Television Premieres and Notables: August 25-31, 2014

Sorry about last week. I had it written-- and could swear I "published" it-- but it looks like it didn't go.
Naturally-- it was one of the few I actually spent some extra time typing up.

So if you missed the start of The Simpsons marathon because my post didn't publish, don't worry, FXX will air them all again, eventually. They didn't spend that shit-ton of money to get the syndication rights to not air them.

Hopefully they air them once in a while in the proper aspect ratio. The really old eps looked terrible. It seemed to get better as the seasons went on (and I hope it wasn't because I got used to it), but it's hard to train people to accept how things are supposed to look when networks screw with them.

[Funny thing: I used to have to explain how letterboxed DVDs were more true to how a film looked than full-screen DVDs when I worked at a video store, and now I have to tell people that pillar-boxed airings are more true to the TV series than cropped to fit a wide screen TV.]


The other big one: the Doctor Who premiere should repeat a few times this week.  It wasn't the easiest "jump-on" episode I've seen, but I really like the new Doctor now that he's gotten over the trauma of regeneration (by the end of the episode-- and that's not a spoiler; he eventually was gonna get it together like he has every time before). I also liked all the nods to this being an older-looking character and how Clara (and,by extension, the fan girls who crushed on Tennant and Smith) needed to get over it.

It's certainly worth trying out if you're curious about the series. Just know you'll want to give the show at least a second episode. This premiere was for the fans-- but there were certainly moments you didn't need to be a fan for. I mean, it opens on a giant monster stomping around Victorian England. And the antagonists were especially creepy.


Anyway, let's try this week. Hopefully it'll "publish" properly...


Monday, 8/25

The 66th Primetime Emmy Awards; NBC. 7 pm CST. Special.
I know it says something when fan of TV like myself has little to no interest in watching this.
Anything noteworthy will be online soon after. No reason to waste time on the usual boring shit we can expect from a major award show.

James May's Cars of the People; BBC America. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.


Tuesday, 8/26

Tosh.0; Comedy Central. 9 pm CST. Midseason Premiere.

Tyrant (FX; 9 pm CST). Season Finale.

Chelsea Lately (E!; 10 pm CST). Series Finale.


Saturday, 8/30

Raiders of the Lost Art; Ovation. 6 pm CST. Series Premiere.
A look at famous, but currently missing, artwork.