I’m Eclectic! Boogie Woogie Woogie!*

Ok.  Since I have in the past listed all the ways in which I am soooo different from everyone else and how much it sucks, I’ve decided today to do something a bit different.  I am going to list all the ways in which I am sooooo different from everyone else, and why I rock!  Ok, not really.  I’m just gonna list a bunch of my faves because I’m tired of not talking about them.  And, since it’s my blog (sez so, right in the title), I figured, why the hell not?  Over the weekend at Balloon Juice, there is usually a music thread or two.  This weekend, there was an ’80s thread (and one last weekend, too, I think), and us late nighters started throwing out the YouTube videos like they were going out of style.   There is a guy over there who is trying to find the perfect song for me  after hitting a home run the first time around with Cat Stevens’ Father and Son, which is still in my rotation.  He’s tossed out several songs, and I have reacted with my usual randomness.  I posted Adam Ant, Bon Jovi, MJ (because someone had to), Duran Duran, Cyndi Lauper, Public Enemy, and a bunch of others.  Someone said something about Tom Petty being a guy thing, that no woman would like him.  In response, I posted the two songs by Petty I like:  Free Fallin’ and The Alice in Wonderland Song.  A couple of people said they really liked Free Fallin’, and the guy trying to find songs for me said I have eclectic tastes.

I do, damn it.

TV shows:  Xena:  Warrior Princess.  I wasn’t in on this one from the beginning, but when I started watching it, I was hooked.  Let’s face it, Lucy Lawless is smoking!  I never cared much for Gabby (Renee O’Connor), but  I tolerated her.  She became much more interesting after she birthed the evil Hope, but by that time, I had lost interest in the show.  I have all the seasons at home, though, so I will see the entire story arch.  Some day.   This is a B-grade TV show that never took itself seriously–until it did (see earlier evil Hope storyline).  Oh, and it had the impossibly hot Hudson Leick as the very evil Callisto.

Various cooking shows.  Yeah, I don’t cook.  So what?  That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy watching other people cook.  In fact, that’s a requirement for anyone I date.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Again, I didn’t watch this from the start.  Again, I started watching it because I thought Anthony Head (Giles) and James Marsters (Spike) were hotter than hell, and they both had yummy British accents.  Head’s is real and Marsters’ is fake, but I don’t give a shit.  They are both so fine.  Anyway, I also like vampires, so it was a fun little show to watch.  Except for Angel (David Boreanaz, just to piss him off) skulking about looking all broody and angst-ridden.  The series was cracking fun and had one of the best musical episodes I’ve ever seen (bought the soundtrack)–though the ending fell apart.  Then, it started taking itself too seriously.  The last season sucked eggs.  Period.

Without a Trace.  Stop me if I sound like a broken record, but Anthony LaPaglia and Enrique Murciano are HOT!  Plus, I like mysteries, so I rather enjoyed this show.  I like the idea of following people who had disappeared to see what happened to them.  However, the show really hit a major misstep at the end of season two and never really recovered.  By the time they brought in a new character, the show was done.

Numb3rs.  Navi Rawat.  What more needs to be said?  Oh, and I was intrigued by the idea of a math geek genius helping his FBI brother.  It was an interesting premise with lots of math.  Two seasons ago (during the strike) was a throwaway season, and last year was very uneven.  However, it ended on a high note, so I will give it one more season.  However, if they continue going full-tilt Jack Bauer mode, I will stop watching.

Murder One.  I watched this just a few years ago because I was intrigued by the idea of a show that revolved around one case while solving many minors ones week to week.  I got it from Netflix, and I devoured it in a matter of weeks (would have taken less time, but I refused to watch the last disc for a while for two reasons.  One, I was afraid that it couldn’t possibly live up to the rest of the series, and two, I hate the ending of something I like so much.  The show had, I thought, painted itself into a trap from which it could not be sprung.  Oh, me of little faith.  The ending was easily the best part of the whole series, and that’s saying a lot.

I loved loved loved this show.  I read the reviews and saw that people were really split over it, especially over the lead character, Ted Hoffman, played by Daniel Benzali.  All I have to say is that he gave a tour de force performance, and I can’t imagine the role being played by anyone other than him.  He was the series.  Upon his shoulders, the burden fell.  If the series were to succeed or fail, it would be because of him.  To me, he is magnificent, and the show, despite its serious flaws (such as the stupid one-episode cases), is a triumph. Oh, and Stanley Tucci is amazing in it as well.  There was a second season starring the hot and talented Anthony LaPaglia, but I could not make myself watch it.  Why?  Because a Murder One without Benzali is simply unthinkable.

Miracles.  It’s hard for me to talk about this show because it was cut so tragically short.  I wasn’t interested when it first came out because I am not a big God fan, and that seemed to be what the show was about.  However, I caught a snippet of an episode once called The Patient, saw Skeet Ulrich kissing a hot black chick, and I was hooked.  No, that wasn’t the whole reason, but it was good enough for me.  I eagerly tuned in to a latter episode called The Bone Scatterer, and there was no going back for me.  Unfortunately, the next episode was preempted by W.’s Iraq invasion, and then ABC started jerking the show around.  Then, it was canceled, and I was devastated.  When the DVD came out, I snatched it right up.  Fittingly enough, there were 13 episodes.  I put off watching the last one for weeks because I couldn’t bear the thought of the series ending.

What is the show?  It’s about an ex-priest, Paul Callan, (Skeet Ulrich, yum yum) who begins to question his faith.  He runs into an oddball man, (the yummy Angus Macfadyen as Alva Keel) who believes that there is a God, and that he is not our ally.  Keel runs around the country studying paranormal phenomena along with his incredibly hot assistant, Marisa Ramirez as Evelyn Santos.  The show is clunky and talky and slow, and I loved every episode of it (well, except one).  The last episode was the best, and it’s really too damn bad they didn’t get to continue.  I love this show, may it R.I.P.

Note:  I do not have cable.  The shows I enjoy that are on cable, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, and The Rachel Maddow Show, I watch on the intertoobz.

Ok.  This is long enough for one entry.  I will do movies and music at another time.

*The title is, of course, a take-off on the song, Electric Slide! Check it out.  The most famous line, as it were, is, “It’s electric!  Boogie Woogie Woogie.”  Profound.