What I''ve Been Watching

For the last several months I've been totally uninterested in what's on TV, but over the last few weeks I've had time to discover that there are some cool things worth watching.

I tuned in to see the first few episodes of Saving Grace, the new TNT show starring Holly Hunter. I like Holly Hunter in pretty much everything, which is what caused me to tune in...and although I was startled at first by the toughness of Holly Hunter's character and the explicitness of the show at certain moments, I'm hooked. Holly Hunter plays a cynical Oklahoma City police detective who is emotionally scarred by the death of her sister in the Oklahoma City bombing and who copes with her pain with drinking and sex and living a pretty wild life. At a particularly low moment in her life, an extremely unlikely angel appears... it's God's way of giving her a second chance, maybe. She's not religious, in fact she's pretty sacreligious, but she's trying to figure out how to reconcile what's happening to her. The show has depth and humor and great acting and intriguing drama. Definitely worth a watch. In my area, it's on Monday nights at 10pm... and it looks like you can watch episodes online for free here.

My sister mentioned that she'd tuned into watch Starter Wife with Deborah Messing earlier this summer, which was a 6-episode mini-series, and that she really liked it. I was regretting that I'd missed it after her report, when I discovered that all of the episodes are available on Itunes for download. So, I've watched 4 of the 6, and it's a hoot. Think Desperate Housewives, only smarter and wittier and with better acting. Deborah Messing plays Molly, wife of a big Hollywood studio exec who is figuring out who she is and how to cope in Hollywood once her husband dumps her for a young Brittney-esque pop star. The dialog is funny ("I've managed EVERYTHING for him all these years...and with PERFECT hair!") and the plot is taking some unexpected twists and turns. Judy Davis is in it too, a brittle, rich best friend. This is definitely great entertainment. And it looks like USA channel will run all of the episodes in a Starter Wife marathon on Wednesday, August 22. (You don't need an Ipod to watch Itunes shows, either. Itunes is a free download and then you can watch the show on your computer.)

During my weekend alone, I watched "Catch and Release" starring Jennifer Garner. A cute but not great girl movie. Perfect late night viewing/hand sewing accompaniement.

And okay, I'll confess that I was downright excited that Tori and Dean: Inn Love just started its second season. I know, I know, it's celeb-reality junk but it's fun junk. Their new baby looks just like Aaron Spelling! The same little round baldish head! And I'm pretty amused at how Tori Spelling has a funny sense of humor about herself, even while living the rich-girl-tries-to-figure-out-normal-life stuff. Running out of money? Business going broke? Hey! Time to go to London (with the nanny, of course) and stay in a luxury hotel.

Hmmm, maybe I'll watch Starter Wife, episode 5 tonight if I can stay awake...