What if we got rid of all the news networks? – Clack’n Black
I was reading Roger Ebert’s excellent piece about the sad template that Bill O’Reilly is currently etching, and it occurred to me that the problem on the 24-hour news network isn’t the creeping partisan politics masquerading as news, it’s the networks themselves.
Consider: prior to the 1980s, the national news was a half-hour long and took place once a day. Paltry? Probably. But also well researched, fact-checked, and thought-out.
Before the advent of continued news coverage, the people charged with reporting the evening news took the time to consider what was important, how to frame it so that the relevant parts were underlined, and, finally, how to present it so that everyone in America could understand it. This wasn’t because they were geniuses, it was a function of having 23 and 1/2 hours a day to work on the problem: there was time to try to get the news right.
Socially awkward + nonconventional looks + good singing voice = Internet meme
So, here we go again.
Hot on the heels of Susan Boyle exploding all over the Internets, Britain’s Got Talent has found yet another middle-aged, down-on-his-luck singer with a surprisingly good voice: Jamie Pugh, a pizza delivery man who overcomes crippling stage fright to dazzle the BGT crowd with his rendition of “Bring Him Home.”
Blowing the hatch: when good TV becomes great
Today CliqueClack unveils its very own contribution to the TV watchers’ lexicon. It started as a back channel discussion that quickly (and suspiciously) started growing like the forehead of a late ’90s power hitter. Eventually it got so large that we couldn’t help but share it with you, our loyal readers.
Everyone here knows the term “Jumping the Shark.” If you don’t know it, I can only assume that you’re a Botswana Bushman come to America to return a Coca Cola bottle you believe was sent to your people by the gods. For your sake, I’ll define the term: it describes the moment a classic TV show enters its period of decline.
We got to talking about this and decided that if there is a “Jumping the Shark” moment for every classic TV show, there stands to reason that there must be an opposite moment. That is, a moment when a show goes from “good” to “all-time classic.”
In defense of stupid television – Clack’n Black
Eight years ago, my wife — girlfriend at the time — was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. It spread to her lymph nodes, and, over the course of three years, she had a round of radiation and four different surgeries to try to get rid of it.
Her last surgery was five years ago and, though you’re never 100% sure with cancer, it sure felt like things were moving in the right direction. We got married, had a kid, and bought a house. Plus, I started a successful blogging career that some months pays for almost 1/16th of our heating bill.
Right after this past Christmas, my wife went in for a routine ultrasound. What you’re always hoping for after one of those ultrasounds is for the doctor doing them to smile and say, “of course I can’t say definitively ‘no worries’, but hey, no worries!”
The doctor didn’t do that. He furrowed his brow and said “Hmmmm….”
Read the rest of this entry »
How TV reviews ruin TV – Clack’n Black
If you’re reading this post, it means one of two things:
1. You’re a huge television fan who uses the internet to augment your viewing pleasure.
2. You thought “CliqueClacking” was some sort of hardcore fetish you haven’t heard of yet.
If you’re the latter, sorry. I hope you find what you’re looking for and don’t worry, we don’t judge you.
If you’re the former, read on.
The other day, I was talking about The Office with my buddy Chris. We were discussing how the show is still pretty good, but that the patina of Awesome that used to hug the show tighter than the green on the Statue of Liberty seems to be gone now. That it’s no longer a new and exciting experience each and every week, but rather just a pleasant experience, quickly forgotten.
(Insert joke about being married here).
This CliqueClack article should be Dugg
Over at TV Squad, I wrote a column that made the front page of Digg. For a low-level blog peddler like myself, making the front page of Digg is sort of like coming across Megan Fox just seconds after she’s made a bet to have a wild night of sex with the first guy she makes eye contact with, regardless of the amount of hair on his stomach or the size of his nipples. It’s fast, intense, and the second it’s over you wish it’ll happen again even though it probably won’t.
I’ll be honest: I felt a little bad for the scrappy underdog you’re reading right now. I wanted to do something that got CliqueClack some notice, mostly because Keith promised that the first person to get on the front page would get a backrub (and maybe something more if the Merlot hits us both the right way).
Because CliqueClack deserves it and because I’m dedicated to achieving a heterosexual male back-rub, I, Ruth-like, am calling my own home run. This article needs to hit the front page of Digg, and I’m about to pull out every stop to make that happen.
Starbuck goes insane!
Some things you might not know:
1. Dirk Benedict — the original Starbuck and Face from the A-Team — is still alive!
2. He’s a right-winger who is blogging for conservative entertainment blog BigHollywood.com, which is kind of like The Huffington Post except without the Greek accent or the cultural cache.
3. He believes that the latest incarnation of Battlestar Galatica is terrible because of its obvious liberal agenda.
Excerpts after the jump. I’m telling you now as a friend, check them out. It’s like having a conversation about Sarah Palin with your grandmother, except your grandmother is Face from the A-Team!
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