David Letterman comments on the situation at NBC. I especially love his dream for American television: "I want everyone who wants a show to have a show."
Showing posts with label television. Show all posts
Showing posts with label television. Show all posts
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
FlashForward
I'm a sucker for the quirky and the weird in most forms of entertainment, so I find myself mesmerized by "FlashForward." I haven't seen much of the new network TV fall offerings, but this is my favorite show so far. I've noticed a few plot holes (or things that haven't been adequately explained away) and I'm pretty sure I know who one of the bad guys is, but this is good stuff so far.
I think ABC is trying to market the show as the new "Lost," but it's still way too early for that -- even though "Lost" castmates Sonya Walger and Dominic Monaghan are both on "FlashForward." Like "Lost," "FlashForward" also has an official website to allow fans to delve deeper (and plenty of unofficial sites as well). It also has the "Lost" penchant for easter eggs, the little hidden goodies to look for along the way, like an "Oceanic Airlines" billboard in the background early during the first episode.
The show's premise was quirky and weird enough to get me to tune in for the first episode. At exactly the same moment, everyone on the planet passes out at the same time for two minutes and seventeen seconds. As you might guess, mayhem ensues. But if that weren't weird enough, almost everyone's consciousness jumps forward about six months to April 29, 2010. It's not like a dream; it's like they are actually experiencing what's happening. From there the show mostly focuses on a team of FBI agents who begin investigating the mystery.
They need to tighten the plot up a bit and flesh the characters out some, but this looks good so far.
I haven't seen much of anything else, just a couple of episodes of "Community" (yawn) and "Modern Family" (pretty decent). Am I missing anything worth seeing?
I am surprised at how little I watch TV anymore. Other than live sporting events (mainly NASCAR and college football) and the occasional movie, I seem to be watching almost everything else later, on my own schedule, On Demand or on the Internet. Since "FlashForward" comes on Thursday nights when I'm at work, I usually watch it a day or two later on Hulu. If you've missed the first couple of episodes and want to get caught up, or if you're caught up and want to see interviews, behind-the-scenes stuff, and scenes from upcoming episodes, Hulu is where you need to go too.
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I think ABC is trying to market the show as the new "Lost," but it's still way too early for that -- even though "Lost" castmates Sonya Walger and Dominic Monaghan are both on "FlashForward." Like "Lost," "FlashForward" also has an official website to allow fans to delve deeper (and plenty of unofficial sites as well). It also has the "Lost" penchant for easter eggs, the little hidden goodies to look for along the way, like an "Oceanic Airlines" billboard in the background early during the first episode.
The show's premise was quirky and weird enough to get me to tune in for the first episode. At exactly the same moment, everyone on the planet passes out at the same time for two minutes and seventeen seconds. As you might guess, mayhem ensues. But if that weren't weird enough, almost everyone's consciousness jumps forward about six months to April 29, 2010. It's not like a dream; it's like they are actually experiencing what's happening. From there the show mostly focuses on a team of FBI agents who begin investigating the mystery.
They need to tighten the plot up a bit and flesh the characters out some, but this looks good so far.
I haven't seen much of anything else, just a couple of episodes of "Community" (yawn) and "Modern Family" (pretty decent). Am I missing anything worth seeing?
I am surprised at how little I watch TV anymore. Other than live sporting events (mainly NASCAR and college football) and the occasional movie, I seem to be watching almost everything else later, on my own schedule, On Demand or on the Internet. Since "FlashForward" comes on Thursday nights when I'm at work, I usually watch it a day or two later on Hulu. If you've missed the first couple of episodes and want to get caught up, or if you're caught up and want to see interviews, behind-the-scenes stuff, and scenes from upcoming episodes, Hulu is where you need to go too.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Battle of the (Basic Cable) Network Stars
Earlier this month CNBC's Rick Santelli was scheduled to appear on The Daily Show to discuss his prior rant on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange about "subsidizing the losers' mortgages". He "bailed out" of the interview at the last minute, but The Daily Show aired a segment that took CNBC to task for the quality of their reporting...
The money quote:
The segment got a lot of attention in the blogosphere and even a few parts of the mainstream media. Then Jim Cramer waded into the fray, asserting in a column on Mainstreet.com that the clips that featured him were taken out of context. So The Daily Show put together another segment with more context. Cramer then appeared on several shows on the NBC family of networks to criticize Jon Stewart which led to another Daily Show segment.
Last week, Stewart announced that Cramer was going to appear on the Daily Show and took an opportunity to poke a little fun at what the cable news networks were calling a "War of Words."
Thursday night was the big night. Jim Cramer and Jon Stewart going mano-a-mano on The Daily Show. Comedy Central put the unedited interview on their website. Here's Part One...
Part Two
Part Three
Cramer spent much of the interview defensive and apologetic, but it wasn't so much a "War of Words" between two competing basic cable network stars, and as Stewart said, "this song ain't about you." It was a call for CNBC to be a better financial news network, to do a better job of actually reporting and exposing the wrongs of the financial markets. It was very reminiscent of the time Stewart appeared on CNN's Crossfire and lambasted them for turning political discourse into mud wrestling.
The money quote:
"Wow, if I'd only followed CNBC's advice, I'd have a million dollars today -- provided I'd started with a hundred million dollars."
The segment got a lot of attention in the blogosphere and even a few parts of the mainstream media. Then Jim Cramer waded into the fray, asserting in a column on Mainstreet.com that the clips that featured him were taken out of context. So The Daily Show put together another segment with more context. Cramer then appeared on several shows on the NBC family of networks to criticize Jon Stewart which led to another Daily Show segment.
Last week, Stewart announced that Cramer was going to appear on the Daily Show and took an opportunity to poke a little fun at what the cable news networks were calling a "War of Words."
Thursday night was the big night. Jim Cramer and Jon Stewart going mano-a-mano on The Daily Show. Comedy Central put the unedited interview on their website. Here's Part One...
Part Two
Part Three
Cramer spent much of the interview defensive and apologetic, but it wasn't so much a "War of Words" between two competing basic cable network stars, and as Stewart said, "this song ain't about you." It was a call for CNBC to be a better financial news network, to do a better job of actually reporting and exposing the wrongs of the financial markets. It was very reminiscent of the time Stewart appeared on CNN's Crossfire and lambasted them for turning political discourse into mud wrestling.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
A Lost Sneak Peek
Lost returns for its fifth and final season tonight at 9 p.m. ET. Here's a sneak peek...
Friday, January 16, 2009
Battlestar Galactica -- The Home Stretch
Tonight at 10 p.m. ET (SciFi), Battlestar Galactica enters the home stretch. It's Season 4.5, the final ten episodes. I don't know where we're going from here. The whole point of the show has been for the Fleet to find Earth, and they found it, a planet that has been devastated by a nuclear war. Or is this really Earth? I'd say not, but even so, there are still a few unanswered questions that need resolution before the final curtain falls.
If you need a refresher after the long break, the SciFi website has one: "Catch the Frak Up!", a 13-minute recap of the entire season thus far. If you need a slower paced recap, there's the three-part "The Top Ten Things You Need to Know." Here's Part 1...
Like previous seasons, there are also exclusive "webisodes" that give a little backstory to what's to come. Here's Part 1 of "The Face of the Enemy"...
If you need to see more, you can find the remaining parts plus other clips and even the final episodes of Season 4.0 at the Battlestar Galactica page at Hulu.com or by digging around at SciFi.com.
If you need a refresher after the long break, the SciFi website has one: "Catch the Frak Up!", a 13-minute recap of the entire season thus far. If you need a slower paced recap, there's the three-part "The Top Ten Things You Need to Know." Here's Part 1...
Like previous seasons, there are also exclusive "webisodes" that give a little backstory to what's to come. Here's Part 1 of "The Face of the Enemy"...
If you need to see more, you can find the remaining parts plus other clips and even the final episodes of Season 4.0 at the Battlestar Galactica page at Hulu.com or by digging around at SciFi.com.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Santa Claus Bailout Hearings
This video is the extremely rare C-SPAN and National Lampoon collaboration...
BTW, the actor playing Santa is Larry Hankin. If he looks familiar it's because you've seen him in dozens of movies and television shows going all the way back to the mid-60s. In the Seinfeld episode "The Pilot" he was Tom Pepper, the actor chosen to play the part of Kramer. He also appeared in a Married...with Children episode; he was Mary ("That's pronounced Mer-ay"), the man who went crazy after designing the Bundy's couch.
BTW, the actor playing Santa is Larry Hankin. If he looks familiar it's because you've seen him in dozens of movies and television shows going all the way back to the mid-60s. In the Seinfeld episode "The Pilot" he was Tom Pepper, the actor chosen to play the part of Kramer. He also appeared in a Married...with Children episode; he was Mary ("That's pronounced Mer-ay"), the man who went crazy after designing the Bundy's couch.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Senate Intelligence Report - Phase Two: European Gigolo
Last week, the Senate finally released Phase Two of the Senate Intelligence Report which declared that the president and other top officials of the Bush Administration misled us into war with Iraq. Jon Stewart examines the report and the media coverage on the Daily Show...
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Bob Barr on The Colbert Report
The Libertarian Party's candidate for the presidency, Babar...uh, Bob Barr, appeared on the Colbert Report last week...
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Scottie on the Daily Show
Scott McClellan was on the Daily Show Monday night. Apparently he has a new book or something to plug.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 1
Part 2
Sunday, June 1, 2008
The Beat Goes On
The ever increasingly murky road to the Democratic Party's nomination for president took a detour over a big speed bump Saturday. The Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee spent the day trying to work out a reasonable compromise over the problems created by Michigan and Florida.
When those states moved up their primaries, they violated party rules and were stripped of their delegates to the national convention. Those primaries meant nothing. All the candidates were listed in Florida, but none campaigned there. All the candidates had their names taken off the ballot in Michigan except Hillary Clinton. Clinton won 54% of the vote in Michigan. 40% went to uncommitted delegates. In Florida, Clinton won with 50% to Obama's 33%. As Clinton's campaign has run out of options for her to win the nomination, she's become more determined to make the results of those two states mean something. Seating full delegations from the two states based on the results of their primaries would really cut into Obama's delegate lead. And the Democratic Party really can't afford to piss off voters in Michigan and Florida, two important swing states in the upcoming general election. A compromise is needed that is fair to both candidates.
Steven Colbert examines the problem in a segment called "Democralypse Now"...
On Saturday, the Rules and Bylaws Committee held a contentious meeting with much of the action going on behind closed doors. The public portion of the program was bad enough with a lot of carping and complaining after the committee came up with a "cut the baby in half" decision -- a decision to seat the delegations from both states at half strength. The committee voted unanimously to apportion Florida's delegates according to the results of the January 29 primary, then voted 19-8 to give Clinton 34.5 Michigan delegates to Obama's 29.5 based on that 54% Clinton, 40% uncommitted result in that state's primary. That decision was, by far, the more controversial one.
The decisions cut into Obama's delegate lead, but not nearly as much as the Clinton camp had hoped. The added delegates increase the number needed for the nomination to 2118. Obama is now 66 shy of that mark; Clinton still needs 240. Most of the carping over the decisions was done by the Clinton camp. Chants of "Denver, Denver, Denver" signal that this battle over Michigan and Florida will probably go all the way to the convention and a fight before the credentials committee. In fact, Harold Ickes, a top Clinton supporter on the committee was complaining about "hijacked" delegates and added, "Mrs. Clinton has instructed me to reserve her rights to take this to the credentials committee."
It's past the time for Clinton to bow out gracefully. This needs to come to a close soon, preferable immediately after the final primaries next week. She needs to stop trying to undermine Obama, stop trying to persuade superdelegates to overturn the will of the voters, stop this fight over the Michigan and Florida delegations, and start working to unify the party. Not only is this infighting seriously beginning to hurt Obama's prospects in the general election, it's also sucking up all the campaign dollars, hampering the prospects of Democrats running for lesser offices. If she won't end this gracefully, the remaining uncommitted superdelegates need to get off the fence and do it for her before the Democrats lose yet another sure victory.
When those states moved up their primaries, they violated party rules and were stripped of their delegates to the national convention. Those primaries meant nothing. All the candidates were listed in Florida, but none campaigned there. All the candidates had their names taken off the ballot in Michigan except Hillary Clinton. Clinton won 54% of the vote in Michigan. 40% went to uncommitted delegates. In Florida, Clinton won with 50% to Obama's 33%. As Clinton's campaign has run out of options for her to win the nomination, she's become more determined to make the results of those two states mean something. Seating full delegations from the two states based on the results of their primaries would really cut into Obama's delegate lead. And the Democratic Party really can't afford to piss off voters in Michigan and Florida, two important swing states in the upcoming general election. A compromise is needed that is fair to both candidates.
Steven Colbert examines the problem in a segment called "Democralypse Now"...
On Saturday, the Rules and Bylaws Committee held a contentious meeting with much of the action going on behind closed doors. The public portion of the program was bad enough with a lot of carping and complaining after the committee came up with a "cut the baby in half" decision -- a decision to seat the delegations from both states at half strength. The committee voted unanimously to apportion Florida's delegates according to the results of the January 29 primary, then voted 19-8 to give Clinton 34.5 Michigan delegates to Obama's 29.5 based on that 54% Clinton, 40% uncommitted result in that state's primary. That decision was, by far, the more controversial one.
The decisions cut into Obama's delegate lead, but not nearly as much as the Clinton camp had hoped. The added delegates increase the number needed for the nomination to 2118. Obama is now 66 shy of that mark; Clinton still needs 240. Most of the carping over the decisions was done by the Clinton camp. Chants of "Denver, Denver, Denver" signal that this battle over Michigan and Florida will probably go all the way to the convention and a fight before the credentials committee. In fact, Harold Ickes, a top Clinton supporter on the committee was complaining about "hijacked" delegates and added, "Mrs. Clinton has instructed me to reserve her rights to take this to the credentials committee."
It's past the time for Clinton to bow out gracefully. This needs to come to a close soon, preferable immediately after the final primaries next week. She needs to stop trying to undermine Obama, stop trying to persuade superdelegates to overturn the will of the voters, stop this fight over the Michigan and Florida delegations, and start working to unify the party. Not only is this infighting seriously beginning to hurt Obama's prospects in the general election, it's also sucking up all the campaign dollars, hampering the prospects of Democrats running for lesser offices. If she won't end this gracefully, the remaining uncommitted superdelegates need to get off the fence and do it for her before the Democrats lose yet another sure victory.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Random Thoughts About Commercials
Granted we've seen Meat Loaf (the singer/actor, not the entree) in some strange roles, but isn't it disconcerting to see him playing the suburban dad in those Go Phone commercials? To add to the disconcertability factor, they're using a song about premarital sex to hawk said Go Phones. I wonder if that's his real wife and kids.
But surely Lauren Wallace is not really related to Kenny Wallace, the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver. The kid in the Geico commercials is just too good. He has to be an actor. Yeah, just as I thought, but those commercials are hilarious -- much better than the cavemen or the "celebrities" that no one under the age of 40 knows (except Joan Rivers, who refuses to go away).
If you don't watch NASCAR, you're missing some of the funniest commercials on TV. The NAPA commercials with Michael Waltrip are the best, making light of some hard times the driver has had. There's the guy who customizes his die-cast cars (which makes light of this fire and this scary wreck), the guy with the parrot, and the fan letters. And some of the Denny Hamlin FedEx commercials are pretty funny too.
At the other extreme are those really obnoxious commercials, like the ones for HeadOn, but Sunday's Doonesbury took those on. Gary Trudeau is on vacation, so it's an old strip, but still hits the nail on the head.
But surely Lauren Wallace is not really related to Kenny Wallace, the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver. The kid in the Geico commercials is just too good. He has to be an actor. Yeah, just as I thought, but those commercials are hilarious -- much better than the cavemen or the "celebrities" that no one under the age of 40 knows (except Joan Rivers, who refuses to go away).
If you don't watch NASCAR, you're missing some of the funniest commercials on TV. The NAPA commercials with Michael Waltrip are the best, making light of some hard times the driver has had. There's the guy who customizes his die-cast cars (which makes light of this fire and this scary wreck), the guy with the parrot, and the fan letters. And some of the Denny Hamlin FedEx commercials are pretty funny too.
At the other extreme are those really obnoxious commercials, like the ones for HeadOn, but Sunday's Doonesbury took those on. Gary Trudeau is on vacation, so it's an old strip, but still hits the nail on the head.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Battlestar Galactica: The Beginning of the End
The fourth and final season of Battlestar Galactica begins on Friday, April 4. The SciFi BSG index page has three great videos to get you in the mood. "What the Frak is Going On?" recaps the previous three seasons in about seven or eight minutes so you'd better pay close attention. The other two videos "Revealed" and "Phenomenon," which aired Friday night on SciFi, are the type of featurettes you might find in the "Bonus Features" menu of a DVD. "Revealed" recaps the first three seasons at a more leisurely pace with a lot of behind-the-scenes info. "Phenomenon" examines the show's appeal with celebrity interviews.
Speaking of interviews, SciFi Weekly has interviews with several of the show's stars. Tricia Helfer ("Number 6"), Jamie Barber ("Lee Adama"), Katee Sackhoff ("Kara Thrace") and executive producer David Eick are featured in one interview. Edward James Olmos ("Bill Adama"), Mary McDonnell ("Laura Roslin"), and executive producer Ronald D. Moore are featured in the other.
Speaking of interviews, SciFi Weekly has interviews with several of the show's stars. Tricia Helfer ("Number 6"), Jamie Barber ("Lee Adama"), Katee Sackhoff ("Kara Thrace") and executive producer David Eick are featured in one interview. Edward James Olmos ("Bill Adama"), Mary McDonnell ("Laura Roslin"), and executive producer Ronald D. Moore are featured in the other.
David Eick, what will we see in season four as we build to the conclusion of the series?SciFi also has five full episodes online from last season. You can also find four other videos and 85 clips at Hulu.
Eick: I think you're going to see one continuous story from beginning to end, unlike other seasons where we'd done a multitude of stand-alone episodes and episodes that would introduce different political movements. This is really going to be about starting from ground zero, where we left off season three, and a sprint all the way to the end. And I think the fans, really, are going to feel like they're getting their due. They're going to feel like they're finally getting the season of Battlestar Galactica that they have always wanted, where we're not worrying about inviting a new audience, necessarily. We're just really committed to finishing the story in a way that feels legitimate and at the level I think fans have come to expect.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
NewsRadio on Hulu
As I suggested last week, I've been perusing the content offered at Hulu. One of my all-time favorite shows, NewsRadio, is well represented there with 40 full-length episodes and five "minisodes."
If you missed the show when it aired in the mid- to late-'90s, NewRadio is an ensemble comedy revolving around the antics of the staff of a news radio station in NYC. Dave Foley, Phil Hartman, Maura Tierney, Andy Dick, Joe Rogan, Vicki Lewis, Khandi Alexander and Steven Root star. The following "minisode" shows what happens when a complaint box is installed in the office...
If you missed the show when it aired in the mid- to late-'90s, NewRadio is an ensemble comedy revolving around the antics of the staff of a news radio station in NYC. Dave Foley, Phil Hartman, Maura Tierney, Andy Dick, Joe Rogan, Vicki Lewis, Khandi Alexander and Steven Root star. The following "minisode" shows what happens when a complaint box is installed in the office...
Friday, March 7, 2008
Sawyer's Nicknames
One of my favorite characters on "Lost" is Sawyer who has never, as far as I know, called anyone by his/her name. Someone with a lot of time on their hands has compiled a video of all of Sawyer's nicknames. Good stuff...
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Weekend Assignment: Missing Words
I started my blogging journey at AOL Journals. The inimitable John Scalzi used to give us Weekend Assignments at his blog By the Way. Now, Scalzi and AOL have parted ways, but the Weekend Assignments live on at Outpost Mavarin.
This week's assignment...
I've got a lot of sympathy for the writers. The media companies are on shaky ground. They're pleading web ignorance. They just don't think there is any money to be made on the web, and they certainly couldn't figure out an appropriate formula to compensate the writers for any of their work that happens to go out on the web. It's all BS.
In a previous post, I talked about the effects of the strike on Battlestar Galactica. There was a long quote from showrunner Ron Moore. It bears repeating...
Previous posts on the strike:
Battlestar Galactica and the Writers Strike
The Colbert Report Writers' Video
A Daily Show Fix of Sorts
Extra Credit: I'm going to spend the free time the way I spend most of my free time: more time on the Internet.
----------------
Now playing: Jefferson Airplane - White Rabbit
via FoxyTunes
This week's assignment...
Weekend Assignment #197: Now that the WGA strike has had lots of time to affect the prime time television schedules, how is it affecting you as a viewer? What show do you miss most, aside from reruns? Do you miss your weekly appointment with that ill-behaved doctor, or your visits to Wisteria Lane? Does it bother you not to laugh at fresh jokes on your favorite sitcom? Or are you just as happy watching reality shows, or new episodes of shows that have been held back until now? We want to know!I don't watch a lot of network prime-time television because of my work schedule, but I would hate the glut of reality shows, game shows, and pseudo-news shows. What was really killing me was not being able to watch new episodes of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Both shows are back on now without writers. I don't know how that's working out for them; I haven't been watching. My favorite shows, Battlestar Galactica and Lost have had their season premieres delayed, but Lost will start airing the episodes they've got in the can on January 31.
Extra Credit: how are you spending the time instead?
I've got a lot of sympathy for the writers. The media companies are on shaky ground. They're pleading web ignorance. They just don't think there is any money to be made on the web, and they certainly couldn't figure out an appropriate formula to compensate the writers for any of their work that happens to go out on the web. It's all BS.
In a previous post, I talked about the effects of the strike on Battlestar Galactica. There was a long quote from showrunner Ron Moore. It bears repeating...
"Fundamentally this is about the internet, and this is about whether writers get paid for material that is made for the internet or if they're paid for material that is broadcast on the internet that was developed for TV or movies." Moore shared a story to illustrate the scenario, saying "I had a situation last year on Battlestar Galactica where we were asked by Universal to do webisodes [Note: Moore is referring to The Resistance webisodes which ran before Season 3 premiered], which at that point were very new and 'Oooh, webisodes! What does that mean?' It was all very new stuff. And it was very eye opening, because the studio's position was 'Oh, we're not going to pay anybody to do this. You have to do this, because you work on the show. And we're not going to pay you to write it. We're not going to pay the director, and we're not going to pay the actors.' At which point we said 'No thanks, we won't do it.'"The future of entertainment is the merger of the traditional forms with the Internet. As their delivery systems improve, more people are going to go to the Internet to watch what they want when they want. That's where the money is, and that's the golden goose the media conglomerates are trying to protect. I don't think I'm going to watch The Daily Show or The Colbert Report until their writers come back.
"We got in this long, protracted thing and eventually they agreed to pay everybody involved. But then, as we got deeper into it, they said 'But we're not going to put any credits on it. You're not going to be credited for this work. And we can use it later, in any fashion that we want.' At which point I said 'Well, then we're done and I'm not going to deliver the webisodes to you.' And they came and they took them out of the editing room anyway -- which they have every right to do. They own the material -- But it was that experience that really showed me that that's what this is all about. If there's not an agreement with the studios about the internet, that specifically says 'This is covered material, you have to pay us a formula - whatever that formula turns out to be - for use of the material and how it's all done,' the studios will simply rape and pillage."
Previous posts on the strike:
Battlestar Galactica and the Writers Strike
The Colbert Report Writers' Video
A Daily Show Fix of Sorts
Extra Credit: I'm going to spend the free time the way I spend most of my free time: more time on the Internet.
----------------
Now playing: Jefferson Airplane - White Rabbit
via FoxyTunes
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
New Lost Season 4 Trailer!
Is this a theatrical trailer? Whatever it is great and I can't wait for January 31.
If you're not watching this show, you're missing out. Lost is the ultimate television miniseries. (Or maybe Battlestar Galactica is. I can't decide.) Lost is telling the story of the survivors of the crash of Oceanic Flight 815. It's playing out over five television seasons with a beginning, middle and end. That's the plan anyway. And we're nearing the end, but, according to the trailer above, there are a still a few twists and turns to go before next year's finale season.
You can get caught up or get into the game at ABC's website. You can watch full episodes of Season Three. If you want to go back further, you'll probably have to spring for the DVDs.
read more | digg story
If you're not watching this show, you're missing out. Lost is the ultimate television miniseries. (Or maybe Battlestar Galactica is. I can't decide.) Lost is telling the story of the survivors of the crash of Oceanic Flight 815. It's playing out over five television seasons with a beginning, middle and end. That's the plan anyway. And we're nearing the end, but, according to the trailer above, there are a still a few twists and turns to go before next year's finale season.
You can get caught up or get into the game at ABC's website. You can watch full episodes of Season Three. If you want to go back further, you'll probably have to spring for the DVDs.
read more | digg story
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Battlestar Galactica and the Writers Strike
I've blogged before about "Razor," the two-hour season premiere of Season 4 (the last season) of Battlestar Galactica, and about the "Razor Flashbacks," the web-only episodes that are a prologue to "Razor." Well, the time is almost upon us. The last of the "Razor Flashbacks" is now online and the season premiere is just days away. The action starts Saturday at 9 p.m. (EST)
I've been pulling for the writers in their strike; the studios' position that they can't pay writers for using their material on the Internet because there's no money to be made there is just ludicrous. But I've also been wondering how the strike is going to affect Battlestar Galactica. IGN has an interview with BSG showrunner Ron Moore, who discusses why he's striking and how it's going to affect the final season. Turns out, not much...at first. They were planning on splitting up the 20-episode season into two 10-episode parts anyway like they did last season, and the first 10 episodes are already in the can. The other 10 might take more time than originally planned.
As for why he and the other writers are striking, consider this...
read more | digg story
I've been pulling for the writers in their strike; the studios' position that they can't pay writers for using their material on the Internet because there's no money to be made there is just ludicrous. But I've also been wondering how the strike is going to affect Battlestar Galactica. IGN has an interview with BSG showrunner Ron Moore, who discusses why he's striking and how it's going to affect the final season. Turns out, not much...at first. They were planning on splitting up the 20-episode season into two 10-episode parts anyway like they did last season, and the first 10 episodes are already in the can. The other 10 might take more time than originally planned.
As for why he and the other writers are striking, consider this...
For Moore, "Fundamentally this is about the internet, and this is about whether writers get paid for material that is made for the internet or if they're paid for material that is broadcast on the internet that was developed for TV or movies." Moore shared a story to illustrate the scenario, saying "I had a situation last year on Battlestar Galactica where we were asked by Universal to do webisodes [Note: Moore is referring to The Resistance webisodes which ran before Season 3 premiered], which at that point were very new and 'Oooh, webisodes! What does that mean?' It was all very new stuff. And it was very eye opening, because the studio's position was 'Oh, we're not going to pay anybody to do this. You have to do this, because you work on the show. And we're not going to pay you to write it. We're not going to pay the director, and we're not going to pay the actors.' At which point we said 'No thanks, we won't do it.'"(NOTE: If you follow the link to watch the "Razor Flashbacks," Part Seven will load and begin playing. If you wish to start watching from the beginning, stop the video that is playing before clicking on Part One (or any other part) or you will get a muddled mess -- the sound from both videos playing at once.)
"We got in this long, protracted thing and eventually they agreed to pay everybody involved. But then, as we got deeper into it, they said 'But we're not going to put any credits on it. You're not going to be credited for this work. And we can use it later, in any fashion that we want.' At which point I said 'Well, then we're done and I'm not going to deliver the webisodes to you.' And they came and they took them out of the editing room anyway -- which they have every right to do. They own the material -- But it was that experience that really showed me that that's what this is all about. If there's not an agreement with the studios about the internet, that specifically says 'This is covered material, you have to pay us a formula - whatever that formula turns out to be - for use of the material and how it's all done,' the studios will simply rape and pillage."
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Monday, November 19, 2007
The Colbert Report Writers Video
Now the writers of The Colbert Report are getting into the act. Here's their strike video, showing the other side of the issue...
Thursday, November 15, 2007
A Daily Show Fix of Sorts
The more the writers' strike drags on, the more I'm jonesing for new episodes of The Daily Show. Here's a quick fix of sorts. The Daily Show writers take a short break from the picket line to take a few jabs at the media companies they're striking against...
The strike boils down to writers trying to get their fair share when their work is put on the Internet. According to the media companies, there's no money to be made on the Internet. That's news to these guys, the head honchos of some of the biggest media conglomerates...
See also the Writers Guild of America YouTube page. 28 videos and counting.
The strike boils down to writers trying to get their fair share when their work is put on the Internet. According to the media companies, there's no money to be made on the Internet. That's news to these guys, the head honchos of some of the biggest media conglomerates...
See also the Writers Guild of America YouTube page. 28 videos and counting.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Battlestar Galactica
Part four of the seven part "Razor Flashbacks" is now online at the SciFi website. These webisodes are a prequel to the episode "Razor," the season premiere which will air Saturday, November 24.
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