In the second installment of a two-part series on a la carte television, Melissa Zimdars asks whether viewers can already unbundle themselves by moving away from traditional cable packages and toward streaming television online. Rumors of cable or satellite television becoming unbundled, which refers to the ability to purchase a particular channel’s content or a […]
Television
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The Tube: The Price of Choice
In the first installment of a two-part series on a la carte television, A.C. Hawley asks if viewers can expect to save money by moving away from traditional cable packages and toward purchasing individual channels online. At the beginning of this year, Internet and business circles buzzed with discussion about a new television project being […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The Tube: America’s Favorite Scapegoat
I was recently in Austin, Texas, for a television studies conference. Yes, people actually study TV. While I was there, I picked up a copy of the publication Infowars, which is either a collection of conspiracy theories or a collection of truths, depending on your point of view. The cover illustration for this issue depicts a […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The Tube: Fall Lineup Report Cards
With the fall in full effect, TV watchers are moving toward mid-season, the time when some shows get their walking papers while others get a vote of confidence. This serves as an excellent time to check in with the old television box and see what shows, new and returning, have risen to the top of […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The Tube: Parenthood and Friendship
After seven years of watching “Gilmore Girls,” the series finale was bittersweet. I went through high school and college during the same time as the main character, Rory. I identified with her nerdy awkwardness and feel- ing like she didn’t quite fit in. It was like not seeing those characters anymore was akin to losing […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The Tube: Television Flow Trips
It all began with a British tourist’s trip to Miami. The man noticed the movie he was watching one night was actively connected to two other movie trailers that played during commercial breaks. The man’s name was Raymond Williams, and the way he made sense of this would come to be recognized as one of […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The Tube: Fall TV Preview
We’re upon one of my favorite times of year: the fall TV season! Increasingly, program releases are staggered throughout the year, with some of my favorites airing in the traditionally rerun-dominated summer (“Breaking Bad,” and “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” being two). Yet despite these chaotic programming practices, there is still a huge influx […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The Tube: Go-Go Juiced
The mid-August debut of TLC’s “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” (HCHBB) was surrounded by an inordinate amount of hype for a reality television show. However, the hype wasn’t because TV critics anticipated a quality television program to peddle to their Twitter followers, but rather they questioned what a show like HCHBB might say about the […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
On the Beat: Summer listening guide
Summer in the Clubs! Live Music Venue GUIDE Iowa City is what is known in the biz as a ‘small market.’ Acts on national tours book shows in Iowa City based on it’s geographical position within a half-day’s drive of Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Louis and Kansas City—it’s a great place to shoehorn a show in […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The Tube: Breakfast Bland
Regis Philbin’s announced retirement, after 28 years, from the syndicated Live franchise that he shared first with Kathie Lee Gifford and then with Kelly Ripa, hasn’t exactly set the industry trade papers on fire. At age 79, it’s safe to say that Philbin already peaked as an entertainer. His oft-parodied mannerisms have long since passed […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Simple pleasures
Quick. Name the #2 rated show in America. No, it’s not CSI: Law & Order Unit. It’s ABC’s Wipeout. I have to admit, I love it. Our society has had a long love affair with pratfalls and groin shots. America’s Funniest Home Videos was built on the concept, and YouTube exploded into the collective conscious […]
