The Raging Tech

The Unit: One Awesome Show

A year or so ago, I had borrowed “The Unit” Season 1 from my friend Nathan, and I really enjoyed the show. I never got past Season 1, because at the time that’s all there was out on DVD. Enter: Netflix. I’ve added all three seasons to my queue so far, but I think the third season isn’t out yet.

I have been re-watching the first season while my girlfriend-equivalent has gone home for a week or two, because I don’t really want to start a new show without her and have her show up and I’m stuck in the middle of it and her not knowing what’s going on.

It’s not so bad with this show, because it’s serialized but you can still watch any one episode and have a good idea of what’s going on. If you’ve never seen the show, the basic premise is that there’s an army black-ops group called “The Unit” with an official cover name of “The 303rd Logistical Studies Group.”

Everyone but the soldiers and their wives think the soldiers are in some sort of clerical job. In reality, they’re going out on deployment in the far reaches of the world, kicking butt and taking names. Check it out, they’ve already got seasons 1 and 2 on DVD.

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2.5

Tags: CBS, Netflix, television, The Unit, tv

Her Side of Television

I have to be honest here: having someone to call “my girl” is awesome. I wanted to write here today about one of the things I appreciate the most about the situation: having such similar but diverse interests means that we challenge and broaden each other’s collection of cultural experiences.

The most interesting thing that’s happened as of late in that area, she has had influence over my television watching selection (we only fight over the remote every other day) and my Netflix queue. I’ve been watching some things I probably wouldn’t normally initiate watching on my own. For example, I’ve started with Alias season one on Netflix, and on TV she’s got me watching the Game Show Network and some reality shows like Beauty & The Geek or America’s Next Top Model.

Speaking of America’s Next Top Model, holy crap. That show is crazy. These girls are with one exception, not fresh off the streets. They’re seasoned amateur models looking for a big break. Some of these judges are cruel and harsh, and I know they have to be to prepare these girls for the real world. But what gets me is, this is a competition not a modeling school. They should already be trained in modeling, not learning to model on this show. If they don’t make the cut, no hard feelings. But that wouldn’t make for good television would it?

This one girl on the show said something to a famous photographer about taking the stick out of his butt, and it came back to bite her later. He was like “Honey, I know you were joking or whatever, and I’m a nice guy so I let it slide. But out here in the real world that’s not going to fly. You could seriously ruin your whole career out here saying something like that.” Drama, human suffering, and cruel judgment. Yes, I think Satan invented reality television.

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2.5

Tags: alias, america's next top model, beauty and the geek, dating, girl, reality tv, Satan, tv

Weeds: A Showtime Series

I am normally pretty strongly against watching dramas and series on Showtime and HBO, and it’s been easier to avoid them since I moved out of my mom’s house because I don’t have those channels. I watched the first couple seasons of the Sopranos, and four seasons of Oz back when that was on. But then I just sort of lost the taste for the foul-mouthed and edgier shows that can’t air on regular television.

I read the premise of this comedy, Weeds, that airs on Showtime, and decided to add season one to my Netflix queue. Basically, it’s the story of a recently-widowed mother with two sons in the suburbs. Between soccer matches, PTA meetings, and other aspects of an otherwise dull life, she turns to dealing pot to pay the bills. Weeds is compelling because we get to watch the main character balance life as a full-time single mom with being a full-time “entrepreneur.” I’m about four episodes in, and so far it’s pretty enjoyable. The language is crude, and some of the topics are very mature, not to mention obvious drug content. I don’t recall any nudity or strong violence so far, but it’s definitely not family-friendly.

So, my overall opinion is - it’s hilarious, but vulgar. Watch with discretion, and if you get further along than I do in the series and it’s too offensive, just turn it off. It’s that simple. I’m still not set on watching the whole thing. They’ve put out three seasons so far.

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2.5

Tags: marijuana, pot, show, tv, Weeds

Tune Up Your HDTV

While not all of us are fortunate enough to own a big screen High Definition Television, or HDTV, we did just have a holiday season and many families purchased new HDTV sets for their homes. Also, many businesses are purchasing plasma and LCD screens for lobby displays or statistics monitoring, such as stock tickers or performance charts.

Whether you’re shopping for a new TV now, or you’ve already got one in place, keep in mind that all new TVs purchased after 2009 must be digital-ready due to federal regulations set in place recently.

But let’s say you purchase this behemoth entertainment device because it looked crisp and awesome in the store, but now in your home it looks less than perfect? You’d likely be disappointed, especially with the cost involved in purchasing one of these items. Forbes has an article plus a picture gallery on ways you can fine tune your television for best picture quality in it’s end-user location. Now you can make your television look as good at home as it did on display in the store.

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As the Meat Turns

Yesterday, my friend made the comment that the Food Network in HD (high definition) is like pornography for fat guys. While that’s a pretty graphic comparison, it’s actually pretty accurate.

The Food Network is one of the reasons I got into cooking things from scratch (when I have time, and clean dishes). Ever since we got the HD package from Dish Network last Summer, it’s been heaven. You just don’t know what food is until you’ve watched Boy Meets Grill or Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on a 55″ High Definition TV screen. You can just be sitting around, not even hungry, and that channel will make you salivate.

Last night we were watching Boy Meets Grill and the picture was so crystal clear, I thought I was going to drool all over the tangerine-glazed grilled chicken Bobby Flay was turning on the grill. It was amazing. If you don’t have HD yet, you should go get a set that supports it and a dish or cable package with Food Network HD.

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2.5