Don Knotts, 1924-2006
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kottke.org posts about TV
My favorite Winter Olympics coverage is this correspondence being posted several times daily to Slate. If this is what the NBC coverage was like, it might actually be entertaining.
CNN International redesigned their on-screen graphics. You can see the definite influence of lo-fi web design here…those screens look like a web site. I’d love to see these in action.
Update: A UK firm called Kemistry did the work.
Some people are so addicted to email, work, and their Crackberries that they’re upgrading their bathrooms with features like TV mirrors and waterproof computers. Grab the folding chairs….it’s intervention time!
Matt calculates the cost of a la carte television, i.e. ordering TV shows from iTunes. His yearly cable bill is $648 but the cost of watching all hs favorite shows from iTunes would be $800. I bet the networks love this math, especially since it cuts the cable companies out of the loop. But in an a la carte-only world, how would you discover shows in the first place?
The Onion interviews Stephen Colbert. “It used to be, everyone was entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts. But that’s not the case anymore. Facts matter not at all. Perception is everything.”
Some of the onscreen special effects on Doctor Who were generated by a home computer called the BBC Micro. “A brief sequence during this program actually showed the BBC Basic and assembler code used to create the console display”
Established TV news stars are moving to NPR. “Network news is increasingly generating prospects for NPR in part because some broadcast journalists think the networks are veering away from serious, in-depth reports.”
Video clip of Family Guy nude scene
Video clip of a nude scene from Family Guy that was apparently created as an in-house joke. NSFW, unless your job is watching cartoon porn.
West Wing cancelled after 7 seasons…the show won’t survive much past President Bartlet’s tenure, which seems fitting.
Fascinating article about how people are selected for reality TV shows and the effects of the shows on the contestants. “The producers are looking for that authenticity because they believe it’s impossible to fake who you are on camera during the course of a shoot, and they want to know exactly what they’re getting before they let you on their show.”
Update: This article appears to have dropped behind Nerve’s paywall. Sorry about that.
Chronological list of outrageous firsts in television history. Leave It to Beaver featured the first toilet on television in 1957. (thx, malatron)
Alright, alright, that Chronic of Narnia SNL rap thing is as funny as you think it is because you’ve already seen it, so stop reading and watch it again, would you?
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