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!

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It seems that TV watching is like politics, everyone has their own point of view and everyone likes something different. Well if you’re the type of person that likes reality TV then you probably watch shows just like Big Brother and Survivor and if this is the case you are probably a huge addict just like me! As of late, I have been really anxious for Survivor to come back but I really haven’t seen any commercials for when its going to come back or anything about the show so I decided to have a look and see what I could find!

Courtesy of Fox Reality Channel

What I came up with were some really interesting websites that gave some really nice information on not only when these shows will be coming back but also some nice previews as well. If you are the type of person that likes to be in the “loop” then these sites are definitely for you. Even if you haven’t ever watched a show like Survivor you could get a pretty good idea of what this show entails just from reading the descriptions on these websites and watching a few videos. Here is a excerpt from one website about Survivor:

“Survivor is a popular reality TV game show format broadcasted in many countries throughout the world. In the show, contestants are isolated in the wilderness and vie for cold hard cash and other prizes such as trips and cars. The show exercises a progressive elimination scheme, allowing the contestants to vote off a tribe member, until only one final contestant remains and wins the title of “Sole Survivor”. The format for Survivor was created in 1992 by Charlie Parsons, and the first production of it was the Swedish show Expedition: Robinson in 1997.”

The videos on these websites are of high quality so its not like your going to be watching some third level hack video. Plus, like on a lot of other unnamed websites (ABC/NBC/CBS) you don’t have to sit through grueling advertisements which can often become quite annoying! Personally, I really like websites like this because as aforementioned it does help keep me in the loop but it also gets me interested in shows I may not have heard of before! I am all about watching my regular shows but if I see something that interests me, I’m willing to give it a whirl! Some other reality TV shows that you should check out are: American Idol, Real World, The Apprentice, and the ever popular Amazing Race!

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 

When it comes to the Winter line up TV tends to bring a lot of new shows that really end up being some of our all time favorite shows even though sometimes they are often mixed with some so-called “duds”. Sometimes when it comes to wading through all the “bad” shows to get to the good shows it can become a little difficult but in the end its usually worth it. The thing about TV shows is that not everyone will like the same stuff as you, and you wont like the same stuff as other people. But if your looking for a few TV shows to watch, there is an easier way to go about this to make your life a little bit easier! When it comes to websites, there are a dime a dozen, but sometimes you might just find a little gem that you really will get a lot of use out of.

In order to find these websites your going to have to check out a few sites before you find the right one but once you do your home free! When it comes to the Winter line up there are usually a few different categories your going to be looking at or finding. These include categories such as reality, prime time, new shows, and series shows that either contain new or old shows that we have or haven’t seen. Once you find the website you like you will most likely be able to find some or all of the categories above which then will allow you to view a few shows from each category.

These types of websites are most likely going to be blogs so you can be assured that you will either get a little “sneak peak” of the show or that there will be some sort of a description so you can decide if you will or will not like the show. Plus the videos on these websites are usually from a place that doesn’t have a ton of commercials and ads, or any at all. I hate watching a TV show or a preview online and sites like ABC or CBS tries to fill the video up with a bunch of unneeded ads! I often find these websites quickly help me evaluate if I am going to watch a new show or not.

For instance, a show like How I Met Your Mother just didn’t seem interesting to me at all, but Ghost Whisperer (when it first appeared) sounded like something I would like and I really love Jennifer Love Hewitt over “Doogie Howser” any day of the week. So I gave it a try and voila, I loved it and still watch it even today!

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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

NBC’s lineup in prime time is good. Their shows are watchable, enjoyable and have that touch of quirky that audiences are looking for but something keeps the NBC show schedule from dominating the ratings game. Not even Jay Leno and the perennial Tonight Show could dominate after the news spot. NBC hopes moving the extremely quirky Conan O’Brien to the Tonight Show time slot will help the Peacock TV Network beat the once quirky but now cranky David Letterman. They may be right.

Courtesy of NBC

The Super Bowl pushed their ratings to the top but this secular holiday only comes, like Christmas, once a year and unfortunately NBC doesn’t get to be Santa Claus every year since the Super Bowl is shared with two other networks. All in all, their lineup for each evening is good but it is “watchable good” or “DVR good”? If there was a network with the most shows on a DVR then NBC might win.

NBC brought back Knight Rider with celebrity stars so hot they melt the pixels on the HDTV. Deanna Russo makes us glad that HD has arrived but her piercing eyes can’t beat the all-time favorite, American Idol. The DVR needs to work overtime to get both shows on it.

NBC’s biggest winner is The Office and rightfully so. It is well-done and a sign that a great sitcom can make it against the toughest of odds. 30 Rock fits into the same mold of an excellent sitcom. Both have critical acclaim and both have and will endure. In order for NBC’s line-up to lead the ratings it needs to see what America wants to watch. Heroes started strong and has influenced movies, books and even comics. Plot twists and the lack of character underpinning makes it difficult to follow. It too is a top DVR choice simply because it goes head to head with the best drama on TV in Fox’s 24 and it takes several viewings to understand the latest twists.

What does NBC need to do to grab the ratings? It certainly isn’t producing better shows (so My Own Worst Enemy could have used some tweaks). It does quirky better than most with My Name Is Earl and Kath and Kim but is quirky enough to win the ratings race? Both shows are like watching Jerry Springer sneaking through a trailer park with his candid camera.

One of the NBC Schedule’s highest rated shows is The Biggest Loser. Why is it so popular? It is simple, we are an obese nation obsessed with food that wants to desperately lose weight while we eat pizza and watch people on TV struggle to lose weight. It is a vicarious weight loss that allows us to be a part of it while feeling none of the pain from it. The Biggest Loser is reality at its secondhand best. And isn’t that way TV is all about?

MEDIA METROPOLIS