tv
Could you go without cable TV?
When I'm not pumping out my latest TV rant for the ol' Squad here, I write pretty infrequently for another blog with some old college roomies called The Suite Spot. It's really nothing more than a bunch of disgruntled twentysomething males talking about whatever we want.
Anyway, a few weeks ago, my buddy Keith wrote something that astounded me: he's canceled his cable TV service. And not just cable - I mean everything. Basic service too. The man is TV-less.
Wha?!? Just how the heck can a red-blooded American male say no more to cable TV? Good-bye ESPN? So long crappy late night soft-core porn? Farewell Desperate Hou... wait, nevermind. That one sounds great, but you get my point.
Is Keith still watching TV? Sure, tons of it. But he's doing something that many of us only use as a supplement to our normal TV viewing. He's watching everything online.
Time for the NFL to end a Thanksgiving tradition
If you're like a lot of other American families, Thanksgiving dinner included not only turkey, cranberries, stuffing and pumpkin pie. You also had the TV on and the football game playing. Every year there are two games that are locked in -- by tradition -- to the Thanksgiving game, the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys. Well, it's time to end tradition and end it now. While Dallas has remained a national favorite -- whether you like them or loathe them, they're relevant -- the Detroit Lions are not. There aren't many times a year when family gets together and TV viewing is a big part of it. It's fun to watch the NFL with family and friends, but the game has to be potentially a good one. Some of my favorite memories are of watching football on TV on the holidays.
This season they are winless and looking at their schedule, not likely to notch a single victory the rest to the way. They are awful and unwatchable. Yesterday the Detroit Lions were trounced 47-10 by the Tennessee Titans and the game was over in the first quarter, ruining the viewing for the entire nation. It had to be an embarrassment for the people of Detroit!
TV meltdowns, outbursts and blunders - VIDEO
Be honest: who doesn't let out a good guffaw when watching somebody famous snap on TV? Or better yet, screw up?Apparently, Bill O'Reilly is a big offender, since he is practically the star of the "outbursts" section of 30 Hilarious TV Meltdowns, Outbursts and Blunders, a collection of video clips highlighting these funnies. In classic American Idol style, an auditioner from the X Factor goes off on Simon Cowell and friends when she is rejected. Whoo-boy.
My favorite meltdown has got to be when Bill Clinton loses it in fits of laughter when Boris Yeltsin calls a reporter a disaster, after the reporter claims their summit was one. Or is it when a bunch of kids pelt a reporter with snowballs?
Archos to add placeshifting to its portable media players
Archos is rolling out a series of software upgrades to its WiFi-enabled portable media players. CNET reports that he 605 WiFi and 705 WiFi will be getting support in May for Flash 9 which will let you watch online video from sites like YouTube and Hulu. Flash 9 support will come as a free firmware upgrade, but you'll also be able to pay $20 for a "Web TV and Radio plug-in" which will give you access to thousands of streaming radio stations, video streams, and podcasts. Don't expect broadcast quality television though. More likely you'll find C-Span style video content.
Finally, Archos is adding placeshifting features to the Archos TV+, which is the company's answer to the Apple TV. The company will release a plugin in May that will let the box stream content over the internet to computers, Windows Mobile and Symbian Smartphones, and of course Archos's internet-enabled portable media players.
Top 25 things that only happen on TV (and in movies)
Everyone at one point or another watched a TV show (or a movie) and said: "That can only happen on TV!" We even have a saying in French to explain that something is so far-fetched that it can't be real. It roughly translates as "This is set up by the movie guy." The Have Happy Fun Time blog came up with the "Top 25 Things that Only Happen in Movies." But, as you'll see, that list also works for TV series.Here are the Golden Globe TV winners
Tonight, in a lavish press conference, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced the winners of the 2008 Golden Globes. Here are the winners in the major TV categories:Best TV series, comedy: Extras, HBO
Best TV series, Drama: Mad Men, AMC
Best actor, TV series, comedy: David Duchovny, Californication
Best actress, TV series, comedy: Tina Fey, 30 Rock
BoingBoing going to TV
As everybody knows, all great ideas are eventually copied...er...adapted to other sources. Well, maybe not all of them but someone else is getting on the "daily video" bandwagon. Apparently, BoingBoing.net is going to do a daily TV segment to supplement its website. Of course, TV Squad has been doing something similar for quite some time now with our daily videos from Brigitte.
Doctor Who: The Last of the Time Lords (season finale)
(S03E13) It almost seems inevitable that a series finale doesn't quite live up to everyone's expectations, with a few minor exceptions (such as the recent series finale of Lost).I eagerly anticipated the series finale of Heroes, and while I was significantly entertained enough to have enjoyed myself, I felt kind of cheated when it was revealed that Syler was probably not dead after all.
I felt the same way with this last part of the current Doctor Who series; it was great to watch, but the inevitable cop-out at the end left me feeling a little bit like I'd been pick-pocketed.
Warning: Spoilers after the jump.
Doctor Who: Utopia/The Sound of Drums
(S03E11 / S03E12) I've decided to combine the first two episodes of this three-part finale in to one review, partly because it's only a few days until the finale itself, but mostly because I really don't know where to start with this totally explosive storyline.When Doctor Who returned to our screens a few years ago, everyone was anticipating the return of old favourites, like the Autons, the Daleks and the Cybermen -- and, sure, those guys notched up the fear factor and excitement when The Doctor faced them down -- but there's one guy we've all been waiting for, and he finally turned up in the strangest of places.
Well, make that two guys...
WARNING: Spoilers after the jump.
Doctor Who: Blink
(S03E10) Apologies for the lack of Doctor Who reviews recently, but I was sunning myself in Italy, and returned home to find a bumper hoard of episodes waiting for me on my Sky+ box.Before I begin, let me ask you a question: how many times in recent years have you watched a stand-alone episode of a big sci-fi show and walked away from it thinking, "Man, that was brilliant"?
Seriously -- it can't be more than once or twice. Maybe a few episodes of X-Files, or Star Trek:TNG - possibly some Babylon 5 or Battlestar Galactica.
Museum of Television and Radio is changing its name
First Kentucky Fried Chicken and now you, Museum of Television and Radio? Oh, why must things change?
Anyway, the Museum of Television of Radio is changing its name, but not to "MTR." No, it will henceforth be known as "Paley Center for Media," which TV trivia-heads will recognize as being named after William S. Paley, who founded CBS and started the museum in 1975 (back then it was called the "Museum of Broadcasting," so it's not like this is the first time the name has changed).
So why the change? It's quite simple: we don't just get our information through TV and radio anymore. We now have this thing called "the internet," not to mention video content through mobile devices.
Good TV makes you fat
According to a new study, people eat more when they're watching television they find entertaining.
Dr. Alan Hirsch, the neurological director for the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, conducted an experiment in which folks were given chips to eat while watching Letterman and Leno, and chips to eat when not watching any TV at all. As it turns out, they ate more chips while watching TV because they paid less attention to whether or not they were full while distracted by what was on the television.
Comcast wants to air recent theatrical releases on TV
While nothing has been solidified yet, Comcast is in talks with several Hollywood studios to have movies aired on television the same day they're released in theaters. The cable company would charge subscribers thirty to fifty dollars to watch a new release at home, which seems awfully damn expensive to me.
What TV can teach us: Science - VIDEO
I guess the end of TV Turn Off week is the perfect time to do yet another installment in my two-part series about all the important things television can teach us that no other medium can.
Today, we will delve into the world of science. Slip on your safety goggles and follow me into the lab:
Science can be difficult to understand, which is why most science is controlled by evil geniuses. Some might argue that science is just a method of understanding the physical world, but that kind of thinking is why you're sitting in front of your computer reading this and some evil genius is inside his secret lair creating a laser that can turn hippopotami into bowls of tapioca.
The top 10 TV pets
Welcome to TV Squad Lists, a feature where each blogger has a chance to list his or her own rundown of things in television that stand out from the rest, both good and bad.
Ever since the early days, pets have been a staple of many TV shows. Whether they are the star of the show like Cleo from The Peoples Choice or unforgettable supporting pets like Eddie from Frasier, these pets are often the best remembered part of any TV show.
Here is my own personal list of favorite pets. Before you start, I excluded Arnold Ziffel because the Ziffel family insisted he was their son not a pet. Feel free to add your own favorites.
1.Rowdy the stuffed dog (Scrubs)
I admit that having a stuffed dog for a pet is a bit unusual but when you think about it, it's a brilliant idea. He never has to be walked, fed or taken to the vet and he'll never run away. Seeing the hours of fun JD and Turk have with Rowdy makes me want to run to my nearest taxidermist and order myself a mounted hound.
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