Record

Apparently, holding the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera isn't enough. The AP is now reporting that 76-year old Regis Philbin has been signed to host the red carpet show for the upcoming Oscars. Dennis Doty, producer of the show, says he's a great host because "he knows everyone, and everyone loves Regis." The arrivals show for the 80th Annual Academy Awards airs at 5/4c February 24, 2008 on ABC.

I bet Ryan Seacrest is pissed. How dare a hosting gig come up and not be his. How do they expect him to become the new king of all media? But Philbin is one of the most beloved people. I mean seriously, does anyone not like the man? How do you achieve that level of likeability, anyway? I can tell you from personal experience it's not achieved by offering free back massages to everyone you meet. And I thought everyone liked massages, but no! Apparently, they like restraining orders more.

[via Yahoo! ]

Good gravy.

I told you recently that Lifetime's new series, Army Wives, was worth checking out, and apparently I'm not the only one who tuned in to the new series. Variety reports that the first episode scored the highest rating in Lifetime's history for a series premiere.

Television buffs should know that the catchy theme to the Bob Newhart Show, written by Lorenzo Music, is titled "Home to Emily," but I added that "funky" to the title of this post because what I found on YouTube is not the original theme, but a funk version recorded by the Inner City Jam Band.

The music comes from a YouTube channel belonging to a vinyl collector, and I think it's pretty cool. I kept imagining Bob strutting through Chicago in bellbottom pants and a gigantic afro, and everyone on the series replacing the ubiquitous "hi, Bob" with "hi, Funky Bob." You can skip to about 1:38 to hear the actual song in its entirety, or you can listen to VinylJunkie's introduction and stare at his insane collection of records. Seriously, that's a pretty sweet collection.

When the main emphasis of your ABC special is trying to hold your breath for longer than eight minutes and fifty-eight seconds, the special itself probably doesn't need to be longer than a half an hour. You can try to stretch it to an hour, but you'd have to add a lot of filler. If you go for two hours, then the special becomes both an endurance test for the magician and  the home audience.

Well, as you probably know by now, David Blaine did not break the record for holding one's breath underwater the longest. Granted, if he actually did spend seven days underwater and his body had taken the punishment it supposedly had, lasting for seven minutes and eight seconds was a feat in and of itself. Of course, to get to that point we had to sit through a lot of shots featuring Blaine sitting underwater among sharks and stingrays, or falling into water, or talking about water. Also, we get to hear about his "journey" to his "human aquarium" at Lincoln Center, including all the crazy stunts he had done up to that point.

Sure, having a TiVo is nice, but what happens when you want to record two shows that are on at the same time? Starting the first of May, new Tivo boxes will be available that will allow viewers to record two shows simultaneously. Currently the boxes, like VCRs, only allow a person to record one show at a time. This is a very cool move on TiVo's part, I think, and it's one the company needed to make as it tries to set itself apart from other DVR manufacturers. The new boxes will hold up to 80 hours worth of programming, and will cost $99.99 (but that's after the activation fee and rebate).  

Tivo has been suffering in the marketplace due to so many people opting to purchase satellite systems with DVRs already included, as opposed to buying the stand alone Tivo boxes. A new lawsuit the company filed recently against EchoStar, however, could change that. At least, that's what experts are predicting. The case centers on a key patent in DVR technology, one which Tivo believes EchoStar stole for its own DVR system. Tivo argues that EchoStar is infringing on its patent, thus making it difficult for the company to compete. If Tivo wins the case, which reports say is all but inevitable, the company would see damages paid from EchoStar possibly as high as $300 million. In addition, it would result in licensing deals with cable companies who currently use their own DVRs.

[via Lost Remote]