Man, it’s a big week for DVD releases. I mean, really, who hasn’t been waiting for Charles In Charge Season 5 and that Knight Rider reboot? OK, maybe they’re not all blockbusters. But after that, the list is mighty impressive. You may find the shelves at your local DVD purveyor in danger of collapsing under all of the awesome. Joining The Middleman, we have Dollhouse, Doctor Who: Planet Of The Dead, Battlestar Galactica 4.5, and Torchwood: Children Of The Earth. Crikey. And that’s not all. There are even more releases, links, and me prattling on about all manner of nonsense, after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

It certainly worked for CSI this week. And, really, considering the way the Fox Friday is hemorrhaging viewers, I don’t think they should rule anything out. Once again, both Terminator and Dollhouse were down. They shared bad news with Chuck, Heroes, and Life On Mars. Reaper, Lie To Me, and Jesse Stone found themselves somewhere in the middle. Good news this week went out to Brothers & Sisters, The Bachelor, and CSI. Read the rest of this entry »

(2/15 – 2/21)

Ya know, it would be great if I could sit down to my beloved Model M keyboard and type about the fantastic ratings that Dollhouse was getting. 10 million viewers… a demo in the 4s… already picked up for the fall… Great, but probably not as interesting as the actual numbers are turning out to be. Despite CBS being in repeat mode Friday night, Dollhouse still suffered the expected week 2 decline. And those lower numbers make the whole situation all the more dramatic. They make the coming week feel very much like the one that just passed. The numbers really need to go up, the sooner the better. Elsewhere, good news for The Bachelor and Lost, bad news for Chuck and Heroes, and some puzzling results for the OG CSI. Read the rest of this entry »

(2/8 – 2/15)

What do you think? Is disappointing the right word to use in the post title? Reading the chatter around the internet over the weekend, there are certainly various spins on the Dollhouse numbers that try to paint them as a success. But really, if you have to spin the numbers and start talking about minor demographics, that’s kind of disappointing, right? Of course, it could have been worse, like it was for Terminator:TSCC. We’ll get to those numbers in a bit, along with the debut for the 18th(!!) season of Survivor, gains for The Office & 30 Rock, drops for Heroes & Lost, and one heck of a week for the doctors over at Private Practice. Read the rest of this entry »

(1/19 – 1/26)

The subject of the Friday night death slot comes up fairly regularly around here. Moreso recently, what with the Terminator/Dollhouse debut right around the corner. I’m not one to argue in the face of so much damning evidence, but I do think there is a plucky young upstart with eyes on the crown. Life On Mars made it’s debut following Lost this week, and it just wasn’t good. Barring some drastic change in the numbers, or an odd act of kindness from the network, it’s looking like the island is ready to take its next victim. Elsewhere this week, Idol continued to roll, NCIS & CSI scored big, and The Bachelor was up, again. Read the rest of this entry »

Computers are my life. Well, a big part of it anyway. And since you’re reading this, chances are they’re a big part of your life too. We use them for work, school, play and everything in between. Then again, you could be someone’s technically unaware grandma who found this printed out on some crumpled up paper used as packing material for your newest Hummell.

Not only are computers part of our lives, but they consume the lives of those we watch in movies and TV. Some of them are as large as cities, some of them talk and have personalities, and some of them even have pet names. Here’s a list of some of the more notable computers on TV (and before you whine, this is not counting robots):

ARDVARC (Get Smart)
The Automated Reciprocal Data Verifier And Reaction Computer is the central computer owned by Max’s employer, CONTROL. Its best friend is a cigarette machine — how quaint for a show of the ’60s. And let’s not forget the lack of political correctness of the time: on episode number 50 (”The Girls from KAOS”), ARDVARC scans its databases for a particular Asian KAOS enemy agent, but eventually concludes it can’t find the agent because “they all look alike.”

Sadly, on episode number 109 (”Leadside”), ARDVARC blows up. Rumor has it the cigarette machine, overcome with grief, traveled to Japan and now dispenses iPods and eyebrow trimmers in downtown Tokyo.
Read the rest of this entry »

(1/12 – 1/18)

No. Not really. In fact, it was the lowest rated premiere the show has ever had. Somehow though, ABC managed to massage those numbers so much that they felt ok producing a promo that called it bigger than ever. It’s lipstick on a pig. DVR, streaming, illicit downloads, no matter what spin you want to put on it, Lost is way down from its once lofty numbers, and it has virtually no chance of ever regaining those lost viewers. It’s not all bad though, because what is left of the audience is still pretty substantial. We’ll get to those numbers, find out what happened in the latest round of the Grey’s / CSI battle, and see if those 30 Rock numbers managed to drop again, after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »