TVSquad

I am, by no means, a comic book/science fiction convention novice. I have been to my share of small and medium-sized conventions...mostly all on the East Coast. Those conventions feature smaller crowds, smaller venues, and easier access to various panels and people. So, when I was asked to assist Keith in covering the San Diego Comic-Con I got a bit worried. Not because I couldn't handle the task (I am a TV Squad writer), but because I had heard so much about the convention from previous convention-goers.

So, laptop in hand, I entered the world of SDCC with a bit of trepidation, and excitement. By the end of the day I was just tired, hungry, and wondering where the hell all of these people came from.

Wouldn't it have been hysterical if on its first day MTV couldn't afford the rights to any songs, so the entire day was nothing but videos for public domain songs like "Happy Birthday" "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?" I'm sure a few strobes and a fog machine would have added a whole new dimension to "Three Blind Mice," as performed by Alice Cooper: "She cut off their tails with a CARVING KNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIFE!!!"

But no, MTV launched in 1981 with a bunch of videos of regular pop and rock musicians, starting off with The Buggles catchy "Video Killed the Radio Star," a hit song that was later followed by other great hits from the band such as "Country Music Molested A TV Personality" and "Ragtime Was Convicted of Aggravated Assault."

Thanks to whoever runs the blog IZ Reloaded, you can now watch YouTube clips of every video that aired when MTV first jumped out of your cable box. There's also some REO Speedwagon songs for people like me who mock the band when around friends but secretly sings "Keep On Loving You" in the shower. I've placed The Buggles' video after the jump, cause I love that song.

Did you miss Howard Stern's triumphant debut on Sirius this morning? I didn't; I woke up at 5:30 excited to hear the new show. I even had to devise an "antenna on a stick" in order to get decent reception. But at 6, Howard came on and ended up doing over five commercial-free hours of unrestricted radio. He and the crew sounded energized and loose, and the program, while it didn't have a lot of profanity, did have a nice uninterrupted flow that I haven't heard on the show in fifteen years. It was quite a satisfying listen.

(UPDATE: I forgot about one other new wrinkle to the show: George Takei is the new announcer! He'll be on the show live all week. He meshed surprisingly well with the cast. What a great move.)

What does this have to do with TV? You mean, besides the unyielding coverage that will be on the news and entertainment shows? Well, somewhere during the morning, Howard mentioned that the entire first show will be available on his Howard Stern On Demand channel later tonight. So if you have HSOD and are curious as to what the new studio looked like, keep an eye out for the program tonight.

[Photo: Richard Drew/AP]