The River and Watching TV

As I've mentioned before, I don't watch much TV. Well, I guess that should say I don't keep up with many new TV shows. My TV is actually turned on 24/7 almost, but it's on news, sports, and occasionally, reruns of shows that are no longer on the air. So, when I began seeing commercials for The River, I got excited. It looked interesting. It looked scary, and I'm easily scared. Seriously, even the lamest of the lame can send me into hysterics. My cousin and I watched Paranormal Activity, and I couldn't sleep in my bedroom for a month. And it just so happens the guy who directed that created this.

The commercials for The River had me so scared that I decided I'd have to spend Tuesday nights watching it with my mom. (I don't watch such things alone. I tried that with American Horror Story, and I was able to watch one episode before finally deciding to just delete the rest from my DVR). So, last night I loaded up the car with my dogs and a few pillows in case it was so scary that I'd need to sleep on my parents' sofa, and I headed up to their house. My mom made some hot chocolate, we turned out the lights, and I settled in with the dogs on either side of me (yes, I'm 30, don't judge me).

What a waste of time.

The show started out pretty slow, and it could have been that I kept getting distracted by one of the dogs and my desire to see who won the Minnesota/Colorado/Missouri primaries, but it was somewhat hard to keep up with. Most of the actors were terrible. The male lead is supposed to be an American who speaks American English, but he kept saying some words with a British accent (turns out he really is British and just can't hold the accent, I guess). The woman who plays his mom was almost just as bad. The "scary" part of the storyline was cheesy from the get-go - think voodoo and devilish spirits. I was hoping for a good, old-fashioned ghost story or something Shyamalan-esque that has you saying, "I didn't see that coming." No such luck. There is one part that had me a little edgy, and the story that went along with it was interesting, though I never understood how it fit with the main plot. I was highly disappointed.

I will give the show another chance, but so far, it's not living up to its hype. I was able to go to my car in the dark, drive home through the woods, and walk to my dark little Unabomber Cabin without so much as an elevated heart-rate. That's saying a lot for me. The other night, what turned out to probably be a deer had me frozen in my car with fear for nearly half an hour. I'm telling you, I scare so easily. This one didn't even scratch the surface.

Aside from that, I haven't really added any new shows to my DVR recording list this spring. As I mentioned yesterday, The Voice is back for a second season, and I do love that show. I've watched American Idol for the last few years, and it just started again, but I can't get into it like I used to. There is The Office on Thursday nights, but with the exception of two or three episodes, I just don't like this new season. It's like the writer's are purposely trying to make it bad so it will get cancelled. For a while, I was watching Once Upon a Time on Sunday night on ABC, and I even started watching Desperate Housewives again after not doing so for a few years, but I can't seem to get into either of those lately. I guess it's a good thing that it's election season, because primary nights and debates always provide me with some much needed entertainment.

Or maybe I should just turn off the TV and read or something at night!