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A few thoughts on October TV (and radio)...
Have you seen a breakout hit this year yet? I haven’t.
Lots of buzz about PUSHIN’ DAISIES until it aired. And now -- nothing.
TBS baseball playoff coverage is terrible. Those endless Frank.TV spots alone are enough to make you want to kill. Now I don’t feel bad plugging the Sitcom Room once a week.
Best post season coverage is on the radio. Jon Miller for play-by-play and Dave Campbell for color. If only they were together. Dave Shulman (the other ESPN radio play-by-play man) does a good job but Joe Morgan, oh my God! He is…you know…the worst…and really… you know… has not provided a… you know…that word that means saying something you don’t know…you know?
The unfortunate thing about those Frank.TV spots is that they’re turning people off to Frank Caliendo before many can even see him. He’s a gifted impressionist and here’s an example of what he can really do.
And finally...
For some REAL talent here is beauty contestant, Stacy dazzling the judges with her incredible musical gift.
23 comments :
Pushing Daisies is actually a fantastic show. I don't know if it'll end up being a breakout hit, but in this age of shorter seasons and DVD sets, I'm perfectly contented by a quality show that appeals to me, if not a mass audience.
The talent part of it is that was Frank Caliendo doing Stacy.
And the trumpet was played OC by Ashlee Simpson. Thank God it was a “scholarship” pageant and not a musical competition. Also all she won was that sash from the hotel bathroom that said. “Sanitized for your protection.” But seriously, I’m guessing if John Williams had thought of recording Star Wars with only one musician he could have saved 20th Century Fox thousands of dollars. (Disney, woulda’ been hundreds.)
I know these things, because, as you know I’ve given my life over to The Dance. (It’s been said that Ken Levine has the body of a dancer. Unfortunately he’s got it in the basement bricked up in the wall behind his workbench.)
Oh, and, hey, was that other recent incident also the talent competition segment? With Miss Teen S. Carolina lip syncing her answer to Millie Helper Vanilli? I mean personally as an American.
At first I thought the TBS coverage was so boring it made me long for the lessor evil of Fox and Tim McCarver. After watching the first two Red Sox-Indians games I'm longing for the banality of the TBS coverage.
McCarver evidently gets paid by the word with a bonus clause that kicks in if he can utter at least one moronic observation every 5 minutes. Half of what he says absolutely useless nonsense.
One thing I've learned watching play-off coverage of the Angels during the past five years is that their is no substitute for the local announcers who see the team play every game. As someone who watches or listens to at least 140 Angels games a year; when I watch the network coverage it seems to me at least 1/3 of their 'expert' commentary about the Angels is wrong or outdated.
Speaking of play-off commercials... why the hell is Fox running those Dane Cook baseball play-off commercials during the game? I'm already watching the freakin' game. You think I'm going to turn it off if you don't remind me to watch it during the break?
Boy do I miss the days of Enberg, Drysdale and Bob Starr... oh, and of course, Levine.
Forget her trumpet artistry...can that girl dance or what?
Hmm it sounded like she was in a different key than the music, but I assume from the whooshing sounds that it was pre-recorded. Temperature can really mess with the tuning on a trumpet, so if the stage was especially hot it could have that kind of effect. Also just tuning it poorly might do it. In any case, the trumpeting/dance combo wasn't going to get her anywhere even if she was in tune.
And I like Pushing Daisies too.
Bill said
Hmm it sounded like she was in a different key than the music
DISORIENTATION
Not to kick anybody (twice) when they're down, but my best guess is she accidentally hung a right on Figeroa and spent the whole set wondering what happened to the rest of the Trojans marching band.
Well, our household loves Pushing Daisies and so do many of our friends. It may be too quirky to last but I'll cherish it while it's around.
I've watched all but maybe 2-3 new shows this season (at least once).
Pushing Daisies is by far the best new show of the season. I only hope they can keep up the quality, and that budget won't become an issue. As of now, though, I will do my best to not miss an episode.
There are some other good/decent new shows (Reaper, Chuck), and there are some outright awful shows (Cavemen, Carpoolers).
Laugh all you want, but Stacy is funnier than any of the new sitcoms this season.
In fact, I've heard the networks guys who put on Caveman, have already signed her up.
Oh, and BTW, after a great 2nd episode, "Back To You," has started to seriously suck.
I, too, love Pushing Daisies. It's the only new show I'm watching, in fact. I've noticed with my friends - it's this weird thing where we already act like we've been watching it forever.
It's that good.
"Pushing Daisies" is amazing. People would be talking about it if the looming strike wasn't making everyone nervous about their jobs.
--SD
Stacy couldn't have done more damage to the Star Wars legacy if she'd made her trumpet out of melted-down C3PO parts.
Believe it or not, she won the pageant and was named Princess Leia-down-the-trumpet-please.
She later recreated her performance for Death Star Search.
Sorry, in future I'll leave the stand-up to Frank Caliendo.
In the old days, a performance like Stacy's would have been seen in a high-school drama as "the bad one," the one that our heroes can easily beat and win the competition. However, post-Napoleon Dynamite, that performance would be the one to make her the most popular kid EVER and would win the hearts and minds of everyone.
Seperately... Pushing Daisies is awesome. It's fun storytelling and, although it's still VERY early in the season, it's very imaginative and creative.
And, totally unrelated, but I LOVE your new banner!
-- SD
Hmmm...apparently I'm in the minority re: Pushing Daisies. There are many things I like about it and I plan to watch it at least one more time, but...that narrator seriously irritates me. I'm afraid either him or me has gotta go.
Judith
Judith-You are the one that has to go. The narrator completes the show. I doubt Pushing Daisies will last an entire season but I love it.
Well Stacy was a bit "pitchy". Perhaps the tape playback was set a bit fast?
Keep up the chops baby!
I like Pushing Daisies as well, but a viewer does run the risk of contracting diabetes. And I just don't see how they can possibly sustain the premise. Definitely one of those shows that would do so much better under the British model: Do ten or fifteen episodes and call it a day. Or maybe wait a couple of years and then do a second set...
Of all the new shows I've watched this season, I'd have to say 'Reaper' is the best, by far. In addition to a really catchy premise (Kid in Retail become Bounty Hunter for Satan, capturing escaped souls), the show has a lot of heart, and the lead carries the show well.
Caliendo's great.
And I also like Pushing Daisies.
Oh my Gawd. a "LITTLE pitchy?" holy crap. Keep them clips coming!
A little trivia from the Pittsburgh Radio and TV Online Blog (http://www.pbrtv.com) by Eric O'Brien:
"Major League Baseball's TV policy for World Series games before 1966 was to pair the top announcer from each team on the telecast --- [Pirates broadcaster Bob] Prince thus represented the Pirates, while another legend of the baseball broadcast booth, Mel "How 'Bout That?" Allen, represented the Yankees..."
Here's the full story, including some historic audio from Chuck Thompson and Jack Quinlan on NBC radio, followed by Prince with postgame interviews:
http://www.pbrtv.com/blog/entry_240.php#body
those frank ads are really well done, actually.
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