insurance-related stories
Posted Nov 25th 2009 9:26AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Programming, OpEd, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
This morning some good news leaked out sooner than expected, although I don't think it was that big a surprise to learn that
TNT is bringing Leverage back on Wednesday, January 13 at 10 p.m. Surprise news or not, it's still great to know that we have fresh episodes coming in early 2010.
There are six episodes of
Leverage left from season two, then the third season will commence in the summer. This set up is a lot like
The Closer, and you know how well that split schedule has been working. By the way, you do know that
split schedules is one of the things I'm most grateful about this holiday season, don't you?
Continue reading TNT sets return date for Leverage
Posted Nov 21st 2009 2:09PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Video, Commercials, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
You know how sometimes you see an actor or actress and they look so familiar, but you can't remember where you saw him or her, or what the TV show was? That's how I've been with the little boy who plays Brick on
The Middle. His name is
Atticus Shaffer, and since the ABC sitcom began this fall, I've been scratching my head over him. Where did I see him before?
Turns out that it was on a commercial for AIG. Yes, AIG, that huge insurance company that was a big part of the economic collapse. The company that was too big for America to let fail.
Continue reading That's why I recognize Brick from The Middle!
Posted Jul 22nd 2008 12:41AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: The Closer, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
"Margaritas. One is never enough. Two is too many.
And 12, well, you're looking at 12." Is this our Brenda? So happy, so horny, so friendly and jovial. After last week's heavy duty episode, with the fires and the serial arsonist with the creepy (also very beguiling) smile, this episode found Brenda in a playful mood. Don't you love a well-rounded character?
It was very romantic the way Brenda was awakened by Fritzie, and for a show that tends to show more of the neurotic Brenda than the sexy Brenda, this was a lovely change of pace. And if you can consider a story in which homeless drunks are run over (and over) by cars -- vehicular homicide indeed -- for insurance money a light, comic turn, then this episode qualifies.
Continue reading The Closer: Speed Bumps
Posted Jul 18th 2008 12:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E07) "Most valuable lesson: it's all about relationships."
That would seem to be the motto for
Swingtown. It is all about relationships. On the marriage front, Tom and Trina's open marriage, which has been the model for marital bliss till now, has hit the rocks. Okay, maybe not the rocks, but there have been some rough waters.
Continue reading Swingtown: Heatwave
Posted Mar 10th 2007 11:01AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, TV on DVD
Long before he toted a machine gun and traded quips with Mr. T, George Peppard starrred as the suave, clever insurance investigator Thomas Banacek on the Boston-based mystery series Banacek. Both characters loved their cigars.
A company called Hart Sharp Video is going to release a two-disc DVD set of the show's first season. It will be released on May 15 and is part of a series of sets they're going to release (the others are The Crow and Trapped In TV Guide, a prank show based around classic TV shows). Extras on the Banacek discs will include a photo gallery, a microsite, and a special TV Guide crossword puzzle.
Continue reading Banacek coming to DVD
Posted Mar 2nd 2007 2:04PM by Julia Ward
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, ABC, Programming
As far as Geico pitchmen go, I'm partial to the gecko, but I know people love them some cavemen ads. They love them so much that
ABC is developing a single-camera sitcom based on the characters to be penned by Joe Lawson, the advertising copywriter who created the spots. The show will feature three of our early human ancestors battling prejudice as they try to live ordinary lives in Atlanta. (That means their respective
cribs are only going to get nicer.)
As a former anthropology teacher, I'm curious to hear the origin story of these particular cavemen. Despite the lowered brow, they're clearly bipedal and have mastered the use of simple tools. Could they be Neanderthal descents? Or, maybe I'm barking up the wrong fossilized evidence tree. Do you think they'd be offended if I asked whether or not they know
Cha-Ka?
Posted Feb 20th 2007 6:34PM by Julia Ward
Filed under: Industry, Commercials
The new
Chief of Marketing over at supplemental insurance company Aflac, Jeff Herbert, is planning to silence the duck. Despite the little quacker having garnered the company an 85% brand awareness rating, Herbert feels that people just don't know what Aflac actually does. So, expect to see the duck minimized in future Aflac advertisements.
Poor,duck. It probably doesn't know how to say anything other than "Aflac," which could cut the second phase of his career awfully short. Perhaps, he could go into early "fallen corporate mascot" retirement. There's got to be a pasture out there somewhere where Morris the Cat, Spuds McKenzie and the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales sit around and bitch about their agents.
UPDATE: The duck lives! The AdAge story which this post referred to was picked up by news outlets all over the country. Apparently, the piece overstated Herbert's intention of expanding beyond television ads to other media where the duck's "quack" would not be heard.
Aflac has officially announced that they have, "no intention of abandoning the duck."
Posted Nov 3rd 2006 12:44AM by Jen Creer
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, NBC, OpEd, ER
(S13E06) So, in the case of Ames vs. Kovac, the jury found in favor of the defendant. Shocker. What, Luka gets to keep his job? What will
ER do now? Hi, I'm Jen, and I am reviewing
ER this week for Rich Keller, who has a really cool gig tonight. In the interest of full disclosure, despite my opening snarkiness, I am a fervent, weekly fan of
ER, and have been for years.
Continue reading ER: The Heart of the Matter
Posted Dec 21st 2005 12:02PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Talent, OpEd, Daytime, Things I Hate About TV, Commercials
One of the hazards of being home from work is the minefield that is daytime TV. It's pretty
scary when you think about it; ads for denture cream, diabetes testers, and insurance to take care of your "final
expenses" abound, mainly because a major component of the audience that time of the day is retirees. However, for
an almost-middle-aged person like myself, seeing those commercials is a scary harbinger of what is to come, especially
if I don't take care of myself like, say, Wilford Brimley.
But there is also a sad component to the
daytime fascination with mortality: the disappointment you feel when you see your favorite TV legend selling Medicare
supplemental insurance or life insurance on TV.
Continue reading Things I Hate About TV: Senior TV Stars on Insurance Commercials
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