished – I recorded them all and had a Spooks day – yes, I really am that sad. One refreshing trait of Spooks is their bloodthirsty treatment of leading characters – only 2 remain from the first series – the majority being killed off in one way or another – though a few have left the service.

One of the best things I’ve seen on TV has got to be Fry & Laurie Reunited on GOLD the other night. Granted I am a fan of them, and have fond memories of watching the series “A Bit of Fry & Laurie” in the 90’s, but it was well made, and the only fault was too many clips not enough banter. Also they didn’t include 2 of my my favourite sketches – Hugh singing Hey Jude in a high pitched helium like voice, and the shoe shop/brothels sketch. Apparently Hugh’s role in House has made him a household name in the US – Stephen less so – though he did/does have a recurring role on Bones, and starred in the fantastic film Wilde. I think, though, that Stephen’s fame is firmly rooted in Britain – I don’t think the kind of Americans that mass media is aimed at are intelligent enough to “get” his humour. I’m not saying all Americans are thick – not at all, but the main demographics are watching Idol and other reality shite every week – they are the thick ones

OK – enough rambling – my migraine is getting worse – ttfn.

Michael’s Telly Blog

Gonna rename “Dude …?” to “Michael’s Telly Blog” or maybe “Bored Shitless” – I bet you can do votes with this thing …. bugger it – cba.

So, new seasons and new series are upon us, and about time too! Luckily we’ve had SyFy keeping us sane with such staples as Eureka (off till December now, poo) and Warehouse 13 (Eddie and Joanne get a load of stick, but Scags saves it for me, get my geek on, etc.) and not forgetting newcomer, Haven. Gotta say, I really love Haven, which usually means it’ll get canned, so I hate it, hate it, hate it!

 

This week kicked off with a new season of House. Was an odd episode, but given the last episode, it was either going to be Bobby stepping out of the shower, or a whole season examining a relationship. Guess the writers are too young to remember what a great get out of jail card Dallas offered I’ll leave Two and a Half Men alone – I only download it for my son… honest!

Just caught a few new series’ though – Hawaii Five-O was kinda fun, kinda silly, but at least they managed to avoid Dog the Bounty Hunter whilst shooting it so, they did OK. The Event, looks good, kinda weird, but we like weird so, we’ll wait and see. Chase was great – nice to see Kelli Giddish again – hope making Past Life didn’t totally screw her career up – I liked it, but no-one else AT ALL did, so ….? Lone Star looks good too – be nice to see how it develops. Also caught the pilot of a show called Terriers – started earlier this month, so I’ll need to check for any other episodes – was quite funny, not too over the top – lots of clichés though, ex-cop & ex-alcoholic, immature men, ex-wife. Open verdict till I see more. Not big on US comedy shows, as the phrase itself seems to be an oxymoron, but there have been notable exceptions. Mike and Molly may well be one of them – though King of Queens was thought to have consumed every fat joke possible, some have been resurrected, possibly recycled, possibly via a pooper-scooper. Not that bad really, better than most – so I’ll run with it, see how it pans out.

I’ve not looked at the schedules for any more upcoming new series, it’s on my to-do list, but two shows returned tonight and I’m about to watch them – NCIS and NCIS:Los Angeles – so I’ll sign off now, and report later – maybe I’ll have read the upcoming schedule by then too…. or not.