When it comes to TV “viewers”, well over 1 billion people around the world watch TV every single day! In fact, according to a report done by Nielsen ratings the US is one of the highest locations of people that watch TV and next to that is Japan! This is why it makes total sense when you look on TV and there are so many different shows in different categories about different things. There has to be in order to make everyone happy! It doesn’t matter if you like comedy and watch shows like 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother or The Office or you like Drama and your addicted to shows like Lost, Prison Break and 24, there is going to be something very fun and exciting you should be looking for when it comes to spending time online.

Recently I found some really nice sites online that are all about television shows and I wouldn’t doubt it if they even had some of your favorites! They have things like preview videos, out takes, TV show descriptions, and TV show schedules. One of my favorite things about sites such as these is the fact that they are so diverse, its crazy! Not only will you find all of your favorite shows, but you can also find shows that you haven’t ever seen before but always wanted to know a little bit more about. For example, I haven’t ever watched 30 Rock, not because I dint want to but because its on the same time as one of my shows. But I hear that it is absolutely hilarious. Unfortunately when it comes to repeats, they just aren’t available yet.

So the next best thing? Websites like this! I can find video reels, a synopsis for the show and even character biographies! So, even though I have never watched the show before, I know all about the show and honestly I wish it was on when one of my other shows wasn’t on. Well hey, at least I can look forward to the summer time when all the televised repeats come on! Then I can finally be in the “loop” when it comes to all my friends - they all are 30 Rock freaks not Grissom (CSI) or Ziva (David from NCIS) freaks! If you want to check up on your shows for scheduled viewings, new preview videos or information about some of your favorite celebrities from the show or if you want to check out something different altogether, these sites are definitely your best bet for information, entertainment and pure fun!

MEDIA METROPOLIS 

Ill be the first one to admit it, when it comes to shows like NCIS, Bones and CSI I am a hardcore fan. If I miss an episode the rest of my week just sucks! A few years back when I started really getting into CSI (the one with Grissom) I wanted to try and found out everything I could about this show especially when it was going to be back on air! I made the mistake of “reminding” myself when the Season Opener was going to be on and wouldn’t ya know it, I got the date wrong! I was so bummed! After that, I decided it was probably a good idea if I went online and tried to find some websites where I could actually find out exactly when the show was going to be on as far as the date and the time.

I found some of the nicest websites available out there and they didn’t just include schedules either. They also included some really cool “clips” of the shows along with a few synopsis of what we could expect this season! I really liked these websites because they didn’t just include one type of show or one show for that matter. Instead they included all kinds of different categories such as Drama, Comedy, Action, and mystery plus they had all kinds of shows, some of which I have never even heard of. These shows included ones like; 30 Rock, 24, American Idol, How I Met Your Mother, NCIS and The Amazing Race. These sites are some of the most popular sites simply because of the variety that they carry.

I think by now we know that everyone seems to have their own “tastes” when it comes to TV shows. Some people love Survivor while others anticipate Thursday nights for something like CSI! Either way, no matter what you like watching or what you are interested in, you will definitely find them on these websites. And who knows, maybe you will even find a show that you never thought you knew anything about and absolutely love it! I know this has happened to me quite a few times through out the years. I might hear something about a new show but eh it doesn’t really sound all that interesting. Once I check out a little bit more about the show I start to realize that this is something that I could really like, so I give it a go and as they say - the rest is history!

MEDIA METROPOLIS

The NBC line up has come under close scrutiny for its performances recently. NBC TV show schedule has 37 current shows which have created quite a stir amongst competing rival networks. Two widely acclaimed shows are the welcoming “Lipstick Jungle” and the infamous “30 Rock.” “Lipstick Jungle” stars three of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood. In “Lipstick Jungle” this sexy drama follows three powerful females who live life at the top of their game, making it through every upward and downward turn together. Nico (Kim Raver, “24″), editor-in-chief of a couture fashion magazine, has her mind set on becoming CEO. Movie executive Wendy (Brooke Shields, “Suddenly Susan”) balances career and family with style.

Courtesy of NBC

And the truly unique designer Victory (Lindsay Price, “Beverly Hills, 90210″) persists ambitiously while in search of “Mr. Right”. Armed with tremendous strengths and simple humor, these modern, pioneering New Yorkers support each other through the tears and triumphs that are involved in making it big while living in the Big Apple. Robert Buckley (”Fashion House”), Andrew McCarthy (”Joy Luck Club”), Paul Blackthorne (”Big Shots”) and David Noroña (”Frasier”) also star in this comedic charmer. Consequently, “30 Rock” is one of the most popular shows that NBC has to offer its viewers. In 2008, 30 Rock was nominated for an impressive record of 17 Emmy nominations.”30 Rock” has also been honored on several critics’ year-end Best of 2006 and 2007 lists. Entertainment Weekly has hailed it as “simply the best TV” and “the best comedy on TV this year”.

This award-winning comedy is spoken through the wit of Golden Globe winner Tina Fey (”Liz Lemon”) and features Tracy Morgan (”Tracy Jordan”) as the unpredictably dramatized star of Lemon’s hit variety show, “TGS with Tracy Jordan.” As a top network executive, Alec Baldwin (”Jack Donaghy”), throws chaos at Lemon to juggle major corporate interference as she has to deal with off-the-handle antics from Jordan, all while salvaging her individuality. Imperfectly completing the cast with their satire are Scott Adsit (”Pete Hornberger”) as the variety show’s producer; Jane Krakowski (”Jenna Maroney”) as the influential co-star of “TGS”; Judah Friedlander (”Frank”) as the writing staff’s sardonic slacker; Jack McBrayer (”Kenneth the Page”) as the eager and nonchalantly endearing NBC page; Keith Powell (”Toofer”) as the sophisticated, yet salty Harvard-alum writer and Katrina Bowden (”Cerie”) as Lemon’s young and frequently inept assistant.

“30 Rock” has welcomed many impressive guest stars throughout the seasons, including 2008 Emmy nominees Steve Buscemi, Will Arnett, Paul Reubens, Carrie Fisher, Edie Falco, Tim Conway, and Rip Torn. Other guest stars have included former Vice President Al Gore, Andy Richter, Nathan Lane, David Schwimmer, Jerry Seinfeld, Dean Winters, Molly Shannon, Meredith Vieira, Jason Sudeikis, Ghostface Killah, LL Cool J, Gladys Knight, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, John McEnroe, Paul Reubens, Maury Povich, Chris Parnell, Sean Hayes, and Will Forte as well as Elaine Stritch, who acquired a 2007 Emmy Award and a 2008 Emmy nomination for her performance. Both “Lipstick Jungle” and “30 Rock” command your attention and heart with laughter. Hopefully they will continue onward into the fall lineup shows next year to give us more surprises and even more amusement.

MEDIA METROPOLIS 

You can find TV preview videos anywhere, right? Well sure! But the problem with a lot of the websites you go on such as NBC, ABC and CBS is that while you can watch TV previews you also have to watch a ton of commercials and for me and a lot of other people, this can be a major turn off and really… annoying! You need an alternative! One of these alternatives is to visit some of the mixed TV blogs available online. These will not only include some really great videos of your favorite shows, but they will also include a ton of other things. These websites might even include extra special information. One website I was looking at had a “round up” of the Golden Globe Award Winners 2009. Lets take a look at this really quick just so you can get an idea of what I am talking about:

Best Drama - Mad Men. It’s the only award they won tonight, but it’s the important one. And yes, Matthew Weiner was there to accept the award on stage. The show has been off the air and out of our minds for months now so it’s great to see the cast all together again.

Best Actor Drama - Gabriel Byrne (In Treatment). Interesting choice considering the other nominees, including Jon Hamm, Michael C. Hall, Hugh Laurie, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. And of course he was the only nominee not at the show.

Best Presenter - Ricky Gervais. Another win.

Best Acceptance Speech(es): Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan. All the “shout outs” along with NBC’s Jeff Zucker. Oh, don’t forget that since Barack Obama won the election, Tracy said he gets to speak for the show when they win an award instead of Tina!

Most Awkward Moment - Nancy O’Dell on the red carpet, asking Tiki Barber who he’d like to see win. When he said Heath Ledger, she said “that’s a very political answer.”

Best Facial Hair - Tony Shalhoub

I like to consider these the “one stop shop” type of deals. Its a place where you can go for all your needs and never have to leave the website to visit another website for relevant information. So you could really visit these websites for a preview on a TV show find out a little bit about the show plus you can find schedules of when this show will be on and what channel it can be found on. The video previews on some of these websites are really really high quality so its not like your going to be watching some crappy video just because its on an individual website!

MEDIA METROPOLIS

Entertainment Weekly has answered the question on everybody’s mind (ok - it’s on my mind).  Now that the writer’s strike is over, when will my show come back, and how many new episodes can I expect?

Of note (again, to me, maybe not you)

• 24 - Early ‘09 - 22 episodes (just kidding, of course 24)
• 30 Rock - April 10, 5-6
• Bones - April 14th, 4+
• CSI: Miami - March 24, 8
• Desperate Housewives - Late April, 4-5
• Heroes - Fall 2008
• House - TBD, 4-5
• How I met your mother - March 17, 9
• Lost - They’ve got 10 episodes done, will take a break in mark and finish up the 16 episode season in 13 episodes
• The Office - April 10, 5-6

What about Supernatural?  Hoping they don’t cancel it, like Prison Break.

Courtesy of ABC

ABC has the series monster lineup tonight starting at 8pm:  Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice.  

The Golden Globes  is one of the more interesting award shows. The Grammy and Oscar shows have a blend of movie and music people, while the Emmy gathers all the TV talent.  The mixture of movie and tv actors shows the real value of small and large screen in one evening.  That’s why celebrity tv shows like E! red carpet show can share a moment  like The Dark Knight’s Aaron Eckhart asking Desperate Housewives’ Eva Longoria if she’s been drinking. From a TV perspecitve, it was also nice to see Miley Cyrus chat with Ryan Seacrest right after that  “Jonas kid” and see them not talk to each other. Hilarious to see father, Billy Ray talk to him though. Its possible he said “stay away from my daughter.”

With the awards show over, it’s time to view the list of major TV winners…

Best Drama - Mad Men. It’s the only award they won tonight, but it’s the important one. And yes, Matthew Weiner was there to accept the award on stage. The show has been off the air and out of our minds for months now so it’s great to see the cast all together again.

Best Musical or Comedy - 30 Rock

Best Actor Drama - Gabriel Byrne (In Treatment). Interesting choice considering the other nominees, including Jon Hamm, Michael C. Hall, Hugh Laurie, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. And of course he was the only nominee not at the show.

Best Actress Drama - Anna Paquin (True Blood)

Best Actor Musical or Comedy - Alec Baldwin (30 Rock). Not a surprise at all, one of the best large and small screen actors.  

Best Actress Musical or Comedy - Tina Fey (30 Rock). Ah, this is good. They get all three of the awards (Best Comedy, Best Actor and Actress in a Comedy). Something tells me this show is going to be around for a while after all.

Best Supporting Actor - Tom Wilkinson (John Adams)

Best Supporting Actress - Laura Dern (Recount)

Best Miniseries/TV Movie - John Adams. Adams couldn’t be here tonight so the award was accepted by producer Tom Hanks.

Best Actor Miniseries/TV Movie - Paul Giamatti (John Adams).

Best Actress Miniseries/TV Movie - Laura Linney (John Adams). I think a lot of people were looking for one TV show or a movie to sort of sweep the awards, but I’m not sure how many people picked John Adams to be one of the major stories of the night.

Best Presenter - Ricky Gervais. Another win. 

Best Acceptance Speech(es): Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan. All the “shout outs” along with NBC’s Jeff Zucker.  Oh, don’t forget that since Barack Obama won the election, Tracy said he gets to speak for the show when they win an award instead of Tina!

Most Awkward Moment - Nancy O’Dell on the red carpet, asking Tiki Barber who he’d like to see win. When he said Heath Ledger, she said “that’s a very political answer.”

Best Facial Hair - Tony Shalhoub

MEDIA METROPOLIS

As I watch several different episodes from multiple channels, trying to provide fun information, I can’t seem to get over the amount of commercials.  Obviously, the time of day brings larger and smaller audiences, respectively.  From a marketing perspective, I think of the people watching each show - or the demographic.  As an example, NBC’s “30 Rock“, targets the 18-49 year old group as does “The Office“, “CSI”, etc. 

Knowing each demographic and when they are watching is important to advertisers.  It is also very expensive.  A specific ad placed randomly throughout the day will be less expensive than primetime tv at a specific time, such as 7:00pm for CBS’s, “60 Minutes”.  According to Wikipedia, there can be as much as 15 minutes per one-hour episode of commercials.  If each commercial is 30-seconds to 1-minute, then we are witnessing 15-30 commercials an hour!  When the SuperBowl comes around, and we hear those amazing statistics about cost per ad, such as $2 Million for each commercial in the 1st quarter, I will let you know how many are for the sporting event. 

What is your opinion of having so many ads per episode?  Do you find most of them useful?  How do you view the new interactive ads asking viewers to watch an episode, find a clue, then go to their Web site and enter the answer resulting in a reward? 

In my opinion, I think that is good marketing.  Reward the viewer for enjoying not only the tv show and episode, but sitting around for the ads as well.  Everyone wins in that picture!

MEDIA METROPOLIS