If it is ever revealed that How I Met Your Mother has been playing possum over the last season and a half just to set up last night's epic 100th episode, I would actually be OK with that. Beyond seeing Ted step foot into his future wife's apartment for the first time, Barney's story line of having to choose between a hot girl and his suits was brilliant.
Here are the lines from Barney's musical number (below) that killed me:
"To score a ten would be just fine, but I'd rather be dressed to the nines"
"A wingman I can wear"
"A perfect way to snare a girl with daddy issues"
"My Sunday Best are my best friends, send Casual Friday down the laundry shoot"
The NBC-Jay Leno-Conan O'Brien saga has been unfolding so quickly, it's been difficult to keep up with all of the developments. I will be regularly updating all the new breaking news on this post, starting with these latest posts from around the Internet, so keep checking in.
Forgive me for not submitting a traditional Monday slice of life column. I had a couple of ideas in the works, but then NBC pushed me a little too far this past Friday and I haven't been able to concentrate on anything since.
I've written about this a lot during the past year, but to quickly catch up any new readers: NBC used to be my favorite network in the 90's, but a string of bad decisions has driven the once gold standard of television into a struggling wasteland. The one recent NBC bright spot for me was when late night talk show host Jay Leno finally decided to retire and the Peacock promoted my favorite host, Conan O'Brien, to The Tonight Show at 11:35 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time). But when Leno realized he was so easy to replace and wanted back on the airwaves. In what will go down as one of the worst broadcasting decisions of all time, the Peacock panicked at the thought of Leno going to a competitor so they scrapped their entire 10 p.m. programming block and handed over five hours a week of prime real estate to Leno. Naturally it hasn't worked and Jay's new show is regularly beaten by whatever ABC and CBS throw up against it (including reruns).
So that leads us to this past week when rumors started swirling that Leno's 10 p.m. show would be cancelled all together and I was pleased to see that NBC might finally be coming to their senses.
Basically what they're trying to do now is move Leno back to 11:35 for a half hour show, Conan would air from midnight to 1:05 a.m. and then poor Jimmy Fallon would be pushed to 1:05-2:05 a.m. But if Conan doesn't want to comply with that adjustment, then NBC would be willing to let him out of his contract so that he could go to another network (If Conan leaves, then Leno would air for an hour from 11:35 p.m. to 12:35 a.m. and Fallon would stay in his spot at 12:35).
If I was Conan, I couldn't get out of there fast enough.
It's so rare that you get a free pass off of a sinking ship and this is the perfect opportunity for him to do just that and move to a more stable (and ultimately more beneficial) situation.
I realize that most every talk show host dreams of anchoring the prestigious Tonight Show, but is it really that prestigious anymore? The Allen to Paar to Carson legacy is amazing and worth reverence, but it seems it's been living off of the legacy aspect over being an actual quality product for almost 20 years.
So what if Conan has to limp away with a slightly bruised ego? Dave Letterman suffered through the exact same situation back in the early 90's and I think he's OK with how everything worked out (PS - it's unbelievable to me that Dave and Conan will have both been screwed by NBC over Leno 18 years apart).
Fox has already expressed interest and I can't imagine a better landing spot for him. It's a thriving network that has connected with the highly coveted 18-49 year old demographic.
In fairness, I think even Conan fans can admit that his jump to 11:35 might have been a little premature. Even he regularly jokes that the older generation just doesn't get his comedy, but the catch is that the younger generation does. If Conan goes to Fox, he can just let Leno run his course for a few more years and then he'd be set up to dominate for the next ten, maybe twenty years with an established, built-in audience at a place that fits with his comedic style and is happy to have him.
Feels like a no-brainer to me.
I just don't know if Conan's pride is going to get in the way and force him to stay at the Peacock for the next time that Leno retires.
I know that NBC doesn't care about my opinion, but this whole situation has just rubbed me the wrong way. As if running a pristine company into the ground wasn't bad enough, now they're directly taking aim at my viewing habits (as I've gotten older, not having to keep myself awake for Conan's later show has been beyond convenient, especially now that I live in the Mountain time zone and his show comes on at 10).
I'm going to wait to hear how it all sorts out before I make any grand proclamations, but a boycott of NBC for at least the rest of this season is not out of the question at this point (and as a huge fan of The Office, that would be extremely difficult to endure).
Growing up, I never understood why people wasted their time with boycotts because you rarely see any positive resutls, but now I'm starting to get it. You just get to a certain point in life where you're tired of annoying decisions being made that affect you but you don't agree with. You know that nothing is going to be done about it and that these conglomerate powerhouses could care less, but sometimes you just have to take a stand to feel a lit bit better about yourself.
I'm getting close to that point with the Peacock.
Besides, as we've seen the network deteriorate over the past decade I really wouldn't be missing that much.
I'm sure I'll be updating any new developments throughout the week and especially on Thursday in the TV News & Notes feature; and don't forget that I'll be starting an American Idol recap on Wednesday morning after the season premiere of the singing competition show on Tuesday night.
Josh Mahler is keeping you updated with what’s going on in television universe
WATCH THE NUGGETS PLAY IN YOUR LIVING ROOM... ACTUALLY IN YOUR LIVING ROOM If you haven’t heard already, the ESPN and Discovery cable networks have announced that they will each be launching their own 3-D channels in the near future (ESPN’s will debut this coming summer and Discovery will be taking us to the third dimension sometime in 2011) and I’m personally torn on this issue. The thought of 85 live sporting events in 3-D over the next year (including next year’s college football BCS championship game) is very cool, but I’m nervous about everything going that direction. For me, 3D is fun as something different or a change of pace; I’m not so sure that I want to wear special glasses every time I turn on the TV. What are your thoughts? It’s early enough that I can still be easily swayed to either camp.
I'LL BE THERE FOR YOU Did you happen to catch the mini Friends reunion on Cougar Town last night as Lisa Kudrow dropped by the freshman Courtney Cox series? Even though the show is run by one of my favorites in Bill Lawrence (Spin City, Scrubs), I just haven’t been able to get into it yet this season but had to check this episode out as a Friends fan. I always feel bad for TV actors, because as an audience we just want them to be the characters that we remember them for and it just wasn’t Monica and Phoebe. The other thing that weirds me out about Cougar Town is that I never know which show I’m actually watching because I remember most of the cast from somewhere else. Ian Gomez and Scott Foley came from Felicity (a weekly favorite of an old flame a lifetime ago), Christa Miller and Scott Foley came from Scrubs, and then last night we had Cox and Kudrow from Friends. It was like a bizarre Past Their Prime all-star show.
STUNT CASTING In other casting news, singer Carrie Underwood is set to make her acting debut on How I Met Your Mother this spring (we’re not going to count that so-called “Christmas” special she did last month). And actresses Mischa Barton - from O.C. fame - and Sharon Stone have each agreed to make separate appearances on the king stunt casting show, Law & Order: SVU, this spring as well. Barton will play a prostitute and Stone will appear an assistant district attorney (no word on any potential interrogation scenes). Ahh, so many jokes, so little time. Moving on!
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST And finally, Jon Cryer from Two and a Half Men is reportedly saying that co-star Charlie Sheen is adjusting well to being back on the show’s set after his Christmas arrest where he allegedly threatened his wife with a knife. “He’s been incredibly professional, always, but especially in times of personal crisis,” Cyer told People. “He is solid as a rock [and] today was no different… Thankfully a good script can get everybody through awkward moments.”
Makes you wonder what other show that script was from.
Last night I was relaxing in my recliner watching the beginning of the Fiesta Bowl between Boise St. and TCU when my Wife and her friend commandeered the remote and flipped the channel over to ABC for the season premiere of The Bachelor .
I could have easily gotten up and gone into the other room to watch the game on our smaller television set but I’ve become such a HD snob, I was actually willing to suffer through the Bachelor and record the game to watch afterwards (and I'm still clinging to the misguided belief that this was a good way to stretch myself as a television reporter).
Besides, The Bachelor couldn’t be THAT bad.
Could it??
I think my Wife and her friend got a small kick out of watching one of their favorite shows with a fresh perspective through my eyes. Every aspect of the show confounded my entire basis of thinking and reasoning. I’m now interested to know if this is how women feel when they watch something geared specifically towards the masculine demographic, because my brain could not fully process what my eyes were taking in.
Here are a couple quick thoughts that came to me during the two hour torture session:
- This season’s bachelor (“Jake”) is a pilot so the full title of this season is The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love and, yes, the 80’s song of the same name is a brutal one to get stuck in your head.
- By my count, in the first episode alone there were 8,642 pilot/co-pilot references, puns, play on words and one very inappropriate (and disturbing) landing strip joke.
- Jake is already giving Matthew McConaughey a run for his money for the Most Scenes Without Wearing a Shirt award.
- Oh and was Jake nervous? Because he failed to mention it if he was.
- I know the girls want to stand out on their first meeting with the bachelor, but lame jokes and (I can’t even believe I’m typing this) props never make for a good first impression.
- On the flip side, the blondes vs. brunettes pickup football game was not the worst thing in the world.
- Even I have to admit that watching Michelle mentally derail was entertaining. Glad Jake kept her around (despite the fact that she was the ONE person his friends told him to cut loose).
- I know that the producers (heavily) influence who the Bachelor keeps, but this was ridiculous. If he thinks he’s going to be able to find “true love” out of the clown show leftovers he chose then they won’t even be able to find the black box from the emotional plane crash he’s headed for (see, I can do it too!).
- To further prove this point, did you see yesterday where it was released that one of the contestants winds up having a little tryst with a producer of the show? Ouch. I don’t want to say that looks bad on Jake, but… buddy, c’mon! Then again, it might be the first actual relationship the reality series has ever produced (man, I’m on fire!).
I’m going to quit while I’m ahead. But I’m interested in what all the ladies (and other guys that were forced to watch) thought about the premiere – my Wife loved it by the way. I have an uneasy feeling that The Bachelor might sneak his way into our regular Monday night TV Group while we kill time between How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory since half of our group is of the feminine persuasion.
If you're ever feeling bad about yourself or just down in the dumps, then be sure to check out Lamebook.com which takes the absolute best (or I guess it's actually the worst) updates, pictures, and replies from Facebook.
The site is updated daily and you can either scroll through all of the additions on the homepage or search by specific categories (state your status, parents/family, TMI, and TypOHs! just to name a few).
I will caution you to not read for too long because you will start to feel sad for humanity and get concerned that some of these people are allowed to participate in political elections and operate motor vehicles. But for a quick pick-me-up, it's the best place to visit!
A buddy of mine has been dating a girl for a few months now but I couldn’t help but notice that just last week he finally updated his Facebook.com status to state that they were “In a Relationship”. The next time I saw him I asked what took so long to announce their affiliation with one another and he responded with, “You have to be certain that it’s for real, because once it’s on Facebook it’s for real.”
It was in that moment that I realized how completely social networking has taken over our lives.
Just over 10 years ago, Meg Ryan explained the rush of getting an e-mail from Tom Hanks: “I turn on my computer. I wait impatiently as it connects. I go online, and my breath catches in my chest until I hear three little words: You've got mail.”
A decade later, that’s almost as ancient of a concept as regular mail.
What relevance is left in the phrase: “wait impatiently as it connects”? I’m not going to get on the computer to communicate with someone else instantly. That’s what texting is for!
Websites like Facebook and Twitter are a narcissist’s dream (read: my dream) because unlike e-mail – where you have to communicate with another person directly – now you simply post what you are doing, who you are with and to what degree, what you like and dislike and then just wait for everyone else to come to you.
At first I was reluctant to jump on the Facebook tidal wave. (1) Because I was already on MySpace and one social network was enough and (2) as I have pointed out ad nauseam, I shudder at the thought of being associated with anything that’s too popular.
But I’m terrible with keeping up with people via traditional corresponding outlets (i.e. phone and e-mail) and a lot of my friends that had moved away were Facebooking, so I figured I may as well also (and especially now that I’m one of those that have moved away).
I hate to admit it but I love the Facebook and Twitter setup of posting whatever I’m doing (no matter how mundane) or what I happen to think about a certain subject because it’s designed for people to believe that everyone else will read it, care about it, and feel more complete as a human being.
There are some negatives though.
If you have anything short of a Master’s good luck with Facebook’s functionality (that includes me). I have to call up Will Hunting anytime I want to post some pictures or delete an errant status update.
And I’m tired of all the FarmVille animals and Mafia games clogging up my home page. I’ve posted important thoughts and observations and I can’t have the latest addition to your YoVille house distracting anyone from my genius.
Beyond trying to maneuver around the site, employers are now checking employee’s sites and have been making hiring and firing decisions based upon status updates and pictures. I personally know of an instance where an employee was fired based on inappropriate pictures on his profile page and there was one instance where a girl bragged about skipping work on her Facebook status only to be terminated by her boss in a comment reply on her page.
Thanks for playing
Even with all of that, we still feel the need to be on these sites so that we can be heard.
So that we can matter.
I asked my Wife (an avid Facebooker) why she thinks it’s such a big deal when someone updates their relationship status through these social networks and I was impressed with her answer.
“All of your friends already know when you’re dating someone,” she said, “but when you post it on Facebook, you’re announcing it to the world. You’re letting all of you acquaintances and family know. You’re letting your exes and the one that got away know. It becomes official.”
Works for me.
Conversely, you are given the power to publicly “unfriend” another user on Facebook and “unfollow” or even block someone on Twitter. How does that work if the two of you ever run into each other at a party? Does social etiquette allow you to even speak to the person that unfriended you? Or do you have to leave the premises?
This is a whole new level of social rejection that I’m just not prepared to handle.
I had to catch myself questioning the importance of the Facebook status update because I was recently in that spot a few months ago. I remember the day after my Wife and I got married, we logged on to update our status from “engaged” to “married” and my Wife made the monumental step of changing her last name to mine.
According to the all of the legal authorities, that had already taken place, but even I have to concede that there was something about changing it on Facebook that made the whole thing feel more certified.
To further prove my… Oh, wait. What’s this? I’ve just been alerted that someone has retweeted one of my brilliant tweets on Twitter. Sorry, but I have to run check it! After that, I will get on Facebook so that I can update my status letting everyone know that I’ve written a column about Facebook.
I know everyone’s holding their breath, just waiting for me.
*Check out a new column every Monday morning here and at INDenverTimes.com
If it is ever revealed that How I Met Your Mother has been playing possum over the last season and a half just to set up last night's epic 100th episode, I would actually be OK with that. Beyond seeing Ted step foot into his future wife's apartment for the first time, Barney's story line of having to choose between a hot girl and his suits was brilliant.
