The original cast members of Futurama have signed to make 13 new episodes.
It will air on Comedy Central in 2008.
I love the concept. And this time round I expect the quality to go up as it did when Family Guy was resurrected.
Category: TV
TV – alternatives to sitting through commercials
A 30min TV show is about 17min long if you strip out the commercials. You don’t have time to sit through lengthy ads for products you will not buy. How does this inefficiency persist?
Neil Kjeldsen posted the definitive article on the alternatives to TV shows supported by traditional commercials:
… Business models need to change. Content producers cannot rely on network deals, 30 second advertising and, later, dvd sales, to pull in the revenue. Shows will have to stand on their own, and will probably need to be free for the first few episodes to pull in viewers who may eventually be willing to pay. Frankly, I look forward to the day that a show, ignored by the networks, first decides to launch itself on iTunes and go straight to consumers. The press around it would be overwhelming. The first to do it will have a big advantage.
TechCrunch » Blog Archive » Download Your TV – The Current Options
TV – toy commercials from the 1970s
I am old enough to remember these commercials.
I can’t remember them though, as I have a poor memory.
To Dig the SSPs for 1972 yourself, click PLAY, or watch the video on YouTube.
Homer named philosopher of the decade
Men’s Health UK magazine Top 10 Men of the Decade
Philosopher – Homer Simpson
Activist – Bob Geldof
Sportsman – Lance Armstrong
Musician – Damon Albarn
Manager – Sven-Goran Eriksson
Visionary – Jonathan Ive
Designer – Sir Paul Smith
Writer – Ian McEwan
Scientist – Craig Venter
Chef – Jamie Oliver
I’m not sure about the other nobodies, but the Brits got the philosopher right.
I’ve often felt that The Simpsons gives one a reason to live.
the end of television?
Traditional media, including television networks, should be worried.
Change is coming.
The best look forward I’ve seen is a CBC TV Newsworld’s (traditional media) 3-part series.
CBC is doing as well as any of the big networks in struggling to stay relevant with new technology.
Here’s an example. You can watch the 3 TV shows on-line for free.
free TV shows on Guba.com
GUBA Entertains – Watch videos now in Flash or on the go on your iPod and PSP
Guba is another of the YouTube competitors. Looks good.
Here’s a list of a few of the free TV episodes you can watch or download: Arrested Development, Family Guy, Prison Break, Desperate Housewives, more.
Colbert at the White House Correspondents Dinner
President Not Amused.
Despite a shaky start, Stephen Colbert’s spin-off late night Comedy Central TV show is now more essential viewing than The Daily Show with John Stewart.
Colbert pretends to be a rabid right wing pro-Bush TV talk show host. And he is hilarious.
George Bush has probably never seen Colbert’s show. But he knows the routine now after being nuked by Colbert at the annual dinner for political correspondents dinner.
TV – Globe Trekker, Pilot Guides
Globe Trekker (also called Pilot Guides outside the United States and originally broadcast as Lonely Planet) is adventure tourism TV. This British series was inspired by Australian Lonely Planet travelbooks and has been in production for over 10-years. It is broadcast in over 40 countries across 6 continents.
Commercial TV generally depresses me. If I had a gun I’d shoot the TV, or myself.
A great exception to the rule is this program which I love. A huge success, it is phenomenally accurate at showing what it is like to travel the backpacker circuit. No need to go yourself, actually.
Now when will we have decent hiking and gymnastics television?
TV – Ian Wright
Ian Wright is the face of backpacker travel. As the first and best of the Globe Trekker (also called Pilot Guides) travellers, he has already won three U.S. TV Cable Ace Awards.
None of the other travel hosts come close. Ian is the best.
I hope he stays on for a second decade with the show and visits another 50 countries.
And I forgive him that dreadful spin-off project, Ian Wright Live.
TV – Ewan McGregor
I was never a particular fan of Ewan McGregor, but he seems to be an interesting guy.
I like his 2004 reality TV show, The Long Way Round, a motorcycle road trip 18,887 miles (30,395 km), 3 months, around the world.
He even got rear-ended by a driver just outside Calgary.
A theme of the TV show was the eye-opening plight of children around the world. McGregor and his wife just adopted a girl from Mongolia, one of the regions he biked. Good on them.
