The TV thread

I like love TJ Miller's work, but I get the impression he's not handling fame well.

 

His latest Nerdist podcast was... interesting. He sounds like a man who really, really loves marijuana.

 

Got bored, started flipping through the hundreds of channels on our cable system, came across CGTN. It's the Chinese mouthpiece, apparently, and is the biggest load of happy horseshit I have seen for a long while. At least RTV is somewhat entertaining.

 

There used to be a channel on our cable system which was national news broadcasts from different countries, each a half hour, everything from China to little countries in Africa. Amazing to see (since often subtitles were not provided) how similar TV news presentation and visuals are all over the world. And no matter what the country's political system was, bad weather and disasters were always lead stories.

 

Miller is a strange cat.
You should check out some of his interviews on Pete Holmes' podcast.

 

I used to go out of my way to buy the TV Guide Fall TV Preview issue. I don't know if TV Guide is around anymore, but it was always fun to look back through them a few years later and marvel that some network suit who makes a ton of money thought THAT show would attract an audience. Or realize that movie star of today was a co-star on a long-forgotten cop show that featured a robot and an alien.

I've read that this year's crop is the sorriest yet with generic sitcoms, knock-offs (seriously Marvel must have sold off rights to it's Reject pile) and hospital dramas - never understood why hospital dramas (not even good ones) are such high priorities with networks - the advertising?

 

Hospital dramas have been a staple since radio. Old people love 'em, and old people are the only ones still watching network TV.

 

Anybody watch Halt and Catch Fire? That show has gotten really, really good. And if you've had a crush on Anna Chlumsky in the 90s, seeing her grown up and costumed for a 90s period piece is particularly fun.

 

That's what was so different about this Chinese "station" -- it only played clips of their beloved president being the most wonderful and caring internationalist leader. Nothing about the actual events around the world, no hard reporting, just fluff about how great and caring China is, guided by its amazing president. Add in a sycophantic R.L. Kuhn as the token Western Toady K. Lickspittle character, and it was dazzling in its awfulness!

 

CCTV-1 was the network this channel showed, and it was strikingly like any American news broadcast. Since I don't speak Mandarin, I couldn't hear the propaganda. But the sets, visuals, banter with weather person, etc. were very US in nature.

 

I watched the first two seasons and really liked it. Forgot about it last year, and now I have to pay for the third season on demand, which I just won't do. I pay too much for cable as it is. Anyway, I've heard it's awesome this year.

 

Shes gorgeous and filthy at the same time on Veep