Sunday, October 14, 2012

And this week in TV...

So I am now officially swamped with TV viewing, and some shows have had to be sacrificed--bye bye Elementary (just not good enough to make me ditch any of my tried and trues), and sadly bye bye Last Resort (on too heavy of a TV nite and my DVR can't accommodate it--hoping it sticks around and gets shifted to another nite and slot). Not sure about the 666 show--any thoughts on if I should stick with it?

If you like Revenge (which you should :D), try Nashville. Great pilot and I can't wait to see all these fabulous actors chew the scenery each week; and the songs are actually pretty good as well. (Speaking of which--Glee so far is doing quite well at weathering the shift to a new cast...) And while I respect Taylor Swift and find some of her stuff catchy, I rather enjoy the digs at her expense via Hayden Pantierre. Need to watch Arrow, too.

Lots of solid returns so far, with ABC Wednesday leading the way. Good Wife is stellar (and finally not being bumped off my DVR via football) with Nathan Lane and Kristin Chenoweth (would like to see Matthew Perry return here--he was so amazing last season). And anytime I can catch Lucy Lawless (Parks and Rec) I'm a happy camper.

For my TV comedy buffs out there--and for my History students trolling for extra credit--please check out "The Greatest Event in Television History." True story: my husband DVR'd it and I deleted it because I thought he'd recorded some PBS special that there just wasn't room for on the machine.  We watched it tonight and I had tears streaming from my eyes--slam dunk funny!

(Check it out here:

No major news that I know of this week in the department, except: Registration for J-term and Spring begins in a few weeks, which means you should start planning to meet with your faculty advisor...And Oh yeah!  TV Department students, faculty, and alum got quite a few Midwest Regional Emmy nominations (so check out the TV page for news on that).

Until roughly midterms, yours in shared "how do I watch all the good shows" misery...

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

This Week in TV Land, Columbia Style


NEWS AND NOTES OF UPCOMING ACTIVITIES OF POSSIBLE VALUE TO YOU:

1) a message from a TV student doing a show on Frequency...

Dear Students of the Television Department,

Hey you! Yes you! How are you? Well that's great. Aw thanks for asking! I'm great too because Frequency TV's fall semester live show is back and I'm hosting! 

My name is Katie McCarty and I am the host of "And Then Some..." the show where we talk about the top headlines of the week and laugh at them....and then some. Get it? We premiere Friday Oct. 5th at 7PM, and we would love for you to join us in our live studio audience! 

Where is it you ask? Right here at Columbia College on the 15th floor of 600 South Michigan in Studio A. You can come right after class and laugh off the stress of the week with us! Doors open at 630! We hope to see you there, and come early because seating is limited and you don't want to miss this! Have a great day!

P.S. Don't worry if you can't make it we will also be streaming live on frequencytv.com. And be sure to check our other new fall shows!

Many Thanks,
Katie McCarty

2) Turner Broadcasting is coming to visit the Portfolio Center on October 11th...They manage everything from CNN to the Cartoon Network and you may want to attend (esp. if a junior or senior): http://www.colum.edu/Students/Career/Portfolio_Center/Upcoming_Events/index.php

3) Semester in LA info sessions are upon us!  They run all week in various places, so look for the flyers on bulletin boards...

4) Museum of Broadcast Communication has opened—and they’re having a 5$ event—“From I Love Lucy to YouTube.”  There’s a tour, and a talk with local media executives.  Check it our (October 24th)—HISTORY STUDENTS, IF YOU GO AND WRITE UP A 1-2 PAGE SUMMARY OF WHAT YOU SAW AND LEARNED, EXTRA CREDIT! 


5) If you’re into sports and/or documentaries, the Film Department’s Chair—Bruce Sheridan—has produced a film about athletes and concussions (Head Games) with director Steve James (he did Hoop Dreams, and if you don’t know what that is, for the love of god, find out!).  It’s getting some early pre-Oscar buzz, too... You can download the film from a few major sites or find it OnDemand: http://headgamesthefilm.com/

6) DO NOT—I REPEAT—DO NOT RUIN REVENGE FOR ME! I was swamped grading you History folks’ proposals and so I am behind on the real premiere and will come after anyone who spoils it for me...

7) New TV.  Found Elementary a bit of a yawn (I saw no chemistry of any kind there) and don’t know what to make of Revolution yet (liked the acting and pacing, but cannot get beyond the logistics: where is solar power?  where are the scientists who could put a fracking generator together or bottle some lightning?  why is everyone who is starving and poor wearing clean clothes, sporting shiny hair, and having access to lip gloss?)

Your 2 cents are always welcome....