So, why am I starting this site? Well, as I said, I love TV. I’m tired of posting about TV here and there always seems to be a lot more about TV that I want to post. Also, I need to take my mind of politics. You might know I run Grand Old Parody and I need to have something else to occupy my time. Politics is too stressful. I need something fun!

Anyway, go visit the site, look around, and if you’d like, subscribe. I hope you enjoy it!

For the past several years I’ve had summer time programming to enjoy. From Entourage and Dexter to the Weeds, Monk and True Blood, the summer TV schedule always had something to look forward to a day or two a week. The landscape has changed greatly over the past few years though. USA has been the biggest time consuming culprit of all the networks. Shows like Psych, Burn Notice, and the more recent In Plain Sight, White Collar, and Royal Pains have become mainstays in my viewing habits. Then they decide to create another show, Covert Affairs, as if they didn’t have enough of my attention. HBO isn’t going to let up either, with the Prohibition Era drama Boardwalk Empire starting in September. TNT has also managed to get some of my attention with the better-than-I-thought-it-would-be Memphis Beat. And then there is FX with two of TV’s best shows on television right now. The first being the under-appreciated dramedy Rescue Me and the second being the freshman comedy from funny-man Louis CK entitled Louie. Add AMC’s Mad Men, TBS’s My Boys, and SyFy’s Eureka and Haven to the mix and my summer schedule becomes just as full as my fall viewing schedule.

Summer used to be a welcome break from TV but networks are no longer content with letting the viewing public go outside, not even for a minute. Let’s face it, I live in St. Louis. I never went outside in the summer to begin with. It’s too hot and humid, but at least I was doing other things than watching TV, like catching up on my Netflix movie queue (somewhat kidding) or reading or, when the weather would comply, go outside.

Sony might not always do everything right (betamax, minidisc, memory stick, UMD), but they got a lot right with the PS3, and that includes a Blu-Ray Player. The PS3 is an excellent Blu-Ray player, and while I only have a few Blu-Ray titles, the inclusion of the player alone made the heftier price tag for the console worth it. In case you were wondering, it also plays standard DVDs as well. Since I am a movie buff, my PS3 gets a lot of use playing video discs. Great games and graphics and built in Blu-Ray/DVD player still isn’t the tipping point for me though. Yes, those things are great, but what really made this one of my best purchases ever was Rivet. I’ve written about Rivet before, but in short, it allows me to stream music and video files from my Mac to my PS3, and the quality is fantastic. This is a must-have feature of any device serving as a media center.

Add the Netflix Watch Instantly disc to the rest and you have the (almost) perfect solution for a media center. Netflix streaming via the PS3 is also in HD, much better quality than you get when watching via a computer. I recently watched all 5 seasons of FX’s Rescue Me using the Netflix disc on the PS3. The only thing I wish I could do is stream shows/movies from places like Hulu. Unfortunately, the PS3 browser does not support the version of Flash needed for viewing sites like Hulu. I’m hoping someone like Rivet could step in with a work around. I really wish the television networks would realize that TVs just aren’t TVs anymore. They can do much more, and should allow their sites to be displayed on any device. If they would, the PS3 would be the ultimate device for my media center needs.

I loved the finale because it was exciting, emotional, and satisfying. Hold up a minute… Satisfying? It was and it wasn’t. If you look at the finale with regards to this season alone, it was very satisfying. This season was all about the characters and faith. That’s what the finale was about. You got to see Jack redeem himself and be the hero he never wanted to be. You see the way faith was intertwined with the story in the final scenes where the castaways are in the church and are blanketed in the light. It was the perfect ending to the story that this entire season set up. But what about the previous seasons? What about those stories? Well, that’s why I hated the finale.

What initially drew me to the show were the mysteries of the island. Why did they crash? Who were The Others? Why is there a polar bear on the island? What was Walt’s power that caused him to bring a bird back to life? What was really going on with the Dharma Initiative? These mysteries that were never answered drew me, and millions of others, to the show. Instead of finding out the answers we were greeted with Allison Janney murdering a woman and raising two boys on an island. No explanation of anything that made Lost so great in the previous seasons. A series that could very-well be considered Sci-Fi quickly became a story of faith and spirituality. Yeah, we kind of find out what the numbers mean. Yeah, we find out that the voices were the people who died on the island and were trapped there. There are so many things that should have been answered but weren’t. I’m thinking the producers and writers backed themselves into a corner when they set the finale date and did not have the time to explain the mysteries. Either that, or they got lazy and knew that they couldn’t explain them so they threw in a magic creek and a temple or two. So, in this respect, I hated the finale.

I’d say overall, it was a good way to end the show. It was a satisfying ending to this season, and thus the series, but I know if they tried to pull that ending a season or two earlier, I would have been upset. Before the finale I planned on buying the DVD set and watching the entire series over again. Now, I don’t think I will. I don’t want to find myself even more disappointed at all the good mysteries that were never solved. We shall see.

Many Fox affiliates around the country air shows like The Office and The Simpson in syndication during the time slot that Conan was going after, 11PM EST. Those syndicated shows bring in a lot of revenue for the local affiliates, so they are obviously reluctant to put Conan on, especially when many see his stint on The Tonight Show as a failure. Now, we can argue on whether or not he really was a failure or if that blame should be handed to NBC, but that’s not what this article is about. Even if the affiliates did decide to air Conan’s show there might not be a guarantee that it would air at 11PM. Affiliates will always do what generates them more money. My local CBS affiliate does not air Craig Ferguson’s late night show right after Letterman. Access Hollywood or some other celebrity gossip show airs, pushing back Ferguson’s show by half an hour. I could see many Fox affiliates doing the same thing. Remember, it was the complaining by affiliates about the awful Jay Leno show that made NBC cancel it.

You also have to look at the fact that virtually every home in America now has TBS. There is less of a distinction between network television and basic cable these days. In fact, basic cable is, in my opinion, creating some of the best shows on television. I read somewhere recently, and unfortunately can’t find it now, that only about 60% of Fox affiliates were willing to air the Conan show at 11pm. Conan really would be reaching more possible viewers with his TBS deal. I also think a deal with a basic cable station will relieve some of the pressure to perform well. Cable seems to give shows more creative freedom and longer grace periods in order to grow. Let’s not forget that, according to TBS, the average age of its viewers is 33. That’s a lot lower than the major networks (in fact Leno’s average viewer age went above Letterman’s 54 to 56 since Leno retook the reigns). That will definitely appeal to advertisers looking to capture the younger market.

After hearing about the move I was definitely shocked and thought it was kind of a mistake. The more I think about it the more it makes sense for Conan. I think we all need to stop thinking about television the way we always have. Television is changing just as quick as all other forms of media. I think Conan’s move will be the next big move to take viewers further away from “traditional” television. I just hope TBS capitalizes on it.

EDIT: I also think that the whole situation with NBC has damaged the Tonight Show brand so going from The Tonight Show to cable isn’t really that big of a step. The Tonight Show was once iconic, but with the two fiascos, both involving NBC and Jay Leno, it isn’t what it used to be.

The setup of the remote was a breeze. You add your device by type, make, and model number then answer some quick questions and the software does the rest. I didn’t have to input a single code. It asks you what device operates on what port and asks whether or not the device uses TV audio or receiver audio. You then plug it into your computer via USB and it transfers all the settings to the remote. One of the best features is a feature called Action Buttons. There is a button on the touch screen that simply says Watch TV. Press it and it turns on the U-Verse box, the TV, and the receiver and makes sure all devices are on their proper settings. If I decide I want to watch a DVD, I press Watch Movie and it turns off U-Verse, switches the receiver to BD (Blu-Ray) and turns on the PS3 (needed a PS3 accessory for this functionality). The same goes for the Play Game button.

From what I’ve seen so far, all the functionality of the other remotes is still intact with the Harmony One. That was one of my biggest worries as most universal remotes I’ve dealt with in the past have lacked essential functionality from one device or another. I also plan on setting up some more buttons, such as Play Music, as well as adding my iMac to the remote device list. I also need to set up my favorite channels on the remote. Once those are added they will display on the touchscreen portion and I can just touch which channel I want instead of dialing it in. On top of all these other great features, it is a rechargeable remote so I don’t need to worry about always having double A batteries on hand anymore. Can’t wait to see what else I can do with it.

Why is it that I can buy DVD versions of the same TV shows that are found on iTunes for LESS than what they cost on iTunes? This makes no sense to me and goes to show that the movie/TV industry is living in the past and going to run into the same issues that the recording industry ran into. With digital downloads you don’t have the cost of producing the discs or the packaging. So they are saving money there. Yet, for some reason, they feel the need to charge more for a digital file. I think this has to be the one of the things that has held back technology such as set-top media centers and AppleTV. I really think that the entertainment industry needs to come up with new ideas and stop living in the past, especially if they want people to stop pirating their products and purchase them instead. $50+ for a single TV season download? Thanks, but no thanks. You’ll just have to live without my (and the increasing number of disgruntled consumers) business.

Now the latest numbers are out for “The Tonight Show” and they show Jay Leno winning the latest late-night battle while struggling when compared with longer-term views.

“Tonight Show” (4.4 million viewers, 1.2 adults 18-49 rating) led late-night last week among total viewers and the adult demo, compared with CBS’ “Late Show” (3.8 million, 1.0). That’s the good news for NBC and, truth be told, the most important news.

Then there’s all those nattering comparisons which pee in NBC’s breakfast cereal.

For the past couple weeks, Leno is down from comparable weeks last year, off by 13% in the demo and 3% in viewers. This week his median age is older than Letterman’s (56 for Leno; 54 for Letterman and, for the curious, Conan O’Brien averaged 46). Leno is barely topping Conan O’Brien’s average hosting “Tonight Show” (1.1) — and O’Brien had a far inferior lead-in (The Leno Show Which Shall Not Be Named).

So Leno is doing about the same demo rating as O’Brien only with a better lead-in and a decade older audience… The Hollywood Reporter

A few things to point out about these numbers, and the situation in general. NBC knew that Conan would be drawing less viewers when they agreed to let him take over. They also knew that his audience is considerably younger than Leno’s. That was kind of the trade-off, after all, the younger demographic is the most sought-after group in terms of advertisers. When you look back at Conan’s numbers, they were on par of what was expected demographic-wise. They might not have been as high as NBC would have liked, but as THR points out, Conan had a horrible lead-in. Viewers and critics alike hated The Jay Leno Show. In every sense of the word, it was a failure. If Conan was still hosting, without Jay as the lead-in, his numbers would have undoubtedly improved. They didn’t give him time. I hope the numbers continue to get worse for NBC/Leno, and if Conan competes in the same time slot, I think they will. I think NBC is going to eventually regret the stupid decisions they’ve made and I hope it’s sooner than later.

I would also like to point out that I’m still boycotting NBC. I find alternative ways to view the few NBC shows that I enjoy, but have not watched a single live program on the network (Note: I still watch the far-superior programming on USA Network, a subsidiary of NBC Universal).

I purchased the TV (with a Sony Bravio soundbar and some HDMI cables) online and for in store pickup. My coworker, Mike, has a truck so we were going to pick the items up at lunch and take them back to my apartment. I get an email shortly after 9:00 AM telling me my order was ready for pickup. At 11:30 we decided to head on over to pick it up. Of course, they didn’t have the order together, even though the email stated it was ready. 20 minutes after arriving to the store they start bringing the order to the front. There is no reason that should have taken that long, especially for an order that was supposed to have been ready by now. Oh well, I have my new TV, time to get it home. We take the TV to my apartment (20 minute drive from the Best Buy that actually had the TV) and take it out of the box and begin to put it on the included TV stand. This is when problem number 2 arose. The screws that were supposed to be included to attach the TV to the stand, weren’t. Not Best Buy’s fault, but annoying that I’d have to make another trip somewhere to get screws.

We decided to head back to the office when we noticed something wasn’t right. Looking at the TV it looked a bit small. We looked at the box, and sure enough, it’s a 40 inch TV. Now, I know I should have looked at the box carefully before we left Best Buy, but come on. It’s their job to hand over the correct product. The box was quite large so I assumed it was the correct TV. At this point I am extremely pissed. I call Best Buy and they tell me they will call me back. They have to verify that I do indeed have the wrong TV. They need to count their inventory to make sure I’m not a liar. About 5 minutes later they call back telling me that I do have the wrong TV (thanks for confirming what I already knew!) and that I can bring in the wrong TV and exchange it. I told them this would not be possible and that we came in over our lunch break and I would not have access to a truck. They need to deliver the new TV and pick up the old one or lose out on a sale. They were going to have to call me back. 15 minutes later they call back saying they can send someone out to deliver and set up the right TV and pick up the wrong one. They wanted to come right away but I explained I was at work and wouldn’t be home until after 5:00 PM. They said they would have to call me back. Again. They do call me back and confirm that an associate will be at my house around 5:00 for the delivery and hookup. Long story short (too late) he gets there around 6:30 and I’m hooked up and playing Heavy Rain on my PS3 by 8:00 (I had to run an errand in between hook-up time and TV enjoyment time).

I’ve long heard horror stories about Best Buy on The Consumerist and was expecting my story to wind up there. Fortunately, this wasn’t one. Yes, it was something should have never happened. Yes, it was an inconvenience to everyone involved. The bottom line is that Best Buy did everything they could to make it right and keep me a happy customer. All in all, the story wound up with a happy ending.

In a distant part of the universe, a civilization of humans lives on a series of planets known as the Twelve Colonies. In the past, the Colonies have been at war with a cybernetic race known as the Cylons. With the help of a human traitor named Baltar, the Cylons launch a sudden ambush on the Colonies, laying waste to the planets and devastating their populations. The human survivors flee into space aboard any spacecraft they can reach. Of all the Colonial Fleet, the Battlestar Galactica appears to be the only military capital ship that survived the attack. Under the leadership of famed military leader Commander Adama, the Battlestar Galactica and its crew take up the task of leading the small fugitive fleet of survivors into space in search of the fabled thirteenth colony known as Earth.

It’s very difficult to describe what this show actually is. It’s part West Wing with politics, NBC’s excellent but short-lived Kings for its alternate look at humanity, history, and religion, and part Lost with the questions, mysteries, and eventual answers. There were no aliens, no light sabers, nothing that I usually hate about the sci-fi genre. The acting was superb, special effects great, and story even better. There’s really not much I can say about the plot without giving away crucial details, but it kept me wanting more and more with each episode, just as Lost does. In on episode you find one of your favorite characters fall from grace, only to redeem themselves several episodes later. I will probably have to purchase this series on Blu-Ray and watch it all over again. I’m sure there are many parts of the story that I might have missed during the first run-through. If you like great TV, I suggest watching this.

Lately I’ve become more interested in sci fi tv shows and movies. As I’ve said, I really enjoyed the new Star Trek remake. Also, after hearing many of the people I follow on Twitter rave about Dr. Who and Torchwood, I began watching those shows. Torchwood I like a little better than Dr. Who but they are shows that I probably would have never enjoyed before. The latest show that I’ve been enjoying is one that even the mainstream critics raved about: Battlestar Galactica. I just started watching it over the past couple days and it has been a fantastic show. I also really enjoyed the canceled ABC show Defying Gravity. I really wish that one was still on.

I find it odd how my taste can change. Maybe the stories and production value of sci fi themed entertainment has changed enough that is is now entertaining to me. I don’t know. I do know that I won’t dismiss something that is labeled as sci fi because I think I won’t like it anymore. Chances are I will like it.

I understand that a lot of people don’t feel that Avatar was not a good drama, that the story was bad and the movie was just a big budget CGI-fest. For one, that really puts down the good acting by Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana. Secondly, while the story is a familiar one, how often have we seen the same theme in movies win award shows year after year. There’s a reason certain themes are portrayed over and over in movies: they are themes we can easily related to. Last, which has lest to do with the drama aspect and moreso for Best Director, James Cameron spent years trying to perfect a brand new technology in order to push forward the field of cinema. He directed every scene of that movie, instead of relying on secondary directors, because he was the only one (at the time) that could see the shot he was looking for using this new technology.

A lot of people were also criticizing Avatar for having a big budget and winning. Since when did all winners have to be indie movies that no one has ever seen (note: I love the indie genre)? Just because a movie has a big budget doesn’t mean that they are not award worthy. James Cameron has done an amazing thing with technology. He is doing what for movies today what Star Wars did 30 years ago. Why would he not be recognized for it? I really don’t understand the movie snobbery that took place last night.

On a side note, I love Robert Downey, Jr. but come on? Joseph Gordan-Levitt totally deserved the award for Best Actor in a Comedy.

image courtesy imwithcoco.com

In the late night debacle that NBC has created I’m siding with Conan. I think it is a huge mistake for NBC to put Leno back to his old time slot. Not only are they screwing over Conan but they are messing with the Tonight Show’s legacy. Leno should have bowed out gracefully. NBC is even worse for allowing Leno to fail at a prime time show, drawing viewers away from the Tonight Show, then telling him he can have his old time slot back. I hope Conan goes somewhere he is appreciated. I will never watch anything with Jay Leno ever again.

Comedian Patton Oswalt recently gave an interview while promoting his new movie on DVD Big Fan and he talked about the situation. He really sums it up quite well in the interview. The YouTube video has been removed but this quote sums up Conan and Leno perfectly.

“You almost want to take [Leno] aside and ask him: Why do you want this so badly?” said Oswalt. “Because you don’t do anything with it. Whereas Conan clearly wants the show because there’s things he’s dying to do with his writing staff and places he wants to take the show … Conan’s way better than he was at 12:30 p.m., so [NBC] keep your hands off.”

He goes on to say that Leno just wants to go and tell jokes. That’s not a bad thing, but he can do that anywhere. Conan actually cares about the Tonight Show’s legacy and wants to push that forward. He also points to Leno’s reputation as a nice guy in public but how he does little mean things when he doesn’t get what he wants and compares him to Richard Nixon. Conan has finally responded to this all. If you haven’t read Conan’s statement, I’ve posted it below. I suggest you read it now.

People of Earth:
In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.

But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.

Yours,

Conan

Edit: I’ve thrown up a site in support of Conan. Download media to support Conan and contact NBC to voice your opinion. Team Coco – I’m with Coco

Here’s what NBC doesn’t understand, Leno sucks. Dave’s ratings have gotten better because of the controversy surrounding his feud with Sarah Palin and his affairs AND because they refuse to put their full support behind Conan. They say they did but if they really did they would have never given Leno a show. That hurt Conan just as much as Dave’s controversies. So, now they want to push Conan back to airing after Jay. If NBC does this, not only will I still continue to boycott Leno’s shitty show (I have yet to watch a version of his prime time show), I will boycott NBC completely. Thinking about it, that won’t be that hard as NBC really doesn’t have any good programming anymore (besides The Office and 30 Rock). Moving Leno back to after the news is not going to help the affiliates. You know what will? Good lead-in programming, which NBC does not have. I really hope Leno fails hard even worse when they move him back to the 11:30 slot. He deserves it. As for Conan, I would consider a network change if I was him. I’d watch him on any network.