MagneticMediaFed

“You weasel!”

Oh television, we barely knew you. Once a bastion of entertainments both important and trivial, this year you were reduced to rubble after the writer’s strike sucked out your very essence — original, scripted programming. And now, you’re dead. But! Could there be a resurrection? Perhaps. It appears the strike could be coming to a close. I fear it is too late. After the jump, please enjoy MagneticMediaFed’s first foray into this whole “web video” sensation everyone has been talking about, as we throw a funeral for television…

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TBS’s 10 Items or Less premiered on the network for five episodes back in December of 2006. The series, which focuses on the employees and perhaps not-too-competent manager of a family-owned grocery store, was co-created by and stars John Lehr. Lehr first showed up on my radar back in the mid-nineties as characters in those first three Noah Baumbach films (Kicking and Screaming, Mr. Jealousy, Highball), and would always be one of those actors who would appear in a series causing me to point at the screen and say, “Oh, hey!” (He played Christina Applegate’s brother on Jesse, hosted ABC’s reality show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, and has appeared on Friends and Once & Again amongst others). With 10 Items or Less, which returns to TBS for a second season on Tuesday January 15th, Lehr seems to have found the perfect project to play off of his rather extensive background in improvisation. Last week Lehr took some time to talk with MagneticMediaFed about the show’s second season, why he prefers improv to scripted dialogue and the type of audience he hopes his show will reach. Read the full interview after the jump…

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USA Today recently named Britney Spears as “Celebrity of the Year.” If you were unsure up to this point just how awful 2007 was, this should be the last piece of evidence needed. How this decision was reached seems dubious at best and probably should be avoided at all costs. Whatever the methodology, the result is sadly spot-on, and goes to great lengths to not only summarize 2007 but the entire decade.

To really understand why 2007 was the way that it was, and why it is the year that best represents the aughts, we need to revisit the previous decade, some would say the better decade: the nineties. More specifically, we should take the Way-Back Machine to see where our “Celebrity of the Year” was so that we can better understand where she is now and by extension where we are now. If we focus primarily on mass culture, Britney Spear completely embodies what we often think of as being “the nineties” (or at least late-nineties) despite the fact that she didn’t really explode in the music industry until 1999. Because of this we have to acknowledge that cultural eras aren’t particularly concerned with the Gregorian calendar. Need proof, look at that photo of you from 1991. Those tight-rolled jeans and neon bracelets scream 80s far more than grungy 90s. More after the jump…

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I love making end of the year top ten lists. Sometimes I think it’s the only reason I put up with the fifty weeks of mediocre nonsense (but then I take my antidepressants and go back to playing with that shiny piece of foil). The problem with having television as your medium of choice is that the television schedule doesn’t fit nicely into the Gregorian calendar. Typical seasons on the networks run from September to May, while cable tends to stick closer to the actual climatological patterns of the earth. It’s easy to say that first season Friday Night Lights was the best thing of 2007 except for the fact that half of the season landed squarely in 2006. MagneticMediaFed has figured out the solution to all of this: EPISODES. Episodes are what make television TELEVISION. A good episode keeps you glued to the screen for the full hour (or half hour), it tells a complete story while adding significantly to the series as a whole, it shows you something you didn’t think you’d see or makes you laugh in ways you didn’t think were possible.

I’ve spent a good chunk of the past couple weeks culling over the MMF-archives reminding myself of those episodes that I thought really stuck out. I watch a lot of television, though I don’t purport to watch all television (anyone who does should be shunned and bathed — not necessarily in that order). Because of this, my list only includes the shows that I regularly watch and is missing some obvious gems that I simply don’t know/care about (i.e. Battlestar Galactica, A Shot At Love with Tila Tequila). Still, I think most of the bases are covered. If there was a fantastic episode you remember from this past calendar year, please let us know in the comments. The full list, available right after the jump…

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It’s been a month since new shows started popping up and my god has it been a rough ride. I was able to keep for the better part of two weeks, but lately I’ve had to throw my hands up and declare that once again, the television has won. Part of the problem, for me at least, is this fall seems to have more decent shows than season’s past. There are always one or two really good new programs, but typically the rest of it is just dreck. This year there have only been a small handful of shows I would consider abdominal, but with an unusually large amount resting somewhere in the middle. But how does one justify sticking with a series that is at its very best just OK. I think now would be as good a time as any to look at where we are and decide how to move forward.

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The Emmy’s. They’re here. Yay, right? RIGHT?!

The Emmy’s, of all the major awards ceremonies are kind of like your gay uncle. Sure, they bring you presents at Christmas, but they’re usually made of hummus and kind of smell.

Nevertheless, if praise is going to be doled out, it might as well be in the form of golden statues with wings… or something. Let’s get this bidness started (right after the jump)…

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Why just watch television?

As something of a grand experiment, MagneticMediaFed would like to invite you to join the fall-2006 FANTASY TELEVISION LEAGUE. Find out more after the jump…

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In honor of Strangers With Candy opening tonight in New York, I’ve decided to showcase a few great moments from the shows run on Comedy Central (or at least those moments that someone thought were good enough to load into YouTube). There’s more after the jump below…

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First of all, I don’t mean for this to turn into the Rescue Me blog, but until It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia starts up next Thursday (premiering with two new episodes!) Rescue Me is simply the most interesting show on all of television. But before I get to the actual basis of this post, a few words about last night’s episode [#304]. It ended with a fairly troubling scene involving Tommy forcing himself on his ex-wife. It was troubling in the same way Straw Dogs is troubling. Its yet another example of how this series finds a way to seemlessly walk its audience from the comforts of frat-boy humor to the depths of the human experience. It makes for a great ride.

Now then, I’m watching tonights episode, and like every night I watch the show, I think to myself, “Damn, Rick. This has one of the best title sequences ever, but certainly the best on TV right now.” Sometimes I reply to myself, “You should post about that, and perhaps include some other good intros,” but frequently I just sit silently and go back to drinking my beer.

Not today! Check out five of the best show openings by clicking below…

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There’s nothing more shocking than a recurring character getting killed off of a television series. Well, maybe that’s a lie. I’m sure there are plenty things MORE shocking– like waking up in the morning only to realize that someone has stolen your kidneys, or perhaps, putting a fork in an electrical outlet. Nevertheless, it’s a dramatic trick as old as sweeps itself: killing off characters. This past season has been no exception, as many lives were claimed and many plots were twisted (some were killed off in such a dramatic fashion they were forced to leave TV altogether for the movie biz).

Anyway, please click below to pay respect…
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And better yet, it includes what shows I will be watching and what shows I’ll be trying out before I make up my mind. WHAT A DEAL! All this information and more by clicking the link below…

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