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Saturday, February 07, 2004
In the end, it doesn't really matter
The inevitable finally came yesterday with a number of my co-workers officially getting the ax after the company gave them their two-month notice. It was a very sad day, but I think they went out in style as we all got a chance to hang out for a few going-away drinks. Plus, we had a lot to talk about: Our new boss decided to send out his monthly report, talking about all the strides we made in January, minutes before a few people were going to shut down for the final time. Exquisite timing. Couldn't he have included it in the severance paperwork?
Now we've got a new world order with the way things are done down here, and that includes me moving back to the night/weekend shift on a full-time basis. Yes, it's not going to be the best thing in the world, especially after seeing the things my church group has planned in the next few months. I would complain about having little time to go out on dates with the new schedule, but it's not like I had much to begin with. Plus, there are some things that open up given what has just happened (I'll let those in the know figure out what I'm talking about -- let's just say not everyone was given a full sendoff last night).
On the positive side, I can hit matinees all the time now (if there's anything good to see at the movies) and get more errands done during the day (we'll see how long that lasts).
And to go along with my life as an f'd up sitcom, it seemed only fitting that last night was also the series finale of Ed. It ended on the same sweet and quirky level that was tone of the entire show. Naturally, it ended with Ed finally marrying Carol, but with a bunch of silly twists in between. And hey, Phil was actually not annoying in the finale; that would be left to Warren Cheswick.
The show had run its course, in my opinion, but it was good to see to NBC give it one last hurrah of a season, albeit reduced to 17 episodes. They weren't necessarily quitting while they were ahead, but I didn't feel like they were dragging things along for a few more seasons. There was no blatant "shark jumping" moments -- the writers found a way to make the Ed-Carol engagement a lot more interesting than I would've ever thought.
Now the show goes into minor TV history with a flicker of hope that it might show up somewhere on cable in a few years or on DVD like just about mildly successful TV show nowadays.
posted at 1:32 PM
Friday, February 06, 2004
Super Genius
Not only is Regis back for Super Millionaire, so is the phone-in qualification. The tapings are at a bad time for me, but I may take a crack at the test for a few of those days.
I still think that the elimination of the phone game led to the demise of the show the first time around, more than the multiple airings and countless celebrity editions. Much of the fun of the game was that if you called and got the answers right on the phone, you could be on TV a few days later playing for the big money.
There was a lot more spontaneity to the whole endeavor, as opposed to the numerous game show auditions I've been to. There isn't any hoping a game show would hold tryouts in your town, there's no casting/interview process. You win, you could be in. It may not produce the most diverse crew, but if you're looking for "reality" TV, this is it.
posted at 3:27 PM
Thursday, February 05, 2004
Geography for $200
Yes, I'm giving in and posting one of those map things:
create your own visited states map
or write about it on the open travel guide
I guess I've got the Blockbusters chain across, if barely. Surprisingly I haven't been to Alabama, given how close it sort of is to me right now. I'm thinking that will change sooner or later.
Also, it's interesting that we mention states on this map, because given the last couple of places I've lived, states aren't a true reflection of where I live, it's cities instead.
It's strange when people ask me, "So how's living in Georgia?" Yes, Atlanta is in Georgia, but I don't consider myself living in Georgia. There's a much different mentality from that area compared to say, Macon or Valdosta.
The same goes when I was in college and was living in Chicagoland. Yes, it's Illinois, but if someone asked me how it feels to live in Illinois, that's just odd. Springfield, Champaign or Kankakee is much different than that mass of land that covers the Chicago area.
Those are probably the two biggest exceptions to the city-state dynamic, but it's something to keep in mind. There isn't always the same attachment to a state like, say, New Jersey. And remember that even within states, there are different mentalities to people living there. Just think of the state of Northern California mentioned in this movie.
posted at 10:11 PM
Monday, February 02, 2004
Phil Simms' favorite show
Yeah, the Super Bowl announcing crew probably cringed at all the promos they had to do for Survivor All-Stars, but it was a ton of fun as expected. It helps when you're already familiar with the characters, and Mark Burnett got the right mix of winners, entertaining characters and eye candy.
It's all so familiar (to at least reasonably regular watchers of the show) that you can't help but see how it will all unfold. It's fantasy or fan fiction Survivor come to life. And it's damn entertaining to get them all shaken up. Of course why all of these people wanted to do it again is beyond me. Some of them already have pseudo-careers based of the show, but hey, if they want to move the clock back to 14:45, more power to them.
I'm surprised that the Thailand show only produced Shii Ann, but hey, there's some diversity! Then again, I'm glad to see a bunch from the Australian one since that's the one I followed the most closely. I think the only one I didn't see on the cast who might not have been considered was Kelly from Africa, but I guess you can only have so many psycho women, and Jerri perfected it first.
And I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that the past winners would be targeted first. At least I was right in thinking that Tina wouldn't have a long stay. Being nice can only go so far the second time around.
posted at 12:00 AM
Sunday, February 01, 2004
They're Super, thanks for asking
Going Larry King here with a bunch of Super Bowl observations:
-- Of course it was going to be a close game, and it's no surprise Adam Vinatieri was going to kick a game-winning field goal. That's the way the Patriots are. I figured it would be a close game and since we all expected a low-scoring game, of course it was going to turn out 32-39.
-- If both teams played offense the way they did tonight, they would've gotten a lot more respect much much earlier. And heads up to the Eagles, you don't need to have superstar receivers, but a few halfway decent ones would be nice. No one would confuse Smith-Muhammad or Branch-Brown-Givens with Holt-Bruce or Moss-Carter, but they're at least capable.
-- Speaking of the offense, it was surprising to see both teams stray away from their usual game plans yet still made it work. The Patriots did a lot more pounding on the ground, plus longer passes, as opposed to the "gnat attack." The Panthers abandoned the run but did fine with their receivers. (Did I mention how much I've been a fan of Ricky Proehl since he was with the Cardinals and would throw to him constantly on Madden for the SNES?)
-- I avoided almost all of the pregame stuff, except for the trashy-looking cowgirl dancers during Toby Keith's performance, and Josh Groban looking like this guy. Beyonce was a good anthem singer. I missed halftime -- figured it was the best time to drive home from work. Unfortunately, I missed this.
"It's unlikely that MTV will produce another Super Bowl halftime." -- Joe Browne, NFL executive vice president. Ya think?
-- TMQ will have a field day with both the blitzing (the Pats' big blitz led to Proehl's TD) and the two-point conversion strategy (which was dicey, but at least it was in the fourth quarter).
-- The ads were pretty dull, but Budweiser had a couple of nice ones (the wife screaming at the ref, for instance). But, AOL spent all that money on those ads?
-- Patriots fans, before you get all worked up about talking dynasties, remember how much you hate Yankees fans and how they act after they win. Do you really want to be like them?
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