communication breakdown

Hurry Up And Wait

Well, after finally scheduling a trip to visit the breeder and see some of his dogs, I've made the plunge and put down a deposit for one of the Brittany puppies from his next litter. It feels a little weird buying a dog that hasn't even been bred yet, let alone born yet, but that's the way these kind of things work I guess. The really fortunate thing for me is that, when I originally spoke with this breeder, he had an upcoming litter of which 4 of the dogs were already spoken for. That meant my chances of getting what I wanted, or getting one at all, were somewhat low. However, it appears that the original breeding did not take, so they are breeding two different dogs instead. All of the people "in line" ahead of me wanted a pup from that original breeding, so when that didn't work out, I jumped straight to the top of the list. It seems fate is on my side...

I was pretty floored when I went out to this guy's place. He lives out in the country, about an hour north of Atlanta, and his place was amazing. The first thing I noticed when I drove up, besides the acres upon acres of flowing countryside, was the house. It was absolutely ginormous. Apparently he has 150 acres of property out there - plenty of room to raise dogs. He had about 8 adult Brittanys in kennels, including the potential sire/dam for the upcoming litter. The dogs were exactly how I expected - playful, curious, and energetic. I played with a few and I could just sense that they would be a lot of fun and make great pets. I'm really looking forward to having one of my own.

The basic timeline is this: I'm going to call the breeder back in about 3 weeks, once he gets back from the Bahamas (must be nice!). By then they will definitely know if the breeding was successful. From there, it will probably be another month until they are born, and then roughly 2 months until they are ready to go home. So, assuming everything goes swimmingly, I'll be bringing home a puppy around mid-September. In one sense, it seems like forever from now. But knowing how much work I'll need to do between now and then, it's probably going to be here before I realize it...

TV Report Card 2006

What a bitersweet time of year. As of two weeks ago, there were 7 shows which I was actively watching. As of now, there are none. Finale time always guarantees some great programming, but it also signifies the fact that I'll be waiting for several months to see anything new. Now that I think about it, I guess it's not really any different than sports: the playoffs mean two things - the highest level of competition, and the impending offseason. Oh well - I guess that's what DVDs are for.

So, in a nutshell, here's my impression of the 2006 TV season. Rest assured, everything is essentially spoiler-free:

Show	Grade (Season / Finale)	Rationale
	A- / A	What a thrillride as always. The season started out faster than any other, and the breakneck speed keeps up pretty consistently throughout the season. Plenty of gutsy and unpopular decisions were made this year, including plenty of bloodshed (which shouldn't be a surprise, since that happens every year). I respect the show for willing to go places that lesser shows would not. The season is full of great moments of tension, and its one of the best-acted seasons yet. Despite this, I would probably rate it as the 4th best season (ahead of S4) simply because a lot of the tricks they employed felt overdone and tried out. Much of what happens isn't that new to 24 veterans, and the things that are new were pretty predictible. Nevertheless, don't get me wrong: it was still great, and is still better than just about everything else on TV.
	C+ / A+	Let me start by saying the finale was one of the best episodes in a long, long while - at least since "The Letter" (Dr. Greene's death), and perhaps as far back as "All In The Family" (Lucy's death). However, the rest of the season was quite lackluster. ER is a long way from where it was in the glory days, but it is still good entertainment when done right. The major pro for the season was John Leguizamo, whose turn as a conflicted attending physician was fantastic. But the cons were significant: for one, many of the characters (Neela, Ray, Morris, Luka) are mostly uninteresting. But more importantly, the show got extremely political and heavy-handed this season. If it keeps up much longer, the show will lose a 12-year viewer.
	A / A	This is really a grade of the last season I've fully seen, which is Season 2 (this is complicated because the show originally airs on BBC and is broadcast months later on AMC). If you've never seen it, Hustle is a great show - a hip, stylish drama that is consistently well-written and entertaining. In fact, "consistent" is the most appropriate adjective. Every episode, while not mind-boggling or awe-inspiring, is consistently great. Season 2 is a fun time from start to finish.
	A- / A+	This show is going to make my head explode. Really, it would be an A+ all-around if it weren't for the annoying month-long delays during the season (which they are fixing next year). In terms of storyline, it really can't be beat. Not that I really know what's going on at all, but trying to figure it all out is part of the enjoyment. This season was bookended with two of the best episodes of TV I've ever seen. If the storyline stays strong and well-paced, and the acting maintains its high caliber, this series is destined for classic status. It is without a doubt the show most likely to lead to conversations and speculation among me and my friends - one mark of great programming.
	B- / B	This show is sliding for sure, and I wouldn't be surprised if next season is its last. Credit The OC for willing to go where its predecessors have never dared, but throughout the season the writing often suffered from lapses in good storytelling. The characters lack the chemistry that they had throughout the magical first season. Despite this, it is still damn good drama.
	B+ / B+	The Office has definitely come into its own in Season 2, as it carved its identity separately from its British counterpart. This has led to a dramatic upturn in its humor value. I laughed long and hard throughout many of the episodes this season ("The Fight", "Conflict Resolution", etc.) and I really like the chemistry among the cast. But I must say, across the board, I still prefer the British cast and writing. Part of that is that more and more I find myself hating Steve Carell's character. I hope that doesn't end up ruining the show for me.
	A / B+	A fantastic first season, despite the gutsy decision by FOX to take off 4 months right in the middle of things. Like all good shows, its foundation is a solid, multi-layered, slowly-revealed story. They have mastered the art of the cliffhanger, leaving every episode in a seemingly impossible situation. In fact, that's probably my one knock on the show thus far - there have been too many coincidences and contrived situations that have led the convicts to their escape. Despite this, Prison Break is good for a guaranteed hour of taut suspense.
	B / C	This was my first full seasons of Scrubs, and I'm definitely happy I picked it up. Despite being too over-the-top for my tastes sometimes, it's certainly one of the few good comedies on TV, and it's good for consistent laughs. I particularly like how they were willing to take a more serious turn near the end of the season - something you don't see often from comedies, but it was handled well by deftly fusing humor and tragedy. However, the ending fizzled out a bit, particularly because they messed up this balance: too much drama and not enough comedy. Still, I fully expect Scrubs to come out with comedy guns blazing in the next season.
	A+ / A+	Holy crap. I didn't think The Shield could get any better, and then Season 5 comes along - the best ever. How many shows do you know of that get consistently better, even up through 5 years? That's how good this show is. What was remarkable was that this season focused on all of the unresolved crap caused by the lead character and his cronies throughout previous seasons. Lesser shows would leave these loose threads to die - not only did The Shield reintroduce them, they did it such that it seems that their plan all along was to address them in this season. Oh, and did I mention the fantastic season-long guest starring role of Forrest Whittaker? I was absolutely blown away by this season, and this might sound like blasphemy coming from me, but it's really pushing 24 as the best show on TV, now or ever.