Remote Destination

Archive

Welcome back to what is essentially the UPN of the TV Zone columns. I’m not a celebrity by any stretch of the imagination, I’m not really a “TV” expert, nor do I do show recaps. “Why are you here” you ask? Because I’ve got too much time and too little money.

But before I begin to bore you with the usual stuff let me relay a tale.

So I had to work on Wednesday, the day that Lost and Smallville air opposite each other. These are two shows that my roommate and I watch practically compulsively.

Now being the comic book fan that I am, I was pretty excited about this weeks episode of Smallville, because it featured The Flash. The Flash is one of my favorite heroes, so I was way pumped about the episode. Lost is just addictive and doing a criminally good job of developing characters week by week.

We both had to work, so I set the VCR’s before I went to work. At work I watched the Sawks beat the Yanks. While I’m happy for the Sawks, I was rooting for the Yanks and was kind of disappointed at the loss.

On my way home I stopped at Del Taco and picked up a #10. I just wanted to eat my comfort food, curl up on the couch and bide the time until my roommate got home so we could watch TV together.

I get home and turn on the TV. Nothing. Completely black screen. I think to myself “I paid the cable bill, what’s up?” Then I go to my room to check and see if it’s just the digital cable in the living room. The TV in my room is just static. I’m not too panicked, because I can still enjoy my #10 with some reading material. But then I realized that I was taping tonight.

I rush to the VCR in the living room, rewind the tape five minutes and hit play. Nothing, black screen. The one episode of Smallville that I really wanted to see and I missed it. I was more hurt than pissed, but I was still pissed.

Now it’s time for the part of the column where I discuss what I watched last week. It’s called;

Last Weeks Viewage

Jack & Bobby: I just watch this show because the only available TV to watch is in my room. It’s cool, but it doesn’t really knock my socks off. I find the budding relationship between Bobby and the bully to be odd, even odder than the first time I saw it, in About a Boy.

Desperate Housewives: This episode was pretty good. It was fun, and funny. Seeing how the wives relate to the men in their lives was nice. The mystery is getting me more and more intrigued.

Boston Legal: I never realized how much a fan of David E. Kelly I was, until I caught myself watching a rerun of Chicago Hope. Anyway I’m really enjoying this show. Shatner and Spader are doing some great things.

The Wire: Avon’s out and Stringer is making big moves. One again; I love this show. Note: the club where Avon’s “Coming Home” party was held was none other than Club One. My man used to hold events there last summer, so seeing it on screen was way cool.

CSI New York: This show sucks. It’s been dropped from my viewing schedule.

Kevin Hill: Ditto, not nearly enough Michael Michelle.

Scrubs: Love this show. It was cool to see Tom Cavanaugh as JD’s brother again. It made me miss Ed but it also reminded me how much I enjoyed Ed.

And now for the:

Greatest Show Ever”¦this week

Arrested Development: I happened to catch the season one marathon Saturday on FX. The show is genius. I missed quite a bit of it last year because of work, but I’ve become committed to catching it this year. It’s hilarious with some of the most entertaining characters of TV.

Of course that brings me to-

The Column Proper

My problem is that I caught the marathon three days before the release of Arrested Development’s first season on DVD. So if the DVD’s are going to be released regularly and so quickly, why should I watch the shows when they’re aired and be subjected to commercials?

I’m a lazy guy. It takes a lot for me to commit to a show. As much as I love The Simpsons I fell off the bandwagon of watching them on a weekly basis last year, because I knew that they’d come out on DVD, eventually. There wasn’t really any sense of urgency necessitating my tuning in (or taping) on Sunday. To me, FOX is doing the same thing with Arrested Development. I dig the show, but why should I watch if I know that within the year it’s going to come out on DVD?

One of the reasons I watch The Wire religiously, and even multiple times a week, is because I know HBO has yet to release the first season on DVD. I dig the show and want as much of it as I can get. Conversely I also dig Curb Your Enthusisam but I’m not too pressed to watch it because HBO already has the second season on DVD and airs the show ad nauseam. I know Curb will always be within my reach, so I don’t watch.

On top of not having commercials, DVDs also have bonus features, which make them even more enticing. The DVD route sounds better and better the more I think about it.

Of course this season I’m going to do my best to not procrastinate because of DVDs. I’m going to make every effort to watch both Arrested Development and The Simpsons every week.

Yup, you’ve read another column and ended up disappointed. But don’t fret these folks will cheer you up;

Coogan talks about TV news, the Sawks, and has some tidy news about The Shield. He also shares his thoughts on Ms. Osborne’s acting.

Didey also digs Boston Legal.

Bob discusses the demise of “reality tv.” I wish he was right.

I couldn’t forget;

Three Tha Friday

Aaron’s new column isn’t up, but in case you missed last week’s Bootleg that was it. His new one is sure to impress.

Of course Friday wouldn’t be complete without the marvelous return of Joe Reid. He took last week off, but more than makes up for it this week. News on Superman and even a Hoodlum reference.

Greatest Video Ever”¦this week

Terence Trent D’arby – Sign Your Name

This video looks way cool, especially when you consider how old it is. It tells a story about a guy and a girl, with their kid caught in the middle. The cinematography is great as is the editing. Really, this video looks great and is on par with most of the videos of today. If you get a chance peep it.

Oh yeah, feel free to leave me some comments below. I’m out.