The Village Vidiot : Confessions
of Resident Tube Boob, Vince Horiuchi
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
The Times, They Are a Changin'
Starting Thursday, this blog will look quite different.
For weeks and weeks, Tribune writers have had blogging problems not being able to post pictures and videos. That's all going to change because we're moving to new blogging software starting tomorrow.
You will still be able to reach the new blog at the same address at blogs.sltrib.com/tv (make sure there is no /index.htm on the end), but the RSS feed is changing after tomorrow.
And you will still be able to refer to past postings of this blog by clicking on the "archives" link on the new blog.
So many changes! So little time.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
CW Pulls Out of Sundays
Sunday nights is a battleground on TV.
If the likes of "Cold Case" on CBS or "Desperate Housewives" on ABC aren't going to kill you, HBO's usually wonderful lineup will.
It will instead concentrate on primetime shows Monday through Friday.
Actually, it just needs to concentrate on its entire network.
Vince's "Entourage" Follows Him to Spike
Guys like to hang out with other guys. Proof is HBO's blisteringly funny take on Hollywood and fame, "Entourage," has been picked up in syndication by that guy-centric network, Spike.
Spike is the network for 18 to 30 men who like video games, hot women in bikinis and things that blow up, preferably all together.
"Entourage" is the very funny and astute comedy about movie star Vince and his entourage of friends who follow him around as he makes the rounds in Tinsletown.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Spike has picked up all 78 and future episodes for syndication. Expect them to be heavily edited since the show demonstrates that Hollywood loves its sin.
"Christine" Could Say the ABCs
"The New Adventures of Old Christine" could also be on a new network.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the sitcom starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus has made a deal with ABC that it will pick up the show for a fifth season if CBS does not.
As it stands now, "Christine" is a bubble show at CBS, awaiting its fate on that network.
Damn!
Actually, I'd use a stronger word than that, but this will do for now.
"Mad Men's" third season debut was delayed less than a month due to some unknown reason, according to Variety.
The best drama on television bar none usually debuts in July. But it's being pushed back to August this summer. Is there no God!?!?
Monday, May 04, 2009
Take a Peak at Sneaks of NBC's New Shows
NBC announced most of its new fall schedule today.
Here's a look at previews of some of their new offerings. First up, "Trauma," about the first responders to emergencies in San Francisco. You can really tell the network is already missing "ER."
Next is a preview of "Parenthood," based on Ron Howard's 1989 hit comedy about what it's like to raise kids. This one seems to have more drama than comedy.
Then there is "Mercy," about hospital nurses. NBC is REALLY missing "ER," or they REALLY want to have their own version of "Grey's Anatomy."
"100 Questions" is a comedy about young, attractive people going through the trials of finding love. NBC is REALLY missing "Friends."
Then of course is the new Jay Leno show. Here's a preview of what he has in store for us. They're definitely right about too much mayhem in the 9 p.m. hour. Then again, too much Leno in the 9 p.m. hour is going to be a problem too. NBC must REALLY be missing Leno.
No, "Chuck" fans, the fate of your show has not been decided yet.
Instead, the network announced a number of new pickups for the fall.
They include: the medical drama, "Trauma" (what, they miss "ER" already?), "Parenthood" (based on Ron Howard's 1989 comedy), the comedy "100 Questions for Charlotte Payne" and the comedy "Community”starring Chevy Chase.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Medium," "Southland," and "Parks and Recreation" all received new orders of episodes.
The fact of "Chuck" and "Law & Order" will be decided later in the month. Hang in there.
Only CBS!!
Only CBS . . . could come up with a slogan as boring as this.
Only CBS . . . could get this excited about a slogan as bland as this.
The Eye Network unveiled a new marketing campaign with a new slogan two weeks in advance of its Upfront presentation in New York City.
"Only CBS" is the new slogan, touting that CBS is the only network to go up in ratings in all key demographics.
Here's what the new slogan says to me:
Only CBS . . . puts out legal procedurals based on the same formula over and over and over again.
Only CBS . . . produces standard, laughtrack-infested, multi-camera comedies over and over and over again.
Only CBS . . . will stay safe and not take a chance with a different and unique series that breaks out of its mold.
Then again, Only CBS . . . is crushing the competition in the ratings week after week.
Friday, May 01, 2009
Series: Which Stays and Which Goes
Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has kindly created a list of each broadcast TV show and its status on the renewal list. Who will stay and who will go is the big question as the networks head into the upfronts this month.
First up is NBC, which has its upfronts Monday. That's when the networks introduce the final fall schedules to advertisers in New York City. Here's the list for the Peacock Network and what Michael thinks are the chances for each.
NBC 30 Rock: Already renewed. The Biggest Loser: Already renewed. Celebrity Apprentice: Already renewed. Chuck: Could go either way. Friday Night Lights: Already renewed. Heroes: Sure thing. Kath & Kim: It's a goner. Kings: It's a goner. Knight Rider: It's a goner. Law & Order: Safe bet. I hear they're already working on next season's episodes. Law & Order: CI: Could go either way. Law & Order: SVU: Already renewed. Life: A long shot. Now hearing it's a goner. Lipstick Jungle: Officially canceled. Medium: Safe bet. My Name is Earl: Could go either way. Fox may rescue it if NBC passes. The Office: Already renewed. Parks and Recreation: Safe bet. Southland: Sure thing.
"Idol" Beats Up the President of the United States
Was there any doubt?
Fox's decision to not show President Obama's press conference on his first 100 days Wednesday was a sound business decision, though not necessarily a sound community affairs decision.
"American Idol" won the night in viewers. It drew some 21 million Americans who watched Matt Giraud get booted. Meanwhile, the president attracted 28 million viewers total on all the rest of the broadcast and cable networks that showed him.
By the way, that's a big drop in viewers for the president, who drew some 40 million the last time he had a primetime press conference on March 24.
Another night like that and the networks will consider canceling his show.
NBC Executives Dies on TV set
This is either absolutely tragic or it doesn't bode well for the new series, "Parenthood."
I would call it absolutely tragic. O'Brien, who was only 44, died of a brain aneurysm.
She was a six-year exec who was the vice president of drama development. "Parenthood" is based on the 1989 Ron Howard comedy/drama about parents and their children.
As a result of the sudden death, screenings of upcoming pilots that were scheduled for Thursday were canceled, and the production of the show shut down for two days.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Julianne Hough to Take a Season Off
Julianne Hough, Utah's ballroom-dancing and country-singing extraordinaire, says she's taking a season off from "Dancing With the Stars."
She told TV tabloid "Access Hollywood," "I'm not doing next season," after she and boyfriend/dancing partner Chuck Wicks got booted from Tuesday's show.
Hough was one of three dancers from Utah to do the Cha-Cha this season on ABC's No. 1-rated show. The others were her brother Derek, and Chelsie Hightower, a teacher at Orem's Center Stage.
Both are still in it.
"Jon & Kate's" Jon on the Prowl?
This is going to kill my wife.
Jon Gosselin of TLC's "Jon & Kate Plus Eight" was seen with another woman!
He was spotted leaving a club at 2 a.m. with a "friend" where he apparently got tanked, according to Us Weekly.
The father of sextuplets and twins has been seen with other women before, according to reports, making him possibly father of the year.
Then again, if I was married to his controlling wife Kate, I'd be seen with other women and heavily drinking too.
It ain't cheap to allow the President if the United States to speak to the American public.
At least it ain't cheap for the networks.
According to Nielsen data reported by Broadcasting & Cable, Obama's address Wednesday about his first 100 days, cost the networks about $21.5 million in lost revenue during the 7 to 8 p.m. hour.
Meanwhile, it didn't cost Fox anything because the network decided not to show Obama's address in favor of broadcasting "American Idol's" results show.
That saved them $2 to $3 million by not showing the president's press conference, according to ABC News.
Disney Says Hello to Hulu
Add another studio to the juggernaut that is Hulu.com
Disney, which owns ABC, ESPN and the Disney Channel, has agreed to join the streaming video site and become an equity partner.
When the deal comes through - which they do not say when - you can expect to see shows like "Lost," "Ugly Betty," "Desperate Housewives," and "Private Practice" on the site, among others.
The studio also will show "classic" series like "Hope & Faith," "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," and "Less Than Perfect."
The studio now joins Fox and NBC/Universal as a partner and content provider for Hulu, making it one of the richest video streaming sites for broadcast television shows.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
David Archuleta Visits "Hannah Montana"
Murray's "American Idol" phenom, David Archuleta, knows his biggest attraction right now is the tween crowd.
First, he appears on "iCarly." Then he's touring with Disney favorite Demi Lovato.
Now he's showing up in a cameo on "Hannah Montana." He of course plays himself in a scene where Miley discovers she would rather record a duet with David than show up at the prom with some nerd.
No wonder my kids have not liked her lately. She'd dump a guy in a heartbeat.
Anyway, you can see the cameo on Sunday at 6 p.m. on the Disney Channel.
"iCarly" Wins Catfight with "Hannah"
"Hannah Montana" is no longer the queen of the ratings race.
Nickelodeon's "iCarly" is.
Even my two daughters, ages 8 and 11, have grown tired of Miley Cyrus and her Disney Channel show. They too have talked a lot more about "iCarly," that other show about a group of pre-teens who put on a Web series.
According to the Los Angeles Times: "iCarly" "has grown into TV's No. 1 series among kids (ages 2 to 11) and tweens (ages 9 to 14), drawing an average 5.6 total million viewers to new episodes."
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
The F---ing FCC Sucks S--t!!
OK, that very language on television could get me in a lot of trouble. That's why I write for newspapers and not TV.
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the Federal Communications Commission indeed has the power to enforce broadcast television rules that prohibits naughty words from being uttered on TV, even if the use of those words has nothing to do with having sex (the F-word) or the act of producing excrement (the S-word).
So for example, if the producers of "Rules of Engagement" went up to the podium during the Emmys to accept the award for Best Comedy and uttered something like, "You members of the academy are so f-ing stupid for giving the award to such a s----y show," the network could be severely fined for each bad word, even though the producers clearly did not use the words in a sexual manner or in reference to human bodily functions.
So it's one more final victory for the Bush administration even though the guy hasn't been in office for three months. Funny how that works.
Those @#%^$#$%!! bastards!! (hey, this is the Internet, not television).
Beware of the Monkey Flu
Let's put this into perspective, OK.
The swine flu was suspected to have killed 152 people so far in Mexico. And 98 cases of the flu were confirmed worldwide.
It's bad. I should know because CNN, MSNBC, and all the other news channels told me so.
Meanwhile, consider that 36,000 Americans die from the regular influenza each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
And about 45,000 Americans die in car accidents every year.
Finally, another 173,000 Americans die of boredom while watching "Two and a Half Men" every year. I don't even want to mention how many keel over from their exposure to VH1's "Rock of Love."
But here, the TV news - as well as newspapers like us - have been touting the swine flu like it's the coming apocalypse.
That's what TV news and mainstream media does best - scare the living beejesus out of us. How do you think George Bush got elected to office? By scaring us into voting for him.
That just brings up images of tiny influenza bugs armed with assault rifles and belts of bullets crisscrossing their little chests.
This is why I hate most TV news (and a lot of other mainstream media sources).
Just venting.
Hardly a Heroic Finale
NBC's once-grand science fiction/fantasy series, "Heroes," came to its third season (they call it fourth chapter) finale Monday, and it continues to prove why the show is basically on life support.
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD (stop reading if you haven't seen the episode yet)
The show ended with a somewhat tepid showdown between Nathan the senator and Sylar, the evil guy who's been sucking up all the super powers by killing the other heroes.
At least it was a showdown for all of about 10 seconds until Sylar cut Nathan's throat and killed him. (I warned you about spoilers).
Then the outrageous happened that might get fans wagging their tongues today.
In an effort to keep Nathan around to help the government stop the madness of hunting down other heroes, Noah (Jack Coleman) and Nathan's mother, Angela (Cristine Rose) come up with a plan to "revive" Nathan.
Because Sylar is now a shape-shifter and now is unconscious after being captured, they get Matt Parkman, the guy who has powers of suggestion, to infuse the idea that Sylar is now Nathan.
In other words, he tells Sylar's mind that he is now Nathan, causing him to change to Nathan's identity completely.
Say What!!!????
So Nathan is still "alive" though he's physically Sylar inside.
I really can't provide an analysis beyond that I think this series is dead in the water. Not very poetic of a review, but I'm too disappointed to carry on.
Meanwhile, here's the video of the final episode if you haven't seen it. I'm going now. I can't bear to watch it again.
Capt. Kirk Cares About Me
According to psychologists researching the effects of television on the lonely, TV characters can add a sense of belonging. In other words, they can be our friends.
If that's true, I REALLY want to be the friend of Kaley Cuoco on "The Big Bang Theory."
Science Daily reports:
"The research provides evidence for the 'social surrogacy hypothesis,' which holds that humans can use technologies, like television, to provide the experience of belonging when no real belongingness has been experienced," says one of the study's authors, Shira Gabriel, Ph.D., UB assistant professor of psychology.
Now if you'll excuse me, Heidi Klum needs me.
Leno's Back and in a Joking Mood
Jay Leno was back after his first sick day in 17 years as host of "The Tonight Show."
And he was joking about his hospital stay after attracting a 103-degree fever. Take a look.
Vince Horiuchi loves
to watch television, play video games and make fun of Hollywood
executives - all while keeping an eye on his two daughters. If he
isn't in a self-induced coma from watching too many episodes of
"Hope & Faith," you'll find him at the local cineplex
in a self-induced coma from watching "Bewitched."
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