TomKat

Obviously, TomKat has figured out a better PR strategy recently, as they haven't been in the press that much except for a bunch of stuff about the movie that Tom is filming in Germany, which I totally ignore, and they managed to get this puff piece in People... It's a gallery of pictures from Katie's next movie and I have to say she looks really cute. She might kind of win back my old affection that I had for her in the Dawson's Creek days, even if that was mainly because I'm a total Pacey-Joey fan.

Dunder Mifflin Infinity

Dunder Mifflin Infinity has opened for business.

I am not sure what this is, but it seems to have something to do with getting a bunch of people to sign up in teams and doing random things to earn points. Some kind of online game I guess.

Either way, it has to do with The Office, and you earn SchruteBucks, so it has to be awesome. Check out the FAQ for more info.

I learned about this from Penny-Arcade, who is apparently starting up some kind of rival branch to another online comic PvP.

Traveler - What would have happened?

Here's what would have happened if Traveler had gotten picked up. I'm not sure if anyone cares - I think gecko, tomcat and I might have been the only people watching that show, and the tomcat wasn't even really watching it since he was out of the country...

Sesame Street gets high tech

Looks like Sesame Street is doing podcasts! That's pretty cute.

Bionic Woman

Totoro commented on the ratings for Bionic Woman, and I have to say that I was surprised that it got such good ratings. I'm surprised because 1) it didn't get great reviews, but since buzz doesn't equate to ratings and lots of seemingly crappy movies do well, perhaps this is just an extension of that trend, 2) it was available on Amazon Unbox and online to see ahead of time, so I would have thought that it would erode the initial audience because people have seen the first episode already and 3) the tomcat, who has no standards, really didn't think it was good.

I am very curious how making a pilot available ahead of the premiere affects the ratings. I would think that crappy pilots would have the same issue as crappy movies, such that word of mouth would sink them, so that if the pilot wasn't very good, networks wouldn't put them up. I think that's kind of what's happening with Moonlight and Caveman, which have not sent out screeners to critics (the equivalent of a movie premiering without a critic screening and thus having no reviews on Friday morning, which does seem to help that movie get at least a decent first weekend of revenues). But obviously word of mouth depends on how the show is received in the country at large, so I guess maybe the country at large thinks it's great. Those are also the people watching CSI: Miami. And I'd be curious to see how many people got around to downloading pilots on Amazon Unbox or watching the show online, but the networks may not make that info public...

Ratings and stuff

People who talk about TV (like Nyanko) talk about Nielsen Ratings a lot, but to some people it is not immediately obvious what these ratings are or why they should care. I've started to realize that they are most important to me in the early days of a new show just because the ratings on the first few episodes will essentially decide the fate of the show and I've got too much stuff to watch to invest in a show that will only last 4 episodes.

thefutoncritic has daily ratings and analysis, and here is their report for yesterday, Wed 9/26 which was notable for being the series premieres of Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money on ABC and Bionic Woman and Life on NBC. The basic conclusion here is that both Private Practice and Bionic Woman did well, and people were probably flipping back and forth. I have not seen Private Practice at all (other than the half-test episode on Grey's last season), but the pilot for Bionic Woman was not so great. Sometimes I thought that she really was a robot.

Reports from the first two days of the week imply that Chuck is struggling a little bit, but not as much as Journeyman, which is probably not going to last. Reaper should be okay though, so I think I'll stick with those two shows on the top on my list of new shows to watch this season.

Comment from Nyanko: The other way to look at this though, is that if there's a show you enjoy, you should really try to watch it/download it/somehow juke the ratings numbers so that the networks will feel that it has enough of an audience to continue to air it.

Google Reader

On a recent recommendation from the tomcat I decided to check out Google Reader, which has undergone a lot of changes since I last tried it two or three years ago. So I took the time to set up all my RSS feeds into it and I have to say that it has revolutionized my morning web surfing routine. I think it has cut it down to maybe 10 or 15 minute, which is actually kind of disappointing because I keep hoping there's more stuff out there for me to browse through. I still have a couple sites which don't have a feed that Google can read, but I'm definitely enjoying it. And one of the nice things is that you don't have to give the actual RSS feed to a site, you can just punch in the URL and it will find the feed if it can. So, I recommend checking it out.

Friendster ettiquette part II

In a followup to my earlier post about Facebook, the author of that article did a Q&A about the topic

New Project Runway

The new season of Project Runway will premiere on November 14th

Buzz != Ratings

An interesting NY Times Blog about how the most buzzed about shows going into the fall have compared to the shows with the biggest ratings. It's fun to see the shows that everyone talked about but were cancelled very quickly - there's quite a few of those.

Reaper

Totoro recommends CW's new show Reaper, which has gotten lots of good reviews, but due to a scheduling logjam (damn you, 6 billion hours of Dancing with the Stars coverage), I didn't get it on the TiVo and it's not available on Unbox. So I guess I have to watch it online.

The Facebook commandments

Slate Magazine has an article abpout Facebook etiquette as well as the following choice quote: " An undergrad who doesn't have a Facebook profile is regarded as a Luddite, the social equivalent of leading a survivalist lifestyle complete with flintlock rifle and bandana." What is a college graduate without a Facebook page considered? Have I crossed over into this survivalist/scary person level, or am I still "normal"?

30 Rock & Pageant girls

If you're interested in 30 Rock, but haven't gotten around to watching it yet, there will be a marathon on Bravo.

And MTV is doing a reality show about some pageant queen girls living together. I think it's the winners of the Trump franchise pageants or something, which makes me want to watch it less since it's Trump, but I really can't resist this kind of crap.

NY Times TV blog

The NY Times has TV Decoder - a blog about TV. I think this has been up on the site for a while, but this is the first time I checked it out. The posts so far aren't terribly interesting, but I'll bookmark it and check it out to see if it gets more interesting. A Tina Fey Q&A is slated for later this week, so that will at least get me to come back and check it out, particularly since I think her American Express ad is pretty funny.

However, I have to say that the ad reminds me of this article in Atlantic Monthly, which is a review of the This American Life TV show, but touches upon the prevalence of quirk in the TV/movie medium.

TV DVDs & the Wire

via TV Tattle, an article from the NY Times about tv shows on DVD. The site also linked to a promo for the next season of the Wire! I need to get cc2 to watch all the previous seasons before season 5 starts in January.

Gossip Girl

The other show that seems to be either loved or reviled by TV critics is Gossip Girl. Since it's Josh Schwartz and I tend to like this kind of crap, I figured I'd check it out even though totoro isn't very excited about it. And sadly, I found it somewhat compelling - the main character Serena (Blake Lively) has a cute chemistry with the good-guy male lead, so I want to see how that relationship plays out. The supporting cast seems particularly weak and I'm not sure what the show is really going to be about from week to week - I guess just a relationships drama? There's not a real overarching story that I can tell so far, so shrug. But the music is pretty fun, and I unfortunately also got the tomcat hooked on this as well. We'll have to see if the tomcat gets his friend the LCD to watch it too. Those two watch the Real World Sydney and have to call each other afterwards to "gaaaahhhh" about it.

Chuck & Life

Totoro already reviewed the new NBC shows earlier this summer, when all the preview clips went up, but I finally got around to watching two of the pilots that were free on Amazon Unbox. Woo for downloadable TV I can watch on my Tivo! Anyway, I loved Chuck. I thought the nerd humor was pretty funny ("Not the computer!" when someone is trying to rob him, because, seriously! Not the computer! Although I'd follow it up with "Not the Tivo!", particularly since I don't really own a computer.) It was a fun fluffy show and I hope they can keep it up, at least until Rachel Bilson's guest star arc.

Here's a not so positive review, which comments on the plot holes, but seriously, it's a spy thriller/comedy so I don't know what the reviewer was expecting. She also references Alias, and um, plot holes anyone? Here's another review.

I also ended up watching Life, which the tomcat is actually pretty excited about. He describes it as House, but in the police/crime genre. I thought it was entertaining, but was weak on the plot. I gave it a season pass, but it's definitely not a first priority to watch. So, enjoyable, but I'm not ready to recommend it to anyone yet.

ABC picks up a geeky office show

Maybe this show will be like the Office, but for software people - so, basically, like Dilbert.

What to Watch?

TeeVee.net also posted what they recommend you watch for both new and returning shows.

TeeVee Dead Pool, 2007 Edition

TeeVee.net has put odds on the survival of all the new shows for this season. See what they think is most likely to get cancelled after one episode!

Downloadable TV

I didn't think I'd go blog-crazy at the beginning of the fall season, but there's been lots of interesting news. How I Met Your Mother will be on Amazon Unbox and iTunes, and iTunes is giving away some episodes of Fox shows. Apparently, the break with iTunes has triggered a bunch of anarchy in the downloadable TV world since iTunes or Fox is now giving some stuf away and finally Unbox seems to be getting more of a critical mass of shows on offer.

P.S. I'm working in an open plan office today and I just heard someone's cell phone ring and ... the ring tone was Oops, I Did It Again. Yes!

P.P.S. It wasn't my phone, although ...

Ryan the temp

A TWOP interview with B.J. Novak aka Ryan the temp. Also, TWOP will now be doing recaps of the Office so you can relive all your favorite moments.

The Seeker: The Dark is Rising Movie

These Susan Cooper books are one of my favorite young adult fantasy series, so I was both excited and afraid when I heard they were turning it into a movie. I'm hoping it will be more like Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings and less like Narnia, in terms of popularity. Have any fantasy books really taken off because of a movie adaptation? I'm not sure, but it doesn't seem like it's necessarily a recipe for success. I wonder if Tad Williams will eventually get a movie deal as well...

Anyway, there's a trailer up for the movie, and it looks decent. Based on my recollection of the books, it seems like they've taken some liberties with the story, as well minimized the fact that the story took place in Wales (Welsh is cool! But probably too confusing for a movie...). Mark me as still excited!

And it appears there's a reality show by MTV and Apple associated with the behind the scenes aspect of the movie. So You Want to be a Movie Intern is a web series on iTunes about nine interns living together in Romania while the movie is being filmed. I guess this is what happens when nine strangers stop being polite and start being real. Or start having really bad hookups and alcohol problems in front of lots of people. Oh, that's another show (which the tomcat is TOTALLY watching). Anyway, I can only hope this turned out better than the jobs that the other Real World kids did.

Food for football

Bravo/Top Chef are working the weird tie ins by posting recipes from Top Chef contestents for an NFL game for that week. Naturally, it's cheese for Green Bay, and such.

Scary!

The Desperate Housewives cast photo associated with this article is just kind of scary. I have to say that TV cast photos are always pretty funny and entertaining.

See even more pictures here.

TV Fantasy Network

...Aaaaand Bravo/TWOP launched their fantasy TV network game. It doesn't look like you can create leagues, which is disappointing. I'm tempted to play, but without the thrill of trying to beat the pants off my friends (or friends of friends, who I feel like I know now even though I hadn't met a couple of them while we were playing) or the disappointment of losing to the tomcat/gecko, I'm not sure I'll want to invest the time and energy.

TWOP redesign

Also, via Pop Candy - holy crap, there's been a giant redesign at Television Without Pity. The upside is maybe my RSS will finally work. But I'm going to hvae trouble finding stuff until I figure out what's going on. It looks so spiffy now - go check it out!

TV tidbits

TVtattle had a bunch of fun links including:

Analysis of blogs "written" by various TV characters

I had no idea there was a cutthroat world of high school musicals, but Showtime will have a reality show about it. I thought that was limited to Mathletes and things like that...

A Slate article about how expensive some TV shows are to produce

And finally, that ABC is going to be streaming its videos from AOL.

RSS from Nordstrom.com

Well, this could be my total downfall. Nordstrom has reached an impressive technical pinnacle for an apparel retail shop and have added RSS support. Yes, I can have RSS feeds about new merchandise. Who needs a personal shopper when you have an RSS reader? If Banana Republic figures this out, or if they already have it, and I just finally discover it, it will truly be the end for me. I already added an RSS feed to my Google home page.

Watch the Friday Night Lights season premiere now

Via Pop Candy, the Friday Night Lights second season premiere is already online! So you can watch it now and boost the viewing numbers and at your leisure! I'm totally psyched! I think the tomcat and I might watch it this weekend, unless the tomcat is a weasel and watches it tonight without me. Or if I just watch it at work today! Those company all hands meetings are so boring; this would be much better use of my time.

Download NBC shows now

You can actually start downloading NBC shows now. I haven't gotten around to installing the mini-app, but they are promoting Heroes, Monk and Psych, so it seems likely that you can view full episodes of those shows.

The Sports Guy champions Friday Night Lights

The Sports Guy begs all his readers to watch Friday Night Lights, in hopes of staving off a seemingly inevitable cancellation since the ratings suck, but the show is awesome. I'll be watching!

Macy*s - Martha Stewart Collection

First Martha Stewart houses, now Martha Stewart is taking over Macy's. I guess I'm on a bit of a Martha kick. Anyway, she has an exclusive collection for Macy*s that they are prominently displaying throughout the store - cookware, bedding, towels, etc. and a lot of it looks pretty nice! And with such a nice color palette! I personally have a weakness for the cake stands.

downloadable NBC shows

NBC.COM will allow you to download a number of their popular shows and watch them for up to a week after the broadcast. It starts in beta in October. It will even have an automatic download feature, so you get the shows automatically on your computer when they are available. I'll have to check this out!

Battlestar news

An article about Sci Fi trying to decide whether to show the remaining Battlestar Galactica episodes at one time or divided into two "seasons". The article also touches on the Caprica spinoff, which has been long discussed but so far, not greenlighted.

Lauren Graham

Looks like Lauren Graham will be back on TV shortly, or at the very least, in a string of failed pilots, since she just signed a development deal with NBC. I'm excited since I definitely like her.

Office tchlotkes

If you want to show how much you love the Office beyond constantly quoting lines or referencing scenes from episodes (I'm looking at you, gecko, but not in a bad way!) you can buy Office themed office supplies in the $1 bins at the front of Target. It's just one more reason to love Target.

Psych Renewed

Psych gets a third season. Yay! I have to say that this is one of my favorite summer shows - it's just so silly and fun!

TeeVee.net picks the best shows of the fall

TeeVee.net has posted their Top 10 fall shows, to help you decide what to watch. More detailed reviews will be posted later.

Alyssa Milano & baseball

Alyssa Milano will be doing baseball reporting for the baseball post-season. One can only hope that Holly Marie Combs and Shannen Doherty will show up, and that some of Alyssa's features will be about demons and rhyming spells/poems. And it turns out that Alyssa is back to some TV work since she'll be on My Name is Earl later this season.

Dead show walking

the futon critic explains why TV networks don't always burn off unaired shows, even though they've already paid for the shows.

Martha Stewart houses

You can buy a house modeled after one of Martha Stewart's homes, including inside finishing touches like crown molding, wainscotting, and all that good stuff. Wow, that's one way to extend your lifestyle branding. The homes are pretty classically New England, so I'm not sure how I feel about them in California, but they are purty.

Get an early taste of the new fall TV shows - USATODAY.com

Via Pop Candy, it looks like there are a number of different ways to catch the fall pilots early, including on American Airlines flights. Apparently they are showing Big Bang Theory and Cane on some flights. Tomcat, I think the Big Bang Theory is also streaming online, in case you truly cannot help yourself and need to watch that show. Last year there were a few pilots streaming early, and some pilots also got released on DVD on Netflix. I guess streaming pilots is the big trend this year.

Rachel Bilson

I'm glad to see that Rachel Bilson is still going to be able to find work post-OC, on Josh Schwartz's new show Chuck, which can be downloaded free to your Tivo from Amazon Unbox. I have it on my Tivo and will have to check it out tonight or over the weekend. Rachel still seems to be a paparazzi favorite, but seems to be spending most of her time lately shopping at Target and eating out. I'm glad I'll see her back on TV!

Sex And The City’ Movie

I guess the ‘Sex And The City’ movie is well on its way, since it set a release date for next May

Brit's new album

After the totally lame VMA performance, I might have to stop posting about Britney. But apparently not quite yet. I guess I'll wait until the album comes out before I decide whether or not to make a final break with Britney. People magazine got to preview the album, and have some positive things to say, which will keep me optimistic...

iTunes' 99-cent Plan

There are rumors that iTunes wants to cut the price of videos to 99-cents. Perhaps that is what really got NBC to jump ship. Steve Jobs is arguing they will make it up in volume... It's a nice price and perhaps it is also to combat Unbox, but I'm still going to have to try Unbox a few times...

Summer news regarding The Wire

Kottke.org writes about the Wire, and some recent interviews with David Simon

Legally Blonde musical hits MTV

Via tvtattle, The Legally Blonde Broadway musical will be shown on MTV.

NBC in Deal With Amazon to Sell Shows on the Web - New York Times

Via gecko and tomcat, it looks like NBC has found a new purveyor for their online content. I thought they were launching some crazy online site with Fox, but maybe that's someone else or maybe just for streaming content. Anyway, Amazon Unbox will be selling their shows. This will be a great reason for me to try out the service - I'm hoping it will be relatively cheap and really easy, and I'm excited about being able to watch shows on my TiVo rather than on my computer. Good thing I entered all my billing info into Unbox so I can play with this. And NBC will be offering free downloads of their fall pilots starting Sept 10, so those will probably be my first shows to look at.

Hopefully I can catch up on the backlog on the Tivo from this summer before the fall seasons start. I've been watching Damages from FX, and I'm totally addicted!

Roswell

Heeeeey, Shiri Appleby from Roswell resurfaces, but not in tv show or movie, but rather making out with Zach Braff. Wow, who knew. I wonder if these rumors are actually true about Zach Braff making out with people, or if it has just become something like seeing Elvis or Bigfoot...

Fun facts about new shows

the futon critic is doing a fun series on ten things you should know about the fall season. Today's entry is about how pretty consistently, only 33% of new shows get picked up for a second season. He has statistics to back it up, and it's surprising to see how consistent it is across both networks and seasons.

Buffy stuff

It looks like the Buffy-spinoff Ripper, starring Giles, might become a reality. There has been talk of this series since before Buffy ended, so it's interesting that it's actually coming along now. Perhaps Joss Whedon wants to do some TV again. (via tvtattle.com)

Frak! NBC Universal Pulling Shows from iTunes - Today's News: My Take | TVGuide.com

The whole itunes/NBC feud continues, but this little news bit has an intriguing hint as to the sticking point - pricing, which should be no surprise. But apparently NBC wants to bundle offerings. Naturally, they want to bundle, but I'm still curious how exactly that would be executed... I guess we'll see pretty soon...

Another fantasy TV league

Looks like Bravo/TWOP are hosting their own fantasy tv league. I wonder how the setup compares to fantasyteevee, and whether you can create your own leagues... I signed up for an update, so I can get a few more details. I'll report back!

the futon critic's favorite fall shows

The futon critic has organized all his reviews of the fall pilots by star ratings, so it's easy to see which ones he really likes and so forth. I'll definitely use this as a guide for setting up my season passes.