Suburban Mom's Pop Culture Week: Parks and Recreation, Curb Your Enthusiasm & the Emmys

TV

Aside from watching New England sports (Red Sox, Patriots), I’ve finally caught up on the HBO show Hung and watched the season finale, which, I must say, didn’t thrill me, season finales rarely do. The show, overall, has proven interesting enough that I’ve bothered to keep up with it.

I’ve been thoroughly bored by the Jay Leno Show which premiered this week – otherwise known as “Hey-Let’s-Put-the-Writers-Out-of-Work-and-Hog-Up-Five-Hours-of-Primetime-a-Week-with-Lame-Crap-That’s-Really-Cheap-to-Make.” The set looks like NBC invested exactly $247 in it. The two blue chairs where the interviews are conducted appear to be placed on what looks like a dance floor. The whole show seems awkward and weird to me because when I see Leno, I think that I should be getting to bed because I’ve been trained to think that it must be past 11:30 when I see his face. Maybe he was funnier later at night. Maybe that’s it. Or not.

Despite the Leno mess, I am planning on tuning in tonight to NBC’s slate of Thursday night humor, particularly to see if one of my favorite comedians, Amy Poehler, can make Parks and Recreation work this season.

By the time Sunday rolls around I think my TV is going to explode. Notwithstanding the fact that The Spouse and I will be hosting a belated Rosh Hashanah dinner here for family in which we’ll engage in the age old ritual of putting the Patriots game on TV lest my eldest son’s head explode because he cannot watch it, my poor DVR is going to be conflicted that evening.

Of course, Mad Men is on at 10, as is Army Wives, both of which I write about here in this space on Mondays. Plus there’s Entourage – which I usually watch On Demand but on which I’m a bit behind. But Curb Your Enthusiasm is back with new episodes after a very, very long absence.



However the Emmys are also on at the same time. My pop culture column at Mommy Track’d for next week is on the awards show, so I’ve got to watch live. (If there are still relatives here when the Emmys start, maybe I’ll try to goad them into wagering.) Such the dilemma . . .

DVDs

Still watching The West Wing, season one. Just saw the episode where Toby pulled strings to arrange a military funeral for a homeless vet who got Toby’s coat from the Good Will. Also saw the episode where the president revealed to Leo that he had MS. I thought that happened later, not within the first eight episodes.

Books

Am still in the early part of On the Road, although my progress through it may be detoured because I have to read two other books for some articles I’ve got coming up.

I also just joined a local women’s book club – it’s been eons since I’ve been in a book club – and have got to read The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa by next month.

So, what’s on YOUR Pop Culture slate this week?