Category: Television

Recent Posts
Technology, Television

Samsung QLED TV Epic Fail [*UPDATED*]

On November 10, 2018, my family set out on a quest. A quest to find a nice new television to place on the living room wall. Sure, it seemed like your average, everyday trip to Best Buy… Little did I know it would turn into a series of events of “Samsung Epic Fail” proportions… I know that Samsung has its hand full with another, more popular epic fail at the moment, the horribly designed Galaxy Fold “smart” phone. But the large failure that is the Q7F series of TVs has received little attention apart from the 30, 31, 32 pages of complaints on Samsung’s community forum. Read on for a deeper dive into this roller coaster ride, which is still not over.*

On the surface, the Samsung Q7F series of televsions looks like a great, albeit expensive, product line. To this day, the product still rates 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon.com:

Incidentally, it’s also an “Amazon’s Choice.” Pssshhh. Screen grab taken on 04/23/2019.

Anyway, the television was delivered in an acceptable time frame. Not the fastest, but acceptable. The picture quality was great. No complaints. It was a pretty smart TV. The story goes downhill after the break…

Read More

Humor, Television, Travel

David S. Pumpkins will make your Halloween.

Any Questions?

This is my favorite skit in ages from SNL. I can’t even begin to describe why…. but I’ll try.

First of all, this skit just happened to be on SNL the same day that we took the NBC Studio Tour in New York City, where we got to see the legendary Studio 8H, the place Saturday Night Live has been produced for over 40 years. So, immediately +5 points, right?

Read More

Humor, Television, Who

Doctor Who, the Shut Up Supercut

So, we’ve been really getting into Doctor Who since the BBC America Doctor Who marathon on New Year’s Eve. We watched several Season 8 episodes, and we quickly noticed how these people really like to try to get one of the others to stop talking…. Or as they frequently say — “Shut Up!”

In honor of this frequent occurrence, I present to you, the Shut Up Supercut, created by BlogtorWho.com.

American Idol, Music, Television

American Idol Season 13 — It’s Finale Time

So, once again we are down to the final two on American Idol… It’s definitely true that Idol is not what it used to be but I think that’s got more to do with the oversaturation of music talent programs on TV at the moment, and not really to do with the talent that Idol still produces.  Although I think they’d be hard pressed to have another season finale like season two, when Ruben and Clay went head-to-head.

The only thing left to determine this year is who will come out on top.  Will it be the dark horse, “everyone-get-those-glow-sticks-up” Jena (not Jena) or will it be the rocker Caleb, who was finally reached the finals after trying out for Idol on three occasions? I honestly believe Caleb will win this evening because he will have the most supportive fans and there’s no doubt he’s talented enough to win.  But as far as being the next pop star goes, I think Jena has a better shot at success.  She certainly has the voice to take her far on radio, and she can command a performance.  

As far as Season 13 goes… well, I liked it better than last season, but that’s not saying much.  Last year was just a hot mess of freaks, led by Nicki Minaj. (Zoanette, anyone?)  I read that next season Idol will be cut back to one night per week.  Can’t really figure out how that’s going to work, when performances are one night, and results are the next.  What, are going to have to wait a whole week before learning the singers’ fate?  “Ten singers prepare to sing on Tuesday, but first, let’s see which of these ten is not going to have the opportunity to sing for America.”  I can’t imagine that…

Keith, JLo, and Harry have performed well as judges.  I had been rooting for Harry to be a judge since he mentored last season.  He knows what he’s talking about and provides constructive criticism.  Of the three, he is my favorite judge.  Keith and JLo both provide appropriate commentary and are entertaining on their own, and much more tolerable than.. “some past judges.”

So now all that remains is to announce a winner.  But either way, the Idol machine will roll on…

Listen to a preview of the final two’s first releases below:

 

Humor, Television

Bob Ross Remixed

What could be better than bringing back some good old 80s nostalgia and mixing it with a little bit of 2012’s auto tune? Not much, as this video shows.

Take a trip down memory lane with one of the 1980s most beloved PBS treasures, Bob Ross, injected with just a bit of today’s technology.

This video was created by melodysheep for PBS Digital Studios.


Good stuff!

Sports, Television

If you want the Olympics, you don’t want Suddenlink

So, after chatting with a Suddenlink support specialist it appears that those of us in north central West Virginia who have Suddenlink for TV and Internet will be unable to watch any Olympic coverage online this year.
It appears that you must subscribe to both CNBC and MSNBC to be “allowed” to watch content online. Well, unfortunately for us WV folk, CNBC is not available for subscription, thereby knocking all Olympic coverage out the window for us.

So much for being able to recommend Suddenlink for TV and Internet. They had a decent track record with me prior to this. But don’t even get me started on Dish network… Much worse.

Television

‘V’ returns to television

One of my all-time favorite shows is coming back to TV tonight.  I’ve watched a few of the preview videos available online, and I will say that the special effects are incredible.  But I’m concerned about some of the aspects of the Visitors that I haven’t yet seen in the previews.  In the old series (and movies) the Visitors were easily identified both visually and audibly with their bright red uniforms and that little swastika-like symbol, and the obvious harmonic effect eerily present underneath all the Visitor’s voices.  (Actually, the swastika was only one of the many components of an entire backstory that often revolved around the Holocaust.)

So, I wonder: How many of these elements survive in the new ‘V?’ Will there be another Holocaust theme? Maybe it will evoke memories of a different tragedy, perhaps 9/11.  Will we be able to tell humans from Visitors? Most importantly, are they still big ugly green reptiles underneath?

I will be tuning in to find out.

Television

That Michael J. Fox Special

I actually meant to type a lttle blurb about this last week, but things have been very busy around here lately.  What, with all the dancing, singing, and ball playing going on in the evening hours…

But anyway, I just wanted to note how much I enjoyed watching the Adventures of an Incurable Optimist last Thursday.

I know that Michael probably can’t work at a full-time show, but I would really enjoy seeing more episodes of this show.  Even if it’s only quarterly or monthly.  I would like to see a sort of “State of Optimism” update…

For those of you who didn’t catch it, here is a clip directly from ABC’s website: [Clip is now “directly from YouTube” since ABC can’t seem to keep a consistent link to a video…]

And for more information about the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, visit the site at http://www.michaeljfox.org/

Television

Best New Show on TV

Thank God You're HereImagine showing up for your high school play totally unprepared, without attending a single practice…  Well, maybe you have an idea of what’s gonna happen… they did dress you up in this funky Rock ‘n’ Roll outfit. Woohoo! Rock On!

Now, picture Jason Alexander in the same kind of situation. He’s dressed like Captain Kirk, so he has a decent idea what’s next. But all the other actors in the scene have an agenda, a script, that they will stick to. What do you do? How would you react?

Well, thanks to NBC, we get a glimpse into this freakish world. Thank God You’re Here recently premiered on the Peacock network, and it’s a “can’t miss.”

If you’re familiar with Whose Line Is It Anyway? then the concept of improv comedy is not foreign to you. The key differences between WLIIA? and TGYH being:

  • “TGYH” has a script. (Well, a storyline for the other actors to follow, anyway.)
  • “WLIIA?” has no props or sets, “TGYH” has both.
  • “TGYH” has a different celebrity for each routine, a total of four during one episode.

But what makes TGYH most compelling is watching the celebrities squirm their way through an uncomfortable scene, and watching how some of them thrive off the situation. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t, but that’s the chance you take, and that’s what makes it interesting.

In success or in failure, the scenes on Thank God You’re Here are very entertaining, and they give you an interesting insight to some of your favorite celebrities.

Movies, Television

My Entertainment Tonight

Well, I did watch Idiocracy this weekend, and it was very entertaining — oh, crap! The lady on Deal or No Deal just opened her last big money case! — Anyway, Idiocracy  was good.  I would certainly recommend it to anyone with that twisted, dark sense of humor.  I’ve read online that Fox tried to suppress the movie, but I have a feeling that like Mike Judge’s other movie, Office Space,  it will become a cult classic.

Grease: You’re The One That I Want  had its grand finale this evening.  We were quite happy with the chosen Danny & Sandy, Max and Laura.  I was actually cheering for West Virginia’s own Derek Keeling, but he was eliminated last week.  But it was nice to see the two “underdogs” win.

I’m still waiting for my phone call from the Deal or No Deal “Lucky Case Game” informing me that I have just won $10,000.  Gee, I wonder what’s taking them so long…