Lou Pickney's Online Commentary
Free Time
Tuesday
February 11, 2003
I can't say enough how nice it is to actually have free time. I've been able to work out the past three days. Why? Because I wasn't so damn crunched on time. It's a wonderful thing.
Work is going well. In some ways I feel like that episode of Seinfeld where Kramer started just showing up at this office and people assumed he worked there. I work for Bubba, but I'm not an employee of Clear Channel or 98 Rock at this point. So it's like I work there... but not in the same way the others do. But it's fine by me.
Over at the gym, I've discovered how interesting closed captioning can be. The Yao Ming commercial for Visa with the "Yo, Yao, Yo, Yao" deal is pretty funny that way (especially the Yo-Gi at the end, which actually makes alot more sense with closed captioning). Last night I saw Seinfeld and Friends with the closed captioning on, which made for some unintentional comedy (mostly when they'd describe things, like "forced fake laugh"). And speaking of Friends, for some reason the local UPN affiliate (WTOG), which owns the local syndication rights to Friends, runs it head-to-head against the Friends that airs on TBS. I for one don't get it. I can only imagine how much it confuses the casual TV viewer (with Friends on NBC, syndication and cable).
My friend Justin Smith noted on Saturday that the episode of Seinfeld shown that night in Orlando came on in 1991. He pointed out that it was a long time ago (12 years), but that we were in high school then. He has a point. Time flies.
As I type this, American Idol is on in the other room. Of course it's not quite the same without the really bad participants getting ripped on. But such is the progression of the show.
Last night's Joe Millionaire was the ultimate bait-and-switch. Screw you, Fox! What is this, a soap opera? Did someone put Days of Our Lives on in prime time and not tell me? And keep in mind that I hadn't seen any of it but about ten minutes of the first episode. And if I didn't like the flashbacks, I can only imagine how the diehards felt.
Yet, I'll probably be watching next week to see the girls' reactions. Or to find out that the "big twist" is that he really had the money all along. Of course I like the idea that he has a deadly communicable disease better, but hey whatever makes good TV.
HAHAHAHAHA I just heard Ryan Seacrest say that someone had set up a 1-900 line to take advantage of people who dialed 1-900 instead of 1-800 for the contestant hotline. He needed to tell viewers "that's not an MP, that's a YP!" like Robert Downey Sr. said in Boogie Nights.
Okay, one of those tax dollar funded anti-drug ads just ran on Fox. Few things infuriate me like our money not being used on schools or roads or god forbid left in our own pockets, but instead used to spread government propoganda. Do you realize that they bought airtime for TWO of those for the Super Bowl? With YOUR money! And you wonder why I support Congressional term limits...
And nevermind that the U.S. paid the Taliban a reported annual $10 million to not grow a crop commonly used in the making of opium (pre September 11, 2001 in Afghanistan) -- to hear the feds tell it, it's your money spent on drugs that funds terrorism (this proganda break brought to you by Pfizer).
Okay, I just heard Ryan Seacrest say "that's not my problem" talking about the hotline confusion. He's off the hook for this one on the MP/YP thing. Close enough.
Now explain this one to me... The San Francisco 49ers fired Steve Mariucci to hire Oregon State head coach Dennis Erickson? Are you kidding me? Personally I think Jim Mora Jr. would've been a much better choice. But we'll see how Erickson does handling Terrell Owens.
The local Fox affiliate WTVT unveiled a new graphic look this week that ads a distracting blue border to their fonts (graphics). It strikes me as being unnecessary. Their old graphics looked fine to me.
WTSP has a creative promo out about guys who watch Dr. Phil but are afraid to admit it. Did they use Ashley Apperson in any of those promos? Heh heh. I know my friends in production at Channel 10 read these commentaries, so guys be sure to reinforce those words of wisdom from Dr. Phil to Ashley.
Oh, another thing I couldn't make fun of before but can now -- the Life Puzzle. Is it self-help, or is it a cult? I'll leave it to you to decide.
But I must say, the program's creator (who managed to land a 6:45 AM weekly timeslot -- and they wonder why the 6-7 AM numbers are flat) was sure protective of the Life Puzzle itself (the actual full-size
graphical puzzle with writing too small to see well on TV). On the day I was given the heave-ho, last Thursday, I was helping with the guests (doing my job). I offered to help her bring the puzzle in (along with the easel). But she insisted that she carry it herself. "You know, one time someone dropped it," she said in a hushed tone. Like it's a damned baby or something. Made me want to take the WTSP sledgehammer to it. No, only kidding. But it did border on the ridiculous.
The popularity of Penn & Teller baffles me. Especially the guy who never says anything. These guys must have the best agent on Earth.
Speaking of ridiclous, I hear that the NBA decided mid-season to extend the first round of the playoffs from Best of 5 to Best of 7. It happened on Saturday. It seemed to get almost zero mainstream pub; if my friend Brook Gardiner hadn't told me about it, I wouldn't have heard. I guess David Stern and company are worried about the possibility of a Mavericks/Lakers best of five matchup...
My friend Jeff Riley told me he thinks the NBA Championship is the toughest in major pro sports to win. On the surface it makes sense. The NBA forces teams to build slowly, and in recent years there have been a string of dynasties (Lakers, Pistons, Bulls, Rockets, Bulls again, Lakers again). Maybe the Rockets really don't belong in there (would they have won at all had Jordan not retired the first time?) In the NFL, the league is so parity based that every team can get in the running for the playoffs relatively quickly (note how the Rams and Patriots met in the 2002 Super Bowl yet both missed out on the 2003 Playoffs). The NHL is no easy task though; I'd almost suggest it's on par with the NBA on difficulty level. But I'd say the toughest of all is MLB. With no salary cap, the Royals and Brewers can't compete year-in and year-out with the likes of the Yankees and the Mets. And don't point to the Twins; they're an exception helped by good scouting and smart GM moves. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers for a solution to the MLB's problems.
Hmm, someone is singing a slow R&B cover of the Carpenters song "Superstar". I dig the original version, but this isn't bad, for a slow R&B feel and all. Sounds like something Boyz II Men would've done in their prime (and whatever happened to them?)
One last thought -- if you're using text messaging to vote for American Idol, I strongly recommend you look into getting a life...
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