I admit it. I enjoy watching television. My husband and I unwind almost every evening with a show or two previously recorded on the Tivo while we sit in our recliners–he with his computer in his lap, me with my cross-stitch. It’s relaxing, entertaining, and helps maintain my creative well.
The only problem is that there are some shows I enjoy that Wes refuses to watch. So my compromise is to watch those shows while I exercise during my lunch hour. I play them on my phone and listen through headphones while I get my two miles in on the treadmill. Or in some cases, I sneak away to the bedroom with my daughter to get in some girly show watching time.
So, what do I watch? Well, my summer viewing runs quite a gamut.
First there are the cooking shows. I don’t want to actually learn how to cook anything, I just want to enjoy the competition and see creative minds at work. This summer there are 3 culinary-themed shows that I have been enjoying.
I didn’t enjoy this quite as much as the old Iron Chef battles, but it was still fun to see legendary chefs pushed to their creative best.
I enjoyed watching the junior version of this show in the spring. It’s amazing what kids as young as 8 or 9 can do. I was rooting for Shane the Train from Texas. Football stud and little grill man extraordinaire. Ha! But the adult competition is where the gloves come off and competitors have to produce top quality food or lose their spot in the kitchen. Sometimes it feels like an apt metaphor for the book industry. Produce quality or be forgotten. Oh, the pressure!
This was a new discovery for me on Netflix, and I absolutely adore it. British accents, gorgeous sweets, and a place where chocolate can pop up at any time. Love it!
With all the calories I gain from watching these delicious programs, I have to balance out my viewing with some exercise. Again, I am drawn to competition. (I never realized I had such a deep competitive streak.) I love watching Grand Slam tennis. Wimbledon is on right now, and I watch it whenever I can. Hoping for a Murray vs. Federer final. My husband actually watches this with me, though, so I guess it shouldn’t count on my list.
Here are the ones my husband prefers to avoid:
Sometimes I can get my son to watch this with me, and then we get my hubby sucked in despite his best efforts to remain uninterested. The strength and agility of these competitors is amazing. And the fact that women compete on equal footing with men and a handful have achieved remarkable levels of success is so inspiring. Jessie Graff truly is Wonder Woman.
My daughter and I like to sneak off to watch these dance competition shows, even thought neither of us were very active in dance ourselves. I took a few years of ballet when I was about 5. She did color guard (flag twirling) in high school with the band and learned some dance motions there. But we both love music and love watching talented dancers wow us with incredible moves and musical interpretation.
When my daughter decided to study abroad for a month this summer in Oxford, England, she made sure to wrangle a promise out of me before she left. “You can’t want our dancing shows without me!” So like a good mom, I’ve ignored the episodes stacking up on the Tivo and have waited patiently for her return. She comes home today, so I see many mommy/daughter evenings ahead in our future. Yay!
So what about you?
- What do you like to watch in the summertime?
- Do you share any of my favorites?
- What would you recommend that I add to my list?
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I prefer to watch lots of versions of Jane Austen adaptations, Some of which my hubby watches with me. He prefers war movies or westerns. Not my cup of tea! Unless they are historical such as The Patriot or Glory, etc. but we both binge watched Dr. Who! We like the Great British Baking Show…. BAKE! A new PBS that we just started is Young Jane Tennyson. This is about how Jane from Prime Suspect got her start as a detective. Much like Endeavor is to Inspector Morse. I’m waiting for the second season of Victoria to rebroadcast on PBS. Hubby watches reruns of CSI Miami while he excercises. No kids left at home to conspire with!
Hi, Paula. I love those British shows. I watched Bletchley Circle about the code breakers turned detectives, then when my daughter went to England, she got to visit the actual Bletchley Park mansion and see where the codebreakers did their work. She sent me a picture of an enigma machine. So cool!
I love those two dance shows, too, though I don’t dance at all. One that we have watched the past few summers, but isn’t coming on til August this year, is The Last Ship. A ship on a silent mission way out somewhere with two scientists finds, when they can once again open communications, that a massive virus has hit the planet, killing millions of people, and the scientists have been secretly working on a cure. Then pirates and Russians are after the ship to try to get the cure. And that’s just the first season! Very suspenseful.
Thanks for the recommendation, Barbara. I’ve never watched that show but it sounds like one I would like. I might have to see if Netflix carries the old seasons.
I really enjoy the oldies especially Columbo, Rockford Files, and Perry Mason. Sitcoms are great too especially Carol Burnett and Mama’s Family! 🙂
Those are some classics, Meredith. I can remember watching the Rockford Files as a girl. 🙂
Oh my yes! The Great British Baking Show is definitely a winner. I just saw the listing for Master Chef so after this post maybe I will give that a try.
Thanks for the inspiration to look past reruns and Father Brown.
I’ve found that I have little patience for reruns anymore, Jen. We watch Texas Rangers baseball quite often, too, since that is my husband’s favorite summer television option. 😉 I’m not a huge baseball fan, but I don’t mind it. It’s easy to read while it’s on. Ha!
Yes I get the baseball thing. I have the same thing with the Broncos.
Love the team but I can read the paper or knit during the game.
I enjoy Masterchef, The Great British Baking Show (they had an American version a while back with the same judges), Dancing With the Stars, The Amazing Race and my husband and I love The Andy Griffith Show. We find ourselves saying quotes to each other during the day from the show!
Oh and now there’s a show Forever Young spotlighting people in their sixties and older doing unusual things, love it!
How cool! I’ve never seen that one. Sounds fun. 🙂
The Amazing Race is my all-time favorite show. I daydream about going on the race with my husband. Too bad the day job and kids keep us tied to reality. Oh, well. I just love the way the teams have to rely on each other and figure things out as they race. And I always cheer for the ones with the good attitudes. 🙂
I’ve often told my daughter who has a great sense of direction and my son who’s good at searching things out, that they would make a great team! The last one was interesting in that the couples didn’t know each other. How hard would that be??!!
Very hard. I can’t believe the complainer won over team Mom and Dad. I was rooting for the older, more sensible team. 🙂
I love The Great British Baking Show! I watch a lot of Hallmark movies and Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. Christmas in July is starting soon which is always fun for me. Hubby watches entirely too much real crime, The First 48, I am Homicide, Swamp Murders, and a host of others. The only one I really like is Homicide Hunter with Lt. Joe Kenda. I get a lot of reading done while he’s watching his shows.
That’s a good compromise, Andrea. 🙂
First, it’s thanks to facebook and blog posts such as yours that I keep getting addicted to new-to-me shows! We don’t get TV reception where I live and buying a dish or satellite just to watch TV costs more than we’d get out of it. We keep reserving the dvds from the library so we can binge watch any show/series we like! The latest is “Shetland”! Love it! But others we’ve enjoyed are “Vera”, “Castle”, “Scott and Bailey”, “North and South” and “Longmire”. I’m not sure what we’ll watch once we’ve caught up to Shetland. I’m looking for recommendations also.
I love Castle and Longmire! Two of my favorites. 🙂
I’m a big fan of So You Think You Can Dance!
Me, too, Becky. I think I’ve seen almost every season.
Thanks for this post ,Karen! Fun to know my niece and I aren’t the only ones hooked on the British Baking show. We got hooked on it during the Memorial Day holiday and are now frustrated that NetFlix doesn’t have any new seasons yet. Also like to watch old tv shows such as I Love Lucy,The Dick Van Dyke Show,Father Knows Best,among many others. All in all have to admit to jumping back and forth between modern and classic depending on the show and mood. 🙂
I have to admit, Ninja Warrior is fun to watch. These athletes are truly amazing! The cooking shows have little appeal, but The Voice is awesome! The Amazing Race is also a good one. Enjoy you daughter time, an loving adult daughter is a gift beyond price.
How about a little “Wild West” Canadian style: When Calls the Heart. I think there are 3 seasons available to stream. Good for when you just want something pleasant. Sometimes it gets a little cliche, but it’s a sweet series with fairly strong characters (like the outlaw-turned-preacher…future book idea?). 🙂