TVSquad

The world of primetime TV are primarily set in the real world. The real world based on the fiction they create. So, Law and Order -- in all its incarnations -- is set in New York City, but it's not the real five boroughs. The newspapers they read are not The New York Times, the Post or the Daily News. For contemporary TV fiction, reality is on the margins of the storytelling because you can't really set those characters in a real world. However, when the two worlds intersect, the results can be magic. Here's 8 big-time, primetime examples:

1) Cowboy Up Time
Remember the episode of Lost when Ben wanted to convince Jack that he was in communication with the world outside the island? To prove that he was telling the truth, he showed Jack a video of the Boston Red Sox winning the world series in 2004. You can't get more real than that, right? And yet it was used in one of the most out of this world shows on the air. In fact, using Lost's own terminology, the Red Sox video is a constant truth in a universe that's a complete fiction.

If you haven't entered our latest giveaways yet, here's a reminder that some are ending today. You've got until 5PM Eastern today to enter The X-Files Complete Series Collectors Edition DVD giveaway, the Boston Red Sox 2007 World Series Collectors Edition giveaway and the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles volume one DVD giveaway. Just head on over to the post linked above, read through the rules and make the applicable comment there (not here!) We'll notify the winners next week.

Good luck!

Yes, we've got yet another giveaway today. This one borders on the TV/sports line that we usually don't cross, but I think the readers won't mind. This giveaway is for three copies of The Boston Red Sox: 2007 World Series Collector's Edition DVD, which is available on November 13. In fact, order before November 19 here and get 30% off plus $1 shipping.

All you've got to do is submit a comment below before 5PM Eastern, November 16, and mention your favorite professional baseball player of all time. We'll randomly choose three winners to receive the DVDs!

Some other details:

• To enter, leave a confirmed comment below stating your favorite professional baseball player of all time.
• The comment must be left before November 16, 2007 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.
  
• You may enter only once.
• Three winners will be selected in a random drawing.
  
• Three winners will receive a copy of The Boston Red Sox: 2007 World Series Collector's Edition DVD (valued at $79.95).
  

Click here for complete Official Rules.

Remember that episode of Queer Eye For The Straight Guy that had the Fab Five making over Johnny Damon, Kevin Millar, and other members of the team? The creators of the show are about to start looking for contestants to be in another reality show that will involve the team, entitled Sox Appeal.

Here's the pitch: a woman will be paired up with a date for two innings of a game, then another date for another two innings. Then, in the 7th inning stretch, she'll decide which one she wants to stay with for the rest of the game (and maybe beyond). Not sure how they'll film a TV show during regular season games. That could be a pain in the ass for the players.

The article says that there will probably be a lot of use of the terms "scoring" and "strike out" during the series, and I predict they'll also use the terms "balls," "pine tar" and "hitting the showers."

Just got back from a few days of R&R in Cape Cod. I didn't watch too much television, but I did catch a couple of Red Sox games on NESN (New England Sports Network) along with their nightly sports updates. I've spent a good deal of time up in New England over the last few years, and I have to say that NESN is light-years better than the YES Network, which is the primary broadcast channel of the New York Yankees. I refer to the YES Network as the "New York Yankees Propaganda Network" because you rarely hear a discouraging word about them if you watch this channel with any regularity. Plus, their "Yankeeographies" of Yankee greats over the years are so fawning that they make you sick to your stomach.