Posts with tag superbowl
Posted Nov 10th 2008 3:26PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Programming, Chuck, Reality-Free
Here at TV Squad, we often bemoan the quick cancellation of a show that deserves a chance to evolve. We've chronicled the demise of a fan favorite like
Moonlight, and empathized with our readers. There have been times when we've agreed that networks spend so much time and talent developing a show that it seems a down-right shame when the plug is pulled after a half-dozen episodes.
So, knowing all that, we have to acknowledge when a network does something right. NBC is bending over backwards to see to it that
Chuck becomes a ratings hit, to go along with its already established and growing fan base. Creator Josh Schwartz expressed his thanks to NBC for the
post- Super Bowl Chuck episode. The Super Bowl is Sunday, February 1.
"They were doing this big promotion inside of the Super Bowl and handing out 150 million 3-D glasses, so we are the beneficiaries of that. ...
Chuck seemed like the best fit for that type of thing."
Continue reading NBC really, really believes in Chuck - in 3-D
Posted Aug 11th 2008 12:39PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Sports, Celebrities, Reality-Free
When the Super Bowl first began, halftime shows consisted of marching bands and the occasional big name performer for a song or two. Carol Channing actually did two halftimes -- 1970 and 1972! Well, times have changed and so have the expectations.
The 2009 Super Bowl in Tampa reportedly has landed
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band to anchor the Super Bowl halftime show. It'll be The Boss's first time performing for the NFL's biggest show.
One thing we can count on with Springsteen, there'll be no wardrobe malfunctions. Even if Little Steven whips off his bandana, the censors won't care. Ever since Justin Timberlake ripped the top off Janet Jackson and got a chunk of bra to go with it, revealing her breast to the ogling TV audience, the networks have been careful to keep the halftime shows purely musical.
Continue reading Springsteen to rock the Super Bowl
Posted Aug 10th 2008 10:03AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, The Office, Reality-Free
You know, I've always wondered about Creed's background. We know he was with the 1960's band The Grass Roots, he runs a fake I.D. business with a laminating machine stolen from the police department, he faked his own death so he could get benefits, he keeps bean sprouts in his desk, and he's been homeless.
Now maybe we'll get to learn even more about his background. In a major time-slot coup, it looks like a one-hour episode of
The Office will air
directly following the Super Bowl on Feb. 1, 2009. Exec producer
Paul Lieberstein said these longer eps offer a great opportunity to delve into the characters:
Continue reading The Office: Will we learn more about Creed's background?
Posted Jul 31st 2008 12:02PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Celebrities, Reality-Free, Mad Men
Part of the fascination with
Mad Men is the way it plunges the viewer into another time, another place. In the
second season premiere last week, the story of Don Draper picked up about a year and a half after the end of the first season. It was February 14, 1962, and while everyone was celebrating Valentine's Day, on the TV was a documentary special in which First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy gave a tour of the newly redecorated White House.
Interest in those few clips shown on Mad Men has resulted in a response.
AMC is showing the entire Jackie documentary on their web site.
By the way, you might be interested to know that
Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner didn't just arbitrarily choose to show this as a backdrop to the episode, even though it was the main thing on TV that night on February 14, 1962.
It was being shown on both NBC and CBS (like the first Super Bowl was broadcast on both networks!) and ABC got to rebroadcast it four nights later.
Continue reading Inspired by Mad Men, AMC showing Jackie Kennedy White House tour
Posted Jul 9th 2008 9:03AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: News, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Now that the Democratic party has decided to present the
final night of their convention from Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium in Denver before as many as 80,000 enthusiastic voters -- a venue that will underscore Senator Barack Obama's skill as a speaker -- the networks are deciding how they want to cover the event. Will the big three give the Democrats the entire night? One hour, two hours?
Will ABC and CBS be compelled to cover the night, when NBC and Fox have the option of using their cable outlets and keep entertainment on the broadcast side?
Continue reading Obama's acceptance speech has been supersized
Posted Jun 20th 2008 2:40PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: House, WGA Strike, Reality-Free
Even as fear grips the business that there'll be
another strike that will lead to a work stoppage, there are some who can look back on the Writer's Strike and actually find a silver lining in that dark cloud. At a recent at the ArcLight Cinemas, sponsored by the L.A. Times, the folks who bring us
House, including creator David Shore and director Katie Jacobs, revealed that the strike actually was beneficial for them in a strange way.
Since Fox had the Super Bowl last season,
House had been given the plum spot following the game. That always means a huge audience will be watching, and even a show as successful as
House wouldn't mind a boost in the ratings.
Continue reading How the strike helped House
Posted Jun 4th 2008 8:22AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Sports, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
As
Bob Sassone wrote in his report about Inside the NFL ending its HBO run last February, the NFL was reporting that the show would find a home on another network. It has. And I can tell you now that
Inside the NFL will be appearing weekly on Showtime. It'll be a collaboration with CBS Sports and NFL Films. That said, I think we can expect to see CBS talent on the show.
In its most recent edition on HBO,
Inside the NFL was hosted by Bob Costas, with expert input by former players and current broadcast analysts Dan Marino, Cris Collinsworth and Cris Carter. Costas and Collinsworth are NBC employees, and Carter is part of ESPN. That leaves Danny Boy. And yes, he is a CBS guy, a regular commentator on
The NFL Today every Sunday during football season. I'll bet you right now that Dan will be on the show.
Inside the NFL is a unique weekly highlight show -- one of the best ever -- because shows the games up close from the viewpoint of NFL Films. Those cameras get inside of the game more than TV cameras. They're films, not TV and the production values are like a documentary film. As a longtime football fan, I'm really glad that
Inside the NFL will go on. This year will be its 32nd on the air.
Continue reading Showtime picks up Inside the NFL
Posted Feb 25th 2008 8:42PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Daytime, Celebrities, Ratings, Awards, Emmys
Oscar turned 80 last night. For eight decades, Hollywood has been handing out gold statuettes for the best in motion picture arts and sciences. Sadly, last night's show will not have to worry about winning an Emmy. Not only was the show pedestrian, long and uninspired, it was also
a bomb in the Nielsen overnight ratings. In fact, it was historically disappointing: averaging just 32 million viewers to become the least watched Oscar telecast ever! EVER, people!
Of course, if you're worried that with ratings so bad, some day the Academy Awards won't be broadcast -- don't. The Oscars, like the Super Bowl, make a fortune for the network broadcasting it. ABC made an average of $1.8 million for each 30-second spot.
Continue reading Oscars a flop in Nielsens and that's not all
Posted Feb 5th 2008 3:23PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, American Idol, TV Sports, Judges
Well, it wasn't halftime, but Paula Abdul did "rock" the Super Bowl. Somehow, when I sat down in front of my TV for a second before heading out, it was just at the moment when Ryan Seacrest was introducing the Abdul performance. This was about two hours or so before the game in the middle of FOX's fifty-six hour long pre-game coverage, so it was sheer luck that I saw it at all.
That said, I don't know what I think about it. The song is nice enough, and it was fun seeing good old Randy Jackson jamming out behind her on bass guitar, but it sure seemed like she was lip-synching. I even feel pretty damned confident I saw her out of synch with the track at a few points. That said, my girl can still dance and proves that over forty can still be hot.
Continue reading Paula Abdul (and Randy Jackson) at the Super Bowl - VIDEO
Posted Feb 4th 2008 1:56AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Sports, TV Sports
Every year Budweiser puts together an uplifting commercial about some animal who strives to achieve his dreams and with hard work and perseverance, achieves it. This year's installation involved a Clydesdale who didn't make the cut to pull the Budweiser wagon. "Maybe next year, Hank." This leads to a very fun montage of training clips set to the Rocky theme as a dalmation takes it upon himself to get the Clydesdale into tip-top shape. Shots of the horse starting off pulling a little wagon mixed with jogging in place in the rain, running around trees in a snow-covered obstacle, lifting bales of hay until finally he has grit to pull an entire train! Not funny like the Bud Light commercials, but these Bud spots are always feel-good fan favorites. And this one was just as good as any of them.
Oh, and of course Hank makes the hitch team the following year. The high five at the end between the dog and the horse was just perfect. I don't know what it is, but Anheuser-Busch simply has one of the best advertising and marketing teams as they virtually never miss when it comes to their Super Bowl ads. Another banner year for them it looks like.
Continue reading Budweiser: "Rocky"
Posted Feb 3rd 2008 7:21PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Sports, TV Sports
Doritos this year turned their 60-second spot into a competition. The winner, voted on by fans before the game, gets their video aired in the Doritos commercial slot and a record deal with Interscope Records. And the winner is: Kina Grannis (Mission Viego, CA), who performs her song "Messager From Your Heart." She has a Michelle Branch sound to her, but I like her. A very clever idea by Doritos and a huge opportunity for Grannis, but I only worry that people will forget Doritos' connection to the spot.
Continue reading Doritos: "Crash the Super Bowl Winner"
Posted Feb 3rd 2008 7:17PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Sports, TV Sports
Took awhile to get there, but nevertheless a squirrel in the middle of the road, having just chased a nut there, screaming as a car is barreling down on it, followed by various other animals screaming in the forest until we ultimately get to the female passenger of the car screaming. The driver, however, simply maneuvers around the small animal and carries on his way. Good tires give you that kind of control. Great commercial, gets your attention, screaming animals are always funny and you'll remember it's all about the tires.
Video coming soon after the jump...
Continue reading Bridgestone: "Squirrel in the Road"
Posted Feb 3rd 2008 7:12PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Sports, TV Sports
"We started this thing. It's us vs. them." This commercial was a bit of a mess for me. A bunch of shots of people training as if for various summer olympic events. Setting it up like there's some epic battle looming; a competition. But who are they competing with? Nike, I guess. Honestly, I think it was a bit of a mess. Way too long on a bunch of people grunting and posturing and way too little time showing me the product they're supposed to be promoting. You know ... the shoes.
Continue reading Under Armour Shoes: "The Future is Ours"
Posted Feb 3rd 2008 7:05PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Sports, TV Sports
A guy shows up at a wine and cheese party with a massive wheel of cheese. "I'm gonna go put my cheese in the kitchen." The start of a joke? No, it's another clever bit from Bud Light, this time with a guy smuggling Bud Light into the party under the cheese wheel. Let's face it, most guys think wine and cheese is lame. Another guy has bottles in a hollowed out baguette, while still another brought a television in a box of wine. The "Going on a cheese run," bit at the end was the icing on the cake of another Bud Light winner.
Continue reading Bud Light: "Wine and Cheese Party"
Posted Feb 3rd 2008 7:00PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Sports, TV Sports
The first animated cartoon wasn't very good. As far as I know, SalesGenie.com is a newcomer to the Super Bowl. Acme Widget boss, Hank Bulleymonger (funny, right?) comes down on his worst salesmen that he needs to double his output or he's fired. SalesGenie.com to the rescue! He gets 100 free sales leads and becomes the Salesman of the year. Never mind that the worst salesman of the year is middle eastern man with seven kids, and any controversy that may or may not bring, the bottom line is it was a lame commercial.
Continue reading SalesGenie.com: "ACME Widgets"
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