Cut the Cord with No Regrets & Plenty of TV to Watch

Way back in July of 2014 I cut the cord. Meaning I cancelled my cable TV service provided by AT & T's U-verse.

I cancelled AT & T's U-verse because the monthly bill was always in increase mode. And I was paying for a lot of cable channels which I did not watch.

Going cold turkey from cable TV was a much easier adjustment than I thought it would be.

A flat Leaf antennae brought good reception from a couple dozen local broadcasters, including FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS and others. In HD with good picture quality.

I kept my internet connection. Via the internet connection content providers like YouTube, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon and others are available.

YouTube has an amazing amount of free content available, old TV shows, movies.

It was only after cutting the cord that I discovered how easy it was to watch video on my smart phone. YouTube works excellently on the phone connected to my wi-fi connection.

After cutting the cord watching shows on my phone via YouTube has become my nightly pre-sleep in bed relaxing ritual.

I have read that the number of cable TV subscribers is rapidly dwindling. I think maybe that industry needs to re-invent itself or else it will go the way of video rental stores...

This Summer's Gonna Hurt Like A Motherf---er With Adam Levine's Bare But

This morning I was listening to The Bert Show on 102.9 KDMX when the segment called, I think, Entertainment Buzz, with Kristin, started up with its "I wanna be famous, I wanna be a star" jingle.

Among the things Kristin was buzzing about was the fact that Adam Levine, he of Maroon 5 and The Voice fame, had bared his butt at the 28 second mark of the video of Maroon 5's latest hit titled This Summer's Gonna Hurt Like A Motherf---er.

I had heard Maroon 5's latest catchy tune on the radio. The radio version takes out the "f---er" part of the Mother word. The video version includes the entire word, uncensored.

I am not a big fan of the F word. I am less of a fan of censorship.

I figured a lot of people were likely Googling "Adam Levine's Bare Butt" and that if I were able to acquire that particular image it might cause a lot of blog hits. It is always fun to get a lot of blog hits.

You can watch the This Summer's Gonna Hurt Like A Motherf---er below. It is a YouTube video. YouTube is a Google product, as is the Blogger app used to write this blog.

Before letting you view the This Summer's Gonna Hurt Like A Motherf---er video YouTube has you sign in with a Google Account, indicating this somehow indicates you are old enough to see Adam Levine's bare butt.

I'll embed the video below, but you are now forewarned you may have to use the Google/YouTube age verification method to view it.

I don't see why a bare butt is the object of censorship. I see bloody mayhem on network TV all the time. But rarely a bare butt. I really think bare butts do less harm to fragile psyches than bloody mayhem. Or watching an ISIS murder video on FOX news online.

Adam Levine put his own screen cap of his own bare butt on his Instagram account, with F--K CENSORSHIP embedded in the photo.

Adam Levine did not censor the F word, nor did YouTube below....

There Are Good Reasons CBS Dominates The American TV Nielsen Ratings

Below are the Nielsen Ratings for the week ending December 21, 2014. This was the last week before TV went into mostly re-run and specials mode, due to Christmas.

Has CBS ever dominated the ratings at the level CBS is currently beating ABC, NBC and FOX?

Previously I blogged about being perplexed as to Why Must We Now Have A TV Provider To Watch Most Network & Cable TV Online? 

In that blog post I made note of the fact that CBS was not playing along with the insistence that one needed to log in to ones TV cable provider in order to watch a CBS show online, on ones smart phone or on a tablet.

In addition to not requiring a cable provider, CBS is now also going the Netflix-type route with the option of giving viewer's next day online access to current programs along with access to the entire CBS library dating back to the age of I Love Lucy in the 1950s.

CBS next day and library access cost $5.99 a month.

CBS seems to play the TV game much smarter than the other networks. And I am not just referencing the quality of the CBS programming.

For instance, before I bailed on the AT & T U-Verse service CBS had caused me to get hooked on multiple CBS shows I had not had a habit of watching. Shows such as CSI, NCIS,  NCIS: Los Angeles, Undercover Boss, Hawaii Five-O, Bluebloods, Elementary and others.

How did CBS cause me to watch its shows on AT & T U-Verse? Well, with the CBS version of Viewing On Demand, on AT & T, CBS had minimal commercials, with most of those being promos for other CBS shows. Plus CBS allowed fast forwarding. None of the other On Demand networks allowed fast forwarding. Eventually, prior to cancelling U-Verse, CBS had joined the others in disabling fast forwarding.

Or maybe AT & T did the disabling.

Anyway, it is no surprise to me that CBS is by far the dominant American TV Network.

Rank	Shows	R=Repeat S=Special P=Premiere	Net	Viewers (Live +SD) (000)
1	NBC Sunday Night Football-12/21		NBC	19293
2	NCIS-12/16		CBS	17530
3	NCIS: NEW ORLEANS-12/16		CBS	14137
4	60 Minutes-12/21		CBS	13179
5	CBS+NFLN SAT NT FOOTBALL-12/20	S	CBS	12962
6	VOICE-TUE-12/16		NBC	12880
7	VOICE-12/15		NBC	12074
8	Big Bang Theory, THE-12/18	R	CBS	10605
9	SCORPION-12/15		CBS	10070
10	MOM-12/18		CBS	10011
11	SURVIVOR-12/17		CBS	9786
12	FOOTBALL NT AMERICA PT 3-12/21		NBC	9713
13	NCIS: LOS ANGELES-12/15		CBS	9542
14	Person Of Interest-12/16		CBS	8937
15	Two and a Half Men-12/18		CBS	8796
16	Mentalist, THE-12/21		CBS	8677
17	Undercover Boss 12/21-SP-12/21	S	CBS	8189
18	MIKE & MOLLY-12/15		CBS	7849
19	2 Broke Girls-12/15		CBS	7807
20	Elementary-12/18		CBS	7574
21	MICHAEL BUBLE XMAS IN NY-12/17	S	NBC	7528
22	CSI-12/21		CBS	7340
23	SURVIVOR REUNION-12/17	S	CBS	7310
24	MCCARTHYS, THE-12/18		CBS	6941
25	Dateline FRI-12/19		NBC	6768

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Survivor: Worlds Apart with White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar

The Amazing Race twinnie, Natalie, winning Survivor: San Juan Del Sur was the first time in several Survivors where the winner seemed, to me, to be the worthy winner.

But, overall, multiple  times I almost bailed  on Survivor's latest edition, thinking the show had maybe come to its time to end.

Then, the last few episodes sort of redeemed San Juan Del Sur with some good strategizing and blindsiding, mostly by Natalie.

The two hour finale and reunion show seemed to be the best edited that I remember. Interspersing live elements from CBS Television City in Los Angeles was a good thing. Eliminating that embarrassing segment where the final three walk by tombstone crosses representing those who have gotten the boot is a good move. If I remember right that has been gone for a couple Survivor seasons now.

The #1 thing I did not like about Survivor: San Juan Del Sur was what seemed to me to be the overfeeding of the beach dwellers. Did anyone lose any weight?

The upcoming 30th season of Survivor looks promising. It premieres February 25, 2015.

What looks promising about the upcoming Survivor: Worlds Apart is the concept.

Regular people we have not seen before on Survivor or The Amazing Race.

Of course that could change once we meet the Survivors.

The concept is class warfare featuring White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar.

The goofy tribe names this time are Masaya ("White Collar"), Escameca ("Blue Collar") and Nagarote ("No Collar").

I suppose among the White Collars there could be someone well known like, I don't know, Bill Gates or Nancy Pelosi. Yeah, I'm sure that might happen.

I can not think of any well known Blue Collar type who might ruin that no one we already know about concept.

For No Collar I am thinking Paris Hilton would qualify. Okay, I would actually not object to Paris Hilton getting all down and dirty and hungry on Survivor.

I suppose, come February 25 of the new year of 2015, I will be watching the 30th season of Survivor....

Survivor: San Juan Del Sur Blood vs. Water Has Outlasted Its Welcome

Survivor: San Juan del Sur, the twenty-ninth season of one of the first American Reality TV shows, seems to me to be nearing the end of its run.

Unless Survivor re-invents itself, somehow.

I did not like the first version of Survivor: Blood vs. Water. That version had people who had previously been on Survivor returning with a loved one.

The current relative version is made up of people who had not been on Survivor, previously. However, two of the Blood vs. Water pairs had people known to some, as in infamous baseballer, John Rocker, and the twinnies from The Amazing Race, Natalie and Nadiya.

This iteration of Survivor seems to be the only season where those surviving seem to be gaining weight, rather than getting skinny.

Reward Challenge. Want to know what you're playing for? One week fixing's for a barbecue, another week a trip to a Mexican food all you can eat buffet, with beer and margaritas, another week a yacht trip with sandwiches, along with more beer, another week a trip to a baseball game with hot dogs, popcorn, candy and more beer.

And then there was when the two tribes merged and found themselves with a big buffet spread to gorge themselves on.

Or the one week where the Reward Challenge rewarded with food followed by the Immunity Challenge having more food to tempt the Survivors to give up the challenge.

Oh, and if you somehow eat up the supply of rice you are provided, Probst will show up to make a deal with you for another big bag of rice.

And speaking of Jeff Probst. The Probst play by play at the challenges really needs to be toned down. As does the way Probst asks leading questions at the Tribal Councils, leading questions about things like Immunity Idols not being used, which then causes a flurry of panic which disrupts the well planned who to kick off the island scheme.

As for the challenges, it only makes sense that after 29 seasons the challenges would start to have a deja vu feeling to them. But when, in an effort to do something different you have Probst touting something like "In the first time in Survivor history for this challenge Survivors can only use their feet" it would seem we have gone into Jumping the Shark territory.

For Survivor: Season Thirty, I hope Survivor returns to Survivor: Old School. Don't supply so much food. Make it so hunting, fishing and foraging is the food source.

And no gimmicks, no Redemption Island, no Exile Island, no Hidden Immunity Idols.

And cast only people who have never been on TV before, real people, and no people with serious personality disorders....

American Idol Season 14 Starts January 14 While Thailand's The Voice Is All About That Bass

The guy you see here is a judge on The Voice.

Don't recognize him from NBC's The Voice?

You don't recognize him because he is not on NBC's The Voice, he is on Thailand's version of The Voice.

I have watched very little of the American version of The Voice. It did not hook me like early seasons of American Idol did.

Have any of the winners of America's The Voice gone on to become known names like so many of the American Idol contestants have?

Is there any The Voice equivalent of American Idol's Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Carrie Underwood, Fantasia, Jennifer Hudson, Catherine McPhee, Chris Daughtry, Jordan Sparks, Adam Lambert, Phillip Phillips and others I'm likely not remembering?

Speaking of Phillip Phillips. He seems to be the last hit American Idol has had. I don't remember who won the season after Phillip Phillips. I quit watching when it got down to only a few remaining, none of whom I found pop star worthy. I also bailed on last season. Has anyone heard the winner, Caleb Johnson, on the radio?

No?

Me either.

Season 14 of American Idol starts up January 14. I won't be watching. Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick, Jr. are back as the judges. Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban's head bobbing and dancing to the singing got on my nerves. It was an uncomfortable thing to watch.

I think it likely that the current era of singing competitions shows on American TV is coming to an end.

Below is a YouTube video from Thailand's The Voice. A girl butchers Meghan Trainor's All About That Bass. Do all the singer's on this Thai show sing songs in English? Everything else is in Thai, including the amusing Listerine commercial....

Cutting The Cable TV Cord Watching TV Series, Documentaries and Movies on YouTube

What is Google's YouTube up to?

Is Google on track to turn YouTube into the Google version of Netflix?

Why do I ask these questions?

Well. Back when I first was a YouTuber, uploading YouTube videos, one was restricted to a maximum running time of 10 minutes.

Soon after I cut my connection to my Cable TV provider, AT & T U-verse, I discovered that YouTube had drastically changed.

YouTube now has full length movies available for free viewing. I've long wanted to watch the controversial Leni Riefenstahl documentary, Triumph of the Will. I watched it on YouTube.

On my smart phone.

I've long wanted to watch Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator. YouTube had that movie available for free viewing.

When James Garner died I wondered if YouTube had any Rockford Files episodes online. Near as I can tell the entire series is available for YouTube viewing.

I don't know where one can find a comprehensive listing of what's available on YouTube. I found The Rockford Files via the YouTube search tool. After I watched a few Rockford episodes YouTube started recommending other series, like the original Hawaii 5-0, Quincy, Gunsmoke, Beverly Hillbillies, Mary Tyler Moore, All in the Family, The Carol Burnett Show, I Love Lucy, Perry Mason and others I am not remembering right now.

Sometimes when you search for a specific recent movie YouTube will offer to show it to you for a price, like $1.99 to view it. Is this the direction YouTube is heading? Will all this new content eventually no longer be free to view?

I have no idea. All I know is what Google and YouTube are doing right now sure made it painless to cut the Cable TV cord....

Why Must We Now Have A TV Provider To Watch Most Network & Cable TV Online?

For months I had grown weary of the ever increasing AT & T U-verse bill, with the increased weariness coming from the charge for cable TV.

When a AT & T salesman, several years ago, convinced me to switch from Charter TV to U-Verse promises were made about the cost not increasing.

Well. AT & T's U-verse stayed steady at around $100 for about two years, and then began to go up, til it neared $160. I decided to cut U-verse, keeping only the Internet connection, with increased speed.

I figured I could watch the few TV shows I watch via the Internet via the various websites of the various networks and cable stations.

I figured wrong for the most part.

My thinking I could easily watch TV via the Internet was due to years ago losing an episode of LOST due to a weather event. The next day I went to ABC, found the full episodes option.  LOST started right up, with an announcement that it would be presented with few commercial interruptions.

So, I watched that lost episode of  LOST, on the same computer I am using now, but on a slower Internet connection and found the experience flawless, no sputtering, few commercials, full screen, high definition.

Imagine my surprise and disgust to find, years later, that when I went to the same ABC website I found episodes locked for week, watchable only if you providing TV provider!

And then, when I went to watch an un-locked ABC program, I found even with the screen not full, that there was a lot of sputtering, long commercial breaks, basically not watchable. And so I did not watch.

Soon I was to find that most of the networks and cable stations required a TV provider to watch recent episodes. And that the quality of what you could watch was not good, and with a lot of commercials.

Of all the networks and cable stations only CBS and Lifetime seem to not be playing along with the provide your TV provider demand.

I have discovered that watching CBS and Lifetime programs on my phone is a very satisfying experience.

What I do not understand is the logic of demanding a TV provider by most of the networks and cable stations. I mean, why are the networks even bothering to stream their material online if it is only available to those with a cable TV connection?

If one had a TV provider wouldn't one watch TV on ones TV rather than ones computer? And what if you are on the road, checked into motel with wi-fi, wanting to watch something not on the motel's TV?

I am assuming the cable TV providers have made this demand of the content providers, that they must block access to new programming to those who are not feeding the cable TV money. When did the power shift from the content producers to the content conveyors?

And why are CBS and Lifetime not playing along?

I have also found much un-locked on A & E, however their commercials are annoyingly repetitive. As in five times in a row, in one commercial break, repeating a Reliant Energy ad. Very counter-productive for Reliant Energy. And then the next commercial break comes with five more Reliant Energy repeats.

I have also found that content on the CW is watchable, except for the bad repetitive commercial breaks.

BravoTV is the worst I have experienced. Erratic with what is locked and unlocked. And bad streaming with too much sputtering to be watchable.

It has now been over two months since I cut the cable TV cord. Withdrawal has been much easier than I thought it would be. And because of the cable cutting I have discovered things I did not know about. Such as on YouTube you can now watch full length TV shows without commercial interruption. Lately I have been enjoying The Rockford Files.

On YouTube you can also watch full length movies. A few days ago I watched Chaplin's The Great Dictator. I have discovered the current version of YouTube is very addictive.

When I accessed TV via cable I never stayed up late watching TV. Last night, whilst in bed, I watched YouTube til  past 11. The Lucy Desi Comedy Hour hour long episode titled Lucy Goes To Mexico. It was hilarious....

American Idol's Ratings Plummet As Caleb Johnson Beats Jena Irene For The Win

The days of American Idol being the top rated show on American TV are over. The former regularly #1 show is now regularly in the Top 20. Usually the lower tier of the Top 20.

I, among many viewers, bailed on watching American Idol last season by the time the contestants were whittled down to the Final Five, or Six.

I did not watch last year's American Idol finale. I know a girl won, I don't know her name, I don't think she has had a hit song.

With this year's American Idol I also did not watch the finale. For me the only one among this year's singers who made it to the live shows who had any chance at pop idol type success was Alex Preston, due to the fact that he is definitely a one of a kind original.

That is this year's American Idol winner, Caleb Johnson, above, sitting on a couch with Alex Preston.

Caleb Johnson  seemed  nice enough personality-wise. But pop idol-wise? His singing seemed to me to be totally imitative of rockers from the 80s. Nothing original about him. I think Simon Cowell would have not been impressed with Caleb Johnson, with Simon's negative critiques likely leading to Caleb's boot well prior to the finale.

As for Caleb's co-finalist, Jena Irene. Well, if you want people to pronounce your named with a long E, then spell it with a G and two E's. The letter J never sounds like Gee, not that I've ever heard.

As for Jena's pop idol-ness, I was not a fan of her singing, at times it was like she went so quiet and soft I could not make out the words she was singing. Performance-wise and entertainment-wise she was sort of dull.

And then there are the judges. I liked Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban. They all seem like very nice people. But, over the course of seeing a lot of hours of the three there were some elements I got a bit tired of.

Harry Connick Jr. at times seemed to be trying too hard to be "entertaining." Throwing beignets into the audience comes to mind. His critiques, at times, seemed sort of a bit overwrought and overthought.

Jennifer Lopez I  really like. And not just because she is very pleasing to look at. But, both she and Keith Urban did something that really annoyed me.

As in more than once Keith Urban and Ms. Lopez would stand while Caleb Johnson was rocking and dance along with the music like a couple of teenagers in cool kid head bobbing mode. It just seemed wrong to me that those two would do this. Harry would have none of it, even with Jennifer trying to get him to stand and join them.

Another thing with Keith Urban, and again I must say he is a very likable guy, who seems to give good advice, at times. But, he could maybe try and expand his vocabulary a bit. He used the word "killer" way too many times. As in verbiage such as "That was killer." Or "That performance was killer." Or "Man, that was killer."

American Idol is no longer a "killer" show. I doubt American Idol will ever find another Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Adam Lambert, Phillip Phillips or any of the others who have gone from their American Idol exposure to a show business, or political office career.

Apparently FOX realizes American Idol's best days are behind it, and so will be cutting the number of hours American Idol airs in its next season of searching for America's next pop star....

Meryl & Maks Win The Mirror Ball Trophy After An Excellent Edition Of Dancing With The Stars

To the right you are looking at Meryl Davis & Maksim Chmerkovskiy a moment or two before they won the coveted mirror ball trophy in the latest  iteration of Dancing with the Stars.

This makes two Reality TV competition shows with satisfying endings this week. First was Dave & Connor winning The Amazing Race All Stars, and now Meryl and Maks winning DWTS.

It would have also been a satisfying win if Amy Purdy and Derek Hough had won the mirror ball. But Derek has won something like five times, whilst Maks never won til last night.

Everything about Dancing with the Stars seemed to be a vast improvement this season.

The guest judges added an interesting element. The production values of the dance numbers and the stage sets and the packaged pieces seemed greatly amped up.

Cheesy, sort of embarrassing elements, like Dance Center with Kenny Maynes, or whatever his name is, were axed.

And the new co-host, Erin Andrews, was such a witty, funny, likable change from the previous rather wooden, leaden, dull, humorless co-hosts who came before her.

And then there were the dancers,  I mean, celebrities. I knew who more of them were this time than ever before. And some were  actual celebrities. Like Drew Carey.

And some with whom I was not familiar, as in James Maslow, Amy Purdy, the Olympic Gold Medalists, Charlie White and his skating partner, the winner, Meryl Davis, I came to like and to understand why they could be considered celebrities.

The effect Meryl had on Maks, changing him from the Bad Boy of the Ballroom, into a Teddy Bear, including a scene of Maks crying and getting comforted by Tony Dovolni, well this was not the Maks we'd seen before.

I half expected Maks to actually spout off an actual marriage proposal in the chaos which ensued after he and Meryl won. That would have been Reality TV Gold.

The next season of Dancing with the Stars has its work cut out for it if it is going to top what the show did this year.

Dave & Connnor O'Leary Win The Amazing Race All-Stars

That is Dave & Connor O'leary "Currently in 3rd Place" in the screen cap on the left.

However that "Currently" word is very outdated because this screen cap was from the first time Dave & Connor were on The Amazing Race, a couple seasons ago, knocked early out of the race due to Dave tearing his Achilles tendon.

When the cast of The Amazing Race All-Stars was announced I was perplexed as to why some where "All-Stars". Among those who perplexed me were Dave & Connor.

Why were John & Jessica All-Stars I wondered? Remembered for being eliminated when they had an Express Pass. I did not much remember the country singers, Jennifer & Jessica.

I can see where a case could be made that Natalie & Nadiya, Leo & Jamal, Flight Time & Big Easy, Joey & Meghan, Brendan & Rachel, Margie & Luke and Jet & Cord were All-Stars. Or memorable. Or both.

But this was twice now The Cowboys and Margie & Luke have been on an All-Star edition.

So, it is just a bit ironic that those country singers I didn't remember came in second, while Dave & Connor, won The Amazing Race All-Stars, with what seemed to me to be the best finish to The Amazing Race ever.

No taxi cab race to the end. No boring memory test at the end. Several cool tasks in Las Vegas and then one final Roadblock, parachuting to the finish line, with Connor and either Jennifer or Jessica (I can't remember which country singer parachuted) waiting to see who landed first to win the million bucks.

By the finale, well actually for several episodes, leading to the finale, I've been thinking that Dave & Connor had become worthy All-Stars, as had Jennifer & Jessica. While Brendan & Rachel, who came in 3rd, remained as annoying as the first time were on The Amazing Race.

All in all, a very satisfying, entertaining edition of The Amazing Race. But, please, let's lay the All-Star thing to rest and stay with The Amazing Race old school, with racers we have not met before, and who have not won some other CBS Reality TV Show....

An Afghanimal U-Turn Eliminates The Cowboys From Amazing Race All-Stars

I am not a fan of The Amazing Race when it goes into All-Star mode. The latest Amazing Race All-Stars really only had a couple of memorable teams from seasons past.

With one of those memorable teams, actual Amazing Race All-Stars, the Cowboys, Jet & Cord McCoy.

The Cowboys have now run The Amazing Race three times. Their initial season, followed by a previous All-Stars race, followed by the current All-Stars race, where the Cowboys got eliminated on the latest episode, eliminated by the Afghanimals, Leo & Jamal, U-Turning them.

If I remember right the Cowboys got eliminated on their previous race by being U-Turned.

I really do not like The Amazing Race U-Turn gimmick.

I also do not like The Amazing Race All-Stars gimmick.

I'm not a fan of any Reality TV Show in All-Star mode. I never have watched another episode of Big Brother after repugnant, creepy Mike Boogie won Big Brother All-Stars, with the only reason Boogie was on Big Brother All-Stars being because actual Big Brother All-Star, Will Kirby, insisted the non-All-Star best friend of his, the creepy Boogie, be included.

I also do not like Survivor in its multiple forms of  "All-Star" seasons, be it Fan Favorites, Heroes vs. Villains, Significant Others or any other version which brings back, yet again, Rupert, any of the Hantz family, Ozzie, Colby and others who were fun to watch once, maybe twice,  but never thrice.

The current version of Survivor, the one with the Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty gimmick, with the entire cast being people we've never met before, going back to old school Survivor, is being the best season of Survivor in a long long time, with the best blindsides ever.

Now, if CBS puts the Cowboys on Big Brother, well, that  I might watch....

Jack Bauer & Chloe Back to Live Another Day in 24 Monday May 5 on FOX

It seems not all that long since Jack Bauer last walked off into the sunset and off my TV screen, but it was way back in 2010 that the last minute of 24 aired.

For awhile there was talk of a movie version of 24. That seemed a bit problematic, what with 24's real time way of telling its story. Would that be a 24 hour long movie?

And now on May 5, 2014 Fox is bring Jack Bauer back in 24 Live Another Day, with a two hour premiere starting at 8/7C.

This new version of 24 will not be 24 hour long episodes. Instead there will be 12 episodes, I assume with each episode covering two hours.

Chloe is back helping Jack.

24 would not be the same without Chloe.

Back in 2010 24 and LOST were my favorite TV shows. I think LOST was still on the air at that point in time.

I Wanna Marry Harry With One Royal Hoax & Twelve Single Ladies

The past month or so when I fast forward past commercials when watching some FOX production I noticed a time or two someone who looked like Prince Harry flashing by.

A couple days ago I paused the DVR when I saw Prince Harry and watched the promo.

For a second or two I thought I was seeing the real Prince Harry and wondered what in the world is this?

And then I realized what it was. A Bachelor type Reality TV Show with, once again, a Joe Millionaire twist.

Twelve single American ladies are duped into thinking they are being romanced by Prince Harry. I should have said twelve really dumb single American ladies are duped into thinking they are being romanced by Prince Harry.

Infosearching for information about this upcoming FOX exploration, (or is that exploitation?) of how low American tastes can go, it appears being appalled at the concept is pretty much the universal reaction.

That and most say they will be watching.

I think I will be among them. I Wanna Marry Harry would seem to have the possibility of being funny.

If I Wanna Marry Harry follows the Bachelor formula it will be very amusing when the final four potential princesses take Prince Harry home to meet the family.

Followed by the final three getting invited to Prince Harry's Fantasy Suite.

And then how does the final part happen? Does a fake Queen Elizabeth and her hubbie Phillip show up? Along with a fake Prince Charles and Camilla?

I suspect FOX will have itself a rare hit.

I Wanna Marry Harry starts up Tuesday, May 27 at 8/7C. Is that on the same night and the same time as the new iteration of The Bachelorette?

The Spectacular Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic's Opening Ceremony Telecast Was Not Totally Ruined By NBC's Bob Costas

Friday night's NBC telecast of the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics was the first time in a long time I made it through one of these events without bailing.

With that bailing caused by no longer being able to tolerate listening to the constant, interrupting, mostly pointless, blathering of Bob Costas and his cohorts.

The blathering and interrupting ruined the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympics for me.

My view on the blathering babbling is that I have invited these people into my TV viewing area to watch an event with me. I did not invite them to be constantly talking, telling me useless trivia, which I have no interest in. If an in the flesh person were watching one of these events with me and they were constantly babbling, telling me tidibits of info about what we were viewing, I'd give that person one "shut up" warning and then with the next violation ask them to leave.

Now, with the Sochi Opening Ceremony we did have that regular NBC Olympic irritant, Bob Costas. And other information providers.

However, the incredible spectacle that was the Sochi Opening Ceremony overwhelmed the annoyance of  the NBC babbling. That and there seemed to be a lot less of it the babbling this time.

Perhaps the complaints by the millions of annoyed viewers have been heard.

One of the few times I did find the babbling annoying I think it was Bob Costas providing the annoyance. I am not sure, because the voice was not identified, but it sounded like him. It was when the USA team came into the stadium. A female voice said something like "Let's listen to the reaction as the USA team enters the arena."

I thought, yes, that will be interesting to see how the Russians react to the incoming Americans.

However, what I believe to be the Bob Costas voice began incessant babbling, with the volume of the babbling overwhelming whatever noise the Russians were making. Bob Costas felt we needed to know about the guy who was carrying the American flag, and to speculate as to how proud the guy's kids must be to see dad carrying the flag.

Yes, this was a very important observation for Bob Costas to share with us, much more important than just letting us peacefully, quietly watch and listen.

If Bob Costas had been in my TV viewing room, in person, that point in the ceremony would have been when he would have been asked to leave my abode.

Anyway, good job, so far, Russia, and Mr. Putin. Let's hope the whole show keeps going as well as the opening.

Will The Justin Bieber Gang's Transcontinental Crime Spree Get Bieber Deported To Canada?

How much more trouble does Justin Bieber have to get in to get him finally deported back to Canada?

It would seem that Bieber's recent trans-continental crime spree would be enough to get him evicted from the United States.

The Bieber crime spree began a week or two ago when he and his gang attacked his next door neighbor's property in the Hollywood Hills, with an Egg Attack which resulted in thousands of dollars in damage.

How could eggs do that much damage I wondered when I read the crime report?

To deal with the Bieber Gang's Egg Attack the LA police sent in a SWAT team which somehow resulted in one African-American member of the Bieber Gang being arrested for some sort of drug possession. Was the entire Bieber Gang, including Justin, arrested and hauled to jail after the Egg Attack?

At some point after the Egg Attack the Bieber Gang headed to the east coast where Justin got himself in the news, again, by dropping tens of thousands of dollars at strip joints. For lap dances?  I don't know. The details were skimpy.

And then on Thursday, January 23,  Justin Bieber's bad behavior got him the worst trouble yet.

Apparently Bieber's 38 year old dad,  Jeremy, became part of the Bieber Gang for the Florida part of Bieber crime spree.

Bieber's dad organized a drag race, directing the Bieber Gang to use cars  to block access on Pine Tree Drive at 26th Street in Miami Beach.

Bieber drove a Lamborghini vehicle he did not own, in the drag race.

Police were summoned, Bieber was stopped, put up a profanity lace tirade at the idea the police would have the nerve to stop him.

The police noticed that Bieber reeked of alcohol and acted under the influence. Bieber did not use his right to remain silent and instead, rather stupidly, informed the police he'd been drinking beer, smoking marijuana and taking prescription  medications. Along with drag racing.

Bieber was then taken to the Miami Beach jail where I assume he was strip searched and then attired in the orange jail garb you see him wearing in his mugshot above.

That mugshot has caused some consternation among some of Bieber's dwindling number of fans, due to the fact that one can quite clearly see that Justin has a few pimples sprouting on his face.

And why would this cause any consternation you are sitting here wondering?

Well, Justin Bieber has a lucrative endorsement deal with Proactiv. Proactiv is an acne treatment, which either does not work very well or Justin is not using. Even though he endorses the product.

What's up next for the Bieber Gang one can not help but wonder? Has Bieber's downward spiral now hit its bottom? I suspect it has not.....

Nielsen Rating's Top 20 for January 13 - January 19

The Nielsen Rating's Top 20 TV Shows for Nielsen Rating's Top 20 for for January 13 - January 19. The first number is the ranking, the second number is the season average, then the show name and network. The last number represents the number of viewers in millions. An asterisk * indicates a tie.

1. NFC Championship: San Francisco at Seattle, Fox, 55.9 million
2. NFC Championship: The OT, Fox, 30.34 million
3. NCIS, CBS, 19.7 million
4. NCIS: Los Angeles, CBS, 15.9 million
5. American Idol (Wednesday), Fox, 15.2 million
6. American Idol (Thursday), Fox, 13.4 million
7. Blue Bloods, CBS, 12.6 million
8. Person of Interest, CBS, 12.4 million
9. The Big Bang Theory, CBS, 20 million
10. The Following, Fox, 11.2 million
11. Hawaii Five-O, CBS, 10.6 million
12. Criminal Minds, CBS, 10.4 million
13. CSI, CBS, 10.3 million
14. Mike & Molly, CBS, 9.8 million
15. The Blacklist, NBC, 9.4 million
16. Modern Family, ABC, 9.1 million
17. Castle, ABC, 9 million
18. Undercover Boss, CBS, 9 million
* 2 Broke Girls, CBS, 9 million
20. How I Met Your Mother, CBS, 8.6 million

American Horror Story Coven's Delphine LaLaurie & The Axeman Are Actual Historical Real Killers

Currently I think my favorite show currently on TV may be FX's American Horror Story: Coven. Wednesday, 10/9 C.

I find the hour viewing American Horror Story: Coven goes by faster than any other show I am currently viewing, thus indicating I must find American Horror Story: Coven entertaining.

Entertaining and educational.

The first episode of the 3rd iteration of American Horror Story started off in the early 1800s with Kathy Bates being a human horror, torturing, terrorizing, maiming and being a racist pig via a character named Marie Delphine LaLaurie.

Well.

I was quite surprised when I learned that Marie Delphine LaLaurie is an actual historical character who actually did the type stuff we have seen depicted in American Horror Story: Coven, well, except for being risen from the dead and brought alive in to the present time where she reacts in horror to learn that America has a black president.

Below is a blurb from the Wikipedia Delphine LaLaurie article, and below that more surprising reality horror from American Horror Story: Coven...

Marie Delphine LaLaurie (c. 1775 – c. 1842), more commonly known as Madame LaLaurie, was a Louisiana-born socialite and serial killer known for her involvement in the torture and murder of slaves.

Born in New Orleans, LaLaurie married three times over the course of her life. She maintained a prominent position in the social circles of New Orleans until April 10, 1834, when rescuers responding to a fire at her Royal Street mansion discovered bound slaves within the house who showed evidence of torture over a long period. LaLaurie's house was subsequently sacked by an outraged mob of New Orleans citizens, and it is thought that she fled to Paris, where she is believed to have died.

The latest episode of American Horror Story: Coven's first segment was set in 1919, showing the Axeman of New Orleans terrorizing the town with random ax murders, culminating in a night were the Axeman, via a letter to a local newspaper, warned the locals that they'd better be playing jazz music on a certain night or face ax annihilation.

Well, imagine my surprise at finding a Wikipedia article titled Axeman of New Orleans, which details the serial killer crime spree of a never caught murderer, including the following blurb...

"The Axeman" was not caught or identified at the time, and his crime spree stopped as mysteriously as it had started. The murderer's identity remains unknown to this day, although various possible identifications of varying plausibility have been proposed. Most notoriously, on March 13, 1919, a letter purporting to be from the Axeman was published in the newspapers saying that he would kill again at 15 minutes past midnight on the night of March 19, but would spare the occupants of any place where a jazz band was playing. That night all of New Orleans's dance halls were filled to capacity, and professional and amateur bands played jazz at parties at hundreds of houses around town. There were no murders that night.

The night of no murders on the Axeman's jazz night, was the night depicted on American Horror Story: Coven with the witches luring the Axeman into their lair by playing a non-jazz recording, where the coven then murdered the Axeman, thus ending his axed reign of terror.

I can find no Wikipedia article about an actual witches coven in New Orleans, or any speculation that it actually was a coven of witches who did in the Axeman.....

The X Factor Voting Blunder Caused An Un-Bloated Not Overly Produced New Competition Show

One would think after years of reality tv shows having viewers vote for contestants that the voting methods would have been perfected by now.

However, a couple weeks ago Dancing with the Stars had a voting snafu which resulted in no one getting kicked out of the glittery ballroom, that week.

And now, this week, I went to watch the DVRed X Factor results show to have the annoying Mario Lopez informing viewers that due to a blunder with the voting the previous night's excruciating Motown night would not count, and that rather than booting anyone, the acts would all act again, with a new song.

To me this resulted in a vastly improved X Factor.

Rather than a bloated two  hours, it was a fast  paced one hour. With no time to come up with tacky production numbers, with backup singers and dancers and way too many flashing lights, this was X Factor-lite.

Like I said, vastly improved. Maybe X Factor has accidentally come up with a production formula that works.

But, it may be too late to save this show. Apparently the ratings have tanked.

X Factor has never done well in the ratings, never on a par with the other singing competitions, as in fellow Fox show, American Idol, or NBC's The Voice.

I have heard no mention made of the X Factor winner winning a $5 million dollar contract, unlike its previous two seasons.

I am not the only viewer to note that neither The X Factor or The Voice has found a singer who has gone on to have a hit record, be in a movie or another TV show. I think the first X Factor winner was in a commercial, during the Super Bowl, which may have been the last time the public has seen her.

American Idol has given the world Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry, Clay Aiken, Kris Allen, Kellie Pickler, Adam Lambert, Jordan Sparks, Scotty McCreery and Phillip Phillips, and likely others I am not remembering right now.

I don't seem to go a day without hearing Phillip Phillips on the radio.

Fast forwarding through The Voice's result show, last night, it does not appear, to me, that that show has found an American Idol type popstar, this year.

It will be interesting to see how American Idol does this year, after last year's version, which is widely regarding as a dud. Because it was.

Cher Successfully Adds Being A Dancing With The Stars Judge To Her Resume With Brant Daugherty Leaving The Ballroom

That is Cher sitting in Len Goodman's chair this 8th week of Dancing with the Stars.

I had no idea that being an expert judge of ballroom dancing was among Cher's amazingly varied talents. The show open with Cher descending from above, singing Believe, wearing a mini-skirt.

A few decades ago there was a lame joke, often  repeated, that two things would survive a nuclear holocaust, those being cockroaches and Cher.

Cher is now in her 6th decade in show business. Cher is 67 years old. Cher is the youngest looking person in their 60s I have ever seen. Cher has won Emmys, Grammys, Golden Globes, Oscars and multiple other show business awards around the world.

Is Cher currently the most famous celebrity, world-wide? If not Cher, who is it?

The studio audience was loving everything that Cher said, including a moment that got bleeped whilst commenting on Elizabeth Berkley.

Dancing with the Stars has suffered a drop in the Nielsen ratings, what with being up against NBC's The Voice. I suspect this week's Cher episode will see a bump up in the ratings.

Cher's critique of Brant Daugherty was basically that she liked his smile. So, along with the other judges, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli, Cher gave Brant a 9.

A total of 27 did not save Brant Daugherty and partner Peta Murgatroyd from being the pair asked to leave the ballroom this week.