TVSquad

In what can only be described as utter irony, the FCC has given two local television stations call letters that either spell out or stand for dirty words. In Maui, it's KUNT. Yes, those are the real call letters given to a low-power digital station in Wailuku, Maui. The station is still under construction so no one has seen KUNT Action News as of yet--or maybe it's KUNT On Your Side.

The other station is KWTF in Arizona. Now, this one I like. I think I'd keep it. I'd make my motto, "Hey! KWTF is happening in Arizona!"

Via Pop Watch comes Phat Phree's list of the top 50 greatest local commercials of all time, complete with YouTube clips. In this case, "greatest" doesn't really mean "greatest" in the usual sense, but instead refers to local commercials that are so amazingly bad you just can't forget them. The top five commercials are all for Norton Furniture in Cleavland, Ohio, and hokey smokes, are they weird. It's like Peter Lorre's and Salvador Dali's brains had sex and these commercials were the result.

I've watched a few of the commericials, and they all have their own kind of odd charm. I can't recall any local ads worth mentioning from my Iowa youth, though: they were mostly your typical spots featuring bad acting and lame gags. Still, when budgets are low and you can't hire real actors, you have to do the best you can.

If any of you have find memories of gloriously bad local ads, share them in the comments.

I don't know if it's the same in other local markets, but here in the Twin Cities promos for the upcoming local news broadcasts always include some teaser about the weather forecast that goes something like this:

Anchor: Just how cold is it going to get? And will we see any snow over the weekend? Tune in at ten and find out.

I can understand doing such a teaser if the station has an exclusive story or just scooped some recent event that none of the other stations have, but it's not like they're the only place where you can get weather information. There's the Weather Channel, there's the newspaper, and there's the freakin' internet, for crying out loud.

Do you know what I liked about TV in 2005, Beverly? Let me tell you:

Perfect Hair Forever: Okay, Stroker and Hoop has grown on me, I don't think Squidbillies is all that bad, and I still haven't quite made up my mind about 12 Oz. Mouse, but damn, Perfect Hair Forever, the Williams Street artisans ribald and aloof take on the anime genre was by far the best new offering on Adult Swim this year. In typical anime fashion, only six episodes were created. I hope for a DVD release.

Wonder Showzen: Despite my local cable provider moving MTV2 around so much that it makes my Tivo cry, I have hunted down every airing of this subversive "kids show" like a madman. There is nothing else like this on TV right now, and it rivals South Park in just how far it's willing to go to make its audience uncomfortable. A second season kicks off this year.

Everybody Hates Chris: It's a good show, plain and simple. It's not the Holy Grail, as a lot of pre-show hype made it out to be, but it is an unpretentious, hilarious look at what it's like to grow up with limited means in an environment that isn't always fair.

Celebrities will often do local spots for their hometowns, or appear in local commercials because they have some connection to the market. For example, I've seen both Ed Asner and Robert Vaughn appear in television ads here in the Twin Cities for a local news station and a law firm, respectively, with Asner doing a nice facsimile of his Lou Grant character from the Mary Tyler Moore Show. Jersey girl, daytime co-host and incessantly effervescent Kelly Ripa appears in ads for a hospital in her home state, as well. Are there celebs popping up on TV in your neck of the woods, too? Perhaps Cameron Diaz telling you about brake specials? Please, share with the class.