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From the monthly archives:

November 2005

"Lost": A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Bend

November 30, 2005

How many times can "Lost" throw us in a single episode? A lot, apparently.
Kate's home exploding was an impressive opening, although the story behind it — her killing her stepfather, who was actually her biological father — didn't prove as impressive as the promos implied. We've pretty well known that, whatever her criminal past, she [...]

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Fox Looks at January

November 30, 2005

As was the case with Simon Cowell's rumored departure from "American Idol," talk about Fox moving around telecasts of "Idol" proved premature. Cowell is back, as is noted below, and "Idol" will remain a Tuesday/Wednesday fixture.
Fox planned changes in January because it is bringing back "Idol" and "24," and they eat up time slots. So [...]

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What I Meant to Say…

November 30, 2005

I had a great time yesterday talking to a class at the University of Akron. The topic was Television & Politics, one I've spoken about before, but one that regularly offers new items for discussion. I went in with a handful of notes, tried to make the presentation more of a conversation than a lecture, [...]

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Tuesday Night

November 29, 2005

Odd but relieving to have a lighter than usual schedule (no "Earl/Office," no "Gilmore" and I had seen "House"). The DVR got less of a workout, and I could actually watch one show without wondering if I should be flipping over to something else.
There was disappointment nonetheless. About halfway through "The Amazing Race," it began [...]

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Rest Easy: Simon Is Back

November 29, 2005

Recent printed speculation wondered if Simon Cowell would be back on "American Idol" for the new season in January since he and "Idol" mogul Simon Fuller were feuding in court; Cowell wanted to do a show of his own that Fuller claimed was too close in concept to "Idol."
Fear not. The two have reportedly settled [...]

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"House" and Around the House

November 28, 2005

Well, that cold I mentioned is a persistent creature, and one I'm getting very tired of. It's been hanging on today, so after a brief stop at the office, I came home to work. Which proved more difficult since my cable was out for a couple of hours, not only knocking out the TV but [...]

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Happy Day After the Day After Thanksgiving

November 26, 2005

Well, aside from the trouble I'm having activating an XM radio (with that "it only takes one phone call" on the promo channel mocking me) and the cold I picked up somewhere in the last couple of days, it has been a pretty good holiday weekend so far.
We left for western Pennsylvania early Thursday morning, [...]

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"Over There": People Are Talking

November 25, 2005

About a month ago I wrote a post titled "Bad News for 'Over There' fans," about the cancellation of the FX series. It may have had a small audience, but it unquestionably had a passionate one. Comments are still coming in about the show. Go the post, and you can read them.

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"Lost"

November 23, 2005

"Lost" is one of those shows that I watch several different ways, and sometimes I forget that I'm doing it. Tonight I sat, a little uncomfortably, through most of the episode in my move-the-mystery-along mode. There really wasn't a lot of that. And even the promised reunion of the two survivor groups (I keep wanting [...]

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Happy Thanksgiving (Take a Shovel and Scraper)

November 23, 2005

I doubt this is my last Wednesday post, but I thought I would go ahead and send along the holiday greetings. It already feels like a long day.
I went into the office early this morning to finish up some things so I could take care of some pre-Thanksgiving errands. Naturally, things were so slick, I [...]

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Goodbye, "Alias"

November 23, 2005

My wife is going to have an extra hour of free time in the fall, and the DVR will get a smidge more breathing room. ABC has announced that it will end of "Alias" in May 2006.
"Though we're obviously very saddened to face the reality that 'Alias' is coming to an end, the lasting [...]

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"Amazing Race" Tonight: Aaarrrrgh

November 22, 2005

I was all set to write a post slugged "Down Go Weavers." I have had a bellyful of their hypocritical whining about the way everyone is so mean to them, when they have given other teams nasty nicknames and tried trickery to slow down a competitor. And there was more self-righteous complaining tonight, including one [...]

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Department of Blatant Self-Promotion. With a Christmas Theme

November 22, 2005

I have finished my big projects for this holiday weekend, and you should be able to find them in the Beacon Journal (or online at www.ohio.com) as follows.
On Thursday, the Christmas-season TV specials list will appear.
On Friday, movie critic George Thomas and I will have a list of DVD possibilities for holiday shopping, grouped two [...]

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Snow/White (Updated)

November 21, 2005

(Below is what I wrote on Monday after seeing a preview tape of Brittany Snow's "Nip/Tuck" episode. TV Tattle on Tuesday posted a link to an interview with Snow that you can find here.)
I don't know how many people have watched both "American Dreams" and "Nip/Tuck" but they're in for a shock tomorrow night.
Brittany Snow, [...]

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"Roseanne" Reforms

November 21, 2005

You may remember the griping here and elsewhere when the first season of "Roseanne" came out on DVD — and included the edited-for-syndication versions of the episodes instead of the original network cuts.
The second season arrives on DVD on Dec. 6, and it tries to make amends for that first-season DVD gaffe. In fact, it [...]

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Wild Wild Life

November 21, 2005

This was Saturday night at the House of Heldenfels: While my wife ironed, I worked on a newsletter for the arts-booster group at our son's high school. When the ironing was done, we worked together on the newsletter.
This was Sunday night: Having made 500 copies of the newsletter that afternoon, we folded them and stuffed [...]

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A Very Special "Beacon TV"

November 18, 2005

I recently put my 200th post on this blog. I didn't pay much attention to it at the time. But I should have. If my blog was a TV show, 200 posts would be a TV event.
If I had paid proper attention to my blog, the 200th post would be a Very Special Beacon TV. [...]

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Ebert, Oprah! Oprah, Ebert!

November 18, 2005

You may have heard that Oprah Winfrey is crediting Roger Ebert with getting her into TV syndication — and therefore making Oprah the mighty presence that she is today. The always useful www.tvtattle.com  today has Ebert's description of that meeting, and some background about his acquaintance with Oprah, which you can find here.
You may [...]

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"Where Have I Been?"

November 17, 2005

Fans of old-time TV may recognize the title of this post, since it is also the title of Sid Caesar's 1982 autobiography. I thought of it tonight because of my absence from the blog, an absence I didn't particularly enjoy. I have fun with this thing.
But I spent the better part of today finishing another [...]

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A Temporary Interruption

November 17, 2005

Some technical difficulties this morning and a packed schedule have kept me from filing today. I hope to post sometime this evening.

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