All My Children: Series Finale

They did it on purpose.

The ending of All My Children ended on a cliffhanger. Erica got dumped, JR is about to shoot someone, and David does not reveal which dead person he brought back to life.

Disappointing, yes but this was done in the hope that enough outrage and support from fans is generated to start on a new network or a web series. Unfortunately by air time all the deals fell through as few cast members agreed to continue.

Monday 2011 Premieres

How I Met Your Mother: The Best Man, The Naked Truth
Basically if you saw the first three episodes in 2005 then you have not missed anything.

Two and a Half Men: Nice to Meet You, Walden Schmidt
Charlie was murdered by Rose and it's all a laugh. This was a sad episode. Not because of the death but because of the lack of good jokes and a rabid audience.

2 Broke Girls: Pilot
Williamsburg, Brooklyn my backside. This is another New York City show written by someone who has never even seen Brooklyn on a map.

 GRAFFITI! Really! 

This is not the the 1980s there has not been any graffiti on L or G lines for years. Plus they treat the neighbor like a war zone when in reality thanks to hipsters it is the wussiest 'hood in all of NYC.

Kat Dennings is great as a Brooklyn waitress who takes in an upper-class girl who lost everything. Garret Morris brings down the show as the one-liner guy. Everyone in the show is incredibly smart yet oddly poor.

Castle: Rise
Det. Beckett is not dead and 2 months/15 minutes later she is back.

True Blood: Season Finale

True Blood: And When I Die 

The season of the witch is over and apparently the ghosts were just waiting to fill the gaps. This was the bloodiest, most violent episode ever and that is saying a lot for a vampire show. No shocking revelations just a bunch of dead minor characters that been dragging the show down. Hopefully they stay gone but with ghosts floating around I doubt it.

I would add the best thing about this season was Jessica, check out the shows blog http://www.babyvamp-jessica.com/ for more about her.

10 Years Henceforth

Still as painful to watch 10 years later. Never has a decade seem so short. Along with the tears the sense of anger is still there and one should not forget what 19 radical Muslim terrorists did for hateful reasons.

The horror and heroism will never be forgotten.

Rebuild and never forget.

Rescue Me: Series Finale

After waiting almost 2 years for this great tribute to New York City and 9/11 heroes we instead get a typical sitcom ending.

Don't get me wrong it was still funny and well done but nothing that couldn't be shown a year ago. Tommy is living his life and still has his ghosts to keep him company. The last episode was more of a tribute to the show itself.

The theme that firefighters were as mortal as everyone was evident when Tommy is speaking to the new recruits and we see the old timers all battered and bruised standing in the back.

Image Credit: FX

Good job Mr. Leary. I expect the same quality from your next project...hopefully soon.

iO Digital Channel Guide

iO Digital Channel Guide, Channel 100

A scrolling channel guide for those who subscribe to more than just the basic package.  On occasion they show special programming, conflicted hockey games, or other sport events.*

TiVo has its own guide and it is faster and more interactive. These old type of guides were once very useful but in this internet age it seems a bit slow.

*Correction:
Anonymous said... 
This channel guide on channel 100 does NOT show special programming, conflicted hockey games, or other sport events. This guide is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

However, The channel guide on channel 99 or 80 is the channel that on occasion shows special programming, conflicted hockey games, or other sport events. C-SPAN 2 on channel 79 or 66 shows special programming as well.

I would add that my version of Cablevision does not have channels 79 or 99.

SPEED

SPEED, Channel 99

Dedicated to racing and everything including themed game shows and reality shows about cars and trucks. I should be more into this channel since I actually built and raced a car once but honestly I can never watch it.

There is definitely a car-racing culture that is very easy to join but unless you are passionate about cars it is also easy to leave behind.

Again I maybe watched 10 minutes of this channel all year so I probably will just speed on by. Oh love those puns.

HGTV

HGTV, Channel 98

Yup starting this up again. Last left off on the Food Network about 2 years ago then my TVs broke and then most shows became awful but let me finish off the channel list.

On with HGTV a channel that shows houses and occasional garden shows. From the little I saw they focus on buying, selling, or redecorating homes. From what I heard it started as channel that built homes and gardens but then it changed from documentary-style to "reality"-style.

House Hunters International
"A woman decides to make a life in Paris"
A show where Americans go to foreign countries and find a place to live. In this episode some woman with no real career goes to Paris and gets a NYC size apartment for $1,400 a month. It had no real shower but a great view. The other two apartments were two expensive or too small. Apparently since she had savings style was more important than affordability.

Never really watched this channel and I doubt I will again.

BBC America

Finally!

Probably the last cable system in all of America to get it but Cablevision finally brought BBC America, channel 101, to me. Perfect timing too since it is the episode premiere of Doctor Who. To prepare us they have been having a season six marathon of Doctor Who.

I have now fully caught up with all the episodes and although I  do not care for the new doctor the stories are great.

I have alos watch some Kitchen Confidential and hope to see more great British shows soon.

Oh also there is a hurricane acoming.

Not Getting the Whole Picture

Not having an HDTV you miss a few things. Things like sharp images, every wrinkle, and side jokes.

For the most parts networks have been good to consider us old fashion TVs user when filming but it looks like they are starting to update.

Check it out my favorite news channel is now fully HD and I cannot see the full time or temperature.

Is it 28 or 98?
Am I going have to look out the window? The horror.

Still I have no plans to upgrade so I suggest the networks adjust to me.

Heat Is On

Rescue Me
Mutha 
After a year on hold, although it seems longer, Rescue Me came back advancing the story-timeline a bit. Everything is still messed up in Gavin's life but at least there are no secrets.

Menses
The women in Gavin's life are draining the life out of him. While the firehouse rallies around Lou.

The show is still great despite the long wait. They plan to air the series finale on the week of September 11. Unless I am over thinking it I see lots of foreshadowing in these final episodes. I doubt the final episode will have everyone go off quietly.

Of course on TV the number one news story is the heat. 104 in New York City with a nighttime temperature of 90 degrees. I have heard a couple of people say that this is nothing since we have cooling technology and that our grandparents lived through worse without ACs.

Well those people are wrong. People should Google...Weegee, "Crowd at Coney Island, Temperature 89 degrees . . . They came early, and stayed late," July 22, 1940

They will find this picture...

http://www.icp.org/museum/exhibitions/weegee-1899-1968

There is also a great Smithsonian article that explains how New York City and most other places around America would slow down to the point it virtually shutdown. The early 1940s were so hot at high 80s and low 90s that people slept outside and did not show up for work for days.

People in the near past were not stronger and less whining. The just died quickly and nobody sued. So all this heat coverage is justified. 110 is not normal for any human and the fact we are not dying by the thousand shows how we have evolved and adapted over the last half century.