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American Idol Fails to Tinker with Taylor

There have been several insinuations over the years that the voting on American Idol is rigged. If it is, we learned last night that it is not rigged nearly well enough, as America chose to vote leather-lunged rocker Chris Daughtry–long pegged as a favorite to win–off the show.

I’m not crying for Daughtry, who (1) got spectacular

Lostwatch: ? and the Mysterians

SPOILER ALERT: Stop reading now if you don’t want to learn that last night’s show revealed that Eko is actually the reincarnation of the polar bear killed in the pilot episode. Just kidding. Although it would be cool. But seriously, stop reading.

Last night’s episode of Lost was titled "?," which if nothing else is truth in

American Idol Beats American Viral

Tuesday’s overnight Nielsens are in, and it turns out that four times as many people would rather hear Taylor Hicks bleat his lungs out with a torturous version of Elvis’ "In the Ghetto" than watch people cough their lungs out while suffering the torturous symptoms of avian flu. ABC’s exploitative made-for-TV movie Fatal Contact: Bird

Iraqi Wacky: From War to Sitcom

If you’re like most people, when you think "comedy" you think one thing: an interminable, bloody military occupation deteriorating into civil war. At least that appears to be the hope of two cable channels, which are separately developing comedies about the war in Iraq–yes, the current, in-the-news,

Blaine Holds 7:08 of Breath; Audience Wastes Two Hours of Lives

In a disappointment to TV watchers across the nation, David Blaine failed to drown last night. Inside the water-filled sphere that he’d spent the last week submerged in, the magician-shaman-huckster  held his breath for 7 minutes and 8 seconds, nearly 2 minutes shy of the world record of 8:58, but [gasp] better than your current blogger

Lostwatch: Guns Don't Kill People. May Sweeps Kill People.

Spoiler alert: If you haven’t watched last night’s Lost yet, you’re looking at the wrong set of pixels.

It’s been a long time since there was a good "Holy Crap!" moment on Lost, but the show made up for Lost time with three holy-craptastic moments in gunshot-quick succession–coinciding, of course, with the beginning of May sweeps.

Stephen Colbert and the Death of "The Room"

Was he funny or not? Days after Stephen Colbert performed at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, this has become the political-cultural touchstone issue of 2006—like whether you drive a hybrid or use the term "freedom fries." For those of you who haven’t seen the performance, Colbert, in character, launched into a scathing (by

A Terrorist You Can Root For

The post-9/11, Too Soon To era in American culture has been over for a long time. The brief period when it was deemed Too Soon To have movies and TV shows blowing up people, planes and buildings lasted, what?, 15 minutes? And last weekend the movie United 93 was rewarded with a strong 2nd-place debut for invading the sanctum sanctorum of

Rosie O'Donnell Joins the View

Like a Supreme Court vacancy, an empty seat on the View roundtable is something a democracy can not long abide. ABC and Barbara Walters confirmed late today that America’s long national daytime nightmare is over: Rosie O’Donnell will replace Meredith Vieira, who will replace Katie Couric, who in September will replace Bob Schieffer in

Blogs 1, TV 0

Evangelists for blogging, like those for any new media form, like to talk about how it will supersede the dinosaur formats that came before it. But let’s not kid ourselves. However au courant and webheaded online pundits may be, there is a part of us that dreams of the old-fashioned kind of fame—holding forth in front of a camera

Why TV Turnoff Week Turns Me Off

Here at Tuned In HQ we pride ourselves on our impeccable sense of timing, so it should surprise no one that we are returning from vacation just as TV Turnoff Week gets under way. The 12-year-old campaign encourages family to shut off the tube for a week — conveniently, during a rerun-heavy April week before May sweeps start, so you

Lostwatch: Lourdes-by-the-Sea

SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers, so be alert.

To the long list of theories about the island, add this: It’s a hospital. Last night, we learned that whatever mystical/magnetic mojo is pulsing down beneath the hatch cured Rose of terminal cancer. Add this to Locke’s miracle leg cure in season one, and possibly, to Sun’s

Are the Decency Cops Backing Off?

The good thing about the broadcast-decency-regulation movement is that, as vast conspiracies go, it’s not too well organized. Last month, the FCC lurched forward, with an unprecedented volley of fines for decency violations. Now one of Capitol Hill’s biggest decency scolds is lurching backward. 

In an editorial in CableFAX magazine

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