I No Longer Have Cable...But There are Still Options Out There for Us!

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted! Damn! It's not that I haven't wanted to, it's just that life got in the way. Anyway, lots of changes that may affect this blog but I will do my best to keep on keeping on. The biggest change and the only one that you really need to know about is that I no longer have cable. It makes it hard to write this type of blog but no longer impossible thanks to Hulu Plus, Netflix, and thanks to a family member, U-Verse online. Me without TV is like life without bacon, I know I will survive but it won't be near as much fun. So I've made adjustments because I CAN'T live without TV again in some form or another. I've lived without TV before and I DID NOT LIKE IT! Thanks to the internet and such, there is no longer a need to be completely without it. Adjustments just have to be made and sometimes these adjustments require more adjustments. 

Let's see with what is available to start with...

These are the usual suspects, of course. A great place to start. Hulu Plus and Netflix are the least expensive at $7.99 per month. I have both, definitely cheaper than the almost $200 a month I was spending for internet AND "almost every channel" cable. Back when I had cable I was dividing among 4 people, so the cost wasn't that bad until things went South with a couple of my roommates...that's a whole other story! Anyway, those are your cheapest options. Unless you want to count YouTube which is, of course, free. It is a good option BUT it is hard to find full episodes of shows and if you do it is usually parsed out as Part 1, Part 2, Part 3....well you can see where I am going with this. The other issues is that unless it is put out by a network there is a chance that you may click on it and find that it has been removed. The other issue, one that isn't all that bad sometimes, is that you may get clips only. The only time I see an advantage to that, and I do, is when you prefer only to see a certain part of a show. For instance, I like the Wendy Williams Show. The best part of her show for me is the "Hot Topics" segment and the beginning of the show. Wendy has her own channel on YouTube and she uploads these segments and others within 24 hours of the show airing, usually less. So I just use my Blu-Ray Player and go on YouTube and voila, it's like I'm watching TV as usual! You can also watch monologues and special bits of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon as well off of his YouTube channel.

Back to Netflix and Hulu Plus. Netflix? Well unless you follow their Original Series' like "Orange is the New Black" (coming back this week!), which I do, then this may, or may not, be the best option for you if you like your TV viewing to be fresh. They have older seasons of a lot of shows that you may watch, some are even last season. If you are the type, say to have just discovered a show that has been on for a few years, and want to see it from the beginning this is a great option. Plus they still have movies. Hulu Plus? Well they are my favorite. Most shows turn up on Hulu Plus the day after they air, like all of the shows on The CW, shows on ABC, NBC, and a few on CBS. The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon is always on the next day, same with The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. So to me this is a GREAT option. They also have tons of old shows, including "The Archie's" of all things! So if you like a healthy mix I can highly recommend Hulu Plus.

Now neither Hulu Plus, nor Netflix, nor YouTube, is going to give you everything you want to watch. There are legal wranglings and such that keep that from happening. One thing that I have to say SHOCKED me while looking for ways to watch TV online...some networks online REQUIRE you to have cable or satellite in order to view content. Now "Cable" networks like Lifetime and HBO, etc, I understand as they are pay services. But ABC?!!!!! Now THAT was a shocker to me as you can watch it free over the airwaves if you have a good antenna (mine is spotty at best). HOW they can justify this I don't know. It is something that truthfully pissed me off when I realized it. And the aforementioned Lifetime? Well if you DO have a cable service like U-Verse, well you STILL can't watch it because they don't have an agreement with them yet apparently, although if you have U-Verse you can watch Lifetime at home, just not online. There are other networks as well that have the same issue. *sigh* Another "pay" option out there is Amazon Prime, from Amazon of course. It costs $99 a year and lets you stream more than 40,000 movies and TV episodes. What that breaks down to as far as current TV episodes I don't know. I don't have $99 at the moment to plunk down to see how that works, if you are reading this and have it, please comment and let me and your fellow readers know. I do know that in desperation I PAID for current episodes of "Drop Dead Diva" because it is the last season and there was no other way for me to watch it. I opted for the SD $1.99 per episode vs. the $2.99 for HD episodes. Sad that it was the only way to watch the show, but I just had to do it! If you can get someone to give you their info, which is VERY sensitive info to have so I'd say family is your best bet and you MUST be trustworthy, then you can watch a good portion of TV via their cable company online. I am watching via a family members U-Verse. With U-Verse I am also able to watch HBO Go and Showtime Anytime as well as the other pay movie channels. I am eternally grateful as without this info I would have missed this season's "Game of Thrones" and that would have been tragic! As would missing the last season of my beloved "True Blood"!!!! A great option if you can get it. If not then you will have to pay for DVD's when they come out or episodes via iTunes or Amazon.

The final option if you want to watch TV on an actual TV is to invest in Google Chromecast, X-Box, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, or a Blu-Ray player like my son bought for us. All of these options are at various price points, the least expensive being the Chromecast at $35. Each has its own pro and cons so you'll want to research them to see what is right for you and your budget.

So there you have it, it is harder for me to watch TV these days but not impossible and I WILL NOT give it up!!!!

See you soon....

They'll Let Anyone Have Their Own Reality Show These Days...

I'm baaaaack! Sorry I've been MIA for the past couple of years, I was under a lot of stress which culminated in a stroke which may effect my writing, not too much I hope. Either way I am back and ready to dish! So let's down to business shall we....

Let's talk about the new crop of reality TV shows that have descended in the past few years, as well as the most recent entries, in the reality TV race. Reality shows are my guilty pleasure and sometimes watching them is my most regrettable pastime. This subject deserves more than one blog, so we will start with the newest reality show that had my head shaking. The one that inspired the title of this blog, "What Would Ryan Lochte Do?".

Oh Ryan Lochte...you ARE nice to look at...but is that enough to carry a show? After Ryan won all of his medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, for swimming, it seemed as though the world was his oyster. Everyone wanted a piece of him and he seemed more than happy to give it. He started out as most medal winners do, with commercial endorsements He also made a couple of appearances here and there on a few TV shows, playing himself, of course. But those shows were scripted and, even playing himself,  his acting was stiff. But hey, he's not an actor right? No harm, no foul. We've seen it before with other public figures. It seems as though Ryan wanted to do something as himself, to show off his personality. Which would have been fine if he had a magnetic personality to showcase. With all due respect to Ryan Lochte, I watched him on numerous talk shows and I thought he seemed as dumb as a box of rocks. I know it sounds cruel, I don't mean to be, but truthfully that was the first thing to come to my mind and I know I am not the only one. I do not understand why he would put himself out there on a reality show. I don't want to bash him but... He has been getting ridiculed constantly for his performance in interviews and now he is just asking for more of the same. Who is his agent? Is his agent looking out for Ryan Lochte, the man? Or Ryan Lockte, the ATM machine. I am thinking the latter. *sigh*

Currently he is out promoting his new reality show, "What Would Ryan Lochte Do" on E!, and the interviewers are having a field day. It is not a secret that he is not the brightest bulb in the drawer, I actually feel kind of sorry for him. I don't think he's playing dumb like Jessica Simpson did on "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica", I think it is more like he's just not very deep. What did I get from the first episode of his show? That he seems like a young teenage boy instead of a man who is about to turn 29. I appreciate that he seems to love his family a lot, that they are very important to him. They all seem to have a lot of fun with each other and that is a nice thing to see. But is there anything else to like about this show? Well if you want to laugh at how "dumb" he seems, especially when he calls the old Mel Gibson movie about women, "What WOMAN Want", instead of "What WOMEN Want", or when he asks his interviewer the meaning of the word "douchebag" because he doesn't know the meaning and people keep calling him one, then this is the show for you.

Or  maybe you want to hear his "Lochteisms", calling everything he does a"Lochte_____", everything in this life seems to be a Lochte something or other. Or perhaps you are a fan of his copyrighted catchphrase (catchword?) "Jeah", which makes me cringe whenever I hear it. It reminds me of Lil Jon saying "yeah", as Ryan says it in the same way Lil Jon does, but with a "j" instead of a "y". If that sounds right up your alley, then yes, this show is for you!

Do we really care what Ryan Locke would do if he were just a regular guy? I mean, so far he doesn't seem to be doing anything of note on this show and the previews aren't showing me anything interesting to make me tune in. In order for a reality show to be interesting the "stars" have to do something exciting, or at least interesting, to make you continue to tune in. Either that, or be a compelling figure, and I'm sorry, but God bless him, Ryan Lochte is a great swimmer, but a boring reality star. I know that he wanted to be on "Dancing With The Stars", I think that would have been a better fit. But an actual reality show? No, I'm sorry, there aren't many of us who have the personality for headlining our own reality show. Nor do most of us lead a life that is exciting enough to necessitate having our own show. Ryan Lochte is a regular guy, who did an extraordinary thing. But being Ryan Lochte isn't enough to save this show. My prediction is that this show will NOT be renewed. 

I would be curious to know what his fans think of the show. Personally, I like him I think he's a nice guy, really sweet, and a cutie. But being a nice guy who's cute, even with world records and medals, is not enough to have your own reality show. Sorry Ryan...get back to doing what you do so well, breaking records and winning medals in the pool. Best of luck in your future endeavors.

Here is an extended super tease of "What Would Ryan Lochte Do?"