Halloween Lives On, on Primetime-On-Demand Cable

Officer Nick Burkhardt (David Guintoli) investigates a crime scene along a jogging trail in the pilot episode of Grimm.

Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. I love having an excuse to dress up in costume, savor chocolate (and not feel guilty about it), watch scary movies, and attend parties with friends, giggling at everyone's outrageously creative get-ups.

In my opinion, Halloween should always fall on a Saturday, similar to Thanksgiving, which is always on a Thursday, or Easter, which is always on a Sunday, in part so that children can go trick-or-treating and not worry about it being a school night. It should occur on the last Saturday of October and be combined with the annual “fall backward” time change from daylight savings to standard time, which gives us one hour extra at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning. That way, bars would be given one additional hour to stay open that night – a great pairing with what is actually the second largest income-producing retail holiday of the year.

The Sing-Off

This year, Halloween fell on a Monday, so regularly scheduled primetime Monday shows took advantage of the timing to really go all out with a Halloween theme. More notably, Tvgrrrrl’s favorite talent competition show, The Sing-Off, which airs every Monday on NBC [channel 4 or 1020 here on Brighthouse Cable in Orlando] from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., produced a really spectacular song and dance number featuring several hit creepy tunes: This Is Halloween, Werewolves of London, and Ghostbusters. It was so very well done, better than even some Broadway musicals I’ve seen. Hats off to these talented a cappella performers for making me forget that there is no orchestra, or band of any sort, no bass or drums, just voices creating all those beautiful sounds. The performance occurs at the beginning of the show, so it only takes five minutes to view, just in case you are short on time and can't watch the entire episode. [channel 307]

The Simpsons

Another of my favorite shows, The Simpsons, produced their annual Halloween show, “Treehouse of Horror XXII,” which features three separate gruesome mini-stories. I’ve seen nearly every one of these, and although this wasn’t my favorite over the years (the Edgar Allen Poe and alien episodes are epic), I still enjoyed one segment in particular, featuring Homer, who becomes paralyzed due to a spider bite and learns that he can fart in order to communicate. In typical Simpson’s style, there’s always a bit of a twist to each story, which adds quite a “chunk” of hilarity. [S23Ep3 airing on 10-30] The Simpsons regularly airs on FOX TV at 8 p.m. each Sunday [channel 3 or 1035 here on Brighthouse Cable in Orlando].

In addition to Halloween themed shows, there are also a slew of series with scary themes throughout their season, perfect for watching on cold, dark and dreary, spooky fall nights by the fire.

Grimm

One of the newer shows debuting this season is Grimm, on NBC [channel 4 or 1020 here on Brighthouse Cable in Orlando] airing on Friday nights at 8 p.m. Filmed in and around Portland, Oregon in the dark and drippy rainforest of the Pacific Northwest, the show is really no scarier than Eerie, Indiana, a G-rated creep show which used to air on Saturday mornings. The premise of the show is that police officer Nick Burkhardt (played by super hot David Guintoli) is visited by his Aunt Marie, who is dying of cancer and reveals to him on her deathbed that he is actually a “Grimm,” a special person with the unique ability to see past the disguises of supernatural monsters who pose as humans and walk the earth, committing heinous crimes. Each episode begins with a quote from a fairy tale (not always from Grimm’s Fairy Tales) and the crime committed is somehow related. The first is a twist on Little Red Riding Hood [episode 101] and the second [episode 102], a twist on Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Think X-files meets Fringe, complete with Outer Limits theme music.

American Horror Story

The FX network also features a scary new series, American Horror Story, about a family of three who moves into a house which they later discover is the site of multiple murders, haunted by an active collection of ghosts. It’s a complicated show and written like a soap opera, but is extraordinarily dark and creepy and worth the time to watch. Unfortunately, the pilot episodes are no longer being shown on primetime-on-demand. However, you can catch up beginning with episode 2 here online, quickly, before it also expires. The show regularly airs on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on FX [channel 70 or 1283 here on Brighthouse Cable in Orlando].

The SyFy Network

The SyFy network, though primarily known for science fiction and fantasy, is full of freaky/creep shows as part of their regular season’s lineup this fall, including: Ghost Hunters, Fact or Faked, Paranormal Witness, Urban Legends, and Scare Tactics. [channel 69 or 1286 here on Brighthouse Cable in Orlando]

Each of these shows can be found in rerun on Primetime-On-Demand. Here in Orlando, Florida, these are found on Brighthouse channel 304 on digital cable.

Sing-Off Now Showing On-Demand

If you missed the Sing-Off when it aired this week on Monday, Dec. 6 and Wednesday, Dec. 8, you will be pleasantly surprised to learn that NBC has just placed the show on their On-Demand channel. Here in Orlando, that's Channel 304 on Brighthouse Cable.

The Sing-Off is a music competition where ten a cappella groups compete to win a SONY recording contract. The show is judged by singer Ben Folds, Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger, and Boys II Men singer Shawn Stockman and hosted by 98 Degrees singer Nick Lachey. The show debuted in late fall of 2009 as an after-season filler and was renewed for a second season this year. The show has been enjoying a ratings spurt, ranking in second place for viewership for both episodes.

Happy viewing!

Reminded of “What If’s?” inThere's Something About Mary

Ted and Mary awkwardly date after reuniting as adults after 13 years since high school. In the end, the guy gets the girl, and the girl gets her knight in shining armor.

This week, hidden among the complex menu of the “On Demand” TV shows is the movie, “There’s Something About Mary.”

TV On Demand
Channel: 304 Brighthouse Orlando
Network: FX
Movies: About Mary

Originally released in 1998, the movie speaks of the eternal unrequited love it seems we all carry buried within our hearts. While in high school, a dorky young man, Ted, falls for Mary, a radiantly beautiful girl, and though he manages to win her over through his valiant defense of her disabled brother, a romantic relationship never truly comes to fruition. The two go their separate ways until thirteen years later, when Ted bravely decides to hire a private investigator and get in touch with Mary to see where life has taken her and “what if,” by chance, there’s still some spark – and some chance -- between them. Despite believing that she now has four children with different fathers, weighs 250 lbs, and is on her way to get married in Japan, he is still determined to go with his heart and seek her out in Miami. Now, that’s love, baby! Writers Ed Decter and John Strauss’s plot is one that even William Shakespeare would have been proud to have written.

There’s really nothing to pick apart in this movie.

From a girl’s point of view, it’s a winner on the romantic, teary eyed, “that’s so sweet,” point of view. Face it girls, we all want to be Mary. We all want to be “that girl,” the girl who everyone is in love with, from superstar Brett Favre to the pizza delivery man. We all secretly hope for a knight in shining armor: a wonderful guy out there who’s been harboring an obsession over us for a dozen years who’s willing to fight for us.

From a guy’s point of view, the movie offers over-the-top hilarity in every scene – from the zipper incident, to the jail cell, to the mistaken hair gel – to the subtle comedic details, such as the family portrait featuring Mary’s Dad in a giant afro. Men like the idea that Ted is an “average” guy, that he makes mistakes, takes bad advice, is far too trusting, and really isn’t special in any way shape or form other than simply being “a nice guy.” Despite his average appearance and mid career “haven’t-gotten-there-yet” stage in life, he “gets the girl” in the end, anyway.

The cast is thoughtfully chosen and packed to the brim with comedic talent, with Cameron Diaz as Mary; Ben Stiller as Ted; Matt Dillon as sleezy private detective Pat; Lee Evans as the crippled architect; Lin Shaye as golden girl Magda; W. Earl Brown as Mary’s brother Warren; and Chris Elliott as hive-struck Dom. More familiar faces pop up in each scene. Even Magda's dog Fluffy is adorable!

The music score is well derived, and cleverly complemented by a pair of narrating strumming minstrels, guitarist/singer Jonathan Richman and drummer Tommy Larkins, who change instruments throughout each appearance and become an integral part of the plot at the end of the picture.

Directors Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly (the Farrelly Brothers) have carefully staged each scene to be both entertaining and sweet. The movie is set in picturesquely lush and colorful Miami, FL.

The On Demand movie runs roughly 2 hours and is sprinkled with short commercial breaks, mostly trailers for other comedy movies. On Demand has fewer commercials (knock on polyvinyl chloride plastic) and you have the added advantage of watching it when you want, rewinding, and pausing when needed.

Don’t blame Leno for low News ratings

The dust has finally settled at NBC and only two weeks ago, I found myself finally settling into a routine where I’d watch about five minutes of Jay Leno’s monologue at 10 o’clock before drifting off to sleep. About a year ago at this time, I’d be watching, you guessed it: News.

Local news stations blame Leno’s new time slot for their viewer ratings drop and want Leno moved – again. Ratings drops mean advertising sales drops. The local NBC affiliate stations imagine that if Leno is moved back to 11:35, viewers will once again choose to watch their local broadcast of the 10 o’clock news and all will once again be right with the world.

However, a lot has changed in only one year and I don’t think things will work out quite as these local affiliates hope.

More viewers now have cable

The first major change which occurred roughly one year ago was the switch from analog broadcast to digital broadcast. We viewers all had to suddenly go out and buy a special antenna or cable! Gasp! Many of the diehard “I’ll never get cable” viewers were suddenly out of gas. It was cable or nothing in some cases.

With cable comes all sorts of wonderful channels, including one of my favorites, 24-hour local news. At any time, day or night, if I want to know what is happening in my neck of the woods, I can turn to Channel 13 Brighthouse news (here in Orlando) and find out the weather forecast, traffic jams, crime, sports, and events. There is no longer any need for me to wait for the local 5 o’clock news, the 6 o’clock news, or even the 10 or 11 o’clock news. It’s covered when I want to see it, even at, say, 9 o’clock.

In addition, along with cable, we former cable-less viewers suddenly have any number of television schedule choices available from ESPN, Lifetime, Oxygen, the History Channel, TCM, MTV, FXM, and one of my favorites HGTV. That 10 o’clock news broadcast is looking less and less appealing. Perhaps a rerun of Three’s Company, the Jefferson’s, Friends or Seinfeld would get more viewers on these local stations.

Nothing I want to watch on the news

What else happened one year ago? The presidential election. Everyone was perched on the edges of their easy chairs to see who would win the election and how President Obama would handle his first few days in office – hence the reason I myself watched news every night at 10 o’clock.

The third reason I believe that no one is watching the news is our bad economy. With about 20 percent of the nation unemployed (including all of us who don’t receive unemployment), who wants to be further depressed by watching the news? Are you going to tell me that a big corporation is hiring down the street? I doubt it. You’re going to tell my more bad news – less jobs, higher unemployment, higher gas and food prices, more crime, car accidents, people fighting over healthcare, terrorist attacks, etc. Yep, this is just what I need to watch at 10 o’clock before I go to sleep – not!

Programming mis-match

Finally, look at the lineup on CW in the 7, 8, and 9 o’clock slots before the 10 o’clock news. One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, Supernatural, 90210, Smallville and Melrose Place have strong followings among teens and young adults. These are not the type of viewers who want to follow up their evenings watching a local news broadcast.

Let’s pretend Leno is moved back to 11:35. If you think I’m watching him at 11:35, you’re mistaken. First off, on nights when I’m actually up that late, I’ll be watching Letterman, who I used to watch before Conan was moved into that slot. That’s right – I like Conan over Letterman. Leno ranks third with me and most of the kids in my generation.

At 10 o’clock, I’ll be watching South Park on the Comedy Channel, King of the Hill on Cartoon Network, Married with Children on TV Land, or an Orlando Magic game on FSN. If something is happening in the world, I’ll watch Nancy Grace on HLN or Keith Olbermann on MSNBC. What I won’t be watching is local news on CW, my local NBC affiliate here in Orlando.

However, at 7 o’clock in the morning on Saturday, I will be watching cartoons on CW. Why not air Winx and Spectacular Spiderman cartoons at 10 o’clock PM? Now, I would watch that!