The TV thread

An article about basic cable becoming awful.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/zombie-tv-come-cable-190037091.html

The jokes about Ridiculousness on MTV and Impractical Jokers on TruTV are obvious.

 

Remove becoming.

It's been terrible for awhile. There are so many worthless channels they have to exist only as tax writeoffs or something.

The story lists USA, but there are several other channels that produced good original content that basically just went.....nope.

 

Is Lone Star a good example?

 

14 years late to this clip ...

 

Actually, services like YouTube TV have most of the same problems.

There are loads of garbage channels, many of which I just remove from my guide. And until the networks catch up to the end of the strike, they're pretty useless too. About the only thing I watch from the big four right now is Bob's Burgers and Family Guy. There's nothing else new except reality shows and game shows, which I have zero use for.

It's made PlutoTV, Hulu, and Prime much more vital. I can usually find something watchable on one of them in the evenings.

 

A&E is terrible. It is just reality crime shows and compilations of videos of people acting awfully.

 

5,000 words incoming ....

 

Netflix has released "hours watched" for all of its content from between January and June 2023. Interesting to poke through it and to measure the popularity of various shows, although as far as I know, nobody has adjusted yet for runtime. So, hour-long dramas dominate the Top 100. I'm sure someone will dig through it all and post a breakdown soon, though.

https://about.netflix.com/en/news/what-we-watched-a-netflix-engagement-report

 

Might be more of a reflection on me than anything but I watch Pluto, Antenna TV, and the ancillary apps like Xumo, Tubi, etc. than any new stuff.

 

I lived in such a shell of "nights and weekends" sports work that I missed most Prime Time TV from about 1996-2016. Only recently have I seen a lot of shows that were very popular (at the time) and have been binging those off and on mixed with whatever catches my eye on a streaming service.

 

Doing some commissioned ghost writing which means the TV has turned into my brain-numbing breakroom analog.

It's mostly rewatches of scripted TV and a few art-themed competition shows. The best of the lot of the latter is The Great Pottery Throw Down. One of the judges cries at some of the pieces and it makes me want to tell him to leather up.

Scripted rewatches:

I grew up in small towns posing as cities and picked these shows because I see my people in the characters.

 

Post tornado insomnia movie benders:

Candy Cane Lane
Oh, goodness. The cast inspired me to queue this one. No. Just...no. Eddie Murphy, Tracee Ellis Ross, Nick Offerman, and David Alan Grier could not put enough polish on this piece of offal to make it watchable, much less make any kind of sense. Gosh, I hope they do a better job with Axel F.

Men in Black 3
It's not terrible. If you loved the franchise, you will probably enjoy this a bit more than someone giving this a random click. After the Oscar nonsense, it has gotten too easy to forget that Will Smith is likeable in most of his roles. He and Josh Brolin make carrying this movie look effortless.

The Burial
Tommy Lee Jones and Jamie Foxx are brilliant. One of the pleasant surprises is Alan Ruck as an old school Southern racist lawyer. He disappeared into that part. The script is tight, but a little overlong. This should have been a mini-series. Anyone who likes happy endings, films that show people comfortable with faith and family, and the meandering nature of Southern story-telling will enjoy it.

Barbie
Finally saw it! Margot Robbie was the perfect choice. Her nuanced, sensitive performance is what drives Barbie. Rhea Perlman, America Ferrera, and Ryan Gosling are pitch-perfect as well. For something so fluffy and pink, it asks some pretty deep questions. I can see why Fundies were upset by it. The room got a little dusty in places. For girls, women, and anyone who loves them.

and finally...

Merry Little Batman
The first half feels like a mashup of Calvin and Hobbes and Home Alone. After the hyper-derivative nature of A Christmas Story Christmas Story, I'm starting to expect cribbed lines and plot devices. It's still a lot of fun. Owen Wilson is very funny as granola crunchy Batdad. The plot is predictable. Is it kid friendly? Even though little Damian is eight, his real-life peers might find some of the violence and the darker emotional content a bit too intense. The weird, cubist visual style and voice acting carry it. Also, I want the soundtrack, if they ever release one.