tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759913671101666257.post464815492806585240..comments2023-05-24T06:02:06.480-05:00Comments on Chuck's Chatter: The wastelandChuck Doswellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03099345055614900157noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759913671101666257.post-32111502163495143492010-08-28T21:24:37.206-05:002010-08-28T21:24:37.206-05:00There are still a few shows on TV that aren't ...There are still a few shows on TV that aren't total wastelands.<br />BookTV (CSPAN2 on the weekends)<br />Any show produced by Ken Burns.<br />Some shows on PBS (Frontline, Nature, and Bill Moyers)Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10201785273467187603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759913671101666257.post-4278926047744226502010-08-28T10:46:51.154-05:002010-08-28T10:46:51.154-05:00Scott,
Go back and re-view that 1985 NOVA documen...Scott,<br /><br />Go back and re-view that 1985 NOVA documentary on tornadoes ... waaaaay too much of that program was devoted to weeping, praying survivors of the Barneveld, WI tornado. Such content added nothing to the science but was given undue emphasis, no doubt for its emotional impact. I had that episode in mind when I wrote my earlier comment.Chuck Doswellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03099345055614900157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759913671101666257.post-26140540916057582542010-08-27T18:23:51.728-05:002010-08-27T18:23:51.728-05:00NOVA has increasingly become more like those '...NOVA has increasingly become more like those 'documentaries;' like those found on Discovery and others. The last time I watched NOVA a few years ago, the episode was reduced to 'sound bite' type interviews, fast cuts from one scene to another, and lots of computer special effects. I don't know when NOVA 'lost' it, but they have produced great documentaries in the past. Remember the NOVA episode on storm chasing from 1985? Still one of the best 'chasing' documentaries ever made.Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10201785273467187603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759913671101666257.post-34986817410885627172010-08-22T21:59:22.658-05:002010-08-22T21:59:22.658-05:00Frontline is indeed quite informative at times. I...Frontline is indeed quite informative at times. It has inspired a blog of mine, in fact ...<br /><br />http://cadiiitalk.blogspot.com/2010/05/thoughts-as-memorial-day-approaches.htmlChuck Doswellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03099345055614900157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759913671101666257.post-3268490912748244722010-08-22T21:46:10.157-05:002010-08-22T21:46:10.157-05:00I enjoy watching Frontine on PBS. This is perhaps ...I enjoy watching Frontine on PBS. This is perhaps the most informative program on television...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759913671101666257.post-80732499117522390962010-08-22T21:22:50.542-05:002010-08-22T21:22:50.542-05:00This is the complete body of the speech...
http:/...This is the complete body of the speech...<br /><br />http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/commentary/hiddenagenda/murrow.htmlJustmeKarenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04400394782258928505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759913671101666257.post-83428702647398580532010-08-22T21:19:59.652-05:002010-08-22T21:19:59.652-05:00This speech http://youtu.be/1cfwsfGqgPM by Edward...This speech http://youtu.be/1cfwsfGqgPM by Edward R. Murrow, portrayed by David Strathairn in the film "Good Night and Good Luck" illuminates what you have written so well.<br /><br />There are shows that inform and enlighten. But they are rare, and probably not in demand. We are willingly dumbed down because it seems to make life easier. But it does not make for a better life; rather, it makes for a more limited life. It sucks the dignity out of our existence, and leaves us hostage to our own, self limited whimsy.JustmeKarenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04400394782258928505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759913671101666257.post-15083423318656637882010-08-19T10:20:12.165-05:002010-08-19T10:20:12.165-05:00NOVA wasn't mentioned primarily because their ...NOVA wasn't mentioned primarily because their programs on tornadoes have been simply awful. NOVA is like all the rest of the putative 'science' programs on commercial TV ... they hire external production companies to do their programs. And for reasons I find inexplicable, these production companies seem determined to do a poor job with 'documentaries' about tornadoes.<br /><br />See: http://www.flame.org/~cdoswell/crock/crockumentaries.htmlChuck Doswellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03099345055614900157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759913671101666257.post-40139060437884441382010-08-19T08:04:40.688-05:002010-08-19T08:04:40.688-05:00Actually Chuck, History (as it's been known fo...Actually Chuck, History (as it's been known for a couple of years now) is part of A&E Television Networks, which is a partnership between Hearst, Disney/ABC and NBC Universal (soon to be a part of Comcast). Other channels include A&E, History International, The Biography Channel, the Lifetime family of networks and Military History, a competitor to Discovery Communications' The Military Channel.BrentSTLnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759913671101666257.post-81790807227348148062010-08-18T16:37:33.138-05:002010-08-18T16:37:33.138-05:00Although far from a wasteland, I did not see anyth...Although far from a wasteland, I did not see anything in this post about Nova? What a great television series!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759913671101666257.post-55670485041158509092010-08-18T13:21:46.068-05:002010-08-18T13:21:46.068-05:00Likewise, we bought a Mac Mini and handed in the D...Likewise, we bought a Mac Mini and handed in the Dish. We now pick our own shows to watch. Oh, the entire Star Trek, TNG collection on our mantle serves as a reminder of what the rest of TV entertainment could be.The Queen Motherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17055000799962479462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759913671101666257.post-72653084460456573462010-08-17T22:53:40.907-05:002010-08-17T22:53:40.907-05:00Did you really think the History Channel is about ...Did you really think the History Channel is about history? Hey, as a Christian I do believe in a real hell, but we do agree that it doesn't belong on the History Channel. A religious channel, certainly...but not THC, unless that now stands for The Hell Channel. I would expect you not to watch any given religious channel, and therefore, not to have to be surprised unpleasantly by the appearance or nature of such material. Now if they did a special on the history and influence of a religion, or on the life and times of am influential religious *and* historical figure such as Mother Teresa, Luther, Wesley, Billy Graham, or any particular pope, I could see that. But hell? That's entirely in the realm of theology and belief. It's no different than turning on the Golf Channel and watching a show about the Ten Commandments. That is, unless their commandments are "Thou shalt not hit a slice into the water hazard", etc. :-)<br /><br />The Weather Channel's supposed to be about weather; but so much of what it offers (in between barge loads of commercials) is impertinent fluff. The Discovery Channel seems to be mostly about "discovery" of extreme-sport pseudoscience (e.g., the screaming, Evel Knievel style of "XTREME INSANE" storm chasers it features). Actual music on MTV? Yeah, and I've got prime acreage 15 miles E of Miami to sell you. <br /><br />No, by in large, TV is about ratings, and shameless pandering to ten-second attention spans. Somehow, those who market and produce programming for most of these channels perceive that the more XTREME INSANE, the louder, the crazier, the more bizarre and on-the-fringe, the better -- at the expense of actual understanding, informativeness and topical appropriateness. <br /><br />The "Dumbing Down" of America is a concern shared (albeit with different motivations at times) by the well-educated amongst liberals, conservatives, the religious and atheists alike, who give a damn about this society's future. Are we doomed to nothing more than endless superficiality, inversion or distortion of knowledge, blind idolatry of uninhibited self-gratification, and ever-shortening attention spans? Look no further than some of the TV examples you provided for the basis of such concerns. <br /><br />As for me, I used to get amused at how rotten some of the programming was, but even that lost its luster. What really turned the tide for me was when commercials discussing 4-hour erections started playing before the ears of my then-6 year old kids watching shows during the daytime (football, probably). That's just going too far...another example of the difference between having the right, and doing what's right.<br /><br />Believe or or not, I don't even watch religious TV; it's too simplistic, shallow, pandering to worldly culture, and money-driven, for the most part. I'd rather crack open the actual Bible, along with texts thereabouts by intellectual theologians, and actually *think* about the messages therein...<br /><br />What *do* I watch? Dallas Cowboys and OU Sooners games with steadfast fervor, occasionally other sports such as Olympics or other Dallas teams....sometimes I watch a crime drama with Elke, or a Netflix movie. Otherwise, I've embraced the "Just don't watch it" solution. It's a great thing not to waste my valuable time, not to mention whatever brain cells I have left, on scientific(ally deprived) crockumentaries, XTREME INSANE bullcrap, worldly distortions of religious ideals, or so-called reality-TV, in between 15 minutes of screaming commercials out of every 30.===== Roger =====http://www.skypix.wsnoreply@blogger.com