Category Archives: TV and movies

Have I mentioned that we love the show “Dirty Jobs” at the Kuffner household? Here’s a nice feature story about this show, which captures part of the reason why we like it so. It’s a crystal clear afternoon here, and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Patrick Leahy: Senator by day, scourge of the underworld by night. Holy Beltway, Batman! Sen. Patrick Leahy has a part in the next Batman movie. “I don’t wear tights,” the Vermont Democrat said. Leahy’s scene was filmed this summer for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I can’t believe I’ve come across an entire thread on favorite movie lines, and nobody has yet quoted from Better Off Dead. That’s just wrong. Lane Myer: Two brothers… One speaks no English, the other learned English from watching “The … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Very interesting story about how the concept of television seasons is changing thanks to cable and its recent summer innovations. Anyone who considers mid-August a dead time for anything original on television definitely doesn’t have an elementary-school-aged girl at home. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Marvin Zindler, Channel 13’s iconic crusading news reporter, has died from cancer at the age of 85. Marvin Zindler, a Houston institution for more than three decades and a pioneer of consumer reporting, died Sunday at M.D. Anderson Hospital after … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I saw it yesterday. Seeing it on the Fourth of July didn’t exactly make me want to wave the flag. I cried during it and I cried afterwards. Our health care system is a mess and I left the movie … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Oh, poor HMO’s, is Michael Moore picking on you? Don’t worry – Google is here to help: The healthcare industry is no stranger to negative press. A drug may be a blockbuster one day and tolled as a public health … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I saw a promo for this the other day, and while I doubt I’ll tune in, I hope it does well. Here’s one way to get your earphone-wearing, video-game-playing, junk-food-eating kids off the couch and into a healthier lifestyle: Give … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I see that Comcast is set to roll out a bunch of new channels when it assimilates Time-Warner next week. I’m not particularly interested in any of them, but I am interested in this: Comcast will introduce a new tiering … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Well, at least it wasn’t a front page headline, but the headline to this story one page one of the Chron’s lifestyle section was yet another Sopranos spoiler. Maybe there’s no one left who hasn’t seen either the episode or … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Boy, if you decided to TiVo the Sopranos finale and watch something else last night, I hope you didn’t look at the front page, above the fold headline in today’s Chron before you queued it up. Because if you did, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I have no idea what will happen in tonight’s finale of The Sopranos. You can find various predictions here and here, among other places. I’m kind of partial to the idea that Tony will be rescued by the FBI in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I don’t have the attention span to sit through a Star Wars marathon (never mind the free time for such an undertaking), but if I did I’d probably watch them in “chronological” order, which is to say Episodes I through … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I like this. Houston Film Commission executive director Rick Ferguson said many European companies want to film here because of the the uncluttered skyline and architecture. A German-language BMW commercial was filmed in Houston in April. Auto companies, in particular, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Did I mention that I finally got to see the Lost season three finale over the weekend, thanks to my in-laws’ TiVo? For those who still haven’t seen it, all I’ll say is Wow. Just, wow. Now, for those of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Awesome! Gearing up for our 12th anniversary, Technology Bytes Radio is teaming up with The Petrol Station and St. Arnold Brewery to bring you Tron, the original geek movie, projected in all it’s gigantic glory outdoors and on the back … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Our replacement TiVo unit arrived on our doorstep late this afternoon. It’s all set up now, so when Olivia comes home from school tomorrow she can see one of her beloved Noggin programs again. Of course, she won’t have many … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Tiffany called me earlier today to say that our less-than-six-months-old Series 3 TiVo was rebooting itself over and over again. Not having anything better to offer, I suggested she call TiVo customer support to see what could be done. She … Continue reading → Continue reading →

God help me, I’m actually curious about this. The “Bionic Woman” is being called upon to rescue a desperate NBC from its ratings woes. A reworking of the ’70s comic-book adventure series is among the six new shows announced Monday … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The end of Lost is coming, and it will be good. Lost will continue for three more shortened seasons, then go out with an inevitable “shocking” finale at the end of the 2009-2010 season, ABC said Monday. The announcement means … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Interesting article about bilingual children’s shows, which are being shown primarily on Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel. Nickelodeon has been leading the way in this burgeoning genre, El Tigre being its most recent entry. “This is about a commitment to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

There are two awesome things about this story. One is that it exists at all: [W]here “The Sopranos” has so far taken around 77 hours to deliver the dark saga of family and crime in New Jersey, this other “Sopranos,” … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Local TV weatherman Ed Brandon has announced his retirement next month. In the process, he gave a lengthy interview about his career to his KTRK colleague Mike McGuff. (Another colleague from KTRK, Laurence Simon, adds his memories of Brandon.) Brandon … Continue reading → Continue reading →

For some odd reason, I’d always had it in my mind that John Belushi suffered his fatal overdose in 1983, so I was a bit surprised to learn that it’s been 25 years since his death. For a guy who … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Why, Lord, why? Why dost thou smite thy humble servant so? What did my favorite childhood cartoon ever do to deserve such a fate? If you’ll excuse me for a minute, I’m going to go gnash my teeth and rend … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Dwight has a question for all you TiVo and TiVo-like users: So how about you? Like commercials or hate ’em? If you own a DVR, do you watch the ads or zap through them? If you like them, ‘fess up: … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Remember the fuss over K-Fed’s Super Bowl ad? Well, the man himself wants you to know that he meant no offense to fast food workers. Kevin Federline has something to say to those who are offended by an upcoming Super … Continue reading → Continue reading →

In the immortal words of Dogbert, sometimes no sarcastic remark seems adequate. A restaurant trade group says it is insulted by an insurance company’s planned Super Bowl ad that stars Kevin Federline as a fast-food worker. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This hit my mailbox yesterday, and since the event in question is this evening and here in Houston, I thought I’d pass it along for those who might be interested: Ethan Hawke Stars in Short Film on Texas Parks Crisis … Continue reading → Continue reading →

While Olivia and I were in Portland, one of the things I learned was that my 7-year-old niece Vanessa loves the show “Deal or No Deal”. She even has the home version of it, which she played with my sister, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Am I the only person who’s relieved to hear that the creators of Lost have an exit plan? Producers of ABC’s hugely successful sci-fi thriller serial announced Sunday that they had begun talks with the network on how much longer … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Pete brings the news of the latest Star Trek movie. Although many have suspected it to be the case for months now, it’s finally official: J.J. Abrams will be directing Paramount’s planned reboot/prequel of “Star Trek”. Abrams has long been … Continue reading → Continue reading →

All right, enough with the politics and environment and stuff. Let’s talk about truly important matters: the 100 greatest television catchphrases, according to the folks at TVLand. The TV Land cable network has compiled a list of the 100 greatest … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I like this deconstruction of “A Christmas Story”. I think it gets at the melancholy that underpins the movie without overdoing it. Think of all the despair that grinds through the movie. The horrible department-store Santa Claus. The Old Man, … Continue reading → Continue reading →