Many fans of television are looking for ways to enjoy TV during this writers strike. Some people are going out and buying seasons of their favorite television series. Some are seeking ways to watch shows they've missed online. A few people have chosen to find something to do besides watching television.
In the beginning of the strike, I began a series of articles reviewing the online episode players of all the television networks. Then I learned what the strike was all about, so I chose not to publicize my own work as it was something the writers are fighting for. I continued to write my reviews, but waited until now to let anyone know I'd written them.
See...
This story is dedicated to a fellow writer who dreamed of being a writer, before realizing that she already IS a writer. I write it, rough as it is, to spur us all on to achieving what others may call impossible.
Please forgive the unedited stream...
I was twelve years old when I first saw 'Citizen Kane' on WGN television, Chicago. It was a bad, sixteen millimeter print, cut to fit a time slot too short, and rudely interrupted every sixn minutes or so. None of that mattered. I was enthralled. Knowing nothing about Orson Welles, my young life was forever altered -- for better AND worse.
Before that night, I liked movies alright, but wasn't hooked. After that night, I couldn't get enough. Within a year I knew that I would grow up to be a director, no matter how improbable that seemed to be.
The L.A. Times has a story today about the violent disappearance of the "family hour" of television - that vaunted time from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. where mom, dad and the kiddies would sit down and watch good-hearted shows with morals, lessons and other tolerable plot themes (for me, this was The Cosby Show, among others). I guess not everyone's a fan of 24 for the 9-year-olds. The report (Kudos to the Times for actually posting it) says sex and violence have taken over the watching hours after school and work, and shows like Kiefer Sutherland's modern-day MacGuyver (let's be honest) among others have soiled a formerly pristine time for TV. Even The Simpsons and Family Guy (especially the latter) have made a mess of the subset.
Written by Judith Blakley
This article contains spoilers and information that may or may not appear on television. Some of the audio and/or video clips may contain language or behavior that may be offensive to some people
After Jen's meltdown and subsequent eviction from the Big Brother 8 house, Jessica finds herself with the most difficult decision in this game - whom to betray.
Let's Begin at the Beginning
If you need more information on Jen's meltdown and how she jeopardized the integrity of the game, please refer to my previous article: "Big Brother 8 Game's Integrity in Jeopardy" (http://www.writernia.com/node/1012).
Written by Judith Blakley
Note: This article contains information that may or may not appear on the television show. This article does contain spoilers and videos from the live feeds that people have posted online concerning these events. Several of the video clips contain uncensored language that some people may find offensive
Whether you have been watching this season's Big Brother reality television show or not, you will enjoy learning how one person has managed to compromise the integrity of this show.
The Basics
Big Brother Slop is a bland food substance that various members of the household must eat as a penalty for losing food competitions. A food competition takes place weekly. Jen is shown here making slop: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxJmioET-18 (YouTube video posted by: itybitymom)
What perhaps started as a noble cultural endeavor is now the embarrassment of an entire industry. Black Entertainment Television (BET) as a concept is magnificent. Here you would expect to find television programming that uplifts and enlightens audiences about the richness and wealth of culture and intellect that can be found among African Americans. Yet the network has done just the opposite.
According to an article in the Washington Post (“Hot Ghetto” Leaves Some Blacks Cold, July 22, 2007) Jam Donaldson, former legal aid attorney (and Georgetown graduate), has signed up with BET to create what some would call a “slam show” about blacks. She takes the worst of what she sees about blacks and black culture and puts it up on display, as if in some sort of social commentary-like way to say that those things she has selected are somehow appalling.
The people have spoken. Not only is the Evening News with Katie Couric in last place among evening television newscasts, but her audience base has dwindled to the single-digit millions. According to an interview article with Katie Couric in New York magazine (July 16, 2007), her current nightly news audience is about 5 million.
In the article Couric admits that she may have made a poor career move in accepting the anchor position at CBS. She wonders, perhaps, if the changes she made to the Evening News broadcast had been too much, too soon, too fast.
Whether I watch her broadcast is irrelevant. What Katie Couric has done as the first female news anchor woman for a major broadcast network is historic.
Though I also seem to remember Carol Simpson as the first Black woman I’ve ever seen anchoring the weekend world news. Not much press was made of her triumph with regard to her gender or her race, both of which were of utmost importance to me in my youth as I sought out those role models who would eventually influence my career path.
Carol Simpson was for me what Katie Couric now is for many of our youngest aspiring journalists.
