Will and I watch TV together during that time between about 6 when he gets home from work and 7 or 8 when we revert to individual hobbies (reading for me, video games for him). Yes, we eat in front of the TV most nights. I know we are supposed to feel all guilty and bad about that, but oh well.
There are certain programs we watch together throughout the year: The Office, Parks and Recreation, Modern Family. But what about summers when TV is in hiatus? What do we do when we miss Leslie Knope so much it hurts?
We’ve had good luck with the Brits. They can make some quality programming (hello, they thought of The Office first). Here are two other gems we’ve found and liked:
Little Paris Kitchen – So yes, the idea that I like a show set in France is not surprising. British-born Rachel Khoo (who is adorable) lives and cooks in her wee Parisian apartment. She takes traditional French dishes and breaks them down to make them less intimidating. Along the way, we meet the artisans who make the fresh cheese, local honey, and fancy chocolate she uses. Her recipes are all online so you can try at home. I haven’t made any of them yet, but I fully intend to.
School of Hard Sums – Yup, it’s about math. You know what, though? Math is fantastic. Math is EVERYWHERE! This show is set up as a “brains versus brawn” competition to solve common problems – one episode featured the math involved in being a lifeguard, for instance. The host tries to solve the set of problems mathematically while the guests do real-world computation (like swimming around in a pool in the lifeguard episode). Oy, it’s so much cooler than I’m making it sound so just pretend I never said the M word and go watch.
The problem with the Brits, though? They kill shows off super-early. School of Hard Sums only has eight episodes. Little Paris Kitchen only had six!
Earlier this year, I soaked up all the Law & Order SVU I could get my hands on. Now, I’m caught up to “real time” and have to wait for the new season to start. Jerks.
Will and I devoured Better Off Ted – a hilarious show that only lasted three seasons. We knew we only had three seasons when we started, but it was hard to ration the episodes out to make it last as long as possible.
Now, Will and I are watching Psych. It fits our general requirements in that it’s entertaining but doesn’t require our complete attention so we can wander around cooking dinner and talking about the workday while we watch. Plus, we are only on Season 1 and the show is still going strong, so there’s no need to ration episodes.
What are your favorite shows? Any recommendations for Will and I?