MagneticMediaFed

missy aggravation / some sacred questions

BENTHAM!! Wait. Who?.. Why? (Spoiler-riddled Lost thoughts after the jump…)

(more…)

Uh… daddy issues?

Last November when the WGA strike kicked off, word was that the as-of-that-moment eight completed LOST episodes were going to end on a cliffhanger that — if the strike ended up putting a premature end to the season — would drive the audience crazy. Show-runners Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof suspected that if episode #408 were to air with no follow-up for six to eight months there would be riots, a mass exodus of viewers from the show, the streets would run red with the blood of infidels — you get the idea, people would be pissed.

It turns out they were more or less right. Thursday’s episode, another solid entry into the season 4 canon, ended with not just one possibly-infuriating cliffhangers, but two. Sayid gives up Michael/Kevin Johnson to the Widmore crew, an act that may or may not be the right thing to do depending on whose team on which you think everyone is playing. Then back on the island Ben tells Alex, Rousseau and Carl to head for “the sanctuary” where two of the three ultimately get gunned down. Then the episode ends. Knowing that this will be resolved in a couple week (there are five more episodes slated for this spring) makes this ending OK. If this were it, however, frankly, I’d be rather annoyed. So annoyed, that I probably would have stormed the AMPTP headquarters with a large mallet and wrecked havoc until the strike ended. Luckily for all of us, that will not have to be done.

Otherwise I’m giving the first two acts of season four Lost 4 out of 5 Flaming MagneticMediaFed Television Icons.

LOST returns on April 24th

Don’t buy it, but love it.

Yesterday afternoon, while watching the second season premiere of The Riches I began to think about the general improbability of the action on the show — how the set-up is so inherently ridiculous I’m astonished that they’ve already gotten an entire season under their belts and can hardly fathom the creators putting out at least another half-dozen this spring. I mean, how have these characters not been caught yet? But the thing is, the show works. I mean really works, like way better than a lot of those series that actually have believable plot lines. I started to think about which method makes for a better television experience. The short answer is its all about execution. The longer answer is after the jump…

(more…)

88 MPH

First, a bit of housekeeping: as you may or may not have noticed, I haven’t been blogging much these days. This is almost exclusively due to the fact that I am in the process of moving from New York City to Nashville, Tennessee, and frankly haven’t had time to watch much television (aside from Lost and The Wire), let alone formulate thoughts on said television and then actually type those thoughts out and click “publish.” This pattern of non-activity will likely continue for the next two or three weeks as I get situated in my new city. Feel free to track my progress on my personal site, as I set-up shop.

OK. With that out of the way, how great has Lost been these past five weeks? SPOILERS: It’s been really great. More on the “why” after the jump…

(more…)

I wanna go back!

I suppose in about eight weeks I could proven severely wrong. I suppose this could be true. For as a season that was designed to tell a very specific story over a very specific number of episodes (16), it is quite likely that I and all the rest of the beach-based sci-fi nerdalati could riot in the streets for leaving us hanging with the inevitable faux-finale. Yes, we will gather together with torches and SPF 60 and mobile devices that allow us to maintain contact with our favorite gadget blogs and will whine and complain about the writers, the AMTPT, ABC, Cuse and Lindelof and the rest of the cast and why they couldn’t just cross the damn line and maybe squeeze out a nineth episode — something, anything to prolong the misery that is being denied what is rightfully ours.

But right now, today, as American’s quickly find worthy substitutes for televised entertainments in the face of a strike that has rendered much of the entire medium culturally irrelevant, LOST is the big winner. I’ll tell you why after the jump…

(more…)

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…

(more…)

Better to burn out or to fade away?

This thing is killing me. We all knew the writers’ strike was going to be a major inconvenience, but I never suspected it would have the effect it’s currently having on my psyche. Ever since the writers took to the picket line three weeks ago, television has kind of sucked, and not just because my beloved late-night shows immediately went into reruns. Despite the fact that we’ve still been getting new scripted episodes these past few weeks, the strike has, in a way, highlighted just how solidly mediocre this fall has been. The new series, while marked by very few cancellations (honestly, who would have thought Cavemen would still be airing new episodes three weeks into November?), have generated no significant hits (with the exception of Samantha Who?, but it’s hard to say if it is the show that is successful or its Dancing With the Stars lead-in) while our favorite returning series from years past have either been wildly inconsistent (How I Met Your Mother), shockingly awful (Weeds) or just kind of a mess (Friday Night Lights). To top it all off the two series that have been consistantly good and occasionally great in The Office and 30 Rock are the first to run out of episodes. The whole mess can put your average television viewer into something of an existential conundrum: if interesting stories can vanish as quickly as they appear, what’s the point of it all? More after the jump…

(more…)

Tomorrow is the 4th of July. It is a federal holiday and many people will not have to work. Though today is not a holiday. Some people will work, some people will not. I find this troubling. Since the 4th floats across the week year to year, it should be treated like Christmas whereas the vacation is rouded up or down to the nearest weekend. Okay.

G4 TV, making friends left and right! The G4 cable network (formerly TechTV) is starting a new campaign geared to attracting people to its late-night offerings. The gimmick: threatening your friends late at night. You sign up your friends through their website and then they will receive threatening phone calls telling them to watch this programming. What a delight.

A way to kill 108 minutes. A new site, EnterTheCode.com wonders if anyone will let the Lost-countdown-clock actually reach zero. As of this writing, the answer is no. It has been reset 695 times. Part of me says this is a bit much as I like Lost but refuse to stare at a countdown clock all day, though the other part of me is seriously intrigued by the notion that the internet is far too vast to actually let the time expire. Doing so would require much cooperation. I like it.

Apple to conquer the livingroom. Here’s an article/mockup of the mythical iVault, the ultimate entertainment component. I’m ready for it, but I suspect it could be some years before it happens. Though it WILL happen. But maybe, I’m wrong, maybe its closer than we think. iTunes has only been selling TV shows for 9 months, and yet it seems like ages. The future looks awesome/expensive.

There has been a significant trend this season in the complete absence of comedies from the Nielson top 10 (and only an occasional representative in the extended top twent, usually Two and a Half Men). This can be traced two a few things. Obviously the number of comedies is way down compared to what was on the networks ten years ago. Also, I feel the television comedy is in a period of change, and yet the audience seems to be slow to adapt. If you aren’t one to obsess over comedy (or television) you could easily find yourself flipping around the dial (who uses a dial?) trying to decide between watching something that looks and feels completely different from what you’re used to (like Arrested Development or The Office) or watching something that is entirely familiar, but unfunny. Keep reading by clicking below…

(more…)

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…
(more…)

(It’s actually around 1pm edt, but whatever).

Here are some haps around the telesphere (my term).

• McFarlane toys is going to be releasing a series of Lost characters (Jack, Kate, Hurley, Charlie and Shannon to be exact). Finally I’ll have something to play with on my 1:8 scale replica of the island.
• And while we’re on the island, looks like Bad Twin has made it onto the NYTimes best-seller list. I have to admit, I kinda want to read it… THANK GOD I’m a television fan and don’t know how to read.
• NBC has thrown out the original gameplan and totally reorganized its fall lineup. I wonder if that’s because…
• The 2006 ratings are in!  CBS/FOX split the important categories, NBC grasping for life-raft.
• Buzz Machine breaks down a recent lawsuit in which all of the major networks (and a few movie studios) are suing Cablevision over their plan to offer “DVR-like” services to customers without the use of a set-top-box. His argument is based on previous statements that the network is obsolete. Don’t tell Les Moonves.
• And finally, this is a good site.

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…

(more…)

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!

Tonight is the Lost finale. I’m sure something mysterious will happen. After Lost (and the local news, and that show that they claim is still Nightline) Jimmy Kimmel’s program will start. Why is this significant, you say? Well it’s because of one of their guests. After Jon Favreau comes out and tells hilarious stories of tinsel-town, they will have on Hugh McIntyre from the Hanso Foundation. This sounds all well and good, except for the fact that Hugh McIntyre is not a real person, nor is the Hanso Foundation. It is the organization that seems to be pulling all the strings on the mystical Lost island.

Of course the synergy doesn’t end there. You can also hop over to Amazon and pick up The Bad Twin a novel written by someone who was aboard the doomed Oceanic Flight 815. You may remember the title as the manuscript Sawyer was reading two episodes ago.

So here’s the question:

When you watch a show that requires some personal involvement, like Lost, do you enjoy when that envolvement begins to spread into other mediums or you do find it annoying. Do these actions alienate the casual viewer?

I’m still on the fence about it. I do plan on watching Kimmel tonight though. What are your thoughts?

The common sentiment amongst most views of Lost this season has been that the writers keep jerking us around with plot twist after plot twist and can never simply answer a question without bringing up four more.  While I’d say this is techinically true, it should also be noted that 1) if you answer too many questions you don’t really have much of a show left, 2) having to tell a story in arcs of 24, 45-minutes chunks is kind of daunting, and 3) any good serial is about the journey, not the destination.

Now that we have all that out of the way, let’s take this opportunity as we sit a mere 6 days from the season 2 finale to take a step back and think about everything we’ve learned (oh, I guess I should take this time to say SPOILER ALERT, and seriously, if you plan on catching up on this show over the summer, don’t read this.  It won’t be as fun.):

• There are a series of “hatches” all over the island.
• People will continue to call a “bunker” a “hatch” despite the fact that a hatch is basically a door, and you can’t live IN a door.
• These hatches are likely all working in conjunction with one another under the umbrella of The Hanso Foundation
• The Hanso Foundation is continuing to drop food on the island
• The Hanso Foundation may be conducting sociologial experiments on people.
• There are others on the island
• They are a mysterious bunch.
• They dress in rags, but actually prefer white medical jackets.
• They know our heroes.
• They know the answer to the mystery.
• etc. etc. etc.

That’s a lot of information!  I might even argue that I know too much information. I guess my point is that despite this season being somewhat of a let-down for most (how could it not be?), it’s actually come through and brought its fair share of the crazy.  I’d argue that we learned more in season two than we learned in season one (episode for episode).  Of course, they still have two hours next Wednesday to screw it all up.