Tag Archives: passion

Ratings

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For my last passion blog of the year I want to rate in order of my favorite to least favorite T.V shows that I have watched over the semester for this blog. I hope this will be a helpful tool for you to come back to if you are even in need of some new entertainment on Netflix!

1. Bones- The best show I watched this semester for my blog was definitely Bones. It combines my two favorite things, science and drama. I like that there is a lot of science and investigation that goes on throughout the show, but I also like that you can follow the personal lives of each character.

2. Revenge- Revenge is a close second to Bones for me. I love the drive that the main character, Emily Thorne/Amanda Clark has. The show brings you into the life of the wealthy and shows the corruption and conflict that can happen in their lives. It is a darker show, with a lot of heavy emotions but definitely something worth watching, I can’t wait for the third season to come to Netflix!

3. How I Met Your Mother- I liked this show because the episodes are shorter and full of comedy. There are so many dramatic and intense shows these days I like that How I Met Your Mother is a change of pace from all of that. Sometimes you just need a good laugh!

4. Friday Night Lights- This is definitely a show people can get tied up in. You really see into the characters’ lives and emotions. I do not like how the camera is set up to look like someone is taking a home video though, I tend to get a little woozy when I watch shows like that.

5. Once Upon A Time- This was the show recommended by my trainer. I liked that idea of a classic fairytale with a twist to it. I do not like how cheesy they make the fairytale part of the show though. I think they could have done a better job at interpreting the fairytale into the show.

6. Gossip Girl- This show is a classic girl drama show. I’m guessing very few boys watch it. Although it is an extremely popular show, and all my friends reference it, I don’t really understand the hype about it. It seems like the classic drama filled lives, possibly over dramatized lives, of any teenager/pre-adult.

7. Pretty Little Liars- Although Pretty Little Liars’ popularity set of a chain reaction of shows with similar plots, like The Lying Games, I was not fond of the show. I also do not like scary shows or movies, and this is definitely a thriller with a lot of creepy scenes. If you are looking for a little scare and drama this is your show.

8. Orange is the New Black- This was definitely my least favorite show from this semester. The scenes are just too uncomfortable for me to handle, I would not want my parents catching me watching this type of show.

Overall I loved this assignment throughout the semester I got to explore my new Netflix account and now I have multiple new shows lined up to watch over the summer. I hope my blog helped you find a new show to enjoy too!

Gossip Girl

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Now I know most girls have watched and indulged themselves with the television series of Gossip Girl. I unfortunately am not one of those girls. My friends constantly reference this well known T.V. series, and I am always hopelessly lost when they do. I was one of the few girls until about 40 minutes that had never seen an episode of Gossip Girls.

This series takes place at a boarding school. From the pilot episode it seems that the story follows multiple students’ lives, and the secrets they hold. I feel like this is a show that you definitely get attached to the characters and completely divulge into their lives and stories.

Here are just some of the comments seen on Netflix about Gossip Girl:

“ADD SEASON 6!!!!! PLEASE, WE ARE ALL BEGGING, DON’T YOU NOTICE?! C’MON, PROBABLY 80% OF NETFLIX USERS HAVE WATCHED GOSSIP GIRL AND FELL IN LOVE WITH IT, AND THEN YOU ARE JUST CUTTING US OFF? TOTALLY NOT FAIR……..”

“Best TV series I’ve ever watched! I finished the whole series months ago but I can’t stop watching it! I keep watching old episodes because it’s so addicting!! Got my family into it as well!! Recommend it for anybody!! Love the drama, scandals, secrets and romances!! It’s so great!!!”

“Where is Season 6?!?! Please bring us Season 6! I’ve watched the Season, but I started to watch them all over again (because they are a bit addicting). Now I need to finish it off with Season 6 :)”

Thankfully for these viewers the final season of Gossip Girl, season 6, has been added to Netflix.  If you do decide to watch this you will definitely be putting yourself into a longer commitment, one that may not end even after finishing all the seasons, because you will be tempted to go back a re-watch the episodes! You will not be left hanging though, now that all the seasons are up on Netflix.

Now I have not heard of many guys enjoying or even attempting to watch Gossip Girl and from what I have watched so far this seems more of a television series geared toward women. Sorry boys, I will try my best to watch a pilot episode of a show for guys next week.

I agree with the 4/5 stars that Netflix has given Gossip Girl. It does seem like an interesting show, but I also feel like the common idea of it has been overused, and there are a lot of other shows, even on Netflix alone, that you can watch with a similar set up. I am going to reserve judgement though because I have only watched one episode and I know it take more than that to really appreciate and enjoy a television show.

If the show does not seem interesting to you, and you experience the same out of loop feeling that I do when my friends talk about it. I would give it a try, if not for entertainment, then to understand what all the references your friends make mean. 🙂

Once Upon a Time

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The pilot episode starts in a dramatic scene with the prince riding a horse to Snow White trying to save her. It is the classic, prince kisses princess and is awakened, they live happily ever after. It seems like the normal cheesy fairy tale television shows. Then the show is brought to present day with a little boy riding the bus, reading the fairy tales. During the episode there is a constant transition from the fairy tale that introduces the series to present day. We learn that the boy riding the bus is Henry. We are also introduced to a women named Emma. She appears to be on a date with a man she met on the internet, but in reality she is just there to bust him for money he owes her.

Then Henry and Emma meet, Henry declaring that he is Emma’s son that she gave up for adoption years earlier. He wants her to come back to his house with him, and she eventually agrees just to get him off her hands. There are a lot of mysteries to be solved, especially this book that Henry keeps reading and swears that Emma is in.

This series only has two seasons on Netflix as of now so this series will not take too much time to burn through. It can be a short obsession 🙂 This seems kinda cheesy, but my trainer recommended this and swears it gets better! This show is a combination of multiple fairy tales, for example, Snow White, Prince Charming, Cinderella, Rumplestilskin, Beauty and the Beast, Pinnochio, Sleeping Beauty, Mulan, Ariel (from the little mermaid), Jimminicricket, Little Red Riding Hood and Rupunzel. All these fairy tales are included but with a twist in them, and a mix of modern day trends.

I am not sure about the 4.5/5 stars that Netflix give this show, I do not see it becoming that great of a show, but like my trainer said it gets better. I do not think that this will be a show an immediate hook for someone.

The actors that take part in the fairy tale scenes seem to be overdramatic and have weird facial expressions, but I am not sure if that is what the producers want but it seems to make it hard to really get into the show. The actors that are in the modern day scenes seem to be more realistic but they still do not play the roles well in my opinion, they seem to have a hard time expressing the emotions that the characters are suppose to have.

I personally do not think this would be a very interesting show for me, but there are some people, like my trainer, who love the show so its worth a try if you like fairy tales. If you are looking for something to base your opinion off of the show reminds me of the movie Enchanted.

Movie Time- Footloose

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Ok so this week I kinda changed my topic of choice. I am going to focus on the movie Footloose on Netflix. Now I know most people use Netflix to watch television shows, but there are also a lot of good movie on Netflix. One that I recently found being Footloose. When I was looking through Netflix I was looking for the older version of Footloose, one of my favorite movies of all time! I ended up coming across the new version that was released in 2011. The older version which was released in 1984 is also on Netflix, so I ended up doing a little Footloose Marathon!

I have recently decided that both versions are in my top ten of all time favorite movies. I think they both have really good stories and meanings behind them. The thing I like most about the movies is that they make me want to get up and dance! (this might be dangerous to people around me because my dancing skills are a little rough)

These movies are both chic flicks, but I think they are both definitely a good choice when you wanna cuddle up one night and enjoy a nice movie. There are definitely some thrilling parts in the movies, with fights and tractor/bus competitions (depending on which version you watch).

Both movies have great acting in my opinion, and even better great dancing! I think one of the best things a movie can do for someone is making them wanna get up and express themselves, in this case people are motivated to express themselves through dance. Now I was obviously bias towards the first version of Footloose, but this new one brought back my excitement for these movies! I think creating new versions of classic movies is a risky business, why change something that isn’t broken right? That’s exactly how I feel about new versions, I usually don’t like them because they don’t do a good job at creating their own story and new actors for the same movies is just not ok with me for the most part. Like when they had to replace Dumbledore in Harry Potter I was outraged! I couldn’t get passed the fact that they weren’t the same person.

I think that this new version of Footloose, does a great job at recreating the story but also having enough personality of its own to be a great movie, not just a copy-cat. The fact that both versions of the movie have the same ratings, 4/5 stars, really says something about the new version. The new version is a story in of its own, it just happens to have the same story behind it and the same title as the old version. The producers did a great job a recreating this movie, I would highly recommend watching it, both versions!

How I Met Your Mother

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Everyone has probably seen at least one episode of how I Met Your Mother. It is a well-known television show but I’m guessing most people don’t know what the overall story is, unless they have seen the first episode. The show is called How I Met Your Mother because it is about a guy, Ted Mosby, telling his kids a long story about the events that led up to how he met their mother.  Creative I know. The first episode really sets the plot up well.

It starts off with Ted wanting to tell his kids the story of how him and their mom met. There is a flashback to 25 years earlier. Ted describes how he met this girl after his two best friends got engaged. His two best friends are Marshall and Lily, who have been dating since the beginning of college. He goes into detail about how he saw her for the first time, and how he messed it up when he saw her again. In the end though the entire episode was not how he met their mother but how he met Aunt Robin. Robin ends up being another one of Ted’s best friend, who he loves for many years but then never ends up marrying her. Too much drama. It is safe to say that his kids were not pleased when they realized the girl their dad was talking about was Robin, and that the story wasn’t over yet.

This entire series takes place in a flashback of Ted’s life and everything leading up to how he met his sole mate. I think it is an interesting way to have an entire television show to take place, even though you sort of forget that it is in past tense when you are watching the show.

This show is definitely a comedy and has some sexual connotations but nothing too inappropriate. I think this is a good show for anyone who is looking for a good laugh or just needs some entertainment for a few minutes.

Every episode it between 20 and 30 minutes, so you don’t have to set aside a lot of time to watch one, but I have heard they are addicting to watch out. Although the episodes themselves are short there are 8 seasons, so if you get hooked this could be a long addiction for you.

I definitely agree with the rating of a 4/5 stars on Netflix. I think the show can give you a good laugh but it doesn’t really give much more than that. It seems like there are a few romantic moments, which are always immediately followed but a joke. There are no other aspects to the show besides the comedy, which isn’t a bad thing!

So if you are looking for a laugh or just something to do for about 30 min How I Met Your Mother is the perfect show for you!

Bones

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Bones is a drama filled with forensic science. I decided that after two weeks of going out of my comfort zone I would get back to the shows I’m use to. As a scientist this series is interesting and thrilling for me to watch.

In the pilot episode Temperance Brennan, one of the main characters, is coming back from a foreign country on a research expedition, unburying bones from ancient tribes. You quickly come to understand that she is a force to be reckoned with after taking one of the airport security guards down. Almost immediately you are introduced to two other main character. Seeley Booth and Angela Montenegro. Booth, as they call him, is an FBI agent and former soldier. He has a charm that is alluring to girls and almost impossible to resist. Angela is an artist, she is the free spirit on the show. They show this side of her when she flashes her boobs at an airport employee to get their attention. Another character you are introduced to is Temperance’s graduate assistant Zack Addy. Both Temperance and Zack’s intelligence is off the chart, which make them important assets to the shows scientific side.

Bones is very science based with a lot of drama intertwined. They main setting it the Jeffersonian where Temperance works in research. Her place of research quickly becomes an investigation lab when the FBI needs Temperance’s amazing ability of identifying bones to help them solve a crime. Every episode has a new crime while there are personal conflicts and problems going on throughout the seasons.

You do not have to watch the episodes in sequence to understand what is going on, although it does give you a little more insight to the characters’ personal lives outside of their professional careers. This is definitely not a show that you can get through quickly with eight seasons already made this will keep any Netflix viewer busy for awhile.

This show get a 4/5 on Netflix, in my opinion it should get a 5/5 but that is just my biased view. This show is definitely for people who love science and/or drama. Given that I like both in a T.V show this show is a great choice for me. I think the actors to a phenomenal job at playing their characters and creating a realistic atmosphere. This also may not be a good show for weak stomaches because there are a lot of gruesome scenes and views that they show.

Overall I think any would be entertained but this show, if you are more interested in the science aspect of a show I would not worry too much about watching the shows in order, even though Netflix makes that pretty easy. If you want to understand and focus more on the drama of the show I would recommend watching the episodes in sequence so you understand the continuous story going on in each character’s personal life.

Orange is the New Black

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Orange is the New Black is one of the more edgy T.V. series that Netflix offers. There is sex, drugs,  deals, and drama. My teammates were watching it and really enjoyed it at first but then they had to stop because it was getting too weird for them. I saw a few scenes just from walking into their room while they were watching it. From what I observed it was definitely edgy and I had no interest in watching the show. My teammates told me that I should do my blog on the pilot episode. I was a little tentative because the little scenes I had experienced before were not too pleasant for me. They told me that the series starts off decently normal, or as normal as you get when a women is going to jail for transporting drugs for her former girlfriend. So again I am going out of my comfort zone and watching a T.V. series that isn’t my normal taste.

My teammates were wrong, I’m sorry to all of the Orange is the New Black fanatics but I couldn’t even finish the first episode, it was just too weird for me. This show is for people who like things raw, they don’t mind the gross, and sometimes perverted details. I think that a lot of people are attracted to this show because of how abnormal it is to our everyday lives. My teammates even admit wanting to turn it off because of how messed up some things got but couldn’t!

Although the plot was a little too weird for me, I actually did enjoy the characters, I think the actors do I good job at really portraying their roles well. There are some many different types of people that are introduced, I’m sure the show will turn into quite the entertaining story. You can always count one twists and turns to be put into a plot, but with the setting being in a jail and the characters being so far out there, I think the unexpected will blow audiences away.

There is only one season so far on Netflix, so you could cruise through the show pretty quickly. Netflix gives Orange is the New Black a 4.5/5 stars. Although this is not my type of show I do think that people can get addicted to the plot and characters. Both are so unique that its kind of hard not to watch. Its like when you see a couple kissing and you feel awkward watching but you just can’t stop. While I was watching I felt interested, but also pure embarrassment sometimes. This show can push you to your imagination’s limits. I couldn’t finish the first episode, but maybe I will take another crack at it later this semester and report back on how it goes. Who knows maybe I will get addicted, like millions already have!

Pretty Little Liars

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Pretty Little Liars is also a quick addiction like Revenge. There are only three seasons so far on Netflix which won’t take long to go through. Even from the trailers of this series I get an erie feeling. I am not one for horror or scary movies, so I was never really interested in watching Pretty Little Liars. But this blog is about trying new things and getting out of your comfort zone right? So I stressed through the pilot episode just for all of my loyal followers, I hope you truly appreciate my efforts for you.

This series is about the death of a young girl who seems to be haunting her friends and going under the alias “A”. They introduce the characters in the first episode by having them all come back from their summer adventures. You get a little detail about their past and how even though they seem pretty and perfect on the outside there is a lot more going on in their lives than they let people know. Once they all get back to their little town for school, you immediately get the feeling that something is up.

I think this series would fall under the category for a horror series. But then again I was scared out of my mind while watching Disturbia. My horror range is very mild and meek so although I tried to branch out and look for new categories of television I still don’t think this series is the one for me. If you are looking for a horror film that will keep you on your toes though, this is probably a good place for you to start. There are multiple deaths throughout the series, and people trying to deceive and kill others. Many scenes include creepy and life threatening situations. It seems that this huge mystery as to who “A” really is seems to be the main focus of the series. It would be interesting to find out how they keep this secret and scandal going for such a long time. I feel that through the series you have to be prepared to be confused and always second guessing your instincts and what will happen next. It doesn’t seem like the producers will give any important information to the audience without the characters knowing too. So basically once they know, you will know, but it will probably be too late at that point anyways.

Netflix gives Pretty Little Liars a 4.5/5 stars. I think that the acting will be good in this series and they managed to put so many characters in the show that there will always be a new story and new secrets to be exposed. This show will probably have major cliff hangers at the end of each episode so be prepared when you sit down to watch one episode you might end up watching multiple. Overall this series is definitely not for me just because of the creepy factor but if someone is looking for a thrill and mystery I think this show would be a pretty solid choice.

Revenge

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The next pilot episode I decided to watch is from the series Revenge. This was recommended to me by some of my teammates who watch it together in their free time. Revenge is currently in its third season, but its first two seasons are on Netflix. This series choice is good for someone who doesn’t want to make a commitment to a T.V. series with 9 seasons already.

The actors seem to be genuinely good and have plenty of talent. From the first episode I feel like as you watch the series there will be a lot of unanswered questions and confusion. If you don’t like suspense or mystery this is not the series for you. It also seems more like a drama again like Friday Night Lights, but with a lot more at stake.

This women is out to get revenge, hence the title, on the people that destroyed her father’s life and reputation. She doesn’t go into it blindly though she has planned to destroy these peoples’ lives for almost her entire adult life. She believed that her father was the one behind this unspeakable act for most of her childhood and teen years until a geeky, tech millionaire gives her a box full of her father’s belongings and stories to set things straight. From that moment on she made it her life mission to destroy the lives of the people who made her world crumble around her.

Again I think this is more for girls than guys in the dramatic aspect, but there does seem to be a little fighting in this series to mix things up. Netflix gives this series a 4.5/5 stars which I would have to agree on. The acting seems to be good and the plot will be interesting to follow. Although I don’t know how the producers will stretch out the plot to last many more seasons when there is only so much you can put into someone’s revenge agenda. I am interested to see how they carry out the plot and where the need to find revenge will lead this woman.

I am also curious to see what the main ideas they intend to have their audience take away from the series. Does revenge pay off if it is against bad people? Do you turn into a bad person when your only meaning in life is revenge? Will good overcome evil? Are people always as evil as they seem? There are so many messages that these producers can send to their audience, it will be interesting to see what they end up being.

I’m curious if anyone else has watched Revenge on Netflix? If so what did you think of it? Also if anyone has any ideas for my next T.V. series on Netflix to review please comment! I’m always looking for new shows to watch! I also want some variety, if anyone has any series geared more towards males, more action in them let me know!

Friday Night Lights

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I am changing my passion blog topic from hockey to reviewing pilot episodes of T.V series on Netflix. As I have recently become a member of the Netflix community, as of Christmas, I figured this would be a good way for me to search for new shows to watch and also a good resource for people who are interested to see which shows are worth watching.

Friday Night Lights is the first pilot episode I will review. This show was recommended to me by my roommate, who is a more experienced Netflix member than I am.

Within the first five minutes of the pilot episode it is obvious that the show will be following many different characters, who have a lot of different background stories. You can see that there are a lot of issues going on with the players on the football team. One of them shows up drunk to the first practice. There seems to be a lot of tension between the players, which will probably make this a drama T.V. series.

As for footage they make the film seem like its being taken on a handheld videocamera. The screen wobbles a bit when the characters move, or when it is transitioning from one character to another. People with soft stomached might not be able to take the jostling around on the screen. The handheld method makes it seem more like a home video and might allow the audience to connect with the characters a little easier.

So far I really like the actors/actresses of the show. Most seem to be good at playing the roles they were given. I also like that the characters aren’t all necessarily attractive, this might be the doing of the produced but I think it allows for a bigger connection to the character for the audience.

There is the cliche cheerleader/football quarterback romance in the first episode but I hope to see that change throughout the series. It seems like a basic small town, with hidden problems that will come to the surface during the show.

Overall I think that this could be a good T.V. series to watch, I’m not sure how many seasons it will stay interesting, but I am confident that the first couple will keep an audiences attention. Not sure how much boys will like it, because of how drama filled it seems to be but I can see some girls becoming quickly attached to this series.

Netflix gives this show a 4/5 stars. I think that might be a little high from what I saw from the first episode, but I wouldn’t give it anything less than a 3/5 stars. This seems to be a pretty average drama T.V. series. This may be because of my lack of interest in football, but I am sure that many different people have been able to find a connection to this series, even if they have a lack of football passion.