Two Guys, a Girl and a Blog

Well ya know now there is just no point.

Thank you Fox for continuing to be utterly shite.

I’m going to come out of the closet and admit my secret shame — I don’t own a DVR yet. Many people do (elitist bastards who’ll be the first against the wall when the revolution comes) but there’s still quite a few of us out there that have to deal with VCR program settings, trying to avoid leaving the house during prime time, and fighting the desire to procure television by all means necessary. The major networks have provided online players as an alternative for the dvr-less.  I’ve been using the major networks ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX for some time now. I recently used a few cable networks as well. Here I’ll list the top network players from best to worse.

Pluses (+)

(+)You can view most of their television shows online.

(+)They utilize lesser commercials breaks than the aired television shows.

(+)You can chose clearly marked episode chapters. Just missed the last few minutes of an episode? You don’t have to sit through the full airing to get to the good stuff.

(+)The full screen is decently sized.

(+) There is continuous episode play.

(+) The streaming player doesn’t require a pop up so that’s always nice  when you’re wanting to use less memory.

(+) The website updates episodes the day after it airs on TV.

Minuses(-)

(-) They typically only offer the past 4 shows.

(-) They do not offer their full lineup online rather two minute replays for a few.

Pluses (+)

(+) ABC offers pretty much all its shows online. They even offer every season of Lost just in case you’re wanting to catch up.

(+) In the past they’ve also offer a few online exclusives such as Voicemail.

(+) They stream unaired television shows online as well.  Remember when October Road was pretty much cancelled before the writers strike? Well you could’ve viewed the unaired eps here.

(+) They offer an expansive HD showcase which looks quite nice on the larger/high quality monitors.

(+) They have online sections for speciality items such as interviews between intermingled ABC actors and music videos of the most viral ABCesque videos

(+) ABC.com typically offers the full current season for viewing.

Minuses (-)

(-) In order to continue viewing the show after the commercial breaks, you must consistently press ‘continue’

(-) Depending on the show they may insert more commercials than the typically aired amount

(-) It is a pop up the player.

(-)  ABC.com experiences more downage than the competitors.

Pluses (+)

(+) Very memorable link. It’s the only I can remember by heart.

(+) Fox online offers most of their shows sans some reality TV offerings

(+) Tech wise I’ve yet to find a computer that will not play their streaming media.

(+)  I’ve yet to see a commercial played so its pretty much commercial free. They keep threatening commercials but I’ve yet to see one.

(+)  They seem to utilize the surround sound better than any other show as well. Shows come through crystal clear in sound as well.

Minuses (-)

(-) They can take up to 2 days to upload an episode. The others typically have next day availability.

(-) FOX only offers 3 previously aired episodes.

(-) The images get stuck playing ever so often.

Pluses (+)

(+) CBS offers full episodes of past great shows such as Macguyver, Beverly Hills 90210,  Twin Peaks & Dynasty

(+) CBS has recently started offering a HD showcase which features clips and a few episodes of its prime-time programming.

(+) They offer full episodes and clips of their daytime  programming which is a rarity among online players

Minuses (-)

(-) Incredibly disorganized. It takes a few moments to try to find what  you’re looking to see

(-) The commercial breaks are poorly timed

(-) CBS does not offer all or much of their prime-time programming via full episodes rather offering small clips of popular shows like The New Adventures of Old Christine and Criminal Minds

(-) The player often gets stuck and replays a section unless you intervene and try to fast forward to the next section.

(-) No true full screen abilities and the larger the image the poorer the quality.

Other networks and online entities make viewing offerings as well. Here are a few links you might want to bookmark.

http://www.tnt.tv/dramavision/

http://www.cwtv.com/cw-video

http://www.usanetwork.com/fullepisodes/

http://www.tbs.com/video/index/

http://www.adultswim.com/video

http://www.comedycentral.com/funny_videos/index.jhtml

http://www.hulu.com/tv

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We’ve all heard it at this point. Seth MacFarlane is working on a Family Guy spinoff for the character of Cleveland. This is a horrible idea. I couldn’t disagree with this choice more. Other than the fact that Cleveland is a great quirky character/straight man there’s the obvious problem of having nowhere to go with the character. He can’t have the same adventures as Peter and the family. The same type of show won’t work twice…I mean thrice.

Its not that I dislike the character of Cleveland. He’s a fun guy. I also know not every spinoff character has shown everything they have to offer on their premiere show but typically thats in the case of a certain arc. This isn’t quite The Lone Gunmen all over again but it certainly isn’t any of the long list of good to great spinoffs either. My nomination for Family Guy spinoff character–Carl. Who? Carl! Okay sure no one quite remembers him but perhaps you remember the voice of him–H. Jon Benjamin. He’s voice acted in ATHF, DR Katz, Freak Show, Lucy–The daughter of the devil, and my personal favorite–Home Movies.

We don’t know much about Carl except that he’s a bit of a movie buff, he dislikes Meg, he and Chris get along awesomely, he is friends with Brian, and he has a particular interest in sexy movies involving sexy women. This show could work because it’ll catch that Clerks:The Animated Series audience, the Adult Swim audience, and of course McFarlane’s loyal following. As it stands a Cleveland spinoff would work solely for a few episodes before those previously mentioned audiences tuned out. So Seth please consider Carl. It’s still a “C” named character and you have far more places to go with this character than Cleveland.

If you don’t think its meant to be then take a look at this wikipedia trivia and try to disagree. Its a spinoff made is heaven so make it happen Seth.

“H. Jon Benjamin (famous for his role of Coach McGuirk on the animated series Home Movies) reprises his role as the voice of Carl, which may explain Coach McGuirk’s cameo in the previous episode, Blue Harvest. In addition, in the scenes in which Carl appears, the background is animated shakily, a la Squigglevision, a type of animation frequent in many Soup2Nuts cartoons that Benjamin has roles in, such as Home Movies and Dr. Katz. Also, Carl’s dialogue is reminiscent of Benjamin’s previous roles in that they are comprised of ‘realistic’ conversations that appear improvisational, about common interests, such as the movies Carl frequently mentions.“

If you’re curious about H. Jon Benjamin and the genius of Home Movies then catch an episode online at Adult Swim

Another segment in the Terminator franchise is here and it’s actually pretty sound. The general consensus is to forget about the 3rd movie which I think is perfect since I’ve seen the 3rd movie, but don’t remember anything about it. Terminator 2 was my favorite movie way back in Junior High, and I believe it stayed in first place until Pulp Fiction came along. It was the first rated R movie I was ever allowed to see, so it will always have a special place in my heart. continue reading »

Futurama, the beloved futuristic drama of Simpsons creator Matt Groening, was inexplicably and unfairly canceled from Fox’s schedule but later found a home on the up and coming late night Adult Swim period airing on Cartoon Network. It continue reading »

Each week we watch one show and offer up three opinions. Many times we agree and other times we fight to the death to decide whose opinion is right. Unfortunately you won’t get to see the thunderdome but whats left is One Show, Three Opinions. This week is Prison Break “Photo Finish”/ “Vamonos”

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Give Me My Remote has just announced a new series by Buffy, Angel, & Firefly creator Joss Whedon. The show is called DOLLHOUSE and stars Eliza Dushku (from Buffy and Tru Calling).

Here is the premise posted at Give Me My Remote:

“Echo (Eliza Dushku) [is] a young woman who is literally everybody’s fantasy. She is one of a group of men and women who can be imprinted with personality packages, including memories, skills, language—even muscle memory—for different assignments. The assignments can be romantic, adventurous, outlandish, uplifting, sexual and/or very illegal. When not imprinted with a personality package, Echo and the others are basically mind-wiped, living like children in a continue reading »