See this tub? Well.....It's that time of year again. The first (well not really the very first...there was some other DVD about two months ago, but, but BUT, I honestly do not remember what the hell it was...), So...here is The First of the "For Your Consideration" EMMY DVD'S I get each year. The first of around one hundred or more dvd's----packaged to a fairthy-well! It arrived today. Look at that box. It is round and black and looks like...what? I don't even know...some cylindrical strangeness...It is not very attractive, at all! (Well, at least, not to me....)This is the beginning of the avalanche of dvd/program---packaged dvd's that I will receive over the next six or seven weeks because I am a Television Academy Member.....And if one is a "member" than you receive these unbelievable grossely-over-packaged DVD'S...like they think that if they come up with some NEW shape...(Impossible to send in the mail, btw....the postman forgot he had this on his truck, and he had to come back....OY, again ) that they think will catch your attention and then you will vote for their programs....WRONG!
That is not why you vote for anything! You vote for the programs and performances that you truly feel are worthy. Not the "packaging" that it is sent in which is impossible to store, by the way....
Who sent this?
SHOWTIME!I happen to be very p-o'd at Showtime at the moment....it is a service one has to pay for, on top of what one already pays just to have cable itself!
And they have taken to advertising their new shows in a similar manner to those on the other channels that you don't pay extra for. I.E.: In the middle of the show, using very very distracting pop-ups. And they do this while we are watching this other 'original programing' program that they too have developed! They seem to have no respect for their own choices here.....And consequently, they have beaten 'The Tudors' to death with these distracting and insulting kinds of interuptions----so much so that I do not even want to watch the damn 'Tudors', at all.....And these Pop-Ups are in addition to the l-o-n-g, fifteen minute promo's they have been doing on 'The Tudors' for months....I mean, they have driven this show into the ground with their incessant self-promotion to the detrement of the show itself, to my way of thinking.
Anyway....I looked at this tub and thought, what the......? And then I looked at the label. As soon as I saw the label, I realized that this was the beginning of these 'for your consideration' dvd's, because they are all sent out by this company, each year---year after year after year....
They actually come from the networks or production houses, etc. not the Academy. I am always overwhelmed by the cost of this packaging. And it gets more and more elaborate each year. And, I believe this is just the first box from Showtime. I think there will be another one. Showtime does a lot of original documentary's as well as specials featuring different comedians, etc. and it seems to me there are other things that should be submitted....we'll see. I'll keep you posted.
I think there will be at least one more of these round tub things....Above, is what was inside the outer black tub. Another tub! And hanging down the side before you took the top of this inner tub off, was this little metal something-or-other....
I don't know what you are supposed to do with this little metal thingy....use it as a book mark? Don't you love what it says? Hmmmm. 'Shaping TV's future', indeed. Well, maybe they are!
And these are the shows that are inside the second tub. (Now you know I will be taking them out of this plush interior and throwing the packaging into the Blue Recycling Bin...in fact----it is done!). There are eleven shows in this big box.....nine dvd packages with two shows packaged together on seperate dvd's----each in their own very overly produced sleeve....and along with that is a booklet---it too is overproduced----with all the pertinent info that you need to know on each show, including a short descriptive paragraph for each show. What is particularly distressing and rather disgusting too, is to think of the amount of money spent and wasted on this very elaborate packaging. Oy. Oy. Oy. Okay. I'll stop with the criticizing.
What have I actually watched already of these series?
Well, I have seen "Dexter" and I hated the premise so it was not a show I was attracted to...(that's Michael C. Hall of "Six Feet Under" fame, in the picture above---he plays the lead)...I watched maybe two episodes and that was enough for me. A forensic's expert goes about secretly killing 'serial killers'..help me!
"Weeds"...now, I love this series. It is a half hour comedy with the superbably talented Mary Louis Parker. The writing and the acting are outstanding! Besides Mary Louise, there is the lovely Elizabeth Perkins, and the wonderfully talented Justin Kirk, and the hilarious Kevin Nealon, plus the very gifted Martin Donovan---to name just a few! It's funny and often touching, too! I'll take that every time. And the best part....there is no laugh track! 
"Brotherhood". A very interesting series about an Irish family in Providence, R.I. One son is a Politician and the other son is an Irish- Mafia-type crook! It sounds terrible but it is very very very good. Again, good writing and very good actors. Someone I know, the extremely talented Henry Bromell is one of the Writer/Executive Producers....(He wrote and produced for "Homicide, Life On The Steeet", years ago). And this family drama has Jason Isaacs & Jason Clark as the brothers, with the wonderfully talented Fionnula Flanagan as their mother, and the beautiful and talented Annabeth Gish as the wife of the politico brother. Len Cariou, a superb character actor is featured in this series, too.
"The L-Word"....I like this show a lot! As the Chicago Tribune said about this show: "No longer a 'show about lesbians,' this series has evolved into a show about people, many of whom happen to be lesbians, which is as it should be"....They just finished there 4th season on Sunday, and it was a very good 12 weeks...I remember, back in the day, when a 'season' was 32 episodes...now, on these cable channels a season is 12 episodes. Too short for me. Besides Jennifer Beals, Laurel Holloman and Mia Kirshner, there is Pam Grier, Leisha Hailey and Katherine Moennig, to name just a few of the ladies. This past season there were some very strong performances by Marlee Matlin and Cybil Shephard, as well....
"Penn & Teller: Bullshit!" Excellent! Funny and telling, too. It has something to say and makes it's points every time. As the "blurb" on the little DVD jacket says: "......delivering a humorous expose of taboo topics using the duo's trademark humor and knowledge as well as hidden camera's and blatant confrontation...". They are right on about what this show does and it does it brilliantly, I might add. I have not seen "Ths American Life" yet....that is one I will watch, for sure.
"The Underground" is a Comedy series created by and starring Damon Wayons. (To the right of Cybil Shephard on the booklet cover, above) I saw a little bit of it.....it just didn't work for me, I'm afraid, and I like him a lot and think he is extremly talented. But, this was not Wayons at his best, at all, in my opinion.
Then there are those others. In truth, none of them interest me, (Well, "The Tudors" does, and hopefully I will get over myself and watch it...
it starts on Showtime on April 8th...And as you can see from the picture, it stars the very attractive Jonathan Rhys Meyers as young Henry VIII....).
So I am not sure I will take the time to watch those other shows knowing there will be another 100 to 150 dvd's that will be sent to me, and this includes movies for television, specials, etc. Bottom Line: I watch what I can. Mostly things I have not seen before, and that is all any of us can do, you know? And each year there are some very wonderful things that I discover---things I've missed when they were first on....Like last year's HBO Animated musical beauty, "Classical Baby"....
More To Come.....
Update: I am still under the weather, but feeling somewhat better---this seems to wax and wane....the strangest illness....throughout one day I can feel terrible, than better, than terrible again....Oy.
Thank you all for your kind words and good wishes for the improvement of my health---this means more than you will ever know. The Blogesphere is remarkable, particularly all of you regulars who always show me so much love and care----I thank you with all my heart for sticking with me here....I'll be by to visit or lurk, soon again, my dears....Cheers.
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Comments are working again. I have no idea wgy it wasn't working. UGH! Thanks all for the Heads Up!
- Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 10:37:00 AM PDT
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I don't have showtime but they have a bunch of shows that I really would like to watch...
Have a great one:)
Maria- Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 11:13:00 AM PDT
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Blimey - don't Showtime know anything about saving the environment?? Good grief.....
I've always loathed Penn and Teller so I wouldn't watch that. I tried Weeds (so to speak) and lost interest quickly.
We suffered almost daily adverts for Brotherhood, so were put off it before it began....
Dexter hasn't got here yet, but we are expecting it soon.
Never watched The L-Word.
Underground? hmm - that's not being touted here yet.
Good luck with the Emmy viewings. We'll all be visiting to check on our poorly blogbuddy, so feel free to tell us how it's going.
cq- Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 1:34:00 PM PDT
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much luck with the DVDs lol..
I have to tell you.. I broke up at something you said...
I remember, back in the day, when a 'season' was 32 episodes...now, on these cable channels a season is 12 episodes...
I thought I was going crazy because no one seemed to think there were long "seasons" once upon a time! LOL.. During the Original Star Trek De said they had (ummm) 26 (or 28) for a season.. great memory huh? lol- Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 4:29:00 PM PDT
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That black thing is horrid. It looks like a black trashcan. Heck, I could design something much nicer. ;)
This fascinates me, that you get to watch ALL these different shows. I can see how it would become unfun though. (if 'unfun' is a word)
I don't think I've ever watched anything on Showtime. We get HBO just cuz of Bill Maher, but that's it.- Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 5:13:00 PM PDT
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Wow! How cool! We get Showcase ... at least a Canadian version of it. It's part of our basic cable package. They have some really great shows. I have yet to see "Weeds" ... and I really really really want to.
- Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 7:37:00 PM PDT
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I've heard "Weeds" and "The L-Word" are good, I guess I'll have to start buying the DVD's.
I would LOVE to get those in the mail, though, seems like there is not much on TV anyway, and I may have to switch from HBO to Showtime or just pay more and have BOTH. But I agree, they have been beating "The Tudors" to death; I feel like I've already seen it!
So, exactly why do you get these? Do you have to vote on them or something?- Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 8:52:00 PM PDT
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Wow! That is a lot to review! I have not heard of any of them. Enjoy!
My thoughts and prayers are with you.
I hope that you are feeling better soon.
Huggles and Love,
Raggedy- Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 9:02:00 PM PDT
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Hi Naomi, I'm here via Michele today... I'm sorry you haven't been feeling too crash hot...
That packaging is unreal! It must have cost the company a small fortune to design, make, present, send etc., What a waste but to be honest, if I got something like that in the mail I would have been chuffed.
You have a lot of tv/dvd watching to do now won't you. You might have to put your blog on hold for a while! LOL! I have seen Weeds and actually really enjoyed it but it clashed with another program...- Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 11:40:00 PM PDT
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Wow! Those are loads of movies to watch. Maybe you can get tired of them but for me, not being a member or connected with the movie industry, I would maybe love to watch all of them.
Thanks for the visit last Sunday. Sorry I wasn't able to post after Sunday as I really could not find the time. Thanks for the visit.
Friday's Child
http://lifran.blogspot.com/- Friday, March 30, 2007 at 1:21:00 AM PDT
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Hi. I popped by yesterday to see how you were and to let you know that I was thinking of you but comments weren't working. I hope you are feeling a bit better now though I know how it can be with a condition like you have (my mother has diabetes and arthritis so I know some days can be good and some bad).
It looks like you have quite a bit of viewing to keep you occupied. I am not familiar with any of those shows but then I don't watch much television (it's a time thing mainly). I'm looking forward to hearing your opinion on them as you go along. I will drop you an email soon, once I have this essay out of the way (I owe many emails to many people!). Take care of yourself and Bob and I send you and Sweetie hugs.- Friday, March 30, 2007 at 3:07:00 AM PDT
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We have had "Weeds" here in New Zealand but I haven't seen it - I don't think I've heard of any of the others. It sounds as if it would be a fulltime job to watch them all. Hope you are feeling better soon. Michele sent me.
- Friday, March 30, 2007 at 4:18:00 AM PDT
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I'm so out of the loop. I only get 4 channels! I'm afraid to get cable like I don't want to start playing Scrabble online... because I don't want to be plugged in anymore than I already do.
Hope your feeling better, Naomi. Looks like you have your work cut out for you.- Friday, March 30, 2007 at 7:28:00 AM PDT
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Dear Naomi, first of all I hope that you are feeling better soon!
Really, this box is not beautiful, but it's great to have all those DVD series to watch! Just cool!
Enjoy yours DVD Naomi!- Friday, March 30, 2007 at 10:15:00 AM PDT
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Naomi: just popped in to say how are you and not pleased to find you are under the weather as we say in UK. It's all that packaging is getting you down. Just take it easy and relax and get really well again. How's your bob-cat? I'll pop over again soon xoxox.
- Friday, March 30, 2007 at 3:10:00 PM PDT
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I don't have Showtime, so I'm not familiar with any of these shows. But I'd say you sure have your work cut out for you with all the viewing ahead. I imagine it's pretty enjoyable though.
I DO hope you're starting to feel better now. Michele sent me this time.- Friday, March 30, 2007 at 3:21:00 PM PDT
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Wish I could drop by and watch some with you. Glad you got to see Josh's unbuilding the house clip. They're both short because Youtube won't take more than 100mb, but enought to get an idea. Next will be the bonfire of what they can't salvage! I came by way of Canada tonight...Michele's.
- Friday, March 30, 2007 at 5:22:00 PM PDT
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I hate those pop-up things! They are nothing but a distraction. I wish there was a way to turn them off!
- Friday, March 30, 2007 at 7:03:00 PM PDT
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Lots of great stuff to read.
Michele sent me over to say "Hi". :+)- Friday, March 30, 2007 at 7:09:00 PM PDT
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You can always offload the DVD's that you don't want to me Naomi!!
I have to agree that the packaging is over the top and very wasteful! But would you be more likely to vote for a group who sends you their dvd's wrapped in brown paper and doesn't try to impress you with their "package"?
Hope you're well today!- Friday, March 30, 2007 at 7:31:00 PM PDT
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Naomi, I don't have Showtime, only
HBO, so I have not seen any of those shows, but I'd love to!
I thought of you last night, as I sat in the Marriott Marquis Nederlander Theater, seeing "The Drowsy Chaperone", which (as I am sure you know) won the Tony for Best Musical this year. It was very enjoyable! I'll poist about it when I get back home. Glad to hear that you feel a little better!- Friday, March 30, 2007 at 8:49:00 PM PDT
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Wow, lucky you, though I admit I wouldn't have time to watch all those videos! I work in Satellite tv & we get a lot of freebies from Showtime, HBO & the like, they used to give free dvds to everyone but now they raffle off one or 2 when they come visit our call center each month. I've recieved sopranos watches, bags, A tin box in the shape of a coffin which says six feet under on it, numerous key chains, stress balls, mouse pads etc. All to try to get us to sell people Showtime, HBO etc. while we're fixing their remotes & signal problems.
Here from Micheles.- Friday, March 30, 2007 at 10:30:00 PM PDT
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Wow, that's alot of watching you will be doing!! As for the elaborate printing and packaging, I have family that owns a large printing company, you'd be amazed at what customers are willing to do! It's great for business though! :)
Hope you get back to feeling 100% better soon! Sending you postive thoughts!- Friday, March 30, 2007 at 10:44:00 PM PDT
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Glad you're feeling a bit better Naomi. Take care of yourself, ok?
Brotherhood is based on the real live Bulger Brothers of Boston (alliteration!). Billy is the politician, Whitey is the mafia don. They're very interesting but BIZARRE.
I don't have cable (I KNOW!) so I haven't seen anything you've listed. But there are a few I'd like to see.
Have you considered having a contest and giving away the DVDs once the Emmys are over? I think you could come up with some really fun contest. You're so imaginative and creative!- Saturday, March 31, 2007 at 12:54:00 AM PDT
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Looks like the fun is just beginning, eh?
Hopefully you'll have enough energy to watch all that... oh my. You have your work cut out for you, don't you?- Saturday, March 31, 2007 at 1:08:00 AM PDT
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I must say that I agree with you about the use of annoying pop up ads in the MIDDLE of a show.
It is VERY distracting!! I agree that it interrupts the work and effort put into the show you are currently watching and makes you NOT want to watch the show the pop up is advertising. Sheesh!!!
I've heard about a few of these shows. The Tudors sounds like it will be a good show. I've seen that actor in something else, but I can't remember what. He has got some very intense eyes. He can look very nice or very evil.
Dexter's hand is really white in comparison to his face on the cover of that DVD.
I hope you enjoy all the hours of DVDs they send you.
Take care and continue to get well.- Saturday, March 31, 2007 at 6:19:00 PM PDT
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I have a love/hate relationship with television - I grew up watching it a lot in the 70's and ended up working for 2 "stars" from back then - but have happily existed for months without watching. It would be great to watch the shows on my timeline - like you get to do with the voting - rather than the TV guide's! Here from Michele but will start stopping by on my own again. :)
- Sunday, April 1, 2007 at 1:20:00 AM PDT
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God BLESS you Naomi! I don't know HOW you can do this Academy programming thing at all! I can't stand to watch 5 minutes of television AT ALL and you watch hours and hours and hours and hours of stuff that only a portion of which is valuable... OY! Talk about OY!!! Nope... YOU are a treasure! And the Academy should be EVER so glad to have you! As for Showtime and their pop-ups I can't even BELIEVE they are doing that! We can get FREE pop-up stoppers for our computers -- can't you get ANYthing to stop pop-ups on television??? That is just crazy!
I'm sorry to hear you're not feeling well -- it's been forever and forever since I've been over here -- I really apologize! I can't seem to get you added to my "reader" and so sadly... I forget. I hate that!!!- Sunday, April 1, 2007 at 7:11:00 AM PDT
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I'm heartened that the future of television is in capable hands thanks to the caring reviews of folks like you.
This despite the best efforts of the industry to quite literally hang itself. Thankfully, rational voices continue to prevail.
Glad you recycled the wretchedly excessive packaging. When I was in radio, I would cringe at the ways PR firms would dress up their deliveries in the hopes that we'd pay attention.
We had multiple blue boxes just for inbound mail. Sad.- Sunday, April 1, 2007 at 7:41:00 PM PDT
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Oh you lucky gal! I love Weeds and got into Dexter but didn't get to see them all.
Can I come watch t.v. with you? :)- Monday, April 2, 2007 at 8:05:00 PM PDT
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We've watched several Penn & Teller eps from seasons... and we're always riveted to what they have to say and reveal. Great show, if occasionally not as unbiased as they'd like you to believe. :) I think they're brilliant at what they do. We watch.
~S- Tuesday, April 3, 2007 at 4:35:00 PM PDT
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