Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I watched some Martin & Lewis/Colgate Comedy Hours for the Comedy Challenge, but none of them had this great performance. A colleague showed me this clip and I had to share it with you. He says this was the first rock 'n' roll performance on live TV. What's significant about it is that it's got African-American performers, an Italian-American and a Jew all performing together as equals, with no elements of humiliation--in 1954!

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/w8wwa6yui68" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


This is why those old Colgate shows with Martin & Lewis were so great, the chance to catch them in such moments.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Finished the checklist! I plan to finish up the Fanny and Alexander miniseries and watch some more Planet Earth for the rest of the challenge.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I just finished Bewitched Season 4. I'd forgotten how much of a general downturn the show began with this season. While the first half is fairly good, the overall lack of new story ideas began to rear its' ugly head. There's a lot of "sameness" in story lines, somewhat a dependence on the "Tabitha does something 'wrong' with her magic" story lines, a new, not as good, Gladys Kravitz, and the frequent absence of Dick York in the latter third of the season. Add to that the horrible "hippy" episode (I hated those "obligatory" hippy episodes when they aired on any series - they are *all* horrible - written by people who truly had no clue) with its' equally bad "pop-hippy" song, and these all make for some rough times. For me, the episodes in which York is absent feel forced. The special effects are still top notch with Elizabeth Montgomery still in top form, as is Agnes Moorehead and Marion Lorne. There *are* some very good episodes in the season but overall it's just not as good this time around. I remember during the original run not caring for seasons 4-8 as much and *really* not liking them after Dick York left the series at the end of season 5. I've owned this, and season 5, for a couple of years but had never gotten around to watching them as I recalled them not being as good. My recollection was correct. It'll be hard to watch season 5 after this one.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I'm not ashamed to admit that I'll be fine with switching to something else next month. Since there's not a whole lot of time left in the month, I'm picking things that only lasted a season, or so. Started watching the Garbage Pail Kids cartoon series yesterday and I'm pretty sure I'll finish to by tomorrow.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

what about shows like Mystery Science Theater 3000 and The Virginian that over an hour? Do i just put the time down for them?

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

MST3K was 2 hours with commercials, so that counts as 2. Virginian looks like the same deal.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I watched a Virginian episode for this. It was 75 minutes total. I counted it as one.

I watched three MST3K DVDs for this. (Thanks, Comedy Challenge Prize!) I counted each as one.

Of course, I've got 91 entries so far, so it's not like I have to beef up my numbers.

I tried watching the MST3K version of MANOS, THE HANDS OF FATE, but it's such a horrible movie even Joel and the crew couldn't make it worth watching, so I bailed.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

lol yeah Manos is really hard to sit through...i think i've done it once or twice though. I watched a few like San Francisco International and The Deadly Bees. Great stuff

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I'm not ready to move on yet... :D I looked at my Academy Award list from last year and it was rather pathetic. I pretty much took the month off after the gorging I did on Horror/Comedy/Holiday/TV months. I'm probably going to do the same this year. I *may* do a list but it'll be very slim.

I'm debating whether or not I would be able to fully watch Firefly during the last couple of days. It's only 15 "hour" episodes but it'll be a stretch. I'm really wanting to try and squeeze it in, but I started Everybody Loves Raymond S7 yesterday and could probably get that one completed if I do a last minute push...

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

The Virginian was a 90 minute western which aired Wednesdays at 7:30pm/6:30pm central on NBC. It premiered in the 62-63 season and ran through the 70-71 season where it had a name change to The Men from Shiloh for that final season. I'd count it as 1.5 entries.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

yeah i'll probably use 1.5, sounds fair. Same thing for Columbo i think.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

To finish the checklist I streamed an episode of Julia Child from PBS. They took a FS program and *cropped* it for WS by applying a simple *hard matte* cropping! Idiots! Chopped off heads and more on both top and bottom! Totally ruined most shot composition! Did I say "Idiots!"? Well I'll say it again for good measure... IDIOTS!!!

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Other than 6 episodes of Garbage Pail Kids, I have the last episode of Seinfeld and two discs left in my Unsolved Mysteries box set to finish by tomorrow. If the stars suddenly align, I'll also start and finish The Walking Dead Season Two but I'm seeing a forecast of cloudy skies, so I don't think it'll happen.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Because of strict standards applied to all productions for "hi-def" broadcast now, PBS has caused some egregious aspect ratio distortion in older shows. The whole thing is just stupid. I watched "Pioneers of Television: Westerns" last year and I couldn't believe how much they cropped ALL the old western clips. Where's the creative community in all this?

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Just finished the challenge by completing the first season of Modern Family. One of the best blind buys I've made--hilarious stuff. :up:

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

so when the does the challenge actually end, midnight tonight? or with some other challenges til dawn.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

The OP says dawn :banana:

I'm in the low 90s and am mixed about whether to go for the checklist or just watch what I want to watch (ie, Buffy). The decades are the biggest sticking point--I'd have to surf some of your guys' lists for pre-'60s ideas.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Last day of the tv challenge. Been neglecting it the past couple days in favor of the Academy Award Challenge, but seeing as how the tv challenge goes until dawn, and I already got two entries in today for the Oscar challenge, I am going to try to go out with a bang and watch tv until I fall asleep tonight.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

i think i got all the decades except pre-50's stuff. Don't have anything from then. I might finish it tonight by watching the final episode the of The Outer Limits (1995 Version). One of my favorite shows ever, though the last season is by far the worst. The first episode "The Sandkings" is still my favorite episode of the show.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I wanted to reach 100 Entries (200 TV Hours), but I think I'm going to fall a little short of that goal this year.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I topped out at 103 entries. I was actually way more into this challenge than I thought I'd be.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Watching Ringer right now as my #99. Almost there! :bdance:

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I'm pretty happy with what I got done this month, got through all but 1 thing on my initial goal (well 2 but one was an after thought a week into the challenge), and ended up watching a set I hadn't planned on :) Thank you Mister Peepers for a fun challenge!

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I exceeded my Star Trek goal so yeah Challenge! Thanks Mister Peepers for running this soiree.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I didn't make anywhere near 100 and only finished a few sets because eventually I just watched what I was in the mood for and would skip around but it was a fun challenge. Thanks MP.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I could have passed 100 if I’d watched some episodes at work yesterday (I had a stack ready to go), but an office deadline came up that had to be met and I couldn’t divide my attention. So I went home and between last night and very early this morning, I made it to 98 entries (based on a count of 168 eps.—of varying lengths. I would have 100 if I’d been strict about breaking up longer shows into hour-long segments. I checked my tally from last year’s challenge and I watched more material a year ago, but had a lower count of entries, thanks to the erratic numbering system I used (which, in retrospect, made absolutely no sense).

I’d planned to watch several anime series this time, and I did watch 61 anime eps., but they were spread out over 15 series, when I’d really hoped to finish a few series in their entirety. I got sidetracked by my western kick, thanks to picking up two box sets containing 167 eps. I managed to watch 52 western episodes, but they were spread out over a greater number of series: 23.

I only watched twelve live-action Japanese episodes, despite the abundance of such series in my collection that I wanted to watch for this, including sci-fi series like Ultraman, Space Sheriff Gavan, Super Robot Red Baron, Iron King and various sentai series like Samurai Sentai Shinkenja, and samurai/ninja series like Shadow Warriors and the TV versions of Zatoichi and Lone Wolf and Cub, all of which I’d started in previous challenges (TV, historical, sci-fi, make-your-own). Plus I have two Hong Kong series I wanted to crack, including Legend of the Condor Heroes.

I managed to work in eight Power Rangers episodes, but only two from Pokemon.

I’ve got such a backlog that I’m going to continue TV series viewing into February and completely blow off the Academy Award Challenge. I mean, sure, I’d like to catch up on my remaining unseen Best Picture winners, BROADWAY MELODY, CHARIOTS OF FIRE, TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, CRASH, and THE KING’S SPEECH, but given a choice between these and more Patlabor, Ultraman, Zatoichi and Cowboy G-Men, I don’t think there’s much of a contest.

Now to tally up the checklist.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I would have liked to hit 200 but I wasn't close enough the last few days and I wasn't going to kill myself to do it. I still hit 187.5 and finished a bunch of things I either started a long time ago or started this month.

I finished:
Seinfeld - We'd been watching it for a couple years and finally finished the last 3 discs this month
Burn Notice - Backlogged DVR stuff since last summer
Psych - Same as above
The Amazing Race - Same as above
Land of the Lost - Started and finished
North and South mini-series - Started and finished
Elizabeth R mini-series - Started and finished
The Golden Age of Television Criterion set - Started and finished
Pee-Wee's Playhouse - Started and finished
Unsolved Mysteries 25 DVD box set - Started and finished, other than a couple of DVDs I already watched.
Hey Dude season 1 - Started and finished
Garbage Pail Kids - Started and finished
Extreme Couponing All-Stars - Backlogged DVR stuff my wife likes

The only thing I missed that I wanted to do was watch The Walking Dead season 2. That's the only show I have backlogged on my Tivo.

I'll give everyone till Monday morning to finalize lists and then I'll do rankings and prizes later that week.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I'm quite frankly disappointed in myself - 95 entries. Perhaps I could have had more if I has stuck solely to TV episodes but I did watch a few made for TV movies which I counted as 1 entry each. Still, it was lots of fun. The best viewing experience was seeing the entire season 3 of The Bionic Woman, that show still holds up very well.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Checklist questions:

What do these mean:

--- "Will they or won't they" - ?
--- Show goes on vacation - ?

More importantly, why the hell wasn't "western" included in the list of genres????

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I really enjoyed this challenge. Keeping up with weekly TV is a job by itself so I'm glad to get "credit" for it. Plus I sampled a bunch of new shows through a backlog of free iTunes pilots, finally finished Mad Men season 3 (started for the historical challenge), finally started Buffy and finished season 1, sampled Shameless (U.S.), and even got credit for my kid's annoying Nick and Disney Channel shows. :lol: In the end, I gave up on the checklist (which was closer than I've ever come) and just went for the 100 with stuff I wanted to watch.

First time I've hit 100 on any challenge, and granted it's not as much of an achievement as it would be in the movie=1 challenges, it's saying something since there have only been a handful of times when I've even hit 30. It helps that I was jobless for the second half of the month. Not that I watched much during the day, but my job often took evening hours as well so that made a big difference.

So much I still wanted to watch: Band of Brothers, True Blood, The Prisoner, Pride and Prejudice... Those will have to wait for a different challenge.

Thanks, Mister Peepers and all discussion participants!

We discussed the first earlier, but it's for the subgenre of male and female leads (often crime shows) who have an ongoing flirtation: Castle, Moonlighting, X-Files, etc.

Show goes on vacation is a popular tradition, often for made-for-TV movies, that takes sitcom characters and throws them into a different environment. I watched A Family Ties Vacation for this requirement.

And I agree that Westerns would have been a good genre. Honestly I struggled a bit with some of those, like "satire" and "romance." For "paranormal" I figured I'd have to go with Paranormal State or Ghost Whisperer, but decided Scooby-Doo would have to doo, er, do.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

i fizzled out the last week or so to watch some horror that i was going thru withdrawl. however i watched alot more then i thought and finished breaking bad s2/3 and justified s1/2 and nikita. and got exposed to to some new shows im gonna continue...just at a slower pace.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

1. It's described earlier in the thread. I have to take off in a bit, otherwise I'd look it up. Short answer is "Will madam and mister get married/date/kiss/divorce/adopt/etc" type things that are usually a two parter with the cliffhanger at the end of the first episode.

2. Perfect example are those old enough to have watched ABC sitcoms in the 80s when the family would always take a trip to Disneyworld. I think less fortunate sitcoms from other stations went to places like Knott's Berry Farm. Hawaii was a popular destination for sitcoms in the '70s.

3. The checklist was an early morning, last minute project. No reason it shouldn't have been there other than my forgetfulness.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

i almost got 200, but came up 2 short. Would of got there, but the Academy Awards Challenage overlapped with it and i wanted to start that. :(

I didnt finish a few shows i wanted to, but discovered a few instead(Luther, Downton Abbey)
I did finish 9 seasons, but were short seasons or just 30 min shows. I got to finally finish The Outer Limits (1995). Had been stuck in the Seventh season, cause i lost my dvds for a while, but finally found em last month. I'll probably take a break from watching this much tv shows for a while, kinda got burnt out on em heh

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I didn't watch as much as some of you, but I did discover Community, and for that alone, the challenge was a huge success for me.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I discovered it for the comedy challenge. Loved it. For me, the biggest discoveries of this one were Party Down and American Dad. I'd never seen either previously. I'm definitely planning to continue watching both shows into February.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I'm with you on that one. I managed to finish S7 of Everybody Loves Raymond last night. Part of me wants to watch some of those Academy Award winning films I've picked up since last year but I'm still pumped about watching TVonDVD, not to mention the backlog, so am continuing with that instead. Watching more Farscape tonight! :)

I'll read the Academy Award thread but probably won't participate this year and skip to the Historical Challenge instead. Or is the Make-your-own Challenge after AA? Well... whichever one tail ends the AA Challenge I'll probably be there! :D

Thanks for taking over this year Mister Peepers!

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

So here's my final tally:

Like I said, I'm a little disappointed I didn't reach 100 Entries for 200 TV Hours, but given the fact I'm done with school and actually working now I guess that was to be expected. And, as usual, I ended up watching a lot of stuff I didn't plan on at the start, which is sort of good, but also bad since it doesn't lower my unwatched pile.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Prizes will be drawn at random from active participants.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Great job everyone, lots of impressive numbers and nicely formatted lists.

I ended up watching most of two season 1 sets, Nurse Jackie and Big Bang Theory, and really enjoyed both. Also thirty or so random sports or kids shows throughout the month, but I won't list those.

Time to update my list post.

Re: January 2012 TV on DVD* Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Thanks, Mister Peepers and sponsors! My list is complete but I just updated my close-but-no-cigar checklist.