Too many things to watch ... not enough time to watch them ... it's time to choose!

[PokerFace]

65) Hollywood Game Night (NBC, CTV 2): I also have a lot of older episodes to choose from, so I should be able to watch at least one episode each month, with some FF-skipping of course. (current-->S04E10 - watched Mar 20)

More of a background show (mostly light fluff), I had this on while I was also watching the end of a few NCAA Basketball games.

[PokerFace]

66) Superstore (NBC, Global): I saw the first 5 episodes already, and now S01E06 --> watched Mar 21)

[PokerFace]

67) Best Thing I Herd With Kristine Leahy (Fox Sports 1)(Tues-Sat morning 12:30am): Instead of watching (or listening to, via the podcast) the full 3 hour FS1/FS2 broadcasts on M-Fri of The Herd (with Colin Cowherd), or watching clips from YouTube or Twitter, I'll occasionally flip to this show, which is basically a brief, 30-minute-best-of version of The Herd ... with Colin's co-host Kristine Leahy adding a few extra setups before the clips from the recent day's broadcast.
[watched the Mon-Tues morning episode, May 17]

I'll usually only watch this once or twice a week, or once a month, but like Jay and Dan's Fox Sports Live show, if a free stream is looking good, I'll stick with it.

[PokerFace]

NOTE: Virtually Famous finished its season, so it now becomes INACTIVE and thus my Active Watch List must be reduced by 1, so it now stands at 66 shows ...

67) Earth's Greatest Spectacles (BBC Two)(From Feb 2016): This 3-episode series features amazing footage of the wildlife from the various locations of New England, Okavango and Svalbard. As good as Davina McCall's: Life at the Extreme was, it was mostly a first-person account of her reactions to all the wildlife she witnessed, whereas Earth's Greatest Spectacles has much more footage and in-depth coverage of it all, with only the narrator (Domhnall Gleeson) as our guide to the wonderful scenery and wildlife. Series GRADE: A+ (9.3/10) [watched episode 2 on Mar 22]

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-ra...-and-ant-stats
[Brief review of New England episode]

I just finished the 2nd episode featuring Svalbard (I still need to watch episode 1 featuring New England, and episode 3 featuring Okavango, although I've seen excellent portions from each of those two episodes already), which was also covered by Davina McCall in her series. After watching Davina in Svalbard, it allowed me to more thoroughly enjoy this Earth's Greatest Spectacles Svalbard episode:

Earth's Greatest Spectacles (Episode 2) --> Svalbard (had to replace previous version that was deleted by user)



Note: The other two episodes from the series are also on YouTube, but the quality isn't as good (bit blurry, etc.) as the versions on the pirate sites.

[PokerFace]

68) The Internet Ruined My Life (SyFy) (Six-Episode series): Most people don't seem to like this, but I found the first three episodes easy to swallow. Nothing great or out of the ordinary, but since I spend a lot of time posting here, I figure I should get a few pointers as to what not to do. I learned that it's not a good idea to pretend to urinate in food and then post the pic online. Oh well, so much for my April Fools' Day plans.

[Saw epis 4, and now episode 5 - watched Apr 7]

http://www.geekwire.com/2016/the-int...ts-as-victims/
[Review of three episodes]

The Internet Ruined My Life - Clip from Episode 3:
[ ]

[PokerFace]

Davina McCall: Life at the Extreme (previously #55 on the list) became INACTIVE as I just finished the last of the 4 episodes.

Thus, my Active Watch List now drops by 1 and now stands at 67 shows ...

68) The Catch (ABC, CTV): Solid start for the most part, so I'll be back for more. GRADE (for the First episode): C+ (6.8/10)
[watched Mar 25]

[PokerFace]

69) The Detour (TBS)(The Comedy Network - begins April 21)(10 episodes): Samantha Bee and her real-life husband co-created the series and penned several of the episodes. Bee wrote the pilot episode and one other episode, while her real-life husband apparently wrote 5 episodes and plays the lead husband in the series -- all inspired by their real-life vacations and life experiences. The lovely and talented, Natalie Zea, plays the wife (not Samantha Bee).

I just watched the pilot episode and really enjoyed it! It moves quickly (half-hour with commercials), has clever dialogue, and all the actors are perfect for their roles. I wish it was an hour, so there was even more goodness to savour. [watched Mar 28]

Since there are some bleeps for language and a digitized crotch shot (used for humour), it has an edge to it that TBS is hoping will translate into more eyeballs, although I think it would be better suited for Showtime or HBO.

My only complaints are that I wish it had fewer flashbacks and fewer flash-forwards -- the frantic and brief flashbacks tend to interrupt the flow and are quite jarring when they occur, and the flash-forwards often act as spoilers for the upcoming scenes, which in turn weakens the impact of those events. In fact, not only do they sometimes spoil things with the flash-forwards, but they then don't show those payoff, flash-forward scenes at all later on, even from a different angle, so those earlier scenes are much like getting the punchline of a joke, before you hear or see the actual joke being set up. It still works, and it's cleverly put together, but I felt cheated by the way the first gag was delivered to me. More like a slap in the face, rather than a slow, wet kiss that left a good taste in my mouth.

The good news is that even with the herky-jerky moments of storytelling and the unsettling and unsatisfying way they chose to piece together the opening scene of the pilot episode, it's still a great episode and hopefully a series that will continue to thrill and entertain my soul.

TBS and sister station TNT are airing the pilot episode several times in advance of its April 11th premiere (which will then immediately be followed by the first airing of the second episode).

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/liv...-detour-852971
(Some SPOILERS within the article -- The Detour comes to TBS)

GRADE: A+ (9.9/10) (Even with my complaints, there's so much goodness packed into this, that it's still close enough to perfect.)

[PokerFace]

70) Cuckoo (Season 3 - BBC3/BBC) (and on Netflix Canada beginning April 11, 2016) (7 episodes): I've seen the first two episodes and although I needed to skip-jump through brief sections, it had enough lighthearted and silly moments to keep me entertained. [watched Mar 29]

Note: It wasn't easy, but as of right now (Mar 30), I've watched at least one episode of all 70 shows within about a month's time (some went over by 10 days or so, but hopefully this next month I'll be able to stick closer to the month-viewing deadline for this Active Watch List).

[PokerFace]

--INACTIVE-- Marcella (ITV UK)(8 episodes)(official TV debut is April 4th, but ITV has an early-bird, online viewing till April 3)(Netflix -Worldwide, other than UK, Ireland- July 1): Anna Friel is the lead character and we're not given enough information (within the first episode) about her character to truly know what has happened, or what is going on in her life. This is one of those slow burn crime-noir detective shows that seems to be slick enough to hold my interest (right down to the tension-filled music).

It's written by the creator of one of my favourite shows, Bron/Broen (Swedish/Danish - aka: The Bridge -- and yet I despised the American version), so I'm not surprised that I'm eager to find out what is actually going on.

GRADE: B (7/10 ) Not much here at the moment, but it's a good start to the series.
[last watched April 2]

Ran out of time, so became INACTIVE ... thus my Active Watch List will be reduced by 1 in a more current post.

Note: Editing isn't working properly, so it says my post is too short and need to add ten characters each time, so I added this note.

[PokerFace]

72) Wynonna Earp (SyFy, CHCH): I compared both the live streams via the CHCH website (only active till 10:10pm to start the stream and view) and the pirate sites and found them to be very similar semi-HD and clear. However, the audio via the pirate site was a bit louder than the CHCH stream, but both were not good enough for me to easily decipher some of the soft dialogue (for two scenes). I had to watch the 11pm uploaded pirate stream which was the same video quality, but it was louder and thus I was easily able to hear the 3 words I needed to hear from two different scenes.

Once the CHCH stream ended (the timer showed the running time and the full running time including commercials -- 55:39), I was still allowed to start the stream again, but once again, I was still not able to FF or RW the stream, and thus would also be forced to watch the commercials. No thanks, I just rewatched the pirate stream with full FF and RW functionality (so I could quickly jump to the two scenes I needed the audio for).

So, I'd call that CHCH streaming experience a bold step, but also a failure, in the sense that I prefer the full VOD functionality of the pirate sites. Waiting an extra hour to have full control of the video is what I prefer, and I might even look for an even higher resolution version for my viewing pleasure.

As for the episode itself, it was much better than I thought it was going to be. Certainly much better than Bitten, and thankfully not as annoying as Buffy or Charmed often were (although some of the supernatural aspects are still the weak point in this otherwise thoughtful romp). In one jumping scene, it was easy to tell that Wynonna was launched in the air with a wire attached to her body, simply based on the unnatural movement through the air (although even the Supergirl pilot, with a much bigger budget, had similar flaws in its pilot episode).
[watched Apr 1]

GRADE: B+ (7.5/10)

[PokerFace]

73) Food Unwrapped (Channel Four UK): A series dedicated to what's in our food, how it's made, and other tidbits of trivia about the food we eat.
[S08E02 - Tofu, etc., and now older one: S06E08 - power of prunes, and sugar in Tomatoes - watched Apr 5]

[PokerFace]

74) 12 Monkeys (SyFy, Showcase) (S02E01 now streaming on SyFy or Hulu -- VPN/DNS trickery required)(regular US and Canada TV broadcasts on April 18): Nothing special; I could take it or leave it, but now that it's on my list, I guess I'll take it. Slick special effects, likable actors, check my brain at the door, and I'm going for a ride. Pass the bananas. [watched Apr 4]

GRADE: B (7/10)

[PokerFace]

75) Fashion Police (E!): It was uploaded fairly quickly after broadcast, so I watched it, and now it's on my list. Fewer shows each month (next episode is in May, but I can always try some older Joan Rivers episodes), and I was surprised that Margaret Cho seemed to be channeling Joan Rivers for this particular episode (featuring iHeartRadio Music Awards and Academy of Country Music Awards).

I'm not into fashion, but trainwrecks seem to catch my eye. Throw in some jokes and celebrity guests and I should be curious enough to tune in ... even without Joan Rivers (may she rest in peace). Certainly not one of my stellar choices (cringeworthy at times), and calling this a guilty pleasure is perhaps a bit too flattering, now that Joan is gone, but I guess this is how I can still keep up with the Joanses, without actually being dead (perhaps temporarily brain dead, but still breathing).
[watched Apr 5]

------

76) Duck Quacks Don't Echo (UK version)(Season 4 and older seasons): Been there, done that, but I'm once again nibbling on things that I probably shouldn't be nibbling on ... except I wanted to see Davina McCall. Most of the stuff covered in the season 4 opener has been covered before, either on the US version, or elsewhere. Deja Vu, here I come. [epis 2 was better - watched Apr 11]

--------------

The Internet ... Open 24 hours ... All you can eat ... Really? How is this even possible?

Wow. 76 shows on my monthly, Active Watch List. I think I'm getting close to my breaking point. I'm beginning to crave a return to video games.

All of this stuff is free. It never stops coming.

Next, I might try to grow the monthly list even more, but this time, I'm not necessarily going to try to keep things on the list, but rather push them off. Whatever stays on the list each month, will hopefully belong there. The list might eventually fall to only 25 shows or less, simply because I've chosen to play more video games, or whatever else I have decided to do instead. Or perhaps the list will grow to 200 shows for a few weeks, and then start falling.

As I've mentioned countless times before, I assume that there are probably hundreds, if not thousands of shows that I could choose from, but if they all cost the same price (free), narrowing things down becomes tougher with each passing day.

This list has allowed me to see the clutter that I willingly allow into my life. If the content wasn't free, I'd probably still be craving it.

It's all free. Almost all of it, anyway. The best way to limit what I watch is for the powers that be to simply raise the price of unlimited Internet access, beyond what I think is reasonable. If it goes from $40/month to $80/month and then $120 or even $160/month, then what? Can I cut the Internet cord if unlimited goes to $160/month? Do I now need > 400GB/month due to frequent HD streaming, or is 400GB still enough to satisfy my Internet curiosity?

Bring it on! Let's get ready to rumble!

[PokerFace]

77) PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Season 11 - Monte Carlo (Channel Four UK and then YouTube a day or two later): I watched episode 6 and 7 (last one for Monaco), Malta Final Table, but I still need to watch the first 5 episodes, and now I watched Bahamas final table . [watched Wed May 11]

--INACTIVE-- Beyond the Tank (ABC)[S02E08 - last watched Apr 6]: Shark Tank's companion show.

Ran out of time to watch, so becomes INACTIVE.

[PokerFace]

Marketplace has ended its current season, and since I am up-to-date with watching the episodes, it now becomes INACTIVE, which reduces my Active Watch List by 1 ... so it now stands at 77.

78) Life in the Air (BBC UK - Began April 2016)(3 episodes): Another nature-based series with wonderful camera work and beautiful scenery. The first episode featured flying squirrels, fish, tree snakes, vultures, kangaroos and other beasts that can either fly, glide, or at least propel themselves high into the air.
[watched Apr 11]

Clip from the first episode:

[PokerFace]

--INACTIVE-- Angel From Hell (CBS, Global, Network Ten Australia): I'm starting to stream the unaired episodes (6 through 13) from Australia's Network 10 website (tenplay.com.au). I watched episodes 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,13 and I've also already seen the first two episodes that also aired on CBS. Australia releases each new episode on Saturday our time.
[last watched May 15]

Well, I just watched the finale and episodes 3, 4 and 5, which means that I've finished the series and it now becomes INACTIVE.

The finale didn't do much to clear up whether or not Jane Lynch is an Angel, or just a crazy person, even with all the inside info she seems to have about all sorts of things. That's because the supposed bus hitting her without leaving a scratch scene was so poorly done, that it was easy to see that the bus never hit her, as it was all just a poor job of forced perspective, making it so obvious that the bus missed her, and yet Maggie Lawson's character somehow believed that the "angel" saved her, while also avoided getting injured herself. So lame that perhaps if the series had continued with a second season, it might have been revealed later that the bus never hit Jane's "angel" character, and thus there was no miracle after all. Whether Jane Lynch was really an angel in this series, or a nutjob, doesn't really matter, as the series was beginning to get old, rehashing the same shtick over and over again, with some funny banter in between.

I find it strange that the pirates stopped uploading the episodes from the Australian website (Network 10), but at least I got to watch them all online and see it all unfold. The final scene has Gary Cole popping up at the door as Jane Lynch's husband. That was enough for me to be glad that the series was cancelled.

Average GRADE for the series: B (7/10), but the final two episodes started to go off the rails and perhaps even jumped the shark as it tried to resolve the "angel" idea, while still making it unclear enough to perhaps keep viewers hooked for a second season that will now never arrive due to an early cancellation.

[Mayhem]

68) The Internet Ruined My Life (SyFy) (Six-Episode series): Most people don't seem to like this, but I found the first three episodes easy to swallow. Nothing great or out of the ordinary, but since I spend a lot of time posting here, I figure I should get a few pointers as to what not to do. I learned that it's not a good idea to pretend to urinate in food and then post the pic online. Oh well, so much for my April Fools' Day plans.

[Saw epis 4, and now episode 5 - watched Apr 7]

Nothing says dealing with the evils of the Internet than watching it on a linear medium already threaten by the Internet.

69) The Detour (TBS)(The Comedy Network - Spring 2016)(10 episodes): Samantha Bee and her real-life husband co-created the series and penned several of the episodes. Bee wrote the pilot episode and one other episode, while her real-life husband apparently wrote 5 episodes and plays the lead husband in the series -- all inspired by their real-life vacations and life experiences. The lovely and talented, Natalie Zea, plays the wife (not Samantha Bee).

[...]

GRADE: A+ (9.9/10) (Even with my complaints, there's so much goodness packed into this, that it's still close enough to perfect.)

Thanks for the heads up, its on my watch list.

74) 12 Monkeys (SyFy, Showcase) (S02E01 now streaming on SyFy or Hulu -- VPN/DNS trickery required)(regular US and Canada TV broadcasts on April 18): Nothing special; I could take it or leave it, but now that it's on my list, I guess I'll take it. Slick special effects, likable actors, check my brain at the door, and I'm going for a ride. Pass the bananas. [watched Apr 4]

GRADE: B (7/10)

I dunno, its a Syfy and NBC produced show based off a 21 year old movie....I think I'll wait until it comes to Netflix/Crave TV.

78) Life in the Air (BBC UK - Began April 2016)(3 episodes): Another nature-based series with wonderful camera work and beautiful scenery. The first episode featured flying squirrels, fish, tree snakes, vultures, kangaroos and other beasts that can either fly, glide, or at least propel themselves high into the air.
[watched Apr 11]

BBC what CBC wishes it was.

Their nature programs are always the best, but I think I'll need a newer TV (with 8k UHD) before I'll watch it.

[PokerFace]

NOTE: Intelligence for Your Life, Caught on Camera with Nick Cannon and Made In Hollywood Now all became INACTIVE last week (even though a month hadn't passed) because I got tired of the repetitive nature of the shows and needed a break from watching them.

Celebrity Name Game became ACTIVE, since it returned for its third season (today - Apr 18), but even though it's extremely repetitive (even most of the celebs are recycled), I assume I will continue to watch multiple episodes each week (I still chuckle at a few of the jokes and I'm waiting to see if anybody can get all 10 clues at the end of the show with just one round needed).

So, with 3 shows becoming INACTIVE, and one show added back to the ACTIVE list, that means a net loss of 2, leaving my ACTIVE Watch List at 78 ... which includes Machines: How They Work that's listed below ...

UPDATE: but now with 6 more shows becoming INACTIVE, due to the 1-month time limit of inactivity (although some shows I let expire for a few days beyond the limit, but only if I think I will make the time to watch them), my Active Watch List will obviously drop even lower.

So, the additional 6 shows now becoming INACTIVE are as follows: Dragons' Den, First Dates UK, Hit the Floor, The Weekly with Charlie Pickering, Broke-A$$ Game Show and Not Safe with Nikki Glaser. These are all shows I would most likely still be watching if there weren't as many new shows constantly popping up.

That means that there are now only 72 shows on my Active Watch List, including Machines: How They Work.

72) Machines: How They Work (Discovery Science)(Season 1): Each episode (21.5 minutes without commercials) usually has at least one or two (of the three) machines that I find interesting enough to watch the whole way through. I often jump when the machines suddenly spread apart without warning, displaying cool visuals and sound effects. It's a nice touch. [watched April 15]

http://www.sciencechannel.com/tv-sho...e-a-treadmill/
[Discovery Science website - partial video clips of various machines]

Partial clip of: How Do Vending Machines Detect Fake Coins? :

[PokerFace]

Now the number of new shows is growing at such an exponential rate, that after I mix in some sports, movies, podcasts, general Internet surfing, and movement, the day is over. Barely a moment to post here. I still have to move so many of these shows to the INACTIVE list, but for now I'm just going to add a few and then update my Active Watch List later.

Little Big Shots finished its season, so since I've seen all 9 episodes, it now becomes INACTIVE. Thus, my Active Watch List drops by 1.

Ran out of time, so 10 Things became INACTIVE ... so my Active Watch List drops by 1.

Ran out of time, so Beyond the Tank became INACTIVE ... so my Active Watch List, drops by 1.

Ran out of Time, so The Carbonaro Effect became INACTIVE ... so my Active Watch List, drops by 1.

Ran out of time, so American Pickers became INACTIVE ... so my Active Watch List drops by 1.

Ran out of time, so Mr. Selfridge became INACTIVE ... so my Active Watch List drops by 1.

Ran out of time, so Film 2016 became INACTIVE ... so my Active Watch List drops by 1.

Ran out of Time, so Marcella became INACTIVE ... so my Active Watch List drops by 1.

I finished Angel From Hell (all 13 episodes, thanks to the Australian online website that showed the unaired episodes), so it now becomes INACTIVE and my list drops by 1.

64) Top Gear (US version): New S6 episodes 1 and 2 [watched April 30th]

65) Rip Off Britain: Food (BBC) - episodes 1-3 of 10 [watched April 29th]

66) The Secret (mini-series) (episode 1 of 4) [ITV UK][watched April 28th]

67) The Voice Australia S05E01 (watched May 2)

68) Game of Thrones - Episode 1, and now 2 and 3 of the new season [watched May 10]

69) Celebrity Juice (ITV UK)(Hosted by character, Keith Lemon): Fun and games and overall zaniness. (S15E07,08 and current one=09 [watched May 13]

70) The Graham Norton Show (BBC, BBC America, BBC Canada - severely delayed): Talk/Chat show with the guests all on a couch with each other (no touching please), as is the norm for the UK chat chows. [watched latest episode with Jen. Lawrence on May 14]

71) Car Hunters (History US): History channel's answer to Esquire's Car Matchmaker series. I watched the first two episodes so far. [watched May 13]

72) The Odd Couple (CBS, CTV)(Season 2: Teri Hatcher episodes): I didn't care for the first season, but I skimmed through a few season 2 episodes now that Teri Hatcher has joined the cast ... and now left after her story arc finished.
[watched May 17]

Holy macaroni and cheese, Batman! A never-ending buffet of content. Forums won't be able to survive much longer if we're all too busy gorging and living life. Remember long ago when nothing in life was free, except for OTA television?

[PokerFace]

As I slowly update my Active Watch List, it will give me more time to catch up with some shows that have slipped beyond the monthly viewing time limit.

Ran out of time for Billy on the Street so it becomes INACTIVE and my Active list is thus reduced by 1.

No new episodes of ES.TV held my interest, so it became INACTIVE and thus my Active list will be reduced by 1.

Ran out of time for both The Voice of Ireland and Trust Me, I'm a Doctor, so they both became INACTIVE and thus my Active list will be reduced by 2 more.

Celebrity Name Game became INACTIVE once again due to reruns (so my Active Watch List is reduced by 1) ... not sure when or if any new episodes will be filmed.

67) Shark Tank Australia (Season 2)(Network Ten - Australia): Not really a fan of the first season, but I'm going to give season 2 a chance to hook me. I've watched the first two episodes so far, and I won't know until a few more episodes if I will have the desire to stick with it each week (or at least within the monthly time limit to keep it on my Active Watch List). [watched May 15]