THE TKTV NEWSLETTER
Season 2, Episode 33 aired October 25, 1999

For subscription requests, simply email me personally at tk@tktv.net.

CONTENTS
1. Intro
2. Letters from the viewing audience
3. Kim's Commercial Comments
4. Don't miss
5. TV Trivia
6. Buffy Can't Slay Me      -by guest writer Rachel Vagts
7. Favorite quotes of the week
8. A totally unrelated link

1. Intro

Not much to say this week. TKTV is going to be moving servers at the end of the week if all goes according to plan, so in the craziness I've been having little time to watch or comment on TV. I can't figure out if it's a good thing or a bad thing when the job you create out of your favorite past time takes up so much time that you no longer have time for your favorite past time. I've also been considering making the TKTV Newsletter bi-weekly instead of weekly. Any comments?

So, many people have said that "Judging Amy," the new show on CBS this season, is a carbon copy of NBC's "Providence" that premiered in the middle of last season. On CBS, Amy Gray divorces her husband, and she and her young daughter leave the big city and move back in with Amy's mother in Hartford, CT. Amy, formerly a successful corporate lawyer, becomes a family court judge. She gets support from her brother and mother, and has many unsuccessful attempts at dating which always have to be balanced with her career. On NBC, Sydney Hansen finds out that her boyfriend is gay, and leaves the big city to move back in with her recently widowed father in Providence, RI. Syd, formerly a successful plastic surgeon, becomes a general practitioner at a local clinic. She gets support from her father, brother and sister, and has many unsuccessful attempts at dating which always have to be balanced with her career. The biggest difference between the two shows is that Amy's mother is a social worker, while Sydney's father is a veterinarian, so "Providence" gets the extra leg up of being filled with cute puppies while "Judging Amy" just has parents mistreating children.

Despite these strong similarities, I believed there was room for both of these shows on the airwaves. That was, until I saw the October 12th episode of "Judging Amy." On the season premiere of "Providence" that aired September 24th, a mentally ill woman who had recently miscarried a baby held Sydney at gun point at the clinic, claiming that Sydney had stolen her baby. On "Judging Amy" on October 12th, a woman held Amy at gunpoint in her garage and used the exact same words after Amy gave custody of her child to her ex-husband. Okay, so the shows are similar. But perhaps the writers of "Judging Amy," since it was the second one on the air, should be watching "Providence" to make sure they don't do anything this ridiculous again.

Other than venting this frustration of art imitating art, I just want to give props to two other Yale alum who I spotted on the small screen. Adrienne Carter, Yale '96, was on "Law & Order" last week as the roommate of a girlfriend of a suspect. She stood up to Briscoe and Green and gave a very convincing interview to the detectives. Obi Ndefo, Yale '95, best known as Joey's sister's missing boyfriend on "Dawson's Creek," was on "Angel" last week as a bartender that ends up possessed by a nasty murderous parasite. He was great as the friendly bartender, and the skin-peeling demon.

So enjoy this week's newsletter! Kim is commenting as usual, and we have a guest article from a TKTV webmistress about the fact that she just lost one of the fastest growing networks from her channel line-up. Happy Hallowe'en!

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2. Letters from the viewing audience

From Rachel:
TK, I totally agree with your assessment of "The West Wing." Aaron Sorkin is a total genius! I have made it a practice to tape the episode because things move so quickly I like to go back and watch it again. I haven't done that since the second season of "ER."
Letters from the viewing audience are always welcome. Please email any opinions, questions, comments, or random thoughts to TK at tk@tktv.net with the subject of "letters." Letters may be edited for length or content.

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3. Kim's Commercial Comments

I know it makes me sound incredibly old to say it, but time is really flying by lately. I can't believe another week has come and gone... and here I am again to pass on my two cents about the world of television advertising.

Picking a commercial to write about should be a piece of cake, right? Right... especially considering the fact that I watch what I'm sure is an unhealthy amount of television. Take this weekend for example. My work week was incredibly hectic -- full of late nights and exhausting days. Therefore, my VCRs (yes, I have two) worked overtime to record the hours of television I thought I just couldn't live without. Then, on Saturday, I spent the entire day watching (sometimes half-watching and half-listening to) the tapes as I cleaned house. And while I will always be one to sing the praises of the VCR, I have to say that it's just not the same as watching it "live."

The good news is that while I was consuming mass quantities of these shows, I did find a couple of commercials that I really like. So here they are...

What spot has me laughing? Cheese:???

I don't know the name of this spot. I couldn't find it online anywhere yet, so I just had to leave it blank. It starts with this sweet little old man washing his windows. He sprays on some cleaner and then scrubs it with a squeegie. Next it cuts to a shot of him inside his store. In the background we hear a THUD. He picks up his little bucket, goes outside and cleans the window again. Now I'm thinking, "Okay. Birds flying into the window.... and the point would be???" He's back inside and we hear the noise again. And again, he cleans the window. Then we see a man walking down the street. Something catches his eye. He turns and runs full-speed toward the shop until he rams into the window and slides down. The camera pans down slightly and we see a wide array of cheese. The announcer says, "Behold... the power of cheese." It's just hilarious! Totally unpredictable! I love it!

And just for the record, I also really like the latest Phillips Magnavox "Better All The Time" commercials. It features this couple who have just bought a new flat screen television. They're trying to decide where to put it in their trendy, modern apartment. They keep moving it from wall to another, sitting in the closest chairs... testing the view. The last shot is from overhead to show that they've decided to put it on the ceiling, just over the bed. It's very clever...

What spot has me cringing? "I pooped in the potty"

Let me start out by saying, "YUCK!" I really don't want to hear about anyone's bathroom habits. But especially not some kid I don't know, talking to some woman I also don't know, in the middle of a television show I'm really interested in. I think the point of this commercial is that the kid was good because he used the toilet so his mother should buy him a toy. I have not paid close attention to it, and do not intend to do so in the future. I just know that it grosses me out.

I read in one of the newsgroups that it makes someone think of one of those SNL parody commercials... specifically "Oops, I crapped my pants." I have to agree. I'm not normally one to advocate channel-surfing, but when you see this one coming RUN for the remote!

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4. Don't miss

For details and lots more fun TV to look forward to, see
http://www.tktv.net/index.html?/upcoming.html

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5. TV Trivia

Last week's question was: what actor has appeared on both television shows from creator Aaron Sorkin?

First prize goes to, once again, Meg T., who correctly answered that Lisa Edelstein played a call girl in "The West Wing" and Bobbi Bernstein in "Sports Night." (Meg also reminded me that Janel Maloney plays Josh's aide in "The West Wing" and played Monica in "Sports Night.")

Second prizes go to Caroline and Josie H.

This week's question is, what was the food that Joanie cooked for dinner on "Providence" last season that made her realize she might have a future in baking and selling dog treats?

Send answers to TK at tk@tktv.net with the subject of tvtrivia.

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6.Buffy Can't Slay Me by Rachel Vagts

Last week I canceled the family tier on my cable subscription. It comprised 4 channels that I never watched and one that I tuned into fairly regularly. Why did I cancel? Well, last Wednesday, WGN stopped carrying the WB. Where I live (Iowa) that was the only way we could get WB programming. According to the WB web site (http://www.thewb.com) they only contracted with WGN until they could get WB network stations into the major markets. I guess the corn state isn't one of those markets.

That's great if you live in New York, Washington, DC, Chicago, Atlanta, LA . . . a big market, but if you live in Des Moines or the Dakotas or Alaska or any number of parts of this country you are just out of luck. The WB counters that cable systems can carry their cable feed, but so far only Baton Rouge, LA, Madison, WI, Rochester (MN, I think), the Tri Cities and Youngstown, OH are doing that. There are other channels that are carrying it as a secondary feed or ad hoc. This means that you could be watching Buffy at 3 p.m. on Thursday or at 1:35 am on Sunday. But not out here. In Iowa, we're just out of luck.

I have to admit, this isn't totally breaking my heart. I wasn't watching any of the WB shows with a rabid fascination, but I also don't have the option any longer. I have already spoken to my cable company. According to the woman on the phone, "they're working on it." Yeah and I bet we're getting Fx, Comedy Central and E! soon too. I'm starting to wonder what it is I'm paying forty bucks for every month. But that's an entirely different subject. Today I would just like to have the option of taking in that "very special" episode of "Seventh Heaven."

I wonder how the WB plans to make it. Already the UPN is struggling because many parts of the country can't get the network. We've never had access to it here. The fact is that you can't get ratings if people can't even see the show. That puts these netlets at a real disadvantage when competing for ratings shares.

So for now I guess I'll be glad that I'm a faithful viewer of NBC and Fox programming and I hadn't become terribly attached to Dawson, Felicity or Buffy. As for 7th Heaven . . . well, I have no fear that it won't still be running in reruns when I finally do get WB access again.

TKTV is always looking for new guest writers. Do you have an idea for an article? Write to TK at tk@tktv.net with the subject of "guestwriter."

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7. Favorite Quotes of the Week

From "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
"What exactly did it take to pry apart the slayer's dimpled knees?" -Spike

From "Star Trek: Voyager"
"It's a junkyard. Congratulations, Tuvok, you've just saved us from a flotilla of hostile trash." -Paris

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8. A totally unrelated link

The J. Crew annoying model of the week

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"Intelligence is like underwear. We all should have it but we shouldn't show it off." -James Dent