The Day the Funny Died

If you live in a major West Coast radio market, you're probably familiar with the consistantly funny Adam Carolla Radio Show. The syndicated morning comedy broadcast out of Los Angeles that was slated as the replacement to Howard Stern on West Coast Terrestrial radio has been consistently funny from the start (in stark contrast to the abysmal David Lee Roth Show out of New York). Even if you only know him from his near-legendary stint on Loveline, you know that Adam brings the funny in a big way everyday. Unfortunately, those radio days stopped on Friday as his show was cancelled. 

If you ask me, this cancellation (billed as a format change at the station) is the work of the same type of people that cancelled the hit original Star Trek series back in the 60's. Radio ratings tabulation is a archaic cluster fuck of Arbitron and people meters that just doesn't work. I believe that the show is actually a hit. There is anecdotal evidence of this by Carolla being consistently rated towards the top of the iTunes comedy top 10, but better still is the fact that smart people (foremost among them, me) really think the show is good. As far as I'm concerned, that's all you need. Aim high and the masses will follow in time. 

Fortunately for all, Adam is setting up a new venue for his jags about the minutia of everyday life via a podcast only show on his website.  Still, the fact that such a quality show would get axed when there is so much crap on the air is mind-boggling. The fact that this happened the same day that Conan O'Brien went off the air, is just a one-two combination to the gut of comedy fans everywhere. Personally, Carolla has been a welcome companion for me since I moved to California. I encourage anyone and everyone to support his podcast venture once it gets up and running. I am supremely confident that you'll be glad you did. And while you're at it, check out The Hammer on dvd. Carolla's very funny film only got a limited release last year, but it's a real hoot. 

The Suite Spot Weekly TV Round Up: 2/1-2/7

The winter TV season is in full swing and since it's been some time since I've written one of these columns, I've got a lot to talk about - think of this as a TV buffet. The obvious choice to open with? Lost. Hard to believe, but we're already four episodes into the 17-episode fifth season. This week's installment, while panned by many because of it's slow pacing and what many have called a return to a dead formula, still kept me glued to my seat. Yes, I agree that the horrendous chemistry between Jack and Kate bogged down a significant portion of the episode (as did the disappointing red-herring reveal of Carole Littleton's uninvolvement with Kate's lawsuit), but the shortcomings were easily outweighed by the happenings on the island. Scott offered his predictions earlier this week and I've got some as well. I'll let you good folks argue in the comments about their validity:

• Seeing as how Penny and Desmond aren't married, we can assume that the baby took his mother's name. While it's quite likely that the baby was indeed named after Charlie Pace, his formal name would be? Charles Widmore. I posit that Penny just gave birth to her own father. Think about it.
• And speaking of lineage, let me throw these two guesses out there as well: Daniel is Charlotte's father and Miles is the son of Pierre Chang.
• And for my final trick, by the end of this season, we're going to find out that Richard Alpert, and possibly some of the other early Others, have only four toed feet. Realistically, whomever's been on the island the longest built that statue and it's safe to guess they built it in the only image they knew - their own.

And for you word freaks who loved finding out that "Hoffs/Drawlar" was an anagram for "flash forward" (the funeral home from the season three finale), then you'll love this: the carpet cleaning van that Ben had been driving Locke's body around in bears the name Canton-Rainier and that's an anagram for reincarnation. So even though most have assumed it anyway, I'd say it's for certain now that Jeremy Bentham has not taken his last breath.

Moving on to Heroes. The show returned this past Monday for what NBC spent an ungodly amount of money on to promote during the Superbowl. While they wisely billed it as a new season (it's actually the second half of season three), I'm not sure the masked wording is going to be able to make people forget about the abysmally bad seasons two and three, part one. Heroes' frosh season was critically acclaimed and for good reason - it was damn good television. But ever since the strike-shortened second season, the sci-fi drama has never been able to reclaim its past glory. Claims of "comic book logic" can only account for the show's poor inconsistency for so long. That being said, this week's mid-season premiere was a step in the right direction and hopefully the return of Bryan Fuller will remedy some of what's wrong. Fuller was a co-EP during season one, but left after that to chair Pushing Daisies. PD has since been canceled by ABC and Fuller has returned to Heroes.

Now, some quick thoughts on shows that everyone should be watching, but not enough are:

1. Battlestar Galactica (airs Fridays at 10PM on SciFi) - Entering the tail end of its fourth and final season, BSG has proven to be one of the most well written and well acted dramas on TV. I shunned the show initially because I was never a fan of anything even remotely similar to Star Trek. That being said, BSG is not Star Trek. It's an incredibly layered, smart, textured narrative that says far more about human nature, intolerance, and ethics, than it does about stun rays and warp speed. I blew through the first three seasons on DVD in about two weeks. You will too.
2. Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (airs Mondays at 10PM on Travel Channel): I didn't even know the Travel Channel existed and had you mentioned this show to me, I would have assumed it was on Food Network... mainly because Bourdain used to be. AB:NR is much more than a Tasty Travels rip-off though. It's part Planet Earth, part Sundance documentary, part cooking show, and it's all narrated by one of the most likable assholes currently on TV.
3. Friday Night Lights (airs Friday at 9PM on NBC): This show is going to get canceled. Period. And it's a damn shame too. Arguably one of the greatest sports dramas to ever grace the small screen, FNL (a spin-off of the film in title and topic only), is the quintessential slice of Americana that everyone can relate to. Unfortunately, the ratings have never been there and had DirecTV not ponied up to secure first-run airing rights for the third season (which is now airing in its second run broadcast premiere on NBC), then season two probably would have been the end for Dillon Panthers.

And finally, a look to the future. I recently screened the opening minutes of the new ABC drama The Unusuals a few weeks ago and I think the alphabet network might be on to something with this one. In a TV landscape that's still dominated with police dramas, it takes a lot to stand-out. ABC has already grabbed one success this season with Life on Mars (that's another one that you should be watching and probably aren't) and I'm guessing The Unusuals (premieres Wednesday, April 8th, at 10PM) will follow suit.

As always, comments are welcome, and thanks for reading.

-Tooms

The cable-free life

$93.16. That was the total of my last Comcast cable bill.  That was September.

Here I am three months later with NO interest in giving them my business again. 

If you are anything like my friends or family, you're probably wondering what prompted this shocking decision.  Why would a man that has had cable for 25 straight years and still enjoys solid TV programming turn away from this American household staple?

Here goes.

The immediate cause was 18 months of frustrating service with Comcast.  Overpriced PPV movies, channel package realignments, and continual rate increases all coupled with crappy customer service got my goat.  The only thing that kept me hanging on was the fact that neither DirectTv nor At&t U-verse were available at my residence.  They still aren't.

The next factor was the rapidly growing availability of legal, mainstream programming on the web.  Hulu, ABC.com, and other sites started streaming high-quality television episodes with limited commercial interruptions at no cost to viewers.  Oh, and did I mention that its being done with better picture quality than standard definition programming?

The tipping point (thanks Malcom) came when nbcsports.com streamed the Beijing Summer Olympics...live! This opened my eyes.  Why couldn't, and why shouldn't, all content be offered via this medium?!  

Give it another year.

Over the past three months I've consumed all of the content a television lover could ever ask for:  

• Live broadcasts of the presidential debates and the resulting SNL parodies
• Live college basketball games of my alma mater
• Live NFL games in their entirety and highlights of every almost sport
• Sitcoms, dramas, reality tv, music videos, cartoons, and late night talk shows
• News
• Films

Give it a chance and save yourself some money.  Pay off some of that credit card debt.  Put an extra gift in someone's stocking.  Here, i'll even help! I only ask that you help me find a way to watch my Yankees come September.

The Suite Spot's Guide to a Cable-Free World

• Hulu.com:  NBC, FOX, Comedy Central, FX, and now films.  Try The Office, House, Arrested Development, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
• ESPN360.com:  Live college basketball/fooball and NBA.  Stick with the college sports.  The NBA is garbage.
• NFL.com:  Thursday and Sunday Night Football
• ABC.com / CBS.com:  Most of their network shows.  Try Lost and Survivor.
• Netflix.com:  Films, TV Series.   Try The Shield, Weeds, Dexter, The Office
• Sprint Phones:  Discovery Channel, NFL Network, NFL Radio, ABC, Music Videos  

NBC takes gamble; gives Leno 10PM slot

After what has seemed like endless speculation about whether or not Jay Leno will stay with NBC once Conan O'Brien takes over The Tonight Show in May 2009, the peacock network dropped a bombshell this week:

Leno is staying and they're moving him to 10PM.

For months, Leno has been taking jabs at NBC on his late-night program and for the most part, it seemed like the supposedly disgruntled host would probably end up on either FOX or ABC as a direct competitor to Conan. Not the case - Leno has changed his tune and seems happy to be staying around. The magnitude of this move is immeasurable. NBC is taking a huge gamble and there are a number of things to consider...

• By moving Leno into the prime-time 10PM slot, NBC is effectively saying good-bye to original programming in that block. No more hour long dramas means NBC saves money. Considering that Sunday Night Football consumes all of its respective night, that means NBC potentially has to program only 8PM to 10PM, five nights a week. That's a mere 10 hours of original programming, 3 or 4 of which are almost assuredly going to be reality shows. This is an entirely new model for the evening TV landscape.
• Despite the fact that Leno is currently a ratings darling, that too may change. Consider what he'll now be going up against - CSI: Miami and CSI: NY are both huge ratings grabbers for CBS and FOX still airs 10PM local news broadcasts on most of its affiliates which often do much better than competitors 11PM broadcasts. Will a traditional late-night audience be around at 10PM?
• More than anything though, this unfortunately speaks directly to NBC's faith in Conan O'Brien. The Late Night host admitted this week that much of his success is owed directly to having Jay Leno as a lead-in and he said he was thrilled for that to continue. Personally I can't see how he could possibly be happy about this since it's sure to hurt his numbers as he tries to gain new fans in May. While it's expected that Conan will bring his sizable viewership numbers with him, he's still a much newer, fresher, and younger host, while Leno's style still hearkens back to the days of Johnny Carson - a style many still prefer. Having Leno continue as Conan's lead-in not only takes away from the monumental transition on The Tonight Show, it practically negates it. You may recall the feud between Letterman and Leno when Carson retired. Granted Leno isn't retiring and that's the point - the average American isn't going to view this as anything other than, "Oh hey, all those shows start an hour earlier." Also, consider this: currently Leno leads right into Conan - a HUGE help. Once the regime change takes place, the 11PM news will be in between them. Will Leno's legion stick around for that 1/2 hour? Number will probably drop off.

Of course, lost in all of this mess is Jimmy Fallon, who's taking over the Late Night seat. What does everyone else think though? Is this move a risk for NBC, or a more-of-the-same safe bet?

The Suite Spot Weekly TV Round-Up: 11/16 to 11/22

I'm about to go on a giant FX rant, so bear with me because right now, it's pretty much the only network on TV where everything is worth watching. In the last Round-Up, I mentioned that both Nip/Tuck and Damages will return in January and dates for premieres have since been announced. Nip/Tuck's WGA Strike-shortened fifth season will resume on Tuesday 1/6 with eight new episodes to go in the season and Damages will follow on the next evening, Wednesday the 7th with its season two premiere. I honestly can't say enough good things about both of these shows and they each deserve your viewership. FX is doing some amazing things for an ad-supported cable network. Check out the latest promo for Nip/Tuck, set to Kanye's "Flashing Lights:"

And speaking of January premieres, ABC has announced that Lost will return a month earlier than expected on Wednesday, January 21st with two new episodes back-to-back. However, the real buzz about the show right now is focusing on the official season five poster released by ABC yesterday. See any clues?

In other ABC news, the alphabet network did some slashing this week and shit-canned three popular, but ratings challenged, series: Dirty Sexy Money, Pushing Daisies, and Eli Stone. All three series were cut short during last year's writer's strike and despite their season two renewals, they just couldn't find an audience. However, one new show is making the grade and ABC has extended freshman drama Life on Mars to a 17 episode order. It's one of the better new shows this season. So check it out and hopefully ABC will give it the back 5 for a full 22.

That's all I got for this week. If you're looking for something good to watch this weekend, then Sunday evening is your night with Entourage (the season five finale) and 24: Redemption (the two hour season seven prequel).

Chadgelina doesn't have the same ring to it

Have you heard of the movie in development called Chad Schmidt? I find the premise hilarious. The titular protagonist is a brash young acting talent who comes to Hollywood in the late 1980's to find fame and fortune. He looks and sounds identical to a similarly brash young Brad Pitt. Unfortunately, Brad hits it big with Thelma and Louise making doppelganger Chad an uncastable Hollywood punchline. Ageless Brad Pitt is set to play both himself and Chad Schmidt in what looks to be an hilarious send up on the cruelty of the film game and the role happenstance plays landing success. Hopefully, Chad will find some inner fulfillment and not simply resort to being the Tyler Durden lookalike in front of Grauman's Theater.