I like TV shows almost better than movies. Has anyone seen JAG? It does not air any more, but it's on DVD. I watch it with my mom. Cartoon Network also airs a really good Star Wars spinoff called The Clone Wars. I watch everything from old Full House episodes to I Love Lucy. I like lots of the older, but not to old stuff. But a Narnian TV show might be interesting. Just kidding. It would probly turn out awful.

Pretty much the only TV shows I watch these days are Psych, Bones, and White Collar (I prefer Psych - White Collar is OK, and Bones, while awesome at times, tends to be inappropriate from time to time; thank goodness we have a DVR that can fast-forward). Probably my favorite show EVER was Monk, until it ended this past season... *sniff-sniff*. That was a great show. (Maybe you can tell I like watching mystery-crime shows?)

I used to enjoy watching old shows on TV-Land and stuff: like Hogan's Heroes, I Love Lucy, all those other classics. Nowadays, though, I don't spend so much time with my TV; my computer has taken it's place.

kittengirl, JAG was a show I enjoyed watching, though I didn't do so avidly (I only caught an episode here or there). The same goes for NCIS. Only recently have I begun watching a few shows (Lost, Heroes, 24) 'religiously' (other than the various Star Trek incarnations).

ABC has been heavily advertising the return of 2 shows that began last fall and have been on hiatus for a few months: V, returning March 30 right after a new Lost episode, and FlashForward, returning this Thursday, March 18.

I'm looking forward to the return of V and Flash Forward too.

Is anyone watching Caprica? It's a spin-off/prequel series to the Battlestar Galactica reboot. It's as finger-nail biting and as provocative as BSG. The writing, direction, and acting are top notch (and the Special Effects are excellent too). Like BSG it does have some mature themes, and is probably best for teens on up. I wasn't sure how I'd like it without the characters I had got used to on BSG, but the new characters are just as compelling, and just as flawed.

GB

I caught an episode of Caprica, GB. Welcome back, btw. I thought it was pretty good.

Finally got to see Burn Notice. I thought it was a fun show. Interesting twist on the overdone PI genre. So that's yet another show I want to watch.

Last week, I finally got around to seeing the Doctor Who special Waters of Mars. I'm not really sure what to think of it. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either. Unless I missed something, they didn't answer all the questions I had.

At any rate, it was fine, but I wasn't really impressed by it. I'm hoping to watch both parts of The End of Time over break this next week.

So...has anyone ever seen All Creatures Great and Small? I make fun of my dad for watching that, but it can be funny at times.

After hearing some of you jabber about it forever, I finally saw that the first series of Merlin was up on Hulu and watched the first four episodes. Now I'm hooked! There are certain things I don't like about it - the CGI dragon looks incredibly fake (I understand budget restrictions, but couldn't they just have him hidden in the darkness or something?), I'm not a huge fan of Katie McGrath's acting, and it's just so different from canon that it's hard to get used to at first - but it's just so incredibly addicting. Colin Morgan is a very talented young actor, and I love the chemistry between he and Gwen; I know that there's no way that they'll stay a couple and somehow she'll end up transferring her affections, but that makes me very sad because they're just so cute together. At first I didn't like Arthur but he's growing on me. And Episode 4 was just amazing! I'm fascinated by where they're going with the Nimueh character....

Yeah, lysander, they take a lot of creative license. But as Kate (or as I like to call her Other Kate) says, "it's horribly inaccurate but deliciously marvelous." Though really, I say there's so many different versions of the legend that Merlin is a very clever "What if?" that could actually work in a way. It is very addicting.

Katie McGrath's voice gets on my nerves a bit (she's Irish being British so maybe that's why), and Morgana can be a bit weepy, but her gowns are gorgeous and I like the banter between her and Arthur.

And yes, I didn't like Arthur at first either, but he gets MUCH better as the show goes on. And I was a Merlin/Gwen shipper for a while too. But after watching the second season, I like Arthur/Gwen.

And just for the record: Gaius's eyebrow cracks me up. And Merlin is so adorkable. Sometimes I wonder if it is only an act, being so dense all the time.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

I love Gaius! He's ridiculously awesome, although now I'll probably spend all my time looking at his eyebrows. Thanks. Speaking of other adult characters, Uther really drives me batty. Especially when he crushed the

in Episode 4. Gaaaaah. He's a well-written character and obviously has motivation for what he does, but that still doesn't rid him of a bunch of "Aaaaargh!" moments. My favorite guest appearance so far is definitely Michelle Ryan as Nimueh. I think it's hilarious that in both of the shows/movies I've seen her in, she always has at least one scene where she wears a lock of hair down on each side, but I really enjoy her acting style. If she was younger, she would have made a good Morgana too.

You know, at first I thought McGrath was American, because her voice seemed so out-of-place ... maybe it would have been better if she had used her native Irish accent. It's not like it would have messed things up; Camelot's pretty mixed up from a cultural perspective to begin with.

I'm watching Episode 5 now, and it's refreshing to have a Lancelot who's not either ridiculous perfect or mind-numbingly conceited. I'm still annoyed with him though, mostly because of the

.

I certainly agree with that quote of Kate's: 'tis delicious stuff!

EDIT - Some funny things I've noticed about the show: (a) no one ever seems to hear Merlin chanting his spells, even when he's right beside them, and (b) he's always having to use magic in order to open doors that are bolted from the inside, even when there's no one inside.

EDIT 2 - On Episode 7 now. These people are really weak when it comes to Evil Magic Detection. C'mon, they've even got staffs! On the plus side, Morgana is finally doing something besides pouting in pretty dresses.

I can't wait for a new season of Merlin. I really like the re-visioning. It really gives it a fresh appeal, and I wasn't certain at first that I would like the idea of Merlin and Arthur as contemporaries. But it really works well. It never really made sense to be a "purist" anyway. People have always written their own versions of the Arthurian Romances.

Gaius really is brilliant, isn't he Lys . And I warmed right up to Arthur himself after about the third episode, when we got a deeper view of his personality. Merlin is awesome; I love his dumb act when he's really the smart one and always saving the day. Guin is sweet, and it's nice to see Morgana as NOT a villain for a change. And I totally agree about Uther Lys. He just drives me nuts. But I really enjoy hating his character .

GB

RIP Peter Graves.

The Minneapolis native, probably best known for his role as Jim Phelps in the long-running Mission: Impossible, died in Los Angeles yesterday, less than a week before his 84th birthday.

He also played pilot Clarence Oveur in the 1980 movie spoof Airplane!. Check out his many other roles on his imdb profile.

(The original Mission first aired in 1966. I remember when we were occasionally allowed to stay up to watch it. )

"Good morning, Mr Phelps. Your mission, should you decide to accept it...As always, should you or any of your IM force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. Good luck, Jim. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds."

I just watched the first two (single) episodes of "V". I'm really enjoying it so far. The characters are all likeable, it has Elizabeth Mitchell from LOST as a lead (sigh) and the story is moving along nicely. I just enjoy it as fiction but some people actually believe there are reptilian creatures masquerading as humans from since the dawn of human civilisation to influence us in every avenue of our lives. I guess that if you don't believe in God and his Truth, you can believe in anything. Anyway, I loved it. I don't think it'll be another LOST but it's more promising than Flash Forward (which had a great concept but the execution of the idea wasn't done so well).

Lys, the fact that you like Merlin is what finally got me to watch it. I was bored by Robin Hood and thought Merlin would be similarly boring, but I'm enjoying it. Already on the third episode. And Anthony Stewart Head being in it doesn't hurt either. It's fun seeing him playing an EVUL! character when I'm used to him as Giles.

The fact that I have so much influence over you, Booky, is sort of scary.

Just wait until you get to Episode 4! It's my favorite so far. I've still not gotten through 9 - I watched so much of the show over the weekend that I needed a break. But I'm sure I'll get Season 1 finished up over Spring Break, if not before. What will I do then? Hopefully Hulu will get Season 2 up sometime in the next few months, or else it'll come out on DVD. Dear me, I haven't been this into a show in years, since I went through my "24" phase several years back!

While taking my hiatus from Merlin, I indulged in an episode from another guilty pleasure the BBC manufactured for me - the ShakespeaRe-told specials that aired back in '05. Unfortunately the version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" that I watched tonight was very weak, lacked a central focus, and didn't update nearly so well as "Much Ado About Nothing" or "The Taming of the Shrew" (although it did feature some lovely performances from Imelda Staunton and Bill Patterson). I think "Taming" is my favorite so far, although Shirley Henderson's Kate was ... interesting. Still, it's so quotable! "What do you know? You're just the bridesmaid!"