MagneticMediaFed

Check out this article that just came down the AP wires:

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (AP) - A man faces felony charges for allegedly striking his mother in the head after the two disagreed about the fate of an “American Idol” contestant.

Cory Favreau, 24, of Plattsburgh, was discussing the television show with his mother, Jan Chagnon, on May 24 - the night of the finale, according to court records.

Chagnon said contestant Katharine McPhee would have a successful career despite losing to contestant Taylor Hicks.

Favreau allegedly stood up and struck his mother in the head with a sharpened, cross-shaped object attached to a bicycle chain. Court records say the two were drinking alcohol at the time. Chagnon was treated at CVPH Medical Center for a cut to the top of her head and was released. She told authorities her son didn’t mean to hurt her and that she did not want to press charges.

Favreau was charged with second-degree assault and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was being held in Clinton County Jail late Wednesday on five-thousand dollars cash bail.

He is scheduled to reappear June 5 in City Court.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Look, I get American Idol. I get why it’s significant. I get why it’s incredibly popular, but I don’t get how standards and show-tunes make you want to club your mother in the head with a blunt object. Madness.

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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First of all, if have yet to watch the Lost finale, it’d probably be best to read this post later.

Second, if you don’t watch at all, let me take this moment to beg you to start– and not even in a “do yourself a favor and watch the 48 aired episodes on DVD over the summer” way. As the clock struck 11pm edt last night, people who have been watching the show for two years were left pondering a situation in which, basically, everything we thought we knew was ever so gently turned on its side (though not on its head, as no moment was exceptionally shocking, just momentum changing– which is almost better for a show like this). In other words, this is the absolute PERFECT time to just jump right in. Sure, the die-hards will say, “Rick, that’s &%$#’in crazy! Of course you need to watch the previous episodes. It’s a show about characters and we’ve had over 40 hours to learn about them,” but those people are total nerds are not to be believed! I go on after the jump below…

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Last night was the Lost and American Idol finales. You know this because every person in America was watching television last night (those who claim to have NOT watched television last night are not only un-American but deserve your public scorn). Because of this, Lost (and I guess American Idol) deserve posts that are much larger than what I’m able to deliver right now (I’m about to go to a baseball game… Yeah, that’s right, OUTDOOR entertainment. It can happen).

So in the meantime…

• The New York Times recaps the Lost finale. It’s a good article and has some interviews with the producers in regard to what they were shooting for.
• In my neverending ploy to get everyone in America to watch It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, this news is coming out of Zap2It about how season one episodes will air on FOX starting Sunday, June 11th. WATCH.
• A great podcast, “Brill and Eric Watch TV” cover what makes a good season finale? Good commentary, and they have a great, kinda-hostile, on-air relationship.
• And finally… it appears that a group of Tom DeLay supporters have become confused by Stephen Colbert’s on-screen performance. [via TVSquad]

So there we go, obviously there will be more later. GO METS!

For this I feel like the fool.  I honestly do.  Not just because it seems (via fan reaction, not to mention ratings) this has been the best season to date, but because after five years (five years?!) I think I finally get it.

American Idol, when its airing, isn’t just the most popular television show in America, it represents the apex of popular entertainment in America.  Unlike Survivor or The Apprentice, two shows that brought in enormous ratings numbers when they premiered but which have slowly slid into viewer complacency, American Idol has actually become more popular with time.  This is because the winner of its song-and-dance competition doesn’t just walk away with a pile of cash, they walk away with a recording contract.  This top prize could have easily amounted to little in terms of creating an actual “American Idol,” but the music and the show fuel each other.  Kelly Clarkson’s song, “Since U Been Gone” while gramatically suspect, was an undeniable hit and a song of which I, frankly, couldn’t get enough.

The winner of The Apprentice gets a job working for The Donald, but the rest of America isn’t walking the halls of Trump Tower and so the prize means nothing.  The same can go for a cool million in cash (unless of course you fail to pay the taxes on said million and find yourself locked behind bars for four years).

And now, here we are, on the cusp on seeing the next idol annointed by America, setting the stage for next fall’s #1 record to be played in ever grocery store and SUV in this great land of ours until the next starts to emerge in January. And again, I seem to have missed the boat.

Though I do feel I should say, on behalf of myself, that even if this show goes on for the next ten years, each bigger than the previous, I simply can’t bring myself to watch people sing covers of [mostly] horrible songs for 15 weeks a year.

I’ll be watching Lost tonight.

More via: [Slate, Stereogum, NY Times]

First and foremost, I want to tell everyone this this post will be typed in “real time.”

As for last night’s 2 hour season finale, it was about what was expected. Hour one was all about stopping the terrorists from launching the missiles (again). Hour two was dedicated to bringing the President to justice (again?). I wouldn’t say there were any real surprises aside from Jack not killing Logan himself, but truthfully a season finale is really only as good as its cliffhanger. Writers usually have 13-24 shows to tell their story. The last episode obviousy needs to tie up the loose ends, but we all know its going to happen. What were they going to do, let the bag guy get away? (Might have been cool.) Really though, those last 10 minutes make the finale, and I guess, in that case, 24 ended really well.

Jack was kidnapped by the Chinese (who you may remember from season 4) and appeared to be on an oil tanker in the middle of the ocean heading for… Shanghai(?)– it should also be noted that the time that passed between Jack getting kidnapped, being beaten to a bloody pulp (off camera) and being plopped down at the feet of the Chinese (a Chinese?) on said tanker in the middle of the ocean: 7 minutes.

Perhaps the bigger questions is this: will Day 6, which starts January 2007, take place in Los Angeles again, or will they be in a different city altogether? Hopefully the latter. There’s no reason that show shouldn’t be filmed in New York City. The two are a perfect match.

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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Yay, more upfronts!  Does the fun ever start?!  FOX this season seems to be playing with a familiar gameplan. The will air a handful of popular shows through out the fall and just coast until American Idol comes back in January, where they will then rule the ratings.  Throw into the mix five or so new dramas and a couple comedies that will surely be jerked around for months before being yanked off the air and there you have it.  Follow the bouncing link for the new series…

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I think as far as I’m concerned, this season’s 24 ended two weeks ago when Jack hijacked that airplane.  Since then the show has kind of been in freefall, which is expected, I suppose, as it happens every year.  We actually got quite far this season before things started to flounder– a sign the people in charge are starting to plan things out a little more (it is well documented that in seasons past the writers wouldn’t plot out the whole year before they started, which is crazy).

That being said, last night was fine episode if you don’t mind the fact that it was completely unnecessary in terms of story. I mean, how exactly is it that the terrorist just happened to escape without anyone knowing any better?  Weird.

Luckily, it did boast what might be the single funniest line every said on television.  Bill Buchanon is talking about the bad guys computer system and how he has a “Pheonix Server” to which Chloe responds, “No! Not a Pheonix!”  It was a line that basically summed up 24’s entire run in four words.

For those of you who spend the better part of your day dwelling on things like serif-fonts and kerning, I encourage you to check out this strangely in-depth look at the 24 clock.

There Is Something Weird Going on With the Clock on 24

[via Boing Boing]