Can You Ever Have TOO Much Jeopardy!?

Lately we've been watching a lot of Jeopardy at our house. It's become part of our nightly ritual--we eat dinner, we watch Jeopardy! Perhaps that puts us in the category of "fossil" but we don't seem to care.  The fact is Jeopardy has always been a part of my life. As long as I can remember my Dad has watched Jeopardy! on a nightly basis he even tried out a few times.  I haven't gotten that far yet (yet being the operative word) but I would love to hold of one of those clickers in my hand and try my hand at a real round of the show.  Over the past couple of weeks we've discovered a few things...

• There's a lot of things we don't know.
• We're often surprised at how much we do know.
• We get a kick out of Alex Trebek. He's a funny guy.
• Toby has declared that if she'd have known she would have named Gus "Alex Trebek"
• Last night as we watched an episode I happened to notice that Alex wasn't wearing his glasses, then later on he was wearing his glasses to which I decreed "Alex is very sneaky." The wheels started turning and I said to Toby "Gus is very sneaky." A few more turns of the wheels "Gus IS like Alex Trebek!"
• Jeopardy! is not so much about getting the most answers right but making the right wager in Final Jeopardy! (although having the right answer never hurts.)
• The other night as I was making dinner I caught myself announcing my own Jeopardy debut in my best Johnny Gilbert voice.
• I'm pondering taking the Jeopardy! contestant test (seriously--its on my to investigate list.)

In short, Jeopardy! rocks.

A Great Sadness...

Just now I realized (and confirmed my suspicions) that there will be no episode of Chuck to watch tonight. Curse those politicians!!!

A Few New Favorites

The Aida soundtrack: Elton John meets Disney. Such a good cd.


Destination Truth: A SciFi Channel original series. Think The X-files meets Mythbusters. Not to mention the ruggedly handsome, Josh Gates adds an element of likeablity to the show. Good times. If you're interested in the wierd, check out full episodes on line. (you don't even need cable to enjoy. http://www.scifi.com/destinationtruth/

And, in Other news: Psych is coming to NBC on April 6th, for you non-cablers out there. It is also a delightful show. (I would marry Shawn Spencer if he were not a fictional character.)

Donkey!

Reading BlueStocking's Blog this afternoon reminded me of something. She mentions an "artist Donkey" she has in her closet...I got the giggles recalling the first episode of The Amazing Race that we watched last night.

We've watched a time or two before just for laughs and Sunday's episode was good for a few. The group had to race to Shannon, Ireland where they had to drive around a lot and then they got to ride a tightwire bicycle across a canyon with their partner hanging from the bottom of the bike. I have to admit I was particularly amused by the final challenge...which involved donkeys.

Tied to a hitching post there are eleven donkeys (one for each team). The object of the challenge was to load up a donkey with 15 pieces of peat. Once this was accomplished each team was supposed to lead the donkey back to the starting line.

This was hilarious. Some of the donkeys were trotters and others were super stubborn. Maybe it speaks poorly of me, but I was amused as several teams and their donkeys literally ran past a couple of teams who's donkeys were, if you will, steadfast and immovable. It was awesome. One team even made their donkey so mad that it was braying at them...how could I not laugh?

Here we had grown men an women yelling at their donkeys thinking that somehow that was going to get the poor animal to cooperate with them. Have you ever know anyone to want to cooperate with someone who yells at them.

By the end of the challenge I was laughing. I was having a hard time deciding who was the bigger donkey--the one with four hooves or the two-legged geniuses who thought yelling, pushing and pulling the donkey was ever going to work.

If you've ever seen a donkey in action you know that you cannot convince him/her to do any thing they don't want to. Whoever came up with idiom "as stubborn as a mule" must have had a donkey.

You Go Donkeys!!

The Great Debate

I went to bed late last night (nearly midnight) what with the plumbing incident that is too gross to discuss (see the next post if you must have details).

Before I went to bed I was determined to ride the bike for 30 minutes. While I was exercising I turned on the TV at 11:00pm and found a childhood favorite 21 Jump Street.

I used to love watching Jump Street. Who didn't love tuning in to find out what adventures Judy Hoffs, Harry Ioki, Tom Hansen and Doug Penhall were going to have this week. Admittedly the first season is not my favorite...I never really liked Captain Jenko, but would have joined the force in a heartbeat when Captain Fuller took the helm.

As I watched the beginning credits I began once again the great debate with myself over which undercover cop I would want to end up with (if reality were fiction).

It's a tough call...there's every teen girl's dream, Tom Hansen-preppy turned rock star hot and then there's Doug Penhall a rough, gruff teddy bear sort of a guy. Back in my younger days it was Tom all the way (what girl didn't have a thing for Johnny Depp--and what red-blooded woman doesn't still). However, I always harbored a little something for Penhall (in fact, I often refer to my ideal man as "Doug"). Peter DeLuise is just so cute and I can't help but be slightly in love with him.

As I'm cycling, I again debate with myself over which one to choose when the show starts my choice is made (at least for the next hour) Tom Hansen is no where to be seen (rats!)...instead he's been replaced by the slimy, trying too hard to be a replacement for Tom Hansen, Booker. (gag!) After Tom left Jump Street saw some dark days with the addition of Booker and Michael Bendetti, whose character name I can't even remember -- it just wasn't the same...

Who's bright idea was it anyway to replace Johnny Depp with Richard Grieco???

Save the Cheerleader...

I didn't want to like it but I do. I don't watch a lot of TV, but when I do I want to watch something really good. I lucked out when I found Heroes.

I started watching the first season, caught about 4 episodes and then missed 2 and didn't want to miss anything important so I sadly stopped watching. But, thanks to the marvels of reruns on the SciFi Channel and a DVR, alnog with Blockbuster On Demand I was able to quickly catch up when the first season came out on DVD. I was hooked!

Perhaps it has something to do with the very likeable heroes Claire, Hiro and Peter, Or maybe it's Sylar the sinister villian who gives even the creepiest of villains a run for their money or it could have something to do with the fact that Dr. Mohinder Suresh smiles like a boy I once dated though not likely.

I really like the idea that ordinary people might actually be extroadinary. Each character chooses how they will use their gift, whether for good or evil. It's a relief to find something to watch that isn't a Reality TV show or a Crime show. For me, watching television should be an escape not a rerun of the 6:00 news.

Ladies & Gentlemen, I give you Psych

The Best Fake Psychic in the Biz

So, I was going to write and tell y'all about one of my all-time favorite TV shows, but Even better I've brought it to you. Unfortunately it only airs on cable so if you don't have it you're missing out. Let me just say I am totally in love with Shawn Spencer, the main character on the show. He kills me -- he really wants to be a detective, but since he can't pass the test he joins the Force in a very creative fashion -- he becomes a psychic. The writers on this show are hilarious, frequently referencing 80's pop culture and I, as a child of that decade get a kick out of it. So if you're looking for something funny to watch, you should tune in, or just check out the website. If you're as weird as I am you might just find a new way to spend your Friday nights--as for me, well you guessed it, I've got a standing date with Shawn "the fake psychic" Spencer.