10/8 Time Overrun

I've set my DVR to record Heroes every week, and this week it shows Heroes ending at 10:01, same as last week.

Dunno if this will continue, but it's worth it's worth checking each week rather than trusting your DVR.

I was a little shocked that NBC sacrificed the commercials they usually show between shows. They went directly from the end of Heroes to the beginning of Journeyman.

That saved a little 'wear and tear' on my FF button.

I've noticed that some shows, like Gray's Anatomy, will have a really long break about 8 minutes to, then come back for the last 3-4 minutes of the show and go directly into the next one. I think Heroes does this, haven't noticed on others, but they might.

Manipulates the ratings so it can bring in more ad revenue. It works for a while...

Never just set a DVR (or a VCR) to record the show. ALWAYS set it to record from two or three minutes before theoretical start time to 2 or 3 minutes after theoretical end time. ALWAYS!

That's a problem if your DVR only records two shows at a time. If you're recording two shows in an hour, and a previous show leaks into your already scheduled programs, you'll lose the ending. It's a pretty dirty trick by the networks.

Are you sure? Because I sure remember a time when there weren't that many commercials during a 1/2 hour show.

I don't watch Comedy Central, largely because I don't find their so-called comedy funny. Yes, that includes South Park. What's funny about killing off Kenny every week?

We don't get Jack in the Box commercials here. I'm seriously considering starting a campaign for people to write to these idiot companies saying 'why would I want to do business with you? Clearly all your customers are ignorant assholes/too stupid to live!'

Yes, we've noticed.

Memory is a flexible thing. There was a time when shows would be directly sponsored by a single advertiser, and you might actually be able to remember the last days of that.

Very little of it is, unless you're 12 years old.

Even Trey Parker and Matt Stone got tired of that several years ago. About 2/3 of their material is grade school fart jokes and such, but the rest is, at least once in a while, very insightful social commentary. And, because they can produce an episode in as little as two weeks from concept to delivered product, it is often very timely, as well. But it is a very *harsh* humor, I'll grant you that, and easy to miss the social commentary in between all the fart jokes and the singing Christmas poo.

Unfortunately, they know their market all too well. If they can have either the 'too stupid to live assholes' or everyone else as customers, they'll make more money with the 'too stupid to live assholes.'

Carls Jr., the burger joint that owns Hardees now, I swear to God, had an ad campaign for several years, the tag line of which was, and I quote, 'Without us, most guys would starve to death.' (After showing various insulting-to-the-intelligence scenes of men unable to figure out how to cook, or even open a TV dinner.) They were, sadly, almost certainly

You do realize, don't you, that you addressed that to me?

No, he's above you. I should have deleted your address though.

If you count the little '>' markers, you'll find that the stuff inside quotes is mine. He snipped it out, to remove all context, in a childish, Pee Wee Hermanesque attempt to insult me.

Trust me, I know what I posted.