Month: January 2007

A question of timing

Before I get to my thoughts about this week’s 24, a note about timing:

It’s been said that in comedy, timing is everything.  Timing, at least in that way, is good.  But there’s also such a thing as bad timing.  And after watching the first 3.5 seasons of 24 with the Civee (to get her caught up), I’d like to say that 24 (specifically, the scenes at CTU) is a treasure trove of bad timing.

Consider the following scene, for example:

[the timer clicks from 8:34:35 to 8:34:42 as we open in CTU, a random CTU employee approaches the CTU director, who is holding two phones up, one to each ear]

CTU Employee:Mr/Mrs. Director, I have this hangnail

CTU Director: What next?!  (all attention goes to a big ass viewscreen on the CTU wall) OH NO! Terrorists just detonated a nuclear device on the Kentucky Nub and have assassinated the Secretary of the Interior! Well, we gotta prioritize…let’s tackle that hangnail.

Stuff like that happens all the time.  And it isn’t just your CTU employees who are the victims or perpretrators.  People from walks of life ranging from crackheads to relatives of the President of the United States have not realized that a national emergency trumps their little world.  But at least today, Bill Buchanan tried to avoid it.  His initial attempts were successful, but he caved after being repeatedly bothered by Nadia and Milo.  We here at the Kingdom wish Buchanan the best in instilling in CTU a better sense of timing.
Other thoughts about this week’s episode:

Continue reading “A question of timing” →

King Tom

Get well, Bobby

A few weeks ago, former Yankee outfielder Bobby Murcer had surgery to remove a brain tumor.  Tests revealed the tumor was malignant and Bobby is currently undergoing treatment. 

I don’t remember Bobby as an active player.  Instead, I know Bobby from his years as a color commentator for Yankees games on WPIX and later the YES network.  I always liked his commentary and while I only know of his playing days through reading about them, he was one of a handful of bright lights during the darkness of the late 60s-early 70s.

Earlier this week, Michael Kay had Bobby as a guest on his radio show.  I actually sat down and listened to the podcast of the interview.

Bobby sounds good, like he always has.  Some of the stories are interesting, but it’s nice to hear that people really think he’s a good guy.  I really hope he keeps pulling through with his recovery.

The only tough part of the interview is listening to Kay’s horrible, horrible theme music.

King Tom

This I gotta see

Who ever said nothing happens in Delaware?

 From delawareonline:

If World Wrestling Federation legend King Kong Bundy were a stand-up comedian, what would he joke about?

The time he interfered in a match between former cohort Big John Studd (R.I.P.) and Andre the Giant (again, R.I.P.) in Toronto on Aug. 18, 1985, and broke the Giant’s sternum after leveling countless Bundy Splashes on the big man? Or how it itches to wear those huge man leotards with the shoulder straps? Or what it’s like to pull on Hulk Hogan’s skullette?  

Well, Bundy is a comedian now, and fellow funnyman Jeff Collins says the dude is pretty good.  

Bundy will host the “Heavyweights of Comedy”…

I’ve heard that in person, Bundy is a legitimately nice guy.  I guess you have to have a sense of humor to squash two midgets.

Of course, as a kid, I was scared to death of Bundy.  I remember my mother taking me to a live closed-circuit showing of WrestleMania 2 and thinking Hogan (BTW, today is the 24th anniversary of Hulkamania) would not make it out of the cage alive.

Sadly, Bundy didn’t go over the top of the cage, nor did he get a five-count.  After that match, his career didn’t reach those heights again, and I’m guessing he’s now retired.

Thinking about it, I would pay to see him do standup.

But, “Heavyweights of Comedy?” Come on, who are the ad wizards who came up with that one?

King Tom

Lookout Elvis!

So while doing some random surfing, I noticed that the US Postal Service is scheduled to introduce postage stamps commemorating Marvel Super Heroes.

39 cents for a copy of X-Men 1!

As a fan, former collector and disgruntled stockholder, I think this is pretty cool–especially using the so-called Golden Age artwork and earliest versions of some of the characters.

Although the comics geek in me has two minor issues:

-While Wolverine remains one of the most popular X-Men, he wasn’t around for X-Men issue 1.

-I really didn’t know that Spider-Woman and Elektra (mediocre Jennifer Garner movie notwithstanding) were all that popular.

Now that I think about it, if they really wanted to get the attention of comics fans, they’d have multiple versions of each stamp, in varying chromium covers, wrapped in plastic selling for five dollars each.

King Tom

Jack’s Sixth Day

Today begins the sixth longest (in no particular order) day of Jack Bauer’s life.

Two things were different for me with this season premiere of 24. For all the years I’ve been watching the show, this is the first time I’ve seen a season opener live. Also, it’s the first time I’ve seen the show in HD, which, I have to admit is nice.

I’m glad FOX is continuing with airing the first two hours one night with the second two the following night. It spoils viewers for the rest of the season, but it also starts things off nicely for those of us who have gone seven months without a new episode of 24. While it was seven months for us, I bet it felt longer for those stuck in a Chinese prison.

Continue reading “Jack’s Sixth Day” →

King Tom

Videos for nothing, Clips for free

After looking promising, the prospects for the concept of “music television” are bleak again, especially if you live in Columbus.

Actually, it’s been a few months coming, as my one-time favorite channel VH1 Classic has resorted to playing Flashdance 15 times a week.

But the straw that broke the camel’s back was the recent decision by the Columbus Fox affiliate to drop The Tube as it’s secondary digital channel. Apparently, the move was made because The Tube didn’t meet some new FCC requirement where all digital secondary channels had to carry the Emergency Broadcast System and carry three hours of educational hours per week.

Now, if I want random music videos on in the background, I have to either watch VH1 Classic the three hours a day they aren’t playing a documentary about Metallica or tune into MTV before the crack of dawn.

Thanks, FCC!

King Tom