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And the winners are:
#1 The Big Bang Theory
#2 Downton Abbey
#3 Breaking Bad/ Masterpiece Theater (Tie)
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Getting to know you
OLLI members respond to the question:
"What TV show do you enjoy watching?"
Mary Bailey
Frontline, 60 Minutes, Masterpiece Theatre, Essential Pepin cooking show, Jeopardy, Masterpiece Mystery. I have only an antenna and get all of these shows for free!I Also have Acorn TV (BBC) for $4.99/mo and Netflix for $7.99/mo.
Steve Balderson
Parenthood - Network TV; Homeland - DVD.
Nancy Bedinger
I enjoy watching The White Queen (a current Starz series), Game of Thrones (DVD), House of Cards (Netflix series), Downton Abbey (PBS series/Netflix).
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Making Masterpiece In her new book Rebecca Eaton reveals the stories behind public television's most popular shows and the longest running weekly prime time drama series in American history.
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Cheryl Binch
I always DVR Modern Family. It's the only show my husband and I agree upon. I also try to catch Elementary.
Sam Bostaph
Currently, I'm watching an episode of Poirot on Acorn TV each weeknight. I started with the first episode and am slowly working my way up toward the ninth season.
Kath Brinkmann
I don't watch much TV but if I do, I watch WILL programs. Through the internet I watch The Daily Show and sometimes Glee.
Rabel Burdge
We enjoy Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, 60 Minutes, The Amazing Race, Dancing with the Stars and Castle.
Jenifer Cartwright
I love these sitcoms; it's hard to pick a favorite. Great writing, great acting, great ensemble casts. Hilarious dialogue/comebacks and situations. 1) Big Bang Theory. Current season on CBS; reruns weekdays on Fox. Was/sometimes still is hard for me to ignore the enhanced (and very frequent) live audience laughter. 2) Parks and Recreation. Current season on NBC. Reruns weekdays on WGN. The only laughter is my own, ahhh. Very weird that my friends/OLLI acquaintances don't watch this show! 3) Roseanne. Re-runs only, weekdays on WCFN. Easy to ignore the gentle and genuine-sounding live audience laughter. 4) Bob's Burgers. Current season on Fox. No reruns yet, but the Champaign library has seasons 1 and 2. One of the funniest, most inventive shows ever created. Animated; brilliantly voiced. Definitely for adults, though okay for kids despite occasionally raunchy humor.
| The Very First 60 MInutes
Watch a short history of the origins of 60 Minutes with footage from the broadcast on September 24, 1968. |
Pat. Chapel
I enjoy the investigative reporting done on 60 Minutes. But I often do not like the information that comes from those reports (mismanagement, cheating, scams etc.) Oops, maybe not so much now since the Benghazi misinformation.
Sharon Collins-Masel
My all-time favorite is Murdoch Mysteries, a turn-of-the-century mystery filmed in Toronto. It's available thru Netflix/Amazon. It's always a complex plot with interesting characters. Sometimes I enjoy White Collar, a current cable series. Older episodes can be found on Netflix.
Bill Earle
The Universe on the History channel (Comcast cable).
The "Real" NCIS
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Naval Criminal Investigative Service
The NCIS mission is to investigate and defeat criminal, terrorist, and foreign intelligence threats to the United States Navy and Marine Corps - ashore, afloat, and in cyberspace.
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Louis Fanning
NCIS , WILL-TV, and Fox News.
Beth Felts
I watch Breaking Bad on Netflix. It is the most well written TV show I have ever seen, easily topping most feature films. And the actors are incredible, giving absolutely gripping performances in every program, sometimes more than others, often fascinatingly repulsive. Once you get past the premise (PhD high school chemistry teacher gets cancer and goes into the meth business), it is one of the best TV programs ever, in all respects.
Tom Galer-Unti
I enjoy The Good Wife, a current network series.
Richard Gerard
The network TV show I enjoy watching is Mike and Molly.
Phyllis Gingold
I love to watch NCIS - mainly reruns on Comcast 939 as we love Ziva. Also like Hostages on CBS and The Good Wife on CBS.
Robin Goettel
Since I'm a big fan of dancing and singing, I thoroughly enjoy watching The Voice, Dancing with the Stars, and So You Think You Can Dance. I also enjoyed the antihero, Walter White, in 5 seasons of Breaking Bad. The series was gripping, and I recommend watching it on DVD, Hulu, or Netflix for anyone who hasn't had the opportunity to watch this show.
Sharon Hayes
I like to watch most of the PBS shows, but especially like the Call the Midwife series. I try to record the commercial station programs to avoid the commercials. Some shows I like are Copper on BBC, The Bridge on FX, and the new adaption of Sherlock Holmes, Elementary, on CBS. I like most HBO special shows, too. I also love the Olympics, summer and winter.
Marilyn Hill
I watch a miniscule amount of TV - only the news on FOX. Never watch a show. I prefer reading instead!
Connie Hosier
The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan - National Geographic Channel (and Netflix). Cesar Millan observed canine behavior on his grandfather's farm in Mexico, came to the U.S., and started a business rehabilitating dogs. He founded the Dog Psychology Center, has written three books and has a TV series where he demonstrates how he helps humans eliminate their dog's imbalanced behaviors: aggression, anxiety, obsession, etc. His instruction illustrates how humans handle their dogs incorrectly - the source of most problems. He says he "rehabilitates dogs and trains humans." As a teacher, I find his insights and methods mind blowing.
Debra Karplus
Though I am not much of a cook, I find the cooking shows on the Create Channel (WILL-TV) to be very entertaining. Maybe someday I will become inspired!
Barbara Kessel
The White Queen on Starz recently was six episodes or so about the struggles for the crown of England in the 15th century, ending with the first Tudor to take the throne. It was not on Masterpiece Theatre. That is another favorite, but not always. My latest favorite within Masterpiece was the three-episode Silk about a female barrister in current times.
Mary Carroll King
My favorite TV show is Dancing with the Stars.
Frank Knowles
I watched all seasons except the last of Breaking Bad on Netflix.
Susan and Curtis Krock
We watch the CBS Evening News, followed regularly by the 6 pm PBS NewsHour. We watch some series on PBS, such as Downton Abbey, and some of the PBS special reports, biographies, and Nature series. Most of our movie watching is from Netflix, supplemented occasionally by the Turner classic movies. We generally watch the 10 pm news (which is 50% advertising) as a soporific before bedtime - mainly for weather and the rare item of local news.
Bill and Carol Kubitz
We watch shows on Netflix. Currently our queue contains these shows: Numb3rs, Bones, CSI, and The Big Bang Theory.
Linda Lebie
I don't know if I can say I "enjoy" it, but I have become hooked on Breaking Bad. I am nearly done making my way through five seasons on DVD. Everything about this series is top quality - the camera work, the acting, the phenomenal scripts. Characters are well developed and intricate. The humor is dark and complex. The storyline is unrelenting. Breaking Bad is brutal, but under certain circumstances, in certain situations, most everyone is susceptible to depravity. Everyday "normal" people from good backgrounds can make incredibly bad judgments.
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Mayim Bialik who plays Amy in the Big Bang Theory has a PhD in neuroscience.
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Sharon Lumsden
I try not to miss Nature on WILL-TV ... almost always enlightening and entertaining. And I will watch The Big Bang Theory wherever and whenever I find it. Fortunately (for me), it is still current on CBS as well as available in reruns on Fox. Some nights they will show several episodes in a row so I get to spend a lot of time with Sheldon and his friends. (He's not crazy ... his mother had him tested!) The writing is very clever and I find that I forget those guys are actors, those are (probably) not their real personas. Long live Sheldon and his cohorts.
Georgia McCartney
Downton Abbey on PBS! I enjoy watching and rewatching it. The characters are so rich and interesting. I become completely absorbed by all the drama.
Joe McDaniel
Downton Abbey (PBS - can't wait for new season); The Blacklist (network TV - Spader is great!); Homeland (SHO); Boardwalk Empire (HBO); The Newsroom (HBO); Modern Family (network TV - my quota of laughter for a week!). I am also a Survivor fan, can't wait to watch it each week, it's a good thing we can DVR things these days!
Don Meier
60 Minutes is my all-time favorite TV show.
Barbara Meyer
The Walking Dead. And just when I thought it couldn't possibly get any better than a zombie apocalypse, along come 72 demons from the Seventh Circle of Hell in Sleepy Hollow. I eagerly await the next season of both.
Carlton Mills
I have the DVDs for the two seasons of the A Nero Wolfe Mystery cable series. I grew up reading serialized Nero Wolfe books in the Saturday Evening Post. I have recently read that Rex Stout's idea for Nero Wolfe was to have a character that embodied all seven of the deadly sins! Nero Wolfe is fat, lazy, a lover of good food, and grows orchids; he dislikes women so he embodies lust and sensuousness in his love for gourmet food. He particularly dislikes Jane Austen because she proved a woman could write. And in his house 'contact' is not a verb.
Bob Morris
The PBS News Hour (2 to 3 times weekly).
Mary Mortland
Rosemary & Thyme is a British murder mystery series that my husband and I have found through Netflix. The two main characters renovate estate gardens, where a murder seems to happen each time.
Pam Olson
Law and Order SVU, NCIS, The Mentalist, American Pickers, Turner Classic Movies, America's Got Talent, Dancing with the Stars, Extreme Makeover, Duck Dynasty, A&E channel, Restaurant Stakeout, The Little Couple (TLC), Fox News, Food Network, AMC movies.
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Super Bowl XLVI (Giants vs, Patriots) in 2012 was the most watched TV program in history with almost 167 million viewers
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Donna Reed
If I were to mention one type of show my husband, Mike, and I watch consistently each week during the fall and winter months, it would have to be football! College football and NFL football...that pretty much takes care of our viewing on Saturdays, Sundays, Monday nights and Thursday nights. It doesn't get any better!
Barak Rosenshine
I cancelled my Comcast two years ago. I watched Hell on Wheels online and I'm currently watching Blacklist. I miss the football games, but I don't miss any programs.
Joseph Rotman
I'm a news junkie, and my favorites are The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC and Frontline on PBS. Some other favorites are Antiques Roadshow on PBS, The Big Bang Theory on CBS, and Masterpiece Mystery on PBS. I have recently discovered Channel 418 (Comcast cable, not a premium channel) which broadcasts news from abroad (in English) during the day, and European mysteries during the evening (with English subtitles and without commercials). Two other favorites of mine: Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central and Homeland on Netflix.
Pat Schutt
My TV watching is limited but I am addicted to MSNBC and especially The Rachel Maddow Show. If I need something funnier, it's The Big Bang Theory because my grandson aspires to be a physics geek.
Veronica Shavitt
I regularly check and get TIVO to record old movies for me. I like to watch 1930s on, and when I have 1-1/2 to 2 hours free, which isn't often, I watch those. I also like to watch WILL programs. From this you may see that I get my entertainment the old fashioned way, through the TV set.
Jan Sherbert
We are currently rewatching Foley's War series 1-6, past seasons, on DVD and our friends watch on Netflix. Foley's War Series 7 is on PBS this season, but the old series 1-6 seemed better to us!
Delora Siebrecht
PBS's new show Last Tango in Halifax is great. Covers all aspects of life & family. Love in your 70's, divorce, teens, gay relationships. First season just ended.
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An American television series about a fictional sport s news show focuses on the friendships, pitfalls, and ethical issues the creative talent of the program face while trying to produce a good show under constant network pressure.
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Cheri Sullivan Every year or two, I rewatch both seasons of Sports Night. I like it so much I bought the DVDs, but it's now available on Netflix streaming. It's not a sports show, it's a serious comedy set in the studio of a sports show. It's Aaron Sorkin's first TV series and you can see his signature style taking form here. The actors are terrific, too. Joe Thompson Lots of news programs on MSNBC, plus geography programs, and NCIS, NCIS LA, Person of Interest, Elementary (Sherlock Holmes), Law and Order, Castle, The Mentalist, etc. Patricia Tymchyshyn I like Masterpiece Theatre, especially Downton Abbey. Jean Weigel News Hour, Nature, and Antiques Roadshow (all on PBS); Sunday Morning (CBS); and Fareed Zakaria's show - GPS (CNN) -- if not live, then on DVR. Hate to miss any of them! Rosalind Weinberg Most British Masterpiece series and Mystery series on " the telly." Homeland on Netflix. The Good Wife on the TV. Some foreign detective stories on DMV and Nova on PBS. Tony Welsh The Big Bang Theory, Good Eats and Fast Money through Dish Network. Chris and Dave Whippo Doc Martin and The Vicar of Dibley are two of our favorite comedies, both are British series. We also enjoyed Prime Suspect and The Wire. All of these DVDs are available at the library and each of these shows has several seasons. Julie Wilcox Masterpiece Theater on PBS. David Zell My wife Diane and I have followed The Good Wife since its beginning 5 years ago. We enjoy the fact that many actors from the stage, screen and TV seem to enjoy lending their acting skills to the shows. Besides that, we like the way the scripts include REAL incidents from every day life! |