'Ice Road' Melting

Normally, I'm glued to the drivers and the perilous conditions they drive through on the mighty Dalton Highway in Alaska.  But this week, I was completely transfixed by the folks who work hard to keep the Dalton up and running and make sure it's safe (as safe as an iced-over road with steep drop-offs can be anyway).  Whether it was the people dishing out the violations to perennial violator Hugh and a newcomer to the citation game or the Alaska DOT worker known as "K Bear" who had one of the scariest jobs I've seen (and that's saying a lot for a road that has an avalanche crew) -- this week was all about the behind-the-scenes people who keep everything running so that important supplies can get to the North Slope.  The theme of the week was melting ice, and as we learned in this one, the simple act of snow and ice turning into water isn't just a welcoming sign of impending spring.

PTR Announcement

Dear Readers,

As the summer comes to a close and the new fall season approaches, exciting times are ahead.  We will soon eagerly welcome back our favorite shows and characters and make room on our TV schedules for new favorites.  Like many of you, I am excited to see the return of my faves (most notably Bones, which returns in 1 week), and I'm still deciding which new shows to add to my "Season Pass" list on my DVR.  Over the last five years, Pass the Remote has been covering many of those old and new favorites along with some TV news and specials peppered in.  It has been such a joy to write my thoughts down about something that I truly love: Television.  So, this is a decision I have not made lightly.  At the close of the summer season, I will no longer be updating and/or blogging about television here at PTR.  Changes in my own life (all good) have caused me to not be able to dedicate the time and resources I would like (and that you have rightfully come to expect) to updating and maintaining this site.

I will still be watching my favorite shows and might even post a special write-up from time to time if a particular episode takes me out of TV blogger retirement, but officially speaking, PTR will go dark at the end of the summer season.  For those of you who follow PTR on Twitter, I will continue to post short thoughts and TV news regularly over there.  For those who do not follow PTR, but would like to, click the link on the side bar or find me HERE.  This site will stay up as an archive, so all of PTR's past writings will be accessible at all times.

Thank you all, dear readers, for allowing me to write about something that I love for the last five years.  When I set out to create this blog, I wasn't expecting anything from it, but I have gotten so much from all of you throughout the years.  Thank you to all of the networks, PR people, shows, actors, writers, etc. who have helped me along the way.  A special HUGE thank you to the wonderful folks at Veronica Mars who allowed me and a small group of regular old bloggers to visit their set and spend the day getting an inside look at one of my favorite shows of all-time.  It has been so much fun to do this blog and I will miss it.  But, good things are on the horizon and a new TV season is about to begin, and I will be watching this one as a regular TV fan for the first time in years.  When the summer season has officially ended, I will post a final goodbye.  Until then, we have an all-new episode of Ice Road Truckers to look forward to this Sunday!  We'll discuss on Monday.

Sincerely,
TVFan      

Convoy on 'Ice'

Well Ice Road Truckers fans, we've got ourselves a convoy! I know it's highly doubtful that Carlile coincidentally chose only the stars of the series to run this convoy to Nuiqsut, but I don't care. I LOVED the fact that they all traveled together, got stranded in Prudhoe together, and ventured out onto the river ice together. Of course, there were some tense moments between the drivers, but there were some fabulous bonding ones as well. One such moment happened in one of the most remote places on earth and involved a unique native tradition and an even more unique menu.  But first, the drivers had to make it 500 miles through some pretty hairy conditions and then across weakening river ice.

Live and Let Spy

I'm sure everyone is still buzzing about THAT moment from Psych's summer finale this week.  BUT, I was left a little underwhelmed by it and I'm not exactly sure why.  We've been watching the romantic tension between Shawn and Jules build over the course of the seasons.  We've been rooting for Shawn to finally get the girl.  We've rooted for Juliet to get her moment.  But now that the two shared a momentous kiss just as she was about to jet off to the Amalfi coast with Declan, I'm not all that satisfied.  To be clear, I wouldn't be anymore satisfied if Jules had ditched the Amalfi (and Declan) for Santa Barbara and Shawn (after all, it is a "beach community").  Maybe it was the sorta cliche way in which Jules finally learned the truth or the kinda overused finale tactic of having Jules heading off with another man but thinking that she might be making a mistake just as the episode (and the season) came to a close.  I don't know, but the story line has a big question mark hanging over it for me and I don't think I'll make a final decision on it until we see more in November.  In the meantime, let's focus on the funny from this otherwise excellent finale in this week's edition of "The Funny, The Funnier and OK, For Real, My Side Just Split" after the jump.