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From the monthly archives:

May 2006

Summer TV Podcast

May 31, 2006

Amy Carlson Gustafson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and I talked today about our likes and dislikes when it comes to TV this summer. Here are the pertinent links:

MP3 file: http://www.ohiomm.com/podcasts/tv/summer_tv.mp3

RSS feed file: http://www.ohiomm.com/podcasts/RSS/tv.xml

Short version: She's a fan of summer reality TV, I'm more ready for scripted shows, and we both like Kathy Griffin.

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"Studio 60": Do Not Adjust Your Set

May 30, 2006

Among the recurring complaints I get about television, one is that some TV shows just look too dark — that it's difficult to figure out who's there and what's going on because the artists making TV shows love shadow and muted light far more than viewers do. They're making shows for people who watch TV [...]

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A Long Weekend, Fall Pilots, Desmond Dekker

May 30, 2006

It's Tuesday morning and I am sitting here laughing — yes, laughing — at "30 Rock," the Tina Fey sitcom premiering this fall on NBC.
Please note that my laughter is purely a visceral reaction based on a casual viewing of a "30 Rock" and not a review. Networks hate it when you review a fall [...]

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"Supernatural," "Veronica" on DVD

May 26, 2006

Notes of interest to fans of the WB, er, UPN, oh, right, CW shows, from today's e-mail:
Join Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles in Supernatural’s ’67 Chevy Impala for a dark and mysterious thrill ride that will leave you on the edge of your seat.  On September 5, Warner Home Video presents the highly-anticipated release of [...]

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"Lost": Huh?

May 26, 2006

The cone of silence has been lifted on "Lost," since the bride and I watched it Thursday night. (Wonderful to have a night when the viewing demands were so minimal that we could spend a couple of hours catching up.) I was sure of some things as it went along, then — within a half-hour [...]

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Blink!

May 25, 2006

Facing the buzzsaws of "CSI" and "Grey's Anatomy," NBC has moved new drama "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" from its planned Thursday time slot to Mondays at 10 p.m.
That's part of a bunch of changes NBC has made since seeing its competitors' fall lineups, including major shuffles of the "Law & Order" shows.
Here's the [...]

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Onward

May 25, 2006

Given the late hour when I was done with "American Idol," I am still in the cone of silence about last night's "Lost," and expect to remain there until sometime tonight. But I haven't stopped watching TV, and later today may post something about what a freakin' dazzler writer-director Stephen Poliakoff is. (A couple of [...]

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"Idol" Finale (With Winner, Podcast)

May 24, 2006

Here's the link to tonight's podcast, an especially giddy one, perhaps because we knew that "Idol" was done:
http://www.ohiomm.com/podcasts/tv/idol_final_052406.mp3
And here are my notes from watching the finale:
No Buster Douglas moment for Katharine McPhee tonight. Taylor Hicks wins, apparently in a runaway, since they haven't mentioned the voting percentages.
As expected. And since we pretty well knew that [...]

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Taylor's "Idol" Bandwagon Gains Speed…

May 24, 2006

In my previous post I noted that www.dialidol.com has Taylor easily beating Katharine in the viewer vote. Here's another indication of where sentiment is, from today's e-mail, from the PinnacleSports betting folks:
Entering Tuesday’s episode, Hicks was a solid 1/2 favorite to win the hit reality series, while McPhee was a 9/5 underdog. After performing considerably [...]

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My Last "Idol" Report Card of 2006 (With Podcast Info)

May 23, 2006

Here's tonight's podcast link:
http://www.ohiomm.com/podcasts/tv/idol_show_052306.mp3
And here are my notes from earlier:
Based purely on salesmanship, including how you close the show and how "American Idol" decides to sell you to the audience, it sure looked as if Taylor Hicks led his Soul Patrol to victory on Tuesday night's performance show. Simon Cowell said as much near the [...]

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"24" (Don't Read If You Haven't Watched)

May 23, 2006

I don't as a rule watch "24" every week because the ridiculousness of it eventually overwhelms my mild enjoyment of the action when I have to wait seven days between episodes. DVD boxes, gobbled as quickly as a box of Sugar Babies, are a much better way to go.
But I did tune in for the [...]

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Charles Gibson Ascends

May 23, 2006

With the injury to Bob Woodruff and the pregnancy of Elizabeth Vargas — not to mention a recent slump in the ratings — "World News Tonight" has changed direction again. Here's the announcement from ABC News:
Charles Gibson has been named anchor of “World News Tonight,” ABC News President David Westin announced today. Mr. Gibson’s new [...]

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"Alias" Farewell, "Sopranos" on the Brink

May 22, 2006

I expected to get more TV watched today but ended spending more time than I expected on a column for tomorrow about "American Idol" and on items for my TV mailbag. So it was "Sopranos" this morning and "Alias" tonight.
(Possible spoilers follow.)
I liked many things about "Alias," even if there were significant amounts of the [...]

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Road Trip

May 21, 2006

We're just back from a visit to family yesterday and today. It was not free of television, especially since we were among sports fans and in the Pittsburgh area, so some time was devoted to the Indians-Pirates game yesterday and today. But Saturday's outcome was not great, and today we hit the road just as [...]

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Backlogged

May 19, 2006

I've been spending a fair amount of time on the new-season announcements, "American Idol" and some family business, so I haven't been blogging as much about shows as I would like. Here's some catching up.
"Lost" on Wednesday was another disappointment. I don't want to get into too many details because some folks are still in [...]

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And The CW…

May 18, 2006

Goodbye, "Everwood." Can't stop "7th Heaven." Here's the CW's lineup for the fall:
SUNDAY

7:00-7:30 PM                    EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS
7:30-8:00 PM                    ALL OF US
8:00-8:30 PM                    GIRLFRIENDS
8:30-9:00 PM                    THE GAME (New Series)
9:00-10:00 PM        [...]

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Fox schedule

May 18, 2006

Here's what Fox has in mind for the coming season, pasted from the announcement. It's in two pieces, fall and January, since Fox prepares formal plans for January based on the return of "American Idol." New shows are in bold type.
FOX PRIMETIME SCHEDULE: FALL 2006
(All Times ET/PT)

MONDAY
8:00-9:00 PM                       [...]

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Picking and Choosing (With Results From "Idol," "Race"

May 17, 2006

Here's tonight's "Idol" podcast with Amy Gustafson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press:
http://www.ohiomm.com/podcasts/tv/idol_results_051706.mp3
The following are notes I wrote before the podcast. I had hoped to add something about "Lost" afterward, but it has gotten late and I'm not paying as close attention to it as I would like. So I expect to post something about [...]

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CBS schedule

May 17, 2006

And another network checks in… (N) refers to new shows. (NT) means a new time period.
MONDAY
8:00-8:30 PM              HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (NT)
8:30-9:00 PM             THE CLASS (N)
9:00-9:30 PM              TWO AND A HALF MEN
9:30-10:00 PM            THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE
10:00-11:00 PM  [...]

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"Idol" Tuesday

May 16, 2006

Here's tonight's podcast:
http://www.ohiomm.com/podcasts/tv/idol_show_051606.mp3
As for the notes, I started them before the podcast, only to see them eaten before they were saved. The following was written after the podcast, but includes pretty much everything I had written before hand — along with a correction of one thing I said on the podcast. Here goes.
With three songs [...]

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