There’s something to be said for gimmicks. The one pictured above is a screenshot of the New York Daily News’ site, strewn with actual articles from 25 35 years ago. This was all done to promote the new ABC television series “Life on Mars,” which I meant to TiVo and forgot.
The News bit ranks right up there with the retro style promo that aired late this summer. Check it after the jump.
I have celebrity brushes in the oddest places sometimes. Many years ago, I ran into Macauly Culkin and Dr. Ruth in the same day in New York. When I worked as a game technician, I met several local sports stars. More recently, I spotted Madeline Albright in Georgetown — I think she was shopping. Even at the fruit stand, I’ve seen a local broadcaster or two swing by for a purchase.
Currently, I’m sitting at the terminal waiting to board my flight home to D.C. and minding my own business. There’s a non-functional power outlet next to me, so people have been coming by to plug in their laptops and phones to no avail. (Let this be a lesson to the lot of you: power up your gear before you travel. They make travel adapters for a reason.)
One person came up to me and asked if I was on WiFi. I looked up to answer in the affirmative, and Richard Kind — a regular on “Spin City” and the most recent version of “Hollywood Squares” — was the guy standing in front of me to ask about WiFi access.
That kinda makes my day.
Now that we’re about two months into the fall television season — and a week since the television writers’ strike began — I’ve pretty much solidified my TiVo’s prime time recording schedule… while new episodes last.
For the first time in a couple of years, I added two new series my regular viewing: “Chuck” Monday nights on NBC, and “Pushing Daisies” Wednesday nights on ABC. Both shows fit right in with the string of quirky and fun shows I watch otherwise.
“Chuck” caught my attention from episode one; the Apple product placement (considering the feud between NBC Universal and Apple, Inc.) struck me as very amusing. (An old Macintosh storing all that top secret government info — I mean, come on, how isn’t that funny?) The title character is an unlikely hero, handled by the government after his former best friend emails top secret information. Chuck opens the email, containing a series of flashing images arranged to embed themselves in his mind.
“Pushing Daisies” piqued my interest over the summer, with its teasers and subway adverts. It takes a slightly darker, but still quirky and amusing turn. The lead character here is Ned, a pie maker who was abandoned as a child and has the ability to bring dead beings back to life by just touching them; a second touch makes them dead permanently, and if he doesn’t touch someone for a second time within a minute, someone else dies. The Chuck in this series is Ned’s childhood love interest — whom he brought back to life after she was suffocated to death on a cruise and can never again touch.
One show that I was curious about but hadn’t committed to is “Reaper.” From what I read, the show has an interesting premise — and a very cute supporting actor — and friends of mine that have seen it tell me they love it. It’s time slot was already occupied on my TiVo, though I may go ahead and buy episodes on iTunes.
And you? What new (or new-to-you) shows are you watching, if any?
This just in: ABC’s hit television series “Grey’s Anatomy” will not feature Isaiah Washington next season; the network did not renew his contract. In a statement via his publicist, Washington quoted the 1976 film Network: “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore.”
Washington made headlines last fall for calling “Grey’s” co-star T.R. Knight a faggot during an on-set scuffle with other co-star Patrick Dempsey. Last week, a GLAAD public service announcement featuring Washington debuted on ABC as a result. An “insider” tells TV Guide that his name-calling probably factored into the decision.
The move is not totally surprising, given the intense media coverage on the faggot incident and “Grey’s” season finale, which had his character (Dr. Preston Burke) leave his fiancé at the altar. What’s surprising is the amount of time that passed between the incident and the dismissal. Don Imus refers to a college women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed hos” and is let go within days; Washington calls a colleague a “faggot” and even after it becomes public it takes literally months for a dismissal to happen.
Despite that, I think the fact that it happened at all is progress. It’s about time “faggot” started carrying as much weight as any other pejorative term.
(tipped off by Joe.My.God.; TV Guide link via Towleroad)
Nearly 7 months after “Grey’s Anatomy” star Isaiah Washington reportedly called co-star T.R. Knight a faggot on the set, ABC produced a PSA featuring Washington speak on the power of words. The PSA is the result of a January meeting between GLAAD and GLSEN, at which Washington apologized for using the slur.
Rosie O’Donnell is leaving the View, ABC’s daytime gabfest on air for the last ten years. She joined the show last fall to replace Meredith Vieira, who left to anchor NBC’s Today Show when Katie Couric took over the CBS Evening News.
It’s not entirely surprising that Rosie’s leaving. Her tenure, although a ratings-booster, was laden with controversy for her outspoken remarks: a feud with Donald Trump (and his hairpiece); insulting Asian-Americans; and accusing fellow daytime talker Kelly Ripa of homophobia to name a few.
At the same time, her outspokenness has been a trademark for years. About a year before her successful talk show began, she appeared in an HBO comedy special, where she spoke her mind on the events of the time. If memory serves, she was particularly vocal about the O.J. Simpson trial. Even on her talk show, Rosie would speak out on issues that were important to her, such as gun control and adoption. Granted, her remarks were a bit more palatable then.
Really, if people are surprised at the things Rosie said, they haven’t been paying attention very long.
