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Zombie Television

Okay, so I guess since they usually don't come back looking to steal our brains, the better term for TV shows being brought back from the dead might be Phoenix Television or something. But zombies is way more fun to say.

First, there was the much-heralded resurrection of "Family Guy" following strong DVD sales and cable ratings. Ever since, the die-hard fans of nearly every canceled TV show tried to make their case to bring their favorite back from the dead. It didn't work for "Everwood," it didn't work for "Arrested Development," and so far it's not working for "Veronica Mars." But somehow persistent, periodic mass harassment to network execs worked for "Jericho."

Maybe the networks are finally learning that Nielsen ratings need to be taken with the world's largest grain of salt. Maybe it's all a publicity stunt to get more attention on CBS's new fall lineup (though Kid Nation seems poised to provide controversy enough for the whole lot of them at this point). Or maybe CBS is finally caving to that democratized, Web 2.0, user-fueled media that's all the rage these days.

But really, by letting the viewers decide what's good TV and what's not without a company like Nielsen acting setting standards and acting as the middleman, what will the world come to? Execs giving second chances to rejected pilots simply because of their popularity as determined by YouTube viewers? Oh, somebody tried that and it didn't exactly work? Well then, maybe programmers will just skip the decision-making process altogether and let the masses decide which pitches or scripts get to be made into pilots in the first place. Oh, wait. That's already been done, too? Too bad this and this are about all the evidence that's left of such an endeavor.

Return from Hiatus...

I'm alive! And again, so too is this blog. To get things rolling again, here are some delightful random videos:

Firstly, I've gotten beer thrown at my head at sporting events on two separate occasions. But I never handled it as well as this guy:



The ending to this is pretty hilarious. But perhaps it's promoting unprotected sex? Still funny.

'Go Meat' is just an anagram of 'Go Team'

Firstly let me apologize to all my loyal readers (or just...Mom) for not blogging lately, as I've been in the process of moving. Though I'm still in the process of moving, I thought I'd make time to let the world know I (technically...sort of) got linked to from BoingBoing! I should whine about things more often, huh?

Also, they haven't made me want to buy any more Hillshire Farms products (my current rate is one smoked sausage a month), but boy do these commercials get me excited for college football season, which is only...about 100 days away.

Wow. Just, wow.

Best invention...ever? Seriously, even better than I could've ever imagined, and I think I want one, now. Just because.

Best blog post I've read all day

Just wanted to give a link to this post that lists all the different things anyone has blamed so far for the VA Tech shootings earlier this week.

Steve Capus doesn't just make the news, he IS the news

I met NBC News President Steve Capus once, while I was an intern at the LA Bureau for NBC News. He's got a surprisingly quiet and modest demeanor for someone who so capably manages such a large number of powerful people, heading up NBC Network News as well as overseeing MSNBC (directly led by Dan Abrams). Despite being the highest-ranking executive in the room, he was definitely the easiest to talk to and the one I was least afraid to introduce myself to.

On to relevant information. I first noticed Steve Capus showing up in the news last week following the Imus scandal, after he fired the morning cable news personality. Today, Capus is again the subject of headlines, after NBC News received correspondence from the shooter at VA Tech, sent just prior to his violent rampage. NBC News is now a part of the investigation, not just doing the investigating.

News about the news and journalists happens all the time (Katie Couric's move to CBS, Bob Woodruff's injury in Iraq, plus all the media analysis seen daily on The Daily Show and Countdown with Keith Olbermann). But it's interesting that NBC News and its leader are in the spotlight for a full two weeks in a row, and both times for something basically out of Capus' control. It'll be interesting to see what befalls NBC News next week.