Notes from Crew Quarters: What We're Watching

This week we asked our editors: What TV are you watching right now?

Amy Hansen, Associate Poetry Editor

Right now, in the last semester of graduate school, for some reason, I’m really into shows about people with really secure jobs. I’m watching the new season of Parks and Rec this week thinking, “Yeah, I could definitely direct something. I have skills like Leslie Knope. For example, I eat waffles, too. This is fine.”

Sara Ryan, Associate Poetry Editor

I WATCH SO MUCH TV. I’m currently watching Top Chef, Fixer Upper, Ellen’s Design Challenge, and basically all remaining Food Network and HGTV shows. Otherwise, I’ve been watching The 100, Making a Murderer and New Girl on Netflix. I LOVE TV SO MUCH.

Jacque Boucher, Spoken Word Poetry

Much like my taste in music, my taste in TV stopped maturing around 2009. Hayley Fitz and I spent a good deal of last semester watching Dexter, and now we're watching House. This has the added bonus of reminding me of my sister, who's also a huge fan of the show, so it helps with the homesickness.

Rachael Belmore, Associate Nonfiction Editor

I waste way more time lately on playing FB games while listening to Broadway soundtracks than I do on TV, but I did make it to season 10 of Grey's Anatomy over the break. Now that school's back in, I'll watch an episode every couple of days when I'm at the gym; it helps me to pass the time and to ignore any social urges that might sweep over me uninvited. Smiling and waving at people I know is overrated.

Stephen Wardell, Associate Nonfiction Editor

The original Star Trek. I keep getting tricked by other life-forms, feeling lonely and self-important, and making controversial decisions about the future of this planet as commander of the Enterprise.

Robin McCarthy, Managing Editor 

I forgot to watch TV in the aughts, so I'm catching up with Gilmore Girls right now. My long term relationship has gone long distance this year, so I'm pretty much dating the Lorelai's right now. They help me decompress at the end of the work day, have dinner with me, and are usually the last people I see before I fall asleep.

Alex Clark, Associate Nonfiction Editor

Nurse Jackie. I come from a family of strong women who all happen to be nurses and though the show isn't exactly realistic in its portrayal of how a hospital runs, it is spot on about the personality traits required for the job.

Annie Bilancini, Associate Fiction Editor

I've been watching iZombie and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend lately. One is about a woman who is a crime-fighting zombie and the other is about a woman who hallucinates high-quality musical productions multiple times a day. Both are exquisite and both explain my relationship to reality fairly accurately.

Stanley Hudson, Associate Fiction Editor

Will I lose any man points if I say that I'm watching Avatar: The Last Airbender? Because that's what I'm doing, and if you don't like that I will fight you.

Fisticuffs aside, Avatar was a neat little exercise in world building when it first came out, and it still is. As a fiction writer, I can appreciate building worlds--organic, expansive worlds--and making them work with dynamic and charming mechanisms.

Karl Schroeder, Associate Poetry Editor

Antiques Roadshow. Come for the history lesson, stay for the subtle twinges of suppressed and growing rage as people slowly realize that they were put on TV because their antique is fake.

Paige Frazier, Associate Nonfiction Editor

Just finished season 2 of Transparent. Phenomenal. It makes dysfunctional living look super cool.

Ben Kinney, Associate Fiction Editor

I've been obsessed with Survivor since I was in middle school, and recently I have begun rewatching all the seasons again. Despite being so into the show that I remember who wins every challenge and who gets voted out on every episode, I still find myself hoping that things might turn out differently. On a re-watch, you have time to look for the little things: the nuances of character you missed on the first go-around, or the hands of the crew sometimes finding their way into a shot. That's worth 400 hours of your life, right?

Hayli Cox, Associate Nonfiction Editor

I'm watching the old Twilight Zone episodes. Some inspire me, some wow me, and others help me fall asleep :)

Sarah David, Associate Fiction Editor

I've become oddly addicted to House Hunters of various varieties, like the International one. I do not currently own a house, but I apparently like watching people hunt for them. Oh, and there's an Island Hunters where people buy their own islands! This is seriously happening somewhere.

James Dyer, Associate Nonfiction Editor

I may not be a student anymore, but I feel as though I'm obliged to make a Leftovers plug here.