About watching series & Hart of Dixie

I love watching series. To me, they form the perfect distraction while crafting. A lot of crafts don't require my full attention (spinning, crocheting, sewing, knitting, etc.), which means that part of my brain is unoccupied. In my case, unemployed brain cells somehow always react on this with exclaiming "Hey guys, we're free, let's go think stressful, worrying and controlling thoughts, yay!" (those nasty little fellas, grrrr...). Not good! So, to keep them busy and preserve my sanity, I like to watch series while crafting. Am I alone in this, or is there anyone out there who recognizes this? Please, let me know! (I'll feel less weird :P)

Quite a lot of series have been played on my laptop already. I really enjoyed all House M.D. seasons, just as The Office (US). Private Practice was another favorite, although somehow I liked Grey's Anatomy less. I'm watching Game of Thrones together with my boyfriend, we're both anxiously waiting for the third season! (Though this one's a bit different from the rest, I don't watch it while crafting...its story-lines demand way too much attention.) The Big Bang Theory never fails to amuse me, same counts for Two and a half Men, Anger Management and Arrested Development (which I'm watching together with my boyfriend as well, since we have to wait 'till spring 2014 for the next GoT season to begin). I lóved Pushing Daisies (that one stopped way too early). There're also some older series I still like, for example Frasier, The Nanny, Friends, Dharma & Greg and King of Queens. Oh, and I even like documentary series! Mark and I just finished Discovery Channel's Naked and Afraid. He brought An Idiot Abroad under my attention, which I find hilarious. When I'm in the mood, I find Through the Wormhole very interesting. And how about Louis Theroux' Crazy Weekends?

Well, it might be clear I watch a lot of series. Some of them I found out about via IMDB, some others via television. But actually most of them were pointed out to me by online friends and blogs. I love reading other people's reviews of books, movies and series. When it appeals to me, I try to get hold of the movie/series/book and watch/read it for myself, forming my own opinion on it.
Since I wrote a book-review already a little while ago, I thought...why not do the same for series? I can add my two cents to that immense online database of reviews and opinions, and maybe help others find out about nice new stuff to watch! I won't write about the very famous and obvious ones though, like The Big Bang Theory or whatever. There's already plenty of reviews and blogs to be found online on those ones, and everyone has heard of them anyway. Instead, I'll try to focus on less well-known series.

The series I'd like to start with is called 'Hart of Dixie'. I just finished its second season. I know the third season has already started in the US this fall, but I haven't watched the first episodes yet. I prefer getting hold of a complete season all at once, instead of having to wait for another episode every week. So I might wait a little while...expectantly though, because I really liked its first two seasons!

Hart of Dixie is about doctor Zoe Hart. Zoe is quite a little know-it-all, a young and hip lady from the Big Apple who just graduated as a doctor. She has her whole future planned and thinks she figured everything out just perfectly well, when something goes wrong and circumstances force her towards Bluebell, a small town in the deeeep south of America. Here she finds a job as a general practitioner, and that's when the real adventures begin.

Little miss Know-it-all, arriving in Bluebell.

Now...if the term 'doctor' (in the framework of tv-series) already scared you off, please don't stop reading yet. There's only a very small part of the series dedicated to medical interventions. Which are limited to a bare minimum anyway, because dr. Hart is a general practitioner and has to take care of a lot of humdrum problems (a big switch for her, coming from the busy state-of-the-art hospitals of New York...). So this is not yet another typical medical series, with those typical emergency situations, spectacular reanimations and love affairs between doctors and nurses. Instead, most of the series evolve around the character of dr. Hart and a lot of other interesting inhabitants of Bluebell. And this is done in a very sweet and heartwarming way.

A typical meeting of the town Belles.

I find the culture of the Southern United States very interesting. It's so distinct from every other American part, really having it's own unique identity. Southern people generally seem to be socially more conservative than the rest of the country and have a very strong sense of community, something that also applies to a lot of characters in Hart of Dixie. Many of Zoe's female peers in Bluebell are so-called Southern Belle's. The definition of a Southern Belle is a beautiful and charming woman (born in the deep south of course), possessing an undeniable natural charm, having a warm and dazzling smile and impeccable manners. She can be recognized by her hospitality and graciousness. This sounds all very nice and dreamy, but don't be fooled. The elite Southern Belles are in charge. They will get literally everything they want and won't avoid blackmailing and manipulation. While always remaining charming! I find it hilarious how they say the meanest things to each other with that lovely smile plastered on their face…that's really a special Southern Belle-skill.

The beautiful, complicated Lemon...

The über Southern Belle is Lemon Breeland, who also plays a big role throughout the series. She's definitely not Zoe's best friend, although they slowly grow a bit closer to each other over time. Lemon is the head of the town Belles, a group charged with maintaining the history and heritage of Bluebell, a job that she takes véry seriously. Lemon is quite something. I hated her character in the beginning, but during the episodes her character is really evolving and you get to know more about her background. She's not an easy person, and neither makes life easy for herself. She makes choices that will have you gnashing your teeth…but right at the moment when you can't stand her anymore, she does something that makes you respect her, and sometimes even - yes, really! - like her.

Wade Kinsella, one of the competitors for dr. Zoe's heart.

A lot of the series focusses on the romantic relationships between Zoe and different men in town. The two biggest competitors for dr. Zoe's heart are Wade Kinsella and George Tucker, who are complete opposites - of course (in some aspects Hart of Dixie is still as predictable as many other romantic/drama series…nothing wrong with a bit of predictable entertainment though!). Of course the whole town is involved in the romantic complications, literally nothing can be kept secret in Bluebell. This is something else that Zoe really has to get used to, coming from a big city where it's easy to stay anonymous. Which must have been very convenient for her by the way, because she has a tendency of letting things get completely out of hand and causing weird drama's and escalations!

Hart of Dixie contains some very interesting, funny and plain weird characters. Here are some of my favorites:

• Annabeth Nass: Annabeth is Lemon's best friend. In contrast to Lemon though, she seems to not take everything too serious, she's a bit more down to earth, while still always staying a very charming and bubbly Belle with a definite sense of humor. Green is definitely her favorite color (I believe there's something green in every outfit she wears - which are mostly vintage dresses and skirts by the way). Annabeth is much easier to love in the series…she's a bit unfortunate in love, which unexpectedly brings her closer to Zoe, a friendship she has to keep secret from Lemon.

Annabeth & Lemon.

• Lavon Hayes: Lavon is the mayor of the town. He's not your average old-and-bearded mayor though…imagine a very good-looking former football linebacker here! He's one of Zoe's few allies in town, always having her back (though regularly a bit unwillingly fulfilling the role of a lady-friend, listening to her rambling on about her latest date or hormonal problems). 

Wade & Lavon…breakfast, anyone?

• Burt Reynolds: this is Lavon Hayes' pet alligator. Yep, you read that right…this is the weird one! 

Zoe feeding Burt...

Okay, last but not least…one of my favorite scenes, in case you're not convinced yet. In this specific episode Zoe decides she wants to be a Belle (one of her many crazy impulsive actions). Prospective Belles have to go through a period of initiation. Part of this initiation is having to sing the Belle's Dixie every time the secret word is used...

I hope you liked my first series review! Any comments are more than welcome, and if you want to share your own favorite series: go ahead and fill me in! Right now I'm watching 'Raising Hope' which is definitely becoming a new favorite…so I see a next review coming ;)