Mountie Affliction

'Lex came over for dinner tonight, I cooked for us (I make excellent burgers) and we chatted and I probably talked too much because I spend too much time alone so when I'm around people I tend to run my mouth like I've never seen a live human before. I really need to get out more. Like really really really. Anyway, not the point.

Also don't want to whine about how in the course of our conversations we hit on some of those super fun psychological things and how being self aware this stuck with me. (Fear of success, inherent insecurity, not wanting to repeat/get in the vicinity of past mistakes and thus avoiding all decision making forever and ever blah blah blah.)

So while I avoid all that, I'm gonna tell you about what I spend time doing when I have the beach house to myself on Sunday nights instead. If you don't know, or haven't figured out, I love the beach house. My 90 lb man other dog eating beast is currently asleep across my feet (which isn't really comfortable but he's keeping them warm and I lurve him). There is a giant soaking bathtub which I used earlier and then promptly passed out for two hours. I will now likely be up 'til dawn.

And while I'm up too late, since there is no cable here and the Netflix stream on the DVD player is spotty, I pop in movies. Lately this means I bring my DVD set of Due South with me. Yes, I own the entire DVD set of an old TV show. Since you likely don't know because you aren't obsessed with TV, Due South was a TV show on in the mid 90s. It is a bit campy, as these things go. It's the story of a Canadian Mountie who fits pretty much every Canadian stereotype us Americans have. Not even gonna lie that most of my opinions of Canada, correct or not, are informed by the imprint this show left on me. Through a series of events, our mountie ends up in Chicago working with a less than ethical detective there. His do gooding of course drives his Chicago friend crazy, hijinks ensue, but the end results work.

Mostly I watch because the mountie, played by Paul Gross, is freaking adddooorraaabbllle.

Paul Gross is also in Slings & Arrows if campy 90s shows aren't your thing. But I enjoy this show immensely. And some of the guest stars that show up crack me up. I've spotted: Carrie Anne Moss, Ryan Phillipe, Jane Krakowski, Terri Polo and Maria Bello. I'm a personal fan of the pond hockey episode where Rick Rossovich plays the hockey player. And the two-pary love story, the only one they ever give the mountie with Melina Kanakaredes playng the love interest and tons of Sarah McLachlan on the soundtrack.

There are clever head nods like the boss lady being named Margaret Thatcher, his dog wolf being named after a former Canadian PM, and Leslie Nielsen in a recurring role as a mountie named after an explorer of Canada. (File under shit you will NEVER need to know unless it shows up on pub trivia.)

I feel like my love of this show is a little bit legitimized by it being written by Paul Haggis. I mean, he has written like everything ever. Or maybe my liking it is diminished by that. Who knows. I don't care, I'm not really gonna explain it. On my Sunday nights I like watching Due South.