Auditioning Entertainment

After Teresa's heartfelt assertion that Enterprise is worth my TV watching time, I decided to stick with my plan and continue watching. It is definitely growing on me, but I find that I cannot watch three DVDs (12 episodes) in a row, like I would with TNG, DS9, or VOY. I can't even really watch one DVD straight through - I need a break after each episode. This wouldn't really be a problem, but I'm keeping each DVD for far too long, so I needed a new plan. To that end, I've been looking for something to mix in with Enterprise that will be a quick watch. After several suggestions from coworkers (and some strangers), I decided to audition Battlestar Galactica. I remember watching it as a kid (at least I think I do), so I hoped I'd enjoy it as an adult. Well, I just watched the first DVD (which I didn't realize was the four-hour pilot episode!) and I really like it. It's similar enough to Star Trek that it interests me, but not so much alike that I feel disloyal. The only thing I will need to get used to is that the new BG was a cable show, so it's a little more risque than I'm used to, but as long as my parents don't find out, I think it will be OK!

Star Trek: Enterprise; or Oh, the Pain I Must Endure

As you probably all know by now, I watch copious amounts of Star Trek. Some of you may not know, however, that I watch it with a true purpose, somewhat like a calling. When Michele went on the road, I started watching The Next Generation (TNG) because I love it and Michele hates it and it was nice to do something not associated with us to help me cope. Well, I quickly became obsessed and began to do a lot of research on the shows and stumbled upon a beautiful treatise a fellow fan created that guided me through each episode of all the shows in the order that they actually happened (OK, I am not so sunk deep into unreality that I think they actually happened . . .yet - it is based in the future, you know!) So I have been following his guide and watching TNG, Deep Space 9 (DS9), Voyager (VOY), and all the movies in chronological order with every intention of going back and and starting all over again, but this time from the very beginning with Enterprise. When TNG, my favorite, ended, I'll admit it, I cried, but I at least had DS9 and, my 2nd favorite, VOY to look forward to. Well, I finished DS9 several weeks ago, and, just the other day, sorrowfully finished VOY and watched the final TNG movie (which chronologically falls after the last episode of VOY.) So, I was actually looking forward to meeting some new friends on Enterprise - I hadn't seen a single episode - and now am being tortured by watching this horrible show. Oh, it's bad, really bad, and not at all Star Trek-esque! And I believe they knew it was bad when they were creating it, which has to explain why people keep being naked! Naked! On Star Trek!! It doesn't even make sense. But, as I said, it is my mission to watch every episode in chronological order and Enterprise is, sorrowfully, part of the House of Star Trek. Oh, so painful, but alas, we all must suffer for a cause near and dear to our hearts, mustn't we? Thankfully, I have only 4 seasons to watch - first ever Star Trek to be CANCELLED by the network!

Football and Earth 2

Why do I play football? I actually ask myself that every time I head home from the field. I really have no clue why I choose to spend Thursday evenings doing it. Yesterday, especially. I was sad and really just wanted to come home, heat up a bowl of beans, and crawl in bed with a good book. Instead, I joined my friends for a rousing game of flag football. It was raining and cold and wet outside. I fell three times, am so sore today I can barely move, caught the ball a total of zero times, and made not one touchdown. Why do I play football? I have no idea, but every week that I play I have a ball! (literally and figuratively!)

On a completely unrelated note, I mentioned previously that Michele was leaving me at home with no Star Trek DVDs to watch (I could have borrowed a DS9 from our friend Tina if I was deperate, so don't pity me too much.) When I am without a Star Trek, I search Netflix for a show I can watch instantly. A few days before Michele came home, I found Earth 2. I had never heard of it before, but it came out in the early nineties and only lasted one season - 22 episodes. It's set in the future when Earth is no longer inhabitable, and follows a group of pioneers trying to settle a new Earth: think Star Trek DS9 meets Little House on the Prairie, except not a quarter as good as either of those shows. It's really a bad show, but I cannot stop watching it. Have you ever watched a show that is really bad, but you can't stop watching it, so you convince yourself it's really good - I'm sure there's a psychological term for this phenomenon. Anyway, I didn't want to go to sleep last night until Michele was safely in her hotel room, so I stayed up and watched episode after episode of Earth 2. It is really quite good if you give it a chance - or if you give it 22 chances and then the pain will be over, I promise.