I do have great taste!

I am a little bit behind in assimilating information so it just occurred to me that I have fantastic taste in favorite celebrities!  I mean seriously, I posted who my three favorite celebrities are a couple of weeks ago and then to find out that Finding Nemo's Dory were voiced by Ellen and Teresa?   How cool is that?

Hehe.. and I think Ellen and Gillian are good friends or they were once good friends but Gillian hasn't been on the Ellen Show for over a decade.  It would be great if Gillian went on the Ellen Show and Ellen did the "in the ear" prank with her.  I would love to be in the audience for such a show.

My three favorite celebrities!

I was thinking today that I really really love to watch these three people on television,  The common denominator is they make me laugh!  I mean that they make me grin, giggle, and downright pee in the pants laughing.  Over the course of my life, which is decently long, I have admire a lot of people and some of them were adolescent crushes from waaaay back.  There were so many shows and stars that I have enjoyed watching but most recently these three ladies really stood out.


I fell "in love" with Teresa Mo a few years back because of her role in Off Pedder.  For a period of 300+ episodes, she made me laugh and cried for her portrayal of the lead character.  I have to be honest that I don't know much about her acting prior to that series but I did make up for it afterwards.  After watching her previous work and subsequent work, I still think OP was the show that had showcased her talents to the fullest.  Maybe because it was a long running show and she and the writers did so much to give depth to her character.  She was funny, poignant, and dramatic throughout the series.  Her acting range was evident but what I love the most were the subtle comedy with perfect timing.  She brought the best out of a cast of relatively "newbies" and I think that is what made her super special.  Granted she is the only one of the three that I have met in person and found that she is genuinely a very sweet person.  AND breathtakingly beautiful to boot!  Wishing her the best on the new series and will be awaiting for more laughter from the screen.

Gillian Anderson usually portrays characters that are serious and somewhat on the cold side.  Like in previous posts, I was not an X Files fan back in the day but had watched all 10 seasons recently because I was pleasantly surprise that I was enjoying the dynamics between Duchovney and Anderson and the stories were pretty good.  I liked the comedy ones where Gillian was extremely funny.  Her recent role as Stella Gibson was... ice queen as was her portrayal of Bedelia in Hannibal.  Both were fascinating characters.  In May, Gillian will be revisiting her award winning role as Blanche in The Streetcar Named Desire" at New York.  But when I caught some of her interviews, I was totally floored!  She is so adorable, open, quirky and hilarious!  Her recent activism on human trafficking with emphasis on little girls being sold to brothels to become sex slaves or prostitutes puts her right up there on my list as being one of the most gorgeous human beings.  She is using her fame to speak out for those millions who don't have a voice and is raising awareness to the general public.  To me, Gillian has grown so much as an actress and a humanitarian.

Ellen is so damn funny!  I can watch clips from her talk show all day long.  Her openness and her kindness, shines throughout her shows.  Her love of a good laugh or a good prank is awesome.  She really can make some of the more famous celebrities do crazy things.  Recently, she was in Adele's ear at Starbucks and it was epic.  The Meryl Streep segment had me laughing so hard I was crying.  Love Ellen and her love for kindness and laughter.  By the way, she was great as the host of the Oscars too!

好嘢! 毛姐再拍電視劇 - 八時入席!

 毛姐再拍電視劇!  Dinner at 8 starts today and I am quite anxious with some expectations and lots of trepidation.  It's been quite awhile since the end of Off Pedder and unfortunately, the level of frenzy never reach its peak for me in her second sitcom, Some Day during the airing but it was actually quite enjoyable when I watched it the second time around.  I remember telling Muse that and she had asked me, "Oh, liked it more than OP?".  My reply was "No... OP is still the best."  I mean, how could she even ask me that question?   I guess that is why I have trepidation about the new sitcom... anyways...

I just finished watching the first episode and for an opening episode it was surprising that most of the main characters were introduced very well and it was almost immediate that one has a sense of their personalities.  It was rather disconcerting to hear 亞細 and 拉叔because it just throws me back to Some Day just a bit.  


Muse, not surprising, was at her most charming in an understated and perfect comedic way and Mr. Lai was..., he seemed a bit... over the top.  Can't one show rage/anger without yelling at the top of their lungs?  Mr. Chan and Ms. Tong's characters were delightful in their own quirky and natural way.  They were within the storyline last night and had that hint of their comedic natures that teases what one can look forward to in future episodes.  I can't wait till Ms. Kwok's appearance.  I hope she has a fun character like she had in Love Come Home and doesn't go back to the bitchy roles like before.  Though she does do a wonderful bitch!  

I will watch episode 2 when I get home tonight and hopefully get a giggle or laugh out of this tiring Tuesday.

The X Files: Finding the reasons behind my sudden obsession (sort of...)

Finally, the reason why I even starting rambling on about TV shows is that I was trying to figure out why all of a sudden, I have this full blown obsession with The X Files. 

The X Files first premiered back in the early nineties.  I think I didn’t watch American television for almost 30 years.  Is that possible?  I don't remember any shows from that time, at least I don't even recall having a favorite.  Oh!  I didn't watch American shows because my parents had the monopoly of the television!  I remember now, the eighties was when the video tape rental for Hong Kong's TVB first came out and I had no say whatsoever in what was on TV or put into the VCR.  I got to see some of the longest running dramas and I believe that is how I learned to speak better Cantonese, more or less.

Growing up, I had always liked the paranormal, the mysteries of the universe, astronomy, feng shui, spiritual aspects of certain religions.  It probably had a lot to do with the company that I was keeping at that time too.  I learned a bit of Tibetan Buddhism, Feng Shui, and Polar Star Astrology along the way.  My Mom had some... interesting experiences... that I was privy to. 

Anyways, I do have some vague memories about The X Files and I don't know why but I know the theme song.  I did catch an episode or two when it was on reruns a few years back, probably Season 8 or 9, I found it confusing and a bit too out there with the Super Soldier thing. I remember thinking that it was dark, weird, creepy and eerie.  I am not into creepy and eerie shows.  Actually I hate horror shows and if I have to watch it, I would cover my eyes and would have jitters for days after.  So, I was never a fan or even remotely a diligent watcher of the show.

But then… I heard about this reboot or reunion or whatever they want to call it and I found myself intrigued.  I thought this show must be pretty special for them to be able to come back after 14 years since the series ended.  Then seeing an older David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson triggered a strong sense of... nostalgia.  Don’t ask me why, I can’t even figure it out yet.  So with my Hulu account, I was able to watched all 9 seasons, 202 episodes.  I even finished the 2 featured movies.  I found myself enchanted with Dana Scully, portrayed by Gillian Anderson.  The character, Scully became more and more interesting as the series continues.   Binge watching's advantage is that I could watch the character's development in a very short amount of time compared to the course of the entire series.  I watched Scully grow up, blossom and mature in 3 weeks time.  The creative team of writers did a beautiful job creating one of the most iconic female television character over the course of the series.  I watched Gillian changed from a young innocent to a beautiful strong woman very comfortable and confident in her own skin.

I enjoyed the funny episodes a bit more than the horror monster shows.  Bad Blood was really quirky and funny.  There were quite a bit of humor in many of the shows and I liked the episodes that tugged at the heart strings.

Watched the new season and to be honest, on one hand, I was disappointed with the stories but it did fill me with a sense of satisfaction that people can age with grace and beauty.

Not hip or with it at all!

I am feeling really old here.  My boss' daughter is in her early twenties and it is amazing to me that all these television shows that she watch, I have not seen one of them.    I just don't get what is so interesting about watching a guy dating a bunch of girls and proposing later.  I just don't get it.  Or shows about losing weight?!?  She tells me that it is inspiring.  Okay... I would click on a YouTube video once in a while if it pops up on my FB page about great talent on American Idol or the variety of The Voice.  The whole thing about the Kardashians and the Dugars?  WTF!  Those American viewers that are so into them... really scares me.

Do you see a recurring theme, Rhonda?!??!

You love shows that are character driven with strong leads, they have to have a touch of comedy, they are procedural crime fighting shows...

You know, I use to like watching Criminal Minds and it has a great cast but... it was just too dark for me.  I couldn't really watch these horrific killings week after week.  What drove me crazy was that the damn screen is so dark that I wasn't sure half the time what I was actually watching.  I gave up on this show after 3 seasons.  It is still going incredibly strong but I haven't been able to get my mind wrapped around it again.

NCIS. One lead or is it?   What can I say?  Definitely in the top 5 go to shows for me.  Mark Harmon’s character Agent Gibbs is my dream guy.  I am in love with Gibbs!  Love his dry humor, his code of honor, his soft spots and is a man of few words.  

Great acting, great writing and storytelling from the entire cast.  Out of all the guys in these shows I listed, Gibbs is really special.  Too bad he doesn't really have a life outside of work... except for carpentry but I think that is his therapy.  I so enjoy the rest of the cast but I adore Abs.

I have to confess to watching... Green Arrow and The Flash!  Okay, my comic nerd coming out in full swing.  Oliver is very good looking in the brooding menacing kind a way.  Barry?  Nice boy next door.  I enjoy these two shows for purely entertainment purposes.  Not much emotional impact, not even with our super hero back stories.  I do like Cisco, though.  He’s nerdy funny. 


 

Elementary.... Forever.... Rizzoli & Isles... Do you see a recurring theme here?

Rizzoli & Isles...

I enjoy their friendship and I think this is great to have a show with 2 smart female leads.  I liked the first couple of season when the show focused more on Jane and Moura but when Jane’s family had a tad more air time, it got a bit boring and I thought it took away some of the shows charm.  

Is it possible to have such a close same sex relationship without crossing the "Oh so gay" line?   

"The show was created and is executive-produced by a woman, and it’s starring these two women who are very different people. They’re very different characters, and so we have a lot more estrogen on our show than most shows ... And I think that it’s a great thing because we have a woman spearheading it and she is writing these characters in a way that is just much deeper.  They are, they’re deeper. Their relationship; it could be sexual one day ... Who knows?"  - Sasha Alexander (Moura)

Interesting, no?  

Sad that TNT is ending this show after Season 7.