Appearing on TV anytime soon? Better clean up your language. Well if you don’t like the network you’re going on and you’ll be live start cussing on TV because it sure will get them in trouble.
The Supreme Court has decided to take a stronger stand against the use of indecency in TV as you can see in their decision on the case of FCC (Federal Communications Commission) vs Fox TV (Case No. 07-582) last Tuesday. The courts decided in favor of FCC with 4 out of the 5 justices concurring with the decision. In the case syllabus they stated that the “Federal law prohibits the broadcasting of “any . . . indecent . . . language,” 18 U. S. C. §1464, which includes expletives referring to sexual or excretory activity or organs.” It doesn’t matter whether the indecency be scripted or not a repeated offense or not. The court will be taking a stronger stance that will be forcing TV stations to be more conscientious in editing stuff before they show it.
For parents this is a huge relief because we all know just how much vulgarities about in television today. As Justice Antonin Scalia wrote, “The commission could reasonably conclude that the pervasiveness of foul language, and the coarsening of public entertainment in other media such as cable, justify more stringent regulation of broadcast programs so as to give conscientious parents a relatively safe haven for their children.” On the other hand we adults will have to contend with all the bleeps that we can expect to be hearing even more frequently now.
Image source: RJ Designs Posters
Jay Leno is giving Detroit something to smile about. He’s showed that he’s a concerned citizen and that he has compassion for his fellowmen by announcing “Jay’s Comedy Stimulus Plan.” His stimulus package by the way will not cost anyone their tax dollars but will certainly have more immediate effects than the government’s stimulus plan. The stimulus plan will allow people in the Detroit area who are currently out of work to attend his free performance in Michigan on April 7.
Leno chose to perform there not only because the state has the highest unemployment rate at 11.6% but also because as an auto buff he loves Detroit. As Leno said, “when you’re an auto guy like me, that city is Jerusalem.”
Jay Leno credits President Obama for inspiring him to do his part to help during these rough times and since Leno says that all he can do is make jokes then he might as well make other people laugh. It might not be the biggest plan but it sure does make people everywhere, not just in Detroit smile.
Pepsi will be sponsoring the event. FREE tickets will be available at The Palace Arena in Auburn Hills starting March 16. Softdrinks and parking will also be free on that day.
TV networks are really happy about the Nielsen Company’s latest report but I’m pretty sure parents and developmental doctors wouldn’t be. According to the report TV watching has increased by up to 151 hours per month. That’s around 5 hours a day!
The statistics were gathered during the last three months of 2008, which was when the US elections was really intense and the economy crisis was much felt. However, the people watching the news to keep track of these significant events are not solely to blame for the sudden rise in TV watching since the rise is, according to Gary Holmes of Nielsen, actually a long term trend. Factors that really contribute to the rise include…
more cable channels – This means a greater variety of shows to choose from at all hours of the day.
Technology – TiVo and DVR has made TV watching a lot more convenient even for the busy people, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to watch TV.
Economy – The news watchers is not to blame this time but the fact that people are trying to save money thus turning to the cheaper form of entertainment, at least compared to movie going and eating out, which is the television.
What isn’t taken into account with this study is the viewers’ habits so that the actual time spent in front of the television watching instead of doing other things while it is on is not really known. On the energy/environmental friendly note please refrain from doing this and turn off your TV set when not watching. Remember it will also help lower your electricity bills!
I bet you were happy with the news that iPhone will be playing TV shows pretty soon. I do not mean to be raining on your parade but here is a bit of news that just might do that. MacWorld brings it to us:
Apple said Friday that it will stop selling NBC Universal television shows through the iTunes Store. Apple said it’s doing so because NBC wanted Apple to “pay more than double the wholesale price” for each NBC TV episode, which would have upped user costs to $4.99 per episode, up from $1.99 presently.
“Since NBC would withdraw their shows in the middle of the television season, Apple has decided to not offer NBC TV shows for the upcoming television season beginning in September,” reads a statement published by Apple. “NBC supplied iTunes with three of its 10 best selling TV shows last season, accounting for 30 percent of iTunes TV show sales.”
If there is an upside to this piece of news, it is that it is NOT Apple’s fault. If you read that again, it is NBC that is upping its prices. Then again, this statement is coming from Apple – we have yet to hear NBC’s side. Then again, all is not lost. We will still be able to download other shows from iTunes:
Apple will continue to sell television shows from ABC, CBS, Fox and the CW, along with more than 50 cable networks, continuing the current price of $1.99 per episode.
There should be enough TV shows to download from iTunes but this does not change the fact that some favorites will be lost to us, hopefully not forever.
I have no set plans for New Year’s Eve, do you? I am looking at going out of town to celebrate at some strange place. An alternative would be to go to one of those New Year countdown parties in the city. Another alternative would be to go home to my parents again (as we did for Christmas). I really do not know which option we are going to take but we might very well end up staying at home and having our own little party and if that is the case, we would probably tuned in to one – or two, or three – televised countdown parties. In the event that like me, you end up watching the tube on New Year’s Eve, here are some shows that you can look out for, courtesy of The Associated Press:
The granddaddy of New Year’s Eve entertainment is “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2009,” the title made even more torturous by the baton-passing between the two entertainment utility players. The show has a prime-time hour at 10 p.m. ET, breaks for news, then returns with Swift, the Jonas Brothers and Lionel Richie in Times Square. Fergie will host a Hollywood segment with the Pussycat Dolls and others.
Carson Daly is hosting his fifth New Year’s Eve special on NBC, with the same format: an hour in prime-time, a break for news, and a longer party. T.I., Ludacris, Katy Perry, the Ting Tings and Elton John all join Daly.
Daughtry and Scott Weiland are featured players on Fox’s late-night special, with Spike Feresten and Mark Thompson as hosts. It airs at 11 p.m. ET.
One recent trend is partying news networks: if you want to jam with Anderson Cooper or Bill Hemmer, you can. Cooper, teamed with comic Kathy Griffin, is in Times Square for CNN, which boasts a surprisingly cool lineup of Lil Wayne, My Morning Jacket and Hinder. Fox’s “U Party 2009″ has LoCash Cowboys and Chuck Hicks.
The hardest workers of the night? Try the classic rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd — they’re booked on both CNN and the Fox broadcast network.
Do stay away from CBS as they are resting that night. Instead of a full blown New Year’s Eve telecast (or even half blown, mind you) they are airing reruns of the Late Show with David Letterman.
Bruno Heller is getting a lot of buzz for his new show The Mentalist, but he was also the producer of the critical darling but cancelled drama Rome for HBO.
The premature cancellation of the series is leading Heller to think of doing a feature film to continue and possibly give closure to the series. HBO executives have actually admitted that axing Rome may have been a mistake because the show posted great ratings for the second season even without the Sopranos lead-in it enjoyed for the first season.
NBC recently announced its January 2009 schedule that will feature the premier of such shows as Superstars of Dance, Howie Do It, as well as the return of established shows like The Biggest Loser: Couples and Friday Night Lights.
New timeslot changes has been announced.
With the success of the rebooting of 90210 it was only a matter of time before other shows get the same treatment.
There are now rumors that Melrose Place is going to be revamped. Being that the original Melrose Place was a spin-off of the original Beverly Hills 90210, the prospects of Melrose being resurrected is not that far off.
Heather Locklear must be thrilled with the news. Lord knows she needs the work.
Vastly underrated actor Brian Cox has been tapped to get involved in two TV series.
First off, he has been cast to star with Katee Sackhoff on the drama pilot “Lost and Found”. He has also agreed to appear in a four-episode arc of the new drama series Kings.
I’m happy that Cox is getting more work because he really deserves to be seen by a bigger audience. Talent should be given time to shine.
Samantha Who? star Christina Applegate has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. Fortunately, it was detected very early and is not considered life threatening. Christina is now undergoing treatment and is expected to fully recover from her illness.
Get well soon Christina!
