Journal handsomepete's Journal: TV Shows Worth Watching and FFTA 4
Had to come in to work at 5am this morning and can't find anything to do (since no one is here yet), so I figured I'd write a little something. I'll certainly be rambling a lot so feel free to ignore - I'm just trying to stay awake.
So, the girlfriend and I have gotten in the habit of checking out the new season of TV using the TV guide synopsis as a preliminary filter. Since Tivo has come into the picture, we have a very focused television schedule - rarely is more than 10 hours a week watched. The general rule of thumb is to skip pretty much all sitcoms and see if anything sounds good, record an episode, watch it, and if it's any good season pass it until it sucks. If it lasts until the end of the season, then it gets another shot next year (unless it's cancelled which seems to happen frequently (John Doe, Firefly, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, etc.)). Here's a couple things we're sticking with right now:
The Restaurant - Since she's spent time waiting tables for a couple years and I spent time waiting and cooking in restaurant kitchens, this has proven to be a pretty interesting show. Only two episodes in it's hard to tell, but it looks like the staff and owner are interesting enough to keep me entertained.
Nip/Tuck - This show is slightly too hip/cool for it's own good, but it is well written and shot. I'm curious as to where the little 6 year old daughter has gone - maybe her contract didn't work out?
Survivor - I've managed to stay away since the first season, but the pirate theme was a little too much to resist. Good cast with the usual suspects (minus the old tough guy). Lots of beautiful people backstabbing each other with camera-induced drama.
Boomtown - This show will probably be referred to as a show that was good in it's first season until the network made them change their format. Telling the story from multiple characters' viewpoints worked really, really well, but NBC made them "dumb it down" for the masses. It's still well acted with a very decent story (especially for a cop drama), but I miss the original style. New season starts this week, so we'll see how it works now.
Carnivale - Acquired the first two episodes of this show about a traveling Carnival and a young man with mysterious powers (dun dun dunnnnh), and I'm really enjoying it. Everyone's comparing it to Twin Peaks, but the only thing it has in common (as far as I can see) is the pacing and mystery. I'd actually pay to get HBO if I wasn't required to get a stupid digital cable box. It costs as much as HBO just to rent the damn thing from Time Warner, so I just can't justify it. Plus it would screw up the crazy wiring I had to put together to combine the Tivo, MythTV box, VCR, DVD player, Nintendo and PS2 across 5 TVs. I actually learned Visio just so I could write out how to do it (I swear we don't watch that much TV :) ).
Monster House - I like this show. If you haven't seen it, try it once. It's definitely silly, but you can't beat Trading Spaces with a larger budget, themes (70's Disco House, Old West House), and a different surly build crew every episode.
Alias - This has turned out to be my favorite show in recent years. Looking forward to the premiere this weekend (where the hell has Sydney been for two years?!?).
Welp, writing all that managed to kill half an hour. Here's a quick review of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance:
I don't like it as much as the original PS1 version. Having multiple races hasn't done anything for me - in fact, I prefer all humans just because it's easier to tell who does what kind of job at a quick glance. I find myself checking the status of the moogles frequently just to find out what they're capable of doing to me. It is pretty easy - I haven't run in to a battle that just blows me away, whereas in the original one out of every three could potentially wipe out the whole party. They could also stand to do away with the "Land that you've freed is under attack!" random scenarios. They just end up being annoying - I'd prefer random battles to that. The plot isn't as silly as it initially seems and the portability is definitely a plus, but it just doesn't do the same things for me. The whole law/judge thing, however, is super great. Getting into a battle with a couple mages and adding a "No color magic" law is cool. Here's hoping for a combination of the laws/judge system, the old job and ability system, and a new plot on a console sometime in the near future.
Ok, off to do work. Hope everyone's having a good week. Buy a $99 Gamecube if you get the urge.
So, the girlfriend and I have gotten in the habit of checking out the new season of TV using the TV guide synopsis as a preliminary filter. Since Tivo has come into the picture, we have a very focused television schedule - rarely is more than 10 hours a week watched. The general rule of thumb is to skip pretty much all sitcoms and see if anything sounds good, record an episode, watch it, and if it's any good season pass it until it sucks. If it lasts until the end of the season, then it gets another shot next year (unless it's cancelled which seems to happen frequently (John Doe, Firefly, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, etc.)). Here's a couple things we're sticking with right now:
The Restaurant - Since she's spent time waiting tables for a couple years and I spent time waiting and cooking in restaurant kitchens, this has proven to be a pretty interesting show. Only two episodes in it's hard to tell, but it looks like the staff and owner are interesting enough to keep me entertained.
Nip/Tuck - This show is slightly too hip/cool for it's own good, but it is well written and shot. I'm curious as to where the little 6 year old daughter has gone - maybe her contract didn't work out?
Survivor - I've managed to stay away since the first season, but the pirate theme was a little too much to resist. Good cast with the usual suspects (minus the old tough guy). Lots of beautiful people backstabbing each other with camera-induced drama.
Boomtown - This show will probably be referred to as a show that was good in it's first season until the network made them change their format. Telling the story from multiple characters' viewpoints worked really, really well, but NBC made them "dumb it down" for the masses. It's still well acted with a very decent story (especially for a cop drama), but I miss the original style. New season starts this week, so we'll see how it works now.
Carnivale - Acquired the first two episodes of this show about a traveling Carnival and a young man with mysterious powers (dun dun dunnnnh), and I'm really enjoying it. Everyone's comparing it to Twin Peaks, but the only thing it has in common (as far as I can see) is the pacing and mystery. I'd actually pay to get HBO if I wasn't required to get a stupid digital cable box. It costs as much as HBO just to rent the damn thing from Time Warner, so I just can't justify it. Plus it would screw up the crazy wiring I had to put together to combine the Tivo, MythTV box, VCR, DVD player, Nintendo and PS2 across 5 TVs. I actually learned Visio just so I could write out how to do it (I swear we don't watch that much TV
Monster House - I like this show. If you haven't seen it, try it once. It's definitely silly, but you can't beat Trading Spaces with a larger budget, themes (70's Disco House, Old West House), and a different surly build crew every episode.
Alias - This has turned out to be my favorite show in recent years. Looking forward to the premiere this weekend (where the hell has Sydney been for two years?!?).
Welp, writing all that managed to kill half an hour. Here's a quick review of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance:
I don't like it as much as the original PS1 version. Having multiple races hasn't done anything for me - in fact, I prefer all humans just because it's easier to tell who does what kind of job at a quick glance. I find myself checking the status of the moogles frequently just to find out what they're capable of doing to me. It is pretty easy - I haven't run in to a battle that just blows me away, whereas in the original one out of every three could potentially wipe out the whole party. They could also stand to do away with the "Land that you've freed is under attack!" random scenarios. They just end up being annoying - I'd prefer random battles to that. The plot isn't as silly as it initially seems and the portability is definitely a plus, but it just doesn't do the same things for me. The whole law/judge thing, however, is super great. Getting into a battle with a couple mages and adding a "No color magic" law is cool. Here's hoping for a combination of the laws/judge system, the old job and ability system, and a new plot on a console sometime in the near future.
Ok, off to do work. Hope everyone's having a good week. Buy a $99 Gamecube if you get the urge.
good stuff. (Score:2)
I saw my first episode of Carnivale last weekend (I couldn't get HBO in Hawaii. suxx0rz) and it blew my mind. Thats a winner. It certainly makes up for the disappointment that was the last season of Six Feet Under (that show has totally jaw'd the shark).
Re: (Score:2)
FFTA (Score:1)
Husband just started playing that last night. I 'got it' long before he did, so watching him struggle through the menus really annoyed me. "Wait, is this my mage, or soldier?" I kept bugging him to move this guy over here, or that one over there, and do this thing or the other... until I decided to STFU and let him struggle with it.
It makes perfect sense to me, but it's just not working for him. And he's only like 3-4 missions into the game. Oh well, I get to steal it on our trip. ;) And I'm playing Golden
Re:FFTA (Score:1)
If you dig the strategy type game, and if you have a PS2, you should definitely check out Disgaea. It is the finest game I've played this year hands down.