Archive for the ‘Entertainment’ Category

Has anyone else noticed over the years that the TV Guide Channel has less and less bars of information? I remember years ago they used to have like 5 bars of information and used to only show like Movie trailers and maybe showcase a few TV programs with perhaps a few ads. Now days they have their own programming in a much bigger area and put 2 bars at the bottom, hoping you pay more attention to their shows and miss what is scrolling up, so you have to wait a few minutes to see it go around again. Also why don’t they put up a current weather and forecast bar? Seems the Weather Channel likes to make you wait slightly by showing you showing you small bits in timed tabs.

Billy Mays, famously known for his OxiClean commercials along with the other ads he yells in.

I was recently reminded of an old TV show called Sliders awhile back. I remember seeing a few episodes when it first aired and then I figured it was canceled. A few years after that I saw an episode on TV once again and was surprised it was still around. (Reminds me how the TV show Viper had the same thing happen to it). I also remember the original intro mentioning the year 1995, but I think they removed it for syndication.

I watched a few episodes of the first season and I could see why it was canceled. It’s not as cheesy as The Misfits of Science, but it lacks in many ways. For example, in one episode Rembrandt is tied up but all someone does is remove the bandanna around his mouth and he gets up from the chair with no problem. In another episode Quinn is in handcuffs yet still is able to check his fly and moves his hand to keep the door open for others. One episode has the Professor laughing about his performance to throw an political debate, yet people in the audience could have turned around to see him offstage rejoicing.

Sliders show brings up lots of interesting ideas, but many scenes seem rushed with no time for introspection (the character’s thoughts never really sink in what’s really going on). I suppose that is the cost of trying to make the show more action/adventure based than drama. One can easily forgive bad CGI effects, and the stage setup mistakes, but the show could of went deeper into the issues the episodes brought up.

Remember when TV…

• Used to not have their logo in the bottom right corner.
• Used to not have animated promos for other shows at the bottom.
• Used to not have text promos for other shows they offer.
• Used to not have text information about the program you are watching.
• Used to actually let the credits roll at normal speed and full screen.
• Used to not interrupt shows for a high speed chase.
• Used to not throw the weather radar on top of the show you are watching during storms. (It may be necessary for a flood, tornado, hurricane, fire watch/warning, but its unnecessary for a thunderstorm).
• Used to have commercial breaks no more than 3 minutes.
• Used to not have so many promos for other shows they offer during commercial breaks.
• Used to use segways before, after and during commercial breaks.

It makes me wonder what else they will change or add in the future. I’ve already seen animated sponsors during a TV show in the bottom left corner before. I think eventually they will cut the intros short on TV shows or make limits to how long they can be. They already have programs that minimize the amount of silence in video by cutting out parts of the video to squeeze more time in. I think I’ve seen shows do that, because it seems that someone is always talking with no time to breathe. The bottom right logos might have been started to let people know what station they were on, but I think most people can care less. Or perhaps they were worried about people with VCRs recording their TV shows several years ago, but to me its just an annoyance.