Tag: 24

Purchase Diary 2016 – August – December

DVD / Blu-ray, Purchase Diary 2016

Waiting… (2005)


Aug 3rd – €1.38 @ Amazon.de

Running Time: 1h 30m

Price per Hour: €0.92

Howard the Duck (1986)

Aug 11th – €8.99 @ Drogerie Müller

Running Time: 1h 50m

Price per Hour: €4.90

Inside Out (2015)

Aug 12th – €9.90 @ Amazon.de

Running Time: 1h 35m

Price per Hour: €6.25

Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014)

Aug 12th – €12.97 @ Amazon.de

Running Time: 1h 12m

Price per Hour: €10.81

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (2012)

Aug 12th – €12.97 @ Amazon.de

Running Time: 2h 28m

Price per Hour: €5.26

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Designated Survivor

2016 TV Pilot Reviews, TV Season Diary

Designated Survivor Website
Designated Survivor @ Wikipedia
Designated Survivor @ IMDb

Thomas Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland, 24) is the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and about to be fired since the President has decided to go with someone else for his second term.

Kirkman is also the designated survivor for this year’s State of the Union. He’s kept safe in an undisclosed location while the President gives his speech.

Then the unthinkable happens. An explosion destroys the Capitol building and with it the President, Vice President, the Speaker of the House and most cabinet, house and senate members.

Fortunately, the unthinkable has been thought of. That’s why Kirkman was not in the Capitol. And now he’s sworn in as the next President of the United States.

The most urgent questions on everyone’s mind are “Who did this?” and “Is the pencil pusher Kirkman really able to lead this country in this time of crisis?”.

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TV Junkie: A History

Thought Storm, TV Season Diary

I watched a lot of TV shows over the years. And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT. And I watched accross the board.

Keep in mind that I’m only 35 years old.

I watched The Guiding Light for two years straight (it’s a soap opera whose German title was the Springfield Story). I watched medical shows like Trapper John M.D. and lawyer shows like L.A. Law. I watched the 80s action shows from MacGuyver to Riptide. I even watched Love Boat every weekday on one of the first private channels in Germany: Sat.1. I got up at 6am on every Saturday morning to watch Rawhide (Tausend Meilen Staub, lit. “A Thousand Miles of Dust”) with a very young and pre-Fistful Clint Eastwood. I knew who Daniel Boone was around the same time I met the Cartwrights as well as the men from the Shiloh Ranch.

And last weekend I binge-watched the first Netflix show House of Cards (Big recommendation! Kevin Spacey is a brilliant Magnificent Bastard!) and I got curious as to how many shows I watched intently over the past two and a half decades.

With the help of the list on the German site Wunschliste.de I created a list of “my” shows.

I only counted live-action fiction shows, no animated shows may they be Saturday morning cartoons like Yogi Bear or Scooby-Doo or evening shows like The Simpsons or South Park. No scripted reality (which I’m avoiding to 99% anyway with the exception of Comic Book Men). In this list are only shows which I followed for more than a year unless the show itself didn’t last that long.

And the answer was: 244 246 247. Two hundred and fourty four six seven different shows I watched with active interest since I’ve started watching television. And the worst thing is: Of most of these shows I watched 90% or more episodes at least once.

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Purchase Diary 2011 – September

DVD / Blu-ray, Purchase Diary 2011

Dieter Nuhr DVD Box


08 Sep – €23.99 @ Amazon.de

contains Nuhr vom Feinsten, Ich bin’s nuhr & Nuhr die Wahrheit

Volker Pispers … bis neulich 2010


08 Sep – €15.99 @ Amazon.de

24: Season 8


19 Sep – €28.61 (£23.18) @ Amazon.co.uk

Community: Season 2


19 Sep – €0.00 ($19.99) @ Amazon.com (paid via gift certificate)

The Goonies

19 Sep – €8.32 (£5.94) @ Amazon.co.uk

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TV Season 2009/2010 Diary, CW 08-09

TV Season 2009/10 Diary

Deutsche Version | CW 07 | CW 09-10

Chuck 3×08 Chuck vs the Fake Name
Chuck sad. The path of the hero is a lonely one.
I think Chuck made the right choice (even though it was cruel to her) but I’m also sad that Hannah is gone (at least I assume she won’t be there in the next episode).
What I personally would love to see would be an episode where Team Bartowski has to hunt random bad guy into a mall and Hannah is in one of the lanes. Casey is running behind bad guy, Chuck comes from the side, does one of his dorky moves and brings down bad guy. Casey cuffs him and when the Mall Cops arrive, Sarah IDs herself as CIA – with Hannah witnessing all this from afar and finally understanding (yes, I know the scenario is a lot like the one in Smallville‘s Promise, but I loved that scene, too).
PS: Is it just me or does “Sam(antha) Lisa” not really roll off the tongue?

How I Met Your Mother 5×16 Hooked
Barney’s history of jobs for attractive women was very funny but the episode as a whole wasn’t as memorable (in fact, having it watched two days ago I’ve already forgotten most about it).

Smallville 9×14 Conspiracy
This is an episode I have some issues with. And all these issues are connected to Chloe, my once favourite character of the show. But since the Doomsday/Brainiac arc she has changed.
While it’s technically true that Clark has lost his moral compass at times, it’s always been when he was under influence of something (e.g. Red K) but I can’t remember him doing anything immoral when he was “normal”. He might not have done what was necessary (for example: before and during Zod’s first appearance) but that is a big diff from doing what’s morally right.
And why she is blaming him for the disaster that was Doomsday is beyond me; I’d say Clark is one of the least guilty in that whole affair.
I fear that when Zod finds the tracers in the ID that this will be the reason he convinces his people that Kal-El and the Earthlings are not to be trusted and he will use them against him.

The Big Bang Theory 3×16 The Excelsior Acquisition
Also an average episode. Granted the bit with the Restraining Order was funny but overall it was pretty predictable.
And let’s face it: DC also has it’s share of identical-initial-names: Lex Luthor, Lana Lang, Lois Lane, …

Two and a Half Men 7×15 Tinkle Like a Princess
This was a good sad episode that showed the door isn’t closed. And yet Charlie remained Charlie (with the church and afterwards). I like it that there’s hope after all (even though only he viewer can see it right now).
I also liked the opening theme spoof with the growing Jake – they either used it for the first time or I just didn’t notice it before.

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Movie Watchings 2010 – January – Part 2

DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, Movie Watchings 2010

Deutsche Version | Januar (Part 1) | February

January, 16th

The Negotiator

Director: F. Gary Gray

Samuel L. Jackson … Lt. Danny Roman
Kevin Spacey … Lt. Chris Sabian
David Morse … Cmdr. Adam Beck
Ron Rifkin … Cmdr. Grant Frost
John Spencer … Chief Al Travis
J.T. Walsh … Insp. Terence Niebaum
Siobhan Fallon … Maggie
Paul Giamatti … Rudy Timmons

Synopsis: Danny Roman is a negotiator for hostage situations for the police and he’s one of the best there is. One day he gets framed for stealing money from the police pension fund and it looks like he’s going to prison for it. He sees no other choice than taking hostages himself, to force the issue and to find out what really happened and who was involved. His negotiator is Chris Sabian from the other side of the city and he’s also very good at what he does.

My Opinion: A fascinating thriller with an excellent cast. I’m not a big fan of thrillers but this is a movie I watch regularly. It’s very powerful and still has its funny moments – like the scene where we get introduced to Chris Sabian. I also like the selection of hostages and how they contribute to the case.
Spoiler (mark to read):
An interesting thing about these kinds of movies is that – despite them ending in a happy end – they don’t actually have a real happy end, because if you think it through he still will be charged of taking hostages, destroying a federal building and other stuff. Even if he gets only a slap on the hand, it’s unlikely that he’s ever going to work as a cop again.
But I think that falls in the category of Fridge Logic.

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TV Season 2009/2010 Diary, CW 02-04

TV Season 2009/10 Diary

Deutsche Version | CW 01-02 | CW 04

Human Target 1×01 Pilot
The pilot episode certainly looked interesting. The action was well balanced above realistic and below unrealistic. It looks like as if it’s going to be Die Hard or Lethal Weapon in a series format and I certainly will watch more episodes of it.
“You wore a vest? Where’s my vest?” – “I’m your vest.”

24 8×01 – 8×04 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Dammit. I should have known better. I decided to watch the season en bloc when it is over. But I just had to peak a little and was already drawn back in…
I love Jack’s new “Are we done here? Can I go home now?” attitude. Of course they aren’t done and Jack can’t go home.
When I read that that Freddie Prince jr. (Wing Commander, Scooby Doo) – He married my Buffy, dammit!!! – would take the part of the leading CTU Field Officer I was a bit worried. But he has gotten older and looks like he can pull it off.
Of course there are again the typical 24 plot points like the incompetent CTU boss, the CTU member who has private problems and I am already wondering who the mole is – but that’s OK, it’s 24 after all.
What I also like is that – aside from the 24 alumni who have returned this season – these episodes feel like a huge School Reunion party: The aforementioned Freddie Prince jr., Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica) – looks gorgeous btw -, Paul Wesley (Stefan in The Vampire Diaries), Cliff Simon (Ba’al in Stargate SG-1), David Anders (Takezo Kensei / Adam Monroe in Heroes, Julian Sark in Alias), Jürgen Prochnow (Dune, Das Boot) and according to the CTU files Callum Keith Rennie (Ray in Due South, Leoben in Battlestar Galactica) will also appear anytime soon. 🙂

Life Unexpected 1×01 Pilot
I was made aware of this series at least twice. The second time was a few days ago when blogs reviewed the pilot episode. But I’ve seen bits and pieces of this episode before – most likely in a trailer a few months back. And even though I had forgotten the show in the meantime I now remember that I decided back then that I’d give it a try.
I really liked the pilot. The characters are believable and down-to-earth. Even though the show runs on The CW this isn’t Beverly Hills 90210 or Gossip Girl, this is different. As with every show it now depends on what kind of storylines they are going to tell and how this triangle+attachments is going to work out.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand 1×01 / 1×02 The Red Serpent / Sacramentum Gladiatorum
Lots of nudity (male and female). Even more blood. Better you put a bucket below your telly in case it spills out of the screen. The optic leans more towards 300 than Gladiator, especially when there’s blood flowing. The problem is the story. These first two episodes show how Spartacus became a Gladiator but it didn’t give the viewer an idea what the entire show is going to be about. And that’s why I am not yet convinced. To quote Buffy‘s Spike: “I love a good slaughter as much as the next bloke” but I also need a real story in between.
Time will tell … at least you now get the chance you never got with Xena: To see Lucy Lawless in the nude. 😉

Chuck 3×04 Chuck vs Operation Awesome
The only thing I’ve ever seen Brandon Routh in was Superman Returns but here he didn’t remind me of his character there. I like him as addition to the team because he could stir things up a little.
I don’t know if it’s just my imagination because they announced it but the show actually feels a bit less funny and a bit more serious. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still an Action Comedy and there’s plenty of fun in it. But the general tone during the spy action seems to have darkened a little since last year. I’m not complaining – I like it.

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TV Season 2009/2010 Diary, CW 01-02

TV Season 2009/10 Diary

Deutsche Version | CW 50-01 | CW 02-04

How I Met Your Mother 5×12 Girls Vs. Suits
That was an awesome episode. In fact it was – dare I say it? – legen … Wait for it! … dary! I’d say it was without problem the best episode this season, especially the end of course. When the song is available on iTunes, I’ll buy it. I’m only wondering where Barney got that German T-Shirt…

The Big Bang Theory 5×12 The Psychic Vortex
Battle of the sitcoms tonight. This episode was even better than the HIMYM one. Raj’s and Sheldon’s dates were super cool and Sheldon’s behaviour made me laugh so hard. It’s curious: By now it’s pretty predictable what Sheldon is going to do next but when he actually does it, it’s still funny as hell.

Castle 2×12 A Rose for Everafter
That was a really nice and sweet episode. When I read that Alyssa Milano would play an Ex of Rick’s I thought they would play it more humorously with bickering and such but this way was also good. It made this episode different from the others.
Though I have to say this was the first time that I thought about Nathan’s age because they claimed Rick and Kyra had been going to college together. Nathan (1971) is actually only one year older than Alyssa (1972) but I thought he would be way in his 40s already.

Chuck 3×01 Chuck vs the Pink Slip
Chuck’s finally back. As the tag line says “No More Mr. Nice Spy”. While I don’t think that I will miss Anna I believe I’ll miss Emmit. He was Chuck’s (and everyone else’s) nemesis at the Buy More and unless they intend to drastically cut back on the Buy More storyline, they will have to find a new obstacle for them to overcome.
The only thing that bugged me about Anna’s departure was the “reason” why she left Morgan – especially after I re-watched the last episodes of season 2 a few days ago and from that POV it does not make much sense.

Chuck 3×02 Chuck vs the Three Words
Chuck’s new abilities are a genius idea of the writers, especially with the “problem” that they don’t emerge on command. I really loved it how he “found his way” through the laser security but I also loved his speech at the door. Yes, we are back to square one, but at least the three of them are back together as a team.

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TV Shows – A Decade in Retrospect

Short Review, Thought Storm

Deutsche Version

Since everybody seems to be starting to count at zero instead of one the first decade of this century and millennium is now over. So it’s time to recap these past ten years and take a look at the TV Shows it has given us.

Let me give my résumé at the beginning: Of the four decades I know TV Shows from (70s – 00s) this was without question the best decade for us TV junkies. When you read my review you might say in the end “Hey what about <insert your favourite here>?” (e.g. The Sopranos, Dexter, The Wire, Six Feet Under, …) but that’s exactly my point. This decade has given us so many outstanding shows that it was impossible to watch them all. Also, everybody has a different set of favourite genres but I’d say that every genre got their fair share of excellent series in the last years.

But let’s face it: There’s rarely any series (if there’s one at all) that could keep up the quality and its appeal for its entire run. Some had a bad year in between, some fell short at the end. But even in these “bad years” they had more quality episodes in it than entire shows from previous decades. So all the shows I am going to name have of course aspects that can be criticized and I invite you to do so.

For me the most outstanding characteristic of this past decade’s shows is that they are more often than not more about the “journey” of the character(s) than the actual events. It’s not the character who shines a light upon the unfolding events but it’s the events that shine a light upon the character and his development. I have to say that shows (hereby excluding comedy shows that work with stereo- and archetypes) that don’t have a real character development don’t interest me at all. But if the character development is interesting I might even watch shows from genres that usually don’t interest me at all.

If the character development is interesting enough I might even set the fact aside that my second favourite characteristic is missing: A real story-arc. The first TV Show in my TV universe that had a real story-arc, was Babylon 5. Later Star Trek: DS9 did the same albeit not in that quality and complexity. But these shows were two of the rare exception in the 90s (another famous exception would be Twin Peaks, but I never watched it). It seemed that viewers weren’t interested in either developing characters or story-arcs.

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