Nov 20 2008
I try not to be a jealous person but after seeing some improvements to FiOS TV's on-screen menu displays and technological advances, I'm green with envy. Alas, as a City of Pittsburgh resident, FiOS TV is not yet an option for me, so I'm stuck with Comcast as my cable TV provider. (Verizon spokesman Lee Gierczynski said the company would love to have a license agreement with the city for FiOS TV worked out by the end of the year, but it seems more likely to come sometime in early 2009.)
But FiOS TV is oh-so-enticing. First, there's the cleaner design of the on-screen menus. Comcast's looks like they were created on a Commodore 64; FiOS TV's menus have a comparatively crisp, clean look. But it's the technological advances, rolled out in recent weeks, that really wowed me when given a tour of new FiOS TV options by Anil Guntupalli, director of systems and architecture for Verizon Data Services.
Interestingly, FiOS TV uses similar or the same Motorola cable boxes as Comcast, but the FiOS TV software is more advanced. My favorite innovation in the FiOS TV two-way interactive service is the ability to program your home DVR from the Web. So if you go out of town and forgot to set the DVR to record "30 Rock," no worries, you can log on and program the FiOS DVR remotely, a feature I believe is also available to TiVO users.
Currently in beta testing is the ability to program the DVR from three LG models of Verizon mobile phones (Chocolate is among them). That service will likely roll out in Pittsburgh in a few weeks. But pulling shows from your DVR to the phone isn't happening soon due to digital rights issues, although FiOS has the technological know-how to make that happen, too.
Another nifty feature: "Wait for me." FiOS customers can pause a live program on one channel, flip to another channel and then return to the initial channel, where the program remains paused.
FiOS TV's channel listings can be displayed in myriad ways, some that take up little screen space and others that take up more screen space. There are also widgets that provide links to text news articles, sports reports, horoscopes and even a real-time look at what the most popular programs are among FiOS TV users in the region at any given moment. (Simmer down, privacy advocates, the FiOS TV people say they don't store customer viewing info, just a snapshot aggregate of what channels viewers are tuned to.) There's even a beta test of a Facebook widget that can pull in friends' photo albums and status updates.
Currently, FiOS TV offers four free games (sudoku, chess, solitaire, Wordplay) that users play against the computer. As many as 20 games will be launched by late December, some of which will be for purchase as part of a subscription.
Then there's the Media Manager, which allows subscribers to watch on TV videos that are stored on their computers. Currently a link from FiOS TV to Internet videos, like those from YouTube, is in beta trials, so users will be able to search and watch YouTube from their couches. This took a little longer to load than other applications, but no more than the time it takes to get into the on demand menu on Comcast.
Next year FiOS TV plans to target more interactive advertising, social networking applications and interactive features (maybe some polls that can be pulled up while watching CNN).
One caveat: Some services aren't available on lower-end cable boxes or are more limited (two free games instead of four), but for anyone with a FiOS TV DVR and HD, there is new technology to test drive.
If you're a Verizon FiOS TV customer who's experimented with this new technology, please tell us about your experiences below. An in-home opportunity to live with this technology is going to be more telling than the demo I received. Do you like it? Am I over-selling it? Please login (or register to login) to post below.
Nov 19 2008
A new batch of "Office" webisodes debut tomorrow at NBC.com.
This batch of four, two-minute episodes, titled "The Outburst," stars series regulars Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Kate Flannery, Ed Helms, Mindy Kaling, Angela Kinsey, Oscar Nunez and Phyllis Smith.
These webisodes seem more character-driven than some past efforts and it's wonderful to see so many of the supporting players participating.
Curiously, Toby (Paul Lieberstein) also appears to be working back in the office, which is odd since the character was last seen on the TV series in a hospital and not in Scranton. Does his presence here portend Toby's return or are these episodes simply scraps from the cutting room floor before he departed at the end of last season? (According to a NBC publicist, the webisodes are slightly ahead of the TV show's storyline, so it looks like Toby is headed back to Scranton.)
"The Outburst" begins with Oscar yelling at someone on the phone. His nosey co-workers automatically think he's fighting with his partner.
"There's so much passion," Kelly (Kaling) says. "It's so romantic."
Meredith (Flanery), one of the most criminally underused "Office" players, even gets a moment to shine.
"I don't know why people are so caught upin Oscar's little tantrum," she says. "When I act up, nobody gives a damn."
Moreso than some past efforts, these "Office" webisodes should delight the show's fans.
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After a week off, Tuned In Podcast is back with a new installment about the status of prime-time network TV. I had a recent conversation with two fellow TV critics, expressing my sadness that few shows have me really excited to see them each week, partially a result of the dismal fall season, I suspect. Post-Gazette entertainment editor Sharon Eberson and I discuss these TV disappointments, the shows we do look forward to and the new "Colbert Christmas," premiering Sunday on Comedy Centra. Listen or subscribe at post-gazette.com/podcast.
Nov 18 2008
Media literacy is a subject near and dear to my heart. If I wasn't writing about TV for a newspaper, I'd love to teach a course in media literacy. It's an essential part of education for all American citizens in this modern media era. People need to understand how the media works, why we see what we see on television.
The new, six-episode documentary series "IFC Media Project" (8 tonight, IFC) attempts to draw back the curtain and explain a myriad of issues surrounding modern media coverage.
Hosted by a prematurely graying Gideon Yago (pictured, left), formerly of MTV News, the program was created by Meghan O'Hara, an executive producer on Michael Moore's "Farenheit 9/11" and "Sicko." That gives you some idea of where the show's heart lies. And the program did bring to mind Moore's "TV Nation" even before I read the press notes to learn it has a Moore connection.
In the first two episodes sent for review, "The IFC Media Project" has a mixed track record of success. A segment called "Media Encyclopedia" is right on target in explaining the use of the word "allegedly" in news coverage ("a handy word to put in front of any statement to magically make it true") and the TV news concept of "the tease" ("use of terrifying rhetoric to scare the crap out of viewers while focusing their attention on an upcoming story").
But a piece tonight on media obsession with single, missing white girls fails to offer up much in the way of context or explanation. The focus on a bottom feeder who uses both the media and grieving families, while potentially illustrative in a larger context, isn't meaningful when he's the primary source.
A report on pro-Israel Middle East coverage is interesting but also proves to be a bigger topic that requires more time than the "The IFC Media Project" is willing to devote to it. The same for a segment tonight on TV pundits that features just one: Tucker Carlson.
An animated segment called "News Junkie" is fairly worthless and plays to the show's worst self-consciously hip tendencies.
But despite these missteps, there is gold to mine in "IFC Media Project," particularly next week's report by Jimmy Tingle about government propaganda in the Iraq War, which recaps the New York Times revelations about the Pentagon's military analysts program. That report failed to get much coverage by TV networks since they were largely complicit in the government propaganda it revealed. Better late than never that it should get a public airing now.
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While we're on the subject of journalism, CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier stopped by the Post-Gazette yesterday. She recounted her experience in Iraq and the injuries she sustained as the result of a car bomb, and what it was like for a reporter to become the story. It was a fascinating opportunity to hear an account of Iraq that's anything but simple; rather, it's filled with shades of grey.
You can hear some of Dozier's comments in this video.
Nov 17 2008
Local stations just held their first test of digital TV by turning off their analog signals for two minutes.
At my home, it worked just as it was supposed to. The little TV in my kitchen, which is not hooked to cable, displayed the message that that little TV is not ready for the digital transition. But all my other TVs, which are hooked to cable, displayed the regular local newscasts.
Stations approached the test differently. KDKA and WPXI aired reports on the DTV transition during the test. WTAE opted to stick with its sports segment with an announcement at the start and end of the digital test.
WPXI displayed a lot of text on screen, which might have thrown off some viewers, even though the lower third said "the television you are watching is ready for DTV transition." But let's remember, the people most confused by this are the ones who probably have the most difficult time seeing and hearing the TV.
Results of the digital test will be available in the coming days and I'll report on what the test reveals.
Nov 17 2008
OK, show of hands, who's sick of "Heroes?" Who's quit watching the show? And who is sticking with it? Login and post your thoughts on the series below (register to comment here).
Here's my two cents: I actually thought last Monday's episode, which jumped back in time to show how some plot twists in the pilot came to be, was probably the best episode since the season premiere. But between then and now, "Heroes" has become almost unwatchable. There was one time-hopping episode in particular that simply demanded too much of the audience.
NBC knows the show's in trouble. They axed two writers following the Entertainment Weekly cover story on the show's myriad problems. But ratings continue to decline and most of this season's episodes had been written before the two writers were let go. Whatever course correction NBC intends won't be obvious until sometime next year, and there's no assurance that viewers who have abandoned the show will get back on board.
Even last week's episode, which I enjoyed more than most, had me scratching my head: I was pretty sure the Eric Roberts character was killed off but I remember absolutely nothing about him, so seeing him again packed little punch.
Are there simply too many characters? Is the story ultimately too labrynthine? I've watched plenty of serialized dramas over the years with twisty plots -- "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Babylon 5" -- but "Heroes" is the most confusing show since "Carnivale." It's also become too uninvolving because of the confusion it creates. I have no doubt that if I took notes on all the episodes and drew diagrams and charts of the characters and their stories that I would have a greater appreciation for the series. But that's too much to ask. It's one thing to challenge the audience, which is what TV's best shows do, but it's another to confuse, irritate and bore viewers.
In its first season, "Heroes" felt like it had a plan. It wasn't predictable, but as the writers filled in the blanks, there was a logic and coherence to the story. Ever since the let-down of the disappointing season one finale, "Heroes" has felt more like the writers have been flying by the seat of their pants, making the show up as they go along without much of a blueprint. The show became a blur.
It's interesting to see "Heroes" reaching back to its first season -- the show's only creatively successful season thus far -- in the upcoming new eclipse episodes. But it all feels like too little, too late. Maybe the next volume will woo disgruntled viewers back. But in this fickle pop culture age with thousands of viewing options -- on TV, on demand and online -- it's harder than ever to win back fans who've drifted away.
Nov 14 2008
Adult Swim's "Robot Chicken" takes a second crack at spoofing the "Star Wars" saga in a new episode premiering Sunday at 11:30 p.m. And it's another direct hit on the Death Star of sci-fi sagas.
Following last year's edition, the new "Robot Chicken" episode offers more commentary on "Star Wars" characters -- especially the Emperor and Darth Vader -- and ways that real-world life might intrude on the "Star Wars" universe.
For instance, a dinner between the Rebels and Darth Vader on Cloud City turns believably uncomfortable. The Emperor goes for a haircut and confesses his troubles to his barber, who gives him the idea to hire bounty hunters, a plot element seen in "The Empire Strikes Back." Darth Vader and the Emperor wait at baggage claim after their Imperial Shuttle arrives at the Death Star - the Emperor's luggage gets lost and he's forced to dress in tourist T-shirts from the Death Star gift shop.
There's definitely funny stuff in this "Robot Chicken," which includes good-sport voice work by "Star Wars" regulars Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian) and Ahmed Best (Jar Jar Binks).
Best line: Lando reacts to Boba Fett's spaceship, Slave-1: "I gotta say, Boba, this is one beauty of a ship. Not crazy about the name though."
Nov 13 2008
As "ER" winds down in its final season, some characters from the past show up in flashback scenes in tonight's episode, most prominently, Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards). The episode tells the backstory of the hardnosed new "ER" Dr. Cate Banfield, played by Angela Bassett.
In flashbacks, viewers learn that Canfield had a son who was brought into the "ER" and treated by Greene. Kerry Weaver (Laura Innes) also hobbles by, Jerry (Abraham Benrubi) is seen and Dr. Romano (Paul McCrane) makes a short appearance. These cameos aren't just for old time's sake. Greene treat's Canfield's son on the day he learns of his own cancer.
The episode plays scenes of character development for both Canfield and Greene, even though his character has been dead on the series for years. It's a welcome episode that merges past and present in a way that rewards long-time viewers and casual fans like myself. I haven't watched "ER" regularly in years, but I still enjoyed this opportunity to reconnect with old favorites and learn more about Bassett's newcomer.
Nov 12 2008
Sci Fi Channel seems to be on a reality TV binge, debuting two new series this, including "The Chase" last night and now "Estate of Panic" (10 tonight).
"Estate" is the better bet. Each week, seven contestants arrive at a creepy mansion where their creepy host, Steve Valentine ("Crossing Jodran"), assigns them tasks collecting cash form various rooms in his mansion. Each room is filled with obstacles. In the first room, snakes are released and cold water pours in, so soon the snakes are gliding through the water as contestants scramble to collect as much cash as possible while avoiding the snakes. With the water pouring in, it reminded me of the Earthquake attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood. And, indeed, some of these "rooms" are actually on a soundstage, not in the haunted house where much of the series is filmed.
In each room, the last person out gets trapped inside and is out of the game. That includes the room with the walls that move and the ceiling that descends.
"I'm sure he's crushed," creepy host says of the guy who doesn't make it out of that room in tonight's premiere. The last person standing faces one final challenge in a vault room before they can walk away with any winnings.
As reality shows go, this one has more of interest than "The Chase" thanks to the production values and surprise elements in assorted rooms. But, like ABC's summer series with the big red balls in an obstacle course, if "Estate" recycles the same rooms all the time, the series is bound to get old sooner rather than later.
Nov 11 2008
History Channel melds two genres -- tough guy TV and trains -- for its new eight-part series "Extreme Trains" (10 tonight), which begins with an episode that rides through Pittsburgh. It's also a little like "Dirty Jobs," except host Matt Bown (pictured, left) performs pretty similar rail jobs every week.
Bown is a self-avowed train nut, something I can relate to. As a kid growing up, my favorite summer vacation was a trip to the Red Caboose Motel in Strasburg, Pa. Brown took his love a of trains a step further, working as a conductor on a railroad in Maine.
In tonight's premiere, Bown rides along on a coal train that begins at Consol Energy in Greene County, travels the tracks through Pittsburgh -- one shot shows it going by the Downtown Amtrak station -- past Johnstown, up the 1,716 include of the mountains and around the famous horseshoe curve. The final destination is a power plant in Washingtonville, Pa.
Bown also explains all sorts of minutae about trains along the way, including and unloading the coal cars and explaning maintenance issues related to both the train cars and the tracks.
Fans of trains and tough guy TV should get a kick out of "Extreme Trains" thanks to the subject matter and Bown's enthusiasm for working on the railroad (all the live long day).
Nov 10 2008
The kids in the youth group at my church play this game called Release. It wasn't one of the neighborhood games I played growing up, but it's a lot of fun. The game is basically team hide-and-go-seek: One team hides, the other team seeks. If a hider gets caught, he's thrown in the seekers' jail. That's when the game gets dull. Who wants to watch from the sidelines?
That was the feeling I had watching "The Chase" (10 p.m. Tuesday, Sci Fi Channel), which is basically a televised version of Release. I'm sure it was fun for the participants but for viewers, who are essentially watching from the Release jail, it's not much of a blast.
Host Trey Farley describes the series as a real-life video game, and I certainly understand how he came to that description. Each week a group of contestants attempt to outrun the "hunters," black-suited bad guys who pursue them. In the premiere episodes, the contestants -- including Pittsburgh native Cynthia Dallas, who currently lives in Hollywood, Calif. -- can deflect the hunters but they have limited uses of this power. Other challenges and tools appear throughout the hour, just like in a video game. Last man or woman standing at the end of the hour wins.
"The Chase" looks like a lot of fun to play, but it's not that entertaining to watch.
Will you join "The Chase"? Login (or register here) to comment.
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Channel surfing: Entertainment Weekly reports the new season of "Lost" will begin with a two-hour episode on Jan. 21, returning to Wednesday nights. ... Broadcasting & Cable says FX has canceled "30 Days." ... Political junkies, take note: Fox News Channel gets the first post-election sit down with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (what a shock!). Palin will appear on Greta Van Susteren's "On the Record" at 10 tonight. ... Not to be outdone, U.S. Sen. John McCain will appear on NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" tomorrow, which happens to be Veteran's Day.
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