13 Apr 2013

Them & US: HIJKL...

It may not be daily...and I know you all are forgiving types...so here is my catchup of the weeks letters that I haven't done...from H to L...carrying on with US TV shows...

The letter H brought to mind two shows almost instantly; House and Happy Days. Very different to each other but both equally as good.

I watched Happy Days as a kid and that was where I first met Ron Howard and I have enjoyed his films that he has directed. I grew up on musicals and still love them and remember being pleased that he had been in one, The Music Man (great film by the way!). As its good to reminisce on occasion lets go with Happy Days.


IMDB says...The Cunningham family live through the 1950's with help and guidance from the lovable and almost superhuman greaser, Fonzie.

I dont ever remember him being almost superhuman, but very entertaining and the fifties epitome of cool. I would have watched the repeats of this show and I even remember watching 'Joanie loves Chachi' some time later (dont worry its not in the J bit) and what a great theme tune!
The letter I is a tricky one...I dream of Jeannie? I used to love that, another one I watched on repeats , whatever happened to the child friendly adult comedies that used to come out of America? Even childrens TV shows are'nt as good. I watched some show with my niece about a nanny and it was awful on every level in terms of morals and personal values. I guess with my adult head on any entertainment was lost on me. 


I should probably add another more recent show, is seven years ago recent? Eek! It was a great show that I really enjoyed and sadly it only lasted one season. It could have been because the writers had backed themselves into a corner with the storyline and it couldnt go much farther but I would have liked to see it twist more and develop. But alas that was not to be, even with a great cast, not all of you will agree with that because of Eddie Cibrian being the lead actor in the show but he is dreamy and supporting actors were good especially one of my favourites William Fichtner. The show is of course...invasion...


IMDB describes it as...

In the aftermath of a hurricane, a Florida Park Ranger and his family deal with strange occurrences, including luminescent creatures in the water and people that somehow seem to have changed after surviving the night of the disaster out in the open. 

The letter J brings to mind Justified with Timothy Olyphant. I love me some cowboys and it goes without saying that the character he plays with the hat and the boots and the drawl is good enough for me to watch, oh and of course another supporting actor who is brilliant even with a rather unusual name...Walton Goggins. I actually have a whole season on my Sky+ box waiting to be watched, mainly due to a lull in the story that disagreed with me towards the end of Season 2 but worth watching.


IMDB describes it as...
Old-school U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens is reassigned from Miami to his childhood home in the poor, rural coal-mining towns in Eastern Kentucky.

...and it has a very high rating of 8.7 although my jury is still out on this, ask me after I finish watching season 3.

The letter K is making me think...hmmm...Kate and Allie? (another very old one I saw on repeats) but I think I have to go with the original Knight Rider starring David Hassellhoff. I loved the car (KIT) voice and I think it was a great show which had some charm not least offered by a young gangly curly topped David or as he is in the show...Michael.


I was going to add what was said on IMDB but really if you havent seen or at least heard of this show (old or new) then you must be living under a rock! Its an 80s classic whether you love or hate it.

The letter L is the last one till next weekend and L, hmmm, it has to be Lie to Me starring Tim Roth. It only had three seasons as America didnt seem to warm to it enough to keep it on air but this show could have run and run. The supporting cast fit nicely together and with all the expected characters; cute geek guy, sexual chemistry couple, conflicted interests guy. 



IMDB describes it as...

Dr. Cal Lightman teaches a course in body language and makes an honest fortune exploiting it. He's employed by various public authorities in various investigations, doing more when the police etc. fail to go the extra mile. So he can afford to constitute a team of his own, which like clients and others has to put up with his mind-games.

Its really interesting as it looks at the science behind body language and how we unconsciously do things when lying. It has some great examples too of liars and the like in news, old and current. Even for the three seasons it is worth watching....wait....I may have said that about all of these shows! haha. Its this kind of show that appeals to me, it doesnt wallow in back story, there is problem to solve before it ends and it involves using less formal techniques.

I hope this makes up for my dropping out of the dailies and see you next weekend for the next lot of letters! 

What shows do you like? There are plenty I havent mentioned, so tell me, which are your favourites?



12 comments:

  1. Don't know if posting multiple letters at one time is legit or not, but thanks for the memories. Loved I dream of Gennie, and Happy Days, not so much the others.

    You might be wise to add the badge for a-z with link so people know you're in the challenge. First glance here, some might leave as it doesn't look like you're participating. Good luck, hope you catch up and get back to posting each day.

    A-Z

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    1. Hi Sandy, I am really only posting for myself and not as part of the challenge, I am not sure I would worry too much about the rules! lol

      I have an A to Z challenge page from last year that also links to this so that will be enough. Especially as I have sort of dropped out and posted earlier about that.

      Both good tips thought that someone in a similar situation could take advantage off so thanks for sharing.

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  2. This I dream of Jeannie show looks cute! First time I hear of it, but looks nice :D

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  3. I used to love Happy Days and Knight Rider. Sometimes I wish my car would drive itself like that. :-)

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    1. I dont drive so definitely need a KIT car! :)

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  4. Happy Days and Knight Rider! Loved them both back then, but wonder if they would have as much appeal now?

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    1. Seeing as there was a modern version of Knight Rider (that wasnt good or bad) I think the simplicity of some of the shows and their dependence back then on a good script is less of a requirement now. I guess Knight Rider was more reliant on the stunt men :D

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  5. Well, I did watch House (and it's one of the few American shows I have on DVD), so that's one out of, how many? I think I might be getting better!

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    1. Something tells me you were lured into watching it by a certain Brit (Mr Laurie?), but you are getting better :D

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  6. I really liked Lie to Me (watched it on Netflix because I didn't know about it when it was actually broadcasting) but I think that it's a good thing it ended when it did. It was turning into a 'Lie of the week' series and kinda taking a turn for the worse. I think it needed a bit more meat. Still, Tim Roth is awesome :)

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    1. Very true but I think that was somehow influenced by the series having been puased for about a year, I am sure a lot of those episodes were written by dejected writers, lol! Tim Roth isi awesome :)

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