Category: Television | Page 2

526 – U.N.conscionable / Disappointing discovery

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Oct 122017

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The debut of the latest Star Trek series, Discovery, has certainly produced some highly polarized views. It has even generated some controversies that may have more to do with Donald Trump’s “America First” policies than with Discovery’s story itself.

It’s difficult to deny that the strongest reactions to Discovery have been the negative ones – those from fans disappointed with what they saw in the series’ first three episodes – we included. It’s also difficult to deny that whether or not Star Trek Discovery is great entertainment depends upon the eye of the beholder.

But a greater question has arisen, one concerning the Law of Identity: Does Discovery “pass the Star Trek smell test”? Is it “Star Trek”? Are there any objective ways to decide? Does it even matter? Or is this simply another matter to be settled by the “eye of the beholder”?

As a barometer of the times in which its stories were broadcast, the world of Star Trek itself has become increasingly transformed from one of individual rights and individual identity (the hallmarks of a free society) to one of group rights and group identities, with all of the implications that each suggests. Continue reading »

414 – Black Sails / From anarchy to self-government

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Aug 202015

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Topics:
00:07 Power in the telling: too much scripted TV, scripted TV programs, fixed audience, finding good television shows, TV listings, 300-400 scripted TV shows currently in production, no fixed markets, the power of scripted television, editorializing by script, TV recommendation – Black Sails
18:40 Sailing from anarchy to self-government: Black Sails – the TV series, masterful storytelling, review samplings, adult content, story-driven plot and theme
36:20 Some things are black and black: Black Sails – a story of power, piracy, voting, turning plunder into trade and profit, law, order, establishment of legal authority, monarchy, libertarian ideal, no governance vs good governance
50:25 Courting the public court: latest Bill Cosby allegations, Gloria Allred’s call for a public debate, three more women make allegations against Cosby, Cosby’s philosophy on sex
59:16 END

390 – Leonard Nimoy’s legacy / Twelve little words

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Mar 052015

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Topics:
00:07 Leonard Nimoy’s Legacy: death of Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek, Mr Spock, art and culture, Anne Francis, stories and legacies, a brief review of Leonard Nimoy’s career, pop culture, William Shatner
16:10 On death and immortality: Leonard Nimoy, Peter Falk, actor vs character, H L Mencken, death, immortality, cultural progress, William Shatner back as Kirk, afterlife
29:50 Art’s affecting effect: William Shatner’s epiphany, Star Trek affecting others, affecting culture, multi-racial vs multi-cultural, legislation – education – art, culture clashes, affecting the future after life, Star Trek – the philosophical frontier
42:00 So what’s your story? connecting the dots between facts and events, London’s Strategic Plan 237, affirmative hiring, Maureen Cassidy, the twelve words, gender politics, using numbers to distract from the story 55:48 END

362 – TV TrEnds / Binge Bang Theories / Big buck theories

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Aug 072014

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Topics:
00:07 TV trend – binge watching: television binge watching, Jim Slotek – five points for and against binge watching, major television viewing trend, TV series – early endings, TV finales, limited series
19:50 Dead enders – New ender: TV series – bad endings – no endings, How I Met Your Mother, Dexter, Lost, Newhart, Recommended viewing – Hogan’s Heroes, Did Shultz really know nothing, my own Hogan’s Heroes finale
32:15 Binge Bang Theory: Recommended viewing – The Unusuals, Recommended viewing – Moonlight
43:45 Big bucks theory: Recommended viewing – The Big Bang Theory, don’t fix it don’t nix it, Television star salaries – history and stats, syndication, money for nothing 57:08 END

349 – The gender gap trap / Game of Thrones vs Vikings

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May 082014

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Topics:
00:00 Just Right updates and write-them-down dates: Election call, Freedom Party candidates in London, Lars Hedegaard attempted assassination suspect arrested in Turkey, Muslims Facing Tomorrow, Raheel Raza, The Honor Diaries, CAIR, Paul McKeever, Andrew Lawton, Raheel Raza, Boko Haram, Islam accommodation
13:44 Gender gap trap: Robert Reich, Charles B Rangel, Batman, Robin, Batgirl, equal pay, federal equal pay law, The Misandry Bubble, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Warren Farrell, Why Men Earn More, pay gap, pay paradox, Equal Pay Day, women in the White House, girls do better than boys in school, hypocritical feminists, male gender vilification
29:40 Batty ideas about gender differences: Claire Shipman, The Confidence Gap, glass ceiling, difference between men and women, women more intimate, men effective policy makers, ego, No Country For Burly Men, beta male politicians, force in feminism, the feminist mystique
42:15 Throne Wars: Vikings vs Game of Thrones:Vikings, Game of Thrones, fingers or tongue, fail compilations, the allure of sex and violence, no plot just gore and sex, vile characters, the saga of Ragnar Lothbrok, characterization, violence should advance the plot, the capricious King Joffrey, everybody loves a gore fest
58:50 END

345 – Party’s over, Québécois / Simon says / Star Trek Continues

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Apr 102014

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Topics:
00:07 Party’s over, Québécois: Partie Québécois lose Quebec election, Canada – better off without Quebec?, Napoleonic Code, political tribalism, “blame it on the ethnics…”, Quebec minority separatists, cultural and language barriers, Crimea and Russia, terms of succession, Canada’s value to Quebec?, constitutional protections
13:47 Principle – People – Party – Politics – Power: Feedback: Simon O’Riordan, avoiding the mass movement phenomenon, pragmatism and compromise vs principle, political parties, Freedom Party, voting, setting out party positions in advance
25:35 Where man has gone before… Star Trek Continues: two thumbs up for Star Trek Continues, Michael Forrest as Apollo, Vic Mignogna as William Shatner as Captain Kirk, Pilgrim of Eternity, sacrifice as benefit, acts of kindness, Classic Star Trek connections – actors old and new, Lolani
52:08 Fanning the Star Trek passion: fans re-creating Star Trek episodes, embracing humanity and human kindness, fans and actors, entertainment professionals, Vic Mignogna, raising funds to produce Star Trek fan episodes, Star Trek Renegades 57:53 END

338 – The non-elementary nature of Sherlock Holmes / The Olympics – not all fun and games

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Feb 202014

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Topics:
00:07 Sherlock Holmes: A real character: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes copyright expiry, Chicago copyright decision on character vs story, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Holmes, Elementary
12:15 Some Elementary philosophical contradictions: Elementary with Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu, Elementary’s philosophical confusion, Ayn Rand, moral relativism, black and white vs grey, Aristotle, invisible hand of the market
32:53 Olympic Olym-picks: Olympic controversies, scoring competitions, Olympic memories, Olympic politics, $50 billion Sochi Olympics, amateur athlete, performance enhancing drugs
48:47 Political games or athletic games?: opportunity for protest, Islamists, security costs, 1936 German Olympics, Jessie Owens, opening ceremonies, spectacle, athlete or country?, collective pride, political wrapper or sports wrapper? 58:15 END