If You Are So Reclined

Tell me Holly... do you own a Snuggie? Somehow this is how I picture you this weekend.

Caprica

I am also going to give the Cylons another shot. Right at the very end of the last episode, there was a glimmer of hope. Good guy Joseph Adama put out a hit on the wife of his developing nemesis, Daniel Graystone. I like to be surprised and even bothered by the actions of characters sometimes. It seems more real than straight up heroes and villains. I will be even more surprised if it comes to pass. If Amanda is offed, that is one way to ensure poor Zoe will never have to watch her parents frak again.

Burn Notice

I know this is not your cup of tea, Holly, but this is part of my weekend lineup. Would it help if Jeffrey Donovan grew a Tom Selleck moustache and donned some short shorts?

The In-betweeners

Speaking of tea, I am also going to sample some BBC America sometime before Monday. Thanks to your recommendation, I have enjoyed the pilot of this series and am looking forward to the further misadventures of these poor wankers.

Men of a Certain Age

I have DVR'd a couple of episodes of this TNT series. I have enjoyed its deliberate pace and believable characters up to this point. The dialogue among the guys is clever and realistic. The dramatic situations are genuine and sometimes strike all too close to home for this man of a certain age. It helps that the trio of friends are played by actors I have enjoyed in other series over the years. Scott Bakula, Andre Braugher and Ray Romano have all shown unexpected depth in their portrayals. Contrary to some descriptions, this is NOT a Sex and the City for men. I am not even sure what that could possibly mean.

Tiger Woods Press Conference

I was so put off by all the hype leading up to this "event" I swore I would not watch. This was not a Presidential announcement or even "news" by most definitions. Yet, I am ashamed to admit I found myself watching as it unfolded. I was left feeling thankful that I have not been in a position that required a public apology for all the stupid shit I have done in my life. Let those without sin, cast the first golf ball.

So this is what will be on as I lean back in my recliner and cozy up to my own bowl of popcorn. Minus the Snuggie, of course.

The Inbetweeners - Revenge of the Nerds II

If Glee isn’t your cup of tea, or even if it is, another entry worth checking out in the teenage-misery-as-comedy genre is The Inbetweeners (BBC America).  This show follows four friends, all male, going through the highs and lows of adolescence in suburban London, in a tidy under 30 minute package of non-stop gags.  It is blessedly free of the annoying laughter on cue of a studio audience or the even more abhorrent canned laugh track…..I like it already.

As the series begins, Will MacKenzie finds himself a fish out of water when his father leaves his mother and him, and he has to transfer from private school to public school.  He’s assigned a student mentor, Simon, and begins hanging out with Simon and friends Neil and Jay.  It’s readily apparent that Will and the gang aren’t top feeders in the sixth form social jungle.

Each episode finds the lads involved in a coming-of age challenge – buying liquor for a day of skipping school, surviving an amorous driver’s license examiner but meeting one’s match in having to drive a hideous bright yellow car, dealing with the humiliation of new-kid hazing (much, MUCH worse in the age of camera phones - yikes).  The boys’ constant swearing (in the Queen’s English!) cracks me up, but even more so the incessant bleeping that’s been added to fit American broadcast standards.  You know, because we don’t have a clue what they were saying when we hear “f-bleeeeeep!”

The Inbetweeners is in its third season on BBC, but BBC America just began airing the first season in late January.  I was able to find the two episodes I missed with my cable provider’s On Demand function.  I've since upgraded this to weekly recording status on my DVR.  I hope this one catches on well enough for BBC America to continue showing it -- I'd love to know more of Will and his mates.