Topic: TV shows

Masterpiece Revivals: 5 Downton Abbey-Inspired Trends We’d Rather See Than Recipes

Masterpiece Revivals: 5 Downton Abbey-Inspired Trends We’d Rather See Than Recipes

Tonight brings the second episode of eagerly-anticipated Downton Abbey‘s second season. But with the hit Masterpiece Theatre show has come a flurry of recipes inspired by the show which, aside from this cute Garden Cake from Apartment Therapy, is a trend we find less-than-exciting. World War I-era British food? No thanks. Most of it isn’t wholly appetizing; even the cute tea cakes and scones aren’t what you’d call ‘healthy.’ But that doesn’t mean we can’t draw some inspiration from the show. More »

6 Unhealthy TV Shows We Wish Would Disappear In 2012

6 Unhealthy TV Shows We Wish Would Disappear In 2012

Is it too late to add something to our Christmas wish list? It’s not anything that we want per se, it’s really something we don’t want. Specifically, it seems that our TVs have been graced with more than their share of unhealthy shows this year, and there are a few in particular that we would really like to see go away. Yes, it’s mindless entertainment for the most part, but these shows can also influence what we do and plant the seed for some pretty unhealthy behaviors. More »

Laura Dern Is “Enlightening” HBO…And Crunch Gym’s Yoga Class Schedule

Laura Dern Is "Enlightening" HBO...And Crunch Gym's Yoga Class Schedule

HBO recently picked up the Mike White/Laura Dern show, “Enlightened,” about a stressed-out corporate exec who has a mental breakdown, goes to a treatment center, and comes back, well… enlightened. The trailer featured vignettes of Dern telling people (or herself) that she’s determined to be an “agent of change,” and repeating mantras more likely to be found in a yoga class than on HBO (lines like “you can wake up to your higher self…the world is full of possibility…you can really live”). And in fact, some yoga teachers will definitely be inspired by the show, given HBO’s deal with Crunch Fitness to launch a nationally branded “Enlightened Yoga” program in conjunction with the series. More »

5 Moments of Nostalgic Zen Courtesy of Our Favorite Childhood Halloween Specials

5 Moments of Nostalgic Zen Courtesy of Our Favorite Childhood Halloween Specials

The work day is officially over. That’s totally fine with us — we’re guessing that you’re also glad it’s after 6 p.m. (at least on the east coast). To help you unwind, we present our weekly five moments of nostalgic zen. Today we’re featuring clips from our favorite Halloween TV specials from childhood to soothe your stressed-out mind during this spooky season. So sit back, grab some Sixlets, and allow yourself to be transported back to simpler times when Halloween was all about candy corn, pillowcases as candy bags, and Linus waiting in the pumpkin patch.

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We Know We’re All Freaks — But Are We ‘Freaky Eaters’?

We Know We're All Freaks — But Are We 'Freaky Eaters'?

Check out this post from Emily Gordon on Lemondrop.

JJ Virgin doesn’t just have one of the best names on the planet, she’s also a nutritionist and a fitness expert who has been doling out advice on eating in Shape magazine and on Dr. Phil’s “Ultimate Weight Loss Challenge.”

Now she has a new gig co-hosting “Freaky Eaters,” a show that focuses on helping people with bizarre food compulsions. More »

Dramatic or Dull: 10 TV Relationships We’re Glad We’re Not In

Dramatic or Dull: 10 TV Relationships We're Glad We're Not In

Watching TV is such an ego boost. Look at all the crazy relationships they’ve got going on inside that small screen! Sure, the characters have perfect teeth, expertly maintained figures, and shelter-magazine-worthy homes. And of course we’re jealous of all that. But we sure as hell don’t envy their romantic situations, whether they’re as dull as a doorknob or as dramatic as a David Mamet monologue. However, they’re all addictively fun to watch, because they make us feel better and superior about our own lives and relationships. (Thank you, tee-vee.) Yes, we know it’s just acting (and sometimes bad acting at that, Brothers & Sisters and Parenthood), but we’d like you to meet 10 TV relationships we’re thankful we’re not having. More »

Is ‘Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution’ Going to Make a Change?

Is 'Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution' Going to Make a Change?

We thought you’d be interested in this post about “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution” from Hilary Walke at That’s Fit.

Jamie Oliver’s reality TV show, “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution,” has been renewed for a second season taking place in Los Angeles, Calif. this fall.

Last season, Oliver tackled the school lunch program of Huntington, W.Va, where we discovered the students mixing up a potato and tomato. Oliver’s attempt to overhaul the program proved successful in some ways, and a failure in others. From providing adult cooking lessons to befriending a local radio show host, Oliver used many tactics to revamp the nutrition system in Huntington. More »

“Parenthood” Season Premiere: Too Much Family Is Boring

"Parenthood" Season Premiere: Too Much Family Is Boring

In your standard television drama, family stuff takes a backseat to whatever’s going on at work, typically at a hospital, law firm, or police precinct. A noble surgical resident has more time for her patients than her husband (Grey’s Anatomy), a scorned wife gets back on her feet by returning to work as a high-powered lawyer (The Good Wife), an alcoholic detective tackles the city’s drug problem but can’t make it to his kids’ ball games (The Wire). NBC’s Parenthood, which had its season premiere last night, reverses the work-family dynamic: Work is what gets in the way of family, not vice versa.

In last season’s pilot, Julia (Erika Christensen), a high-powered lawyer, struggled to put down her Blackberry long enough to take a family picture with Santa. In this season’s opener, she tells her husband Joel (Sam Jaeger) she wants a second child, but he’s already feeling restless staying home with their one child. Crosby (Dax Shepard) struggles with a long-distance relationship with his young son and former girlfriend, who recently moved across the country to New York to take a dream job dancing with Alvin Ailey. Eldest son Adam (Peter Krause) is reprimanded at work by a jerky boss (a slick William Baldwin) for letting his family interfere too much with his work.

The show’s focus on the family is admirable, but it’s not all that entertaining. Without the thrills of the E.R. or the courtroom, we’re left with only the character’s suburban personal lives to amuse us. And, while said lives are depicted by a flock of talented, you-loved-them-on-that-other-show actors—Peter Krause from Six Feet Under, Lauren Graham from Gilmore Girls (again playing a single mother), and Craig T. Nelson from Coach and The District, just to name a few—Parenthood’s characters, and the situations they find themselves in, feel more like archetypes than unique, fully fleshed out people and moments. More »

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