I feel bad for the last post so let's move on.
Over the years I've watched enough network TV to see a lot of things pass that shouldn't. During a 20/20 special about child actress turn porn star, Jamie Foxworthy the showed a clip of her porn and they accidentally left some unblurred images.
Also they use to give late movies on ABC that were terrible and many times weren't blurred during quick nude scenes and they made it on the air, but this was the late 1980s - early 1990s. Now with computers and DVRs most of that is gone.
But there still is live TV and cursing. Yes every live game has some cursing from rude fans but scripted shows should know better. Here are two recent examples I found.
Attack of the Show: Olivia Munn curses and the bleep guy is way off
Next was a local news show WPIX channel 11 in NYC when a liar and criminal on the subway attacked some drunk guy for wishing everyone a Happy Chanukah.
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Former child star Danielle Fishel, a teen heartthrob on ABC's
"Boy Meets World," was arrested this week on a drunken driving warrant from Los Angeles County, police said.
Fishel was arrested Thursday just before 5 a.m. after officers stopped a car she was in, said Newport Beach Sgt. James Rocker. She was released from jail shortly after her arrest.
Fishel grew up in Yorba Linda and spent more than seven years playing Topanga, the love interest of "Boy Meets World" star Ben Savage.
In 2006, Fishel became the spokeswoman for NutriSystem after she announced on The Tyra Banks show that she was so thrilled about losing 20 pounds with the diet program that she wanted to be the company's spokeswoman.
In February, Fishel became a special correspondent for the Tyra Banks show.
Source: Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
I've still been watching scattered television mostly documentaries.
Here's a short list of what I still watch.
Attack of the Show...It's live!
Little People, Big World...Little Conflict, Big Problems.
Jon and Kate plus 8...Cute kids, funny dad, awful mom.
Local news...I need my fix of pot hole reports.
Pushing Daisies...Quirky but nice.
Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale was one of the most depressing comedy episodes ever.
It was great but too long and so sad.
...but thank all that is good there's been a writers strike which will hopefully last until May.
Unlike the whiny Broadway strike this one is legit. Other issues the writers should resolve with there time off is how to stop all these spoilers. Spoilers have been ruining TV for the last few years and writing scared is also not good(JJ Abrams and boys who don't grow).
When the new episodes return I expect on location filming. All the money being saved by networks should insure better sets and when running down the streets of NY let it actually be NY.
The 4400 and The Dead Zone have been canceled as they should've been.
Journeyman
Great damn show. We see Dan Vassar traveling through time with his ex and save people. His ex Livia Beale is traveling through time from the 1950s. Apparently they are the last two time travelers and that it is a naturally occurring phenomenon that is dying off.
The show ended nicely with Dan accepting his fate while his wife watched. This show should not be canceled.
I remember reading somewhere that Freaks & Geeks was taking off the air in part because the characters were losers and never "won". The show was too depressing for network heads.
Watching Big Bang Theory is a great show but because the opposite is true it tends to be less realistic. First the half of the nerds already got some hot nerd loving with no emotional involvement and the main character even got a drunken kiss from the hottie across the hall.
Seriously nerds don't get any that is the fun of watching them.
By the way The Doppler Effect was the a great costume.
I make no efforts to hide my distrust of unions.
But I'm falling behind in my classes so I need to watch less TV so I wished for a strike that will last until Christmas. It looks like I'm getting my wish.
I must also add that these writers should get a cut off sales from DVD and the internet. In this case I support the strike for two reason.
By the way Eva Langoria and Tiny Fey are idiots.
Why was Jamie Foxx on the CMA's?
Nice to see Bones and Big Bang Theory and full Halloween episodes.
Lots of the shows had Halloween episodes and lots of ads and parties were around so great.
Happy Halloween to all.
Pushing Daisies- It is a ridiculous fairy tale and the narrator is annoying but it is beautifully shot and the writing is great.
Journeyman- A time traveling show ala Quantum Leap very sad and compelling.
Big Bang Theory- Okay I guess nobody notice that Laurie Metcalf and Sara Gilbert have appeared on the show. It is a funny show and the Sheldon steals the show.
Kitchen Nightmares- Yes that is how most New York eateries look.
Honorable mentions to Reaper.
So last week some awards were already handed out. Let's compare my predictions to reality.
Only two mentions of 9/11 on shows that air, not counting news.
On All My Children they had a group in a bar watching the names being read on 9/11 then a moment of silence.
Of course on Rescue Me it was the season finale and they mentioned and showed flashes of that day.
Also MSNBC did a recast of that days live coverage. Great for them at least one network cared.
I don't include other news show( or Oprah) because their angles have been tainted with time.
Okay enough of the depressing here is a laugh....
6 Years ago today 19 Muslims conspired to terrorize America and the world since then they have succeeded in bringing terror hundreds of times over to Spain, England and the rest of the world.
Being so close to the World Trade Centers and seeing what happened that day still fuels my desire to stay in my engineering school since we have access to the sites and we help can rebuild. In rebuilding we hope to honor the office workers who died on this day.
Special attention to Robert Pattison and Isaias Rivera two CBS engineers who were trapped at the top of the World Trade Center on that tragic day.
This came from a Dominican Times...
DTM Honors the 911 Victims and The Victims Families
For DTM, today is a day of anniversaries, the sixth anniversary of both the 911 tragedy and the launching of our publication. With this in mind, we honor and ask our loyal readers and supporters to take time today to honor the victims and the families of the victims of that fateful day. At DTM, we seek to connect people and bridge cultures by defining trends and emerging leaders. This is the vision that has led to our continued growth over the last six years. Likewise, fueled by the unity, perseverance and spirit of the citizens of New York and the United States, the World Trade Center site has risen like the phoenix, with new construction and plans for new projects to both honor the victims and to celebrate the best that America has to offer. Let us never forget and DTM will continue on a mission dedicated to the principals that our strength as a nation derives from unity and celebrating the diversity that makes America great. With these principals in mind we will continue to grow and heal from the wounds left by the 911 tragedy. May God continue to bless America and us all.
So they canceled John from Cincinnati.
I'm going on hiatus. First because my semester is starting and I switched majors. Second it is because TV has no faith in TV.
Sure shows like Dead Like Me and Futurama get canceled and brought back on DVD. Other like Jericho and Family Guy come back on TV but most just disappear.
Radio killed vaudeville then TV came along.
The first television transmission was in 1925. During 1948-1952 there was a TV freeze and cable was born. The freeze was to set the frequencies and distance for each station.
VHF=very high frequency channels 2-13
UHF=ultra-high frequency channels 14-83 then reduced to 14-69
The Golden Age of Television
Happened in the 1950s with soldier returning from WWII and Korea with big paychecks and cheap televisions. In 1953 an affordable color TV set hit the American market.
Shows became cheaper to make thanks to "plugs" and other in show marketing.
Greats like The Twilight Zone, I Love Lucy, Meet The Press, and the Today Show first were born along with quiz show and variety hours. Movie were introduced to the small screen thanks to Disney.
Then came the decline
Ratings were introduced in 1961 and a system of cost-per-viewer dominated. Then a backlash against New York and east coast taste caused the industry to move to the west.
All that was left in New York were soaps, those to eventually went. This is why the only soaps I can stomach are As the World Turns and All My Children since they are still filmed in NYC. Shows like General Hospital, Seinfeld, and countless others know that there success lies in being set in the east but they don't film here, the true heartland of America.
TV killed radio dramas and took a chunk out of the movies. The film industry hit a peak in 1946 but TV killed that quickly after the freeze was lifted.
The Turning Point
Not even the internet could stop TV. The internet is for amateurs and most people are dumb. TV has gatekeepers for a reason they filter out the crazies. Online is full of haters, deniers, and straight up thieves. The few decent people get over run by the former.
If I want to learn about elephants and how they came into existence the only place to turn is a TV documentary. Online a person who believes in the Creation Myth will only read sites that supports their view using some facts that are taken out of context. A real researcher will only find partially written articles or over priced journals.
The internet is still fun & entertaining as I tried to keep all my sites but there are others like TMZ who publish five lies and one truth and are praised for it. Now these sites are affecting TV more to the point the viewers. Every viewer wants his version of Lost or his ending of The Sopranos ignoring the creators.
What does the writer do?
He leaves an open end to appease idiots. Or in the case of Lost he tries to lose all the die-hard fans to get back to his original idea hoping to shut up the crowd.
This is not a test audience that networks now deal with, it is every audience member.
I kind of hope TV does fade away, I know it won't. It should be abandoned by the mainstream and for a few years real fans and viewers get to watch shows that have a beginning, middle, and end. No matter how low the ratings. I still have one radio station in NYC that plays radio dramas and they're great.
P.S. I'll right about once a month or if anything good happens. I still have shows to watch and maybe something else. Something to do rather than complain.
John from Cincinnati: His Visit: Day Nine
Shaun is back,
Zippy is back,
John is back,
My headache is back and nothing else is resolved.
The entire Yost clan is surfing together even the grandpa if they can keep him from floating away.
This is the last episode of the season and maybe the last episode forever.
Kyle XY: House of Cards
Tom Foss sacrifices himself for Kyle and iy turns out that the precious ring he wanted was not the one that was pawned. Madacorp's CEO still is not the guy pulling all the strings.
Californication: Pilot
Hank Moody is a lecherous divorced dad who gets all the women he wants. He is also a writer who hates the movie made from his book.
The show is pretty basic the try to make the Moody daughter standout but she is still bland in her rebellion. Mia a 16 year old who tricked Hank into sex is a bit interesting.
Master of Science Fiction: The Awakening
Finally got to see this show, although I missed the first episode.
It is like the Outer Limits except happier. Here is what I got from this episode.
The guy from Lost was playing Jack O'Neil from Stargate and he helped relay a message from angel-aliens about being peaceful while they threatened to blow up the Earth.
Did I miss something?
.
Kyle XY: Ghost in the Machine
The kids take a Scooby trip to the XX/XY factory. Of course they quickly get into trouble. The older ones are trapped underground. The two younglings are exploring their emotions.
Kyle discovers he was Zyzyx's CPU and has a whole bunch of secret memories and he also finds a mystery box from Adam. Andy confesses to Josh she has cancer, which was obvious since she was first introduced. It also turns out that Foss is not all bad.
John from Cincinnati: His Visit: Day Eight
Shaun is gone.
John is gone.
Signs are everywhere, answers are nowhere.
Fallen: Someone Always Has to Die
The rogue angel Azazel turns out to be a bigger threat than The Redeemer. Aaron learns he can send anyone to heaven even sinners.
Fallen: Il Gran Rifiuto
We found out that Lucifer is Aaron's daddy. He seemed pleasant and wants redemption. Guess what, Lucifer lied he is not a nice guy. Lucifer has one Hell of a pad, literally. Apparently hell is a choice for everyone except Lucifer. He tries to convince Aaron to redeem him but Aaron refuses.
After fighting his daddy Aaron sends him to hell, I mean deeper into hell. The Fallen agreed to stop the killing and Aaron can finally go home.
Overall not bad but a bit slow. It lacked the heart the original movie had.
Fallen: The Time of the Redeemer
When we last left Aaron Corbett he was running from angels and struggle to accept his role as The Redeemer, a nephilim who can forgive any sin from any being.
He's still running a year later and he has become an expert in Redeeming. He has magic tattoos all over his body each one for an angel he Redeemed. The problem is that he's misses his old life and repressed so much that when he does blow he freaks normal people out.
Fallen: Mysterious Ways & All That
Aaron meets a creepy professor that tells him The Redeemer may be evil. Professor then shows him another nephilim he is holding hostage. It turns out the girl-nephilim is Vilma Rodriguez the pretty girl from the original movie. Her family was hunted down and was tricked by the prof., who is part of a secret group.
Know free Vilma, Aaron, and recently paroled angel are off to see the Light-Bringer.
Oh yes Gabriel the talking dog is back, he's my favorite.
Kyle XY: What's the Frequency, Kyle?
Another one of those family bonding episodes I enjoy so much. Kyle and Amanda finally kiss, don't worry no sparks or explosions.
We Mr. Trager's father although he was in a coma and died. Coma Trager still manged to send Kyle some ESP pictures that helped reconcile the overly religious man with his "science" son.
I personally don't see a conflict with God and science as the last two Popes agreed that evolution and man's scientific theories are real. Oh well crazy zealots always exist.
Jessi is an unfeeling woman hater. She jumped Lori.
Nova: NOVA|science NOW
This is a spin-off of the great PBS show Nova hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson of the American Museum of Natural History. Unfortunately this was the last of five episodes I should have blogged about it sooner. Every episode has three or four quick science stories.
This episode talked about the causes of the other five mass extinctions in Earth's history. It was in part due to a great volcano that released CO2 in massive numbers. It is more complicated and not as clear cut but the show does explain it well.
The other segments included creepy robots, the 1918 Flu, and recovering papyrus notes.
The flu segment was particularly well done showing in a cartoon how a virus has certain "keys" to unlock our cells and a second set of keys to leave the cell. Each virus has different keys and the ones for the Bird Flu are kind of limited, while the one for the 1918 Flu worked great. If the Bird Flu would mutate and gain a new set of keys we are doomed.
The papyrus stuff was nice they used cameras and filters to uncover a certain bible passage about Christ that is the oldest ever known.
Wide Angle: Dishing Democracy
Impressed by the Nova episode I watched this show and it was also great. A story about the Arab version of The View. Four women from different backgrounds talking about hot issues. The most interesting woman was the lady who wore the scarf and is a Saudi. She knows that 15 of the 19 terrorist on 9/11 were Saudi and all 19 were well to do(richer than the average man). She hates to see in the news that only the poor are terrorist and wonders if poverty was not the problem could it be religion. Of Course.
In Saudia Arabia women can't vote, leave the house unscarved, and 95% of them don't work. Yet the men are still so angry the blow up things.
Shaq's Big Challenge: The final fitness test
All the kids did okay with the guys doing slightly better than the girls with one good exception.
Chris B. this 11 year old lost 77 pounds and went from round to strong. He made a dramatic change, I believe with his family's help he changed his eating habits from traditional foods to equally tasty healthy food, he is from a Cuban background and his mom learned to cook healthier but with the same Cuban flavor.
John from Cincinnati: His Visit, Day Seven
John from Cincinnati's secret ingredients are tougher to figure out than KFC's secret recipe.
Linc Stark bested Jake Ferris, he also bedded Tina Blake, and has signed Shaun to a contract. His protégé Cass is the new center of activity. She filmed a tape of John telling the internet-fansite that "Shaun will soon be gone". This freaked everyone out especially Cass. She has no knowledge of filming it, in a very terrorist fashion.
The freaking part was when Cass confronts John he hypnotizes her and she starts to hide all the proof of what happened. Leading us to believe that John may not be a force of good.
I think Shaun will be abducted by the lotto winner.
This show gives me such a headache. The websites made for this show also have puzzles and clues that just make everything more complicated.
John From Cincinnati: His Visit, Day Six
More astral projecting from John but not enough to make you dizzy. Palaka nearly dies but the doc saves him. The doc also has problems looming from the hospital and Cissy is trying to help him.
Shaun and Butchie have a heart to heart and end up surfing together with John. No major reveals just the family getting closer.
Kyle XY: Free to be You and Me
Much like John FC this episode was very bonding-mushy. There was dating, dancing, and kissing.
By kissing I mean hot teen girl on girl action. I once thought ABC Family was all about the Puritan-Christian love because they have the 700 Club but from what I understand the 700 Club was forced on them. They are basically Fox for tweens. This episode handle the preachy everyone is equal stuff well.
There was a school dance where only straight couples were allowed so after some PMS issues with Hilary the gang helps Andy form an all-inclusive dance. There was a few incidents but nothing major. The best part again was when Hillary and Lori kissed to make some point that escapes me at the moment.
It's that time year right before my semester starts again and I need to finalize my shopping. Last break I bought my laptop and new TiVo through CheapStingyBargains. As I wrote in January I saved $380 on the laptop and got the TiVo for cheaper then my first TiVo.
Now I want some laptop accessories including a Linksys Router draft-N, a graphic tablet, a graphing calculator, and a laptop-backpack. CheapStingyBargains has all the deals for me save big bucks. The problem they also have great television deals. The fall season is staring in about a month and a half and I still don't have HDTV.
Lets make two lists.
Computer stuff...
Or more accurately hound.
SCOTT BAIO IS 45… AND SINGLE
I had the unfortunate pleasure to watch the first episode. To say Baio is a jerk would be an understatement. Yet next to his friends he is a prince. His entourage, which happens to be the show they are imitating, consist of quiet actor Jason Hervey from Wonder Years fame and two bad actors.
The four some does bits while trying to find out why Baio can't commit. He hires a "Life Coach" who tells him to retrace his penis. In the first episode he meets his first Erin Moran. Moran invites him to a signing where one of Baio's friends comes in and does a bit which Moran calls him out on.
When Erin Moran is the moral center of a reality show you know we have problems.
There are a few real moments but most are when people confront Baio on his lack of heart.
Save your brain cells and avoid this show.
.
Award shows always bore me this one seems no different.
They ignored great shows like Dexter and Friday Night Lights.
Here is my take on certain nominees. Last year I got 2 out of 14 right so my opinion carries no weight.
After twenty years of watching The Simpsons John Stewart just pointed out something I never noticed.
If Homer is 38 and Bart is 10 then Homer was 28 when Bart was born.
But Marge gave birth to Bart when she and Homer were 18 just after high school.
This means Homer is 28.
John From Cincinnati: His Visit Day Five
Wow! Cissy is an incestuous-kid-toucher who gave her son a hand and landed him into a heroin hell.
Yet that wasn't the weirdest thing that happened.
John astral-projected his self all over the place. First to help Cissy not kill herself then to Cass to tale her camera then to finally to Linc and finally a rambling monologue with future and past colliding.
Here's his speech I got from Closed Captioning and Steve Hawks blog:
"If my words are yours, can you hear my Father? Can Bill know my Father, keeping his eye on me? Can I bone Kai and Butchie know my Father instead?This is a form of non-linear story telling but since this is HBO and the ratings are not that great I'm worried the story John tried to tell won't fully play out. There are clues of what is to come about characters we don't know yet. But what is with the low booming, bombs, fireworks, or something worse?
"My Father's shy doing his business. Kai helps my Father dump out. Bill takes a shot. Shaunie is much improved.
"Joe is a Doubting Thomas. Joe will save Not-Aleman. Joe will bring his buddies home. This is how Freddy relaxes. Cup-o'joe, and Winchell's variety dozen.
"Mitch catches a good wave. Mitch wipes out. Mitch wipes out Cissy. Cissy shows Butchie how to do that. Cissy wipes Butchie out. Butchie hurts Barry's head. Mister Rollins comes in Barry's face. My Father runs the Mega-Millions.
(After meeting up with Cass)
"Fur is big. Mud is big. The stick is big. The word is big. Fire is huge. The wheel is huge. The line and circle are big. On the wall, the line and circle are huge. On the wall, the man at the wall makes a man from the circle and line. The man at the wall makes a Word on the wall from the circle and line. The Word on the wall hears my Father.
"The zeroes and ones make the Word in Cass's camera. In the Word on the wall that hears my-Father-in-Cass's-camera, the good one Mitch catches doesn't wipe Cissy out. In the-Word-that-hears-my-Father, Cissy shows Butchie something else. In-my-Father's-Word, Cissy shows Butchie in Shaun. In-my-Father's-Word, Tina raises Shaun at lunch. In Cass's-camera, Butchie lays the court out for Barry, and Mister Rollins watches, and he doesn't come on Barry's face. In Cass's-camera, Butchie knows Kai kept the faith. In-my-Father's-Word, the Wave lifts them up.
(After bill talks)
"In Cass's camera, Bill doesn't bump his head on the stairs. In Cass's-camera, as long as he's being stupid, Bill gives Lois a kiss.
(After bill talks and plays)
"In His-Word-in-Cass's-camera, the Internet is big. 9-11 is big, but not every towel-head is eradicated. In His-Word, We are coming 9-11-14.
"In my-Father's-Word, Bill sees how Freddy relaxes. In Cass's-camera, Ramon wants to know who's hungry, in the courtyard and Room Forty-Five.
"In my-Father's-Word-to-come-in-Cass's-camera, Doctor Smith calls Ocean Properties. In Cass's-camera-to-come, my Father stares Not Aleman down, and Freddy sees Bill much-improved.
"You will not note my-Father's-Word, nor remember Cass's-camera, but you will not forget what we did here."
(low booming)
Sure had some great weekends. Plenty of sun and humidity hasn't been killer.
Add the fact that this summer season is a bit light on good shows and you have no reason to stay home. I've actually been TiVoeing most things even at night.
Doctor Who: The Shakespeare Code
Apparently there is little use in blogging this show since the episodes I watch on the Sci-Fi channel is a year or more old and there are 2 million Doctor Who sites. Still great show I miss Rose and the other Doctor.
Monk: Mr. Monk and His Biggest Fan
The show use Sarah Silverman to poke fun at themselves. It shows how bad they have got. They completely abandon the search for his wifes killer and lost the soul of the show.
Psych: American Duos
The guys investigate an attempted murder on an American Idol copy show. I laughed from begin to end. The funny references were flying out every second. Gina Gershon as Emilina the Paula Abdul copy was brilliant when she had the her exchanges with Lassiter.
This show is simple it is straight men versus comedian. When O'Hara put on the pink fame outfit and was giving her speech it was great. Shawn and Lassiter actually solved the case when they first meet the crooks.
