It was an interesting week in TV, mostly having to do with things that aren’t TV related. Jason and Joel talk about how TV viewers experienced these events, and other, more mundane TV news:

• We talk about how the coverage of Whitney Houston’s death feels weirdly backwards to us (praiseworthy then questioning instead of the other way around),
• Then we talk about how the Grammys handled the event, and whether more awards shows should follow their performance-heavy format,
• We talk about The Walking Dead’s mid-season premiere, and how it got great ratings opposite the Grammys, which attracted almost 40 million viewers,
• Just the opposite happened with Cougar Town, which only got less than 5 million viewers despite all the promotion, and we discuss why,
• We talk about how Kevin Smith’s Comic Book Men isn’t geeky enough,
• Then we do our own bit on Jeremy Lin’s breakout week, and how the Knicks’ point guard is sort of like deep-voiced Ted Williams, last year’s media-generated phenomenon,
• Finally, we discuss why late night talk show interviews are boring, and why they can’t me more like the Jon Stewart/Ricky Gervais laughfest from earlier this week.

You can listen to the podcast above (if you don’t hear anything, fiddle with the volume slider), download it via this link, subscribe to our RSS feed, or subscribe via iTunes. You can also find us on the Stitcher radio app for smartphones and iPads.

By the way, the bumper music is “Trevor Trailer Trash” from the late, great band Cropduster.

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At least one of us was very happy with the result of the Super Bowl (one of us really didn’t care), and most of our conversation revolves around the game broadcast and its repercussions:

• We start by talking about the game and the broadcast, loving the fact that NBC played it fairly straightforward,
• Then we talk about the halftime show, where we both thought Madonna did a decent job (and Joel gives his theory on why M.I.A. gave the finger),
• We move on to the ads — which we liked, which we didn’t, and which were spoiled by previews on the web,
• Then the topic turns to The Voice and its killer ratings in both the post-Super Bowl slot and its regular Monday broadcast. We discuss what makes the show so appealing (a lot of it has to do with the coaches),
• We then talk about the debut of Smash and why it got only 11 or so million viewers despite NBC’s promotional blitz. Perhaps it’s a bit too insidery?
• The River premiered on Tuesday, and we give it a little preview,
• Finally, we talk about why Comedy Central’s Key & Peele is the closest the network has come to replacing Chappelle’s Show.

You can listen to the podcast above (if you don’t hear anything, fiddle with the volume slider), download it via this link, subscribe to our RSS feed, or subscribe via iTunes. You can also find us on the Stitcher radio app for smartphones and iPads.

By the way, the bumper music is “Trevor Trailer Trash” from the late, great band Cropduster.

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We’ve already slipped up on our schedule, thanks to Joel’s deadlines and Jason’s sleepiness. But we’re back, just under the wire to talk about one of the biggest TV events of the year… plus the Giants-Patriots game that will wrap around it:

• First, though, we talk a little about the goings on during pilot season, and why you should take all this news about pilot casting with a big grain of salt,
• We talk about the shake-up on The X Factor and why Beyonce might just want to take Simon Cowell’s rumored gigantic offer to be a judge,
• Then we talk about the Super Bowl and the fact that most of the biggest ads have already been circulated on the web. Jason laments on how much that’s ruined the fun,
• We talk about David Letterman’s 30th anniversary in late night and how vanilla his show has gotten,
• We also marvel at how Kathie Lee and Hoda have become late night stars for NBC (they air reruns of at 2 AM),
• We discuss the insanity of hours-long Super Bowl pre-game shows,
• We discuss the very bad idea of a Dwight-centric spin-off of The Office,
• Finally, we talk a little about the passing of Don Cornelius of Soul Train.

You can listen to the podcast above (if you don’t hear anything, fiddle with the volume slider), download it via this link, subscribe to our RSS feed, or subscribe via iTunes. You can also find us on the Stitcher radio app for smartphones and iPads.

By the way, the bumper music is “Trevor Trailer Trash” from the late, great band Cropduster.

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Would you look at that? We’re back within a week for the first time in about a month! Jason and Joel talk about all the little goings-on in a slow-ish TV week:

• We discuss the demise of the SOPA and PIPA laws and whether protests against the anti-piracy proposals were spot-on or if they were hype,
• We talk about Paula Deen and her “diabeetus” and Joel talks about why he didn’t help his along during the TCA tour,
• From there we go on to the annoying new trend of self-help daytime talk shows, most notably ABC’s The Chew and The Revolution,
• We discuss the huge ratings the Giants/Niners and Pats/Ravens games got, and why football is getting so big when other sports’ ratings are on the decline,
• We talk about how the Super Bowl’s likely huge ratings will translate to the second season premiere of The Voice,
• Speaking of which, we talk about the decline in ratings of American Idol and if it’s hearing The Voice’s footsteps,
• We talk about the first few episodes of Alcatraz, and whether J.J. Abrams is bullshitting us when he says he’s going to keep it “accessible,”
• Finally, we talk a little about Touch, which is Kiefer Sutherland’s return to TV. Let’s just say he’s not Jack Bauer-esque in this one.

You can listen to the podcast above (if you don’t hear anything, fiddle with the volume slider), download it via this link, subscribe to our RSS feed, or subscribe via iTunes. You can also find us on the Stitcher radio app for smartphones and iPads.

By the way, the bumper music is “Trevor Trailer Trash” from the late, great band Cropduster.

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Joel’s back from the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, and he and Jason talk about his trip and other TV news of the day:

• We talk about the TCAs, with a description of how the tour actually operates,
• Joel goes over the eventful 2 Broke Girls TCA panel, which was one of the more tense ones in years (thank you, Michael Patrick King),
• We talk about why it’s tough to find real breaking news at the TCAs anymore,
• We discuss the return of Cougar Town and the efforts Bill Lawrence and company made to get it back on the air.,
• We talk about Ricky Gervais’ lame hosting of the Golden Globes,
• Then there’s a discussion of the awards themselves, which were crazy as usual,
• We yet again turn to How I Met Your Mother and how the second half of the season will go,
• Joel talks about his TCA encounter with Charlie Sheen,
• Finally, there are some more assorted TCA stories, like how Joel got screwed by Al Gore and his interview with The Walking Dead’s Glen Mazzara and Robert Kirkman.

You can listen to the podcast above (if you don’t hear anything, fiddle with the volume slider), download it via this link, subscribe to our RSS feed, or subscribe via iTunes. You can also find us on the Stitcher radio app for smartphones and iPads.

By the way, the bumper music is “Trevor Trailer Trash” from the late, great band Cropduster.

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We start the new year off with a potpourri of topics, mainly because the new year is when there isn’t much to do but look back and look forward:

• We talk about what’s coming up for midseason, including a preview of some of the shows Joel has already seesn (Smash: Good. The Firm: not so good),
• We both give our favorite TV moments of 2011,
• We discuss the various New Year’s Eve shows and why New Year’s Day on TV isn’t nearly as fun as it used to be (when was the last time you watched the Rose Parade?),
• We talk about the viral marketing of Cougar Town,
• We talk about how there’s absolutely nothing going on during the week between Christmas and New Year’s ,
• Joel talks a little about the TCA press tour, which he’ll be attending starting this week,
• Finally, we talk about why “stalwart” reality shows like Survivor, SYTYCD, and Idol are slipping and if this format will be around in a few years.

You can listen to the podcast above (if you don’t hear anything, fiddle with the volume slider), download it via this link, subscribe to our RSS feed, or subscribe via iTunes. You can also find us on the Stitcher radio app for smartphones and iPads.

By the way, the bumper music is “Trevor Trailer Trash” from the late, great band Cropduster.

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We took a bit of a break… well, it was more of a case where Joel got busy and lazy at the same time, but we’re back right before Christmas to talk about the big news in TV over the last couple of weeks:

• The Golden Globe nominations and why they should never be taken seriously,
• How we are entering Rollerball days — we discuss the disgusting tenseness of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and the protests against Lowe’s after they pulled their ads from All-American Muslim,
• We talk about Ricky Gervais’ new HBO show, Life’s Too Short, which debuts in January,
• We discuss Howard Stern as an America’s Got Talent judge, but briefly because we know the story will linger forever,
• We talk about Jimmy Fallon hosting SNL,
• We discuss the roll that The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are on lately,
• Finally, we quickly go over our favorite holiday specials and episodes.

You can listen to the podcast above (if you don’t hear anything, fiddle with the volume slider), download it via this link, subscribe to our RSS feed, or subscribe via iTunes. You can also find us on the Stitcher radio app for smartphones and iPads.

By the way, the bumper music is “Trevor Trailer Trash” from the late, great band Cropduster.

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It’s a bit of a slow week, but there was some interesting stuff going on in the world of TV. Here are some of the topics we touched on in a very all-over-the-place podcast:

• The midseason finale of The Walking Dead and why it was so damned slow,
• We discuss how I Hate My Teenage Daughter could have been a good show instead of the awful one that premiered this week,
• Jason tells Joel about why he should start watching American Horror Story again,
• We talk about the possible X Factor judge switch, and why all the groups and over-30 contestants are mostly gone already.
• We discuss some midseason hot issues, among them NBC holding good shows like Smash, Awake and Bent for midseason, and the impact The Voice will have on NBC’s ratings,
• Joel inadvertently creates a new show called “Pardon the Enthusiasm,” starring Tony Kornheiser and Larry David,
• Finally, we talk about TV Land’s “comfort food” sitcoms.

You can listen to the podcast above (if you don’t hear anything, fiddle with the volume slider), download it via this link, subscribe to our RSS feed, or subscribe via iTunes. You can also find us on the Stitcher radio app for smartphones and iPads.

By the way, the bumper music is “Trevor Trailer Trash” from the late, great band Cropduster.

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Lots of news was breaking around the TV landscape this week, some right before Jason and Joel flipped on their podcasting machines. We talk a little about the weird, creepy Jerry Sandusky interview on Rock Center, along with these topics:

• We talk about Ricky Gervais hosting the Golden Globes and why they decided to bring him back,
• NBC’s midseason shakeup, including the shelving of Community,
• Why Anna Kournikova exited The Biggest Loser,
• CBS’s morning shakeup, and why having a “hard news” show might stand out against the cooking segments and fashion shows on the other morning shows,
• South Park getting renewed through its (gulp) 20th season, and more,

You can listen to the podcast above (if you don’t hear anything, fiddle with the volume slider), download it via this link, subscribe to our RSS feed, or subscribe via iTunes. You can also now find us on the Stitcher radio app for smartphones and iPads.

By the way, the bumper music is “Trevor Trailer Trash” from the late, great band Cropduster.

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