Month: September 2018

My Most Random Pop Culture Confessions

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The world of TV and movies is a weird one. Not only is it so vast, but the way it cultivates for each person is extremely dependent on the family and life one is born into. This means that everyone’s individual pop culture educations have their own unique quirks. An encounter with a TV show or movie that you think is a natural rite of passage isn’t as obvious to others, so in a bit of a stream of consciousness, I wrote about my incredibly random experiences with and takes on TV and movies. It’s a bit of an indulgent, nostalgic post for my own benefit, but if you have your own thoughts to share, please do!

I’m in my early 20s and grew up watching Family Feud reruns from the 1970s on the Game Show Network. For me, it was all about hilariously outdated outfits and Richard Dawson greeting all of the women with a kiss on the lips. The channel also reran episodes from the ’90s that Ray Combs hosted. My understanding of the Steve Harvey generation comes from Kenan Thompson’s SNL parody and the briefest clips of Steve Harvey hosting celeb editions.

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What I’ll Be Watching: Fall 2018

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I write about TV for a living, so it’s safe to say that the beginning of the fall television season is like my Christmas. Apart from This Is Us, I’m not actually waiting for the return of many broadcast shows this year. I have fingers crossed for announcements about The Crown and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel premiere dates soon, and in other streaming news, I’m still working my way through both completed and currently airing shows online. But thanks to both my job and other expert opinions on what new shows can’t be missed this season, I’ve picked a few shows from the new crop of network TV that I’ll be trying out.

I already had my eye on these four shows when promos began airing for them, but after reading critics’ opinions on TVLine and in Entertainment Weekly‘s fall TV preview issue, I feel even more confident about investing time in them. With that said, these choices are already in my Hulu queue and I have their premiere dates emblazoned on my mind. Ultimately, there’s probably more of a chance of me abandoning some or all of these than there is of me sticking with them, but based on the early reviews I’ve seen, I have high hopes!

Single Parents (Wednesday, Sept. 26, on ABC)

TVLine‘s panel of critics unanimously loved this pilot episode. Many of them even called it the only new comedy that actually made them laugh. A group of single parents at an elementary school makes it their mission to reel in fellow single dad Will from his child-obsessed life and help him become a true adult again. Gossip Girl‘s Leighton Meester is supposedly hilarious as the ringleader of the single parent gang, and I loved Taran Killam on SNL. Brad Garrett is one of those actors who is hard to separate from an iconic role, but I always love seeing him in new work too. Early reviews promise non-irritating child actors and an overall delightful watch, so I’m hoping this becomes the trademark feel-good comedy in my TV lineup.

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5 Celebs I’d Want On My ‘Dinner List’

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Rebecca Serle’s new book The Dinner List introduces the concept that the main character has a birthday dinner with Audrey Hepburn and three important people from her past. The book is on my TBR list, but hearing about this idea spurred on my own thoughts about which guests, living or dead, I would invite to a dinner party. To fit with the theme of my blog, I narrowed down my list of most desirable guests to five celebrities I’d most want to invite for a meal.

Although I’m sure I could compose an endless list of writers, historical figures, and musicians I’d love to talk with over wine, the simplest solution for now was to pick those who fit within the most traditional idea of celebrity to me. As a result, I have a TV reporter and an actor/composer on my list, but I picked these top five based on what combination of people would create the most enjoyable environment.

My top dinner guests also came about because I would also want my grandfather there. He passed away more than seven years ago, and there’s no doubt in my mind that if miracles happened and this kind of opportunity was feasible, I’d want him right there with me at this table of stars.

Jimmy Stewart

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You know I love me some Jimmy Stewart. I’d inevitably be so starstruck and flustered about him at my dinner table that I’d be a little shy to talk to him. That’s when my grandpa comes in — I think they’d get along so well! Jimmy Stewart was more than 20 years older than my grandpa, but I feel that they would bond over many generational and personality similarities. Both fought in World War II, and, just like my grandpa, Stewart always came across as an old school gentleman.

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Yes, More ‘If These Books Were Movies’…

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These are some of my favorite posts to write. As seen by all of the posts filed in my ‘If These Books Were Movies’ tag, I love talking about a certain actor who appeared almost instantly as a character in a book I was reading. I’m attempting to write a novel now, and I’ve loved putting together a secret Pinterest board of the actors I envision as my characters. The dream castings mentioned in this edition were particularly strong and quick to materialize — Hollywood producers, take note!

1) Julia Roberts and Rachel McAdams as Birdie and Cady (Campaign Widows, by Aimee Agresti) 

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“Talent could protect and insulate you against the world in so many ways, she had always thought.” 

A lot of the characters in this ensemble novel actually appeared very clearly to me, but Julia Roberts as a D.C. socialite whose marriage is failing and Rachel McAdams as the plucky TV producer who has moved her life to D.C. for her fiancé’s career were utter no-brainers. Birdie is an older woman whose fabulous campaign parties make up for the personal turmoil she often faces in regards to her philandering husband, while Cady makes the best of her producer job at a local, lowly ranked morning talk show as her fiancé jets off as a staffer on a prospective presidential campaign. Cady reminded me a lot of McAdams’ Morning Glory character, while Birdie just had the composure Roberts has in so many roles.

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August 2018 Reads

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I definitely fell behind in reading during August. I really don’t enjoy the end of summer, but not for the reasons you may think. I hate sticky, extreme August heat and the slowing effect it has on me, and two weeks into the month, I inevitably just want autumn, sweaters, and a better feeling of structure back in my life. August was so disgustingly hot this year that it definitely affected my desire to read, and it didn’t help that the books I ended up finishing were a little difficult to get into and not incredibly memorable overall. So, fingers crossed for a more enjoyable reading month after August’s slight letdown!

Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan (★★★☆☆) 

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I would actually rate this as a 3.5-star read. I managed to read Crazy Rich Asians right before seeing the movie adaptation, which was an unexpected win. In case you haven’t followed the hype around this story the past few months, Kwan’s first book of his trilogy series follows Chinese-American Rachel as she and her boyfriend Nick visit his extremely wealthy family in Singapore ahead of his best friend’s wedding. Rachel tries to adjust to the cultural differences and some friends and family members’ disapproval of her, while some of Nick’s relatives face their own issues leading up to the anticipated wedding celebrations.

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