Really? Rob and Amber and Eirene? Both in one night? This is why I got up one hour earlier this morning?

For some reason, this conversation struck me as funny. There is a bit of background, of course. See, Alan thinks that it's a bad reflection of my moral and intellectual character that I watch Survivor. He also thinks that it's bizarre that I enjoy listening to a movie when I'm working. So, when I mentioned that I was listening to Back to the Future this morning, it apparently made an impression:

Alan says: I didn't want to interrupt Back to the Future today.
Jen says: It's only an hour and a half. I was done in plenty of time to watch the Amazing Race webcast at 1.
Alan says: I don't even know if you are being funny.
Jen says: Not intentionally.

(I just turned on Zoolander. Damn, I could listen to that movie all day.)

I know, I know, Carly. So cliché. So sue me.

Do I even remember how to do this? It’s been a while since I posted, but a snowy, quiet last-day-of-2005-esque day like today feels right for getting back into it.

10. What Not to Wear (TLC). I love this show with every fashionable bone in my body. Unlike other makeover shows, when I’m finished watching WNTW, I feel like the recipient has learned her fashion lesson and will continue along the path of righteousness. Stacy and Clinton aren’t trying to make everyone into clones (though the striped blouse-sweater combo of 2004 was starting to get predictable), which means that there’s something new to learn each week. I keep waiting for a chocolate-eyed, pale-skinned girl to appear on the show so I can get shadow tips from Carmindy.

9. My Name is Earl (NBC). Damned Jason Lee and his damned Scientology. I thought he was so cool in Chasing Amy (even though it was Ben who stole my 20-year-old heart), and was shocked—shocked! —to discover he was a member of The Church. I really didn’t want to love this show, but Jamie Pressly, Ethan Suplee, the guy who plays Crabman, and even Xenu-loving Lee, made me a fan. It’s like having my beloved Roseanne back, it is!

8. The Comeback (HBO). Normally, I am so not a fan of embarrassment humour. I couldn’t watch Meet the Parents or There’s Something About Mary without feeling incredibly uncomfortable and awkward. Friends and family have met with my cold shoulder when they behaved like freaks in public. I just can’t handle scenes like that. Which makes my love of The Comeback just that much more inexplicable. Lisa Kudrow’s Valerie gets shat on, literally and figuratively, for 13 episodes, and I can’t look away. I don’t know that she was meant to be a sympathetic character, but she had me rooting for her from Episode 4. Rot that Paulie G!

7. Survivor/The Amazing Race. I’ve been watching Survivor since Mike fell into the fire in Season 2, but TAR is new for me this year. I started watching because Rob and Amber were on, and was in love. I caught up on the previous seasons over the summer, so even the terrible Family Edition (more milkmaids, you say? Whoda thunk there were so many farms in this vast and apparently boring country of ours? Also, shut up, Weavers.) couldn’t scare me away. Survivor had two very strong seasons this year. I’m thrilled Jeff signed on for more seasons. Stephenie as a host would have been awful.

6. The Block, (HGTV Canada, Channel Nine in Australia). My sister and father say this show is getting too personal and is losing its home renovation roots. I say that Australia’s most popular show ever is freaking awesome, and I can’t wait to see how lovely Jane looks at her and Matt’s wedding.

5. Scrubs (NBC). I almost forgot to add this show to the list, it's been so long since it was on. Come back to me, J.D.!

4. The Office (NBC). See above, re: Embarrassment. I found the British version of this show awkward, but this one is just too funny. As much as I love the principals (Dwight!), it’s the secondary characters that make this show so awesome. I think I have an Angela at my office, and I know I have a few Kevins. Even Creed, who we knew nothing about when Michael tried to fire him in October, is starting to become an integral part of this show. I have to say that I’m worried about Jim and Pam, tho. I just can’t see it happening without one of them leaving Dundler-Mifflin. It will be way too Cheers for my liking.

3. Arrested Development (Fox). I have to say that I had my worries as this season began. I got that Charlize Theron’s Rita was supposed to be slow, but the one thing that keeps this show from becoming farceical is its timing. Hold a beat for too long and the jokes aren’t that funny anymore. I was glad to see her go, and even gladder to see this family close back in on itself (“Hi, Uncle-Father Oscar!”). Last season started out loose and tightened up by the fourth or fifth episode, and this season is gearing up to do the same. If Showtime doesn’t pick this up after Fox finally cancels it, I will be one unhappy pappy. You know, if I were a guy.

2. Veronica Mars (UPN). Like you didn’t see this one coming.

1. Rome (HBO). This show has everything I love. Somewhat-accurate history, warfare, costumes, nakednes—and real, no-fooling, character development. These people love, hate, hurt and find pleasure in everyday things. I can hardly wait until 2007 to watch Octavian and Antony go Gaulish on Cicero and Brutus’s asses.

Honourable Mentions go to Frontline, The Daily Show, The First 48 and Family Plots. Who knew I liked so many shows? Okay, don’t answer that.

Hey, Weaver family? You're the opposite of nice. You're assholes. You're everything that makes Americans so repugnant to the rest of the world.

I hope you were eliminated last night, because if I have to look at your bitchy faces one more time I'm gonna throw up.

(Wow. One can hardly tell I'm stressed out at work, eh?)

The Amazing Race on CBS

I am watching the season premiere of The Amazing Race with a sense of pleasant surprise. When I first heard about this I wasn't sure what to think. It's teams of four (two per team are hard enough to keep track of!), and some teams have kids under 10. They race around the United States, not all over the world. Eagle Scouts, not chieftans from ancient tribes, tell them when they've completed their tasks.

I was hesitant at first, but I'm starting to see the wisdom in this decision. There is a lot to see and do in the U.S., and Americans are used to screaming American tourists. They're immune to their belligerent ways!

Joking aside, this series couldn't have come at a more welcome time. It seems lik Americans are in low spirits, on both an international and human level, and a show like this that celebrates the wonders of the nation is the best way to remind Americans what a great country they have. And it doesn't hurt to show the rest of the world what made the U.S. the powerhouse that it is.

As long as they don't spend any time talking about George W. Or Jesus. And they don't ignore the bad neighbourhoods in favour of milk-fed corn girls in Kansas.

'Tis the season for TV. It's the most wonderful time of the year! Lovesit!

This week, my fall shows include:

The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, tonight (see above).

Bones, Gilmore Girls, Supernatural, Sept. 13 (I'm looking forward to seeing David Boreanaz in something new. I'm also looking forward to recapturing my interest in the Girls, because right now I'm not at all excited about this premiere. I have no idea what to expect in Supernatural, but I'm a sucker for WB teen dramas. At least I used to be).

Survivor: Guatemala, Sept. 15 (Yay! I wonder how they're going to work in Stephenie and Bobby Jo. I wonder if Bobby Jo's had any speech classes since last season).

I'm watching: Season 5 of The Amazing Race. Brandon and Nicole are on a train in Calcutta, and Nicki is getting squished by the other passengers. For the 5,000th time this episode, Brandon prays. Seriously, enough with the Jesus talk, already! Shaving your heads was part of God's plan too, chumps! They are so gonna talk about God when they get eliminated, aren't they? Oh. No, they didn't get eliminated. "I can see that the Lord really wants us in the game." Yup, he's taking a break from running the world to make sure you line your pockets. That must be it.
 
Wow.