I guess that Echostar/Dish Network decided to roll out a new version of their software onto my satellite receiver recently. There has been talk of it on the forums, but I'm still wondering just what benefit this software supposed to have to me.
I only noticed that the software update had taken place because the receiver is now completely unable to play back a HD show while it is recording it. As an example, I was recording 24 in HD last night but wasn't watching it. About 45 minutes into recording the show, I turned on the TV and started to watch. I tried to, anyway.
After selecting the show from my recording list, the information bar appeared, superimposed on a black screen. A minute or two later, the screen went to static. I assume that the system rebooted. I was able to start the show playback again, but the recording had obviously stopped. I needed to manually start recording the rest of the live program, and I missed several minutes between the two separate recordings....
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The Sci-Fi channel has been re-running a bunch of shows that I used to watch before they were summarily executed by network executives who don't recognize science fiction lovers as a real demographic they can sell to.
What's interesting about these shows, and many sci-fi shows I've noticed, is that they were all cancelled without an ultimate resolution to their plotlines. I've always wondered what happened with these shows. There's a big, over-arching mystery through the entire show's run, and then... nothing?
FireFlyOk, FireFly got a movie after it was abruptly dropped from the schedule. What irks me about the movie is that although it ties up some loose ends, it seems like it was just thrown together to cap off the series. That is, you can't see the movie if you really expect the crew of Serenity to have more adventures....
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Unfortunate Event indeed. Abby and I had just finished watching the end of A Series of Unfortunate Events, when I switched the TV back to satellite and saw American Idol contestents trying to sing Queen.
I sat in front of the TV dumbfounded, and I couldn't turn away from the trainwreck. I know Queen fans who are turning over in their graves who are not even dead yet.
One of the contestents actually had the gall to say that he hadn't even heard the song he was going to perform until a week prior. You're a singer vying for a place as a so-called "American Idol" and you didn't know that song? How long have you been living under a rock?
Note that I haven't been watching this poor show all season, so I have no idea of what chaff they've already thrown off. But for pity's sake, I can only imagine how bad they must have been to have only these fools remaining. The quality of the contestants is so pathetic, I wonder how anyone can stand to watch the show. more
In a typical TV network move of stupidity, ABC has cancelled another promising show. Love Monkey is an oddly-named show that is difficult to briefly describe, and perhaps that's why it got the can.
Tom Farrell (played by Tom Cavanagh) is an A&R guy for a big record company. And then he gets fired and loses his girlfriend. But it's a strangely happy story, because he gets more of what he needs in the end, when he signs on with an small but upcoming record company to get closer to the "real music" than he could with the big guys.
The plots are surprisingly full-bodied for a simple laugh track-less comedy, and the endings are always upbeat, even if there are bad circumstances. Not that I dislike or don't appreciate sad endings, just that it's nice to have a happy ending now and then, and I think TV has forgotten that. ...
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Have you caught any of the new shows so far? Last week I saw a few.
Berta and I watched Supernatural, and I talked to the guys on Saturday night about it. The show is about two brothers whose mother was immolated in a supernatural event when they were young. Their father has apparently been hunting down supernatural things ever since, sometimes with their help. The younger of the two brothers goes to college and is doing well outside of this life when his brother shows up and says that their dad has gone missing for an unusually long length of time. Certain events unfold, and the two of them head out on a mission to find their dad.
The guys and I feel basically the same way. The first show came off a little flat. There were also some strange inconsistencies that I hope don't permeate the whole show. For example, did the one brother really expect to get away with showing a fake ID to the police and claiming he was with the FBI? I hope that doesn't become a cliche, like it's his "special power" - impersonating authority.
It's been a long summer, and maybe I'm just expecting a little more from my TV than a good idea handed to $5/episode writers. That's what I feel like I'm getting. But what else does TV have to offer this season? Let's see...
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