Tag: Network TV

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BBC America moving to showcase the worst of TV

I’ve been an avid watcher of only two news programs in the morning before work: NY1 and BBC America’s broadcast of World News America. NY1 captivates my attention for the pure local news with no spin or sensationalism, and in the morning, I love their “In the Papers” section as it gives me a snap of all the major and local rags should I want to pick up one, or go online later to read more in depth news. World News America is an excellent source of world news without the US “Mainstream Media” spin and again, sensationalism. The show also covers issues not discussed in the national coverage like Darfur, education issues in India and even how the world is perceiving America and our new president.

The other options us Americans have are light and crappy morning shows like the Today Show (NBC), Good Morning America (ABC), The Early Show (CBS), filled with filler TV about today’s fashion, cookery, recipes, entertainment news, reality TV plugs and maybe the top 2-3 headlines. There’s also the other 3 cable networks Fox, MSNBC and CNN. Only Fox offers their own version of local news before going into their own morning show: Fox and Friends. MSNBC offers Morning Joe and CNN has American Morning. Each of these three morning programs broadcast a lite version of their biased heavy evening news coverage from the night before. There’s no discussion of local issues and weather, and really I don’t need to wake up to this bullshit.

As of the first of this month, BBC America has decided to drop the morning program of the news and replaced it with their Trash in the Attic show. As a result, for the first time, I registered to BBC’s discussion board to post and register my complaint of this. Who watches Crap in the Attic anyway besides the over 60? Is this the type of programing the British think Americans would enjoy? What’s next a show about growing and brewing tea?

Bring back my morning news BBC America!

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Moving up or moving down?

“I was happy stripping at Skanks”, said exotic dancer, Trixie McRove, “but when the tips, and customers, started shrinking, I had to look for something else to pay the rent. That’s when I heard about Fox News holding a job fair down at Munchies”.

I’m all for people looking for new opportunities to make a buck and in an economic downturn, most will have to. But this story from Steve Young, shows a few things. Strippers looking to move into other career paths, and a media company hiring strippers not for their “talents” to improve their ratings.

“We figure that a lot of our demographic – 67 and over white males – frequent these gentleman relief centers”, said one FOX human resources VP. “There’s an untapped talent pool at these clubs and we plan to tap it for all it’s worth. And then we might even hire them”.

Just goes to show you where the qualifications for FOX lay with impressing the viewers eyes and not with enticing them by education, intelligence or journalistic ability. The channel is of course for entertainment and not a pillar of journalistic integrity.

Yeasty, a Bakersfield stripper. “Being an expert on Fox News isn’t much different from being a lap dancer. Five minutes of making them believe you care about them and you’re done.” Yes, so true Yeasty, so true.

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Get Smart with Mozart

Just after the match, I checked out Get Smart with Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway and The Rock … uh I mean Dwayne Johnson. I never watched Mel Brooks’s spy comedy spoof Get Smart, I was even born then but besides, the only 60’s agent/spy show I was a fan of as a kid was The Man from U.N.K.L.E.. Not knowing the movie, I was entertained by Steve’s comedy delivery, although underused (I was told that the original Maxwell Smart character was more inept than capable as Steve portray’s his character). Unfortunately like most all of Hollywood’s bullshit blockbuster movies, Peter Segal’s version added the “guy gets the girl” cliché at the end and I was equally annoyed by Anne Hathaway’s presence, character and acting on the screen (over used – judging by the promo poster, you can tell whom the studios are pushing as the headliner). The miscast of the movie is James Caan as a president modeled on the frat boy styled George W. Bush.

While in the theater, I got a text from the Law that she had acquired free tickets to Carnegie Hall (thank you Riza!). Not knowing the show, I still wanted at least an opportunity to check this historic place out. Built entirely of masonry (without a steel frame) in 1891 and named after Andrew Carnegie, it is one of the most famous venues in the US for classical and popular music. Sunday’s showing was a Distinguished Concerts International New York performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Vesperae Solennes de Confessore” (K. 339) and guest conductor, Hank Dahlman.

Not that any of this rings a bell to the uninformed, me included, however, I still enjoy a good live show (yes even that Brooks n Dunn one in high school) in a respected forum and this particular one didn’t disappoint. Unfortunately because I was already at the movies, I had to run home, get out of the summer flip-flops and boardshorts to get a little more “respectable” for the Carnegie crowd (unfortunately the fat-assed midwesterners we sat behind had no concept of respect while chatting throughout the concert – and tourists wonder why NYers hate them). We didn’t get back until Intermission but the last half that we did catch was auditory entertainment. Notably the Soprano, Kristen Plumley had an excellent voice for her unexpectedly small frame. The acoustics for Carnegie are excellent and the Italian renaissance decor with vivid red velvet seating create a fantastic venue for such events. I look forward to the next opportunity to catch Foo Fighters, um I mean another classical music event here again.