summertime's TV review

After the fantastic yet bittersweet season finale of Camelot, I've had to turn to other avenues for entertainment as I knit.

First off, a very San Francisco show to watch: Showtime's The Franchise! I'm not terribly thrilled about the format so far... there was a sneak peek back in the spring where Pablo Sandoval showed off his new physique and Brandon Belt was ultimately called up... only to be followed by the first full episode released July 13, an episode that spanned the entire heartbreaking and tortuously gritty season thus far. It looks like subsequent episodes will review the past week's performance while profiling a few of the athletes at a time.

Still, your heart can't do anything else but melt when you see Jeremy Affeldt's little boy popping out of the garage when he comes home. You cheer him on every time Pablo the Panda smacks a home run or tackles that hill outside of Tempe Arizona, where he trained in the off-season to ensure his comeback. You think "man, no one deserves an All-Star nomination more than Vogey" when you hear Ryan Vogelsong's long road to greatness. And you gape openly at Brian Wilson showing up to the ESPYs in that very famous penguin-esque spandex tuxedo, complete with a cougar cane.

Some shots from the show's site...

Tim Lincecum on Opening Night, flaunting his new bling

The Most Interesting Closer in the World, Brian Wilson

Kung-Fu Panda!

The other show filling the void that Camelot has left? None other than another project from Starz, Torchwood: Miracle Day! This is the fourth in a very successful spin-off series from the zany Doctor Who and reads like a more modern, faster-paced incarnation of The X-Files. Now I haven't always been into science fiction - I grew up as a fantasy dork - but I'm starting to figure out fantasy and sci-fi are ultimately the same thing. Yay, just 17 years late!


Not only is it nice to see Mekhi Phifer back in action but I am totally in love with Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper. Myles plays one hell of a mother...

I wonder if baby will remember any of this...
image from culthub.com

I love this new series but it sort of reminds me of that floundering Flash Forward series by ABC... but this one's better. And Joseph Fiennes is definitely better suited as Merlin than Mark Benford.

As always, a big thanks to my landlords, who graciously include free satellite TV in my rent. They also gave me some key lime pie, which I absolutely adore.

1... 2... 3 slices of heaven!

Abrazos y besitos!