I am going to give Wipeout a shot on ABC at 9pm. I have seen it a couple times and even though it is just a rip off of Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, it is good for a cheap laugh.
Top Chef Masters (Bravo at 10PM) is the star of the evening's TV. I am looking for Hubert to step up tonight and take control. The French chef with no chin is still my pick to win.
For something completely different, check out Michael and Michael Have Issues on Comedy Central at 10:30PM. Michael Ian Black and Micheal Showalter, the guys behind every VH1 remember the decade and the vastly underrated Wet Hot American Summer, walk a dangerous line between awkward funny and awkward bird chirping.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
A cable/dish/FiOS decision
If you don't know, my wife and I are buying our first home next week. We, and by we I mean she, have been packing for weeks. Everything is in place. The mortgage is ready to rock, the down payment is ready to be spent, settlement is all set up, the title insurance is done, home owners insurance is in place, the inspection and appraisal are taken care of, and the utilities are switched...everything except the cable set up. A crucial decision that I have agonized over for a couple weeks now.
I have three choices in the new home - Comcast cable, Direct TV, and Verizon FiOS. I am a cable guy. I have had cable for all but a year of my life. It is dependable. I know it inside and out. It feels like home. I did have Direct TV for a year in 2007. It was OK. The problem was the threat of losing signal in a storm, even if it was only for a minute or two. And I had bad experiences with their service.
The wild card is FiOS. It is new technology. It promises better and faster and more. I love new toys and I love technology. A rolling stone gathers no moss. But there are always growing pains with new technologies and I have heard that there are glitches in the FiOS matrix.
My needs, er, wants, are : Internet, HD, DVR, HBO, Showtime, in addition to your regular digital cable...and a major bonus would be the YES channel (in HD). I have three TVs, but only one is HD. I want my DVR to be HDMI compatible.
Price wise they are all too expensive. I have Comcast now and when I called a rep to see about new deals were available. Not only were there no deals available, but the gist was the deals I had are over and the only deals available increase the bill by $15 plus dollars.
This was all the opening FiOS needed. I called FiOS and the deals were similar price wise. There are more HD channels. They have HDNet and YES. But you need a box on every TV and there is no OnDemand. The Internet connection should be much faster and a show saved on the DVR can be played on any TV.
So here we go with FiOS.
I have three choices in the new home - Comcast cable, Direct TV, and Verizon FiOS. I am a cable guy. I have had cable for all but a year of my life. It is dependable. I know it inside and out. It feels like home. I did have Direct TV for a year in 2007. It was OK. The problem was the threat of losing signal in a storm, even if it was only for a minute or two. And I had bad experiences with their service.
The wild card is FiOS. It is new technology. It promises better and faster and more. I love new toys and I love technology. A rolling stone gathers no moss. But there are always growing pains with new technologies and I have heard that there are glitches in the FiOS matrix.
My needs, er, wants, are : Internet, HD, DVR, HBO, Showtime, in addition to your regular digital cable...and a major bonus would be the YES channel (in HD). I have three TVs, but only one is HD. I want my DVR to be HDMI compatible.
Price wise they are all too expensive. I have Comcast now and when I called a rep to see about new deals were available. Not only were there no deals available, but the gist was the deals I had are over and the only deals available increase the bill by $15 plus dollars.
This was all the opening FiOS needed. I called FiOS and the deals were similar price wise. There are more HD channels. They have HDNet and YES. But you need a box on every TV and there is no OnDemand. The Internet connection should be much faster and a show saved on the DVR can be played on any TV.
So here we go with FiOS.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
True Blood - Hunter's Souffle?!?
The show split into two parts for me this week and one took a turn for the better and one took a turn for the worse.
The better - the vampire and church story line. The more powerful the vampires get, the more they seem like morally ambiguous super-heroes, the better the show gets. Eric and Godric have elevated the vampire mold. The church is absolutely no threat to the awesome power of Godric, who is confident he could kill all of the member of the church mob. He was just hanging out there. The 2000 year old lamented not hanging out with Jesus for crying out loud!!! And the Jason-Bill hug was hilarious.
The worse - Maryann's story keeps getting more and more awkward and off-putting. I was once intrigued by it but now I am more grossed out by the devil lady. I guess this is the desired effect. What else could be the desired effect of force feeding a human heart to two people who become enraged and aroused? BTW, where is Lafayette? When Maryann finally gets the smack she deserves, I will be thrilled.
The better - the vampire and church story line. The more powerful the vampires get, the more they seem like morally ambiguous super-heroes, the better the show gets. Eric and Godric have elevated the vampire mold. The church is absolutely no threat to the awesome power of Godric, who is confident he could kill all of the member of the church mob. He was just hanging out there. The 2000 year old lamented not hanging out with Jesus for crying out loud!!! And the Jason-Bill hug was hilarious.
The worse - Maryann's story keeps getting more and more awkward and off-putting. I was once intrigued by it but now I am more grossed out by the devil lady. I guess this is the desired effect. What else could be the desired effect of force feeding a human heart to two people who become enraged and aroused? BTW, where is Lafayette? When Maryann finally gets the smack she deserves, I will be thrilled.
This Week's Sign Scripted TV is Doomed
My local ABC affiliate moved Better Off Ted until after Kimmel...at 1:05AM? WTF is that? And they ran two informercials instead. Brutal.
Quick Hits on a Tuesday Night
- Warehouse 13 - If you can think of the show having a dial where on one side you have dead serious and on the other you have jokey...the dial is just right. But if you have a dial where on one side you have gruesome realism and on the other side you have cheesy, it needs to be turned a little toward realism. It needs to be a little scarier. A little more adult.
- Watched an old Seinfeld tonight...The Big Salad...and George's girlfriend was Maryann from True Blood. She took the compliment that wasn't hers to take. Classic.
- Red Sox OF/3B Kevin Youkilis charged the mound tonight after getting plunked for second time in as many days. Trouble is, he kinda gets worked. He was the bigger man and got a running start but didn't land a punch. He threw his helmet and missed. And he was taken down. Love a good melee. Meanwhile, the Yankees went back-to-back again to come from behind and win again. It is going to be a good fall. I am starting to get that feeling.
- Watched an old Seinfeld tonight...The Big Salad...and George's girlfriend was Maryann from True Blood. She took the compliment that wasn't hers to take. Classic.
- Red Sox OF/3B Kevin Youkilis charged the mound tonight after getting plunked for second time in as many days. Trouble is, he kinda gets worked. He was the bigger man and got a running start but didn't land a punch. He threw his helmet and missed. And he was taken down. Love a good melee. Meanwhile, the Yankees went back-to-back again to come from behind and win again. It is going to be a good fall. I am starting to get that feeling.
Better Off Ted
Tonight is probably the last of Better Off Ted. There are two episodes on tonight, including the season finale. I enjoyed the show, which I previously described as "wishing it was a combination of Mad Men and Arrested Development". I liked this show. I didn't love it, but I like it. Check it out and say goodbye to a decent TV show at 9PM on ABC.
Jon & Kate Plus 8 - Jon's a playa
I can appreciate that raising 8 kids is an immensely difficult task. The task is made somewhat easier by the money from the show, the countless freebies, the "helpers/nannies", the security guy, the bus and bus driver, etc. Their fame isn't all bonuses, ie. the paparazzi, but it is much easier than it was in the beginning of the show when they were in a small house and on their own.
Kate can be a whiny, naggy, bossy, witch and I am generally a Jon defender. And I don't know what went on behind closed doors. After last night's episode, Jon is getting really hard to defend. Kate takes the kids to the beach and Jon stays home to "supervise" the installation of kitchen cabinets. Come on! Dude was getting his ears pierced with diamond studs and admits he is "going out more". It appears that the fame and fortune of the show has given Jon a window to sow some wild oats and escape his lot as a young family man. Part of me wants to sypathize with him, but to see the kids on vacation missing their dad...it actually made me mad at the guy. And it ruins the show.
Kate can be a whiny, naggy, bossy, witch and I am generally a Jon defender. And I don't know what went on behind closed doors. After last night's episode, Jon is getting really hard to defend. Kate takes the kids to the beach and Jon stays home to "supervise" the installation of kitchen cabinets. Come on! Dude was getting his ears pierced with diamond studs and admits he is "going out more". It appears that the fame and fortune of the show has given Jon a window to sow some wild oats and escape his lot as a young family man. Part of me wants to sypathize with him, but to see the kids on vacation missing their dad...it actually made me mad at the guy. And it ruins the show.
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