Tag: television

Movies and TV series I’ve seen more than 5 times

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What movies or TV series have you watched more than 5 times?

Daily Writing Prompt

I’m a big fan of movies and TV series. I’ve seen a lot, so I don’t remember which ones. But I know which movies and TV series I’ve seen more than five times—I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen them. I have a lot of DVD and Blu-Ray discs, but I also watch them on streaming services like Disney Plus.

I would choose movies if I had to choose between movies and TV series. I watch TV series, especially comedies, but I’m not interested in what they show now. They’re too tawdry for my taste. The newer comedy shows I like the best are ‘Modern Family’ and ‘The Big Bang Theory’, but I haven’t seen them more than 5 times. Besides comedy TV shows, I enjoy watching crime and drama shows such as ’24’, ‘BBC Sherlock’ and ‘ER’. That show is on repeat now on Finnish TV. It was the show in the 1990s that you couldn’t miss a single episode of. It was a big break for actor George Clooney as well. I’m so glad it’s being shown again. You can’t find it on any streaming service for free. ER is as great as I remember. Another show I’m watching is ‘Law and Order: Special Victims Unit’. It’s on season 25 and will catch up with the US, which is now on season 26.

The TV series I’ve seen more than five times are all British comedies. I have many of them on DVD, which is the only way to watch them repeatedly without commercials. Classics never go out of style. Every time I watch them, I still laugh. I have British comedies on DVD, including ‘Allo Allo’, ‘Blackadder’, ‘The Fast Show’, and ‘A Little Bit of Fry and Laurie’ (with Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry). I’ve seen them more than 5 times. The comedy series I don’t have on DVD is ‘Are You Being Served?’ I’ve seen that at least 8 times when you could still see the whole episode for free. Now, it’s only random episodes on YouTube. The show was never shown on Finnish TV, but I had heard about it, so I searched online. I could name a few other British classics, but that would take too long to write about.

The genres in movies are more expansive than in TV series. There is action, fantasy, and, of course, comedy. The movies I’ve seen most are the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy and ‘The Hobbit’ trilogy. I can never get enough of them. The next on the list is ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ Say what you want about these movies, but I see them as entertainment and don’t take them too seriously. Some people might think the movies aren’t getting better and that there are too many. Trilogies aren’t for everyone; only those with enough patience to watch them will like them. Take ‘Lord of the Rings’, for example, for some about 3 three hours in the movie theatre is too long to sit. But if you’re a movie fan, you don’t care. I saw each of the three movies twice and watched the whole thing to the end. I have only had to go to the bathroom once during another movie, but that was only because I had to. That was only one time, and I have never had to leave in the middle again. The mistake people make when they go to the movies is that they drink during the movie. That’s what makes you want to go to the bathroom in the first place. I think it’s a shame to pay for a movie ticket and then have to leave in the middle of the movie. Tickets aren’t cheap, you know. You should always be prepared for a movie in the theatre, or you might miss something.

I have seen movies since I was 3, so I have a lot of experience watching them. I even belonged to a children’s movie club when I was a kid. I was one in the 1980s, so it was mostly family movies like “The Never Ending Story”. That was one of the movies in the movie club. There are movies I’ve only seen once or twice, and then there are movies like ‘Thor’ movies and the ‘Batman trilogy ‘with Christian Bale. I’ve seen them at least 5 times, but I haven’t counted them, but it is a lot. There are many others I’ve seen more than 5 times, but I can’t think of one right now. I’m selective when it comes to movies and TV series. I don’t watch just anything. It doesn’t matter if it’s a blockbuster movie many people want to see. I won’t watch them if it doesn’t interest me, even though everybody else does. Those movies and TV series are on a totally different list.

On a cosy Sunday

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Photo: ©Mia Salminen 2017

♫Sunday Monday happy days
Tuesday Wednesday happy days
Thursday Friday happy days
Saturday what a day
Rockin’ all week for you♫ – Happy Days, TV tune.

Sundays should be a cosy day, as it used to be. But now the stores are open every day of the week. For me, Sundays are cosy. If they weren’t, weekdays would be stressful. Being cosy doesn’t mean staying inside all day. If the day is sunny, you can be cosy outside. Sundays, my parents and I went for walks in the countryside. After my mum passed away, I still went out with Dad, but the walks weren’t as long as before. He played golf, so sometimes we went to the golf course to hit balls on the driving range. But that stopped a couple of years ago when things happened, and he couldn’t do it anymore.

I still drive to nature or take bike rides whenever possible. That’s my kind of cosy. But I also watch TV or on the computer. It happens every day of the week, not only on Sundays. Watching sports on TV is relaxing and being cosy, even if sports can be irritating from time to time.

I watch the Finnish version of Dancing with the Stars on Sundays, but the season will end soon. Even if I don’t dance, seeing other people doing it is cosy. My late mother used to watch it, so I also started watching it. The final will be next Sunday, but I will watch it at a hotel. I’m driving to Helsinki that day because I’m attending an event on Monday. Life can’t always be cosy, and driving long distances is not. But by car, you move at your own pace. That’s cosy in its own right.

Things that makes me yawn

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Everyone has a topic that fails to capture their interest. Online, you can escape from boring things, but in real life, interacting with people is not easy. You don’t want to hurt other people’s feelings, so you deal with what they discuss. I find it difficult to talk to people I don’t know because they usually don’t like the same things I do. It feels awkward when a stranger talks to you, so you only smile and leave. As an introvert and Finn, I don’t like small talk. That’s one of the things that makes me yawn. I don’t mind discussing the weather, but it still comes up. In a way, that’s an icebreaker, but nothing happens after that.

Listening to other people’s conversations is also a bore, especially on public transport. You think Finns are quiet, but you would disagree if you met one on a bus or train—with someone they travel with, that is. You don’t see us talking to strangers that easily. I don’t know how people become friends if they don’t talk to people. That’s another thing that makes me yawn. No matter where I see others, no one ever talks to me. I haven’t had contact with former classmates. Not that I mind because I didn’t have anything in common with them in the first place. They seemed not to want to get to know me either. Who needs people who aren’t at the same level as you are anyway? Over the years, I’ve stopped caring about it.

The European Champion in football is on, but the whole topic makes me yawn. I only care about football if Finland is playing and how my home teams are doing in the Finnish leagues. Other times, I don’t care. I love watching sports, but not all of them. Sports I don’t care about make me yawn. Those who don’t watch any sport probably know how that feels. The media is full of news about it, and I bet people who don’t care about the sport wish there would be less news about the topic. Fortunately, everyone has a choice. You either care about sport, or you don’t. You can always change the channel or turn to the next page in the newspaper (if you still read one). If someone talks about it, you can leave and do something else.

The last yawning moment is when people talk about movies or TV series that I don’t care about. It feels like people don’t like the same new movies as I do. The same goes for TV. I like watching classic TV shows, but sometimes I check out new ones. I don’t care about Netflix and their shows. Are people still watching it? I have only one paid streaming service provider, and that’s Disney Plus. You see commercials about different providers, but none of them interest me. I couldn’t afford it anyway. Disney Plus has all that I want to pay for. There are a lot of interesting documents to watch, and they are not only made-up stories. They don’t make me yawn, and that’s all that counts.