The Haphazard Blog

CBS has created a small mess in choosing what commercials will be allowed to air during the Super Bowl. It started with the Tim Tebow and his mother’s commercial advocating for life. It is reported to be Pam Tebow’s story about choosing to continue her pregnancy despite the urging of doctor’s that she have an abortion because of the risks of the pregnancy. This of course turned into a Pro-Life/Pro-Choice war.

The underlying message in favor of life is a good one. I don’t quite get this commercial. Is it supposed to mean more because Tim Tebow is famous? Could there be a commercial where the mother of someone like Slobodan Miloševic? (if she is still alive) says she was urged to have an abortion but didn’t. Is that what Pam Tebow is implying? I think the spot would be more appropriate with commercial actors instead. The biggest issue people seem to have is that it is being paid for by Focus on the Family who have a public Pro-Life stance. If they had their way, people like Pam Tebow would not have a choice to make. (On a slight aside, people are actually questioning the validity of this story because Pam Tebow was told this in the Philippines where abortion was and still is illegal in all circumstances.)

CBS then went ahead and muddied the waters by rejecting a commercial from a male gay dating site, Man Crunch. It certainly seems like they are applying different standards to what is acceptable to air in these situations. There seemed to be plenty of push back against the Focus on the Family commercial. On the positive side, Man Crunch got a lot of free advertising without having to hand over $2.5-2.8M. Something to keep in mind for start up companies next year.

The last two standard definition shows that I watch are finally in HD. I have wondered if/when they will start to frame stuff in HD and broadcast the SD versions in letterbox. As it is now for most things, HD viewers get the better picture (resolution and colors), but the additional viewing area isn’t put to much use to avoid leaving the SD viewers with a reduced viewing experience. It would be most valuable on sports and anything that makes use of on screen graphics.

Now that everything I watch is in HD, announcements should be showering down this week for 3D HD in the home. You’ll need a new TV that is capable of displaying it, but that looks like the next evolution. DirecTV is supposedly going to announce a 3D channel to debut this year. My question for DirecTV: Will we be able to watch Mad Men and Breaking Bad on AMC HD first? Please?

I really enjoy the NFL Matchup show on ESPN, but I’m sure the ratings bear this out; I think I’m in the minority. The show dives into the X’s and O’s of football. The show currently has a home at 6:30 AM CT on ESPN Sunday mornings. Fortunately we are at a point where many have DVRs so it isn’t that bad. I’ve just observed the time slot/day for the show has progressively worsened over time. I hope the next step isn’t cancelation.

What makes the show most interesting to me is they are able to use the coach’s tape (which is basically inaccessible to the public) to show a more in depth breakdown of football plays.  I wish they devoted 30 minutes to every game. There is so much that goes on in football that simply is not explained to the viewer. For people who really love the game, they present it in a new way that helps you understand what is going on in a given play.

NFL Network has a show they air three times a week for 1 hour called Playbook. They go over the previous week in one show and they cover the AFC and NFC in their own shows for the upcoming week. This show definitely contributes to the fan’s understanding of the game.

New and continuing shows are premiering on network TV now. There isn’t really much that is coming out that I feel like are worth watching. I gave some shows that seemed interesting a chance. I’ll include some of my thoughts. Before I do a couple general things I observed so far. ABC Studios (formerly Touchstone) has decided they want to promote more and it seems every show the produce (on ABC at least) start with “an ABC Studios production” to kick off the credits. My worst time slot is Thursday’s at 9 PM ET. FOX made it even worse by moving Fringe there.

Melrose Place (CW, Tuesdays at 9): I watched one episode. I never watched the original so I think that one aspect probably hurt. The show just didn’t seem all that interesting to me. Wow, someone was murdered. The characters weren’t interesting to me.  On a slight aside, Jessica Lucas is beautiful. She looked familiar, so I checked her filmography on IMDb and she was on CSI. She was the new CSI who just vanished. I thought she was better than the other girl they brought in last season (who they also wrote out).

Jessica Lucas, Melrose Place

The Beautiful Life (CW, Canceled): This was marginally better than Melrose Place. Although that doesn’t mean much since they canceled the show after the second episode. For anyone who was a fan, it’s really dead. They shut down the show during production. The CW will not be bringing it back later and if they do show the few episodes that were shot, there was no heads up so there won’t be any type of ending.

Community (NBC, Thursdays at 9:30): I’m giving this show a little bit more of a chance than I normally would. I bailed on The Office way too early and was horribly wrong on that show. So far, I’m not impressed.  Ken Jeong (the Spanish Teacher) is a MD in real life. He was practicing at Kaiser before getting into comedy/acting full time.

Bored to Death (HBO, Sundays at 9:30): This joke probably has been beaten to death, but the title is perfect:  viewers are bored to death watching this show. There’s “smart comedy” and then there is this. It reminds me of movies by Wes Anderson. His stuff is very (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited) hit or miss with people. So I’m not shocked that Jason Schawartzman is in this show. I thought Lucky Louie was way better than this and HBO killed it. Since all they care about are critics, this show will probably be back.

Accidentally On Purpose (CBS, Mondays at 8:30): I gave this show two episodes. It’s just not that funny. CBS made a mistake canceling The Class two years ago and Worst Week last year. Each was at least funny. The Class had superior characters as well.

the forgotten (ABC, Tuesdays at 10): The premise (solving unsolved murders of nameless victims) and characters weren’t interesting to me. The show just seemed to drag on. There wasn’t anything compelling about the “mystery”.

The Good Wife (CBS, Tuesdays at 10): The premise seems a bit lame (the wife of a cheating politician goes back to work), but I like legal dramas. The case was interesting. I’ll see if they continue to be. There’s some promise here if it doesn’t start to really lean on her back story and the cases all go back to her difficulties in having a crappy husband.

Mercy (NBC, Wednesdays at 8): I’m not watching this anymore. The characters stunk. It will likely draw comparisons to Hawthorne (on TNT). Hawthorne is a lot better.

Modern Family (ABC, Wednesdays at 9): This show is clever. It’s well done and uses the mockumentary style (The Office, Parks and Recreation) well. I think it will do well.

Cougar Town (ABC, Wednesdays at 9:30): I laughed. Nothing real special here besides that though. I found Modern Family to be superior.

Eastwick (ABC, Wednesdays at 10): This show will probably do pretty good for ABC, but it’s not all that appealing to me. I’ve never watched Charmed, but I imagine these shows would have similar audiences.

FlashForward (ABC, Thursdays at 9): I think this is my favorite new show so far. I enjoy these shows that have a more in depth story and a mystery (Lost, Fringe). Did anyone notice the Oceanic Air billboard? It said “Perfect Safety Record”.

Brothers (FOX, Fridays at 8): I think this show is a little better than Accidentally On Purpose. Unlike Friday Night Lights, the Actor in the wheelchair (Daryl Mitchell) is really paralyzed. (The actors on FNL, Scott Porter and Kevin Rankin do a good job, especially Kevin Rankin.) There are funny moments. I usually get bored with FOX sitcoms (except Arrested Development), so I’ll see how this one goes.

Trauma (NBC, Mondays at 9): Similar feelings as Mercy. The characters aren’t that good except maybe the helicopter paramedic. Again, a paramedic show on TNT (Saved) was done much better.

I think there are a few more new shows coming. I’ll recap them in a final grouping next month.