• Whose team are you on? GAME OF THRONES author slams LOST’s Damon Lindelof.
• Smarter than the average media company, Netflix continues secures even more buzz-worthy content.
• Further evidence that size does matter, comes the news that THE OFFICE is adding even more stars to its season finale, including Ray Romano and James Spader.
• Because there is nothing we love more than free TV, check out the first two episodes of AMC’s THE KILLING for FREE on iTunes.
• Tomorrow’s News TODAY! Meredith Vieira has one foot out the door.
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Watch And Win? We’re Totally In!
Oprah ain’t the only one who has favorite things. For us, it comes down to always knowing the answers to entertainment-related trivia, people being made to do silly things for our amusement and being given an opportunity to win things. So when we heard that the Web series RED CARPET RUN combined those things, we were on it quicker than Homer Simpson on a donut.
The concept? Simplicity itself: Contestants answer trivia question in the hope of advancing to the final round. The last player standing dons an ill-fitting tuxedo or low-rent gown and jumps on an increasingly fast-moving treadmill to try and answer questions while keeping pace.
As you can imagine, hilarity ensues.
“I wanted to combine JEOPARDY! and DOUBLE DARE,” says producer Michael Todd Cohen, who recognized that while the internet was quickly filling with programming options, few of them were in the game show category. The reaction of his production partners upon hearing of his plan to fuse trivia and a treadmill? “They looked at me like I was crazy,” he admits. But with 11 episodes under their belts and plans in the works for a second season, it’s clear that Cohen and company have a winning formula on their hands.
It doesn’t hurt that the show offers prizes not only to the contestants willing to risk life and limb — or at least injuring their pride — on the treadmill but to those of us lazily watching on-line. “We went to Netflix and the AMC theater chain, and they gave us prizes for the Watch And Win question that we stick into the middle of every episode.”
That’s right, just like the gooey goodness at the center of an Oreo cookie, RED CARPET RUN offers viewers a mid-episode treat! So each Thursday afternoon, when episodes are posted, viewers have a chance to win gift subscriptions from Netflix and combo packs from AMC! (Perhaps not coincidentally, his team is in talks about the possibility of running RED CARPET RUN in movie theaters as pre-show entertainment!)
Asked how well he’d do on his own show, Cohen admits he’d struggle in the final round. “I tried the treadmill, and it’s hard! No matter how much you think you know about trivia, it’s tough to run and answer questions at the same time. Your brain just wants to stand still and answer the question!”
Sometimes, the contestants actually throw an unexpected twist into the mix. “Keep an eye out for the final episode of the season,” previews Cohen. “Our contestant decided that he didn’t want to wear the tuxedo, he wanted to wear the dress! It was a daring choice!”
As for the show’s future, he admits that more corporate sponsors would help the show fulfill the biggest request he hears from viewers. “They really want a cool-looking, digital sets. And we’d love to get some internet celebs to come in and give the treadmill a try!”
Morning Static: THE GOOD WIFE, SOUTHLAND, DAYS OF OUR LIVES & More!
• Inside… Neil Patrick Harris’ legendary pad.
• Laugh Break: Tina Fey accepts 2011 GLAAD media award.
• It is So ON! Showtime announces plans to pull shows from Netflix.
• TNT Knows Drama, renews SOUTHLAND and picks up PERCEPTION.
• THE GOOD WIFE Post-Mortem, Creators Robert and Michelle King dish on last night’s jaw-dropper of an ending.
• These are the Gays of our Lives? Daytime Sudser mulling controversial new storyline.
Your TV Tech Fix: Hands-On with Roku XD|S
It may be hard to believe, but not long ago, Roku was only device that could stream TV shows and movies from Netflix. Unlike today, where just about every single device under the sun, from game consoles to mobile phones, help ensure that Netflix streaming accounts for a huge chunk of all web traffic.
Roku was the initial hardware partner for Netflix Instant Watch. Since their very first model, most people have always praised their easy-to-use, no frills approach. Last year when Apple launched their new Apple TV box at $99, interest in Roku’s players surged. Thanks to a little healthy competition, today you can get a Roku streamer starting at $60, with their most feature-packed model topping out at just $99.
Is the Roku XD|S the right streamer for you crazed TV addicts? I’ve gone hands on for for a whole month to find out just that. Read on!
Fox Announces Summer 2011 Schedule #fail
Making our decision to re-activate our dormant Netflix.ca subscription a foregone conclusion comes this just announced Fox Summer Schedule, 100% devoid of new scripted programming. See for yourself after the jump.
Your TV Tech Fix: 5 Great Holiday Gifts for TV Addicts
The Holidays are here again! That, of course means it’s time to buckle down and think hard about what great gifts we want to give to our closest friends and family. If you have a TV addict on your shopping list (and no, I’m not talking about Daniel, the actual TV addict) you could go the easy route and pick up a TV series or two on DVD, but there are a wide variety of tech gifts that can make enjoying TV easier, and even bring new forms of entertainment to their lives.
Here are some great tech gifts the TV lover in your life would love:
Sony BDP-S370 Internet Connected Blu-Ray Player – $99
Is your TV lover still stuck in DVD land? 2010 is the year to finally make the upgrade to Blu-Ray, where TV on disc is in pristine HD quality. Sony’s BDP-S370 isn’t the most expensive Blu-Ray player out there to begin with, but this thing is selling for a crazy $99 all throughout the holiday season. Add the fact that it also includes Instant Watch support for Netflix AND DLNA support for network media, means that this $100 player has all your TV entertainment mediums covered.
Your TV Tech Fix: 5 Essential Windows Phone Apps for TV Addicts
News Flash! Microsoft has released their new Windows Phones into the market… just in case you somehow missed their barrage of ads, product placements, and billboards to help get the word out. Chances are a few of you out there have either already made the plunge or are about to. So if you do, here are 5 essential Windows Phone apps for TV Addicts, all of which are available now in the Windows Phone 7 marketplace.
Your TV Tech Fix: Hulu Cutting Subscription Fee in Half?
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Not long ago, Hulu announced Hulu Plus would be accessible through TiVo and Roku boxes. Now, it looks like they may be taking steps to ensure people actually use it. I’m usually not one to report on speculation, but as a TV loving cheapskate, even the rumor of Hulu cutting the monthly subscription price for Hulu Plus from $10 to $5 per month has me pretty excited.
Hulu Plus Headed to Roku and TiVo
For those who’ve been on another planet, Hulu has been serving up a wide variety of TV programming online, streamed straight to your eyeballs. Even brand new programs that aired yesterday are often available for a while, allowing you to catch programs that you missed, forgot to record, etc. All for free, too, provided you can handle some commercial interruptions.
Not long ago, the evil masterminds at Hulu created a paid subscription tier called Hulu Plus, where for $10 you can get access to a larger back catalog of TV shows. You still have to watch commercials though. Sounds great for them; make me pay money to watch shows with commercials, just like the channels I used to pay for on cable. Yet, Hulu has been notoriously against serving up content on the one device people really want to use to watch TV shows – the TV. Sure, you can hook up a computer to your TV and watch it in a web browser or use Boxee (with a little effort), or you could use a PS3 on the PSN network since July. That’s it.
Today’s TV Addict Top 5: Questions with RUNNING WILDE Star Keri Russell
With FELICITY being off the air for nearly a decade now, what was the impetus for your return to television?
Keri Russell: Because I had such a great run with FELICITY, which was such a positive experience in every way, I certainly wasn’t shopping around to do a series again. But when I read the RUNNING WILDE pilot — being a huge ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT fan — I just was so taken by Mitch Hurwitz that I couldn’t pass it up and couldn’t say no. I think Mitch’s relationship has been with FOX before, so it was a good fit and it’s just been a delight. It’s hilarious. I feel like I’m hanging out with my older brother and all his cool friends or something and I’m just tagging along every day.
Coming from FELICITY and film, what has it been like flexing your comedic muscles?
This show is unlike anything I’ve really done before, it’s such a different ride and I feel like I’m learning so much every day. With Mitch, it’s fast and furious where he’s rewriting things seconds before we shoot them. And I’m not talking a line, I’m talking pages of rewrites where he says, “Go ahead… I’ll just stand off to the side and I’ll give you your line.” I say, “Mitch, that’s not how it works,” but by-the-way, for Will [Arnett] it is. Will is just so sharp like that and they have such a quick, I don’t know, just such a … relationship that they just know each other’s jokes. So yes, it’s working completely different muscles. But I just have to say it’s a delight and I’m enjoying it so much. Plus, I’m getting to work in New York, which is wonderful, where I live. They’re super smart, they’re funny and it’s just refreshing for me. It’s an absolute change of pace and I’m just laughing all day.