If NBC Really Wanted to Save the Planet They’d Go Out of Business

I just saw this AP article, where California is again discussing how big of a television set you can own. This time, they are pitching a limit on how bright your television set can be. I believe is an attempt to curb greenhouse emissions, by forcing television consumers to turn out the lights when watching television and sit closer to the set.

This is a new proposal, concocted after California Legislators failed to regulate the size of their  televisions. That one didn’t sit too well in the land that coined the phrase “Size Does Matter.” I would suggest that the more intelligent legislation would be to ration inches. For instance my  (not to brag) 110″ television, would be the same as some people who have a 12″ set in every room of the house.  (more…)

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Tags: environment, nbc, save the planet, Television
Posted Nov 18th 2009 at 11:18 am in Politics, Television | 26443461 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/tslagle/2009/11/18/if-nbc-really-wanted-to-save-the-planet-theyd-go-out-of-business/If+NBC+Really+Wanted+to+Save+the+Planet+They%27d+Go+Out+of+Business2009-11-18+19%3A18%3A34Tim+Slagle

Review: ‘V’ in the World of ‘O’

Much has been written about the premiere of the new ABC drama “V” and its relationship to  the election last year of President Barack Obama. As an article from the Chicago Tribune noted:

Nominally a rousing sci-fi space opera about alien invaders bent on the conquest (and digestion) of all humanity, it’s also a barbed commentary on Obamamania that will infuriate the president’s supporters and delight his detractors.

While it’s true there are reasons why comparisons between the candidate of hope and the aliens who want change are plentiful, the show “V” is about much more than a critique of the Obama administration.

“V” begins as a show about aliens who suddenly appear in spaceships around the world and the reaction they receive.  At first, as can be expected, there is a lot of fear and anguish about the visitors (which is what “V” stands for) as the ships show up hovering above different cities. However, when the alien leader appears on a ship’s video screen and talks about the benefits they will bring to the people of this world, audiences applaud (an unrealistic action, but an important one nonetheless in the development of the program). As the show goes on, though, some people learn that the aliens have more in mind than providing “heal centers” and universal health care for people around the world (which they are in favor of). (more…)

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Tags: abc, Alien, cult, Obama, Television
Posted Nov 7th 2009 at 5:47 pm in Reviews, Television | 25830267 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jhanlon/2009/11/07/review-v-in-the-world-of-o/Review%3A+%27V%27+in+the+World+of+%27O%272009-11-08+01%3A47%3A20John+P.+Hanlon

Review: No Need to Visit ‘Cougar Town’

On ABC’s “About the Show” web page for the new show “Cougar Town”, the executive producer of the program notes that “you only get one chance to experience your 20s. Even if it’s when you’re 40 something.” That, in short, is a brief synopsis of the new Courteney Cox comedy that follows a divorced mother who starts to date younger men. I recently watched the last few episodes of the program and although I found some potential in the minor characters on the show, the program is crippled by a weak main story line and its overall coarseness.

In the program, Cox’s character Jules Cobb is a real estate agent who has recently started dating men in their twenties who are only a few years older than her son. Her dalliances with these men and her coming to grips with her age compose the overall plot of the program. In her daily life, Cobb is surrounded by an offbeat set of characters including her neighbor across the street, her young assistant at work and her ex-husband. (more…)

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Tags: "Cougar Town", abc, cougars, Courteney Cox, sex
Posted Nov 6th 2009 at 3:54 pm in Reviews, Television | 25618635 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jhanlon/2009/11/06/review-no-need-to-visit-cougar-town/Review%3A+No+Need+to+Visit+%27Cougar+Town%272009-11-06+23%3A54%3A20John+P.+Hanlon

ObamaVision: Europe Doesn’t Mind Leftist American Cultural Imperialism

Last week, Big Hollywood broke the news that the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) has proved eager to obey the orders of President Obama. Instead of following the American president’s Serve.gov initiative critically, 60 network television programs (including news programs) have decided to embrace it and shove it down your throats.

As BH’s editor-in-chief John Nolte explained:

…tens, if not hundreds of millions of Americans, will be urged through the (ab)use of public airwaves to log on to the EIF iParticipate site and volunteer” this week.

A memo published by Big Hollywood, Big Government and others, clearly shows the propaganda week was orchestrated by the White House and ‘fits into a broader White House plan, including the push to politicize the NEA, to redefine “art” as “service” and engage an all too compliant news, entertainment, and artistic community to start a volunteer army through these online portals.’ (more…)

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Tags: EIF, europe, Obama, socialism, Television
Posted Oct 22nd 2009 at 8:31 am in Celebrity News, Politics, Television | 24964217 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mvandergalien/2009/10/22/europes-upcoming-reaction-to-obamas-big-government-agenda/ObamaVision%3A+Europe+Doesn%27t+Mind+Leftist+American+Cultural+Imperialism2009-10-22+15%3A31%3A10Michael+van+der+Galien

Balloon Boy: The Right of Every American To Be a TV Star

People have it all wrong about Richard Heene.  He’s not the perpetrator of a poorly-executed hoax, but a victim, a victim of America’s callous disregard for those who suffer from the silent plague that is Media Absence Disorder (MAD).

Sadly, the dead white males who imposed the Constitution on America enumerated only negative rights that limit the power of the government over its citizens.  But if you squint your eyes and look beyond obstacles like the plain text, lurking in there somewhere behind the penumbras and emanations is the positive right of every American to be a TV star.  Those with MAD are not cretins to be shunned but civil rights visionaries at the edge of a new frontier of governmental largess and probably a lot of profitable litigation.

It’s obvious that American society has failed the Heene family.  After he and his brood’s triumphant appearances on Wife Swap, Heene was left media-deficient and was forced to feed his addiction with crude YouTube videos.  In one, he speculated that Hilary Clinton is a shape-shifting space reptile, which would be totally cool if true.  In another, he claimed that he spoke to aliens at a local fast food restaurant, which is actually pretty typical, at least at Southern California fast food joints.

This sad state of affairs was a direct result of the deep, black emptiness in Heene’s life that could never be filled by superficial things like work, religion or family.  Like all MAD-men, he craves, needs, must have the validation that only comes from having his mug flashing across America’s television screens.  He not only wants his MTV, he has to have it.  And we owe it to him. (more…)

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Tags: Aliens, balloon boy, Colorado, constitution, Media Absence Disorder
Posted Oct 22nd 2009 at 6:55 am in Culture, Politics, Television | 24957836 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/kschlichter/2009/10/22/balloon-boy-the-right-of-every-american-to-be-a-tv-star/Balloon+Boy%3A+The+Right+of+Every+American+To+Be+a+TV+Star2009-10-22+13%3A55%3A09Kurt+Schlichter

There Is Something Wrong With My Television

The way I see it television needs, among other things, the following:

1. Science Fiction/Thriller/Horror Channel

A short form/short film channel showcasing those genres. Independent producers, writers, creators could submit work to be aired. It wouldn’t have to be, nor should it be at the Sundance level of professionalism delivered on DigiBeta and starring Cameron Diaz doing a favor for the filmmaker because it’s her friend’s cousin, either.

We don’t want that. There’s plenty of that kind of venue and they turn down 99% of the stuff submitted anyway, mainly because it’s not the work of someone’s friend’s cousin. So forget that right away. It has to be underground, guerilla, shoestring and, most important, good. Very good. Damn good. But not expensive. How can you do that, you say? 

With writing.   (more…)

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Tags: 80s, acting, alfred hitchcock presents, animation, channel
Posted Sep 3rd 2009 at 4:21 pm in Culture, Film | 214402132 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smann/2009/09/03/there-is-something-wrong-with-my-television/There+Is+Something+Wrong+With+My+Television2009-09-03+23%3A21%3A25Schizoid+Mann

‘Shark Week’ Has Seized Me In Its Gaping Maw

Ah, August.

Hot.  Muggy.  Sluggish. School approaches; summer vacations are over or nearly so. The new television season is weeks away. And even in a good movie year  – which 2009 has decidedly not been – all the best blockbusters have come and gone by now.

What to do?  You could watch that stupid cat video on YouTube for the 1,000th time, or…you could watch a surfer get a major bite down from a giant man-eating fish.  Sweet!

Yes friends, The Discovery Channel has the answer for our late-summer, entertainment withdrawal doldrums. For twenty-two years now, Discovery has devoted an entire week of August or July programming to real life sea monsters: They called it Shark Week, and lo, it was good.

Shark Week is always fun, but this year’s installment has been especially tasty. ”Blood In The Water” kicked it off, a terrific two-hour documentary about the real-life happenings that inspired Peter Benchley’s Jaws – the 1916 New Jersey shark massacre. (more…)

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Tags: discovery channel, Jaws, matawan creek, Peter Benchley, shark week
Posted Aug 10th 2009 at 6:57 am in Culture, Reviews | 20129460 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mpatterson/2009/08/10/shark-week-has-seized-me-in-its-gaping-maw/%27Shark+Week%27+Has+Seized+Me+In+Its+Gaping+Maw2009-08-10+13%3A57%3A46Matt+Patterson

‘The Goode Family’: Animation Continues to Save Political Satire on TV

Since the election of Barack Obama, aggressive political parody has been hard to come by outside of Comedy Central. But, as noted here on Big Hollywood, ABC and Mike Judge are taking on political correctness and progressive activists with The Goode Family.

When Bush and Cheney left office, they became old news. Mocking them now is like making Eisenhower jokes, but that doesn’t stop the occasional hack like Wanda Sykes trotting out tired material. And Obama seems off limits lest anyone wants to look like a buzz kill during the ever-lengthening, forced-fed honeymoon. In fact, the only show that really dared effectively to venture into political mockery consistently this season was South Park.

Mike Judge

And spare me any mention of The Daily Show or The Colbert Report. Both shows kiss the Democratic ass (the donkey, I mean) all week until they realize how biased they’ve become. Then they scramble around to make fun of some minor Dem Congressman for 30 seconds and applaud their own objectivity. Meanwhile, Stewart rages at every conservative cause he can find with the furor (not the wit) of Murrow until he’s called on it. Then he scrambles back into his hole screaming, “I’m only a comic!”

Fortunately, The Goode Family levels the satirical skills of Judge (creator of Beavis and Butthead and King of the Hill) at the taboo supporters of global warming, racial hypersensitivity, animal rights and any other cause over-hyped by self-righteous busybodies. (more…)

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Tags: " "The Daily Show, "The Colbert Report", "The Goode Family", abc, animation
Posted May 28th 2009 at 9:37 am in Entertainment, Featured Story, Media Criticism, Political Humor | 144966No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jslewinski/2009/05/28/goode-animation-continues-to-save-political-satire-on-tv/%27The+Goode+Family%27%3A+Animation+Continues+to+Save+Political+Satire+on+TV2009-05-28+16%3A37%3A02John+Scott+Lewinski

The Most Powerful Weapon

During the Cold War, a slew of movies came out that dealt with the possibility of a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union. This is not surprising since the atom and hydrogen bombs were the most powerful weapons ever devised by man. Well, almost.

I’ll get to that somewhat nervy assertion in a bit, but first a little background.

Among the cinematic slew released during those years of cold, are two of my favorite films, Dr. Strangelove and Fail-Safe. Both dealt with strikingly similar themes, unintentional nuclear holocaust, yet in entirely different tones.  But cold war themes weren’t that varied by their very nature, since inevitably the worst case scenario was the best case plot device and nothing brings down the house like bringing down the house.

With that said, still, there’s so much similarity between the two stories that law suits were indeed filed and production schedules slowed. This worked out to Stanley Kubrick’s advantage as his Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb was released almost a year ahead of Sidney Lumet’s Fail-Safe. In my opinion Kubrick’s is a better film than Lumet’s and not due to slowed schedules, either. But both are magnificent, and because of their approaches to the topic, very different  and essential part of the genre. (more…)

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Tags: 2001: a space odyssey, a6m zero-sen, an american in paris, army motion picture unit, Auschwitz
Posted May 6th 2009 at 9:56 am in Entertainment, Politics | 1284064 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smann/2009/05/06/the-most-powerful-weapon/The+Most+Powerful+Weapon2009-05-06+16%3A56%3A35Schizoid+Mann

The Newsrape Emails – #1

My Dear Scudworm -

Congratulations on the fine work you did with the recent Hollywood hoopla thing.  What are those golden statues called again…Arthurs?  Oscars?  Ollivers?  No matter.  The fine art of idolatry is becoming your forte, my dear nephew.  With the powers of a willing media and the brilliance of commercialism prevalent, it’s no wonder the masses turn to your town for direction and meaning.  I chuckle with delight to see how real meaning and substance is more and more becoming passé, and overlooked for the sizzle and bling of the ephemeral.  You make your uncle proud to see that you are once again the year’s big producer for thirty years running…and gaining even more new customers every month.

Your work on the special interest groups is particularly impressive.  You are keenly aware that, pound for pound of effort, this is where we gain the most purchase in our clawing scramble over the human psyche.  Continue to stress their inherent oppression and victimization, so that our aims may be met.  Nothing makes a poor soul feel more empowered than believing itself to be a part of a large, aggrieved and neglected group.  Build on their individual sense of outrage and anger, along with their helpless sense of futility.  Remind them that they are being victimized, and must demand their rights!  I know you are laughing right now, as am I.  But drive the seriousness of their indignant and violated pride, and demand restitution for the wrongs perpetrated upon them.  (As for the specific nature of these ‘wrongs’, either real or imagined, simply fill in the blank; a group is a group, and we can use any and all of them for our purposes.) And good that you can work the golden idols into so many hands that help legitimize our work. That Penn character is an excellent poster boy.  In fact, increase the irreverence, step up the hatred of our Enemy and brighten the public celebration of him, as his flippant outrageousness masquerades as gravitas.    We can trade on his magnetic popularity, and draw the proverbial moth to the flame.  Continue your brilliant work in framing his disrespect and hatred of Judeo-Christian ethics and traditional values as hip and ‘progressive’.    (more…)

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Tags: Christina, insidious influence, Islam, Kaballah, movies
Posted Mar 24th 2009 at 1:59 pm in Media Criticism, Politics | 88270One Commenthttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ggraham/2009/03/24/the-newsrape-emails-1/The+Newsrape+Emails+-+%2312009-03-24+20%3A59%3A51Gary+Graham

Where Have You Gone, Alvy Singer?

How did they do it? 

Let’s face it, liberals didn’t take over our schools, the entire American education system by protesting. Sure, they made a lot of noise with their complaining, their picketing, but did that do the trick? Did that turn the tide? Did that transform what was once a learning environment that inspired inquisitiveness and curiosity, into a showplace for materialism – where we once taught respect for our men and women in uniform, rather than offering extra credit for flag burning – where teachers once encouraged independence, rather than reliance – where we once taught the lessons of history, rather than condemning it – where we once instilled responsibility, rather than simply handing out condoms?  How did they change what was once a morally conservative, patriotic institution, proud and respectful of our military, our flag, our constitution, our history and our culture into something that can only be described as Liberals gone wild?  (more…)

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Tags: alvy singer, annie hall, beverly hills, diane keaton, gadgets
Posted Mar 8th 2009 at 10:23 am in Entertainment, Media Criticism, Video | 74342125 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smann/2009/03/08/where-have-you-gone-alvy-singer/Where+Have+You+Gone%2C+Alvy+Singer%3F2009-03-08+18%3A23%3A55Schizoid+Mann

Television: The Vast Wasteland

In 1961, John F Kennedy’s FCC chairman Newton N. Minow gave a speech to the National Association of Broadcasters which is still cited today. You’ll understand why when you read the money quote:

When television is good, nothing–not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers–nothing is better.

But when television is bad, nothing is worse. I invite you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there without a book, magazine, newspaper, profit and-loss sheet or rating book to distract you–and keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that you will observe a vast wasteland.

You will see a procession of game shows, violence, audience-participation shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families, blood and thunder, mayhem, violence, sadism, murder, western badmen, western good men, private eyes, gangsters, more violence and cartoons. And, endlessly, commercials–many screaming, cajoling and offending. And most of all, boredom. True, you will see a few things you will enjoy. But they will be very, very few. And if you think I exaggerate, try it.

Sound familiar? Aside from the dated reference of station sign offs, this is pretty much what you see today. Except now we have over 200 channels.

(more…)

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Tags: advertising, Culture, media, Television
Posted Jan 14th 2009 at 6:00 am in Entertainment, Media Criticism | 1676138 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jhudnall/2009/01/14/the-vast-wasteland/Television%3A+The+Vast+Wasteland++2009-01-14+14%3A00%3A06James+Hudnall