Instead, if the entertainment industry simply focused on enhancing convenient legal ways to obtain content and price it right, people would be more sympathetic. We recently ditched cable and subscribed to Hulu Plus in addition to Netflix and potentially subscribing to season passes on iTunes. Yesterday, we sat down to watch ‘White Collar’ on Hulu Plus and opened the app on my iPad to mirror it on the TV (since the app doesn’t offer AirPlay, go figure). However, we got a message that the episode was available on the web only so if both of us wanted to see it we had to either hunch in front of the 15″ computer screen or hook up my laptop to the TV, both inconvenient solutions. Other shows, like the Daily Show, however were available to view on the iPad. Also, we later realized that the episode was available on iTunes…for free! WTF. No wonder people turn to illegal solutions because the legal ones are so convoluted and inconsistent.

As Steve Jobs would say, focus on providing the consumers with a seamless, enhanced, and beautiful experience and they’ll be willing to fork out their hard-earned money for your products. And yes, stop making movies like ‘Jack and Jill’.

 Follow me on Twitter: @patrix. For content without Link Posts, use this feed. For Link Posts only, use this feed.

© patrix for Nerve Endings Firing Away, 2012. | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: entertainment, filesharing, Hollywood, Internet, Movies, Technology, Television

Cable television by the nature of its business bundles several channels we never end up watching. If we could choose our channels al a carte, perhaps we could talk. In the current model, it simply is not cost effective especially when you are not only paying for the basic cable package but also to rent the DVR and other hajjar associated license and regulatory fees. Our cable bill even without any premium channels easily touched $100 a month especially after Comcast snuck in a stealth monthly charge on deferred equipment rental costs. The new year gave us an opportunity to reexamine our priorities, changed preferences and usage patterns.

Legal streaming options provided by content providers and other associated services like Hulu, Netflix, and Apple in addition to devices like the Apple TV and the iPad make downloading and renting shows that you watch a breeze. Although most of the network channels are available over the air in HD quality in most of the cities, we live just outside the zone. So we only get CBS in crystal clear HD with the cheap antenna I bought off Amazon. I was told by our local public television station manager that if I got an optimized antenna we could probably get the local public network too. If you live in the U.S., you can check what free OTA channels are available to you by simply entering your address at this website or this website. I might experiment with some more optimized antennas but largely our viewing is now going to be via the Internet.

For now, we have subscribed to Hulu Plus which has a majority of the shows we watch including Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. We simply play it on our iPad and mirror it to our TV. The quality is decent with rare hiccups due to streaming lags. Apple TV also lets you subscribe to TV shows and even if we subscribed to season passes of all shows we currently watch, it will cost us about $500 for the year which is still less than half of our annual cable bill. We may choose this option starting Fall which I believe will also help us winnow down the number of shows we watch (Economics 101). The ideal solution would be, if Hulu was a built-in app with Apple TV or the iPad app at least let us AirPlay it in which case the quality would be much better. When asked, Hulu replied saying due to “content licensing issues” it doesn’t have AirPlay yet but are working on it. This is typical Luddite attitude on part of the content providers who are trying to squeeze as much as they can from you unmindful of the fact that technology often finds a way or pushes people to piracy. This merely ends up as a sub-standard experience for the customers who pay or as a total loss from potential customers who now chose to pirate content.

As far as live sports is concerned, ESPN3 live streams college football and soccer matches. The OrbLive app for the iPhone/iPad lets you direct that stream to your device from which you can AirPlay it to your TV. I guess I have to live without NFL games or the Oscar/Golden Globes unless they are broadcast on CBS. I’m sure people survive without watching them.

So far we have had no withdrawal symptoms as our online strategy is working well. Yup, the monthly bandwidth usage will go up but our ISP provides a cushion of ~250 GB per month (capped Internet is here!) and will charge us $50 for every additional 50GB; still a lot cheaper than cable.

 Follow me on Twitter: @patrix. For content without Link Posts, use this feed. For Link Posts only, use this feed.

© patrix for Nerve Endings Firing Away, 2012. | Permalink | 6 comments
Post tags: cable, Internet, streaming, Television

"You can now talk about a Mad Men skirt or lampshade or pickup line where once you might have used “space age” or “Kennedy era” or “Neanderthal.” But while the show, like its subject, has many surface pleasures—period design, period bad behavior (if you like high modernism, narrow lapels, bullet bras, smoking, heavy drinking at lunch, good hotel sex, and bad office sex, this is the series for you)—at its core

Mad Men is a moving and sometimes profound meditation on the deceptive allure of surface, and on the deeper mysteries of identity. The dialogue is almost invariably witty, but the silences, of which there are many, speak loudest: Mad Men is a series in which an episode’s most memorable scene can be a single shot of a woman at the end of her day, rubbing the sore shoulder where a bra strap has been digging in. There’s really nothing else like it on television."

Apart from Dexter, Man Men is one series on television that I wouldn't miss. Although this article was written (accompanied by fantastic Annie Leibowitz photos) just before the start of season 3 last year, it is still relevant and provides the perfect introduction and context for the series. Season 4 started yesterday and promises to be yet another brilliant season after the fantastic finale of its previous season. If you're not watching it, you are missing something. Even SNL gets it.

[Link to Mad Men]

 Follow me on Twitter: @patrix. For content without Link Posts, use this feed. For Link Posts only, use this feed.

© patrix for Nerve Endings Firing Away, 2010. | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: drama, Mad Men, Television

Prachiti Mhatre on the sets of Bajirao Mastani

Finally we have a genuine celebrity in our family. Prachiti Mhatre, a very close relative, bagged the lead role in Nitin Desai’s Shrimant Peshwe Bajirao Mastani telecast on ETV Marathi every day at 9pm. The series kicked off on June 14th and the reviews have been good. Apparently, Sanjay Leela Bansali’s plans to make a movie based on these characters never saw the light of the day. Perhaps that is a good thing. Imagine Mastani running through Pune screaming Devaaaaa! However, the story of Bajirao and Mastani is quite interesting and would make for amazing television in the period-drama-crazy India and more specifically, Marathi-speaking people.

As far as I know, Aditya had done a podcast with Gautam Rajadkhysha, the renowned glamor photographer for Bollywood, and he offered to shoot a portfolio for Prachiti. That portfolio naturally landed her several ad campaigns, print and television. Armed with that experience and portfolio, she auditioned for Nitin Desai’s next period drama Baajirao Mastani. Selected from over 89 girls, Prachiti successfully made the cut. She was Desai’s first-impression pick and after successfully navigating through screen tests, she bagged the role purely on her merits.

Prachiti tells me that she had a great experience and along with acting lessons, she also had to learn Kathak (Indian classical dance), sword-fighting and horse-riding in spite of the fact that she is scared to death of animals including our dogs at home. Everyone at the sets at Karjat, a mere 20 minutes drive from our home in Panvel, was extremely helpful and nice to her. Sometimes my mom or Aditya accompanied her for late-night shoots but she was mostly alone and worked hard on every aspect of her role. She studied history books and immersed herself completely in the role of Mastani. She has enjoyed full support of her family. We are extremely proud of her achievement and very excited to see how the TV series fares. Obviously, she has been getting wide press coverage in local and regional media outlets. We finally have a real celebrity in our family.

I’m attaching few photos from the sets of BaajiRao Mastani including some banners that you can see on buses across Mumbai. I’m not sure I will be able to watch the series here in the U.S. and hope someone is recording it somehow. If you happen to watch it in India, please let me know if you liked it; Prachiti would love to know.

[promo images source: mbol.in]

 Follow me on Twitter: @patrix. For content without Link Posts, use this feed. For Link Posts only, use this feed.

© patrix for Nerve Endings Firing Away, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments
Post tags: family, India, Personal, Prachiti, Television

This was the weekend those of us with high standards lost their remaining residue of patience for ideologues who hyperbolize about open systems without actually creating something people want to use.

[Source: Personal Weblog of Joe Clark, Toronto] Quite a burn on the open source community. But the criticism is mostly accurate. I use WordPress for my blogging needs and cannot be more pleased with its ease of use and utility. If you are a WordPress.com user, you can use all of WP’s goodness without bothering about the tech geekery. At work, even using FTP brings looks of puzzlement and summons to an IT guy so you can imagine. So in that sense, Apple’s iPad dumbs it down to the average users who is not tech savvy can use the web, check email, and tweet from their couch. Those who think users are not as ‘dumb’ as we think then this ReadWriteWeb story on Facebook logins should be Evidence A (read the blockquoted paragraph in bold and initial comments on the post). This is not a knock on the people but instead on the technology that we consider dead-simple but in fact is still complex. When my parents were visiting last year, my dad opened Firefox and typed in his email ID in the Google search box to check his email. And then got ragged when I made a face.

I love open-source projects and products but none yet has come close to being convenient and easy to use. If any other company, open-source or not, makes a better tablet, I will love it. Because that’s what rational consumers in a free market do. Make choices that are optimal to them. And not just hold some open computing ideals in their mind when makign their purchasing decisions. We could wish they did but we cannot emotionally blackmail them into upholding our open-source values. After all, it all boils down to what people want and what they are willing to pay for. Fanboyism will only take a company so far; remember Apple almost went bankrupt in the 90s and only rebounded when they launched first their iMac and then the iPod that proved to be popular products for the general market.

Apologies for a flurry of posts on iPad-related stuff if it is not your thing but it extends beyond a new product into understanding consumer behavior, brand management, product promotion, marketing, supply chain efficiency, media manipulation, and oh yes, innovation.

 Follow me on Twitter: @patrix. For content without Link Posts, use this feed. For Link Posts only, use this feed.

© patrix for Nerve Endings Firing Away, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments
Post tags: consumer behavior, free market, innovation, ipad, marketing, open-source

[image source] Currently we are hooked to the TV series, LOST. It is telecast on ABC on Tuesdays and has given us an alternative to the now-crappy American Idol. For those unaware, it is based on a motley crew of characters that crash land on an island and their pursuit of trying to get off the island while trying hard to understand the mysteries of the island. It is much more than the castaway survivor drama and involves deep layers of mystery that gradually get unravelled with each passing episode. Flashbacks, flash-forwards, and even alternate reality timeframes help us understand the personality and backgrounds of each character on the island. When you think you have figured it all out is when you will be cast a googly that throws out all your theories.

It is one of the rare network American TV shows that has an long-arc narrative storyline as opposed to episodic plots. Thankfully, it was popular and survived being cancelled halfway through (ardent fans wouldn’t have forgiven ABC). You cannot start the series midway and hope to catch up because you would have missed subtle hints and tiny plots that make up the big picture of Lost. We had started watching it via Netflix (all season are available on Instant Streaming as well as on Hulu) after hearing rave reviews. Season Three turned out to be a slow and meandering and hence we had almost given up. The buzz for the final season that is currently playing helped us run through Season 4 & 5 in less than two weeks thanks to marathon viewing sessions of 7-8 episodes in one sitting on the weekends.

If you are a ‘Lostie’, you are probably aware of Lostopedia, the wiki for Lost fans where rumors, conspiracy theories, and character updates are fervently discussed. Season 6 of which yesterday’s episode was our first live one is keeping up the pace and interest alive while building up to the series finale. In fact, it felt strange not to be able to hit ‘Next’ to see the next episode. I would hate to discuss much in fear of giving out too many spoilers for those who haven’t yet seen it and want to. In fact, in case of Lost, any mention of any character or story arc is technically a spoiler. So if you are not a ‘candidate’ for a Lost viewing, the Smoke Monster will probably get you someday ;)

 Follow me on Twitter: @patrix. For content without Link Posts, use this feed. For Link Posts only, use this feed.

© patrix for Nerve Endings Firing Away, 2010. | Permalink | One comment
Post tags: Lost, Television

This is inspired by Jon Hamm’s character in AMC’s Mad Men. You may not get it if you have never watched Man Men which I highly recommend. It is perceived to be highly sexist but is merely a reflection of the age it is based in (60s). This reminds me that I need to get back to continuing my series of watching TV shows on DVD.

 Follow me on Twitter: @patrix. For content without Link Posts, use this feed. For Link Posts only, use this feed.

© patrix for Nerve Endings Firing Away, 2010. | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: humor, Mad Men, SNL, Television, Videos

If you live outside the U.S., you cannot watch Hulu or other online streaming television shows. This is partly due to advertisers’ reluctance to pay the networks for foreign viewers although the products advertised may be available outside the U.S. too. This leads to the networks into thinking that if they can’t make a buck of you then they won’t show it to you. Fortunately, for the technologically savvy, use of proxies has always been a blessing and so has availability of several sites like Ninja Video that host streaming content. For others less able, it has always been a hassle to keep up with the latest feeds. Making it easier, the latest in watching TV online is TVGorge [via]

TVGorge does nothing different from other sites that offer online streaming content but only uses an indexing engine to scan and organize the online content with episode guides. It is also easier to find the next episode or season when you are done with one. Obviously, this site may not be legal and might be taken down soon so enjoy it while it lasts. The latest season of Dexter is available now.

 Follow me on Twitter: @patrix. For content without Link Posts, use this feed. For Link Posts only, use this feed.

© patrix for Nerve Endings Firing Away, 2010. | Permalink | One comment
Post tags: free, streaming, Television, video

[source] The perfect new logo for NBC after its fracas with Conan O’Brien. Conan’s last Tonight Show airs tonight. Here’s hoping he finds a home on another network (Fox?). And yes, Jay Leno, the oh-so-unfunny erstwhile host of The Tonight Show sucks.

 Follow me on Twitter: @patrix. For content without Link Posts, use this feed. For Link Posts only, use this feed.

© patrix for Nerve Endings Firing Away, 2010. | Permalink | One comment
Post tags: conanobrien, fail, graphics, NBC

Late night has never been more entertaining with the Leno-Conan feud with other network hosts rubbing their hands in glee and joining in the fun. Gawker has the complete coverage.

 Follow me on Twitter: @patrix. For content without Link Posts, use this feed. For Link Posts only, use this feed.

© patrix for Nerve Endings Firing Away, 2010. | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: comedy, conanobrien, feud, Television

All this would be nothing but thrilling — the tale of a decade when TV grew a spine and a brain — if it weren’t for the possibility that it could come to an end. The network model has crumbled in ways presaged a decade ago, then intensified by the bad economy. Product integration infests even the best series. But it might be a mistake to get too apocalyptic: This decade began, after all, with critics warning that reality shows would destroy TV altogether (rather than, say, revive the art of ballroom dancing). And who knows what the future will bring?”

[Source: Emily Nussbaum on When TV Became Art] A fantastic read on why television in the past decade rose to an art form in spite of mind-numbing reality shows and intense competition from that series of tubes. A perfect read given my current in-progress series on reviewing shows that I’ve loved to watch on DVD. Rightfully, the piece pays homage to the biggest two shows that earned TV numerous accolades – The Sopranos and The Wire. The paragraph on the latter best encapsulates why the series was so good.

Even the sitcoms, How I Met Your Mother is so much better than Seinfeld or Friends could ever hope to be not only in the humor but also in the style of narration. And don’t forget the short-lived Arrested Development; hopefully Community will live on. Enough reading my rambling, go click on the link at the top.

 Follow me on Twitter: @patrix. For content without Link Posts, use this feed. For Link Posts only, use this feed.

© patrix for Nerve Endings Firing Away, 2009. | Permalink | One comment
Post tags: 2000, art, decade, entertainment, Television

The Sopranos

HBO (1999-2007)

The granddaddy of all drama shows, this series was a mega hit when it aired and its series finale was one of the most talked about finales in television history. Focused on the mob family of Tony Soprano and his band of knuckle-crushers, this show takes you into the gritty suburbia of New Jersey where under the guise of familial life, the mob runs its business. Unlike other mob movies, this series focuses a lot on the protagonist’s family and his acquaintances, his emotionally-conflicted wife who can tolerate his infidelities only so much, and two smart yet confused children who wrestle with the reality of their father’s business. They enjoy the luxuries and perks that come with being in a mob family and cannot escape it as they grow older and venture out. Tony Soprano, one of television’s brilliant characters played perfectly by James Gandolfini, is a mesh of personalities affected not only by his chauvinistic Italian upbringing but also at time deeply intellectual and shrewd in running his business and worldly affairs compared to his peers. His interactions with his psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi delve deep into the evolution of his character and exposes the effect of people in his life especially his dominant and scheming mother (also brilliantly played by Nancy Marchand) who at one point plots his murder. Tony’s Sopranos’ dream sequences are also a treat to watch.

It is hard to describe the plot line as it gradually evolves from discovering mundane details of the mob life to the interactions of large Italian families who like to keep their business separate from pleasure and family but often fail abjectly. Under the guise of mob business, The Sopranos is really about complex relationships that many of us experience except in this family, if you make a mistake you get shot and swim with the fishes. Over the course of the series, characters enter and exit mostly to death and often you find yourselves sympathizing and rooting for Tony Soprano until he says or does something so horrific that you ask yourself how in the hell could you root for this monster. Manipulation is the key weapon used by all characters to achieve their ends and at the end of the day, no one trusts anyone. The complex array of characters that fill this series right from Tony’s wife, Carmela and children, Meadow and Anthony Jr. to his henchmen, Christopher Moltisanti, Paulie Gualtieri, Salvotore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero, and Silvio Dante (aren’t the names wonderful sounding?) deserve a post each and have been dissected ad nauseam on the Internets.

Even amidst the violence and drama, comedy is often injected through the ineptitude of mobsters depicted through misunderstanding of historical facts (in reference to the Cuban Missle Crisis, Paulie says, “That was real? I saw that movie. I thought it was bullshit.”) and lack of English language skills (malapropisms e.g. revenge is like serving cold cuts) [memory refresher thanks to Wikipedia]. The comparison of highly intelligent mobsters with their bumbling peers also makes for some great conversational scenes.

Many of the characters are played by real Italian-American actors and have played roles in other mob movies like Goodfellas (27 common actors) and Mickey Blue Eyes (8 common actors) and hence the accents sound more real. The real beauty of this show is in the gradual evolution of all primary characters; their maturation yet tendency to retain the same raw core of their personality. The story arc depicts not only the inter-mob-family fights but also the relentless surveillance of the feds who not surprisingly also sympathize with the characters they keep a close watch on. Overall, a must-watch for anyone who enjoys television drama at its finest; it may well be impossible to top The Sopranos.

The Wire

HBO (2002-2008)

This urban crime-focused series might be one of the most gritty, raw, and intense shows on television and hence not everyone’s cup of tea. Based on different facets in each season on the city of Baltimore, the show highlights urban problems and the interplay of drugs, police, politics, school, and the media. The name of the series is based on the frequent attempt of a police squad to trace drug dealers using a wiretap. Intensely depressing at times, this show lays bare the realities of urban America and sheds the holier-than-thou image of law and order cultivated by other popular crime shows like Law & Order. The mesh of sociopolitical themes influenced by drugs and politics is unescapable and often makes for an interesting social science study.

Since this show touches up many of my professional and personal interests in urban, education, and political reform, it provides an immensely educational experience and catapults it right at the top of America’s greatest television dramas. Like Sopranos, several characters occur in various roles across the five seasons and it is especially troubling to see their slow decline into hopelessness and despair at their inability to make a difference in trying circumstances beyond their control. The goodness in each character is severely tested as they not only struggle with legalities of the system but moral dilemmas of their souls. The show cannot help but underline the brutal fact of life that like it or not, is that it isn’t fair.

The Wire is timely in the sense that it shows the impact of harsh economic climate on the real common man who simply cannot get a break or the devious journalist who ‘manipulates’ the stories to get a scoop. The circumstances of your birth are one of the unmentioned truths of life that not everyone can overcome. Before watching this show, I was involved in an academic research project that examined the opportunities and access indicators for people living in low-income neighborhoods and how the geography of their location is the pivotal factor that prevents them from succeeding in life. The Wire was like a television series based on that simple yet elusive concept. I had linked to The Wire‘s greatest 100 (and 100 more) quotes but it may not make much sense without the context.

I would not recommend this show for everyone but if you want to get a deep understanding of the grim realities of urban America and its sociopolitical themes that are often ignored by the mainstream media, then this show is a perfect study in gaining those insights. If you are one of those people who believe that black people are lazy and are naturally attracted to crime, this show will lift those curtains and reveal how personal circumstance and the neighborhood you grow up in are central to your life’s outcomes. It leaves you with a profound sense of gratitude for the way your life has shaped up, no matter how fucked up you might think it is right now.

More to Follow

Coming up next – Six Feet Under, Dexter, Battlestar Galactica, Freaks and Geeks, Firefly, Arrested Development, Lost, and Mad Men.

 Follow me on Twitter: @patrix. For content without Link Posts, use this feed. For Link Posts only, use this feed.

© patrix for Nerve Endings Firing Away, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments
Post tags: drama, DVD, HBO, Netflix, reviews, Television

We have watched nearly a dozen shows this way and are currently subscribed to couple more. I had planned on writing on each series as we concluded but I found it better to start watching another show rather than write about the previous one. Anyway, this is my attempt at briefly reviewing some shows that we’ve enjoyed:

Rome

HBO (mini-series)

This part-fictional historical drama is set in the times of Julius Caesar at the height of the Roman Empire. Although it takes liberties with historical fact and often credits two minor characters (central characters in the series) Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, with major events, the political machinations and devious nature of human character makes for great drama. Mark Anthony is not exactly the virtuous man that our history books and Lend Me Your Ears recitals make him out to be but in context, he seems much more plausible. The show not only focuses on the larger political scandals including the assassination of Caesar but also the private lives of the common man that include soldiers and traders.

Historians may find umpteen faults and tear their hair out at anomalies but it makes for excellent television. You find yourself torn between choosing an alleged benevolent dictator over squabbling senators that also allegedly assert the will of the people in one of the world’s first republic. But it is not for the faint-hearted and definitely PG-17 if not R-rated for depiction of nudity and gore. If Rome was any indication, we definitely didn’t live the simple life in days of the yore. It packs a lot in 22 episodes over 2 seasons so be prepared to be overwhelmed.

The West Wing

NBC (1999-2006)

This show must have been the solitary beacon of hope during the Bush year for liberals. Although the multi-Emmy-winning show aired last in 2006, we never watched it live. In brief, the show is based on the behind-the-scenes of the White House with Josiah Barlett (Martin Sheen) as a Democratic President supported ably by his inspired staff. If you think, this is merely another of those political shows with rhetoric and jingoistic bluster, then you are mistaken. Written by Aaron Sorkin (and Lawrence O’Donnell), the show is a quirky comedy that not only highlights the struggles of the most powerful administration in the world but also captures the essence of enormous impact their decisions have on our lives.

The realism and unique style of shooting (talk as you walk through the hallways of the White House) makes it an unique experience especially for a network show. We as viewers get close to all characters which not surprisingly are all inspired by idealism. The woman characters including the first lady are strong and not mere figureheads; other characters are the Press Secretary (and then the Chief of Staff), Deputy National Security Advisor, Congresswomen, political consultants, etc. The male characters are strong yet bumbling and quirky compared to their female counterparts.

One of the strangest coincidence of the final seasons of the show was how much it resembled the soon-to-follow Obama-McCain campaign with a nuclear disaster instead of an economic collapse. The race on the show, of course, was much closer than in reality. Although idealism is sprinkled liberally (pun intended) and there is a clear distinction between the ‘other’ devious party, the show is scripted well and keeps you engrossed. It is like the ray of sunshine in the dark reality of real-world politics. We were genuinely sad we saw the final episode.

Sports Night

ABC (1998-2000)

This little-known show that was abruptly cut short by ABC was recommended on Twitter for being Sorkin’s precursor to The West Wing. The show focuses on the behind-the-scenes (a Sorkin speciality, I guess) of a TV sports show; much like Sports Center (Sorkin attempted it again in Studio 60 on teh Sunset Strip) Sorkin specializes in feel-good TV where all his characters are extremely nice people; might sound unrealistic but it makes us feel good and probably one of the reason why most people watch TV. But all sap and no story or characters, you’ll tire of it pretty quick. Sports Night fortunately walks that fine line but only just. It is not as strong as The West Wing but it holds its own and shows you the early years of Sorkin (in fact, he ditched Sports Night after he started working on The West Wing)

The show again has couple of central characters that include the sports show’s hosts and its producer. The look behind how a television show operates, the occasional goofs, fighting off the network in face of falling ratings, the struggle to show interesting stories vs. stories that people will actually watch. We never actually are introduced to a vast majority of the people working on the show but are given insights on the geeky know-it-all new recruit, the fact-finders, and producers who actually make any television show happen. Largely a comedy, the drama elements are provided by the romantic off-n-on connections between the show’s main anchor and the producer, the two neurotic and nerdy researchers, and the second anchor’s fluctuating relationships with other women not on the show. This show first featured Sorkin’s Walk and Talk speciality that he later employed in The West Wing which is more interesting because of the rapid dialogue delivery laced with sharp humor that you’ll miss if you blink.

This show was cancelled by the network and the final episode managed to sneak in a jab to ABC – Anybody who can’t make money off of Sports Night should get out of the money-making business – which is sad because it was far better than most of the shows we see on TV today. Although we weren’t as enthusiastic about this show as we were for The West Wing, it is definitely worth a watch especially if you are a general sports fan.

More to Follow

Coming up next – Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under, Dexter, Battlestar Galactica, Freaks and Geeks, Firefly, Arrested Development, Lost, and Mad Men.

 Follow me on Twitter: @patrix. For content without Link Posts, use this feed. For Link Posts only, use this feed.

© patrix for Nerve Endings Firing Away, 2009. | Permalink | 25 comments
Post tags: drama, DVD, Netflix, reviews, Television

“

Those who lament the demise of quality television have not yet seen that amazing series, The Wire. This clip, in a ten-minute segment, presents the greatest quotes from the series. Admittedly, it may not make much sense to those who haven’t seen the show or to those who may be turned off by the frequent dropping of the F-bomb but in the right context, these quotes are golden and hit hard.

The show is not for everyone and is intense, gritty, and hard-hitting television. Don’t expect to sleep with a smile on your lips after watching the show but it will make you think…for a long time. Perhaps only Sopranos beats this show in terms of writing and strength of the characters. It is a must-watch for those wanting to understand the complex relationships between minorities and crime in a typical urban American environment where politics, schools, and the media all intermingle to serve up a hodgepodge mix of chaos.

Update: If that wasn’t enough, here are a 100 more:

 Follow me on Twitter: @patrix. For content without Link Posts, use this feed. For Link Posts only, use this feed.

© patrix for Nerve Endings Firing Away, 2009. | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: cool, crime, drama, quotes, Television

 Follow me on Twitter: @patrix. For content without Link Posts, use this feed. For Link Posts only, use this feed.

© patrix for Nerve Endings Firing Away, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments
Post tags: hulu, streaming, Television, video

 Follow me on Twitter: @patrix. For content without Link Posts, use this feed. For Link Posts only, use this feed.

© patrix for Nerve Endings Firing Away, 2009. | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: camera, hi-def, photography, Technology, Videos

Fortunately, the wonder that is YouTube brings to us this guy who does a better Obama than Armisen. Shouldn’t SNL hire him for at least the next four years considering you won’t have McCain or Palin to make fun of?

 Follow me on Twitter: @patrix. For content without Link Posts, use this feed. For Link Posts only, use this feed.

© patrix for Nerve Endings Firing Away, 2008. | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: humor, Obama, SNL, Television

 Follow me on Twitter: @patrix. For content without Link Posts, use this feed. For Link Posts only, use this feed.

© patrix for Nerve Endings Firing Away, 2008. | Permalink | 2 comments
Post tags: Television, United States

And the nine-year-old kid who sang “I Sing for my Motherland” when the Chinese flag entered the stadium didn’t actually sing it. So why was she up there? Well, she was just cuter, said the Director.

 Follow me on Twitter: @patrix. For content without Link Posts, use this feed. For Link Posts only, use this feed.

© patrix for Nerve Endings Firing Away, 2008. | Permalink | 4 comments
Post tags: CGI, China, fireworks, olympics, Television

 Follow me on Twitter: @patrix. For content without Link Posts, use this feed. For Link Posts only, use this feed.

© patrix for Nerve Endings Firing Away, 2008. | Permalink | 4 comments
Post tags: Movies, Television, X-Files