This has been an interesting year for TV watching because the streaming services have exploded and that means a lot of releases that aren't strictly related to the fall tv series timeslots.  Still, there are a few things on network tv or streamers that are launching this fall and I'm pulling together my ideas.

So I've been using a site to track the tv shows watch for a while now. Here's my Trakt 2021 year in review. I love that it keeps me a list of the things I've spent my time on this year.

One of my fav features is looking at what new shows I watched this year, in addition to the ones that I kept up on that already existed. This was another pandemic year, so there was a lot of tv watching in the evenings. We tried out a few extra streaming services too, so that helped me get to watch some things that are on the long watchlist I keep. These are in order by the number of episodes watched:

• All of the Chicago shows: Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and Chicago Med. Fire is my favorite, but PD is close behind. Between those 3 shows, it's almost 500 episodes of entertainment! on Peacock and newest season on Hulu
• Rewatched all of Arrow because I'd not seen the final season again.on Netflix
• True Blood - I like vampire shows, and I'd rewatched the Twilight movies at some point this year, so I was curious to see how this one went. It was pretty interesting. on HBO Max
• Big Love - another I'd been curious about. I'm glad I watched it, it was a very different family structure than I'd seen before. It was especially fun to see Ginnifer Goodwin before Once Upon a Time. on HBO Max
• Falling Skies - we had watched the first season before, but I started this from the beginning and enjoyed it a lot. Definitely my kind of Sci Fi with actors I already liked.on HBO Max.
• West World - E had watched this and thought I'd like it. JJ Abrams does do some great stuff that I like! and I really liked it a lot. Figuring out the mysteries and characters was super. 3rd season was weaker, but I'm excited to see what they do for the 4th this year.on HBO Max
• Yellowstone - another show I'd been hearing about but it took watching Mayor of Kingstown before I tried it. This one straddled over the end of 2021 to the beginning of 2022 for me. The actors are great, and the story is really well done. Also love the soundtrack. on Peacock for 1-3 and purchased for 4
• Departure - I really like Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife, Blindspot) and the previews kinda had a Fringe feel to them. Good show, I'll definitely watch the next season too. on Peacock
• Mayor of Kingstown - while watching Hawkeye, I decided to try this other Jeremy Renner new show out. Definitely on the brutal side, but wow, these characters are really well done. Straddling between 2021 and 2022 to finish out the run. on Paramount Plus.
• Heels - while wrestling isn't my genre, watching Stephen Amell (Arrow) is a great thing. Liked the characters, however flawed they are, and I found myself really liking it by the end. on Starz, caught it during a free xfinity weekend.
• New #MCU streaming shows: WandaVision - such a solid story with a unique storytelling model - and using old and new marvel characters for the win #DarcyLewis, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier - taking the characters we got to know but zooming way in on them for in-depth characterization, Loki - this was interesting, and I like Sylvie, but it wasn't my fav out of the shows. Hawkeye - the perfect introduction to a Matt Fraction themed version of the characters, with a caper feel for the holidays. What If...? - animated version of our familiar characters but with a twist like comics (or fanfic) tend to do. on Disney+
• New network shows: La Brea with a Lost-like feel and some good actors.
• caught up on Grey's Anatomy, The Resident
• Cooking shows - Spring and fall holiday baking challenges, Great Food Truck Race (including some rewatched seasons), Chopped Sweets (multiple seasons), Tournament of Champions, and Great British Bake Off. A few home design shows too, but not as many this year.

Movie-wise, I did watch a few more movies on my own than I had previous years. I paid attention to special weekends of Xfinity channels that I could get with my account, and that let me see some things I hadn't been able to. Things like Godzilla/Rampage/Kong Skull Island series. The Mummy/The Mummy Returns. All the Twilight and 50 shades movies. Both of the original Fantastic 4 movies. Hocus Pocus (first time watching) and The Nightmare Before Christmas. A variety of Christmas movies (10 must be a record for me!). Black Widow twice.and just some other random stuff :)

Between a wonky season last year due to 2020 pandemic and a lot of my favorite shows ending before that, I didn't pull together a post of tv shows last season.  I watched a lot of familiar things and then utilized some streaming services to watch things I hadn't had access to previously.  I watched things like True Blood, Big Love, Falling Skies, Westworld, and ALL of the seasons of Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and Chicago Med.  You can always see what I'm watching on my Trakt profile, too. :)

The fall TV season is here, or just about! This year is interesting because we have several streaming services launching in November (Disney+ and Apple TV+ - by way of a new iPhone purchase - are the two I'll have an initial subscription to, as well as my current Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime - which is only a side effect of wanting better shipping!)

I'll be loosing a great number of shows in their final season this year, and that means I'm kinda looking for some new things to watch, so I have a few new things here. I put a note on the new ones at least what actor is making me want to watch.

I've also noted where episodes will be streaming, where I can find the info. This is important as I don't have a TiVo any more. Hulu fills most of those holes, but CBS is the one clunker I can't watch without a subscription to CBS All Access. So there were a few shows I had on my "new" list that I just had to delete because I don't have enough of a need for All Access to make it worth it. The CW episodes aren't on Hulu, but because we have the lowest tier of cable for the 10 basic channels, I have a cable log in that I can use to sign into their app on my Apple TV or iPad app for their channel. (this cable log in also lets me sign into the CNN app for debates and important news.)

Sunday
Batwoman The CW 10/6 Su 8pm (New!), streams on CW app
-- newest addition to the Arrowverse, of which I still watch Arrow for it's final season and Legends. I won't go back to Flash, but I might watch some more Supergirl leading up to the crossover.
Monday
Prodigal Son FOX 9/23 M 10pm (New!), streams on hulu
-- Belamy Young, Michael Sheen, creator Greg Berlanti
Tuesday
The Resident FOX 9/24 T 8pm s3
Arrow The CW 10/15 T 9pm s8, final season, streams on CW app
Wednesday
Almost Family FOX 10/2 W 9pm (New!), streams on hulu
-- Timothy Hutton
Stumptown ABC 9/25 W 10pm (New!), streams on hulu
-- set in Portland, although not filming here. Cobie Smulders
Thursday
Grey's Anatomy ABC 9/26 Th 8pm s16
Perfect Harmony NBC 9/26 Th 8:30pm (New!), streams on hulu
-- Bradley Whitford
The Good Place NBC 9/26 Th 9pm s4, final season
-- Began watching this over the summer!
Sunnyside NBC 9/26 9:30pm (New!), streams on hulu
-- Kal Penn, from Fremulon who did The Good Place


Midseason
The 100 The CW Midseason s7, final season
DC's Legends of Tomorrow The CW 1/14 T 9pm s5
Marvel's Agents of SHIELD ABC Midseason s7, final season
Blindspot NBC Midseason s5, final season
Manifest NBC Midseason s2
FBI: Most Wanted CBS Midseason (New!)
-- Julian McMahon
Council of Dads NBC Midseason (New!)
-- J. August Richards, Sarah Wayne Callies

Further in the future
Jack Ryan Amazon Prime 11/1
The Mandalorian Disney+ 11/12
Dollface Hulu 11/15
-- Kat Dennings
Little Fires Everywhere Hulu 2020
-- Kerry Washington, Joshua Jackson
Futureman Hulu 2020 s3, final season
Umbrella Academy Netflix s2 2020
The Falcon and Winter Soldier Disney+, first year

I very much enjoy good television. I've watched many shows and found favorite actors and actresses amongst the mix, people I follow from one show to another to continue to enjoy their work. This past year, I've had more opportunities to rest on the couch and enjoy tv shows while I'm here. We gave up TiVo and gained Hulu and that gave me a bunch of new options. I discovered network channel shows that I can watch on my Apple TV. And it's been great, and has me excited about the TV season to come.

This summer, I caught up on all of The CW's DC shows and that has made me glad for all the superhero fandom to be had, on both DC and Marvel MCU fronts. I shall be fully entertained by campy super hero dialog and darker gritty rescue stories with masks and weapons.

So sit back and enjoy my listing of what I want to watch! and comment with your plans!

8pm	9pm	10pm
Mondays
Supergirl (TheCW) season 3. October 9 DCTV: though it's my least favorite DCTV show, it's still worth checking out to be caught up for any crossovers. Adrian Pasdar (Heroes, Agents of SHIELD) and Carl Lumbly (Alias) are joining.[IMDb]	The Gifted (FOX) New! October 2. cast includes Amy Acker, and X-Men mutants. [IMDb]
Tuesdays
The Flash (TheCW) season 4. October 10 DCTV: This show has grown on me. I'm waiting to see which Wells we see next (is Harry staying? can Jessie come too?) [IMDb]	Legends of Tomorrow (TheCW) season 3. October 10 DCTV, I really enjoy this one. Looks like we'll get more Wentworth Miller this season! [IMDb]	Kevin (probably) Saves The World (ABC) New! October 3 I do love Jason Ritter. Is this a similar series to his Joan of Arcadia? :) [IMDb]
Wednesdays
Riverdale (TheCW) season 2. October 11 watched season 1 with Rina and zoomed through the rest on my own. what happens next?!! [IMDb]	Seal Team (CBS) New! September 27 checking out David Boreanaz's new show. [IMDb]	Designated Survivor (ABC) season 2. September 27 even though I got a little bored at the end of last season, I'm going to try a little more. [IMDb]
Thursdays
Grey's Anatomy (ABC) season 14. September 27 caught up sometime mid-last season, not many updates about what will happen during this season have come out. [IMDb]	Scandal (ABC) season 7. October 5 FINAL season, with 18 episodes. [IMDb]
	Arrow (TheCW) season 6. October 12 DCTV: So very in love with this show after a summer of Arrowverse catching up. Olicity, please?! Also, Michael Emerson (Lost, Person of Interest) is joining. [IMDb]
Fridays
Blindspot (FOX) season 3. October 27 really glad this will be back! I especially love Patterson.[IMBd]	Hawaii Five-0 (CBS) season 8. September 29 Need to watch s7 still on Netflix. The loss of Grace Park and Daniel Dae Kim makes me sad and that makes me unsure about watching it. [IMDb]
Once Upon A Time (ABC) season 7. October 6 The giant reboot and loss of my favorite characters makes this less likely to be a favorite. [IMDb]	Inhumans (ABC) New! September 29 MCU: early reviews aren't too good, but I'm curious. 8 episode run. [IMDb]
Midseason
Currently airing: Nashville (CMT) season 5. I need to catch up from midseason point. The Last Ship (TNT) season 4. August 20, if I can find it streaming on Amazon or OnDemand. The Defenders (Netflix) August 18 New! MCU: streaming Friday 9pm: Agents of Shield Season 5. MCU: return date is presumably after the Inhumans' run. The 100 (TheCW) season 5. return date is usually in the spring. Timeless (FOX) Season 2. either late spring or summer, I believe. The Resident (FOX) New! With Matt Czuchry (Gilmore Girls, The Good Wife) Untitled Grey's Anatomy Spin-off (ABC) New! firehouse version of Grey's? Jessica Jones (Netflix) Season 2. MCU spring 2018.

I've been a collector of Christmas albums over the year. I have a special affinity for Christian Christmas albums that feature my favorite artists or a good combination of traditional and original songs. Here is my current list in case you need ideas, listed from newest to oldest!

Francesca Battistelli's Christmas, 2012	Steven Curtis Chapman's Joy, 2012	BarlowGirl's Home For Christmas, 2008
Sara Groves' O Holy Night, 2008	Casting Crowns' Peace on Earth, 2008	Michael W. Smith's It's a Wonderful Christmas, 2007
Sarah McLachlan's Wintersong, 2006	Steven Curtis Chapman's All I Really Want for Christmas, 2005	Steven Curtis Chapman's The Music of Christmas, 1995
Michael W. Smith's Christmas, 1993	Amy Grant's Home for Christmas, 1992	various artists: Jars of Clay, Sixpence None the Richer, Leigh Nash, Tori Amos, Jaci Velasquez, Rebecca St. James, Jewel, Owl City, Plumb, Kari Jobe, Brandon Heath, Meredith Andrews. City on a Hill collaboration tracks.

My TV grid is a wee little grid this year. so much that it's just a mini post-it rather than a digital plan or a grand list. I've been making TV posts for years though, and so I wanted to keep with tradition and type it up anyhow :) Besides, it is a good problem to have when time for TV has decreased due to other life activities!

Over the summer, I almost made it through Scandal from the beginning again. Together, we finished off the last half-season of Leverage, and the last half-season that Netflix had of White Collar. We started rewatching Firefly. Besides that, it has been board games for us as a couple and podcasts filling up my alone time.

in order of priority...

• T 9pm: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., season 2 ABC. returns 9/23. to watch in real time w/E!
• Th 9pm: Scandal, season 4 ABC. returns 9/25. to watch alone on Friday evenings on ABC app.
• M 10pm: Castle, season 7 ABC. returns 9/29. to watch w/E on Tuesdays.
• Th 10pm: Elementary, season 3 CBS. returns 10/30. to watch with E during the weekend.
• W 10pm: Nashville, season 3 ABC. returns 9/24. watch on ABC app, alone as I find time.
• M 8pm: The Big Bang Theory, season 8 CBS. returns 9/22, moves to Th later. watch with E during the weekend, maybe, if it still appeals to us after a few eps in - we were getting tired of it by the end of last season.
• Agent Carter, New on ABC for midseason.

I did not watch promos for any of the new shows. And I trimmed back my list of existing shows substantially. And that's the story!

I've enjoyed making these plans for many years now. (2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001).

 

I am generally a slow adopter when it comes to music. But when something resonates with me, I love finding similar artists and songs to add to my life. Sometimes, this exploration comes through pandora suggesting songs to me, as this new genre did.

I've always loved minor key songs, there are old posts in my blog dedicated to this finding. If you ask my husband, that makes for whiny chick music, and I'm okay with that :D

my iTunes window :)

But a dance beat? that's new. dubstep. take some awesome female voices, minor key, add awesome base and some techie sounds or remixy noises... it's workin' for me! Okay and variations on those themes, they don't all have all of those things :)

 

I deduced yesterday that perhaps I'm enjoying these songs hat make me want to dance BECAUSE I have more energy and they are energizing. sweet!

Here's what I have so far:

• Fortune Days by The Glitch Mob
• Cracks (Ft. Belle Humble) (Flux Pavillion Remix) by Freestylers
• Hayling by FC Kahuna
• I Need Your heart (Ft. Kai) by Adventure Club
• Crave You (Adventure Club Remix) by Flight Facilities
• I Remember by deadmau5
• Runnin' by Cutline
• Sail by AWOLNATION
• ... my pandora dub station has some of the other songs I've thumbs up'd :)
• and a few older ones that seemed to match: Radioactive by Imagine Dragons, Too Close by Alex Clare, and 6 Underground by Sneaker Pimps (from The Saint)

got any recommendations?

 

It's September, friends, what does that mean? Time to look at the new fall tv premeires and pick what shows I want to pay attention to! I admittedly have watched less lately (my TiVo feels neglected) and need to fix the channels still after our last cable downgrade (the digital channel numbers changed!) but I'm getting excited for my favorite shows to return and to pick up a few new ones.

I need also to investigate my options for watching more of these shows on my iPad, that worked really successfully for me with abc.com shows last year when I was watching them on my own (without E!). I'm marking the ones I will do a "spree" as such, because some shows just make more sense to me when I can watch them one after another, so I save them up and do a sprint, or binge through them!

I hope you enjoy this listing as much as I enjoyed putting it together. Please do comment with the shows you plan to watch and/or links to your posts about the new tv season!

I've enjoyed making these plans for many years now. (2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001).

letting you in on some of my hopes and dreams and queuing it up in bite size chunks! If I had a podcast, these would be some of the things I shared ;)

next up, to watch: I just finished a complete re-watch of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I still have one season of Angel to go. Before next season, I'd like to get caught back up on the end of last season's Bones. And the next big thing I want to dig into with Eric is Supernatural. I still need to own Avengers so I can watch the specials!

next up, to read: We are slowly making our way through the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett (now on Soul Music, #16). I'm reading a wide variety of Health and Cookbooks from the library. And my next personal fiction listen will be Divergent by Veronica Roth. my goodreads profile

next up, podcasts: While the last few months have been super full, I've let the list of podcasts I was listening/watching get neglected. I'm working through back episodes of several of my favorites finally - I think I made it through 4 different shows this week that I really wanted to see the whole while-I-was-gone collection! There are others I'm going to have to declare podcast bankruptcy and mark as read and start from now!

next up, to knit: I've been collecting yarn and patterns to knit once I got closer to my goal weight. There are 6 contenders for the next sweater/top to cast on. All of these are in my stash, it's just time to figure out which is going to be the best one to have to wear next. And beyond that, there are the socks on the needles, a skein that needs to be turned into socks or a shawl for my anniversary trip. I also have several designs that need knitting/reknitting/test knitting, and a few things I set aside for a little while. my ravelry queue

pattern+yarn contenders 1

patterns+yarn contenders 2

 

next up, in the house: I'm doing a lot of deep cleaning. There are several closets that need a complete overhaul and several trips to goodwill. I need to determine what to do with the handknits that are too large for me. And I need to put a bunch of my stash up on ravelry as available to destash. I hope to "renovate" a drawer area to utilize for spices to free up another area of my countertop for useful tasks.

next up, in life: my anniversary is coming up soon :) Further out, I need to determine what the holiday season will look like and begin planning. My business will flourish, in the future. And I will keep working on my health very closely.