The Return of Mr. Rogers

Posted on August 3, 2011 at 3:48 pm

“Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” welcomed children with low-key warmth and delivered its affirmations and lessons with great sweetness. It ran nationally from 1968-2001 and its reruns are still watched by the children and grandchildren of the original viewers. PBS has announced an animated spin-off featuring some of the characters from the neighborhood. It will be called “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” and will premiere next year and it will focus on the next generation in the Neighborhood of Make Believe, including Prince Wednesday, son of King Friday and Queen Sara; Miss Elaina, daughter of Lady Elaine Fairchild; Katerina Kittycat, daughter of Henrietta Pussycat; and O the Owl, nephew of X the Owl. Trolley and Mr. McFeely will be on hand as well.

Sounds like a very nice neighborhood to visit.

Morgan Spurlock on 50 Un-Miss-able Documentaries

Posted on August 3, 2011 at 10:40 am

Morgan Spurlock of Super Size Me and Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold is the host of a new series on Current called “50 Documentaries to See Before You Die.” He quotes Alfred Hitchcock: “In feature films, the director is God. In documentaries, God is the director.” He will discuss the list with fellow documentarians and film experts and catch up with some of the people and stories

The shows will count down from fifty to one, eventually revealing what our panel of preeminent film critics, academics and industry insiders has chosen as the most entertaining, powerful and influential modern documentary. However, this is not your average list show. Renowned documentarian Morgan Spurlock will embark on a road trip to track down the filmmakers and characters behind some of the most remarkable moments in contemporary cinema. Along the way, he’ll meet maverick directors and eccentric contributors, travel to iconic locations and explore the impact that the documentaries have made on both their subjects and society, all the while counting down to number one.

Current will also be running some of the documentaries he recommends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1M2Elfa_cI

50 Documentaries to See Before You Die Part 1

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Documentary Television

Shark Week!

Posted on July 31, 2011 at 11:37 am

Could Shark Week get any better? Yes! This year, the Discovery Channel has dubbed SNL’s Andy Samberg its “Chief Shark Officer.” Samberg told CNN it was a dream come true.

Well, it was a childhood dream, obviously. Even though I’m the first ever Chief Shark Officer, I assumed that someday they would invent that role and that when they did, I would be there and be completely qualified to be named it. It was one of those once in a lifetime things you get asked to do something that you never to be expected.

He says he even got up close and personal with some sharks.

I actually got into the water in chain mail and was floating on a surf board. Somewhere between 15 and 30 pretty sizable reef sharks were all eating around me and splashing around, and bumping into me.

Discovery is also premiering an “interactive co-viewing experience” starting tonight at 8 pm, with three hours of “exclusive, interactive content programmed to complement and enhance your Shark Week TV viewing. Shark Week Live is also available on iTunes for iPhones and iPads. You can upload your own photos and vote for your favorite videos on the Shark Week bracket.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHaL-BP12DQ&NR=1

Happy chomping!

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Television

HIMYM Billboard Hijacked by New Ads

Posted on July 16, 2011 at 8:00 am

I really like “How I Met Your Mother,” and am delighted that older episodes are running in syndication. But it is jarring to see that background shots have been updated to insert new advertising material. NPR’s Monkey See blog reports that a billboard in one of the episodes has been digitally altered to insert an ad for the new (and awful) movie, Zookeeper. Marc Hirsh writes

The general practice isn’t new, but there’s something about this particular example that’s especially irksome, and not just because it’s been done in the service of a Kevin James talking-gorilla movie.

He points out that this is particularly annoying in the context of HIMYM, which is always so explicitly time-specific.

More than most sitcoms, Mother has a rather explicit time frame. How explicit? Well, the very first line of the episode is, “Kids, in the spring of 2007…” So it’s not an ideal candidate to layer in an advertisement for a movie released in July 2011, is what I’m saying.

I understand that advertisers are frustrated because audiences skip commercials by clicking the channel or fast-forwarding on TIVO. But the answer can’t be intrusive ads and product placement that distract us from the story, especially retroactively.

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Advertising Television

Tribute: Sherwood Schwartz, creator of ‘Gilligan’s Island’ and ‘The Brady Bunch’

Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:19 pm

We mourn the passing of Sherwood Schwartz, who helped define a generation with his enduringly popular if very undeniably silly television series, especially “Gilligan’s Island” and “The Brady Bunch.” He named the sinking ship on “Gilligan’s Island,” the S.S. Minnow, after my dad, Newton Minow, then the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and the first in that job to suggest the broadcasters should try to provide more choice. They later had a cordial exchange of letters and the association is still a great source of pride for everyone in our family.

The shows continue not just as emblems of their era, where they were a comforting counterpart to some of the strife of the late 60’s and early 70’s, but as genuinely fond memories for those who knew they were cheesy and formulaic but could not help responding to the genuine warmth inside them. Both shows were about different people learning to get along and create a family, and the very smallness of the issues that were so neatly resolved in 22 minutes (Marcia made two dates for the school dance! Jan got braces! Mary Ann or Ginger?) was somehow as reassuring as the constancy of the combined aggravation and affection between the characters. There is frequent talk of updates, but the makers of the “Brady Bunch Movies” were wise to keep the characters in the 70’s even though times had changed.

May his memory be a blessing.

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