THE TKTV NEWSLETTER
Season 3, Episode 27 aired October 2, 2000

CONTENTS
1. Intro
2. Letters from the viewing audience
3. Kim's Commerical Comments
4. Don't miss
5. TV Trivia
6. Favorite quotes of the week
7. A totally unrelated link

1. Intro

I'm all in a tizzy. It's premieres week! I'm about to be glued to my TV set. We also have some premieres on TKTV. We are in the process of launching sites for Fox's new show "Dark Angel," as well as NBC's emmy-winning "The West Wing" and NBC's new guilty pleasure, "Titans."

You, as a TKTV Newsletter subscriber, get a preview of these sites. If you have any contributions to the site, we're always looking for help. Check 'em out, the diamonds in the rough, and let us know if you run into problems, mistakes, or gaps.

http://darkangel.tktv.net
http://thewestwing.tktv.net
http://titans.tktv.net

Other than that, enjoy the premieres, and we want to hear your comments on what you love about the new season, and what you think is a waste of time (and money and talent...). My personal recommendations on new shows are not to miss "Titans," "Dark Angel," "Gilmore Girls," and "The Fugitive," and don't bother with "Yes, Dear," "The Trouble with Normal" and "Nikki."

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2. Letters from the viewing audience

From Alice:
I have watched two episodes of the Johns Hopkins Hospital series on ABC. They have switched the last ones to Thursday nites at 10 pm. The good thing about the show is that ABC was allowed all over the hospital and even showed doctors critiquing each other as well as in dephth interviews to show the doctors' thoughts about what they did and why they did it. The film makers did a terrific job in what must have been a tremendous amount of footage to splice together in order to keep the action going and the different threads intertwined in a interesting way. This is especially revealing when patients give their version of what happened. However, due to reality and its slower pace, the show suffers when compared to such well produced shows as ER. For full disclosure, as a trustee of Johns Hopkins University, I am very proud that ABC and Johns Hopkins were willing to expose all and give us what goes on every day in a busy, top-rated university hospital.
From Viewer:
Ok, as a "mature" Felicity viewer, I put in my 2 cents. I think Felicity should "do her thing" with Ben, i.e. get it out of her system. But, ultimately, Noel is the mature choice. If there is to be any credibility to this show, she will at some point end up with Noel. It isn't the obvious (i.e. cheezy romantic) choice, but with original writing and creativity, it can be the best choice. They are so much alike, and this isn't the choice of pathetic romance novels, but of real life. They can be the best; the most romantic and the long term couple. If this show is to be real, then this will happen!
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

Well, TKTV viewers, it seems the new season is FINALLY upon us! After a very long summer of practically NO television, it will be good to get back in the groove again. And the fact that I haven't been watching much TV made it a little bit difficult to put together Kim's Commercial Comments this week, so I've strayed a little bit from the usual format. I'm sure you guys can handle it, though. So here goes...

It seems that a recent Nike commercial is the subject of controversy. I had been hearing and reading about the spot, "Chainsaw," but hadn't had the opportunity to view it. So, I surfed over to adcritic.com and looked it up. Here's the summary:

As the spot opens we see, through a trio of tall, dark trees, a house in the distance. The next shot takes us inside the house where a woman is running a bath. Once we get a close up shot of her, I realized she is Suzy Favor Hamilton, a track and field athlete who has represented the U.S. in three Olympics. Favor takes off her shirt, revealing a white sports bra, and walks back into the bathroom. Through a series of odd camera angles, we watch as she combs her hair. She opens the medicine cabinet, puts the comb in, then closes it again. When she does, the music suddenly gets louder as Favor (and the viewer) sees a frightening figure behind her. She gasps and turns around to face the figure. She lets loose with a typical I Know What You Did Last Summer/Scream 1,2,3/Halloween H20/Urban Legends/etc., etc. scream just as the masked, chainsaw-weilding figure crashes toward her. She slips past him and runs out the door into the yard. Of course, she trips over a strategically placed lawn chair. But she's okay because the killer hasn't quite managed to chainsaw his way through the door yet. She gets to her feet just as he breaks through the door. He follows her as she takes off into the woods. Favor speeds up (along with the music) and the killer falls further and further behind her. He stops and puts down the chainsaw. We hear him wheezing. He tries to run again, but he just can't take it. By now, Favor is just a spot in the distance to him. Disguised by the shadows of the dark woods, the killer takes off his mask as the words "Why sport?" appear on the screen. The shot cuts to Favor, safely far, far, away as the killer staggers away, holding his back. "You'll live longer."

And that's it folks. So why the controversy? Well, several reasons. The most compelling is that it hit the airwaves during the opening ceremonies of the Olympics a few days ago and apparently, NBC's viewers were not amused. I, on the other hand, saw it coming a mile away. True, my perception could have been skewed because I knew the concept of the ad before I watched it. But the ad looks so completely different from anything else on TV that you have to know something is up. Come on, there's an OVERHEAD SHOT of Favor standing in front of the bathroom sink! Anybody can tell that something is up right there.

Personally, I laughed out loud at this spot. Now, I will concede that some people may not find the commercial funny. That's to be understood. Let's face it, my mother doesn't think "Friends" is funny. What's funny to one person is not so clever to others. That's what makes the world go 'round.

There's no blood, no guts, no real violence. There is only the idea of violence. And this commercial does what every good commercial does -- it shows you how you would be better off by using the product being advertised. In this case, Nike is clearly saying that if you exercise IN YOUR NIKES and WEAR YOUR NIKES ALL THE TIME that when a chainsaw-weilding, mask-wearing, murderer sneaks into your house as you're running your bathwater and combing your hair in your underwear, you will clearly be able to outrun him. After all, he's probably wearing some other brand of tennis shoes...

You can view this spot online, like I did, at http://www.adcritic.com. Let me know what you think about it. Do you think it was inappropriate for the audience who was viewing the Opening Ceremonies or should the people who objected just get a sense of humor? Email me at kim@tktv.net and let me know. I'd love to hear what you guys think about it!

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

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4. Don't miss

Premieres, premieres, everywhere 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: in what series did Sara Rue ("Popular") have a recurring role in which she was wheelchair-bound?

First prize goes to Jennifer L. Congratulations!

Honorable mentions (sorry, without prizes, but keep trying) go to Tanya S. and Aqua200204.

The correct answer was "Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane" (which was renamed "Zoe..." before it was cancelled) on the WB.

This week's question is: what top-paid movie actress has guest starred on episodes of both "Friends" and "Law & Order?"

Don't forget, this trivia quiz is sponsored by myTVshop, where you can get all your favorite TV merchandise.
http://www.mytvshop.com

Send answers to TK at tk@tktv.net with the subject of tvtrivia. Winners will be chosen at random from all the correct answers.

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6. Favorite quotes of the week

From The Hughleys
Darryl to Michael: Let me tell you something: it is okay to be an idiot... if you learn how to throw a football.

From Angel
One demon to another: I know it's hatching time, and you're looking forward to that, but there's more to life than eating your young.

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7. A totally unrelated link

Zthing.com

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A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person.