The Champ Is Injured!

This smug son-of-a-bitch is injured.

Now, I have to say that I like wrestling quite a lot maybe a little too much for an individual my age and shouldn't really put so much emotion into hating someone that I know is only working with what he's got but I really don't like Cena.

It seems to be the every internet fan hates the man but I just mildly dislike him. I can respect his ability in the ring even if he doesn't do anything other than about 5 moves and consistently gets his ass kicked only to come back with about one F-U (It's a wrestling move not a verbal insult but then it may as well be) and win the match.

I can't help but feel sorry for all of the little kids who won't be seeing him and his spinning belt for 6-8 months but I also feel sorry for all of the women who want to bear his children having to live without him being in the same arena as him. What I don't feel sorry for is that he is now no longer the champ (that hasn't stopped him saying THE CHAMP IS HERE! even when he doesn't have a title) as now maybe someone else can take the title and make it means something again.

I wish him a speedy recovery and hope that he comes back stronger then ever but this time a little closer in character to the Cena that I used to love not the Cena who seems like he's had one too many caffeine tabs.

Disclaimer: I do know that wrestling is fake but believe me this situation is as real as it can get.

Shows That I've Been Made To Watch Part 1

As quite the afficienado of all things tv and I mean that in the televisual sense and not the other slightly disturbing sense I end up watching quite a lot of shows that are mainly crap but alas I do miss a few that are quite good. I have decided that to start off this blog on a regular basis I need a theme so the following several part themed blogs will be based around shows that I've been made to watch and what I think of them.

Part 1 : How I Met Your Mother

This show was introduced to me a few years ago by someone who couldn't help but sing it's praises and I managed to start watching as it was on it's 5th episode in the first season. The premise of this little gem is that the narrator called Ted is telling his children how he met their mother but the story seems to literally last forever. He remembers back to 2005 and it is quite different as the main love interest is introduced but Future Ted goes onto say that this is not the children's mother which leaves the show open-ended but the viewer somewhat confused. Now I normally shy away from shows that include the dreaded live studio audience but this one was actually very funny yet I still felt ashamed laughing.

The best part of this show is Neil Patrick Harris who as I found out later pretty much improvs most of his lines and so his performance is even more impressive. He plays an oversexed single friend called Barney who seems to want Ted to join him on his adventures which he thinks are all legendary.

The other nice little touch is the amount of in-jokes that are not just set up but continued as the show goes on. There is a slap bet that happens between Barney and Ted's best friend Marshall where it is first assumed that Marshall has lost and so is slapped by Barney yet it is then discovered that Marshall actually won the bet and so Barney has a choice to make:

1. Get 10 Hard Slaps in a row.
2. Get 5 slaps spread over the rest of Barney's life.

Barney chooses option 2 and so Marshall can now slap him whenever he wants and this isn't forgotten by the writers as they are doled out periodically.

The season 3 premiere also introduced a website Slap Countdown

Ted and Barney are just 2/5ths of the main cast though as we also have Marshall and Lily whom in the first season are engaged to be married and so we get to see the ups and downs of their relationship. Lily is played by Alyson Hannigan who I would think is best remembered as Willow from Buffy and the flute-girl from American Pie. She's actually quite good in the role and it's good to see her doing straight out comedy. She plays a primary school teacher whom also yearns to be an artist which is later explored as the show continues on.

Marshall is played by Jason Segal of Undeclared and Freaks And Geeks fame which means he has the training to play quirky and quirky is truly what he plays. At the start of Season 1 he is still in Law School and so studies a lot but still has time to party even if he feels old doing it. He is Ted's best friend even if Barney thinks otherwise which leads to a lot of hilarious misadventures. He is engaged to Lily and through the 3 seasons he and Lily makeup and then breakup and then makeup again and then kind of break up but makeup yet it doesn't seem tried as the performances and the writing are stellar. Jason Segal and Neil Patrick Harris are the funniest part of this show and have a great chemistry that really shows when it is just them in a scene playing off of each other.

Lastly we have the main love interest in Ted's life, Robin played by Cobie Smulders who when the show is first watched is assumed to be the mother of Ted's children yet this is of course debunked. She is a TV news anchor at a really crappy station where we also meet Alyson's real life husband Alexis Denisof otherwise known as Wesley from Buffy and Angel. Anyway, Robin starts off as being quite annoying and continues to be so for a long long time. I think her best moment is when she suit's up with Barney and they go on a boy's day out. On the other hand having her be the swerve in the whole story does give her some kudos points (kudos points are non-transferable) so I don't hate her that much.

The show has spawned many HIMYM-isms just like Friends-isms of which my faves are:

"Suit Up!"
"Legen-wait for it-dary"
"The Lemon Law"
"Phone Five"

On reflection this show is kind of like Grounded For Life due to all the flashbacks but without the annoying kids. If you want to give it a try I would suggest it only because it doesn't get too schmaltzy and there are so many quips that are far too long to mention and clever real life observations made unbelievable yet rooted in reality. I'm still watching it religiously and am quite heartbroken that it isn't as big over here in the UK as it is over in the states.

Next Time : Part 2 - The Venture Bros

My first blog

This is my inaugural blog and I don't actually have much to say other than I hope that at least one other person reads this or otherwise I will feel like I am wasting precious TV watching time which is of course limited to only 18 hours a day.

Anyway, I am writing this with some wierd fashion shopping show called Antiques Auction on ITV1 at the moment that is always something that I end up watching because I can't get to sleep. As usual the most interesting part of the show is the little guy in the bottom right hand corner that doing sign language along to the show. Anyway I hope to have some better posts up soon when I actually have something interesting to write about and as most of the major US networks are starting up their Fall (sorry Autumn) schedules I will have much to vent about.