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.

Rate this:

2.5

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

TGIF: It’s a Crazy Friday

I’m here at work and it’s a craaazy day. Normally, my day consists of answering phone calls and e-mail and entering support tickets and updating documentation and things of that nature, until my lunch break, and then I come right back and go back to doing the same thing.

Today, however, I started off the day doing a presentation for the student services group, the one that I was supposed to do last Friday but it got canceled, and that went well. Then, I had about 15 minutes before I went into our weekly Help Desk team meeting. That lasted until lunch, which I just got back from. Now, I’ve got about 20 minutes until an all-afternoon training session for our new support ticket system.

Tonight should be more relaxed, however. I’m planning on skipping out on game night (this will be two weeks in a row, oh no!) to spend some time with Kylara who will be doing homework all weekend.

Speaking of hanging out - we’ve been watching “Alias” season 1, because apparently when it first aired I thought it was a “girl show” and didn’t bother to watch it. We’re on disc 5 now, and holy crap is it getting weird (in an awesome way). Then I remembered something last night, J.J. Abrams is the guy who is behind “LOST“, another show I am addicted to. He also did the movies Cloverfield and Armageddon. So that explains why I enjoy it so much, yet get so frustrated at the unanswered questions.

Rate this:

2.5

Tags: friday, TGIF, tv, Work

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.

Rate this:

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.

Rate this:

2.5

Tags: marijuana, pot, show, tv, Weeds