Like last night's summary of how one network is presenting news of town hall confrontations and how they compare to what has happened in the past.
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What You Missed Last Night: FOX News hosts are the new liberals
While I don't agree that most people get their news from The Daily Show or that it's more important than the news, I think it is must see TV because it's usually going to show you something in a way you've never seen before, and it will change the way that you watch news (whether it's FOX News or MSNBC, it doesn't matter). That's a good thing.
Like last night's summary of how one network is presenting news of town hall confrontations and how they compare to what has happened in the past.
Like last night's summary of how one network is presenting news of town hall confrontations and how they compare to what has happened in the past.
It's Begala vs. McCain (Meghan) on Real Time with Bill Maher
One of my pet peeves is when someone says that they're too young to remember something that happened in history. As if they couldn't have read about it somewhere. I thought of that after seeing this clip from Friday's Real Time with Bill Maher. It's Democratic strategist Paul Begala making a joke about Meghan McCain's comment that she wasn't born when Reagan was president so she wouldn't know what he's talking about.
Now, I'm not a big fan of Begala, but he does have point (though he could have used a more accessible example than the French Revolution, it would have been more pointed). I can't decide if McCain was being serious or if she was making a joke about Begala's age or if it's part of the "dumb blonde" joke she makes later in the clip. You decide.
Now, I'm not a big fan of Begala, but he does have point (though he could have used a more accessible example than the French Revolution, it would have been more pointed). I can't decide if McCain was being serious or if she was making a joke about Begala's age or if it's part of the "dumb blonde" joke she makes later in the clip. You decide.
Was President Bush a good television President? -- VIDEO
Now, before you raise your pitchforks in a move to skewer me as a "liberal journalist," I just want to clarify what this item will be about. This is not an article about the job President Bush has done over the last eight years. You all have your differing opinions (which should be vented on politically-based sites) about how good or bad he did when it comes to policy. What I am going to talk about here is more of an image issue than a job performance one. We good? Good!
I'm going to ask a simple question: Was George W. Bush a good television President? Let's face it, the way that any famous person, whether they be Hollywood star or politician, is prepped for the TV cameras can make or break that person. Take the example of the Kennedy-Nixon televised debate in 1960. While many people have said that Nixon 'won' the debate on his statements, they also say that the way he looked in front of the cameras made voters uneasy about him and, eventually, cost him the election.
Continue reading Was President Bush a good television President? -- VIDEO
President Bush wants fifteen more minutes
President Bush has asked the networks to give him fifteen minutes of prime-time air on Thursday night to give a farewell address to the nation. The networks were non-committal at first, but the odds are in favor them granting the request. As a warning, this will likely delay the start of all your favorite Thursday shows.Great, now among his other failings Bush has to preempt the first Smallville since November. The series was finally getting interesting again with the departure of Lana as a steady character and now the President is delaying the very special Legion of Super Heroes episode written by Geoff Johns. How dare he!
Seriously, he is the President and even with only days left in his administration, the office does deserve respect. I admit some curiosity about what he'll say on Thursday. Perhaps he'll declare martial law or start a coup d'état. Or perhaps it's all a big promotional scheme by Will Ferrell.
Will Bush at the Olympics really help NBC?
Amid controversy and the threat of certain world leaders boycotting the upcoming Beijing Olympics, the word came out yesterday that President George W. Bush would attend the opening ceremonies. According to the Hollywood Reporter, this is good news for NBC, and the companies that have bought advertising for the Games. While I can see how a boycott based on human rights abuses in China and Tibet would be a serious problem for the network -- and it still may lose viewers who choose to individually tune out rather than give positive sanction to China's misdeeds by watching -- I don't see how NBC can think a Bush appearance will bolster ratings.
Continue reading Will Bush at the Olympics really help NBC?
TV 101: Seven reasons Simon Cowell should be our next president
Here is an unimpeachable truth: anyone who wants to be president probably shouldn't be president. If you spend $400,000,000 for a $400,000 a year job, you're either stupid or corrupt or (most likely) both. In an ideal world, a presidential hopeful accepts the nomination with reluctance, George Washington style.It's with this in mind that I'd like to start a movement to draft the one man who I think can turn this country around. The one man who has the credibility and the credentials to unite a society fractured by war and recession. The one man who connects with young and old; gay and straight; really, really gay and butchy gay. That's right, I'd like to nominate Simon Cowell for president.
Continue reading TV 101: Seven reasons Simon Cowell should be our next president
Alex Trebek, Simon Cowell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus have surprises for us
When you think you know something so well, you don't realize that there might be some surprises waiting for you. Sure, surprises may be a bad thing, like when the love of your life tells you that they have been with someone else, but in terms of television surprises that is thankfully not the case, we have been privy to some great surprises this past weekend. First off, you've heard. Jeopardy had its first three way tie in its decades long history. Alex Trebek's job must be as predictable as a bowl of cornflakes, so it's understandable and nice to hear him yelp in a cry of genuine surprise when the quick math was done and all the contestants would return to Jeopardy next week. In a mostly unexciting show, this was a very exciting moment for millions of Jeopardy fans everywhere.
In other surprising news...
Continue reading Alex Trebek, Simon Cowell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus have surprises for us
The Daily Show: January 11, 2007
Of course, the big news of the episode was the previous night's presidential address about Bush's new plans to move forward in Iraq. Such a historical speech was undermined by the fact that none of the networks managed to catch the first few words of the plan. I liked the audio that The Daily Show's crew managed to get... "Good evening. I am standing in front of books. Please don't let them eat me." Anyway, the gist of the speech was: "Sorry about the mess in Iraq. We're gonna send more troops."Continue reading The Daily Show: January 11, 2007
The Daily Show: December 20, 2006
Luton First recently surveyed a couple thousand ten year-olds to find out what they considered to be the best things in the world. God took the tenth spot, surprisingly enough. However, He topped the list of most famous people. I don't think I've ever heard God called "the Paris Hilton of deities" before... That's... one way to put it, I guess."More is Hell": Bush has been getting snippy. Jeez. That's no way to behave if you want to send more men to Iraq. And the president suddenly doesn't seem so quick to answer that we're winning in Iraq, anymore. And what's up with Tony Snow's sudden interest in grammar? Gerunds... Hm.
Continue reading The Daily Show: December 20, 2006
On the 1st day of Festivus, TV gave to me
... a great TV momentI remember. It was the evening of April 29th, and I had opted out of attending a major social event to watch, of all things, C-SPAN. Honestly, it felt a little pathetic. Well, not "a little". It felt really pathetic. Little did I know that I, sitting in front of the television with my laptop resting on my tacky pajama bottoms, would soon be witnessing something remarkable.
Continue reading On the 1st day of Festivus, TV gave to me
Comedy Central orders Bush cartoon satire
More than five years after Comedy Central cancelled That's My Bush!, the network is planning to air another series that mocks the president. This time it's a cartoon called Lil' Bush: Resident of the United States. It portrays Mr. Bush and key members of his administration as "elementary school misfits". Characters include Lil' Cheney, who mumbles, and Lil' Condi, who does Lil' Bush's homework for him because she has a crush on him. Capers include torturing the lunch ladies Abu Ghraib-style when they serve falafels instead of hot dogs for lunch. The shorts are pretty funny, though they go for the easy laughs about the president's vocabulary and his cowboy attitude. It's a little more low-brow than edgier Comedy Central shows, The Colbert Report and The Daily Show.The network has ordered six episodes of Lil' Bush, which got its start in September as animated clips through Amp'd Mobile. It's also up on YouTube, where it has been viewed more than 230,000 times. This news isn't going to sit well with the creator of Lil' Bill and Lil' Hill cartoons, who accuses the Lil' Bush creators of ripping him off.
YouTube video of the falafel episode is after the jump.
Continue reading Comedy Central orders Bush cartoon satire
Olbermann too preachy?
If you've been watching Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC, you know that Olbermann is no fan of President Bush. Lately he's been doing a lot of "Special Comments" in which he criticizes the administration for how they've dealt with Iraq and how Olbermann feels they've misused their power. I've talked enough about Olbermann before, so I won't get into that here, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't find his impassioned rants at least intriguing. However, David Burn on the blog Ad Pulp wrote that Olbermann could take a lesson from someone in the advertising world who realizes that selling ideas is always the same. He argues that Olbermann's approach is too "didactic," and relies more on berating the president for what he's done rather than convince people his point of view is the correct one. I think he has a point, but what do the rest of you think? I'm not interested in opinions about Olbermann himself, but rather, do you think news analysis like him, on any side of the political debate, spend too much time saying what's wrong and not enough time explaining why their view is right?
That's My Bush! coming to DVD
On the surface, That's My Bush!, the short-lived series from South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, seemed trite and silly, a collection of tired sitcom and cliches and lame one-liners. Really, though, it was a show that was too damn smart and funny for its own good. The series ran for eight episodes in 2001, and ended four months before the 9/11 attacks. It's interesting to think how or if the show would have continued in the wake of the attacks, but while it was set in the Bush White House, its main target was not the president, but sitcoms in general. Every episode played with the sitcom convention in some way, and if that made you roll your eyes at the inane plots and over-the-top acting, well, that was exactly the point. The complete series will be released on DVD on October 24. The disc will include extra footage, bloopers and commentaries.The Daily Show: September 12, 2006
"Pleading The Fifth": Of course, it wouldn't have been the anniversary of an American tragedy without the president weighing in. "The attacks were meant to bring us to our knees, and they did, but not in the way the terrorists intended." Ha. He can't say that and expect us not to snicker! The Metaphorical Mapquest bit was beautiful. Being a Daily Show writer must be fantastic... How would you feel if you were paid to hang out with Jon Stewart all day, coming up with stuff like the World's Biggest Ball of Hope or the Jihad Junction? C'mon. It doesn't get much better than that. The Bush/Little Richard Geico commercial was absolutely hysterical. Maybe I found it amusing because I loathe those TV spots (well, not the one with Charo... Charo can do no wrong). Good line from the segment: "Say what you will about this presidency, but after that speech... it's fifteen minutes shorter."Continue reading The Daily Show: September 12, 2006
Clay, Tamyra and fashion: American Idol round-up
There are three bits of news involving former and current American Idol stars so I thought I'd lump them into one post. First, President Bush appointed Clay Aiken to the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. Oh, there's a political joke here but unfortunately this is a television blog. It's not just some random appointment. Clay actually has a degree in special education and worked with disabled kids before appearing on American Idol.Also, season one star Tamyra Gray got married to a guy who used to be in Color Me Badd. Yes, that '90s group that sang "I Wanna Sex... You Up" (since then he's been a successful songwriter and producer). Tamyra, 27, and Sam Watters, 36, wed in Capri, Italy on Saturday, according to People Magazine. Check out their wedding photo: they look downright gloomy. Tamyra had a short run on Boston Public in 2003, but there's no word on whether she's returning to television.
Continue reading Clay, Tamyra and fashion: American Idol round-up
The TV Squad Podcast: Vik Sahay of Chuck, Oprah talk, brutal timeslots, and more!
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
