Category Archives: Fox
Streaming is the New Cable: Why TV Networks Should Be Afraid of Netflix
Nine nominations is not a fluke, it’s something to brag about. The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences honored House of Cards with nine nominations including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Kevin Spacey) and Outstanding Drama Series. Not too bad for a series that a majority of television viewers have never heard of.
How could this be? How could a show with such amazing talent, near perfect writing, and incredible pacing be overlooked? Surely this show is on a major network during a competing time slot; going against programs like Breaking Bad. The truth is, this show has no competition and doesn’t need a time slot. All one needs is a Netflix account and a device to stream it through. This allows them to have access to every episode of the first season of House of Cards and another fantastic show called Orange is the New Black.
The dangerous part of having access to full seasons of a program is a new addiction that comes with owning an account to Netflix or Hulu, most commonly known as “binge-watching”. Binge-watching occurs when you have total access to a program and you sit around all day and night until suddenly you realize hours have passed and you’ve watched 13 episodes of a show. Here in lies a problem that major networks like Fox and NBC are facing. There is no doubt the instant streaming has infiltrated every house hold and has changed they way people catch up on programming. There is no doubt that networks are using DVR and on-demand to their advantage, but what programs are left to record?
Top Fall 2013 Comedy Picks
The excitement continues! You’ve already read about my top six picks for fall dramas, but lets not forget about the comedies. Out of the 57 shows that are coming out this season, here are my top found stand out comedy picks. (In no particular order as they are all equally awesome)
Super Fun Night (ABC)
This show follows the friendship between three girls, Kimmie Boubier a junior attorney, Helen-Alice and Marika. The three best friends have had the same Friday night plans of staying in for the past 13 years, but when Kimmie gets a promotion, it throws them for a loop they aren’t sure they’re ready for.
Why I’m Excited: The show stars Rebel Wilson and is based off of her own social encounters. She’s hysterical and smart. I have no doubt that anything she’s involved in while have me on the floor in tears of joy and awkward angst for hours. I love that women are really taking a lead in comedies this season. I love that her friends are seemingly relatable. I love that us introverts are getting a show that speaks for the times we’re forced out of our houses to go clubbing…Whatever clubbing is.
Top Dramas Coming Out This Fall
Mid-August is upon us. That means it is officially time to start preparing for the most wonderful time of the year. No not the holidays or the onset of school, but rather the fall season of Television. To say I’m excited for this season is an understatement, especially after last year, which which fell flat. This year however the networks have 57 new shows slated as of right now.
Basically, I should probably drop all my classes for the fall to make time… Or actually get DVR, dump my boyfriend, and start getting groceries delivered to my house to make time for all the awesomeness in store for this season. Thankfully, I have a couple weeks to decide my course of action. That being said, here are the dramas I’m most excited for this fall, in no particular order.
1. The 100 (CW)
The 100 follows a group of rebellious young adults, roughly 100 years after Nuclear Armageddon destroys the planet. These individuals are deemed expendable because of their crimes and as such are chosen to be part of an experiment to see if the Earth is once again safe for the human race to live on.
Why I’m excited: For one this show is buying into the post apocalyptic fad that is taking over now that vampires are starting to fade away. While this show ties into the trend, it doesn’t take too much influence from the Hunger Games. I also really enjoy that their lead, Clarke, is a female and seemingly strong from the previews. Aesthetically, the show is stunning and really well put together visually, which is also somewhat hysterical considering some of the radiation impacted animals, which are horrifying. It’s unique that the characters are all criminals in one way or another, which will bring a lot of interesting characters into the mix with strong personalities and story lines.
‘Heat Vision and Jack’: Knowledge is Power… For Real!
The wonders of sharing footage and communicating with sapiens of similar tastes can be a blessing or a nuclear bomb for television nowadays. Forums of a show can be where creators get their most intimate feedback, and fan pages are where a show might be petitioned to return, sometimes to actual avail. But one of the more fascinating uses for TV fans on the internet is the ability to witness behind the scenes footage and features, things that never made it to the airwaves. This is the case for failed pilots like Conan O’Brien’s satirical crime show Lookwell, the clumsy American remake of Spaced that existed for all of five seconds, and possibly the buried pleasure of unaired pilots: Heat Vision and Jack.
Late to the “Arrested Development” Party? No Problem!
Netflix released the fourth season of Arrested Development on May 26. Now that the initial frenzy is over, it is fair to say that fans who waited seven years for a new season were disappointed. However, I was not one of those fans, which worked out in my favor.
To be honest, I was 12 when I saw first two episodes, which means I was way too young to understand the show. Instead of jumping on the bandwagon once all my friends were declaring it their favorite show, I waited because popularity doesn’t necessarily mean good. Well, my friends were right this time: Arrested Development is an excellent show, but I am happy its new to me.
So, Why am I glad I was late to the Bluth party?
1. I haven’t been annoyed at Fox for the last 7 years.
For some reason, Arrested Development fans are hardcore. Fans who became fans well after Fox canceled the show were annoyed that the show was cancelled. Until recently, half the time a fan brought up Arrested Development, it would be followed by a bitter swipe at Fox. Granted, most fans do not have an attachment to the show that parallels Buster and Lucille’s relationship. However, those that do were the most vocal and tainted even the most well adjusted fans view of Fox and its treatment of the show.
Weekly TV Update: September 10
Each week we bring you stories from around the Internet that you might have missed.
Jay Leno takes 50 percent pay cut. He still makes more than you.
Saturday Night Live may add Aidy Bryant and Tim Robinson as cast members.
Star Trek‘s original Chekov, Walter Koenig, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about his character.
Khloe Kardashian may become the next host of The X Factor.
Weekly TV Update: September 3
Seth MacFarlane
Why was Jersey Shore canceled? Entertainment Weekly has the lowdown.
Randy Jackson, who is American Idol‘s only original judge left, may have his role reduced to mentor.
After Utah’s NBC affiliate refused to air The New Normal, KUCW, the state’s CW affiliate, agreed to pick up the show.
FX orders 90 more episodes of Charlie Sheen’s Anger Management.
Seth MacFarlane will host the 38th season premiere of Saturday Night Live.
“The Mindy Project” Has Potential
It’s difficult to tell the direction that The Mindy Project is headed in after just one episode, but the show definitely has promise.
The Mindy Project revolves around competent OB-GYN, Dr. Mindy Lahiri, who despite being a very accomplished doctor, has very little else figured out in her life. The episode begins with a voice-over detailing Mindy’s upbringing. She was basically raised on romantic comedies and describes Tom Hanks as her first boyfriend. The highlight of her college life was being able to watch as many romantic comedies as she wanted without supervision. It’s clear that she has a very distorted and unrealistic view of love.
At first, it seems like this show is going to be nothing more than a deconstruction of clichéd romantic comedy plots which seems boring. Then, it is revealed that Mindy is in the middle of a interrogation for public intoxication. Apparently, she did not find this as relevant as detailing her relationship with a handsome oral surgeon that ended badly when he left her to marry someone else. The opening minutes of the show demonstrate well where Mindy’s priorities are, especially since her relationship with the oral surgeon was completely irrelevant and had no bearing on the plot.
The Cliched “Ben and Kate”
Ben and Kate is one of those shows that has been done in one form or another a million times. Kate is the responsible sister and single mother, who has settled down with her daughter to live as normal a life as possible. Ben is her annoying brother, who has never grown up and always arrives at Kate’s house unannounced with a problem. The dynamic is not original, but that does not mean the show has to be completely clichéd. The pilot episode seems to forget that even unoriginal concepts can be done in an original way. Anyone who has ever sat through more than one sitcom will be able to spot the obvious jokes before they come out of the characters’ mouths.
The pilot of Ben and Kate starts with a prologue from Kate’s point of view. It basically says what the audience picks up in the first 5 minutes: Kate grew up too fast because she got pregnant at a young age, whereas her brother never grew up and always ruins anything remotely adult. There are times when Ben acts less mature than Kate’s 5-year-old daughter, Maddie.
Kate and her British female friend, BJ, work at Buddy’s Bar & Grill, which is also the place Ben and his friend Tommy hang out. The bar seems to exist solely as a place to set up overdone jokes. Kate walks around wearing a fanny pack, which the guys and BJ hate. This results in a nasty, yet playful, exchange of insults between BJ and Kate. BJ asks her friend, “Do you know what fanny means in my country?” Kate retorts, “Do you know what BJ means in my country?” To which BJ just responds, “Very well, very well, indeed.” Once the girls are away from the boys, Kate refers to her desire to have sex with her boyfriend George as having “the sex” and says guys want to do her all the time. Of course, BJ feels the need to point out they are not going to have sex if Kate keeps on calling it “the sex.”
More Tribune Stations Go Dark on Cablevison
WGN America and Fox affiliate WTIC in Hartford, Connecticut, two channels previously unaffected by Tribune’s dispute with Cablevision, have gone dark. With the addition of WGN America and WTIC, Cablevision has now lost a total of 6 Tribune stations.
According to Cablevision, 50,000 Cablevision customers’ sole source of Fox programming was WTIC. However, the majority of Connecticut customers still receive New York City’s Fox affliate, WNYW.
Since August 17, Cablevision customers in various parts of the country have been unable to watch WPIX in New York, WPHL in Philadelphia, KWGN in Denver, and WCCT in Connecticut. The former two stations are My Network affiliates, while the latter two are affiliates of the CW. In addition to the main channels, Cablevision customers in the New York City and Philadelphia areas lost Antenna TV.
Wait! What's A Dial? 