Author Topic: The TV Thread: Networks, cable, shows on DVD.  (Read 105757 times)

urth

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Re: The TV Thread: Networks, cable, shows on DVD.
« Reply #270 on: November 30, 2015, 10:26:54 AM »
On Thanksgiving, they had a Tom Petty "takeover" on Palladium.  I so wanted to recommend it to RGMike, but not so much that I wanted to turn on my computer. 

I watched the entire four hour documentary.  I like them even more now.

runnin' down a dream

Have you (or anyone for that matter) had a chance to check out Warren Zanes' new "unauthorized" Petty bio? It sounds pretty good.

Quite the sizable crop of rock bios out this holiday season. The Costello one is on my list, and I'm giving a hard look at the ones from Chrissie Hynde, Kim Gordon, and Patti Smith's follow-up to Just Kids. And that's just what I can recall off the top of my head.
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dischead

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Re: The TV Thread: Networks, cable, shows on DVD.
« Reply #271 on: February 15, 2016, 11:21:58 AM »
HBO's new series "Vinyl," a collaboration between Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger, is a fictional
look at the record business in New York City during the mid-1970s. My initial impression after
watching last night's two-hour pilot is that it might be good to very good, although much will
depend on how it spools out.

My reservation stems from the adage "truth is stranger than fiction."  I suspect if they tried to
tell stories that accurately depicted the excesses of the period, it wouldn't seem believeable.
Still, there's plenty of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, although that order is reversed for this
episode.  Also we have all the expected tropes:  the hard-working, hard-partying, stressed-out
executive.  His path to the top and who he stepped on to get there.  The troubled marriage and
the neglected wife at home with the children.  The pending big deal.  The pending big contract
signing.  The ambitious employee who wants to get ahead.  The payola and corruption of
back-room business deals.  With Scosese at the helm the craft is excellent, but the material
is well-trod.

Part of the hype surrounding the show is its historical accuracy, so a couple of references didn't
fit for me.  One was a throw-away mention to a non-musical item that wouldn't have received
wide-spread publicity until the late '80s, the other was a musical performance that seemed
unlikely even for New York City in 1973.  I suspect the latter will be continue to be an issue, as
the series compresses a few years in the mid-'70s into its ten-episode opening season.  We
do get plenty of big ties, big lapels, and big hair -- on both men and women.  Absent was any
sight of eight-track tapes, which were still widespread in 1973.

There are many good tunes on the soundtrack.  Of course there's lots of early '70s rock and
roll.  But retrospective vignettes for the backstory provide the opportunity to feature blues, pop,
R&B, and rock from the '50s and '60s.  And the previews indicate we'll hear more glam, funk, punk,
disco, and even hip-hop in the coming episodes.

In sum, while Vinyl is not (yet) a must-see show, I'd say do check it out if you can.
"Your favorite songs, played beautifully"

RGMike

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Re: The TV Thread: Networks, cable, shows on DVD.
« Reply #272 on: April 01, 2017, 10:36:42 PM »
Some weird shit going on on KOFY-TV Sat nites. Having cancelled Creepy KOFY Movie Time (they'd been showing reruns for a couple of years), they are now running the following:

11pm "Circus of Chaos" - a half-hour show hosted by a "horror clown" (I'm not making this up) and featuring some of the cast members of ...Movie Time (but not No Name or Balrok).

1130 "Bamboo Dreams"  a serialized-drama web series filmed in a bar in Oakland (!)

12 midnite "Creature Feature" -- a revival of the classic old KTVU horror-movie show. This also started out on the web.

Based on the comments on these shows' respective FB pages, the audience is not pleased.
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dischead

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Re: The TV Thread: Networks, cable, shows on DVD.
« Reply #273 on: November 25, 2017, 09:14:53 AM »
Ron Howard's 2016 documentary on the early years of the Beatles, The Beatles: Eight Days a Week --
The Touring Years
is being shown about twenty times this week on PBS stations (with the usual
pledge breaks) as part of their fundraising programming.  Schedule on the KQED web site.
« Last Edit: November 25, 2017, 09:16:49 AM by dischead »
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RGMike

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Re: The TV Thread: Networks, cable, shows on DVD.
« Reply #274 on: November 25, 2017, 11:52:09 AM »
Some weird shit going on on KOFY-TV Sat nites. Having cancelled Creepy KOFY Movie Time (they'd been showing reruns for a couple of years), they are now running the following:

11pm "Circus of Chaos" - a half-hour show hosted by a "horror clown" (I'm not making this up) and featuring some of the cast members of ...Movie Time (but not No Name or Balrok).

1130 "Bamboo Dreams"  a serialized-drama web series filmed in a bar in Oakland (!)

12 midnite "Creature Feature" -- a revival of the classic old KTVU horror-movie show. This also started out on the web.

Based on the comments on these shows' respective FB pages, the audience is not pleased.

Saw this post from April -- that "Bamboo Dreams" show got the ax pretty quickly. And "Creature Feature" got moved up to 11:00.
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dischead

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Re: The TV Thread: Networks, cable, shows on DVD.
« Reply #275 on: August 12, 2018, 01:23:51 PM »

I just noticed that KCSM is no longer on our cable system.  Upon investigation, I discovered
the TV station has been sold to Santa Rosa public broadcaster KRCB.  The new call letters
will be KPJK, honoring the station's founder, Professor John Kramer.  The article referenced
below says that KCSM dropped PBS in 2009, which I find confusing, as I have been checking
their schedule somewhat regularly for PBS music programs like Austin City Limits, Infinity Hall
Live, and The Artist's Den.  The new station couldn't get PBS membership because PBS doesn't
want more duplicate stations in the same market.


http://padailypost.com/2018/08/01/kcsm-tv-getting-a-new-owner-new-name/
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RGMike

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Re: The TV Thread: Networks, cable, shows on DVD.
« Reply #276 on: August 12, 2018, 03:49:33 PM »

I just noticed that KCSM is no longer on our cable system.  Upon investigation, I discovered
the TV station has been sold to Santa Rosa public broadcaster KRCB.  The new call letters
will be KPJK, honoring the station's founder, Professor John Kramer.  The article referenced
below says that KCSM dropped PBS in 2009, which I find confusing, as I have been checking
their schedule somewhat regularly for PBS music programs like Austin City Limits, Infinity Hall
Live, and The Artist's Den.  The new station couldn't get PBS membership because PBS doesn't
want more duplicate stations in the same market.

http://padailypost.com/2018/08/01/kcsm-tv-getting-a-new-owner-new-name/

It's a weird lineup of foreign (but subtitled) dramatic series and other oddities.  It's also caused problems for folks who listen to KCSM-FM via cable because their cable channel (which was 199 on Comcast SF) is now also featuring KPJK, which means the new TV station has 2 channel positions, 199 and 17.  Meanwhile the KCSM-FM channel in the radio station section, 962, is having audio problems so some folks are pissed.
You spin me right 'round, baby, right 'round

RGMike

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Re: The TV Thread: Networks, cable, shows on DVD.
« Reply #277 on: September 14, 2018, 08:31:36 PM »
Having lost Me-TV in the Bay Area about 9 months ago (and still awaiting its promised resurrection on another channel), last week we also lost Decades, which its owner (Weigand, which also owns Me-TV) decided to replace with their newest venture, StartTV.  StartTV is a channel featuring female-centric procedurals. Which someone thinks is a demographic goldmine, I suppose, but at the moment, the channel has only 8 or 9 series (The Closer, Cold Case, Medium, Profiler, Family Law and a couple others) which they show endlessly, 2 episodes at a time.

The story is that Weigand is "looking" for another outlet for Decades in all the markets where it's been replaced by StartTV.  As it happens, Weigand is in the process of acquiring KTLN-TV in Palo Alto, currently a religious station, and the rumor was that when the takeover is complete it will become a Me-TV affiliate. (Perhaps with Decades on a subchannel?).
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ggould

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Re: The TV Thread: Networks, cable, shows on DVD.
« Reply #278 on: September 20, 2018, 10:52:56 PM »

I just noticed that KCSM is no longer on our cable system.  Upon investigation, I discovered
the TV station has been sold to Santa Rosa public broadcaster KRCB.  The new call letters
will be KPJK, honoring the station's founder, Professor John Kramer.  The article referenced
below says that KCSM dropped PBS in 2009, which I find confusing, as I have been checking
their schedule somewhat regularly for PBS music programs like Austin City Limits, Infinity Hall
Live, and The Artist's Den.  The new station couldn't get PBS membership because PBS doesn't
want more duplicate stations in the same market.

http://padailypost.com/2018/08/01/kcsm-tv-getting-a-new-owner-new-name/

It's a weird lineup of foreign (but subtitled) dramatic series and other oddities.  It's also caused problems for folks who listen to KCSM-FM via cable because their cable channel (which was 199 on Comcast SF) is now also featuring KPJK, which means the new TV station has 2 channel positions, 199 and 17.  Meanwhile the KCSM-FM channel in the radio station section, 962, is having audio problems so some folks are pissed.
We're among the pissed off.  How long does it take for Comcast to pump a decent signal through the system?
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