Random thoughts on the boob tube
A few observations after a night spent watching television:
1. There are times when, despite having a couple of hundred channels to choose from, I can't find a thing that I want to watch on television. Conversely, last night I saw a few good shows. I have to admit that I'm hooked on "Glee!" (I realize that's a somewhat shameful admission for a 51-year-old heterosexual, but it is what it is). And there were a couple of pretty good sitcoms on last night: "Modern Family" and "The Middle." I have trouble sticking with too many shows that have linear story lines, so I tend to watch lighter fare. Are there any shows you would recommend that might be flying under the radar?
2. I saw on SportsCenter that Chad Ochocinco (the former Chad Johnson) of the Cincinnati Bengals was fined something in the neighborhood of $30,000 for donning a cape and a sombrero on the sidelines after scoring a touchdown last weekend. Not on the field, mind you. On the sidelines. The NFL is, more and more, becoming a stiff, corporate "No Fun League," and W&J grad Roger Goodell, the league commissioner, is coming off as a humorless bastard who makes baseball commissioner Bud Selig, who has all the charisma of Harry Reid, look like Will Ferrell by comparison.
3. Does anyone else want to throw a brick through the television when those Jared jewelry commercials come on? They put me on the brink of wanting to retch into the nearest receptacle. I swear that if I were in the market for jewelry, I'd strip some off the rotting corpse of a dead hooker before I'd darken the door of one of their stores.
Labels: Entertainment, Sports, Stupidity, Television
posted by Brant at
11:02 AM
12 Comments:
I totally agree about the Jared commercials...I don't think that insipid ad would motivate any red-blooded guy to buy jewelry there.
I like Glee too! Love the musical numbers the best.
For other good tv shows - Dexter is still going, for one more week. Also available on Netflix if you want to catch up. MadMen also good. Nurse Jackie. I hope you get cable. I agree that I've spent many channel surfing moments looking for something good - anything - and come up empty.
Modern Family, in my opinion, is the best show to come along since Seinfeld. And I'm a rabid Seinfeld fan. The humor on Modern Family is subtle, sharp and witty as hell. I highly suggest TiVo for it...watch each episode a time or two. If you don't laugh out loud at least once, you're likely dead.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but Cougar Town isn't bad either, but by the time it comes on I've had a few glasses of red wine. Courteney Cox is aging quite well, though.
There's a series on Discovery called Engineering An Empire which is pretty interesting.
I watch a lot of Food Network, Seinfeld, Family Guy and the ones I mention here. But honestly, I have a truckload of available stations, and these are where I wind up. I'm quite serious, though...watch Modern Family.
We watch so little live tv. We DVR the shows we watch, NCIS, CSI, Flash Forward, and then put babies to bed. We sit down and skip through the intros and the commercials.
My son download about 40+ episodes of My Name is Earl. So I have some "mindless" tv to watch when nothing else is on.
My personal fav's are Dirty Jobs, Mythbusters, The Office (linear story line), Big Bang Theory, Parks and Recreation (linear story line), and Dexter (linear story line)...
Props to Priguy for "Engineering an Empire"--- I LOVE those kinds of shows, but rarely watch them.
Could not agree with you more Brant, I'm astounded at how many channels we get yet how often there is absolutely nothing worth watching.
My wife and I do look forward to Wednesday evening as we too enjoy "Modern Family" and "Middle". We also like the "Big Bang Theory" on Monday night. But other than these few exceptions, most of TV, in spite of literally hundreds of channels, is nothing but a wasteland. More often than not, I find myself watching reruns of the original "Law and Order" more than anything else. In my opinion, it is one of the best TV shows ever.
As to sports, this is my favortie time of the year because I really enjoy college basketball, expecially the Big East. Pitt will have a tough time this year but like all Big East teams, they always come to play and are always tenacious on defense.
The Jared commercials are the worst EVER! I physically shudder when one comes on...like fingernails across a blackboard!
There are dozens of commercials that get my dander up, but one of the worst offenders is Bounty paper towels. I guess it's supposed to be "cute" to show a toddler who's barely been walking for a month try to pour milk out of a gallon jug into a glass. It's not cute. It's stupid. What idiot parent would let a kid that young pour his or her own milk, and even if they did, why would they give them a jug that's half the size of the kid??? No, it's not cute. Jared commercials suck, and the whole Geico caveman thing has run its course, too.
Sounds like the Jared commercials have accomplished their goal! Everybody remembers the name. Great job on the part of the agency doing the work.
I've never seen one, but I should go patronize them, just to say "good job for the advertising work." Where are they located? I presume they sell jewelry, but maybe something else of more interest.
I went to subway to by my wife her engagement ring... Ooops!
Hmm. I watch The Simpsons and Mythbusters and some PBS. Sometimes the news, but I much prefer to get my news from NPR radio. Local news is too much filler. For example, WTAE-TV said a week ago that they had "done some digging" and discovered that now is a good time to have your furnace looked at. Guess they didn't have to dig too far. Speaking of dig, the next day, the big news was an interview with a T extension engineer in which he revealed that once the link is down, "you will be able to park on the North Side and ride the subway into town." Pulitzer time.
Just because there are hundreds of channels doesn't mean there are hundreds of new shows. Television has splintered into so much specialization that they can't fill the time anymore.
24/7 Cable News, especially, is nothing but a repetitive monologue of things that don't effect your life that much.
Prime time sucks and so do all the reality programs. How many home reconstruction shows are there now? 200?
Television has debased itself to the lowest level of watchers and we pay the price in utterly useless shows.
I wonder where does Brant get these gay ass pictures to match every story? Then it hit me. That is Brants dirty finger nail in this pic. eww clean your nails
GOOD JOB OR!!!
http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/localnews/12-15-2009-waynesburg-police-contract
that my friend is a scary story. waynesburg has just been bought.
there are people out there that believe delta force is going around and buying out local govt. but why? build up to civil unrest? to train like the military, more jobs are lost, crime will go up, IT'S A FACT! must have a larger police force then right? keep taxing the workers, and business owners... till they can't afford to keep thier doors open. more workers looking for work! crime goes up... need bigger police....prisons and jails. pretty soon you are going to be working for the man, or the man is going to be working you.
The police see what is going on, but since they have been waiting for a raise, they feel they have earned it. If they speak about the federal power grabs, they might not get a raise for another 8 years.
Here is in your face facts...
Council approved an agreement with Chief Tim Hawfield at the meeting Monday that keeps his salary at $55,100 per year. However, Hawfield, who has been on the force for 31 years, will receive a more generous pension. His retirement compensation would have been 50 percent of his active-duty salary, but the new contract moves that ratio to 75 percent.
he sold out, he will work a year, retire and a "new lot younger guy" that was put there by delta force will run the show. jail/prison population goes up, need new jails/prisons... your lucky if you get one in your back yard cause the coal mine shut down and people are looking for work. They can build the prisons! Then work in them. who cares about the jobs that we once had. We are heading down a scary road! We don't produce nothing, we are now a nation of consumers. what ever happen to that american pride? buy american? time to turn these facts around.
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