Thinking only of work and other stressors is really only going to keep you stressed out and thinking that it’s impossible to do anything more with your life.

So watching a little TV is always fun. Yet did you know that you can actually put on your favorite TV shows? It’s true!

Let’s take those reality competitions on for size, shall we? You can do something like vote on who will get kicked off Britain’s Got Talent, or even think about who is going to leave another season of Big Brother UK. It’s completely up to you, and it depends on what show really matters to you. If you’re thinking about trying to get things done when it comes to TV betting, you got to know where to go, right?

Right! The answer definitely varies — there are just so many different places to bet on your favorite TV shows. You will want to look for a place that definitely puts service at the top of the list, and offers you some different television shows to bet on. It’s just going to depend on whether or not they actually allow betting on the shows that matter to you.

Generally speaking, any type of reality competition show is usually fair game.

You’ll have a great time with your friends — imagine being able to watch your favorite shows while going off to place bets. If your predictions come true, you basically win your bet and get your extra money as you intended.

There are even free bets available to get you started. In the gambling world, that’s basically free money to make sure that your first days in the gambling world are as enjoyable as possible. It’s definitely time to relax, have fun with your friends, and even make a little money in the process!

If you’re thinking about exploring the spy film genre, it’s not hard to find a list of great spy movies. However, we wanted to really add our own list and explain each choice. When you’re planning a spy movie marathon, don’t forget to thank us for getting you started, okay?

Here are six of the best spy movies that certainly rocked our house when we sat down to watch them with friends.

1. The Bourne Identity

No, not the whole trilogy — the last one made us roll our eyes in a few places. However, if you’re really going to appreciate Jason Bourne, you need to appreciate him at the very beginning when he was just a man fighting amnesia — and a whole bunch of people trying to kill him, of course.

One thing that made the movie series fun was Matt Damon himself. You really got to see the conflict on Bourne’s features when played by Matt Damon. He wants answers that no one will really give him, he’s being chased by high powered killers and he has to try to fight back without really knowing what’s going on. There’s the usual array of special effects and high speed chases, but the part that still grabs us about the series is how much information you’re not given at the start. You have to go through the entire series in order to figure out what’s going on, and we kind of like that. For an extra boost, you might want to read the book series after you finish the movie. Remember, never read the book before the movie or you’ll hate the parts the movie had to cut for time!

2. Enemy at the Gates

Now, if you look at most spy movie lists, they probably won’t even list this movie. However, it’s well worth watching. The spy angle isn’t as much of the story as the concepts behind espionage. Misinformation, double agents, secrecy, and surprise attacks are all keys to a good spy movie, and these are all issues that Enemy at the Gates explores greatly. It’s a good movie if you also want a little bit of historical fiction at play as well. This story involves the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II. It’s a hard movie in some places and there are some serious graphic themes here, but if you’re cool with that then we definitely think it’s a movie that you should really check out.

Plus, we really like sniper vs. sniper movies. Hot!

3. Casino Royale

We had to include the most controversial Bond movie around. Casino Royale featured Daniel Craig as the new Bond, a move that a lot of Bond fans were angry about. Now, we’re not saying we’re mad. In fact, we think that Craig makes a great Bond — more strategic, a little colder, and a little meaner and even — dare we say it — a little tougher. This is a Bond that we think represents the modern era, and there’s definitely nothing wrong with that.

The basic plot behind Casino Royale is that Bond has to stop an evil banker from winning a massive poker tournament in Montenegro so he doesn’t pass on that money to the evil terrorist organizations. It’s a plot that has some relevant hooks into the news headlines that we live under — terror is always out there, you know!

4. The Manchurian Candidate

If you ask us, the 1962 version is the best one. Yes, Denzel Washington did well, as he often does. He’s a brilliant actor. However, the performance of Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury and Frank Sinatra all deserve accolades as well. The old version highlights the danger of politics and everything else, which is exactly the point.

5. La Femme Nikita

Before the TV series, we had La Femme Nikita. If you like things a little old school (but not too terribly much), this is really going to be the best movie for you. For one, it stars a very hot actress being trained as a top secret spy and assassin. The plot is actually decent and the movie’s direction should be praised. Girls with guns, danger, and suspense? Sign us up.

6. Mr. & Mrs. Smith

This is more humorous than actual hardcore action spy film, but who says that the spy genre doesn’t need a little funny once in a while? If you really like Angelia Jolie, and you really like Brad Pitt, you’ll find that combining them both together definitely brings a lot of laughs and craziness. Angelia Jolie is in her prime and she’s gorgeous in this flick, and Brad Pitt is shaved down and looking good himself. Maybe that’s why Brad got together with Angelina after all this time? Who knows?

That’s our six spy movies that rocked the house — which ones would you have picked instead? Let us know in the comments, as we would really love to know!

In honor of the great spy movies that we’ve loved throughout the years, we came up with a few gadgets that we really wished we could own today.

1. Lipstick Pistol

This one’s for the ladies — who didn’t want to have a lipstick gun? This has been used in several spy movies, but did you know it’s actually real? Indeed, a lipstick shaped gun was developed by the KGB and used during the Cold War era. It was called the Death Kiss, because it was only designed to be used once. Of course, once is all you really needed, if you ask us.

Gives new power behind the whole “femme fatale” thing, huh?

2. Coat Camera

Here’s another thing that James Bond had in some of the movies that comes right out of real life. We can thank our “friends” at the KGB for this one too — a small little camera that could be hidden in a buttonhole. The wearer would activate it when they wanted to take pictures of things that they probably shouldn’t have taken pictures of — top secret classified stuff. If we had a coat camera like that, we could really get ourselves into trouble — hey, you know your brain was in the gutter too, don’t lie!

3. The Deadly Dagger Shoe

This is actually from a movie — SPECTRE agent Rosa Klebb used it in “From Russia with Love”, but it’s actually a pretty simple device. All it really was is a poison-tipped blade from the tip of the shoe. But it’s pretty deadly — one swipe and you’re toast.

Hey, we never said that everything we wanted to own was harmless, okay? Sometimes we think about this shoe when we’re sitting in traffic and somebody cuts us off or gets a little too close. Remember the shoes, buddy!

Bonus: The Mobile Phone from Tomorrow Never Dies

Cool cell phones are a dime a dozen in action films all of stripes, but when it comes to James Bond only the best will do — of course. However, this truly is a phone that was awesome. For starters, it had a stun gun and a fingerprint scanner. If that wasn’t cool enough, there was also a remote control for Bond’s supercharged BMW — fully loaded with everything a top secret special agent needed to get the mission accomplished, right? Right.

There are plenty of other spy gadgets out there, because the spy genre has been around for a while — and it’s definitely here to stay. So tell us — what are your favorite spy gadgets from the movies? Tell us in the comments — we would love to know!

The Mentalist

This show follows Patrick Jane who works alongside the California Bureau of Investigation to help them solve homicides. He is not an officer of law but uses skills form his former career as a psychic medium, which he faked because he knows no one has psychic powers. His wife and daughter were murdered and so he helps with crime solving in the hope he will eventually find their murderer.

Columbo

Columbo was always recognisable form his mac and his old car. He was a homicide detective and the TV shows were always slightly different in that we watched the crime being committed at the beginning and then watched him find proof of who committed it. We did not have to guess who did it, but why they did it. His apparent lack of memory and his scruffy appearance made him seem an unlikely detective, which was always part of his appeal.

Monk

Adrian Monk is an ex-detective who stopped working after his wife was killed by a bomb. He suffered a nervous breakdown and then became a recluse. The series sees him with his nurse, starting to be able to leave home and work as a private detective. Much of the comedy is brought about by his obsessive compulsive disorder and phobias. These problems can also help him to solve cases.

Ironside

This series ran from 1967 to 1975 and featured Robert T. Ironside who was a wheelchair bound detective. The show won many award nominations. Ironside was a former detective who had to retire due to his paralysis and became a special department consultant. He had to use his initiative and brans to solve crime, due to his immobility and this is why it became such a success. There were many guest appearances including some famous actors and actresses.

CSI

CSI is a popular crime series which following criminalists as they solve murders. They use a selection of technical equipment to get clues and the show became so popular that there have been two spin offs. The equipment used appeals to some of the watchers as it is quite different to that seen on other crime shows. However, it is the interesting plots and characters that keep many people watching.

Rent out classic and new crime shows from our friends at http://www.lovefilm.com/ today, also sign up today and recieve a free 2 week trial, head over to LOVEFiLM now, what are you waiting for!

The A-Team

The A-Team was an action series starring four characters who all had different skills. The program always begins explaining how they  were all Army Special Forces personnel who were branded as war criminals but escaped. They always helped good people and were always successful. The show ran for five series and there has recently been a feature film made. Key features of the show were making vehicles out of scrap metal, the theme tune and the formulaic episodes.

The Dukes of Hazard

The TV series was inspired by a film, Moonrunners and many of the characters and concepts were the same. It featured cousins Bo and Luke Duke who lived with their cousin Daisy and Uncle Jesse and they ran around in their 1968 Dodge Charger. Many episodes feature corrupt politician Boss Hogg and the Dukes managing to put a stop to one of his schemes.

Happy Days

Happy days featured teenager Richie Cunningham and his family, but was mainly situated around his friends at high school as well as his drop out and mechanic friend ‘the Fonz’. Eventually the popularity of Fonzie was so great that he became the main character. The show was so popular that there were three spin off shows and is now a touring musical.

The Fresh prince of Bel-Air

This comedy features Will Smith as a characterised version of himself who is made to move in with his wealthy Uncle after previous living in West Philadephia. His manner is not approved of by his new family and he often clashed with his relatives, especially his Uncle. The show started off with him attending school and later moving in to the pool house and living with his cousin there. The show ran for six seasons during the 1990′s.

Saved By The Bell

This show was based around a selection of students at their high-school and their principal. It was essentially a comedy show and the way it was written appealed to people who were the same age as the main characters. The show often covered serious issues such as drugs, death, bullying etc and there were two spin off series as the characters got older. There were also two television movies made.

Cinderella

Cinderella is the tale of an orphaned girl who lives with her wicked stepmother and step sisters. They make her slave for them, so when an invitation comes for them all to go to the ball, she is kept busy looking after the others. However, her fairy Godmother comes in the nick of time and helps her get ready. Of course the prince falls in love with her and they get married and live happily ever after. There is a Disney sequel.

Snow-White

This is Disney’s first movie and the first cel-animated full colour feature they made and was made in 1937. It features the classic tale of Snow-White who is living with her step-mother the evil queen who wants her killed. The child finds her way in to a wood and lives with the seven dwarfs but her step-mother tracks her down and tries to kill her out of jealousy for her beauty. Eventually she seems to have succeeded until a prince comes and kisses her and she comes back to life.

Beauty and the Beast

This tale is of a prince who has been turned in to a beast. The film finds him living near a village where Belle lives with her father who accidentally comes across the castle and is imprisoned by the beast. His horse leads Belle to the castle and eventually she befriends the beast and swaps places with her father. But later she sees her father dying in the woods and the beast lets her leave to rescue him but she returns to the castle to save him form being killed by an angry mob from the village and  exciting events lead her to tell him she loves him, which breaks the spell and he comes back to his original form.

Peter Pan

This film, made in 1953, is the classic tale of the boy who never grew up. He visits children in their nursery at night in London and then takes them off to his island, Never Never Land  after teaching them to fly and they have adventures with Tinkerbell, the lost boys, mermaids, pirates and most notably Captain Hook. There has been a more recent film made which is not animated.

Ugly Betty

Ugly Betty was a drama set in a fashion magazine. Betty was an untypical employee as she was not pretty and slim, employed as a secretary for the owners son, to stop him getting distracted from his work. It follows her and her family as well as her work and love life and is an interesting view of the fashion industry from an outsiders point of view.

Desperate Housewives

This show follows the families living on a street. Most of them get on well but they all have some secrets and during each season a big secret about one particular family is revealed. It focuses on their relationships with each other as well as with their own families and work colleagues.

Lost

The drama starts with an air crash. A selection of people have come down in an aeroplane and they have no chance of being rescued. They explore the island they have come down on and find it to be very mysterious. They think it is abandoned but then find that there are polar bears. A monster and a few  inhabitants. They also come across a French woman and a metal hatch in the ground. Some manage to leave the island by raft but the drama continued through six seasons with various developments in the story and changes in the time line.

24

Each of the episodes in the 24 series featured twenty four hours in the life of the main character Jack Bauer. The show ran for 192 episodes over eight seasons and there was a television movie as well. The character starts off working for a terrorist unit and so has many plots to solve. The main character starred in every episode and was the only character to do so.

Dexter

Dexter Morgan is a bloodstain pattern analyst working for the Miami Metro Police Department but he is also a serial killer. It has so far made six seasons and was based on a novel by Jeff Lindsay called Darkly Dreaming Dexter. The characters father was a cop and Dexter learned what he did to make sure that he never gets caught. He also only ever kills other killers.

Friends

Friends is a comedy about six friends, three girls and three boys who all live in New York. The main success of the series was probably to do with the suspense with regards to the romantic relationships between various characters. It was so successful that it ran for ten seasons and most of the actors that were in it have made good careers for themselves, starring in feature films or directing them since.

Frasier

Frasier was a spin off from the sitcom Cheers. It featured the psychiatrist Dr Frasier Crane who had his own phone in radio show. He lived with his disabled father and his fathers nurse as well as his fathers dog, which he hated. They had frequent visits from his brother, Niles who was also a psychiatrist and hated what his brother did on the radio.

Seinfeld

This popular comedy ran for nine series. It starred Jerry Seinfeld who played a fictional version of himself. It was mainly set in his apartment and featured a selection of the characters friends. It was different to many comedies because none of the characters were related or worked together. This means that there were not so many situations which were home related but more likely to be in a queue for the movies or buying things from a shop.

Cheers

This sitcom was set in a bar. The main character was the owner who was always flirting with his bar maids and other women who went in to the bar. There were regular characters who drank at the bar and the stories would sometimes focus more on them. Over the years, some of the characters changed, but there were always just a main group of about seven characters that would feature in most of the episodes.

How I Met Your Mother

The sitcom starts with a man explaining to his children how he met their mother. However, most of the stories tend to be about the man and his friends and the antics that they got up to. The characters are loosely based on the creators and their friends and partners. In January 2010 the show made its hundredth episode but is still making new series.

When you’re trying to show a new girlfriend that you can do more than watch sports all day, you need to be able to dig in deep and look at other shows that might even catch her interest as well. With so many choices on TV though, it can be pretty hard to demonstrate that you can do more than cheer for your favorite team.

That’s where we come in — we came up with a list of great TV shows for the well balanced man. Impress girlfriends, surprise your mother, and even wow friends with your new found TV habits. You’ll be glad you checked this list out, trust us

1. Storage Wars

If you love watching people compete against each other for money in a big way, you have to sit down and watch Storage Wars. Even though it’s not an official competition, you really do get the feeling that everyone is trying to outdo each other as they scour the country’s storage locker auctions for treasures. Some of the secret hauls and finds are pretty impressive, and the return on investment can be quite high. The show can get repetitive and you might get tired of the constant battling back and forth, but overall this is definitely one worth checking out. Women also like the show because they generally like the idea of holding on to stuff like anyone else — who knew?

2. American Pickers

It’s said that one man’s junk is one man’s treasure, and this is definitely true if you sit down to watch American Pickers. It’s on the History channel, which has been putting out a lot of really great shows lately — Ice Road Truckers, anyone? American Pickers is similar to Storage Wars, except that AP pursues “junk” everywhere, not just in storage places. There’s also a lot more human interaction as the “pickers” try to look at the story behind the “junk”, not just how much it will fetch on the open market.

3. My Strange Addiction

TLC has been putting out a lot of good documentaries, which give you a good dose of reality without going over the top. My Strange Addiction is a new one, but it’s something that will definitely delight you if you’re into weird things. On this show, people secretly admit that they are addicted to eating strange things, like toilet paper and soap flakes. Some people even admit to going around in a fur costume. This is a new series but it’s definitely one that’s bound to get more popular with time.

4. 1000 Ways to Die

If you and your friends have a bit of an interest in the absolutely crazy, weird, and funny, you can’t skip over 1000 Ways to Die. It’s absolutely ridiculous because it covers some of the weirdest deaths around. It’s not for the squeamish, but if you laugh at this sort of thing then you need to make sure that you add it to your list.

5. House

If you love sarcasm, then you will immediately embrace Hugh Laurie’s portrayal of Dr. Gregory House, a brilliant yet sarcastic doctor that is addicted to painkillers — and taking care of his top notch medical team, of course. You get a different perspective on hospital life that’s a bit more tongue in cheek, while also very serious. There are numerous life or death cases handled in the world of House that will keep you on the edge of your seat — until Dr. House cures them, of course.

6. Grey’s Anatomy

Grey’s Anatomy gets a lot of flack for being a “chick drama”, but this is a medical drama that tries to appeal to both men and women alike. It’s one thing if you aren’t into the real time drama of a hospital, but if you’ve always wanted to see how the hospital environment really affects people, Grey’s Anatomy is definitely one of the best ways to go about that.

7. Law & Order

If you groaned when you saw Law & Order, you’re probably in good company. However, it’s a great program with a really long history. If you like plain Law & Order, it’s usually on too. On the other hand, if you really want gritty drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is a really great addition here. Everyone likes law and crime dramas, so you can spend the evening watching TV with your girlfriend and it’s highly unlikely to turn into a fight. You also won’t have to suffer through Toddlers & Tiaras or Teen Mom, either.

Toy Story

Toy story is about Andy and his toys who come to life when he is not in the room. It is an animated tale and there are now two sequels to the original film. They all provide some sort of excitement which keeps viewers interested as well as having a lot of comedy. The animation is realistic and the stories are believable which makes them a great series of films, especially for younger children.

Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins is an old film and the combination of animation and real actors, was very new at the time it was made. It is about a nanny who comes to a family and provides all sorts fun activities at the same time as discipline. It is also a musical which adds another dimension and allows all the family to sing along with the well known songs. The film is based on a series of books and it could even encourage the children to read them.

The Sound of Music

The Sound of Music is an English classic about a nun who becomes a nanny in a family home where the children have no mother. Te romantic storyline, between the nun and the Father of the household, keeps the adults interested and the lovely songs and children’s activities keep the children watching interested. It is probably a film for older children, especially when the Nazi’s arrive towards the end as this could be a bit scary, but there is a happy ending, which is of course a must for a good children’s film.

The Cat in the Hat

The Cat in the Hat is based on the well-known Dr Seuss book. It is a zany and wacky film, like the book and is very funny for children and adults alike. If parents were brought up with Dr Seuss then they will; enjoy reliving the book through the film. It is a fun film and the children are home alone and bored until The Cat in the Hat arrives and causes all sorts of fun which turns to chaos which the children must put right before their parents return.

Mrs Doubtfire

This is a film where Robin Williams plays the father who is divorced and does not get to see his children enough. He therefore dresses up as a woman and applies to be their housekeeper, a role which he gets and there are all sorts of fun adventures before he accidentally reveals his true identity. It looks like it will be a disaster before the expected happy ending is revealed where he earns back the rights to see his children. A film for older children, which has a happy ending and will also keep the grown ups amused.