Monday, September 22, 2014

Movie Monday 9/22

Actually, this post could more accurately be called TV Monday, but there's no alliteration in that.

We haven't had time for movies in recent weeks, with moving my father-in-law, soccer games, school functions, and house guests. Since my husband returned from his big trip to help his Dad move here from Oklahoma, we have been catching up on the endings to all of our favorite summer series, and now we are excited about the new fall shows beginning this week. Here are some of our favorites - the summer ones are probably still available online or On Demand:

My husband and I mostly focused on four TV shows in the late summer, including two new ones and two continued from last summer. We watched the second season of Graceland, a fast-paced thriller-type show about a group of undercover law enforcement officers from different agencies working and living together in a house on the beach near LA. We are also just finishing up the second season of Under the Dome, which is based loosely on the Stephen King book of the same name. My husband read the book and I didn't, but we have both enjoyed the TV show.

We also got hooked on two new shows this summer. We loved The Last Ship on TNT, starring Eric Dane (aka McSteamy from Grey's Anatomy!). It's a post-apocalyptic story about a pandemic that sweeps the world, and a Navy ship left behind unscathed because it was on a mission in the Arctic for several months. The crew includes a top virologist (who was in the Arctic searching for answers in the first place), so the ship moves around, searching for supplies and survivors, while the virologist tries to find a cure, and a Russian ship tries to attack them. It's an original premise and a very exciting, action-packed show that also has a lot of heart.

We came a bit late to The Lottery on Lifetime but just finished that one up last week, too. It's a dystopian story about a future world that has endured a fertility crisis - no women have been able to get pregnant for the past six years (and only a few in the years leading up to that). Now, a scientist has made a breakthrough and has 100 fertilized eggs, and the government decides to hold a lottery to find the perfect mothers to carry those eggs to term. But there are evil forces intent on controlling the embryos and the women.

With our older son this summer, we watched Perception on TNT, one of our favorite series, starring Eric McCormack as a neurology professor with schizophrenia who helps the FBI solve crimes. The three of us also binge-watched Orphan Black, a Canadian show shown on BBC (on Demand and on Amazon Prime) that just blew us away! Wow - best show ever. It has lots of surprises, so I don't want to give much away, but it deals with cloning and I guarantee that once you start watching, you won't be able to stop!

On my own this summer, I watched a British show, Last Tango in Halifax, that I just loved. I often watched it when I had the opportunity to have lunch by myself. It is about an elderly man and woman who used to be in love when they were teens but went their separate ways. They are reunited in their 70's (I think?) and decide to get married. It's a show filled with humor and warmth, with lots of family drama.

Now, we are looking forward to the return of some of our favorites this fall from last year: Sleepy Hollow, The Blacklist, The Americans, and Grey's Anatomy. That last one is still a favorite of mine, though my husband isn't very interested any more! We've also been watching Legends on TNT with our son, a fast-paced thriller about a man who makes his living going deep undercover and is in danger of losing himself. That's been excellent so far and is sort of straddling the summer and fall seasons.

For my lunchtime show, I just started Red Band Society last week, a drama about kids in a hospital long-term who bond. I thought the first episode was pretty good. I'm also looking forward to the return of Parenthood for its last (sniff, sniff) season - my favorite show of all time and highly recommended!

I know that seems like a LOT of TV, but this is how we enjoy each other's company in the evening, when I am too wiped out to do anything but lie on the couch!

What are your favorite TV shows from the summer or that you are looking forward to this fall?

2 comments:

Sally Burch said...

Thanks for this round up. I too enjoyed Orphan Black (as far as is free on Amazon Instant). I was thinking of starting to watch Under the Dome so your recommendation is appreciated there. And I'll take a peek for a few others you've enjoyed here too. Good round up.

Oh and did you watch Extinct on Amazon? I enjoyed it too, although quite surreal!

Sue Jackson said...

You mean Extant, Sally? How could I have forgotten that one? My older son, husband, and I are loving it!! That was another of our favorites this summer, and we are still finishing the season. Thanks for the reminder!

Sue