Starting with new television shows airing on HBO several years ago, we’ve seen a giant shift of new programming moving to non-traditional paid channels. There was a time where over-the-air networks dominated the new show markets, but that time is over. Each TV season we see a plethora of new programming on the “cable” networks, and not just HBO. The best thing about these new shows is that they are often better than the shows found on the traditional networks.
When I think about it, this trend really took root when the networks were dominated with “reality” programming and game shows. People who didn’t want to watch The Biggest Celebrity Dance Star getting voted off the island by big brother tuned into programming that was too edgy for network television. FX, TNT, and USA were a few of the networks (besides HBO and Showtime) that began airing original programming. Shows like The Shield Rescue Me and The Closer dominated cable ratings. Monk has been on for years and continues to draw good ratings, followed by one of my favorites, Psych.
It has come to a point in my TV viewing where most of the TV shows I watch are not on the major networks. Monk, Psych, Raising the Bar, True Blood, Weeds, In Plain Sight, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, are all great shows that draw me away from the networks. In fact, there was a recent article that stated the USA Network drew more viewers than the 5th “major” network, The CW. Networks like TBS, A&E, Starz, and AMC have joined TNT, FX, USA, HBO, and Showtime on the original programming bandwagon, and oftentimes they air some of the best programming on television.
I think part of the reason these new shows thrive and survive on the cable networks (besides the fact that they may be able to get away with more edgier content) is that on paid TV the shows are given more of a chance to pick up steam. A show like Psych would have never survived if it was shown on parent network NBC instead of USA. The ratings would not have been high enough. If you look at the show Kings on NBC it had low ratings but, in my opinion, was a really good show. I think part of the reason is that it was never given a proper chance to gain viewership. NBC should move it to USA over the summer and see if it gains traction there (why not, they’ve done it with two Law and Order series).
Perhaps the major networks could learn something from the cable stations and take bigger chances on programming. Or perhaps, since many of the cable channels are owned by the same corporations as the major networks, they are content having shorter seasons and keeping the programming where they are. I don’t know, but I continue to find myself watching the major networks less and less.
Dog People
I had a dog growing up but I was a kid. I wasn’t part of the dog owner culture that I have now come to know. Like all dog people I love my dog. I love playing with her and buying her toys and treats. I love sitting with her in my lap while I watch TV. That is where my commonalities with dog people end. I do not throw parties for my dog nor do I dress her up. The biggest difference between these people and me is that she is not my kid.
Yes, believe it or not, my dog is my dog. She is not my kid. Yes, I talk to her because I know that dogs recognize the tone in your voice and know when to be happy, sad, and sorry for what they’ve done. Since I’ve gotten her though, other people have treated her like she’s my kid. There is a neighbor in my complex comes over and bugs the crap out of me and makes Penny hyper. She thinks because I have a dog and I’m outside that she can just come over and play with her. She talks to her nonstop and tries to get her as excited as possible. Normally I wouldn’t mind, but this woman is annoying and refers to me as Penny’s daddy. She’s not the only one though. Several people seem to think it’s ok to come over and play with my dog. If I’m taking the dog for a walk, that’s fine, but when I’m standing outside in the dark at 10:00 at night, I’m not walking the dog. I’m waiting for the dog to do her business. I don’t need you to distract her so that she doesn’t want to go. Have some respect and back off.
Penny Updates
Penny is doing great and seems to be completely used to her surroundings. She has even started to let me sleep a bit later on the weekends. The only thing we still need to work out is where she sleeps. After the first few nights in the apartment I realized she can’t just sleep on my bed because she sleeps right up against you, many times using you as a pillow. This made it very uncomfortable to sleep. I decided to put her bed on my bed and that worked for a few nights, but then she started her routine of sleeping against/on me. I think now I will try putting her bed on the ground and letting her sleep there (or on her “spot,” the recliner in the living room). She is too small to jump up on my bed so I wouldn’t have to worry about her jumping up and sleeping on top of me in the middle of the night.
Here are some pictures of her if you haven’t seen her yet.
A Few Weeks with My iMac
I’ve had my iMac for a few weeks now and wanted to give a quick update on my transition. I’ve not used Windows at all at home (besides transferring files from the PC to the Mac) since I’ve gotten my iMac. I’m familiar with most things on the Mac OS, as I’ve had a MacBook for a couple years now. There were a few things that were bugging me about the iMac that I never came across on the MacBook.
One issue I came across was how my iMac wouldn’t stay asleep. I never messed with the default settings on my MacBook, but on my iMac I wanted the computer to stay awake longer than I would a desktop. I changed the settings and all was well for a few days. Then one day, the computer kept waking up. It appears that it was because of the SMC. My air conditioning went out one day and when they were fixing it, they shut off power causing the iMac to shut down improperly. Resetting the SMC fixed the issue.
The second thing that bugged me was the Mighty Mouse. I gave it a fighting chance, using it for weeks before giving up on it. The mouse feels cheap in your hands and felt like I was going to break it just by clicking. Not to mention it didn’t always recognize the right click when I would press down on the right side. I went back to my Logitech mouse. It worked out of the box, but it wouldn’t let me configure the buttons, so I downloaded the Logitech Control Center for OSX. What a piece of crap that was. Luckily, I found a great solution: Steermouse. Steermouse gave me all the configuration options I needed for my Logitech mouse.
I’ve also found some new software I didn’t know about or use on my MacBook. Google’s Quick Search Box is a great alternative to QuickSilver (if you are like me and all you used QuickSilver for was an app launcher). Boxee on the Mac is awesome. It is such a nice media center and works much better than the Windows port. There is even an iPhone remote app to control the media center wirelessly.
Bottom line is, I’ve had my iMac for several weeks and have done everything I’ve ever done on my PC (and more) and have not had any show-stopping issues. In fact, in the course of a few weeks on Windows I would have had several problems pop up in normal use. OSX has proven to be a much better OS for me under heavy usage. I’ll never switch back to Windows.
NBC Loves The West Wing Actors
Have you noticed how much NBC loves actors from their hit 7 year drama The West Wing? I’ve noticed it in recent years as they have been popping up all over the NBC-owned USA Network since TWW went off the air.
There might even be more, but those are the ones I could come up with. They are all fine actors and I’m glad to see that NBC recognizes talent and keeps them in mind for future programming, even if for one episode.
It’s Not TV, It’s Cable
Starting with new television shows airing on HBO several years ago, we’ve seen a giant shift of new programming moving to non-traditional paid channels. There was a time where over-the-air networks dominated the new show markets, but that time is over. Each TV season we see a plethora of new programming on the “cable” networks, and not just HBO. The best thing about these new shows is that they are often better than the shows found on the traditional networks.
When I think about it, this trend really took root when the networks were dominated with “reality” programming and game shows. People who didn’t want to watch The Biggest Celebrity Dance Star getting voted off the island by big brother tuned into programming that was too edgy for network television. FX, TNT, and USA were a few of the networks (besides HBO and Showtime) that began airing original programming. Shows like The Shield Rescue Me and The Closer dominated cable ratings. Monk has been on for years and continues to draw good ratings, followed by one of my favorites, Psych.
It has come to a point in my TV viewing where most of the TV shows I watch are not on the major networks. Monk, Psych, Raising the Bar, True Blood, Weeds, In Plain Sight, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, are all great shows that draw me away from the networks. In fact, there was a recent article that stated the USA Network drew more viewers than the 5th “major” network, The CW. Networks like TBS, A&E, Starz, and AMC have joined TNT, FX, USA, HBO, and Showtime on the original programming bandwagon, and oftentimes they air some of the best programming on television.
I think part of the reason these new shows thrive and survive on the cable networks (besides the fact that they may be able to get away with more edgier content) is that on paid TV the shows are given more of a chance to pick up steam. A show like Psych would have never survived if it was shown on parent network NBC instead of USA. The ratings would not have been high enough. If you look at the show Kings on NBC it had low ratings but, in my opinion, was a really good show. I think part of the reason is that it was never given a proper chance to gain viewership. NBC should move it to USA over the summer and see if it gains traction there (why not, they’ve done it with two Law and Order series).
Perhaps the major networks could learn something from the cable stations and take bigger chances on programming. Or perhaps, since many of the cable channels are owned by the same corporations as the major networks, they are content having shorter seasons and keeping the programming where they are. I don’t know, but I continue to find myself watching the major networks less and less.