Category Archives: Television

July 24, 2007 · 9:58 pm

Canadian Idol – July 24th – Top 9 Becomes the Top 8

Welcome to the Top 9 Results show of Canadian Idol, where we learn whether what was apparently “the greatest show ever”. I don’t really agree, at all, but what can you do?

We open with a recap of last night’s events…why, I have one of those too! Click here to read Cultural Learnings’ recap. Meanwhile, the show is as I remembered it: The people who really stood out were outside of my genres of music, and no one really nailed it out of the park for me. So, really, anyone can go home this week. Who’s it going to be? Let’s find out.

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‘How I Met Your Mother’ Slap Bet Countdown: Slap Three on November 19th

[Editor’s Note: As you are likely now aware, the third slap has now occured on November 19th, 2007. You can read our review of the episode at the below link]

Cultural Learnings’ review of the episode, “Slapsgiving”

Last season on How I Met Your Mother, Marshall and Barney entered into a Slap Bet against the wishes of their loved ones. It’s a dangerous game, slap bets, and this one had serious consequences: Barney now lives in constant fear of the back of Marshall’s monstrous hand. This has, however, been of great benefit to us as viewers of great comedy. This is why I’m excited, as should everyone, at the new Slap Countdown on CBS’ website. It’s revealed that the third slap of five will take place 117 days or so from today, July 24th, on November 19th, 2007.

“Slap Countdown” – CBS.com

For the unaware, here’s a YouTube guide to the joys of the Slap Bet:

Introduction

Here’s the basics of the way a slap bet works, plus some examples of the consequences.

The Legen-(Wait for It)…dary Slap Bet

Barney seals his own fate, picking five slaps from now until eternity. His loss is our gain: we now live in constant anticipation of Marshall doling out another slap of five.

Slap #2

Barney was holding his own one-man show in revenge of Lily’s own horrific play experience, and Marshall decided that one of his slaps was worth ending the performance for good. Two down, three to go.

The countdown at the site is apparently to the exact moment that the slap takes place within the episode, which is still almost four months away. November 19th is a Monday Night, and sometime between 8pm and 8:30pm the third of five slaps will be unleashed upon Barney. Personally, I look forward to it greatly.

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Filed under How I Met Your Mother, Television

Tagged as CBS, Slap Bet

July 24, 2007 · 10:16 am

Why the 2007 Fall Pilots are Leaking, and Why the Networks Should Embrace It

Over the weekend, online pirates were pleased to see that the flood was beginning: torrent sites across the internet began posting leaked screener copies of the 2007 pilots from FOX’s much-discussed Terminator spinoff Sarah Connor Chronicles (Pictured) to ABC’s buzz-worthy drama Pushing Daisies. I can only speculate, but I imagine that some people at the networks might be upset to see this. However, part of me really hopes that there is a certain number of employees who realize that these pilots leaking onto the internet is not the end of the world. In fact, it might be the best thing that happened to these shows. And the networks should have been putting them online themselves.

These pilots are leaking because the DVD Screeners sent to critics weren’t going to just sit there after being watched, and technology has reached a point where uploading shows is apparently quite easy (I’ve never done it myself). It is telling that the pilots uploaded thus far are the ones that are getting the most buzz in internet circles: fanboys are concerned over Sarah Connor Chronicles, critics are abuzz about Bryan Fuller’s (Wonderfalls) Pushing Daisies and NBC’s Chuck (From O.C. Creator Josh Schwartz), and Kevin Smith (Clerks) directed The CW’s Reaper (The first pilot to leak).

On the one hand, uptight network executives are probably concerned that their premiere ratings might go down as people watch the show ahead of time, or that bad buzz will take down the series before it can even get started. To those executives I make the following case: premiere ratings don’t matter, and the audience watching these shows online will not penetrate the casual mass of fans who make Two and a Half Men a comedy sensation. What you want to be doing is creating a fan base, something that this actually helps far more than it hurts.

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Filed under 2007 Fall Preview, ABC, Andy Barker P.I., Chuck, FOX, NBC, Pushing Daisies, Reaper, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Television, The CW

Tagged as Pilots

July 24, 2007 · 5:50 am

Canceled – ‘Pirate Master’ Walks the Plank…for good.

According to Variety, CBS has officially canceled Pirate Master (Which apparently some of you predicted since I’ve been getting hits about it for a few days). The remaining five episodes will air online only.

This is yet another blow to Mark Burnett, who has stooped so low as a celebrity edition of The Apprentice for next season. The state of reality television is falling further and further, and I don’t know whether that slide is going to be able to stop any time soon.

This news isn’t surprising to anyone: with low ratings and Big Brother arriving for its summer run, the show basically just got pushed out of the public eye…and it was barely in the periphery to begin with.

Swimming with the fishies in Davy Jones’ locker be its fate now, mateys.

Canadian Idol – July 23rd – The Top 9 Perform

Okay, CTV: you need to promote it heavily when you move the night for Canadian Idol. Because we totally forgot about it, and even with my apathy towards the season I have to keep up with these blogs. They appear to have forgotten to tell the lighting people the show was tonight, because Ben’s blinking up a storm.

Jaydee Bixby – “Runaway” (Made Famous by Elvis Presley)

He completely missed the tempo on the opening to this song, and never felt in control of the song until its conclusion. And, for an Elvis song, it didn’t really feel all that energetic either. While I know what he was going for, he needs to stop singing Rockabilly/Country at least one week. Please?

My Mother’s Opinion: “If they don’t say that sounded like karaoke…”

What the Judges Think: Jake felt he was out of tempo with the band, Farley thinks that while vocally good it wasn’t risky enough, Sass felt there wasn’t enough movement, Zack is happy about the chest hair but feels that he was grooveless off the top and revue band fare. He wants something more interesting, as do I.

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Entourage – “The Weho Ho” Review

“The Weho Ho”

“It’s Edgar!”

That’s basically my first reaction to this week’s episode of Entourage. The appearance of 24’s Edgar, Louis Lombardi, was definitely the first thing that caught my attention this week. As the series struggles to overcome the overbearing presence of Billy Walsh and the assumption that is being made. You see, Entourage has asked a lot of me. It has asked me to think that Vince is a good actor, something that I think we all know isn’t true. It has asked us to believe that these characters always manage to pull together every single project ever nearly perfectly.

But this week crossed two lines for me: first, it asked me to believe that Billy Walsh is a visionary director because he would stick a camera in the snow. Second, it asked me to believe that Lloyd is so depressive and emotional that he would be unwilling to come into work following a breakup…and that he would cheat on someone.

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Tagged as HBO

July 20, 2007 · 10:05 pm

‘Jericho’ Rerun Report – “Heart of Winter”

This is a rather exciting edition of the J.R.R.: this is the first Jericho rerun that I’ve watched that I haven’t already seen! I missed last week’s episodes, but I caught up on them through Wikipedia recaps so I’d be ready to partake in this episode. I’ve heard some positive things bandied about, so I went in with some expectations to be sure.

And I think it met them. This episode brought a lot of things that I found were missing after the pilot: action, some level of intrigue, and a slight sense of humour that is really charming. Perhaps most importantly, however, the threats have become more real. Winter is not something like short term food shortages, it is a true threat that could cripple this community. Combine this with the amounts of peril found in the remainder of the episode, and you have a powerful hour of television.

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Filed under Jericho, Television

Tagged as CBS, Rerun Report, Summer TV

July 20, 2007 · 10:45 am

The ‘Jeriatrics’: How Baby Boomers are Saving ‘Jericho’

In May of 2007, CBS’ drama series ‘Jericho’ was canceled, and fans across North America weren’t happy about it. Their response took the form of a campaign to send peanuts to CBS (Referencing a line in the season’s final episode), and to spread their word through the modern communications methods available on the internet. It may be somewhat surprising, then, that these were not all twenty-something internet users who helped save this beloved series. In fact, some of them would be old enough to be their grandparents.

These viewers are not part of targeted advertiser’s demographics, and they certainly aren’t what people would expect when they picture someone who posts on internet message boards. These Baby Boomers are not just large in numbers: they also believe that they, too, can make a difference. They might not fully grasp MySpace or Facebook, but that doesn’t keep them from making their voice heard.

“You know what they say,” Jericho viewer Sharon Tomlinson, 53, writes, “60 is the new 40. It is a mistake for TV networks and advertisers to think that our age group is irrelevant.” There is no question that networks are not actively seeking out older viewers; one of CBS’ shows for next season is Swingtown, a drama about a suburban community of swingers. While there is an audience for that type of programming, it isn’t what viewers like Sharon are looking for.

They were looking for a show like Jericho, which according to Nielsen ratings struggled to engage younger viewers late in its season. However, it didn’t have any trouble pulling in viewers outside of that 18-49 demographic privileged by advertisers, if the events that followed are any indication. When the show was canceled in May, many of those most devoted to the cause were not internet-savvy youngsters, but rather boomers hoping to save something they cared about.

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Filed under Jericho, Television

Tagged as Baby Boomers, CBS

July 19, 2007 · 3:17 pm

The Highlights and Lowlights of the 2007 Emmy Nominations

The nominations for the 56^th annual Primetime Emmy awards have been released, and the result is a whole lot of frustration. While there are certainly some attributes in these categories that certainly warrant some sort of positive feelings, the overall impact is limited with some rather vile mistakes made by the voters. Yes, I said mistakes. Let’s take a look at the Best and the Worst of the nominations.

Best Category

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

This one is simple, really. While there were some other categories that had either too many familiar faces or the wrong mix of people, Supporting Actor in a Comedy gets it just right. Jon Cryer is the token nominee for the popular vote, but then you’ve got four awesome comedic talents: last year’s winner Jeremy Piven along with new (And fantastic) fresh faces in Rainn Wilson, Kevin Dillon and Neil Patrick Harris. I really can’t argue with any of these selections. I would have liked to see Justin Kirk in there, but it’s still a great category.

Runner-Up: Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Worst Category

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Three Grey’s Anatomy actresses, two Sopranos actresses, and perennial Emmy favourite Rachel Griffiths. It is clear that the men are where the new talent is making an impact, because these nominees couldn’t be much more predictable. The lack of new talent (Elizabeth Mitchell for Lost, Hayden Panettiere for Heroes) is the biggest problem, and I really hope that this can change in the future.

Runner-Up: Outstanding Drama Series

Most Surprising Nominee

Michael Emerson (Lost) – Supporting Actor in a Drama

I had written off Michael Emerson, one of my early picks, after Elizabeth Mitchell failed to crack the Top 10. However, it appears that Emerson was able to make it in, and with 6 nominees in his category worked his way into the fold. This was likely supported by Terry O’Quinn’s tape, which featured Emerson heavily. It is most deserved, and the most pleasant surprise of the morning.

Runner-Up: Boston Legal – Outstanding Drama Series

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Filed under ABC, Award Shows, Battlestar Galactica, Dexter, Emmy Awards, Entourage, FOX, Friday Night Lights, Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother, Lost, Scrubs, Television, The CW, The Office, The Sopranos

Tagged as CBS, Emmys, For Your Consideration, HBO, Showtime

July 19, 2007 · 9:04 am

The 2007 Emmy Awards Nominations: Lost Snubbed, Sopranos Praised

After months of coverage and more than a little bit of analysis, it is has finally come down to this: this morning, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences have officially announced their nominations for what their voters believed to be the best in television over the past year. Are they right on the money, or are they off the mark once again?

The Big Stories

– Lost and Friday Night Lights snubbed, although Lost dominates in Supporting Actor with Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson! Woo!

– The Sopranos leads with 15 nominations.

– Battlestar Galactica and Lost each garnered writing and directing nods on the Drama side, while 30 Rock and The Office dominated the categories in terms of Comedy series.

– There’s a lot of snubs all over the place, I’ll go into more detail tomorrow, but Michael C. Hall is the worst one. Yes, worse than Lost.

– Rainn Wilson and Jenna Fischer break through as supporting contenders for The Office, which garnered a whole lot of nominations once you factor in writing and directing.