Journeys Are My Diary

Life, Adventures, Entertainment and more - A little bit of everything blog!

TV Binge – Making a Murderer

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If you’re anything like me (and I hate to admit I’m a bit of a sheep) when the internet starts talking about something or other, I want to know what they’re on about. Sometimes I miss the original wagon (like Orange is the New Black, I binged season 1, when 2 came out) but occasionally I’m just late and I run to catch up! Last week and the week before there was a lot of fuss about something called “Making a Murderer”, a tv series on Netflix and of course that meant that I had to find out what everyone was talking about!

The show is a 10 part documentary, all about a man called Steven Avery. It follows through the story of his life – his original arrest, wrongful imprisonment and eventual release. It then goes on to cover a murder he was arrested for, his arrest again and his now imprisonment again.

I have to admit, a part of me doesn’t see what all the fuss is about. The documentary was pretty interesting but in parts it dragged and when you were binge watching, some of it was a little repetitive. However the story line itself was fascinating and I completely see why it lead people to speculate as to whether or not Steven (and in turn his nephew) were really guilty or not.

I personally, don’t think he was. Obviously this is going to split opinion and of course the documentary was definitely biased towards showing his innocence rather than proving his guilt. However I genuinely don’t think Steven is smart enough to commit this sort of a crime, let alone his nephew being involved.

Whatever you do or don’t believe after watching it, its definitely an interesting in watch. I read this week that there is a possibility of a new series, documenting from where it picked up onwards – but I suppose more time will need to pass before that happens. If Steven is innocent, will he ever get the chance to prove it and be released again? I suppose that would make for a good series. However if he doesn’t get that chance or he really is guilty, then I don’t suppose there is much more that can be said!

TV Favourites with Freeview Play

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I was recently asked by Freeview Play to make a post about my favourite TV shows and while this sounds like a great thing to talk about (and it is!) how do you narrow it down to an actual list of favourites, when you love so many shows?

As most of you who read my blog will know, I started a small sewing business a few months ago and since then I’ve spent more time sat at the dining table, than I have in the lounge. For the first month I got really behind on all my shows, until I decided to use my iPad to catch up and then keep on top of all the shows I love. Not only that but I have been binge watching series’ like Grimm, Switched at Birth, Awkward, Constantine, Orphan Black and many more. I’ve realised that I like so many different types of genre and it doesn’t matter whether it’s a current series or an old one, I’m ready to give it a go!

So here are some of my favourites.

Currently running – At the moment I’m really into the various superhero series that seems to be popping up everywhere. I’m watching The Flash, Arrow and Supergirl (which are all DC) and though they’re not currently airing, I also love Marvel’s Agent’s of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter and Daredevil. Other shows that I love and are currently airing are Once Upon a Time, Grimm (which as I mentioned I recently binge watched from series 1-4), Modern Family and Switched at Birth (another one I recently binged on 3 series of). There are of course a few other series that are between series and waiting to start, such as Game of Thrones, The 100, NCIS, Gotham and Vikings.

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British TV – while most of the afore mentioned shows are US ones that we either get a day after the US or wait weeks for, there are a few British shows I love. Casualty and Holby City air every week, while X Factor and I’m a Celebrity are only on this time of year. Orphan Black is also a British show that I recently fell in love with and I’m waiting for it to start again. Though most of these shows are my guilty pleasures, I’m not afraid to say I enjoy them. We’re also watching Release the Hounds which is a recent find but an enjoyable light-hearted watch.

Cancelled shows – over the years there have been a lot of cancelled shows that I’ve loved, including Buffy, Angel, Firefly and Doll House (all Joss Whedon!). However I recently watched one series of Constantine and really enjoyed it and I started on Defiance (though I’m not sure if I like it or not) and I found out that had been cancelled too. I also enjoyed both The Following and Revolution, both of which have been cancelled and a recent TimeHop post reminded me of a series called Flash Forward which was so good and such a shame it was cancelled. Finally I’m just now catching up a the last few series of Glee. I was a hardcore fan for the first few but it dropped off and while I still enjoyed it for light-hearted entertainment, I wasn’t bothered either. Now I search for TV to watch and have plenty of series to go at, so I’m just making my way through 4-6 with the hope of ticking it off the list.

There are so many more shows I could give a mention to but I would be here all day. I hope to find and enjoy even more over the weeks to come but I’ll be sure to let you know of what I find!

TV To Get Excited For!

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It’s September!! And for the most part, that can be a bit depressing – kids back to school, weather getting colder, days getting shorter etc. However there is one big plus point to me and that’s all the TV shows that begin again! Here are just a few new season tv that I’m looking forward to!

Arrow promo

Arrow Season 4 and The Flash Season 2 – October sees the return of both Arrow and The Flash, both of which I love. While I originally struggled a little to get into Arrow, it’s now one of my favourite TV shows. I completely love The Flash too, but in a totally different way. Arrow is dark and a bit more adult, where The Flash is a lot more lighthearted but still gets me quite emotional. While I’m sure it will be the end of October before we get the TV shows, I’m still excited as the trailers start to trickle out. I’m a huge Superhero fan and these two series are some of the best I’ve watched when it comes to Superheroes.

Once Upon a Time Season 5 – I’m such a massive Disney fan and this is pretty much the closest you get to a Disney series for adults. While it wasn’t always as Disney orientated as it is now, its always been fairytale related and that’s one of my favourite topics (not to mention, there are villains and I love them!). Last season was left on a great cliffhanger and I can’t wait to see how it turns out. Not only that but I’m going to a OUAT Convention next year and I am seriously SO excited. Lana (Regina), Sean (Robin) and Bex (Zelena) are all confirmed guests so far and I’m sure there will be more!

Grimm Season 5 – I posted last week about my new found love for a tv show called Grimm. Well now I’m up to the end of Season 3 and about to start 4 so I can’t wait for Season 5 to air. It will be hard to watch on a week to week basis instead of binging, but I’m looking forward to it regardless!

Grimm Promo

Doctor Who Season 9 – While I’m not a huge Doctor Who fan, I’ve also really gotten into it over the last few years. Season 9 starts this coming weekend and I’m pleased about that. I’m still not 100% sure that I like the new Doctor but maybe 12 more episodes will help me decide! I’m sure the Christmas special will be good too.

Gotham Season 2 – I’m not entirely sure when we will get this over in the UK, it might even be next year, but its released in the US soon. I didn’t enjoy all of Season One but it definitely had potential towards the end. I’m excited to see what might come from Season 2 so fingers crossed it won’t be a let down!

The Walking Dead Season 6 – TWD is SO up and down to me. I loved Season 1, Season 2 was okay and after that it became less stable. I enjoyed parts of the last few seasons but I couldn’t say I liked them in full. Hopefully season 6 will be an improvement but honestly I’m not holding my breath.

The 100 promo

The 100 Season 3 – I loved both Season 1 and Season 2 of The 100 and it was yet another series that I binged watched, along with Chris. We were late getting into it but once we did, I remember several very late nights, watching “just one more episode”. Season 2 was left on a bit of a cliffhanger so I’ll be interested to see where they take it. A large proportion of the storyline was tied off so its going to have to head in a whole new direction for this new series.

Other notable mentions are; Heroes Reborn (a new/follow-on series to Heroes), NCIS (not top of the list, but I do love it and have seen every season), Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (I lost interest towards the end of series but hopefully this one will be better), Marvel’s Agent Carter (hated the beginning of Season 1 but loved it towards the end – excited to see what comes next).

Is there anything you’re particularly looking forward to this fall/autumn?

Television Binge – Grimm TV Show

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Do you know your Wieder Blutbad from your Fuchsbau? And your Zauberbiest from your Hexenbiest?

In the past I have written about various TV series, that I’ve gotten into and then binge watched! These have been The Walking Dead, Orange is the New Black, Vikings, Game of Thrones, to name but a few. However this last week I’ve really got into a TV series called Grimm and I’m so excited to tell you all about it!

Grimm first aired in 2011, so I’m definitely behind on the times. However I also think it was probably under advertised in the UK (as a lot of things are) so it was never something I got into. That’s not to say I hadn’t heard of it, because I had, but it wasn’t enough to catch my eye. So when I noticed that Series 1-3 were on Netflix and Series 5 was due to start in October, I decided to give it a go. I’ll admit I watched the first couple of episodes a few months back and it didn’t really grab me, but forcing myself to sit at the table and get work done, I needed something to watch on my iPad. After several consecutive episodes I was sold!

In my opinion, one of the great things about Grimm is that there are LOADS of episodes in a series. Unlike Vikings or Game of Thrones where you get about 10 eps, Grimm has 22 (more like OUAT etc). This means when you binge, you really binge, and I’m absolutely loving that.

Wikipedia describes Grimm as “an American police procedural fantasy television drama series”, while the series itself describes it as “a cop drama—with a twist… a dark and fantastical project about a world in which characters inspired by Grimms’ Fairy Tales exist”. I have no idea what procedural means (and I can’t be bothered to look it up) but I assume both are basically describing what awesome means ;) The series follows someone called Nick, a cop with a partner called Hank. In the first episode or two, its revealed that Nick has a special sort of talent… which later becomes known as being a Grimm. He uses this “job”, alongside his cop role, to rid the world (specifically Portland) of bad guys and monsters. There are other main characters such as Sean, Juliette and Monroe (he’s my favourite) and more join as the series goes on. I really don’t want to spoil it too much for you, so I’m not going to go into any detail.

Series One was a great scene setter. I was engaged in all the episodes, especially as deeper plots unfolded. The end of series one finale was amazing too and – the second thing I enjoy about binge watching – I went straight on to watch Season Two, desperate to know what happened!

I have to admit I found Season Two a little frustrating at times. Again without spoiling too much, at the end of Series One there is a cliff-hanger regarding Juliette, that leads into Season Two. I felt some of her plot line (memory loss) went on far too long and I ended up googling to see how far through the series it was before her memory came back!! It turned out it was about episode 18 so I did feel that season dragged a bit. Finally it got good again towards the end and the season finale was good too (though not as gripping as season one). That said I still went on to watch the next series straight away.

I’m currently on episode 14 of Season Three, so over half way through. I like season three a lot more than season two and I almost feel desperate to watch more! Yesterday I had Nat over and it meant I didn’t end up watching any. Today I’m writing this post and working on some Closet Geek projects, so I’m the same today! All regular TV watching in hold right now as all I want to watch is Grimm! If you haven’t seen it, I definitely recommend giving it a go – though do be warned it is a little dark and does have a bit of gore at times. On the whole when the kids are about, I pause it when they come in and out of the room. I think they’d be okay with it, but since some of the murders can be a bit gruesome, I’d rather be safe than sorry!

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NBC is even suggesting “binge watching Season 4” on their website and I definitely hope I can do this in the next few days. It will be so hard watching one epsiode per week once I’ve caught up but its been really great getting here!

The 100 – TV Series

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Today I want to tell you all about an awesome TV show called “The 100“. It was originally aired in March 2014, over in America, with a finale aired in June 2014. Of course, in typical UK style, we’re behind the times and it wasn’t shown here until a few months ago, the finale airing just a couple of weeks back.

When this show was advertised, I hadn’t heard anything about it. I didn’t know it had already shown in America and I had no idea of the storyline. The trailers looked interesting an as it had a sort of space theme, added with mysterious island – well I figured I would give it a go. Week after week, the recordings piled up on the Sky Box but neither Chris nor I suggested watching it. We had a lot of other TV to watch anyway, but because we didn’t really know anything about the show, there was no pull to watch it either. Anyway, eventually we got around to the first episode and to be absolutely honest – I thought it was pretty dire. It seemed like a lot of teenage drama, very angsty and though it had a semi-decent plot, I wasn’t sold. However we stuck with it, the following day watching the next episode. Episode two seemed a bit more interesting and both Chris and I were keen to watch the third episode immediately after. The following day we watched four more episodes, then four more… before we knew it, we were completely sucked in. In less than a week we watched the whole series – watching the finale episode within 2-3 days of when it actually aired on UK TV. I immediately rushed to Google, making sure it had been renewed for a second series and when that might be. That was when I discovered it had already aired ages ago in the US and was actually due to start again soon.

Basically, that’s my reason for making this post today. October 22nd is the day that Season 2 of The 100 begins in the US. I am super excited and I can’t wait to find out when we’ll get it over here in the UK. But anyway… I should probably tell you a little bit about the actual series.

The series is set 97 years after a devastating nuclear war wiped out almost all life on Earth. The only known survivors are the residents of twelve space stations in Earth’s orbit prior to the war. The space stations banded together to form a single massive station named “The Ark”, where about 2,400 people live. Resources are scarce and all crimes no matter their nature or severity are punishable by death (“floating”) unless the perpetrator is under 18 years of age. After the Ark’s life support systems are found to be critically failing, one hundred juvenile prisoners are declared “expendable” and sent to the surface in a last ditch attempt to determine if Earth is habitable again. The teens arrive on a beautiful planet they’ve only seen from space. Confronting the dangers of this rugged new world, they struggle to form a tentative community. However they discover that not all humanity was wiped out. There are people on Earth who survived the war, called “grounders” by the 100.

If you were a fan of “Lost“, I most definitely recommend that you watch this series. Not only is Earth very similar to the Lost island, but also the ever lovely Des (Henry Ian Cusick) appears in the show as Marcus Kane. Other favourites of mine definitely include Lincoln (Ricky Whittle) and Anya (Dichen Lachman). A lot of the cast, really growns on you – even though at times you think they might not.

As I mention, the series has been renewed for a second season, beginning tonight in the US. There are 13 episodes in Season 1 that you can get your teeth into though, and trust me the season was left on a great cliffhanger so you’ll be desperate to jump into the next season. If you need any more convincing it has a 7.5 rating on IMDB, which is pretty damn good, especially after just one season.

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Vikings – TV Show

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Have you heard of the TV Show “Vikings“? Until recently, I hadn’t… but in less than a week, Chris and I made our way through two seasons of the show.

For me, the best way to describe it, is a little like Game of Thrones – but with less gore, less incest and less nudity. The style and themes feel very similar though. Vikings is basically a historical drama and while I’m not usually into that type of thing, I really really enjoyed this show.

Filmed in Ireland (a lot like GoT), the story follows Ragnor Lothbrok, a well-known Viking in norse mythology. Ragnor, who begins as a farmer, becomes famous by raiding England with the help of his family and fellow warriors. While there are no blockbuster names, there are a few familiar faces. For example, Cato from Hunger Games? He’s Björn, actor Alexander Ludwig. Another familiar name is Skarsgård, though not Alexander. This time its his brother, Gustaf and he plays Floki, in my opinion – one of the best characters in the show. Travis Fimmel, Katheryn Winnick and Clive Standen all deserve a mention though. And while I said no big names, Gabriel Byrne does make an extended appearance in season one.

There are currently two seasons, both of which have ten episodes. Vikings has been renewed for a third season and I can’t wait… though sadly I’ll have to, till summer 2015.

If you have a spare few hours, I definitely recommend you check it out. In fact, if you have Amazon Prime, both Seasons are available on there, even though only the first season has been shown in the UK.

Orange is the new Black

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Have you seen all the fuss about Orange is the new Black this week? Apparently its the thing to be watching right now…

Well I’d never even heard of it before this last weekend. That was until it flooded my Facebook feed, with people saying how they were festing and gorging on the new season of it on Netflix. Of course, you wouldn’t be human if that didn’t at least make you a little curious, and so I decided to see what all the fuss is about.

We have Netflix and of course because its all the talk of the town at the moment, the option to watch it actually came straight up as I looked in. Two Seasons apparently. Both with 13 episodes.

In order to write this post, I actually looked the TV series up on the net. IMDB has it with an overall rating of 8.5. Wikipedia tells me that its a TV series, first released onto Netflix on July 11th 2013, based on memoirs of a Piper Kerman, called “Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison”. Knowing that now, makes me realised that the show (at least in part) must be based on facts, not just fiction. I’m not entirely sure if that makes me like it more or less…

So far, I’ve watched 3 episodes. They are titled; I Wasn’t Ready, Tit Punch and Lesbian Request Denied. For a comedy, I wouldn’t say it has had me laughing especially. Perhaps I’m just not far enough into it, or maybe I just don’t have the right sense of humour? But either way I’m not sold as yet. No doubt I’ll continue watching and see what happens, but I don’t hold out much hope.

Do you watch Orange is the new Black? What do you think of it?

A Series of Series

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I don’t know about you, but I love a good TV series. A show that you get so into that you just can’t possibly wait till the next episode. Even better than that? I love when you discover a show that’s already got a series or two released and you can binge out on episodes whenever you want them.

Meeting Chris in October of 2012, was really the beginning of me getting into lots of series’. While I’ve always watched the odd thing here and there, having Deckleswood as a full time hobby had basically meant I’d given up on watching majority of TV shows. However to spend time together in an evening, we often found ourselves watching TV and especially movies. Lots of shows were on mid-season break and Chris was looking forward to watching them again when they re-started. As I hadn’t seen the majority of what he watched, we decided to set about catching up.

First came The Walking Dead. It was currently mid-season 3 and was due to restart in the new year. Chris already owned Season 1 on DVD so over a period of about 3-4 days we binged out on Walking Dead episodes. No sooner had we finished the final episode of Season 1, I was begging him to buy Season 2. This arrived within a few days and we soon caught up on that, followed by the beginning of Season 3. We’ve been watching it ever since and I can’t wait for this year’s mid-season 4 break to be over and done with!

The next thing we got into was Game of Thrones. Again this was something starting in the new year, Season 3 I believe. Chris and I downloaded all the Season 1 episodes via Sky anytime, then were lucky enough to catch Season 2 being repeated on TV and put it to series link record. Despite the episodes all being an hour long, we soon ploughed through them. I’m sure Season 2 took us less than a week in total. Now Season 4 begins in April and I can’t wait!

After these two I don’t remember the exact order of all the other Series we got into. However I know we’ve watched the whole of Death Note, Season 1 of Dollhouse, Complete Series of Firefly, all of Coupling, and we’re currently watching Franklin and Bash. We’ve finished Season 1 and we’re just about to start 2. We just recently got Netflix and I’m excited by how many TV series there are available on there now. I have a feeling we’ll be binging a whole lot more.

Writing this post really got me to thinking of all the TV Series I’ve watched over the years. So I decided to make a few lists.

In the past I have watched complete series (every episode) of:
Lost, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and its spin-off Angel), The O.C., Roswell High, Battlestar Galactica, Desperate Housewives, Gilmore Girls, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Pushing Daisies, Ghost Whisperer, Robin Hood (BBC), FlashForward, True Calling, The Guardian, Quantum Leap, Jersey Shore, Eli Stone, Dirty Sexy Money, Dresden Files.

I am currently still watching/catching up on:
New Girl, Once Upon a Time, Franklin and Bash, The Following, How I Met Your Mother, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Revolution.

I intend to watch:
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, Breaking Bad, Community, Arrow, Suits, The Originals, Grimm, The Tomorrow People, Under the Dome, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The I.T. Crowd.

Series I gave up on:
Heroes, Beauty and the Beast, Damages, The Mentalist, True Blood, Glee, Supernatural, America’s Next Top Model, Big Brother, Touch, Ringer, Caprica.

Series that I got behind on but intend to catch-up one day:
Dexter, Bones, Gossip Girl, Vampire Diaries, NCIS, One Tree Hill, Lost Girl, House, Fringe, 90210, Awkward, Misfits, A Town Called Eureka.

Series I watched, but can’t be sure I’ve watched every episode of (but definitely the majority):
X-Files, Friends, Scrubs, Star Trek, Star Trek NG, Star Trek DS9, Enterprise, Star Trek Voyager, Saved by the Bell, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Farscape, Cheers, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Red Dwarf, Dead Like Me.

Series I always wanted to get into and didn’t – and probably never will:
ER, Dawson’s Creek, Being Human, Skins, Chuck, Weeds, Veronica Mars, Grey’s Anatomy, Prison Break, Castle, Alias, Reaper.

On top of these I guess there would be things like Casualty and Holby City which I watch every week, but I would never go back and watch the ones prior to when I started. That would be like trying to catch up on every episode of Eastenders or Coronation Street (or Days of Our Lives for US readers!).
The Big Bang Theory which I once started to catch up on (got to Season 3 I believe, solidly) but watch all the new episodes and don’t worry about catching other episodes out of order.
Doctor Who which I have watched majority of Matt Smith episodes, certainly solidly since Series 7. I also intended to go back and watched all episodes, from new Series 1 onwards, but actually only got through the Christopher Eccleston ones.
24 which I started watching around Day 4, I think. I’ve watched all the episodes since but I’ve never found time to go back and watch 1, 2 and 3. I now can’t wait for 24: Live Another Day to start!

There are probably loads of Series I’ve forgotten from all these lists, but it was interesting to try and think of as many as I could. I might even end up coming back and adding more on at a later date!

What would be your “one to definitely watch” recommendation?
What would you definitely suggest people didn’t waste their time on?

TV… to live for!

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So I don’t really watch an awful lot of TV. I watch more now than I used to, but still not heaps. To be honest in the daytime my TV is either off if the kids are at school, or on kids TV if they’re home. In an evening I either get caught up in surfing, blogging, gaming or something otherwise distracting, instead of turning on my TV.

Over the last few months I have been adding a lot of programs to the Never Miss on my Sky account. Programs I intended to watch from the beginning and never got around to it, or ones I lost track of at a certain series and would like to continue viewing. These included things like Doctor Who, House, Bones, 90210, Gossip Girl, Big Bang Theory etc. etc. However it also seems like all these programs started to be shown and repeated at the same time. My Sky box has filled and filled and I’ve had to get ruthless and delete programs, in order to make space for other ones to record. However two nights ago I just got mean! I deleted absolutely everything that didn’t make me go… “OMG I have to watch that now!” As such, I now have about 80% free on my Sky box, when previously I was struggling between 10-20%.

This lead me to thinking about this post I suppose. What is your MUST WATCH television? This is mine.

Game of Thrones

I was very late to the party with watching Game of Thrones. It was something I always wished I’d seen from the beginning, once people started talking about it, but I didn’t like the idea of picking it up mid second season. Over Christmas, both season one and two were shown on different channels at adjacent times. I set both to record, watching season one as often as I could (once a week usually, when it recorded) and then watching all of season two in the space of a week. Now its only three days until season three begins and I actually feel pretty excited! While I wouldn’t say its the best or even easiest TV show to get into and concentrate on (I totally get confused with everyone’s names) I would say it has a good (if not complicated at times) storyline, great actors and massively loveable (and HATEABLE) characters in it. Some of my favourite characters are definitely; Tyrion Lannister, Daenerys Targaryen, Jon Snow, Robb Stark, Bronn and Arya Stark.

These t-shirts are floating around the internet, possibly to be sold at Tee Fury, but two are on sale at Tee Turtle. I have to admit I’d be tempted into all three, despite hating Joffrey.

Once Upon a Time

Again, another show I was late to the party on. Originally I didn’t even hear about it, then when I did – I didn’t pay much attention to what I was being told. However again over Christmas I saw it was on, two episodes a day, over a few weeks. I set it to record and the whole series built up. I finally got around to watching it about two weeks ago and I was addicted! For someone who is massively into Disney, loves fairytales, chick flicks and so on, this is the show for you. I can’t wait to get watching season two. So far there aren’t any characters I hate, even the people you are supposed to hate. My favourites however are; Mr Gold/Rumpelstiltskin – largely because its Robert Carlyle, Grumpy, August/Pinocchio and Sheriff Graham (insert sad face here). None of the female characters grab me massively, but that’s not to say they aren’t all well played and acted. I love its balance of past and present, its continual storyline at the same time as having stand alone episodes. All in all its just a very clever twist, for the people like me who love soppy fairy stories.

The Walking Dead

I have never ever been one for Zombies. Not TV shows, not movies. However again I do remember seeing trailers for this in the middle of season two and thinking it looked pretty good. On getting together with my current partner (who is a massive zombie fan), I agreed to watch The Walking Dead. We watched all of season one (he owned the DVD) in two nights, immediately followed by me insisting he purchased season two that night. We then watched season two over another two or three nights, setting the Sky+ for season three which was about to start. Since then we have watched the new episode every week and its now only got two episodes left till end of season.

I’ll be honest, its incredibly gory, but if you can look past that, its an amazing tv show. I would liken it to Lost really, in that the focus is actually on the survivors of the zombie apocalypse, rather than the zombies itself. There are loveable characters and hateable characters, and even those that start off in one category and work their way into another. I especially love Daryl Dixon. He has been from the start and still remains, my favourite character. I also love Maggie and Glenn, though not especially them as a couple. Rick I liked, but its wearing off (though the fact he’s in Love Actually probably saves him for me a little) and Hershel I wasn’t keen on but now he’s one of my favs. Most of the people who have died so far, I have to say…. Good. Definitely wasn’t a big fan of a few specific people, but I don’t want to add spoilers.

Doctor Who – Series 7, Part 2

Specific? Yes. Prior to Series 7, I hadn’t watched any of the more recent Doctor Who. Not Christopher Eccleston and not David Tenant. I had once caught an episode with David Tenant and just thought it was ridiculous, putting me off ever watching it again. However having a friend come to visit a lot towards the end of last year, and want to watch Doctor Who, I found myself getting into it – largely because of Matt Smith, but also because of Jenna-Louise Coleman. The first episode I watched was S7, E1. Jenna-Louise was amazing and I was totally addicted from day one. Episode 2 and 3 weren’t so great, dinosaurs in space and robot cowboys, but after that it picked up again. By episode 5 I was crying for the loss of characters I was invested in and looking forward to the Christmas special. Once again Jenna-Louise Coleman and Matt Smith sold the Christmas special to me and now I can’t wait for Series 7, Part 2 to begin again on Saturday. While I might have axed all previous series of Doctor Who from my Sky box, in my ruthless cut a few days ago, Doctor Who series 7, part 2 will remain firmly on my box, probably watched within a day or two of recording.

I even bought this t-shirt from the awesome Tee Fury site. I’ll be wearing it tomorrow in anticipation of Doctor Who!

Other “must-watch” TV, that I’m currently up to date with

I’ve added these below, largely owing to the fact that they are my secondary must-watch section. These are all shows that I keep up to date with, but don’t rush to watch. I usually watch them all within the week they record, but occasionally they build up to be more than one episode at a time to catch up on.

  • How I Met Your Mother
  • Glee
  • The Vampire Diaries
  • The Following
  • New Girl

On the whole I watch HIMYM and New Girl fairly quickly after they record, mostly because they are only 20 minute episodes. They are all shows I want to keep up to date with, but they aren’t always a priority.

Habit Shows

Some of you will know what I mean by Habit Shows. Those shows that you have watched for so long now, that you just continue to watch. For some people its soaps like Eastenders, Coronation Street, Hollyoaks, Neighbours, Home & Away etc. For me however its Casualty, Holby City and NCIS. 

– Casualty is my longest watched TV show. Its easy to get in and out of, pick up and put down, but since series link was invented for the Sky box, I have to admit I’ve been recording it ever since. 
– Holby City (as you will know if you are familiar with the show) is a sort of spin-off/link-in of Casualty. I probably put this on to record about a year after I did Casualty, but it is now one of my staple records. 
Both these two shows I usually watch within the week they record, but at the most two weeks. For some reason when I don’t know what to watch, these are my go-tos.
– NCIS was an unexpected addition. I once caught a few episodes at the end of season 2, over a couple of days and really got into it. I then continued to watch it solidly through 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 (thanks again series link!). Season 9 was set to start in the not too distant future so recorded that and pretty sure its onto Season 10 now. Since I first started watching NCIS, I managed to backtrack and catch majority of the episodes I’d missed in Season 1 and 2. There are now only about 3 episodes I haven’t seen, in the whole 10 series (other than what’s currently airing).

Other noteable mentions….

A new season of Touch starts this coming week. This is only its second season, but I enjoyed the first and so I have high hopes for the next one.

Revolution is a new show airing tonight for the first time. Its been on in the US for a while now and seems to be a hit, so I’m pretty excited to see how it will be. There are a few familiar faces in the cast, one of which I liked in Lost. The rough storyline sounds good so I suppose we’ll see!

Catfish. I’ve mentioned this before so I won’t go into it in detail, but I’ve really enjoyed this show. I think its possibly at an end now (the next episodes blurb sounds like a finale show) but I’ve loved watching it. I don’t really go in much for reality show but there was just something about this particular one that triggered my interest. I really hope they continue to do more episodes and series in the future.

So that about sums it up. 
What are your must-see shows? What would you catch up with if you had the time? 
What have you heard people rave about or would rave about yourself?

Watching: Catfish on MTV

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 Just recently I’ve found this TV show called Catfish, on MTV. I’ve only caught two episodes so far, but I have to admit I love it. At a first glance, it appears to just be trashy reality TV and I suppose to some extent it is. But watching it I’ve found myself invested in every single story, picking a side and hoping or wishing for one outcome or another. Here is the trailer so you can understand the concept:

Catfish: The TV Show | Trailer

Nev and Max are really likeable. They take on each case and make it feel like they have a genuine personal interest, not just for the sake of the show. They give good advice, seem to sincerely connect with the person who contacted them, and follow up on each outcome a month later.

The thing I like the most though I think, is the detective aspect. After meeting the original person – the one concerned about the person they’ve met over the internet – Nev and Max do some research. They check out the usual social network sites and if something suspicious flags up, they look into it more. As someone who has spent over 15 years on the internet, I know exactly what its like to be talking to someone who isn’t who they say they are. I’ve spoken to girls who turned out to be boys and guys who claimed to be older than they actually were. Luckily I’ve never had any terrifying experiences, but I have had a few close calls. I’ll be honest, I’ve even been one of those people pretending to be someone I wasn’t – though not to the extent the people in Catfish do.

The internet is such a fascinating place, so full of information, ways to meet people and other wonderful things. However it does obviously have its dangers – and when feelings and relationships are concerned, can be very dodgy ground. If you’re at all interested, I suggest you check out Catfish on MTV. I’m not intrigued to actually look up the original Catfish documentary, where Nev was the one meeting someone who wasn’t who they said they were!