Marvelous Happy Things

It's now December, and such begins the Christmas season hubbub. I'm quite behind  on finishing this Disney/Nickelodeon show rankings series. If you need something trivial to be frustrated about, then you can be angry with these shows. Or, perhaps you like them. Thankfully, I have 5 shows for this list. They are in no particular order. Sorry, Babe Shows (as in, "Sorry, babe. You didn't quite make it.") Fish Hooks (2010-2014) (moved at some point to Disney XD) I generally enjoy Kyle Massey's humor, but if you ask him to be the voice of a fish, then it all goes downhill from there. The animation was not compelling. Are they trying to make an off-brand SpongeBob show? (I know many folks in the Gen X/Millennial generations grew up with SpongeBob, and I mean no offense to that show. I'm making a point for a commonality.) A.N.T. Farm (2011-2014) The one redeeming quality from this show is the Halloween episodes (1 for each of the 3 seasons), which I am not counti...

Happy November! Thanks for continuing to read this series. *I've chosen to leave a couple of shows off of this list that I originally included. (The final post will have more shows.) Workout Shows These are in no particular order. These are shows that you turn on when there is nothing else on, and you need to work out at 4 p.m. (this show or the news?) or you are eating lunch during the summer. Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide: This is a funny show if you don't care much about a plot. The kids get in some outrageous situations. Many of the jokes are too middle school age for me. (The characters are in middle school.) Bunk'd: I'm talking about the early seasons including the Ross kids, not the later ones. The theme song is pretty catchy, and the rich kids learn to rough it, which can be funny. Some of the jokes can be too elementary style. You may watch this show with a younger niece or nephew who would enjoy it, but probably not one to binge-watch.  Shake It...

This is part 2 of my series dedicated to ranking Disney and Nickelodeon shows.  These are in no particular order. Grade B KC Undercover: This marked Zendaya's return to Disney in a main role. (She first starred in a show we'll see later on.) The plot lines are fairly interesting, with lots of stunts. This show also doesn't take itself too seriously, like when it refers to the organization where they work as The Organization. Liv and Maddie: Twins! Played by one girl! The family dynamics and the plot twist that led into the final season make this show Grade B. There was also a real-life romance between Dove and her character Maddie's boyfriend for a period of time, which added to the cuteness factor. Jessie: This show earns points for including adopted children. Despite the Ross family's rich status, the kids are fairly down-to-earth. Jessie's adjustment to city life could also keep you watching. Plus, the theme song will stay in your head. Victorious: Talk about...

 I did this ranking a few months ago and decided to dig into it now, for your entertainment. *This will be a multi-part post.* Note: I will not include shows that I rarely watched or were on in the early 2000s, unless I've seen more than a few episodes. Sorry, Raven fans. Grade A: The Suite Life of Zack and Cody/on Deck: London and Maddie's friendship was worth re-watching several episodes. The premise of kids living in a hotel is unique. I enjoyed Cody and Bailey's relationship in On Deck , so that show is included here as well. Next! Wizards of Waverly Place: I don't know that I need to explain too much here. Selena's acting start? Plot twists? Family time? Austin and Ally: Will they? Won't they? This show included songs in many episodes and funny friends. Though they dragged on Austin and Ally's relationship status, the show still felt fresh. Zoey 101: Our first Nick show makes an appearance. It just celebrated 10 years! The plot revolved around normal k...

I started this list last fall, when I watched High School Musical (HSM) and HSM 2. Then I recently watched HSM again with my parents, which was funny, because my dad watched it with me originally, probably in 2008. Here are some quotes and funny observations, in no particular order. I tried to list the references as appropriate. HSM 2: "Did you ever get on a ride and wanna get off?"- Bet On It This happens to me often when I ride rollercoasters, but I wouldn't put it in a song. HSM 2: How did Sharpay's parents get so rich? This isn't addressed. Normally people who own country clubs work at them as well, and the Evans family hangs out like it's a second house. HSM 2: "No more waking up at 6 a.m." - What Time Is It If I woke up at 6 for high school on a day with no club meetings, I would be very early. My high school started at 7:35. HSM 2: Chad and Ryan switching clothes after the I Don't Dance sequence. No one addresses this. The fans have...

After watching a few videos in which other fans did the same, I used tiermaker.com to rank every One Direction song. It has been long enough since the release of Made in the A.M. for my opinion to be somewhat objective. Enjoy! 1) THE Songs (love them, listen every time): Perfect, If Could Fly, Love You Goodbye, 18 2) Amazing (mean something to me or the band): What Makes You Beautiful, Little Things, Moments, Drag Me Down, Infinity, History, You & I 3) Good: One Thing, C'mon C'mon, Heart Attack, Story of My Life, Where Do Broken Hearts Go?, Fool's Gold, Night Changes, Fireproof, Spaces, Never Enough, I Want to Write You a Song, Home 4) Had Good Potential: Gotta Be You, More Than This, Live While We're Young, Kiss You, Last First Kiss, Over Again, Nobody Compares, Right Now, Little Black Dress, Though the Dark, Steal My Girl, Ready to Run, Girl Almighty, No Control, Better than Words, Clouds, Illusion, Once in a Lifetime, End of the Day, Wolves, Walking in th...

The Jonas Brothers 2019- "Burnin' Up," "Year 3000," "When You Look Me in the Eyes," "Lovebug" Here's a confession: When the original JB were first around, I didn't really like them. I grew to like Lines, Vines, and Trying Times  and appreciated their earlier stuff nostalgically. When "Pom Poms" came out, I remember thinking, "What are you doing?" I don't like that song. Some would say I'm not a "true fan" since I wasn't there from the beginning. I'm definitely ready for this comeback. We're all older, and it will be fun to see how they view the world through music this time around. I was disappointed that they only sang part of "Burnin' Up" on Carpool Karaoke . It would have been fun to hear Nick's "red dress" lyric live. The lyrics to "Year 3000" are silly. I wasn't as familiar with "When You Look Me in the Eyes" before this vid...

This fan meets a famous actor on an airplane.  We feel like we know them, but we really don't. Singer and actor (only one movie, but I'm listing it anyway) Harry Styles has been in my life since 2012. I've never met him, and I probably never will, but some people can inspire you from afar. His philosophy to "treat people with kindness" and his personality are attractive and winsome. Unlike the way that some fans (see the recent news of Kelsy Karter using a fake tattoo of his face to get attention and then writing a song with his name) relate to artists, some of us are quite sane. (No hate to her; the song is quite catchy.) But I digress. I've been a fan of Harry since his One Direction days. Their music was a wonderful distraction in high school and college. They are around the same age as I am, and it was fun to see their lives on the road, living the dream. Sometimes fans take personal speculation too far, like insinuating romantic relationships betwe...

If you are not often on the internet, then you may have no clue who Jake Paul or Shane Dawson are. However, Shane recently created an 8 part YouTube series centered around Jake. Creators paid attention because both are popular YouTubers and the series was long (each episode was over 30 min). This is all free content. Why should you care? Shane and Jake discussed some pretty deep topics, but the one that stuck out the most to me was the love triangle of Jake, his brother Logan Paul, and his friend (girlfriend?) Alissa Violet. I won't go into details here (plenty of articles cover what happened), but it ended with cheating allegations and Jake making Alissa leave the house they lived in together. Jake admitted in the video with Shane that he had never before spoken of this incident. Both men struggled to show emotion during the segment. Jake said that he thought he was over it, but Shane pointed out that he probably is not. From the series, Jake admits that he was raised in a house...

I'm going to write this carefully. I don't want to make unfair comparisons, and every fan who interacts with and consumes media is unique. But I do think that some points need to be made. I, for one, can combine my affection for characters with my affection for the people who portray them. This could be unhealthy. Here are some examples that show the divide between imagination and reality: Somewhere in Los Angeles, Dylan O'Brien and Holland Roden rehearse a scene as Stiles and Lydia. The director yells, "Cut!" Their day on the set of Teen Wolf is over. Dylan and Holland leave the set to spend the evening with friends. Miles away in another part of LA, Chris Evans finishes a comedic scene. The director dismisses the cast and crew. Chris goes to his trailer and changes from his Captain America costume into some casual clothes. He leaves the set, possibly to have dinner with some of his Avengers cast or hang out with his family. In a house in Indianapolis, Joh...