WHAT I'M WATCHING

 

I’m making some changes in my life, even beyond my transition to my authentic self. Among those changes are altering my movie and television viewing. Oh, I’ll still be watching way more TV than I should. I’ll just be watching a bit less of it. Let’s start with the news programs.

Rachel Maddow is far and away the best political commentator we have. She had a knack for sharing our national terror and doing an impressive job explaining it. I should watch her every night, but I don’t for the simple reason that, some days, Trump and his Nazis are just too much for me to bear. When I do watch her, I’m always that much smarter for it.

I watch three not precisely news shows. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is the best one. Oliver does brilliant commentary and delicious satire/spoofery. His performances are Herculean, a characterization which would doubtless horrify him.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is Monday through Thursday. I think his monologue is better than that of any other late-night host. His short openings as well as his “Meanwhile” and other secondary bits are wonderful and always make me smile. Being subjected to his Colbert Questionnaire by him is a bucket list dream of mine. He’s also a great interviewer, though I don’t always watch those.

I watch The Daily Show Tuesday through Thursday. I don’t watch it on Monday or any other night when Jon Stewart is hosting. I’ve no patience with that dilapidated virtue whore and his “both sides now” garbage. He is more concerned about appearing to be “bipartisan” than he is the very real pain and suffering being visited upon good decent people each and every day of the Trump presidency. I love the correspondents. They are funny and smart. But Stewart can eat a bag of dicks.

One more note on the above not precisely news shows. They can all stop with the Old Man Biden jokes. They aren’t relevant and they fuel the Trumpian rewriting of history that feeds his stupid followers. History will record Biden’s term as a good but flawed four years with him and his administration accomplishing a great deal of good for the American people.

I also kind of watch Good Morning America and Live with Kelly and Mark, mostly to hang out with Saintly Wife Barb. I like most of these people, though George Stephanopoulos can share that bag of dicks with Jon Stewart. 

                                 

 

                 
Streaming surfing is something I do when I’m just too tired to do any writing or even think about it. Netflix is usually good for South Korean films, such as 2024’s Officer Black Belt. Though it pushed the violence a but much at times, this is an engaging film about a talented martial artist who can’t not get involved if someone is in trouble. He’s recruited by a probation officer to be his martial arts officer. Most of their cases involve sexual predators who have been released from prison. It’s a commentary on what the filmmakers consider South Korea’s lax punishment of such criminals.

The two leads are likable heroes who take more than their fair share of lumps. The geeky friends of the martial arts officer play a part in the crime-fighting, nerd heroes if you will. The main villain is a brutal monster who rapes children, He’s scary as Hell. Just seeing him made me uneasy.

The movie was a tad long at one hour and forty-eight minutes, but I did enjoy it. Even if the scenes of violence were hard to take for more than a few minutes. I had to take breaks to keep my head straight.

NOTE: I’m actually never too tired to think about my writing. I might not have energy to write something, but I’m still thinking about it while I watch TV or do other things. I keep a pad of paper at hand to jot down notes.

                         

                                                          

I still watch House Hunters and House Hunters International. Of the two, I prefer the international one because it’s fascinating to see how other countries and cultures live. This is sporadic viewing because they present so many new episodes every week. I record them all, but only watch the ones that catch my interest The episodes make for a nice lunch break. 

                                   

  

Game shows? Barb and I watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, along with the celebrity versions of those shows. I was critical of new WOF host Ryan Seacrest at first, but he’s grown into the job and is a delight to watch. Vanna White, of course, remains a goddess. There should be temples to her.

Jeopardy is more challenging. I like host Ken Jennings, but he’s got some annoying habits. Especially his abbreviating Jeopardy Invitational Tournament to “Jit.” That said, this year’s contest was breathtaking. So many great players and so many tight games. Kudos to tournament champion Matt Amodio, who as regular bloggy readers know, is from Medina, Ohio. His father, Jim Amodio is a comics fan and, occasionally, our lawyer.

Currently, my favorite game show is Pop Culture Jeopardy, which just completed its first season. Host Colin Jost is incredible in that role, funny and personable. The Internet Movie Database says this about the show:

A new twist on the classic quiz show format that combines the academic rigor with the excitement and unpredictability of pop culture; contestants play in teams of three as experts to win the grand prize of 300,000 dollars. 

I do watch some scripted TV. I’ll talk about those shows in our next bloggy thing. See you then.

© 2025 Tony Isabella