mgroves

Posts Tagged ‘tv’

Should J.D. Roth be the next host of The Price is Right?

If you believe so, I encourage you to sign this petition.

Here are my opinions regarding J.D. Roth and The Price is Right:

1. Bob Barker is one of the best game show hosts ever to grace our televisions. He is the Michael Jordon of game shows. Look how awesome he is.
2. As far as I’m concerned, no one can even come close to filling Bob’s shoes on The Price is Right.
3. However, the show must go on, and a replacement must be found. The Price is Right will never be the same, of course, but Bob’s legacy will live on.
4. A replacement for the show must be someone who has respect for the long traditions of game shows and not merely some B- or C-list celebrity who has never been involved with the game show business. Rosie is (thankfully) not going to be the next host. George Hamilton would not be a good fit.
5. J.D. Roth is one of America’s most prominent game show personalities, having been involved with production and starring in a number of successful and beloved game shows including: Fun House, Endurance, The Biggest Loser, Double Up, Beauty and the Geek, and Unan1mous.
6. I think J.D. Roth should be given the role of the host of The Price is Right. He would bring a youthful, high energy approach to the show, something that Barker was always able to do, even as a senior. He would respect the institution of the show, and also appeal to an audience who has grown up watching his work. He also would not be “too big” for the show, like certain celebrities would be.

If you believe like I believe, sign the petition for J.D. Roth as the new host of The Price is Right. We can make a difference!

Special thanks to mgroves.com reader Andrew Elfe for inspiring this petition.

I didn’t like it.

ATHF is a fifteen minute show, and if you go see the movie, you’ll see why it should always remain that way.

It wasn’t a “bad” movie in the “Phenomenon starring John Travolta” sense, but “bad” in a “my favorite comedian had a bad show” sense.

That being said, I really enjoyed the “new” theme song:

There were some really funny parts, and some great fan service…but it all could have been accomplished in a 30-minute special or something.

I don’t watch G4 much. There used to be some watchable shows, but now…the only time I watch G4 is when I watch DVR’ed Star Trek episodes.

One of the annoying things about G4 is how they practically cover the entire program you are watching with advertisements for other shows, worthless news tickers, and plain old advertisements (sometimes). Of course, G4 is probably more likely to be DVR’ed than, say, the Hallmark channel because of the audience its targeting. It’s still annoying.

However, it worked on me because it got me interested in a new show called “Code Monkeys“.

This is an animated show, done with original pixel art. I don’t know much about it yet, but based on the name it’s likely about junior programmers at a software company, which is an interesting premise.

What’s even more interesting is that it was created by Adam de la Pena (Spanish translation: Adam of the Pena) from such shows as “I’m With Busey” (hilarious) and “Minoriteam” (mostly stupid with annoying artwork).

I’m hoping it’s better than Minoriteam.

Here’s a couple of quick promos for the show:

I’m not sure how I feel about a Star Wars TV series that’s entirely CGI.

But that’s what I’m going to get. Check out the trailer for Star Wars: Clone Wars TV series.

It looks as if it will be very similar to the Clone Wars cartoon series (which was excellent). And I guess large swaths of the last 3 movies were pretty much entirely CGI already.

Just something about it reminds me more of Garry’s Mod or some sort of fan-created show than legitimate Star Wars goodness.

Will I watch it? Of course. Will I buy the DVD box sets? Yes. Will I buy the Super-DVD2x box sets that will be released in 2022? Yes.

DVRs are destroying TV commercials. Why watch a commercial when you can fast forward to the content? The catch-22 is, of course, why buy a commercial spot if no one is watching it? And then, why provide content if no one is paying for it?

Well, it becomes a real conundrum when the fact that DVR usage is only going to go up is factored in. Sure, there’s still lots of people now with “regular” TV–enough to subsidize us DVR users, but that certainly will change.

I don’t have any perfect answer, but I think that all TV viewers understand how it works: either I pay, or the sponsor pays–there is no free lunch. That being said, here are some general observations:

• The key feature of DVR isn’t necessarily commercial skipping, it’s convenience. I don’t have to be in front of my TV at a set time just to watch a show.
• People don’t DVR live sports events, or do so very rarely. They use DVRs to pause or do their own replays, but for the most part they watch them live.
• If the total amount of commercials were 30 seconds or less, I would be less likely to bother with fast forwarding.
• Fast forwarding does take some time! Why not use that time to show a banner ad or something?
• TV networks can’t really touch TiVo, but they could tap the cable companies for a little extra dough. A DVR tax, if you will.
• Too much product placement, or ads during the program are extremely annoying. Spike, G4, and USA are incredibly bothersome with promos for other shows during the show you want to watch. Ads on a crawler might fly if a crawler already exists: ESPN or E! for instance. Splitting the screen for ads would be awful.

I don’t think TV watching will go to an “a la carte” format either: TV would become more homogenous and limited than it already is, and I just don’t think people like micropayments, or even a point-based monthly system or anything like that.

Submit your solution to the problem in 100 words or less in the below comment section.

Do you remember the 8 things that Rick Astley is never gonna do?. Seth MacFarlane does.

Rick Astley will never:

1. Give you up
2. Let you down
3. Run around
4. Desert you
5. Make you cry
6. Say goodbye
7. Tell a lie
8. Hurt you

Shamelessly stolen from a random post on 4chan.

In the little city of mgroves.com blogging city this is a pretty bold statement. Never afraid of angering people, I’m making it.

Two years ago I watched an episode and was disappointed. It didn’t seem funny then. After flicking through the channels I settle on Family Guy, good episode. Then I see it, Up Next: Aqua Teen Hunger Force. In a frantic rush not to burn my eyes I reach for the remote, it’s not there! I search and search, checking down the sofa, under the sofa, in the fridge. It’s nowhere to be found. I then realized, as a 250 pound fat lazy human, I just used all my energy trying to find the remote. I’m screwed!

The show starts. I see it takes place in New Jersey, oh cool I figure. Any show that takes place in Jersey gets a few points from me. That’s where the fun stops. The story was so hard to follow I can’t even give you a recap. All I know a glowing square parked its ass on their lawn and refused to leave. Compelling story to say the least…

I don’t know if America has just become that retarded, or I just don’t get the show. I’ll leave you with this, how the hell does anyone understand that meatball?

I remember when Adult Swim was just a small handful of shows. It’s since blown up into dozens and dozens of shows, and now it’s finally about to take over the whole week.

Adult Swim will begin to air on Fridays, starting on July 6th, at 11pm.

The only logical step from this point on is for Adult Swim to get their own channel. I think they have enough programming for it, but if they don’t, they can always get some syndicated Simpsons, South Park, The Critic, etc, to fill time.

Lost has a history of offing its characters, particularly when their character arc has run out of steam. Here’s my list of eleven characters and their odds of dying before the end of Season Three.

1. Anthony Cooper – 1:1
   Locke’s biological father, mysteriously transported to the island, is a goner. If Locke doesn’t kill him, Sawyer (whose namesake he, in all likelihood, inspired) will.
2. Charlie – 2:1
   Desmond’s premonitions place Charlie squarely on the chopping block and his flashbacks are at a dead end. The only thing that might keep him alive is that his death seems so obvious. The writers might zig when you expect them to zag.
3. Sayid – 5:1
   What more is there left to say about our resident Iraqi torturer? There’s that girl who got away but that’s about it. I think he’s got a date with the smoke monster before season’s end.
4. Jack – 10:1
   Mathew Fox is their marquee name but his arc has run dry. His flashbacks now seem inconsequential, explaining the back story of his tattoos. Rather than have an entire episode detailing the early days of his 5 o’clock shadow, they might just call it quits. On the other hand, there is that dangling thread with his unknown half-sister to keep him around for the payoff.
5. Carl – 10:1
   Ben is not going to let this punk kid get his daughter pregnant. It would also keep him and his arc exclusively in Season Three; nice and tidy.
6. Sun – 20:1
   Since all pregnant women who conceived on the island die, we can assume her days are numbered (abortion and rescue not withstanding). I give her a couple more months on island, which could stretch out to two seasons more on the show.
7. Jin – 25:1
   Since he is inexorably linked with Sun, it’s difficult to see him stick around if/when Sun leaves.
8. Kate – 30:1
   With sperm-counts five times higher on the island, Kate is bound to get preggers soon. And since pregnant equals dead, it will take a lot more than a toy plane flashback to save her. In addition, Evangeline Lilly’s relationship with Dominic Monaghan might necessitate her departure in relation to Charlie’s death.
9. Locke – 50:1
   Locke is easily the most complex and interesting character on the show. There’s still some ground to cover with this guy who just couldn’t catch a break. As long as they keep Terry O’Quinn happy, he should be around for a while longer.
10. Sawyer – 75:1
    I predict the dangling thread about his daughter will tie in with him knocking up Kate. And being the primary draw for the show’s female audience, he’s just too sexy to die.
11. Desmond – 100:1
    Lost may go down in history as the only show to introduce its main character in season two. By all accounts, this is Desmond’s story. He is the mythic hero, like Odysseus, cursed by fate, who will be reunited with his love against all odds. We, at the very least, still have some military and prison flashbacks before we see him in another life. I don’t see him going away anytime soon.

Hurley? Claire? Ben? Juliet? Where do they fit on the list? They could all go either way. Michael could come back and shoot them all.

It will be interesting to see how completely wrong I am in the next couple of weeks.