I’ve been on vacation this week.  Here’s what I watched.

(Yes, that’s not my best intro but seriously, I’m tired.  I always take some time by myself after my birthday so that I can reflect on the year and plan the next one.  It’s a tradition that is the result of having watched too many movies and read too many books about women who retreat to a lake house for a holiday and achieve enlightenment or, at the very least, write a really great book.  Unfortunately, that always seems to work better in movies than in real life.  In real life, I’ve spent a good deal of time inside because the average temperature this week has been close to freezing.  As a result being stuck inside for hours at a time, my original plans of watching next to no television and only going online to host my weekly live tweets were quickly abandoned.  When I did go outside, I got caught out in the rain more than once and I also banged up my knee and probably nearly broke my neck when I tripped over a tree root while exploring the surroundings.  The sun has occasionally peeked through the clouds, mostly just to remind me of the fact that I cannot tan to save my life.  I’m now catching a cold, and I’m no closer to being enlightened than I was before.  This has not been my best-planned getaway, though it will make a great book someday.  Anyway….)

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

“RALPH!”

This episode will always be remembered for the broken eggs and Barbara’s reaction to the way one of the mothers dressed.  However, I think this episode deserves to be remembered for the brief moment when Ava has a serious conversation with Barbara about that mother.  I always like the episodes where we discover that Ava actually does kind of care about her job and other people.

The Amazing Race (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I wrote about the latest episode of The Amazing Race here!

California Dreams (YouTube)

Being stuck inside, I watched a few episodes of California Dreams so that I could write and schedule a few reviews in advance.

City Guys (Tubi)

Being stuck inside, I watched a few episodes of City Guys so that I could write and schedule a few reviews in advance.  Hmmm …. that sounds familiar.

Graffiti Rock (YouTube)

I watched the only episode of this 80s dance show on YouTube on Friday night.  A young Debi Mazer and an adorable Vincent Gallo were amongst the dancers!  It was fun to watch.

The Greatest American Hero (Weekday evenings, ACE TV)

This is an early 80s show about a klutzy teacher (William Katt) who is gifted a red suit by a group of aliens.  The suit turns the teacher into a superhero but, because the aliens didn’t give him any instructions, he’s not really sure how all of his powers work.  He fights crime with his girlfriend (Connie Selleca) and a drunk FBI agent (Robert Culp).  One of his student was played by a very young and handsome Michael Pare.

I watched an episode on Thursday while I was having dinner.  The teacher battled criminals while preparing for an IRS audit.  It was actually a pretty cute show.  William Katt was as likable here as he was as poor, doomed Tommy Ross in the original Carrie.

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, FOX)

It was a good dinner service but Chef Ramsey still had to send someone home.  At least he was polite about it this week.  I’m really liking this season of Hell’s Kitchen.  I could honestly see any of the chefs winning.

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

This week’s episode of Law & Order dealt with a murder that was linked back to Iraq War burn pits.  Considering that Price and Mouron are the two most self-righteous prosecutors in the history of this franchise (and that’s saying something!), I was cringing a bit at the thought of them relitigating the Iraq War.  But this episode was actually fairly well-handled.  I never would have expected that Cosgrove and Shaw would become my two favorite characters on this show but they’ve managed to do it.  I think that’s because Cosgrove and Shaw does their job without complaining, whereas Price always has some moral dilemma going on.  Seriously, McCoy needs to bring in somebody new.

Law & Order: Organized Crime (Thursday Night, NBC)

Stabler’s going to give himself a heart attack if he’s not careful.  CALM DOWN, STABLER!

Law & Order: SVU (Thursday Night, NBC)

The squad was hunting a serial rapist and murderer who targeting transgender women.  Greg Grunberg played one of the victims’s father, an NYPD detective who was not comfortable with his child’s identity and who was trying to hide evidence that would have confirmed that she was transgender.  Eventually, however, he did the right thing and handed over the evidence that allowed the D.A. to get a conviction.  Grunberg, as always, gave a good performance.

Magnum, P.I. (Weekday Mornings, Charge TV)

On a chilly and rainy Monday morning, I watched a two-part episode of the original, 1980s Magnum P.I.  Magnum and his friends were being stalked by a KGB agent named Ivan.  The episode ended with Magnum executing Ivan in cold blood.  Ivan totally deserved it.

Night Flight (Night Flight Plus)

Friday night, I watched two episodes of this 80s entertainment digest.  One episode was about the early days of rap and while the other episode that profiled Sade.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I wrote about the latest episode of Survivor here!

Too Close For Comfort (Weekday Afternoons, Antenna TV)

This is an old 80s sitcom, about a grouchy old man who lived on the second floor of a San Francisco townhouse.  His daughters lived on the first floor.  A bizarre manchild lived on the third floor.  This show has been on Tubi for a while and also on Antenna TV.  On Tuesday, after spending the first part of the day hiking and trying to meditate, I decided to unwind by shuffle dancing to The Chemical Brothers.  Then, after that, I collapsed in front of the television and watched two episodes of this show on Antenna TV.

In the first episode, the grouchy old man and his wife were shocked to discover that a runaway girl named Sam was living with the manchild.  Sam explained that she had run away from home because her father was overprotective and didn’t understand her and wouldn’t let her go out with her friends.  The problem was that the actress playing Sam appeared to be nearly 40 years old so it was difficult to sympathize with her.  I mean, just get a job and move out if you can’t take it.  You’re an adult.  Anyway, the grouchy old man explains to Sam that her father loved her and Sam went home.  Yay!

This was followed by an episode in which the manchild and one of the daughters graduated from college.  The manchild got a job as a mall security guard.  Good for him.

The Twilight Zone (Weeknights, MeTV)

On Tuesday night, I watched The Obsolete Man.  In this episode, an authoritarian government official ordered a man to commit suicide.  Before dying, the man revealed the official to be a coward.  The official was then ripped apart by his former supporters.  This is usually described as being one of the more heavy-handed episodes of original Twilight Zone but, in this time of general government overreach, there was something satisfying about watching the smug government representative get outsmarted.