They say that sometimes you don't let the facts get in the way of a good story. Nike, the Portland, Oregon-based shoe company, is one of the few corporate sponsors that has stood by golfer Tiger Woods in the face of all the scandal that has enveloped the #1 ranked golfer in the world the last few months.
So, with Woods making his seasonal debut at the Masters this week, Nike felt the time was right to debut a new ad starring Woods. Sort of. While I haven't yet seen the ad, I have read of the controversy surrounding it. Woods' late father, Earl, provides the narrative, but the words are not actually meant for his son. According to an ABC News report, Nike, with the cooperation of Woods, no doubt, used an audio track of the elder Woods from a 2004 documentary to play over a fresh video image of Tiger, suggesting that the 4-time Masters champ was in fact the original target of his father's commentary.
Generating controversy in order to sell their product is old hat to Nike. They've been doing it for years. Tiger Woods had spoken about changing his ways a couple of months back, but, as we documented after the dog-&-pony show disguised as a press conference, it certainly appears as though he's willing to reap the benefits of his sponsors exploiting his father's memory. Instead of saying "no", Tiger is only adding to the controversy.
Of course, the New York tabloids are plastering him on the front & back pages as long as he's in contention at the Masters. While it's a first for the legendary tournament, it's overshadowed by the fact that there are still a few more women coming out of the woodwork claiming they've been with the randy Woods. While that would've gotten the tabloids' editors some weasel ears, Nike gets the ears this week for their irresponsibly shallow show of support. If they really cared about Woods, they wouldn't have stooped so low.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
On the fast track to disaster
After improving its rating from 0.56 to 0.9 on Monday, Total Non-stop Action Wrestling (TNA) co-owner Dixie Carter announced via Twitter that Impact will remain from 8-10 pm (ET) on Mondays, effective immediately, and, on top of that, Impact will resume with repeats on Thursdays in its former time-slot (9-11 pm). One idea defeats the other, par for the course for TNA.
The company made the hasty decision to move Impact from Thursdays to Mondays last month at the behest of Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff, the belief being that it's the only way they can compete with WWE Monday Night Raw. After 4 weeks of direct head-to-head competition with the more established program, TNA & Spike "experimented" with moving Impact to the earlier hour, but obviously this wasn't just an experiment. The ratings didn't improve all that much, but just enough to warrant a permanent move to the 8-10 block. In truth, for all the talent on the TNA roster, much of it pruned from the WWE's waiver wires, the company remains hamstrung by poor booking and/or personnel decisions resulting from cronyism (Hogan) or just plain stupidity (just about anything written by Vince Russo) or an improbable combination of both. For every positive move made, there are 3-4 negative ones that set TNA back further than they were before.
Common sense suggests that TNA could've waited a few more months before embarking on this ambitious, but risky, schedule move, but we all know common sense is a foreign concept to them. Just because both shows are pre-taped next week doesn't really mean TNA has given themselves a perceived advantage. Viewers will already know what happens if they've surfed the internet and found the "spoilers". Raw will be in England, on same-day tape, meaning that their creative team will still have had ample time to assemble the program to offset anything on Impact that might be remotely buzzworthy.
The final, bottom line: TNA is doomed. But, then, as a would-be philosopher in WWE once remarked back in 2003, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.
The company made the hasty decision to move Impact from Thursdays to Mondays last month at the behest of Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff, the belief being that it's the only way they can compete with WWE Monday Night Raw. After 4 weeks of direct head-to-head competition with the more established program, TNA & Spike "experimented" with moving Impact to the earlier hour, but obviously this wasn't just an experiment. The ratings didn't improve all that much, but just enough to warrant a permanent move to the 8-10 block. In truth, for all the talent on the TNA roster, much of it pruned from the WWE's waiver wires, the company remains hamstrung by poor booking and/or personnel decisions resulting from cronyism (Hogan) or just plain stupidity (just about anything written by Vince Russo) or an improbable combination of both. For every positive move made, there are 3-4 negative ones that set TNA back further than they were before.
Common sense suggests that TNA could've waited a few more months before embarking on this ambitious, but risky, schedule move, but we all know common sense is a foreign concept to them. Just because both shows are pre-taped next week doesn't really mean TNA has given themselves a perceived advantage. Viewers will already know what happens if they've surfed the internet and found the "spoilers". Raw will be in England, on same-day tape, meaning that their creative team will still have had ample time to assemble the program to offset anything on Impact that might be remotely buzzworthy.
The final, bottom line: TNA is doomed. But, then, as a would-be philosopher in WWE once remarked back in 2003, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
The "War of Complacency" is over
Well, it's actually been over for a while. TNA Impact continues to slide downward, but actually made a slim gain this week, registering a 0.9 rating, but it's still not enough to overtake Monday Night Raw. The real challenge lies next week, when both shows are pre-recorded. Raw will be on same-day tape from London, with actor-singer David Hasselhoff (ex-Knight Rider, Baywatch) as host. You can expect comedy skits built around those two iconic shows, since they already did a parody of America's Got Talent when Ozzy & Sharon Osbourne hosted late last year. Impact tapes tonight in Orlando, but it's more prevalent than ever that a total housecleaning is in order for TNA.
As a creative team member, Hulk Hogan is a failure. His biggest fault, of course, is cronyism, which would explain Bubba the Love Sponge still being gainfully employed by TNA, and now associated with The Band (nee the NWO). Bubba is the reason the single most dominant female grappler in the business today, Awesome Kong, left the company. She punched him out off-camera one night because he dared to belittle her efforts to help the victims of the Haitian earthquake, but because Bubba is one of Hogan's buds, he stays, and she goes. It isn't fair or right, but co-owner Dixie Carter has to take the blame for this, since she foolishly signed Hogan and Eric Bischoff to try to save the company. It's kind of like the tag line of the comic book character, Bat Lash, back in the 60's. Would Bischoff & Hogan save TNA? Or would they ruin it? The latter's pretty obvious. Benevolence has given way to ego, and it would be a major surprise now if TNA actually lasts the calendar year.
Hogan is reported to have said that if he can't turn TNA around, he'd walk away. I'd say he needs to find those walking shoes, and take Vince Russo, TNA's beleagured head scribbler, with him.
Over in the WWE, NXT "rookie" David Otunga (he's engaged to Jennifer Hudson, you know) hosted, and proceeded to play John Cena like a fiddle, as if that hasn't happened enough times already. They dusted off the Million Dollar belt for Ted DiBiase, Jr., as if that'll help him get over, which I doubt. Jack Swagger, the new WWE World champ, got a send-off courtesy of a loss to Randy Orton (go figure the logic in that one), while the divas were all dressed in evening gowns for a battle royal. The gowns didn't get ripped for once, though the ladies had the good sense to remove their shoes before the match started. All in all, another average night. Not great, but acceptable.
I declare this war is over.
As a creative team member, Hulk Hogan is a failure. His biggest fault, of course, is cronyism, which would explain Bubba the Love Sponge still being gainfully employed by TNA, and now associated with The Band (nee the NWO). Bubba is the reason the single most dominant female grappler in the business today, Awesome Kong, left the company. She punched him out off-camera one night because he dared to belittle her efforts to help the victims of the Haitian earthquake, but because Bubba is one of Hogan's buds, he stays, and she goes. It isn't fair or right, but co-owner Dixie Carter has to take the blame for this, since she foolishly signed Hogan and Eric Bischoff to try to save the company. It's kind of like the tag line of the comic book character, Bat Lash, back in the 60's. Would Bischoff & Hogan save TNA? Or would they ruin it? The latter's pretty obvious. Benevolence has given way to ego, and it would be a major surprise now if TNA actually lasts the calendar year.
Hogan is reported to have said that if he can't turn TNA around, he'd walk away. I'd say he needs to find those walking shoes, and take Vince Russo, TNA's beleagured head scribbler, with him.
Over in the WWE, NXT "rookie" David Otunga (he's engaged to Jennifer Hudson, you know) hosted, and proceeded to play John Cena like a fiddle, as if that hasn't happened enough times already. They dusted off the Million Dollar belt for Ted DiBiase, Jr., as if that'll help him get over, which I doubt. Jack Swagger, the new WWE World champ, got a send-off courtesy of a loss to Randy Orton (go figure the logic in that one), while the divas were all dressed in evening gowns for a battle royal. The gowns didn't get ripped for once, though the ladies had the good sense to remove their shoes before the match started. All in all, another average night. Not great, but acceptable.
I declare this war is over.
Friday, April 2, 2010
On DVD: The Three Stooges Collection: Volume 1--1935-36
We've all grown up watching the reruns over and over again of The Three Stooges, and we all have our favorites. While the Stooges' brand of slapstick comedy wouldn't go over as well today without invoking the wrath of the PC (Politically Correct) Police, it was a different world that the Stooges existed in 75 years ago.
Today's audience will associate eye gouges with professional wrestling, but it was part of the Stooges' act. Moe & Curly Howard and Larry Fine weren't exactly presented as Rhodes' Scholars, and in these classic short subjects, drifted from one job to another, depending on the storyline. They've played soldiers, musicians, doctors, and, occasionally, unemployed common folks.
The very first offering, "Woman Haters", sets the tone. Larry is inducted into the club, even though he is engaged to be married. He goes through with the wedding anyway, behind the backs of Moe & Curly. The next short, "Punch Drunks", was written by the Stooges themselves (Curly is credited as Jerry Howard), and showcases Curly, who becomes a whirlwind of violence when he hears "Pop Goes the Weasel", especially when Larry plays it on his violin.
My personal favorite from the Curly era is "Disorder in the Court". I have had to have seen this one at least 50 times on TV since the 70's. The boys are star witnesses, helping clear a nightclub dancer of murdering her boyfriend. This is another instance of Larry playing his violin, while Moe holds a harmonica between his teeth whilst conducting his partners with a baton. Curly is on stand-up bass. Of the three, Larry is the only legitimate musician, since he had trained to play classical violin before turning to comedy, and we all know it's better to hold the harmonica in your hands while playing, otherwise, as Moe discovers, you're prone to swallowing the instrument. Another highlight is Curly struggling to take the oath before entering the witness box, thanks largely to insisting on wearing a derby hat and carrying an umbrella, even though it wasn't a rainy day. Classic comedy gold.
There's more where this came from, of course, so I have to find the time to invest in the remaining volumes in the series.
Grade---A+.
Edit: 4/11/14: Here's "Disorder in the Court":
Today's audience will associate eye gouges with professional wrestling, but it was part of the Stooges' act. Moe & Curly Howard and Larry Fine weren't exactly presented as Rhodes' Scholars, and in these classic short subjects, drifted from one job to another, depending on the storyline. They've played soldiers, musicians, doctors, and, occasionally, unemployed common folks.
The very first offering, "Woman Haters", sets the tone. Larry is inducted into the club, even though he is engaged to be married. He goes through with the wedding anyway, behind the backs of Moe & Curly. The next short, "Punch Drunks", was written by the Stooges themselves (Curly is credited as Jerry Howard), and showcases Curly, who becomes a whirlwind of violence when he hears "Pop Goes the Weasel", especially when Larry plays it on his violin.
My personal favorite from the Curly era is "Disorder in the Court". I have had to have seen this one at least 50 times on TV since the 70's. The boys are star witnesses, helping clear a nightclub dancer of murdering her boyfriend. This is another instance of Larry playing his violin, while Moe holds a harmonica between his teeth whilst conducting his partners with a baton. Curly is on stand-up bass. Of the three, Larry is the only legitimate musician, since he had trained to play classical violin before turning to comedy, and we all know it's better to hold the harmonica in your hands while playing, otherwise, as Moe discovers, you're prone to swallowing the instrument. Another highlight is Curly struggling to take the oath before entering the witness box, thanks largely to insisting on wearing a derby hat and carrying an umbrella, even though it wasn't a rainy day. Classic comedy gold.
There's more where this came from, of course, so I have to find the time to invest in the remaining volumes in the series.
Grade---A+.
Edit: 4/11/14: Here's "Disorder in the Court":
Weasel of the week: Fox News Channel
This one's a slam dunk. In promoting a new series involving former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Real American Stories, Fox News is implying that the 2008 VP candidate had conducted interviews with country singer Toby Keith and rapper-actor LL Cool J (NCIS-Los Angeles), but there's one little problem.
According to an article in Thursday's New York Daily News, neither LL nor Keith actually sat for interviews with Mrs. Palin. The interviews are actually archive pieces that were originally done----and aired---in the last 2 years. So Fox is employing a deceptive advertising campaign in order to get people to watch. Nothing new, except that the press has issued a variation on the time-honored warning of caveat emptor (let the buyer---or in this case, the viewer---beware), which may only result in more people watching out of curiosity.
Fox News Channel claims to be "fair & balanced". Not in this case.
According to an article in Thursday's New York Daily News, neither LL nor Keith actually sat for interviews with Mrs. Palin. The interviews are actually archive pieces that were originally done----and aired---in the last 2 years. So Fox is employing a deceptive advertising campaign in order to get people to watch. Nothing new, except that the press has issued a variation on the time-honored warning of caveat emptor (let the buyer---or in this case, the viewer---beware), which may only result in more people watching out of curiosity.
Fox News Channel claims to be "fair & balanced". Not in this case.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
John Forsythe (1918-2010)
Another cherished TV legend has taken his final bows.
John Forsythe has passed away at the age of 92, and his body of TV work over the course of five decades (50's through the 90's) would grant him induction into a TV Hall of Fame on the first ballot alone.
Forsythe will be best remembered by today's generation as the heard-but-never-seen boss of Charlie's Angels (1976-81) and as oil magnate Blake Carrington on Dynasty (1981-89), but as old school fans know, Forsythe was already a well-established star by the time Aaron Spelling hired him for Angels. Forsythe's earliest TV series was the 50's sitcom, Bachelor Father, which may still be airing on Retro, depending on where you live (check local listings). After a self-titled sitcom failed to click, Forsythe returned in To Rome With Love, which lasted for 2 seasons on CBS, and was the last sitcom produced by Don Fedderson (The Millionaire, My Three Sons) for the network. Prior to Charlie's Angels, Forsythe cut his teeth in voice-over work by narrating the syndicated nature series, World of Survival. The two Angels feature films marked Forsythe's return to the limelight after a number of years away following the demise of another short-lived comedy, The Powers That Be, which stands as Forsythe's last TV series. With talk of Angels being revived by ABC for another run, one has to figure that it will be dedicated in memory of Forsythe, as well as Farrah Fawcett, who passed away last year, and David Doyle, the original Bosley.
Rest in peace, John.
John Forsythe has passed away at the age of 92, and his body of TV work over the course of five decades (50's through the 90's) would grant him induction into a TV Hall of Fame on the first ballot alone.
Forsythe will be best remembered by today's generation as the heard-but-never-seen boss of Charlie's Angels (1976-81) and as oil magnate Blake Carrington on Dynasty (1981-89), but as old school fans know, Forsythe was already a well-established star by the time Aaron Spelling hired him for Angels. Forsythe's earliest TV series was the 50's sitcom, Bachelor Father, which may still be airing on Retro, depending on where you live (check local listings). After a self-titled sitcom failed to click, Forsythe returned in To Rome With Love, which lasted for 2 seasons on CBS, and was the last sitcom produced by Don Fedderson (The Millionaire, My Three Sons) for the network. Prior to Charlie's Angels, Forsythe cut his teeth in voice-over work by narrating the syndicated nature series, World of Survival. The two Angels feature films marked Forsythe's return to the limelight after a number of years away following the demise of another short-lived comedy, The Powers That Be, which stands as Forsythe's last TV series. With talk of Angels being revived by ABC for another run, one has to figure that it will be dedicated in memory of Forsythe, as well as Farrah Fawcett, who passed away last year, and David Doyle, the original Bosley.
Rest in peace, John.
Edit, 11/16/25: We're adding an episode of Bachelor Father.
Comparison shopping: "A Study in Scarlet" (1933) and "Terror by Night" (1946)
With my home computer in the shop for repairs, I've taken the time to rummage through my DVD library to find something to pass time. Over the last two nights, I played a pair of Sherlock Holmes mysteries available via public domain.
"A Study in Scarlet", from 1933, casts Reginald Owen as Holmes and Warburton Gamble as Dr. Watson. While the title is that of the first Holmes story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the plot deviates from Doyle's script and borrows a plot point from Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None". Owen is also credited as a co-writer, and acquits himself well as Holmes.
The plot is rather simplistic. A shady lawyer (Alan Dinehart) at the head of a secret society arranges for the society's members to be eliminated, one at a time, while collecting their money, properties, and personal effects for his own gains. Holmes admits to having had earlier encounters with the shyster, but was never quite able to put him away. This time, however, may turn out to be a different matter altogether.
Edit: 4/11/14: I've added "A Study In Scarlet":
For many Holmes fans, the definitive screen portrayer of the master detective is Basil Rathbone, who starred in a total of 15 films and several radio productions. In "Terror by Night", Holmes & Watson (Nigel Bruce) are on a train bound for Scotland, tasked to protect the Star of Rhodesia. Watson meets a man claiming to be his old friend, Major Duncan-Bleeck (Alan Mowbray, who played Inspector Lestrade in "Scarlet"), but in truth is Col. Sebastian Moran, a former aide to Holmes' arch-enemy, Professor James Moriarty. Suffice to say, this game of human chess is worth the price of admission alone.
Edit: 4/11/14: And here's "Terror By Night":
Bear in mind that this was the first time I'd seen Owen as Holmes, and I have to say I was quite impressed. I have not yet seen Robert Downey, Jr.'s version of the legendary sleuth, but I would venture that he had a lot to live up to.
Ratings: "A Study in Scarlet"--A-. "Terror by Night"--A+.
"A Study in Scarlet", from 1933, casts Reginald Owen as Holmes and Warburton Gamble as Dr. Watson. While the title is that of the first Holmes story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the plot deviates from Doyle's script and borrows a plot point from Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None". Owen is also credited as a co-writer, and acquits himself well as Holmes.
The plot is rather simplistic. A shady lawyer (Alan Dinehart) at the head of a secret society arranges for the society's members to be eliminated, one at a time, while collecting their money, properties, and personal effects for his own gains. Holmes admits to having had earlier encounters with the shyster, but was never quite able to put him away. This time, however, may turn out to be a different matter altogether.
Edit: 4/11/14: I've added "A Study In Scarlet":
For many Holmes fans, the definitive screen portrayer of the master detective is Basil Rathbone, who starred in a total of 15 films and several radio productions. In "Terror by Night", Holmes & Watson (Nigel Bruce) are on a train bound for Scotland, tasked to protect the Star of Rhodesia. Watson meets a man claiming to be his old friend, Major Duncan-Bleeck (Alan Mowbray, who played Inspector Lestrade in "Scarlet"), but in truth is Col. Sebastian Moran, a former aide to Holmes' arch-enemy, Professor James Moriarty. Suffice to say, this game of human chess is worth the price of admission alone.
Edit: 4/11/14: And here's "Terror By Night":
Bear in mind that this was the first time I'd seen Owen as Holmes, and I have to say I was quite impressed. I have not yet seen Robert Downey, Jr.'s version of the legendary sleuth, but I would venture that he had a lot to live up to.
Ratings: "A Study in Scarlet"--A-. "Terror by Night"--A+.
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