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The Torment of Terrible Television Shows: "Ghost Adventures" Vs "Finding Bigfoot"

Not working is really, really boring.  My favorite time of day is the evening.  Around 11:00 PM I go to bed where I and my dog watch any scary movies that may be on Chiller.  If Chiller is playing those idiotic "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" episodes, I may instead turn on "Ghost Adventures" where an obnoxious "ghost hunter" named Zak Bagans visits decrepit old prisons, insane asylums, lighthouses and western towns to hunt for ghosts.  He taunts any spirits flitting about, insults them, asks them really stupid questions and seems to think that behaving like a huge ass will draw the incarnates like bums to a barbecue.

Since a lot of this series is filmed in the dark, it is filmed through a night vision lens that make everything a sickly green.   Zak and company run through the halls of some deserted building exclaiming "OH MY GOD, DID YOU HEAR THAT?"  For variety, they sometimes yell "OH MY GOD, DID YOU SEE THAT?"  We didn't. They record "electronic voice phenomena" on digital recorders, sounds that when amplified appear to be voices from the other side, uttering messages like "Rosebud" or maybe "Shut up, you'll wake the dead!"

There's another show that I sometimes watch, too, because it is almost as good at curing insomnia as "Ghost Adventures."  That one is called "Finding Bigfoot."  The title is a bit odd since they never do.  Find Bigfoot, that is.  This gives the show a lot in common with "Ghost Adventures" above, where they never find any ghosts either.  Not that I care, because after 15 minutes I fade like a specter, snoring like Bigfoot on drugs.

In any case, in "Finding Bigfoot" scruffy men in beards run through the woods at night, hearing night noises (like a bear passing gas) and exclaiming earnestly, "There be Squatch in these woods!  Uh Huh!"  Squatch is short for "Sasquatch," a fancy name for "Big Foot."  Personally, I don't think these men know squatch.  Har har, a little humor there.

Some better shows include "Celebrity Ghost Stories" where movie stars, rock stars and others describe their personal encounters with the paranormal.  These can be quite creepy.  Another one I like is Bio:  "I Survived - Beyond and Back."  This one features real people who had near death experiences (NDE's) and tell about it.  Out of all of the above television shows, this last one is most believable...and rather inspiring.

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Whale Wars Worth Watching

Anti-Whaling Conservationists

Although I suspect the anti-whalers of  The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society are liberals, I still enjoy the television series "Whale Wars." The Conservation Society operates a couple of ships that track the Japanese whaling fleet in the Antarctic, attempting to interfere with the whaling ships and prevent the killing of whales.  They do this by blasting the Japanese ships with a water cannon (and suffering return fire from the Japanese), by befouling the whaling ships' props with tow lines, by inserting speed boats between the whalers and the whales, and by throwing Butyric acid missiles at the whaling ships.

Butyric acid is found in rancid butter and stinks to high heaven.  Lately the conservationists have been throwing it at the "slide" on the processing mother ship, the ramp where the dead whales are hoisted on board.  They hope to make the dead whales stink like rotten butter, making them less commercially marketable.

I must admit it, I always root for the conservationists.  I love animals, and whales are magnificent beasts.  Yes, I know it, I'm a flaming hypocrite:  I eat beef.  I eat fish.  I eat poultry.  I eat pork.  However, if I had to kill everything I eat, I'd become a vegetarian.  I'd be up to my neck in chickens, cows and pigs, all of them with cutesy names and probably fitted with knitted sweaters.  If I owned a whale, I'd name him Joe.  Why?  Why not?

Japanese Sushi Recipe Research Ship

The conservationists object to Japan's annual whaling quest, wherein the Japanese generally kill around 1,000 whales.  Whaling is now prohibited by international treaties, but Japan gets by with a loophole that allows them to kill whales "for research purposes."  Their big processing ship has RESEARCH painted on the hull in big, broad letters.  Any whale meat that isn't used for research can then be sold as a delicacy in Japanese food markets.  How conveeeeenient!

Research?  Yeah, sure.  The only "research" the Japanese whalers are involved in is new recipes for sushi.

Go conservationists!

Read latest news here:  Japanese Whalers, Activists, Clash Off Antarctica.

Conan's Last "Tonight" Show; Where to Watch Video Clips or the Entire Show

I have been watching the strange NBC internecine struggles over the Tonight Show, Conan O'Brien and the former host, Jay Leno.  The way I understand it is that Jay Leno was replaced with Conan O'Brien as host of the Tonight Show seven months ago.  This was done even though Leno's "Tonight" show was doing quite well, popular among viewers and leading all other late night shows.  My own niece had appeared on Jay Leno's Tonight Show, in a segment about "your most terrible date."  She did quite well, though Leno never did pronounce the family name right.

O'Brien, a likable, energetic, younger guy, didn't do as well.  Viewers had developed a loyalty to Leno and weren't anxious to reassign that loyalty to O'Brien.  Under Conan, ratings for the Tonight Show sank.

Meanwhile, Jay Leno had been given another show at 10 PM, the Jay Leno Show.  The Leno Show looked very much like the old Tonight Show, with the same band, the same format, the same shtick.  Personally, I liked the 10 PM time slot, as I could watch it and still get a decent amount of sleep.  However, most viewers didn't like it, and the Leno Show's ratings were also in the tank.  Nobody was happy.

NBC proposed moving the Leno Show to 11:30 PM, reducing its time from an hour to a half hour, and move the Tonight Show to midnight.  Leno was on board but Conan said NO.  After a couple of weeks of wrangling over Conan's contract, he agreed to a buyout of $44 million, $32 million for himself and $12 million for his staff.  Last night was Conan's last as host of the Tonight Show.

Last night's show was offbeat and a lot more interesting.  Tom Hanks showed up with two glasses of Scotch, one of which he gave to O'Brien, before settling into the guest's couch to banter with Conan.  O'Brien claimed the beverage was only "Creme Soda," but the way Hanks was gingerly sipping it made me think not.  It appeared to be some strong drink.

Conan's show also featured a lot of film clips, of Conan in his trademark slate blue suit, blue shirt and dark tie, running down the highway, through grassy fields, through the desert.  Other clips showed Conan-like dummies being fired from cannons.  It was weird but fun.

Neil Young played harmonica, acoustic guitar and sang; the old Lefty's song was pleasant but I didn't know what he was singing about.  The song was sad and, I suppose, appropriate for Conan's last show.

Conan made one last impromptu speech to the audience, in which he waxed nostalgic about his 20 years with NBC, and teared up a bit in the process.

Finally, the eccentric comedian Will Ferrell performed, looking like a long-haired hippie straight out of 1968, and he and his own musicians joined with Conan's Tonight Show band to play and sing a song called "Freebird."  One of Ferrell's musicians was playing a lap steel guitar -- you don't see that very often anymore.  Conan, who plays guitar, picked up his own instrument and played along with the band until the show went off the air.  I'll miss these guys.

Conan O'Brien can't accept another show for seven months, according to his separation agreement, but it is rumored that he may be talking to Fox about a late night show there.

WATCH:
Selected clips of the show, or the entire show, can be viewed at Hulu.com, at this link.
You can also watch it at the NBC site at this link.

"Mythbusters" Erik Gates Dies in 30 Foot Fall (Photo)

Erik Gates, one of the cast of the popular TV show "Mythbusters," died yesterday in a freak accident.  He was walking on a roof and apparently fell through a skylight, falling 30 feet to the floor.  He was taken to a hospital where he later died.  Gates was a rocket expert and appeared on "Mythbusters" numerous times, although he was apparently not a regular member of the cast.

That's Erik Gates in the top picture.  However, he is not one of the two main hosts of the program.  They are Jamie Hyneman (front row wearing a beret) and Adam Savage (front row wearing black frame glasses).  The people in the back row (from left to right) are Grant Imahara, Kari Byron and Tory Belleci.

Outrageous! "Law and Order" Episode Calls Limbaugh, Beck and O'Reilly "a Cancer Spreading Ignorance and Hate.."

I stopped watching "Law and Order" many moons ago, as I resented having the far left viewpoint shoved down my throat with every episode.  The latest episode has John Larroquette's character calling prominent conservatives "a cancer:"

This week's episode of "Law & Order: SVU" featured a character played by John Larroquette talking to a detective and saying, "Limbaugh, Beck, O'Reilly, all of 'em, they are like a cancer spreading ignorance and hate...They've convinced folks that immigrants are the problem, not corporations that fail to pay a living wage or a broken health care system..."

Typical. Liberals love to make false statements in a venue where they can't be held accountable.  And not just false statements, but ones that are dripping with sneering self righteousness.

However, there is a way we can hold them accountable, and that's by not watching their rotten shows.  When "Law and Order" comes on, turn the channel.

See the video of this outrage here.

Television Series "V" -- a Critique of Obamamania?

From the Chicago Tribune:

Imagine this. At a time of political turmoil, a charismatic, telegenic new leader arrives virtually out of nowhere. He offers a message of hope and reconciliation based on compromise and promises to marshal technology for a better future that will include universal health care.

The news media swoons in admiration -- one simpering anchorman even shouts at a reporter who asks a tough question: "Why don't you show some respect?!" The public is likewise smitten, except for a few nut cases who circulate batty rumors on the Internet about the leader's origins and intentions. The leader, undismayed, offers assurances that are soothing, if also just a tiny bit condescending: "Embracing change is never easy."

Who is this new charismatic leader promising "change"? Barack Obama? No, it is a leader from outer space who is actually a lizardoid creature who wants to eat us.  This is the theme of the new ABC television series "V," which features a giant spaceship hovering over a major city, bearing space aliens who want to be our friends and mentors...

"V" airs tonight and some are seeing it as a shot at Obamamania. Beware becoming a sycophant of charismatic leaders who may not be what you thought them to be.

The Tribune says:

Welcome to ABC's "V," the most fascinating and bound to be the most controversial new show of the fall television season. Nominally a rousing sci-fi space opera about alien invaders bent on the conquest (and digestion) of all humanity, it's also a barbed commentary on Obamamania that will infuriate the president's supporters and delight his detractors.

Now that's my kind of TV show!  Read it all here.