2023 Summer Shows Part 2

With today being the best and only certain time for me to write this post, then I might as well get it done despite never having much time for anything and yet still bringing these blogs back because I have to do with my OCD instead of doing more sensible things at times. Anyways, here’s the other part of the summer reviews of shows this year.

 

Stars on Mars: Show Description- Celebrities compete in a Mars simulation. Behind the Scenes- There are a lot of famous people on this. My Thoughts- Personally, I couldn’t even bring myself to watch this show until after Lance Armstrong was gone from it. The show’s name may be an outright lie, but it does work in some ways. I hate that so many people just straight up quit over and over again. But it is good enough in the long run. I give it three out of five stars. Long Term Prospects- I don’t think that this will last unless the writer’s strike still hasn’t been resolved by next summer. Where to Find- On FOX at 8/7 Central on Mondays

 

Run the Burbs: Show Description- This focuses on a family in the suburbs. Behind the Scenes- This is a foreign show airing on the CW. My Thoughts- It was dumb and didn’t seem all the well acted. I give it two out of five stars. Long Term Prospects- It probably won’t last here, although it might last in the country it started in. Where to Find- On the CW at 8:30/7:30 Central on Mondays

 

Children Ruin Everything: Show Description- Parents have issues with the immaturity of their kids and yet want another want. Behind the Scenes- Blah, blah, blah, foreign show on the CW, blah, blah, blah. My Thoughts- It isn’t good. The title alone is problematic. And it is hard to think of any redeeming value that it has in the long run. I give it one out of five stars. Long Term Prospects- This won’t last at all. Where to Find- On the CW at 9/8 Central on Wednesdays

 

Son of a Critch: Show Description- A boy describes his life at his new school and growing up in general. Behind the Scenes- This is yet another foreign show that airs on the CW and also based on the life of its creator. My Thoughts- The show is so unfunny that while trying to watch its second episode, I just had to turn it off and watch something else instead. While parts of it are decent enough, you can get much better things from shows like it like The Goldbergs. I give it one out of five stars. Long Term Prospects- I have no idea if it will last here or not. I’d say maybe, but only because the CW has jack shit to air nowadays. Where to Find- On the CW at 8/7 Central on Wednesdays

 

Down to Earth with Zac Efron: Show Description- A documentary, Zac Efron explores some places on earth to help us understand it better. Behind the Scenes- This aired on streaming before it was on the CW very briefly. My Thoughts- It was a good show while it briefly lasted. I give it four out of five stars. Long Term Prospects- It has been cancelled already due to low ratings, but if more of it airs on Netflix, where it first aired, remains to be seen. Where to Find-Not on the schedule

 

Fantastic Friends: Show Description- A documentary, we see twin brothers and their on screen sister who played characters in the Harry Potter universe explore some of the earth. Behind the Scenes- Bonnie Wright, James Phelps, and Oliver Phelps all appear together as the fantastic friends. They played the roles in the Weasleys: Ginny, Fred, and George. My Thoughts- It is a wonderful and fun documentary that would be worth watching if it were still on. I give this four out of five stars. Long Term Prospects- It has already been cancelled and I don’t know if more of it will see the light of day on steaming if it hasn’t already. I put it as likely, but uncertain. Where to Find- Not on the schedule

 

Fight to Survive: Show Description- A group of survivalists, known for appearing in other reality shows like Naked and Afraid, Survivor, and other shows, compete to survive in Fiji against each other to see if they will share the same resources and work together or turn against each other. Behind the Scenes- This is a Roku show that is also airing on the CW. My Thoughts- Parts of this are predictable, but it is different and interesting enough. I give this three out of five stars. Long Term Prospects- I have no idea if it will last or not or if it will air on the CW if it does last. It might depend on just how much the CW scraps the bottom of the barrel as it has been since Nexstar bought it and if they make do with other things instead. Where to Find- On the CW at 8/7 Central on Thursdays

 

Recipe for Disaster: Show Description- Three teams of people compete in a cooking competition with various problems of weirdness happening while they do this. Behind the Scenes- Hey, look at that garbage can! My Thoughts- It is as dumb as you’d expect just given the promos of it. I give this one out of five stars. Long Term Prospects- I don’t expect it to last, even if they had nothing else to air. Where to Find- On the CW at 9/8 Central on Saturdays

 

While I could do much more with the returning show section like I normally do, I am just going to include just the shows that I feel like doing newish reviews of. Thus, I won’t have to do too much more beyond what you have already seen so far.

 

Bump: Status- Currently on the CW at 9:30/8:30 Central on Mondays. Why I’ve seen it- I tend to watch every new CW show at least once. Noteworthiness- This is a show from Australia that is airing in the US. It is only half an hour so I’m unsure if this is supposed to be a comedy or a drama that’s shorter. I see it as more of a drama than a comedy. Description- A teenager who didn’t know she was pregnant winds up dealing with a lot of family drama beyond just being a new mom while still in high school. Pros- Parts of this seem interesting and worth seeing what happens. It can spark interesting conversations with family if you watch it with them. Cons- Parts of this seem dumb or otherwise not work such as the extent of some of the drama going on at once. Note to Parents- While a lot of this can be bad for kids, with teens, it might be worth watching if you are willing to have serious conversations about what goes on in the show. Recommendation- It is a wonderful show that I recommend. My Viewing Habits- I have seen what has worked out of this, but not all of it. Prediction- This has already had a lot of seasons beyond what we have seen so far in the US and a spin-off that might air here at some point in time. I would say that given CW’s status, it is almost certain that we will see these seasons when they air here. Reception: good. Grade: B-. New review

 

HouseBroken: Status- Currently on FOX at 9/8 Central on Sundays. Why I’ve seen it- I tend to watch a new FOX show at least once. Description- Some pets have adventures. Pros- It is different than the usual adult comedy in enough ways. Cons- This show was dumb and didn’t have much to it. Note to Parents- This airs with a content adversary warning so that’s all that you really need to know about that in the end. Recommendation- Don’t waste your time with it. My Viewing Habits- I watched one episode of this and won’t watch it again. Prediction- This might keep lasting, but I have no idea if it has good odds in the long run since it keeps airing in the dead of summer instead of the main season. I think that it is still likely to last for now. Reception: mixed. Grade: F. New review

Watching Less TV (and Being Okay with it)

So much crazy shit has happened in my life. And the past TV season has had all sorts of weird things going on too. Even just today, I had all sorts of weird things going on. Now if you want to know what all has happened in my life and this season that I’ll talk about in this blog, be sure to keep on reading this post. If you want to know what happened that caused the blogs to go on hiatus, read this post.

 

http://adamdeckercsicyber.blogspot.com/2023/07/tech-explaining-blogging-hiatus.html

 

This post should have up yesterday based on the rule that I have about it, but I decided that it would also work now without messing too much up. Or, I could have cheated and posted it when it was supposed to be up and not when it was. But I tend to avoid that, so I did. My mom had to go to a hospital a way away. She’s fine now. But she was the main reason why I couldn’t watch or record as much TV this season. She wasn’t the only reason.

 

There was also a missing remote causing a TV to not really turn on and be an inconvenience at one point with a backup until the main one was found. There was a TV tuner that stopped working until I found a new one. And there are a lot more problems with the receptions of channels, specifically FOX, that makes it impossible for me to see shows since they won’t come in. I can’t even find a show to watch at some times since I like to watch all of primetime during the main season and not just the few things that I would stick with.

 

And you know what? I’m completely fine with missing a lot of TV. It may seem odd. But since I know that I’m a TV junkie, I also know that good things to do at times is to detox from my addition. That’s why I got rid of new blog posts for a while with one that I still haven’t gone back to yet.

 

You see, even when you have legit OCD like I do and not just a certain way of doing things, you can still come to what I call an oh, well phenomenon. Basically, if despite all of your hard work trying to get something done that needs to be done that day that you couldn’t get done, how do you feel inside? Do you feel messed up? Do you feel like you can’t take it anymore? Actually, what I feel is a lack of caring, an oh, well. Oh, well. I couldn’t get that done. That’s not too bad at all, really. I don’t know why I had cared so much and maybe won’t obsess with things too much.

Peter Sallis as Wallace on Wallace and Gromit

It was a while ago in which Peter Sallis, the voice of Wallace from Wallace and Gromit died. In at least two of the three things I’m going to cover, his was the only voice heard as no one else even spoke. I know that there was a 2008 special, A Matter of Loaf and Death, but I don’t know how to watch it at the moment so I’ll be skipping it for now, despite it also featuring Peter Sallis as the voice of Wallace. I also won’t be covering these three specials in order, but you are more than free to read them that way if you want to. Now let’s get to Wallace and his involvement in the specials at hand.

 

The Wrong Trousers

 

Wallace starts out asleep until he hits a button in his bed for breakfast, being taken to the main floor there at hand. The landing is a bit painful. He needs money since he’s short on cash. He gives a present to his dog since it is his dog’s birthday. He gives his dog a collar and a leash, something Gromit does not like. Then comes a scary gift: techno-trousers. This leads to him being taken on a walk, but a decoy is used at one point in time.

 

Wallace lets in a penguin about a room to rent. This penguin wants Gromit’s room instead. Wallace helps put up wallpaper and decoration in another room, the spare one that he’s in now. Wallace seems to like this guest too much, which Gromit doesn’t like as Gromit runs away from home.

 

The morning after, Wallace finds himself in the wrong trousers, the techno-trousers. The controls are gone which leads to him being taken from place to place. He tells Gromit that they have gone wrong. It is revealed that the penguin is controlling them. Wallace is somehow about to put pajamas over these trousers as after his exhausting day, he goes to bed.

 

Gromit is later seen under Wallace’s bed as Wallace sleeps. Wallace continues to sleep as the penguin, now revealed to be a wanted chicken, takes him away. He is taken to where a diamond is on display. The penguin takes him to the roof where he goes through a vent and walks on a ceiling to be used to steal the diamond that’s there. A device on his head is used to steal the diamond.

 

After hitting an alarm by mistake due to a loose ceiling tile, Wallace is woken up and thinks that he’s dreaming. The penguin reveals himself. But he traps Wallace in a wardrobe. Gromit gets trapped there as well and fiddles with the controls on the trousers, breaking them out there.

 

Wallace gets stuck on a train and is able to help by taking the gun. He is later seen trying to catch the penguin with a next, but winds up catching part of the furniture. He then gets on the track behind Gromit who is able to build a way forward and they manage to catch the penguin and get the reward money to pay off all their debts. Wallace gets cheese and crackers for himself as this ends.

 

A Close Shave

 

Wallace is seen sleeping at one point. He and Gromit have a washing business. He is seen pushing a button wanting portage today since it is Tuesday. The machine malfunctions since the wires were bitten into. Wallace wants to make his own, but the box was bitten into as well. He notices a hole in the newspaper he is reading while saying that something fishing is going on.

 

He gets a call for a cleaning service so he takes himself and Gromit there to do it. It is a wool place where he sees a woman there. He meets her dog Preston. Her name is Wendolene. He stumbles over some words and talks about the sheep rustling and her wool that she has plenty of.

 

He and Gromit return home and he finally sees the sheep he was oblivious to before, not even realizing that it was a footrest for him as he read the plot convenience newspaper. He wants to get this sheep cleaned up. Wallace takes this sheep downstairs to the knit-o-matic. He watches as the machine winds up malfunctioning and accepts a small sweater from it. He names the sheep Shaun.

 

Wallace reminds Gromit that they are cleaning a clock which apparently isn’t hurt by this. He talks to Wendolene a lot about different things in the meantime. He continues to be oblivious to things as a herd of sheep go past him.

 

Later, he reads the paper about his dog’s arrest, being mistaken for a killer dog. Later, Wendolene comes and tells him to stay away from her and that she’s sorry about Gromit. The sheep are with him still as he passes time reading more newspapers about Gromit’s trial and imprisonment.

 

Unable to stand this, Wallace sends Gromit a mystery puzzle and busts him out of jail. They are fugitives. He notices that Wendolene and her dog are doing the sheep rustling and chases after her when her dog turns on her. The motorcycle winds up getting chased in return, but Gromit turns things around. Wallace gets separated from Gromit when the sidecar comes undone.

 

He is able to free the sheep briefly, but winds up captured with the sheep and Wendolene where they go to where Preston, the dog, makes his dog food. Shaun and also Gromit are able to assist in making sure that Wallace doesn’t get sucked into Wallace’s invention that Preston stole. Preston is a cyber dog. He does not do well prevent being sucked into this, although Shaun saves the day and Wallace’s life among the lives of everyone else.

 

Later, Wallace learns that Wendolene was able to reprogram her dog back to good. He offers her some cheese, but she is allegoric, ending any potential relationship between them. Wallace wants to eat the cheese that he has with a now exonerated Gromit, but Shaun is there eating the cheese instead. Gromit does nothing about this despite Wallace’s pleas.

 

A Grand Day Out

 

We begin with Wallace looking through various travel magazines, wondering where to go. Upon noticing that there is no cheese and eating a cracker on its own, he decides to go to the moon as the moon is made of cheese. But then, won’t there be less of the moon?

 

He designs a way of building a rocket to the moon. He kneels on top of an old yellow door as he saws it and once it predictably comes off the place where it is standing, he uses his dog Gromit to hold it up. The rocket gets built with everything under control as Wallace falls into it. He lights the fuse of it.

 

He has to quickly get the crackers and he does get it and back into the rocket before it blasts off. He reads the paper as they make their way to the moon. I’m unsure how they can do this without any space suits on, but this is Claymation, so I don’t really care as it isn’t realistic anyways. He takes a picture for the album. They do land on the moon which is, in fact, made of cheese.

 

They have a picnic on the surface of the moon. Again, no space suits and this is okay for both of them. Wallace can’t identify the type of cheese that is on the moon as it is like no cheese he has ever tasted. He messes with something that looks like a machine of sorts, but it doesn’t work until it comes to life. He had taken part of this machine off, a knob at the very right.

 

This machine notices Wallace eating part of the moon and as a protector, I guess, tries to strike Wallace with a bat, stopping right short of it having lost its powers. Wallace gets confused by it and goes back to the rocket when the robot chases after it. He starts an emergency countdown. The robot accidentally lights the fuse that Gromit had forgetting to. They do ultimately make it home and notice the robot skiing on part of the railing it took out of the rocket.

 

Well, I’m currently unsure how or if I can see A Matter of Loaf and Death here in America legally. I might see a bootlegged version online, but I feel that I got the classic three covered and that’s all that I need to do. I hope that you enjoyed this tribute to the late Peter Sallis.