Summer Watch/Re-watch

Summer is here and I couldn’t be more excited. People who know me probably would say that is an odd statement. I am not an outdoors kind of girl. I’m happy to stay in and live my little hermit life. Ah, the joys of being a painfully shy introvert!

For me, summer means fewer obligations and responsibilities. We have homeschooled or done the virtual school thing for years. Summer means a break from lesson plans and grading in the case of homeschooling and nagging about completing lessons, keeping track of hours worked and talking to teachers for the virtual school. School isn’t out for just the kids. It’s out for me, too

My absolute favorite part of summer is having the time to tackle my watch/re-watch list. I have this really bad habit of saying “I need to watch (re-watch) that,” whatever ‘that’ might be. My Netflix list is VERY long thanks to that habit. It’s definitely too long to tackle in one summer, but I love trying.

So far, my watch list is fairly manageable. This is my first-time viewing list. It’s usually, but not always, complete series.

  • Bones – I’ve watched season 10 through episode 10. I know I’m in the minority among my Twitter friends, but I really wasn’t enjoying it. When it came back from hiatus in March, its future was still undetermined. I will probably have to duck rotten fruit thrown in my direction, but I was ready for season 10 to be the last. With that in mind, I decided to wait until the end of the season to marathon the final twelve episodes. I’ll probably watch the first half again, just to see if I feel better about it. This isn’t on Netflix yet, but is on Amazon Instant Video. I bought a season pass at the beginning of the season, so these episodes are sitting there, waiting for me.
  • Gilmore Girls – This is one of those shows that interested me, but not my husband when it aired. It was before the days of the DVR, so we were limited by what we could record on our VCR. Gilmore Girls was one of the many shows that lost out when we had to compromise. (Netflix)
  • The X-Files – I know! This geeky fangirl never watched The X-Files. I don’t really know why either. Really, it’s a show straight from my wheelhouse, but it never caught my attention back in the day. With the new episodes airing early next year, I think it’s time for me to see what it’s all about. (Netflix)
  • Marvel’s Daredevil – Hubby and I have been slowly making our way through this really excellent show. I think we are about halfway through, so finishing it will not be a problem. If you haven’t watched, I highly recommend it. It’s a little dark, more like the CW’s Arrow than The Flash, yet very enjoyable. (Netflix)

That’s my watch list, not terribly long. However, when combined with my re-watch list, it becomes a little intimidating. Now for the re-watch list:

  • LOST – I’ve already begun this re-watch, but got a little bogged down with it. I’m still early in season 1, but I’m at an episode that I didn’t enjoy on first watch. That dislike is keeping me from moving forward. I could skip it, but this is LOST. Skipping anything is a mistake. It could be the difference between understanding something twenty episodes down the road or not. I’ll get back to it, but it might be a while. (Netflix)
  • Battlestar Galactica – This is another re-watch I’ve already started. I’m about halfway through season 2 and I still love it. Anyone who is a fan of Star Trek knows that Ron Moore is a genius. He doesn’t disappoint when it comes to BSG. I was a huge fan of the original series. Because of that I thought I would have a hard time accepting some of the character gender swaps that came with the reimagined series. As I realized when I watched it for the first time several years ago, I shouldn’t have worried. It’s handled so expertly, it’s a non-issue. Again, if you haven’t watched, you really should. Unfortunately, BSG is not currently on Netflix. Amazon Instant Video does carry it, but you’ll have to pay for it by the episode or the season.
  • Prison Break – My husband and I loved this show when it originally aired. The premise was very interesting. The execution was perfect. But, sometime during season 3, our interest waned. Episodes went unwatched for weeks until we made the decision to abandon the show. Since it was added to Netflix, I’ve wanted to see how it ended. It was recently announced that FOX will be airing a limited run, stand-alone storyline Prison Break ‘revival.’ I’m interested to see how they will do this, considering the two stars, Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell, will both be staring in the CW’s Legends of Tomorrow, which is scheduled as a midseason show. All of this Prison Break talk has reignited my interest and placed this show on my re-watch list. (Netflix)
  • Merlin (BBC) – Even as a kid, I was fascinated by the Arthurian legend. I read the Mary Stewart books as soon as I was old enough. When the BBC show was first aired in the US on NBC, I was all in. After the first season (I think), it was moved to Syfy. We continued to watch, right up to the bitter, painful end. And yes, I’m still bitter about the series finale. Even though the finale is still like a dagger in my heart, watching the entire series is completely worth it. (Netflix)

I think that covers my list of complete series re-watches. I also have a list of shows that I will randomly watch an episode of here and there, as the mood strikes. Those are: anything Star Trek (except TOS), Supernatural, Bones, The Vampire Diaries, Chuck, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Alias. There are others, but these are my go-to shows.

Just a few other suggestions:

  • The CW is airing the entire first season of The Flash. Tomorrow’s episode is 1×04. If you haven’t watched this show, you must! Grant Gustin is amazing as Barry. The father/son relationship between Barry and Joe (Jesse L. Martin) is the best.
  • Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD season 2 was added to Netflix last week. If you haven’t watched, here is your chance to catch up before the new season begins in the fall.
  • Sherlock (BBC) will be back with new episodes in 2016. If you haven’t watched season 1 through 3, do it! It’s just a total of nine episodes at about eighty-five minutes each. Definitely worth the time.

That’s it, my summer in a nutshell. I’ll keep you updated on my progress through the summer. I’m interested to see how unrealistic this list really is.

What’s on your watch/re-watch list? I’m always interested in suggestions.