I am sick and tired of seeing all of the good shows clustered on Mondays and Thursdays, while only crap runs on Tuesday and Wednesday. I am also sick and tired of trying to keep track of network and cable shows that move all over the place.
But I have a solution to both of these problems: on demand programming. The studios offer our programs on demand for our viewing pleasure. As a concession to getting something that is more convenient for me, I would be willing to put up with ads that can’t be fast forwarded through, just like when I watch shows live now. We don’t have to worry that all of our shows are scheduled at the same time. Ratings can be easily measured–how many times are the shows accessed? And content can be free to viewers because advertisers will get our eyes.
How does this differ from the current on demand programming offered by the cable companies and DirecTV?
- It includes all prime time shows and possibly all programming.
- Commercials are included, and they cannot be fast forwarded through.
- All TV owners have access to the system, not just subscribers to digital cable or DirecTV subscribers with an HD DVR and an Ethernet network.
This seems so simple. What are the downsides I haven’t thought about? Will the current delivery system handle it? How will local media deliver news programming and advertising? Will anyone watch any educational programming when given on demand options? How will we deliver the programs? How can pay networks get into this game?
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[digg=http://digg.com/arts_culture/Dear_Lord_I_Actually_Agreed_with_Taylor_and_Victoria]Yesterday I was ready to cancel the XM subscription after listening to Taylor and Victoria and their stupid rant about generic Claritin (followed by their inability to believe that for once the FDA is looking out for us by ensuring that medications are actually medically equivalent when they say they are). I am still mad that somehow Cosmo Radio is considered an appropriate substitute for E! Radio.
But then I listened to Get in Bed last night, and was reminded that it is a fun channel, even though it doesn’t give me my pop culture fix. I am still leaning toward canceling before my next quarterly subscription payment is due. Do any of you know of a good set of pop culture podcasts I can subscribe to?
This morning, I was as rabidly in agreement with Taylor and Victoria as I was rabidly angry with them yesterday. They were trying to understand what it is that leads some ladies to dress skanky, as if that is what looks good. I think they take their fear of fat a little too far–we women are so hard on each other–but I agree that low-waist jeans that cut into the muffin top exposed by a midriff shirt is not a good look. And slutty clothes that are worn by porn stars and hookers are not appropriate for, well, anywhere. Frederick’s of Hollywood clothes are for bedroom fantasy only, ladies.
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[digg=http://digg.com/television/A_Fun_Show_Being_Erica]One of my lovely readers suggested that I might like the show Being Erica. I agreed that it looked good, but kind of forgot to watch it. (My ability to forget about cable shows is, of course, legendary.)
This past weekend, I caught two episodes, and I really liked it. So thank you, R.A. Porter, for the recommendation.
Those of you who haven’t watched it, there is a new episode on SOAPnet tonight. SOAPnet will also be playing a marathon on May 13 to lead up to the season finale. Or watch online at the CBC website. (Yes, Being Erica is a Canadian import.)
Enjoy!
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[digg=http://digg.com/movies/Marley_Me_I_Hate_You]I watched Marley & Me over the weekend. It was hard to get into because Jennifer Aniston had something really weird going on with her face, as if she had visited a Botox-happy dermatologist right before filming. It was also hard to take great joy in the movie because I had been spoiled about the ending. (If you don’t want to know, stop reading now, because spoilers follow.)
Since before Mr. Pop Culture Curmudgeon and I got our Greater Swiss Mountain Dog and Bernese Mountain Dog, we had been reading of the horrors of bloat and gastric torsion. Both of our dog breeds are prone to bloat (even mom’s miniature dachshund is a bloat risk), and it can be a quick killer. It is a condition where you call the emergency vet while you are driving there–you don’t call to see if you should come in, you just go if your dog exhibits any of the signs, even a sign as small as not acting like himself. I had been warned by members of the Bernese Mountain Dog Yahoo group that bloat is what killed Marley, so it was actually scary to watch. I couldn’t stop thinking about the time when we might experience that with one of our dogs.
The movie is a wonderful look at how you care for an aging dog. The Grogans make Marley happy and keep him with them as long as he still loves life. Then, when Marley is no longer able to recover from repeated episodes of bloat and gastric torsion, they put him to sleep so that he would no longer suffer. I’ve had to put quite a few animals to sleep over the years, and they did a wonderful job of capturing the experience.
I don’t know if I recommend the movie or not. It had its moments–Marley reminds me a lot of our Swissy–and, like I said, it was wonderfully accurate and provided important information about bloat. It focused more on the Me than on the Marley; I get the feeling that the book contained more doggy details than the movie. But it was so sad. And not sad in a Bridge to Terabithia or Gone with the Wind way. Sad in a way that was depressing, not cathartic.
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[digg=http://digg.com/television/Visions_of_Winchesters_The_Supernatural_Blog_Carnival_4_29]Welcome to the April 29 edition of Visions of Winchesters, a Supernatural Blog Carnival.
Previous Episode
Suzanne presents Supernatural: Jump the Shark posted at Sci Fi Chicks. Suzanne does a great pointing out the inside jokes and shark jumping pop culture references.
Lauren Attaway gives a quick-and-dirty recap of the episode at Star Pulse.
Tomorrow’s Episode
I’ll send you straight to the source (the CW Source) for previews of The Rapture.
Henry Jenkins, of Buddy TV, speculates on The Rapture and Castiel’s future, based on the previews that ran at the end of last week’s episode. Interesting stuff.
News
The dudes at After Elton have again named Jensen Ackles to their hot 100 list. I must give the gay guys props for their good taste in men.
Pop Culture Zoo hosts a Supernatural Con report, parts 1 and 2.
Spoilers
TVGuide (the print version) has spoilers. Read them at Supernatural Fans Online. Supernatural has been getting a lot of media lately. It’s about time!
Here’s a set of stills from the finale. Just so you know, I’m a spoiler-phobe, so I am not vetting these before posting them. So if the spoilers suck, well, I don’t know what to tell you other than “I’m sorry.”
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Visions of Winchesters: The Supernatural Variety using our carnival submission form.
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[digg=http://digg.com/movies/Angels_and_Demons_6]I’m overcome with relief every time I see a trailer for Angels and Demons. Why? Because Tom Hanks has an appropriate hairstyle. That nightmare of bad 70s hair he had in the Da Vinci Code made it nearly impossible for me to watch the movie. I couldn’t even tell you what the Da Vinci Code was about, I was so flipping distracted by the bad hair. Shallow? Yeah. But sometimes shallow is all we’ve got.
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So, we did our part last night. We bought Subway. (Even Zachary Levi got into the spirit, buying and making sandwiches for a big group of convention attendees in Birmingham, England.) We filled out comment cards or commented online. We tweeted using the hashtag #savechuck. What now?
Chuck isn’t out of the woods yet. Watch the recent episodes on NBC.com. Send your Subway receipt to NBC (find the addresses here). Buy the season 1 DVD and pre-order season 2. Or buy it on iTunes, if you prefer.
Then keep your eyes peeled for ways to talk Chuck up on blogs, news sites, and to your friends. And try not to freak while we wait for the May 19 NBC up-front, where we will get the final word about our little show.
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Over the weekend, Salma Hayek renewed her vows to Francois Henri-Pinault. They’ve been married for just over two months. I guess in Hollywood time, that’s actually a decade, but it still seems a little soon for a vow renewal.
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Tonight is the season finale of Chuck. As part of the fan campaign to save our show, I will be buying $5 foot longs from Subway for dinner. I will also be filling out a comment card to let Subway know that I am there as part of the Finale and Footlong campaign.
As I eat my Subway sandwich, I will be tweeting about my participation, using the hashtag #savechuck. You can find all of the fun Chuck posts on Twitter by searching for the hashtags #Chuck, #chuckonnbc, and #savechuck.
Read more about the campaign here. I hope to see you on Twitter tonight.
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As an avid TV viewer, I think TV turn-off week is the stupidest thing ever. I don’t feel guilty about the amount of time I spend watching TV. In fact, I revel in my shows. I love to talk to other viewers here, on Twitter, and in person. In a time when we are becoming more and more disconnected, the arts provide us some commonality we can use to feel a sense of belonging.
Join me in loving television this week and all other weeks. To TV!
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Uncategorized | Jennifer C. Rodland | 
April 30, 2009 2:00 pm | 
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