The title fooled me. I thought MTV’s Wild ‘N Out was a show about GLBT issues. I guess it’s actually just comedians and rappers going toe-to-toe.

Either way, a 48 year old married white guy with kids in South Dakota is probably not the target demographic for either concept.

But I digress.

Anyway, my BFF Audrey has the details below.

I’ve already told you about Nick Cannon’s Short Circuitz, well that’s not the only thing he’s up to for MTV. His much loved “Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ‘N Outâ€? is also coming back for its 4^th season!

The premiere for Wild ‘N Out is tomorrow (today), Thursday May 31 at a special time 11pm ET/PT. After this week, you can catch the show at its normal time Thursdays at 10pm followed by Short Circuitz.

Wild ‘N Out always has a special celebrity to go up against Nick Cannon, as each leads their own team of comedians in various improv games with a hip-hop edge.

Here’s a little taste for what’s in store this season of Wild ‘N Out. This is a clip where Snoop Dogg freestyles against one of the other comedians – hilarious!

http://www.ifilm.com/profile/wiredset/video/2859602

I hope that you can help share the news on Wild ‘N Out and the Snopp Dogg clip. We will be getting consistent clips from the show so I’ll make sure to keep you up to date.

Above: Nice hat. Nick Cannon at MTV’s Wild n Out Season 4 Premiere Hosted by Nick Cannon and King Magazine, May 31, 2007.

[tags] Wild ‘N Out, MTV, Snoop Dogg, Nick Cannon [/tags]

My girl Audrey keeps me in the know so I can keep you in the know. You might want to watch this tonight and going forward. Will the Ur-reality show denizens get their groove back on? Or, will we find out if after all the changes they haven’t really changed?*:

Hmmm.

I don’t know if there is any better way to start this week off than with something hot and steamy from MTV. The infamous cast from Real World Las Vegas is back at it, 5 years after they left us wanting more…..we get it, and we get it reaaaal good!

The Real World Vegas cast reunites in Sin City in the same hotel for 7 wildly intense episodes. They’ve grown older but have
they changed at all?

This quick trip back to mayhem will surely jog your memory and probably leave you short of breath as Steven, Trishelle,
Alton, Irulan, Frank, Arissa and Brynn get back together and leave everything out for the world to see. Nothing’s off limits and nothing is sacred so tune in TONIGHT at 10pm ET/PT for the season premiere of Reunited: The Real World Vegas.

Go here to see the season trailer:

http://www.ifilm.com/profile/wiredset/video/2859974

For full show details go to:

http://reunited.mtv.com/

Above: The original whole motley crew from the original MTV run. But they’re not Motley Crue, rather, a motley crew. MTV photo.

*That’s from Simon and Garfunkle. Most of you probably haven’t heard of them. And they won’t be on the reunion show.

[tags] The Real World, Reunited: The Real World Las Vegas, reality TV, MTV [/tags]

I don’t know if the Food Network’s Rachael Ray knows anything about food.

Frankly, it doesn’t matter.

I just happened to catch Tasty Travels late last night and the episode about barbecue.

MMMMMMMMMM, BBQ!

At first I thought, why I am watching a girl TV channel? Did I just drop some estrogen?

Then I thought about it some more. I really like BBQ. And Rachael Ray is cute. Real guys like real food and real women like Rachael.

Whoever writes for Rachael has an overabundance of “awesomes” and “deleesh” and goofy stuff like that. And Rachael’s narration is a little stilted.

But when the lady is out and about with a heaping plate of ribs, potato salad, and baked beans and flashes that 5000 watt smile of hers, damn, I’m in love. I mean, I’m in hungry.

This is a woman after my own heart (only in the realm of TV, not real life). She likes to eat–a lot. She likes to find foods that don’t cost an arm and a leg. She likes to eat where the peeps eat. And she seems like a whole lot of fun.

Think back to your college or high school days and the crowd you hung out with. There was the pretty girl, the smart girl, the slutty girl, and then the girl who was just plain fun to be around. All guys loved that girl, even though she wasn’t the prettiest, the smartest, or the most likely to “put out.” She was the one who organized the parties, got her wall-flower friends up dancing, was nice to everyone, and just plain made life fun.

That’s Rachael Ray (at least on TV).

If Rachael Ray said, “Hey, Todd, you and your wife come join me! We’re going to go eat Styrofoam peanuts with kerosene poured on them! It’ll be great and we’ll have a blast.”–I’d be there in an instant. It might take a little more convincing of Mrs. Epp, but she’d eventually come along too. And we’d all eat a lot of kerosene soaked Styrofoam, down some beers, and laugh our butts off.

Like I said, maybe Rachael Ray is a total food geek. And maybe Food TV is Girl TV. Frankly, I don’t care. When I watch her show, I feel like I’m hangin‘ with the coolest, nicest, cutest, happiest, and funniest kid in school–or at least on TV–who also has a really big appetite.

What more can a guy ask?

Above: Like Mary Richards, the Food Network’s Rachel Ray can turn the world on with her smile. Rachael Ray at the 6th Annual Food Network Wine & Food Festival - William Morris Party at Hotel Victor, February 23, 2007.

[tags] Rachel Ray, Tasty Travels, Food Network, BBQ [/tags]

RTE Entertainment reports that Dominic Monaghan, the actor who portrays Charlie in ABC’s Lost, is not a happy camper about getting offed last week.

An excerpt:

Actor Dominic Monaghan is furious his character has been killed off in the hit castaway show ‘Lost,’ insisting the show’s creators could have chosen other, less likeable personalities to axe from the plot. . .

Hollywood.com quotes the actor as saying: “I think lots of people are gonna be pretty *** off. Especially as there are others on the show they are more keen on having disappear.” . . . .

I liked the Charlie character in Lost. He grew from a self-absorbed drug addict to a hero. Yes, I was sad–for about ten seconds or so–when Charlie drowned in the Others’ Looking Glass Station. But it was for a good cause–the Losties–and for future plot development.

But like it or not, Lost is just a TV show (albeit a very good TV show) and Charlie is just a character in a TV show, so I imagine I’ll get over it.

The bigger issue might be that Dom and Evangeline Lilly (Lost’s Kate) are an item, so the new work arrangements might not be to his liking.

Sorry, Charlie. Only good tasting rock and roll stars get to stay on Lost.

But I see Dom’s point. I think Bernard the Dentist needs to go. Big fat coward. Can’t keep his mouth shut, which, I guess, for a dentist, who’s always telling others to open their mouth. But I digress.

Above: Yes Charlie Pace, it sucks to be you. Ok, maybe not, you’ve got Evangeline Lilly for a main squeeze. Dominic Monaghan at The Academy of Television & Arts Sciences Presents An Evening with Lost - Inside Q&A, January 13, 2007.

[tags] Lost, ABC, Dominic Monaghan, Evangeline Lilly [/tags]

I had high hopes for HBO’s Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

As I had written here previously, the film is largely set in what is now South Dakota, my home state, and dealt with some the most notable events in its history–the Wounded Knee Massacre–and one of its greatest citizen–Sitting Bull.

Instead of the straight forward approach that Dee Brown took in his brilliant and society-changing history that the film is allegedly based, we have a jumble of events and a character that isn’t even in her book–Dr. Charles Eastman, a “civilized” Native American who basically sells out his people.

Plenty has been written about the inclusion of Eastman in the film and the problems with that elsewhere, so I won’t belabor that point. I will say this. I never got much of a feeling from Adam Beach’s potrayal of Eastman that he was all that conflicted, a man between two cultures.

What was disturbing what how the film appeared to mix the murder of Sitting Bull with the massacre at Pine Ridge.

Sitting Bull was killed on December 15, 1890 at his cabin on the Grand River in northern South Dakota on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. I’ve actually been to the site. It is a long drive down a cow path then a field to a secluded wooded area on the banks of the Grand. It is one of the most peaceful, beautiful places in South Dakota. There is a small marker noting Sitting Bull’s murder where Native Americans leave small offerings of tobacco.

Sitting Bull’s death helped spark the events that lead to Wounded Knee.

The Wounded Knee Massacre occurred two weeks later on December 29, 1890 on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. I’ve been there too. The mass grave where the victims are buried is stark. You can see that there was no place to hide from the Goverment’s guns.

But in the film, Eastman treats first Sitting Bull then victims of Wounded Knee. That is a historical and physical impossibility. Standing Rock and Pine Ridge are a good 200 miles away.

But films always take crazy historical liberties for “dramatic” effect. Whatever.

Had the producers stuck to Brown’s book, they would have all the drama and history they needed.

Bottom line: By watching the film, you learn something about the tragedy of how America treated its first inhabitants. But this was also a lost opportunity to teach even more,

Above: August Schellenberg portrays Sitting Bull in HBO’s Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. The film needed more Sitting Bull, less Dr. Charles Eastman.

Immediately above: Adam Beach as Dr. Charles Eastman. The Eastman character gets in the way of the telling of Dee Brown’s novel. Photos from HBO.

[tags] Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Dee Brown, HBO, Adam Beach, August Schellenberg, South Dakota, Wounded Knee, Sitting Bull, Charles Eastman, Standing Rock, Pine Ridge, Native Americans, Indians [/tags]

In about two hours, the Indianapolis 500 will air on ABC.

Do you care? Can you name a single driver?

There was a time when the Indy 500 was one of the biggest and most anticipated sporting events in America. Even casual fans knew the names of the drivers–A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Al Unser, and many others.

People cared about the cars, the drivers, and the race. It had buzz, with people planning their Memorial Day weekend to listen to or watch the Indy 500.

Other than my father who is a former dirt track stock car racer, I don’t know a single person who is planning to watch the once great race.

But with the rise of NASCAR and the establishment of the Indy Racing League, it seems the race has been eclipsed.

There are three women drivers in this year’s race, the most ever.

But do you care and will you watch?

I doubt it.

Above: Dan Wheldon waits in his pit stall during practice for qualifications for the Indy 500 on May 12, 2007. Indianapolis 500 - Practice and Qualifications - May 12, 2007.

Immediately Above: Danica Patrick seen in her pits during practice for the 2007 Indy 500 on May 9, 2007.

[tags] Indy 500, Indianapolis 500, NASCAR, IRL, Indy Racing League, ABC, ABC Sports [/tags]

It’s been a while, but my gal Audrey has some 411 on MTV’s Short Circuitz.

Ever wonder what Jay-Z would be doing if he wasn’t rapping or serving as “El Presidente� of Def Jam?

Nick Cannon and the rest of the crew of MTV’s sketch comedy show “Nick Cannon Presents: Short Circuitz� think Hovito would assume the role of Doctor Carter and perform breast exams on his nurses and rap through surgeries!

It sounds a bit off but makes for some interesting sketch comedy. Watch the clip here:

http://www.ifilm.com/profile/wiredset/video/2856861

The second season of Short Circuitz hits MTV on June 7^th at 10 pm et/pt but you can definitely get in on the action now. If you think you can do better than the clip you just watched, go to ShortCircuitz.tv and upload your own short. Send in your
parody of a TV show, a commercial, or a music video. Each week, the top 3 will air on the show and earn the creators $1000 each! Why not try this?

Please spread the word to your readers so they could get involved!

[tags] MTV, Short Circuitz, sketch comedy, Nick Cannon [/tags]

Are you the next Donald Trump, only with less money and better hair?

Here’s your chance.

From MediaWeek:

Businessweek.com is looking to create a “business YouTube” online video hub for wannabe moguls to post short pitch videos for new ventures or companies.

Above: The Donald. Donald Trump at Maxim and Trump Super Premium Vodka Party, May 23, 2007.

[tags] MediaWeek, Businessweek, You Tube, business You Tube [/tags]

I can’t count the number of times I’ve been screwed over by the networks when they have canceled my favorite show without any closure for the series.

So, call me cynical.

Apparently the Jericho fans have enough mojo to at least get some sort of closure for their favorite apocalyptic Kansas town.

From TV Guide:

CBS Promises “Closure” for Jericho Fans
Jericho fans are proving to be da bomb at marshalling their resources. The enourmous public outcry surrounding the show’s cancellation prompted CBS’ Entertainment president Nina Tassler to take the unusual step of posting the following message at CBS.com over the weekend… more…

Here’s my solution.

A rogue Chinese long-range bomber drops its last nuclear bomb on Jericho, vaporizing the town and its inhabitants in about, oh, five seconds.

Should be easy for CBS to pull this off.

Above: A scene from CBS’s canceled show Jericho. I say we blow up Jericho real good! CBS photo.

[tags] Jericho, CBS, canceled shows [/tags]

I just finished the season finale of ABC’s Lost. Here’s what I learned.

*Mikhail is really hard to kill.

*Charlie can’t catch a break.

*Hurley is great with old VW vans.

*Jack makes a bad drug addict.

*Dentists squeal when the going gets tough. Take a lawyer along instead if you expect a tough job.

*Juliette is a big fat liar. Believe nothing she says.

*Ben can sure take a punch. And another. And another. Then another.

*Tom gets his, finally.

*Puberty wasn’t kind to Walt.

*You can’t kill Locke either.

Above: Other leader Ben can sure take a punch–or two or three or four!

[tags] Lost, ABC, season finales [/tags]

If you missed Sunday’s episode (“The Second Coming”) of HBO’s The Sopranos, you missed perhaps the ickiest, most gross, most disturbing sound in the history of TV. Seriously.

While beating the holy crap out of Coco for dissin’ his daughter Meadow, Tony Soprano placed Coco’s mouth on a ledge for a booth in an Italian (of course) restaurant. The camera pulled back to an extreme wide shot and the next thing we heard was a combination thud/squish/crunch of Tony apparently stepping on the thug’s head and squashing the Phil Leotardo’s guy’s melon and breaking his teeth and jaw.

I physically cringed when I heard it.

Damn, that had to hurt.

Wow.

First plugging the amble nose of Christopher Moltisanti after the car accident the week before, now this. Tony is definitely on a “roll.”

Above: From Episode 84, “The Second Coming.” Little Carmine asks New York boss Phil Leotardo to reconsider accepting an apology from New Jersey boss Tony Soprano at Leotardo’s house. HBO photo.

[tags] The Sopranos, Tony Soprano, Phil Leotardo, melons, bad sounds, HBO [/tags]

It’s one of those things that just makes you want to go “hmmm.”

Are viewer people watching major network TV or are they watching it different ways, just not in front of the Motorola in the living room?

The answer, according to this release from Total TV, appears to be “maybe”

:

RINGWOOD, N.J., May 14 /PRNewswire/ — As TV networks prepare for the upfront and scatter market that follows, the Total TV Audience Monitor (T-TAM) is filling in the ratings gaps, demonstrating how the out-of-home (OOH) audience can augment in-home ratings and compensate for some ratings declines. The annual T-TAM study just released shows for example that OOH viewing provides a 5% lift in the 18-49 average TV audience, a demo which recently has been elusive for many networks. Traditional ratings don’t currently include the whole OOH audience, so several networks, including T-TAM founder ESPN, CNN, and FOX are using T-TAM’s OOH lift to demonstrate the value of this added audience toadvertisers.

The T-TAM study provides unique insight to OOH viewing behavior. This study shows that the OOH lift for the 18-49 TV audience is greatest during weekdays 10a-4p when the average index is 109 (or a 9% increase in the average 18-49 audience when OOH is included). But the lift varies greatly by network type, daypart, and even by program. T-TAM reports for example that ad- supported cable garners more liftfrom college locations and the workplace, while broadcast benefits more in bars & restaurants, 2nd homes and hotels.

For advertisers, OOH viewers can be very attractive as this audience tends to have higher incomes, higher education, and are traveling more. These plugged in, upscale viewers are also most likely to be tuned-into the Internet. Airport & hotel TV viewers average $90,263 in annual household income vs. $59,120 among the “in-home only” TV viewing audience.

            TV Audience Characteristics
               Watch in-home only      Watch any OOH
  Visited hotel/motel past week     2 %       11 %
  HH Income of 100k+               15 %       21 %
  Completed College                32 %       40 %
  Own Cellphone                    77 %       87 %
  Own PC or Laptop                 59 %       70 %
  Watched TV or Video online past week 8 %    15 %

Over the past several years, T-TAM has witnessed continued growth in the OOH universe. According to Barbara Leflein, president of T-TAM “In an average week more than half (52%) of adults in the US visit out of home locations where a TV can be watched.” This, according to T-TAM translates to a potential universe of 113 million adults available to watch TV OOH, compared to a universe of 86 million just three years ago:

  About Total TV Audience Monitor (T-TAM)

The Total TV Audience Monitor (T-TAM) is a national, persons-based audience measurement service established in 2003 to capture and report all TV viewing no matter where it takes place. Out-of- home viewing isdefined as any viewing outside of a primary residence - second homes, hotels/motels, colleges, workplace, etc. T-TAM is supported by sponsors and subscribers including ESPN, FOX, and CNN.

[tags] upfronts, OOH, TV viewership, ratings, Nielsens [/tags]

The show I love to hate, NBC’s Heroes, will be available on DVD on August 28th.

This should give the Heroes worshippers enough time to get their drivers licenses so they don’t have to ask mom and dad to take them to the store to buy Season 1.

Excerpts from a release about the whole deal:

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., May 18 /PRNewswire/ — Ordinary people with extraordinary abilities link a group of complete strangers that may determine the future of the world when “Heroes: Season 1″ comes to DVD and HD DVD August 28, 2007 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The most acclaimed and addictive new series of the 2006-2007 television season, “Heroes: Season 1,” which was created by Tim Kring (”Providence,” “Crossing Jordan”), features an extraordinary ensemble cast that includes Sendhil Ramamurthy (”Blind Guy Driving”), Milo Ventimiglia (”Gilmore Girls”), Adrian Pasdar (”Judging Amy”), Hayden Panettiere (”Bring It On: All Or Nothing”), Ali Larter (”Final Destination”), Noah Gray-Cabey, (”My Wife & Kids”), Leonard Roberts (”Smallville”), Santiago Cabrera (”Empire”), Tawny Cypress (NBC’s “Third Watch”), Greg Grunberg (”Alias”), Masi Oka, (NBC’s “Scrubs”), Jack Colman (”Dynasty”), James Kyson Lee (NBC’s “Las Vegas”), Zachary Quinto (”24″), Ashley Crow (NBC’s “American Dreams”), Cristine Rose (NBC’s “Friends”), Jimmy Jean-Louis (”Monster-in-Law”), Eric Roberts (”Less than Perfect”) and Malcolm McDowall (”Entourage”). Electrifying intrigue, compelling mythology and soaring imagination make the NBC epic drama the must see event of the year. Praised for its “propulsive, surprisingly and emotionally charged storytelling” by Entertainment Weekly, “Heroes” nabbed the People’s Choice Award for Favorite New Drama Series and a Golden Globe(R) nomination for Best Drama Series of 2007, even before completing its first season. “Heroes” is television’s number-one new show of the 2006-2007 season.

SUPERHUMAN EXTRAS

“Heroes: Season 1″ reveals some of the show’s hidden secrets with interviews, mini documentaries and extensive profiles, including:

* Unaired Pilot: The Tim Kring Cut with Audio Commentary — A full 73 uninterrupted minutes of the original, unaired, extended pilot episode, as Heroes’ creator Tim Kring first envisioned it, with a character never seen.

* The Making of “Heroes” — From concept to pop culture phenomenon, a behind-the-scenes look at the hottest new series on television

* Special Effects — The secrets behind the eye-popping visuals that givethe Heroes their amazing powers.

* The Stunts — A back stage look at the show’s hair-raising stunts.

* Mind Reader — Matt Parkman’s mind reading abilities reveal your inner Hero with a series of simple tests.

* Profile of Artist Tim Sale — A look at the Eisner Award-winning comic book artist (Spiderman, Batman, Daredevil) behind much of the Manga-influenced artwork used in the show.

* The Score — Go behind the scenes with Wendy Melvin and Lisa Coleman (of Prince’s The Revolution) as they create their ASCAP Award-winning musical score.

* 50 Deleted and Extended Scenes

Above: A scene from the Heroes episode “Landslide.” Photo from NBC.

[tags] Heroes, NBC, DVDs, nerds [/tags]

Can’t say I’ll be watching this show this summer.

From the SciFi Channel:

Saturday May 26 at 9/8C

When a freak accident imbues Stephen Baldwin with the power to wield a cloud of dark matter as a weapon, his former masters come gunning for him.

Above: Does anyone think a flashlight to the face is scary? Aparently Dark Storm’s Stephen Baldwn does. Photo from SciFi.com.
[tags] Stephen Baldwin, Dark Storm, SciFi Channel [/tags]

A moment of personal privilege.

HBO has just premiered its ambitious film, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, in Rapid City, SD, in the heart of the Lakota Nation–and my home state.

The local Rapid City Journal today has a story about the show, which airs Sunday, May 27, 2007.

An excerpt:

Screenwriter Daniel Giat had the monumental task of transforming Dee Brown’s historical volume into a dramatic film with a cohesive plot. The book isn’t about the Lakota Sioux or any single tribe, but rather about the experience of various tribes throughout the region.

Reading the book, it stood out to Giat that each story was essentially the same - the U.S. government’s forced acquisition of
the land and the eradication of the Indians’ culture and language.

“I had to find representative story to stand for the experience of all American Indians,” he said, selecting the story of the Lakota in part because the massacre at Wounded Knee took place on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

My home state of South Dakota has a huge dicotomy about its Dakota/Nakota/Lakota past. On the one hand, the state is rich in Native American culture, religion, and history. On the other hand, because of this great influence and because many of the Dakota/Lakota tribes were the last to fight white encroachment, there is a terrible history of discrimination, prejudice, graft, and and just plain awfulness concerning my Native American brothers and sisters.

Dee Brown’s original book, which I probably read over thirty years ago in high school, was and is a masterpiece. I hope the HBO film is at least half as good. The treatment of Native Americans in this country in the past–and in the present–is a dark stain on America. Hopefully, this film will help to lighten that stain.

Above: Canadian Mohawk actor August Schellenberg portrays Lakota leader Sitting Bull in HBO’s production of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. HBO photo.

[tags] Dee Brown, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Native Americans, Indians, HBO, South Dakota, racism, prejudice, Rapid City, Lakota, Dakota, Nakota [/tags]