In honor of Earth Day, here’s a great commercial from the Discovery Channel.   As if you didn’t already have enough reasons to love this network — what with great shows like Mythbusters, Cash Cab, Dirty Jobs, & Survivorman, just to name a few — this inspiring ad titled "The World Is Just Awesome" will even give manly men a few warm fuzzies.   Boom de yada!

Labels: environment, tv

Premiering Thursday, September 20th on CBS, Survivor: China will be the 15th season of the reality TV series.   As usual, we’re participating in our Survivor game at work.   This time around I drew Dave and Rob drew Frosti for our survivors.   Since neither of us has ever won, we’re due this time around!

This season will include several historical Chinese locations, including the Shaolin Temple and the Great Wall of China.

Instead of Exile Island featured in previous seasons, the China contestants will have the ability to kidnap a player on the opposing tribe as part of winning a reward challenge;   the kidnapped player remains with that team through the next immunity challenge, and will receive a clue to the location of a hidden immunity idol at that camp.
 

Labels: tv

The 14th season of Survivor, Survivor Fiji, starts tomorrow night. As usual we have drawn for our survivors at work and this time I have Stacy Kimball and Rob has Rita Verreos.

They’re a survivor short this season, with only 19 instead of the usual 20 contestants, because the 20th person dropped out a day before filming started. The twist for this season is that one tribe will live in luxury while the other tribe has virtually nothing — the Ravu orange buff tribe are the "Have Nots" and the Moto green buff tribe are the "Haves." Exile island is back again this season with clues to two immunity idols, one hidden at each camp.
 

Labels: tv

When our TiVo has nothing better to do, it often records shows that it thinks we might like, based upon our past viewing habits and ratings of previously recorded shows. Thanks to this TiVo Suggestions feature, I recently discovered "John Ratzenberger's Made in America" on The Travel Channel.

Ratzenberger, (a.k.a. Cheers' Cliff Clavin and a vocal talent in every Pixar movie) goes across the country touring factories & businesses that make everyday items — like Crayola crayons, Craftsman tools, Airstream trailers, Tootsie Roll candy, Serta mattresses, Delta faucets, & Campbell's soup, just to name a few.

For those of us still too stuffed on turkey to move — or smart enough to avoid shopping on "Black Friday" — The Travel Channel is airing an all-day "Made in America" marathon tomorrow (Friday) beginning at 8 a.m. Check it out!

Labels: tv

We're big fans of NBC's The Office sitcom series. It's kinda scary just how much most of the characters are just like some of the people we work with...

A few weeks ago, our TiVo recorded a Season Preview Promo that featured 3 otherwise unavailable mini-episodes of The Office. In the hilarious episode 3, Dwight Schrute's bobblehead doll gets kidnapped & held for ransom. I discovered yesterday that a video with all 3 of the promotional commercials is available, so click the above link to watch & enjoy!

Labels: humor, tv

Did you catch the funky new "Feasting on Asphalt" mini-series on the Food Network recently? If not, you're in luck — all 4 episodes are being re-aired back-to-back this Saturday, August 19th.

Foodie Alton Brown and a camera crew hop on motorcycles and set out across the country to discover how and where we eat when we’re on the road. Highlighted by archival photos & film, the series also serves as a history lesson as Alton journies down back roads exploring every aspect of eating on the go, from foraging for grub, to camp cooking, to the evolution of "road food" icons — the diners, cafes, and truck stops that once flourished beside America’s highways. And along the way, he often reflects on how changes in eating on the road have influenced today's culture.

Click here to see Wikipedia's page on the show and for a link of a cool pushpin map of the series' route.

Labels: food, tv

In Deb Shinder's July 25th issue of WinXP News, she included a link in the "This Week's Links We Like. Tips, Hints and Fun Stuff" section for a page on the Millennium Music Homeplace website that features classic TV theme songs. All of the theme songs are in mp3 format and are free for your enjoyment. It's suprising how just the theme song or music can take you right back to relive some of the old television shows you grew up with — it's a little bit like a time machine.

One of my favorites, naturally, is the Flipper theme song, so think of me when you listen to that one! ;-)

Labels: tv

Kicking off it's 11th season, Survivor: Guatemala - The Maya Empire started tonight! And its safe to say that this season's castaways had the most brutal beginning yet with a grueling 11 mile jungle trek.

And we're especially happy to see two of our favorites, Stephanie & Bobby Jon back in the game this round. Looks like the 2 tribes are going to need the extra boost from having these experienced players because this season looks like it'll make the earlier ones seem almost easy.

Buzz around the office is that 3 or 4 of the Survivor: Guatemala castaways have twin siblings and that this may come into play at some point during the season, but host Jeff Probst has officially denied those rumors, despite the fact that twins do play a major role in Mayan culture.

Labels: tv

The tipping point seems to have certainly arrived for the lowly, underrated cowbell thanks to the skit featuring Christopher Walken & Will Farrell that aired on Saturday Night Live five years ago. The classic skit parodied a VH1 "Behind the Music" episode showing the fictitious genesis of Blue Öyster Cult’s "Don’t Fear the Reaper." I’ve always been a big fan of Christopher Walken, and you can’t help but love his straight-faced delivery during this skit, but Will Farrell definitely steals the show.

"Gotta Have More Cowbell" T-shirts are all over eBay, Wired magazine July 05 issue showcased the skit’s timeline to critical mass, and there’s even a website, The Cowbell Project, that’s obsessively devoted to cataloging every rock song that features the cowbell — and even a few that don’t but should.

Read up on the entire scoop on the SNL skit over on Wikipedia or click here to view a Google Video clip of the entire parody.

And if you decide you’ve just "gotta have more cowbell" of your very own, grab a copy of the SNL: The Very Best of Will Farrell DVD.
 

Labels: humor, tv

What more appropriate time could there be for buying a TiVo than right now so you'll be able to record those upcoming Survivor:Palau episodes? You can get the 40-hour Series 2 model for an additional $30 off of the normal $99 at Goodguys.com. Add a network adapter to your new TiVo and you can view photos and even stream MP3 music files off of your home PC and play them thru your living room sound system. Just doesn't get much more cool than that! Don't forget to give us a referral if you sign up for the TiVo service! We'd sure appreciate it!

Already have a TiVo and just can't get enough of those cool funky sounds? Thanks to Sean Burke, you can download the TiVo Sounds and use them on your PC. (Windows' Sound Theme settings are located in the Control Panel under "Sounds and Audio Devices." Give me a yell if you decide to try this and need a little help.)

Labels: tv

The ever-popular series 10th season kicks off with Survivor: Palau next week and we can't wait! This time there are 20 survivors (instead of the usual 18) to start. The previews that we have seen say that 3 of them will go home the first night. I'm not sure where Palau is located but it looks like there are dolphins there so I am happy! Check out the CBS Survivor website for bios of the 10th season's survivors.

Survivor: Palau

Labels: tv

I've been wanting TiVo for well over a year now but the problem was that I didn't know anyone personally that had TiVo who could answer specifics regarding what it could and could not do. That all changed Friday when one of my co-workers (thanks Scott!) filled me in on what a "life change" it has been for him. So, I did some research last night at the TiVo website and found out they have a $100 rebate special going on. I took that as an omen and we headed once again to our favorite adult candy store, Best Buy to take the plunge.

Rob & I just finished the simple hookup and TiVo is now in the process of downloading and updating itself with the current TV listings (a process that takes about 6 hours the first time). Even though we can't record anything until it finishes, we are able to replay live TV and that is way cool!

We also purchased a Linksys wireless USB network adaptor (Linksys rules!) to connect TiVo to our network. The network setup was a snap and this will allow us to play MP3 music and view photos from our PCs on the TV. I can't wait to test that out!

Labels: tv

Check out the Starbucks Doubleshot commercial featuring the band Survivor.

Starbucks Doubleshot Commercial



16 Days and counting until Starbucks opens at MCH!!!!

Labels: coffee, tv

Well, Survivor 8 is all but over and, as predicted, Rob Mariano & Amber Brkich were the final two, with Amber winning the cool mil. Now all that’s left is to wait until Thursday evening to see who we viewers chose to get the bonus mil – we’re pulling for Rupert – and find out where Survivor 9 will be located. Congratulations to Paula for winning the $90 work pool! Not a bad haul for someone who doesn’t even watch the show, huh?

Labels: tv

I think Shii Ann summed it up best when she said, "Stupid, Stupid people..." Yes, I'm talking about Survivor. Weeks ago she tried to warn them about Boston Rob taking control and then tonight, they showed their stupidity again. Will they ever learn? Every season its like this... What's wrong with these people?

Labels: tv