DVD series & date nights

Since I had kids, I can’t stay awake for a entire movie. Also, I’m not that into going out. I’ve tried to force ‘date night’ but the cost is insane– with the sitter, parking, and a movie or dinner. I’m also exhausted by the time we go out and starving, I’m used to eating at 5pm.

So here’s the solution: watching series. I love it! It’s perfect for our attention span, My kids go to bed at 7pm so Dan and I light a fire and watch. Its relaxing, cheap, and fun.

We started out with “The Wire” which, like many people, I think is the best thing on TV ever. Though it took me a long time to ‘get it.’ I saw the first episode in the hospital, after I had Rose, and had to watch it, literally, over 10 times before I could follow the plot.

Now we’re watching “24.” We started watching this on vacation, when the house we were renting had it in their DVD library. Its entertaining but total propaganda. Everyone in the show is always watching FOX News. The hero in the episodes we just watched is the Secretary of Defense. His daughter spotted the villain at a Heritage Foundation dinner. And the idiot of the show is a lawyer for Amnesty International. The series is basically a dramatized justification for torture. That said, it’s well acted and keeps your attention.

Any suggestions for us when we’re done? I tried “Mad Men” which I understand is about sexism, not sexist. I liked it very much. But it depressed me. I can’t watch it when I have three little kids.

10 thoughts on “DVD series & date nights

  1. Hey Margot,

    I don’t really like to watch a lot of crime or violence or dark emotional drama. I’ve found of lot of great series that satisfyingly take me away from my life but also connect me a bit deeper to life. I really enjoy watching BBC shows. Michael Palin, of Monty Python fame, has a great travel series that he’s been doing for years. “Himalaya,” “Sahara,” “New Europe” and others are all fascinating and entertaining. Great to fall asleep to as well! I also love to watch nature and science shows – “Planet Earth” is stellar! It’s a Discovery Channel series. “The Universe” is great too and provides very carefully gender-balanced scientist-presenters. My childhood friend Holly Gilbert is a NASA astrophysicist who is often on the show. This series not only educates about astronomy, it encourages girls and boys to discover science. You learn a lot of neat stuff too.

    All these shows can all be watched with young children hanging about too.

    An hysterical BBC series is “Manchild” – a hilariously unabashed portrayal of 50something men thrashing about with their sexist-egos. Dating 20 year old models and all. But it lovingly criticizes and wryly pokes fun at their foolish. They also examine painful issues in marriage, divorce and relationships with grown-up children that feel quite real. It’s helped me laugh at my own unpleasant experiences. It’s one of my all-time favorite shows – they only made 2 seasons – the first is the best. There was an American pilot made of the same name but it never took off. Find the BBC ones. So charming. Definitely for when the kids are in bed – those baudy Brits!

    Enjoy!

  2. We loved the first season of Arrested Development…a Ron Howard Production. Quite funny and good story…but haven’t started season 2 yet.
    Grey’s is always good if you like that sort of show.
    I have heard Weeds is good as well, Flight of the Concords….
    I loved “True Blood” season one but it is violent and kind of strange but interesting story if you like that sort of thing.
    Cheers.

  3. I LOVE TV and am actually smarter than those faux intellectuals all around me who proclaim, “…I don’t even own a TV.” So then what’s your excuse? – hee.

    I had a FABULOUS relationship with my mother and said as a teenager (!), “If I could only be half the woman she is, I’ll be all right.” In that spirit, the series ‘Gilmore Girls’ makes me happy. It’s well-plotted, -written and acted, the characters’ dynamics are believable, and the whole thing makes this city girl pine for a kinder, sweeter small town she never knew. The lead characters have it going on individually and together as mother and daughter who are open and *communicate,* not just talk. You’ll laugh!, You’ll cry!

    The other fun and smart girl series I lamented when it went off-air is ‘Veronica Mars’. This detective series is an allegory for our society’s socio-economic chasm as much as it is about a lovely father-daughter duo who rule their own world.

    Both these series have a lot to offer for modern parenting as well as AMAZING writing. Happy viewing (and let me know!). – Simone

    • Hi Simone,

      I love “Gilmore Girls” and “Veronica Mars” and I’m also happy to hear about a teenage girl who had a great relationship with her mom.

      Here’s the problem: the TV watching is my time with my husband, and he will not go for “Gimore Girls.” I need stuff he’ll be into.

      Margot

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