Other TV shows I’ve watched lately
These are shows I’ve seen a fair number of episodes of but not all.
{4.5/5} Blue Bloods
“They are the finest police department on the planet but they carry guns and shields not magic wands.”
Season 4 has finished — I don’t think I saw any of the first 2 seasons but have occasionally watched it more recently.
It’s yet another police show, but this one is different because most of the main characters are all members of the same family — who all get together for a meal once a week. With a cast led by Tom Selleck (the TV show Magnum, P.I.), the characters make their way through difficult moral dilemmas with a little help from their family.
Frank’s father Henry used to be the police commissioner of New York City and now he is. Frank’s daughter Erin is an assistant district attorney and Frank’s sons Danny and Jamie are both on the police force. Henry and Frank are both widowers and Erin is divorced. Danny is married to Linda, who’s a nurse. Erin has a daughter, and Danny and Linda have two sons.
{5/5} The Colbert Report
“I’m not a fan of facts. You see, the facts can change, but my opinion will never change, no matter what are the facts.”
This show is in season 9. Stephen Colbert used to be a correspondent on The Daily Show, and this is a spinoff of that show. He’s playing a character here, someone who’s fiercely conservative and Republican. Like Jon Stewart, he’s smart and funny.
Colbert presents issues in an over the top manner, but that makes them memorable. He actually explains things that you might not get on real news shows — such as the Super PAC.
He interviews lots of famous people and some not-so-famous people you should become familiar with.
{5/5} Law & Order: SVU
This show is a bit too dark for me. In addition to the disturbing crimes, the main characters all have serious personal issues. It’s still a great show, but I think I’m going to watch happier shows for now. I reviewed it last year.
Cragen and Munch have both retired, so Benson is now in charge.
The character of John Munch (played by Richard Belzer) was a regular in both Homicide: Life on the Street and this show — he was on TV for a total of 22 seasons. He’s also appeared as a guest star on other shows. In fact, he’s the only character played by one actor to appear in 10 different shows.
{4/5} Match Game
This is the Canadian version of the game which is now in its second season. I reviewed the premiere. It’s a pleasant way to spend 22 minutes.
Seán Cullen and Debra DiGiovanni are the regular panelists and Darrin Rose is the host. They’ve all done stand-up comedy among other things. Cullen is usually pretty funny. Rose does a good job at keeping everyone under semi-control.
{4.5/5} Penn & Teller: BS!
“If one calls people liars and quacks one can be sued… but we’re trying to talk about the truth without spending the rest of our lives in court.”
This was a documentary series that originally aired between 2003 and 2010. Penn and Teller, the magicians from Penn & Teller: Fool Us debunk ideas that they think are nonsense — of course, they do so in a humorous way. Here are some of the subjects covered:
- Talking to the dead
- Creationism
- Lie detectors
- PETA and the animal rights movement in general
- The war on obesity
- The idea that video games lead to violence
- Stress
- The death penalty
- Anger management
- Safety hysteria
- The war on drugs
- The idea that there were “good old days”
They don’t shy away from controversial topics — and you might be surprised about their opinion on some of these topics. Unlike many celebrity hosts, Penn and Teller aren’t just reading what someone wrote for them. They actually believe what they say — they’re writers and executive producers on the show.
You might not be totally convinced to change your mind on a topic by a half-hour show, but some of these shows might get you to think about things in a different way. In many cases they present evidence that most people don’t know about. They often do experiments to demonstrate their claims. Someone who believes in every superstition known to humans probably isn’t going to watch this show, but if you’re slightly more logically minded I encourage you to check it out.