Rotting the Brain with Television??? by Robin Janney

I have a confession: I did not watch the Oscars.

Shocking, I know.  But I have not had television in almost five years.  The Mister and I live off our DVD's and Netflix.  This isn't a purposeful lifestyle choice, like how some people frown on television as if it is something evil.  It's more of a cost efficient choice.  As in, we can't afford cable or Direct TV or Dish, so we do without.

best viewing is when the sun goes down...

The night of the Oscars, I became so jealous watching Facebook posts and Tweets about them that I just gave it up!  I shut everything down and went to bed to read.  I had thought about following up C.P.'s post about movie husbands with one about movie presidents but instead I've decided to talk about television.

Sometimes I miss it.  Like the news - well, just a little.  Like The Big Bang Theory.  Those guys speak my language, not the science, but the geek speak.  And Criminal Minds!  NCIS.  CSI: NY.  Anything Star Trek (except Voyager - I was never able to get into that).

My husband and I will start watching CSI: NY on Netlfix and watch show after show.  After a few Netflix will ask us if we're still watching.  While I understand why they do that, the last time it happened I said to Mr. Janney, "You'd think they'd know us better by now."  He just laughed.

never buy a big box of fruit for 2 people...ever

Some will argue that TV rots the brain.  And while I agree that some of it is pretty rotten, kind of like the oranges taking root in my kitchen, not all of it is.  And I even once made the argument, to my eleventh grade English teacher of all people, that sometimes our brain needs a rest.  I love reading, and imagining different worlds...but sometimes life is just too much and your brain needs to let someone else do the imagining for you because you're just too numb. An interesting side note is that this particular teacher agreed with me, although that may have had more to do with the fact that he was a fellow Trekkie.

We all have stressful days.  Spouses, and children, pets and co-workers...and bosses.  Things break, people get sick.  Watching TV might not be the answer for everyone.  But for some of us it is.  When I need to just be I'll cue up a favorite show on Netflix and just let them play.  Once my brain feels more capable of breathing on its own, then I'll pick up a book or my pen and let my imagination roam free.

And my biggest disappointment about not having any "real" television...is because my favorite sitcom isn't on  streaming for Netflix and will probably never be.  You'd never get me away from the TV then.  M*A*S*H is my all time favorite.  Alan Alda has the best laugh ever.  I much prefer the TV series to the movie that was made two years earlier.  The show with its antics and pranks makes me laugh, and as we all know...laughter truly is the best medicine.  And...confession time: I didn't like the series finale that much either.  I don't know who that guy was, but that was not the Hawkeye Pierce we knew and loved.  I cried when Colonel Blake died on his way home from the war...I remember how the directors withheld that information from the actors until the scene was taped, so that those were real reactions we got to the news.  And when Radar left to go home as well, the scene where Hawkeye saluted him even though Radar was a lowly corporal and Hawkeye outranked him still tears me right up.

Of course, as Mr. Janney will tell you, I tear up plenty during CSI: NY as well.  I'm just a sap for those moments I guess. :)

What shows do you like to watch?

Movie Husbands By C.P. Stringham

Lupita Nyong'o

The Oscars are over for another year. The star-studded event is always fun to watch. The winners, the losers, the best dressed, the worst dressed, and the “what the hell was that?” moments. My daughters and I have made it an annual tradition to print up copies of the nominees and have a contest to see who picks the most winners—I won this year! I have to say my pick for Darling of the Awards Ceremony is Lupita Nyong’o. I loved everything about her from her red carpet dress to her truly inspirational acceptance speech. She was elegant and embodied old-style Hollywood. It was as if she channeled Audrey Hepburn. Honorable mention goes to Jared Leto. Without a doubt, the winners of the Best Supporting categories pretty much stole the entire awards show.

While staying within a motion picture theme, I thought I’d use my spin at the Broads of a Feather blog to talk about movie husbands. You know, those ruggedly handsome men delivering lines meant to make us swoon and, well, fantasize. Fantasize? Am I right? I know I'm not the only one doing this. C'mon. Admit it. I'm waiting. There! Now don't you feel better?! Here's my, I'll admit, non-traditional leading men list. If not married from the onset of the film, they say "I do" by the end.

Oh, Jack...

Husband #1: Jack Callahan (Bill Pullman) in While You Were Sleeping. I can remember going to the theater to see this film way back when. My friend, Andrea, and I went into the movie excited to see Peter Gallagher. We may or may not have been fighting over him. I know. Real mature. In all honesty, we didn’t even know who Bill Pullman was. Thirty minutes into the movie, we tossed Peter aside and fought over Jack. It’s no wonder Lucy forgot about Peter while he was sleeping.

Jack – “I'd say that she gets under your skin as soon as you meet her. She drives you so nuts you don't know whether to hug her or, or just really arm wrestle her. She would go all the way to Europe just to get a stamp in her passport. I don't know if that amounts to insanity, or just being really, really... likable.”

It's that smoldering look of longing that earns Matthew his place.

Husband #2: Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) in Pride & Prejudice. Okay, I know I’m going to catch some heat for this from the "Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy Fan Club." I have nothing against Colin. As a matter of fact, I’m quite fond of him. However, Matthew’s Mr. Darcy won me over when he delivered one simple line in the movie. Sometimes, that’s all it takes. He managed to deliver the line and make me feel that his need for Elizabeth Bennet was so great, he’d surely parish without her love. I remember watching it for the first time with My Gal Friday. The movie ended and we just sat there…both of us fighting the overwhelming urge to smoke a cigarette.

Mr. Darcy – “…you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you.”

Husband #3: Dill Penderghast (Stanley Tucci) in Easy A. I’ll be completely honest with you, Stanley Tucci could play the husband in the worst feminine hygiene product commercial of all time and I would love him. Love. Him. As Olive’s father, Dill, Tucci effortlessly steals each scene. It could be the witty writing or the fantastic chemistry between Stanley and his co-star, Patricia Clarkson, that makes Dill so appealing to me, but that’s just not it. It’s because he's STANLEY TUCCI. It’s a comedy movie and he’s in a supporting role. That means there isn’t a pivotal love scene line to quote from so I’ll throw in a clip from one of my favorite scenes. I dare you not to smile.  

Stanley Tucci is one sexy devil.

Husband #4: Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) Crazy, Stupid, Love. I know. Another Emma Stone film, but it’s a happy coincidence. Middle-age Cal is devastated when his wife, Emily, tells him she wants a divorce and that she’s slept with another man. While they are separated, Cal sees what the singles’ life has to offer. Even after arriving at some form of success as a ladies’ man, Cal realizes there’s only one woman for him and comes around to shoulder some of the blame for his marital problems. The moment that got me right here **putting hand over my heart** is when funny man Steve Carell made me look at him in an entirely new light with this delivery:

Cal – “I'm so mad at you. I'm really mad at you for what you did. But I'm mad at myself too. Because I should not have jumped out of that car - I should have fought for you. Because you fight for your soul mates.”

Just one look from Cal, tells it all. 

Husband #5: Henry Turner (Harrison Ford) in Regarding Henry. Not Harrison’s most popular role, but husband-worthy nevertheless. No matter how much you hated Henry Turner, the blood-sucking corporate lawyer and god-awful family man at the beginning of the film, you find yourself cheering for him by the end. After tragedy strikes and Henry suffers a traumatic brain injury, he is left to relearn everything at a rehab facility; walking, eating, dressing, etc. Besides the physical aspects caused by the injury, Henry’s memory and personality are drastically altered. In fact, he’s an entirely new person. His beleaguered wife and daughter embrace the change. It's the easy-going, vulnerable side of Henry that is so appealing and Harrison Ford pulls it off so effortlessly. 

Those are just a few of my favorite movie husbands. Believe me, I could go on and on. Do you have a favorite movie husband? Post in the comments below!