Wednesday, December 27, 2017

madtv reboot/ Kim's Convenience/ Deck the Halls TV movie

Nov. 5, 2017 MAD TV reboot: This is a flashback of Aug. 2016.  I see that MAD TV is now on the CW instead of Fox.  It was on Fox for years and got cancelled.  Years later in 2016 they created a 8 episode season in the summer.  I saw ep 5.  

There is a whole new cast.  The one I saw had Bobby Lee come on.  I wrote that I met him before at my restaurant.  On the original run, Lee played North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.  Now he's the son Kim Jong Un.  The sketch is In is hanging out with the cast of Rich Kids of Beverly Hills.

That was the best sketch.

The other sketchers were:

Trump Elementary- a school where there are no Muslims.

A bachelor party where 4 guys hire a stripper.  The stripper is Amish and churning butter.  Then she prays.  I thought it was funny, but I was kind of cringing too.

There was Dora the Explorer going to Vegas.  It was offensive and sexual.

The comedy was embarrassing and stupid.

It had two old sketches from the original like an Ambercrombie and Fitch one.

They did good impressions:

Carlie Craig of Ariana Grande.

Chelsea Davidson of Adele.

My opinion: I saw the new show once and never watched it again.  My tastes have changed.  The new show is the same with the comedy being offensive with some old characters coming on.  They make fun of public people like Trump.

You can watch it if you like the original or this kind of humor.


Dec. 12, 2017 Kim's Convenience: I saw the first 2 eps of this show when it came in out in fall 2016.

The misadventures of a Korean-Canadian family running a convenience store.

Pros:

1. The core cast stars Asians.  I don't really see that a lot on TV.

2. The characters are likeable.

3. The show is funny.  The pilot was called "Gay Discount" and the dad Appa lets gay people have a 10% off discount.  It was funny because here was a very flamboyant gay guy who thought he was going to get a discount and Appa said that he wasn't gay.

4. Mom Umma says: You don't mingle, you stay single.

5. Kim asks a black woman who is a drag queen.

Woman: It feels like me, it feels like home.

6. In the second episode "Janet's Photos."  There was a joke about death.

Jung and Kimchee are working at the car rental.  There is an interview for a assistant manager position.  A worker enters in a suit.

Kimchee (to worker): You're trying to get that position?
Jung: He was at a funeral.
Worker walks away.
Kimchee: Did you crash and burn in there?
Jung: His uncle died in a fire.
Kimchee: My condolences man!  Let's hug it out.

Cons: None.

My opinion: I never watched it again.  It was light, fun, funny in a non-offensive way.  I don't really like sitcoms.  If you like this kind of family sitcoms, then you should check it out.

At my restaurant a couple of my co-workers who are not Asian say they watch it.

Dec. 21, 2017 Second Jen: This is on CBC.

A series about two second-generation millennial women growing up with immigrant families.

Pros:

1. It stars 2 Asian women and was created by them, Amanda Joy and Samantha Wan.  The majority of the cast were Asian.

2. Munro Chambers (Eli from Degrassi) was in it.

3. It was kind of funny in a light, fun, and inoffensive way.

Cons: None.

The characters were scammed by movers: The pilot is that the women have been scammed by movers.  The police won't do anything.

Mo looks for things online to see if their stuff is being sold.

Jen tells her dad about it and he gives her cash.

Later the police find their stuff.

It reminded of the Canadian TV show The Smart Woman Survival Guide.  It was about people working for a TV show that gives women good tips like safety and how to find out if someone is cheating on you.  It was fun sitcom. 

On that show, a character was scammed by movers.

Tip: You should check the mover's references.

Also enlist your friends and family for help.  Say you'll buy them a pizza if they help you.  I helped my friend/ next door neighbor Jessie move back in 2005.

I also reconnected with her on Facebook this year.

My opinion: It was good and all, but I'm never watching it again. 

The Great Indoors: 

An adventure reporter must adapt to the times when he becomes the boss to a group of millennials in the digital department of the magazine.

Pros: 

1. It had good ethnic diversity.

2. The humor was light, fun, and inoffensive.  It was about the millennials dissing the older generation about how they're behind in technology:

"They didn't blow up your pager?"

The older generation dissing the millennials:

Jack: You always expect work to be fun, you can't just post animal videos and call it journalism, you can't just take words and remove some vowels and think it's a great app.

Jack: Clark, get a podcast when you have something to say.

Cons: None.  I'm a millennial and I may find this show offensive because they are making fun of us.  Don't take it personal.

My opinion: The show was alright and all, but I never watched it again.

Deck the Halls TV movie: This is a TV movie based on the books by Carol Higgens Clark and Mary Higgens Clark.  I had read one Christmas mystery book by them called Dashing Through the Snow.  This sweet old lady named Lucy with white hair was a regular customer at the Soup place.  She gave this book to me.  I liked it. 

Here's the book that was turned into a TV movie.  It's a good Christmas mystery.  I'm going to write about it to get into the holiday spirit.  I saw this in Dec. 2013:

"Detective Regan Reilly and cleaning-woman-turned-private-eye Alvirah Meehan, investigate the kidnapping of Regan's father and a young female driver just before the holidays. The race is on to rescue the pair and get them home in time for Christmas."

Pros:

1. It was a good start with Regan at a bar and she catches a killer.  

2. Eric Johnson has a supporting role in it as the cop Jack.

3. It's exciting with a kidnapping and a ransom: "I need $5 million.  If you tell the police, they're dead."  The cops get involved.

4. It is well-written.  It had good pacing and was entertaining.

5. Spoiler alert to who is the kidnapper and why: It was Cuthbert's nephew.  He worked for him all this time and the money was not given to him, but to charity.

6. Spoiler alert: There is even a bomb that they have to diffuse.  

Cons: None.

My opinion: I really liked it because it was a good mystery.  I would rather watch this than the other boring Hallmark Christmas TV movies that usually are romances.  I have seen these:

Fir Crazy:

Call Me Mrs. Miracle:

Why am I writing this?: When it gets to the time when I have finished watching my TV shows in the fall, and they are now on hiatus.  I then write about TV shows and movies I have seen.  It's like I'm reliving the show. 


My week:

Dec. 18, 2017 "Sweet charity": Today I found this article by Melissa Hank in the Edmonton Journal.  I can't copy and paste it.  However, it did say that you should donate cash to the Food Bank because it can stretch money further than canned foods.


Dec. 20, 2017 The Leftovers Foundation: I have written about this before.  Last month I saw this on Global news section "Everyday Heroes" about donating leftover food to people in need.



Job: I called my 2nd restaurant job and the Fast Food Place last week and this week to see if they need me to cover their shifts.  They didn't.

Dental office job interview: I did a phone interview.

Real estate assistant job interview: I got an email to do an interview.  I then remembered earlier this year, I applied for this kind of position and the realtor said he needed someone with a driver's license and a car.  I called the other realtor and he said the same thing.

Real estate: The Globe and Mail changed their newspaper on Dec. 1, 2017.  They now have a weekly section for real estate.  In the Metro (I don't read it), but I did see that they have a weekly section for it too.

Free TV previews: I see that I have a free channel preview of Slice.  There is mainly reality TV that I don't like.  Now I have a 90s movies channel.

Heather Burns: I was watching a Blindspot episode called "Upside Down Craft."  There is a character named Kathy.  I was watching her and then I realized her voice and mannerisms reminded me of my co-worker H.

I then told H about it and she said she saw the show and thought the same thing.


Dec. 21, 2017 Rustic night: I was looking for a job and I found this.  It's where you make your art. 


Alberta Paranormal: It investigates paranormal happenings:


Dec. 22, 2017 Spare Parts is closing down at West Ed mall:  I put this on my Facebook.

Founded in 1992, Spareparts is Canada's best-in-class sunglass, watch and accessories store. Renowned for industry-leading customer service, our Sunglass and Watch Stylists are on-duty to assist you in accessorizing your look.

Dec. 23, 2017 "A humble hero breaks through the compassion deficit": Today I found this article by Erin Anderssen in the Globe and Mail.

It talks about how Chris Sampson saved a stranger who got pushed in front of the Churchill LRT station in Edmonton.  I couldn't copy and paste the whole article.

This part stood out to me about talking to strangers at the grocery line:

"little shifts that take us away from our psychological comfort 'zones' and expose us to the perspective of a stranger."

Actually I found the full article later and I copy and pasted the whole thing into another email/ blogpost. 

Dec. 22, 2017: Busy at work.
Dec. 23, 2017: Busy.
Dec. 24, 2017: Busy and manageable because there are a lot of workers.
Dec. 25, 2017: Busy and manageable because there are a lot of workers.
Dec. 26, 2017: It was busy.