SHIT MY DAD SAYS - SEASON 1 EPISODE 1

Wow I was surprised with this show, it is entertaining, comedic and with that something that everyone enjoys! With just this one first episode to work off of the rest of the season should be brilliant if they continue in this line - let's hope they keep the streak alive and don't drop the ball after only a few episodes.

Henry played by Jonathan Sadowski is a writer who gets laid off from the magazine he was working at and has to move in with his father, a retired navy medic portrayed by the always enigmatic William Shatner while he tries to rebuild his life and career in the process so with that hilarity ensues!



It is a thrill ride of laugh a minute jokes and I believe if done correctly it might just become as big as How I Met Your Mother, but then again with William Shatner in the lead who would be able to dispute that fact.

Intriguingly enough Jonathan Sadowski doesn't stay in Shatner's shadow, he brings his own element into the show which might even rival that of the great Shatner. Using such a unknown actor was a big gamble but I believe it has payed off - the barbs between the leads are brilliantly written and even better coming from the chemistry between these two.



The brother and his wife are a bit overdone, but comedic none the less and all shows should have more than two characters but with the two leads as they are - it couldn't be better. I was laughing at almost every joke and had to wipe the laughing tears from my eyes more than once.

Absolutely brilliant - a solid 9/10

HIMYM - SEASON 6 EPISODE 1

With the start of season six, I had very high hopes for another absolutely brilliant episode, but alas, it turned out to be only mediocre with the odd dash of brilliance!



I was surprised as the build up to this episode had been brilliant and then a let down, but I guess my problem stems from the lack of a brilliant Barney-ism! The only part was the fantasy sequence going on about the dibs Barney had called on the girl at the bar that ends up marrying Ted.

The Marshall and Lily line was a continuation of the previous season, but I expected to see her pregnant as they had jumped a few months into the future. Marshall was screaming his lines too much, which seems to be a common occurrence from the previous season, a bad habit forming!

Robin pulled off the ugly ducking thing amazingly, but the rant she went on after the guy at the bar hit on her (kind of like her victory dance) was really disturbing and as a name sake, I am deeply disappointed!

The Barney-ism that made me laugh was when Barney turned around to look at the girl at the bar that had piqued Ted's interest - the look on his face was hilarious. And the only other part was the high six between him and Ted, I have got to try that one out!



Rachel bilson made a reappearance and looked as fine as ever, and man oh man the girl on girl kiss between her and the girl at the bar, my ears just turned red!

I would recommend give Barney a few new catch phrases and for him to use his signature one some time in the episode! So "Suit up!"

I give this episode a solid 6.5/10

CHUCK - SEASON 4 EPISODE 1

This week has seen the start of quite a few new seasons of all our favourite shows, and one of them is none other than Chuck starting with season 4.



Chuck and Morgan go off on their own spy mission to try and find Chuck's mom and so they travel around the world looking for her only to return to Los Angeles, broke and without finding her. Chuck's car gets repossessed and he has to find a job to pay off all their traveling debt, but General Beckman sabotages all his interviews and forces him to rejoin team Bartowski and work for the new Buy More that is solely under the guardianship of the CIA and NSA as the task center.

As Chuck and Morgan go off to try and find more information on Chuck's mom, Sarah and Casey head off to Venezuela to discontinue Volkoff Arms manufacturing and stop a EMP device that is very potent from falling into the wrong hands. But on route Sarah and Casey get kidnapped and it's up to Chuck and Morgan to rescue them.



One of the highlights of this episode is the Sex'ting premise that Morgan introduces - and the posing of Sarah on the plane is more than enough to get any red blooded males blood pumping!

It was not one of the strongest opening episodes of the shows entering the realm this week - but I give it a solid 7/10 for trying and the premise! Let's just hope they can build from here and grow from strength to strength.

NCIS - SEASON 8 EPISODE 1

What another brilliant start to what has the inkling of being another awesome season of NCIS! After what some might say the best season so far the premier of season eight certainly did not disappoint!

I must say I enjoyed the comic element of Mike in this episode, even though he did not shoot anyone. Did anyone else see the start of Gibbs's beer belly as he was running to his car after finding the doll on Abby's car?

Ziva is still looking hot - and her retort about her not having tan-lines really got the blood boiling in the right direction! Anyone who still believes Kate ousted Ziva in the hotness, coolness or any other factor, must really have their heads read!

Abby seemed to have lost her sparkle - she was always the life of the show, her energy made you jump up and down with her. I think she needs a few Caf-pows before the next episode! McGee is as always his normal self - but i do have to comment on his weightloss, I think he should just gain five pounds because he has really lost quite a lot - but speaking as a slightly overweight guy - Well done!!

But intriguingly enough they left us with just enough to shout out loud - WTF!!! Who did Eli David find and who was Leon Vance looking for? I have racked my brains and I cannot figure out who it might be - unless it has something to do with the document Vance shredded on his first day as Director or the document the Secretary of the Navy took out of the folder that Gibbs had on Vance.

Who knows - but I sure as hell cannot wait for the next gripping episode!!

INFLUENCE OF TELEVISION ON TODAYS YOUNG MINDS

We spend so many hours in front of the television set – we each have our favourites we enjoy to watch every day and most of us make a point of it not to miss that specific show. Every day we spend more and more time in front of the television whether it is to watch a show on a network, a DVD we have purchased or hired and now it has even moved on to the computer, with a lot of people who have the time and the access downloading their favourites on to the computer and the continually viewing the shows.

I don’t have a problem with a lot of the shows, as I don’t watch all of the shows, but I do try to watch a range and increase my knowledge base. There are some shows that not even I find inappropriate to show early in the evenings or late afternoon. Just as an example – here in South Africa we have the new versions of Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place showing on one of our pay channels at 19h30 Zulu time. These are the kind of shows I find demoralizing and definitely not good for the influential minds of our youths, as it is a constant barrage of sex, drugs, alcohol, cheating and other lude acts that our children view and then try to emulate because on the show it is considered cool if you do drugs of cheat on a test. And then we have the gall to say why are the youths of today so unruly and insufferable! Where are the parents?

I ask this question with my mind on these frivolous law suits being filed, one after the other where children hurt themselves or others after viewing a show, not understanding the content and then trying to emulate their on screen hero’s. One brilliant example of this is WWE – the wrestling shows that are on the air, their target viewers are teenagers and younger who don’t have the intellect to comprehend that what they are seeing on television is purely entertainment and not real. The children don’t understand that the wrestlers on screen, do get hurt but that it has all been choreographed before hand and that untrained persons should not emulate what they see. That is why I ask, where are the parents? Don’t the parents screen what their children watch anymore? Where is the mother or father, joining their child when their favourite show comes on and then explaining to the child, you cannot do that to your brother because you will get hurt – the guys on screen are entertainers and must not be copied as it is dangerous. No – it much easier and more convenient to let the child get hurt and try and sue the creator of wrestling for millions than what it is to sit down with them for five minutes and explain the concept to them.

Then on the other side the argument can be made that there are shows that help shape us in the good way, so what about them? I agree one hundred percent – but where are these shows now? What happened to Touched By an Angel – the weekly dose of religion wrapped in a beautiful message. Joan of Arcadia comes to mind as well – the problem with these shows the youth don’t like watching them because there is no action, intrigue or sex involved. But I believe this is a problem that stems from the shows the children watch from a young age. A wonderful show that I can remember from my youth was Digimon : Digital Monsters – and this show centres around young children being chosen to save the world along with their friends the Digimon from evil monsters. Now contrary to what the name might suggest the content of the show is extremely youth friendly. Each of the children represent a crest or beacon that the world needs and each of these are taught to the children who watch the show. Like courage, love, sincerity, reliability, friendship, knowledge, light and hope and each of these has become a virtue in my own life and hopefully in many others lives as well.

Television also plays a major role in the decisions that affect the course of our lives – with such a show as CSI, after the show debuted the number of applicants for crime scene investigators more than tripled and this is only by the visual effect this show had on its viewers. How many of us want to be cops because of the cop shows we see, the good guy putting the bad guy in jail is very appealing but never as it is on screen. We want our love lives to be as those we see in the movies and when they don’t turn out that way we go into a deep depression, go onto medication and ruin our lives. Anyone who says televisions influence on our lives is minimal is a moron!

Our lives are on the fast track – we live, eat and breathe in front of the television. Movie stars influence our daily lives more than politicians do. There is no more “family time” – it’s basically “my show is on so be quit!”! Parents are too busy or too tired to monitor their children anymore and it is a lot easier to leave them with the television as a babysitter than it is for themselves to spend time with their children.

We as a nation need to spend more time outdoors – walk your dog, jog around the block or for goodness sake visit your neighbour. We are so encompassed with the television our lives are passing us by. How many hours do we not spend in front of the television where we could be spending the time on our families and friends – reconnecting! I think it is time to abolish the television and bring back good old fashioned family quality time.