TV bits

[cellio]

Someone is getting a new trial in a murder case because of false testimony: "An expert witness for the state testified that Yates may have been influenced by an episode of the TV show "Law & Order" in which [...]. No such show ever aired. Yates was convicted in 2002". It took her attorneys this long to notice that? (Ok, I assume they filed the appeal a while ago, but isn't this sort of thing the reason that the sides are required to share their evidence with each other in advance? Shouldn't this have been caught before the trial ended?)

Last night I got a call from a TV-market-research outfit. First they asked how many nights anyone in the house watches anything that airs during prime time, and after thinking a moment I said "4". (I should have said "3"; I forgot that Jack & Bobby airs on Sunday at 6, not 8. Oops.) This exactly matches the number of shows anyone in the house watches, so they probably drew an incorrect conclusion from my answer, but I answered the question they asked.

They then asked to speak with the oldest male resident age 18-49, but he said talking to him would be pointless so they took me instead. It sounds like I get to be part of a test market for some new shows; they'll call me to ask me to watch something and, if I do, they'll call me right afterwards to get my feedback. Could be interesting, and if not there's no obligation, so I told them sure. Who knows, they might air something that's really good but risky, and maybe my feedback will count for something. We'll see. Not as good as being a Nielsen family, but we do what we can. :-)

Comments

[ginamariewade.livejournal.com]

Hold out for well written, well acted, original, and informative.

I'm so sick of variations on the theme of people eating bugs for fame and money.

[cellio]

The chance of my having a positive reaction to people eating bugs for fame and money is pretty low.

[siderea]

See, it pleases me to think that somewhere, out in the wide world, well-fed westerners are eating bugs for fame and money. I have no desire whatsoever to watch them do so. Just mere report is adequate to my purposes. :D

[cellio]

Oops. I actually meant to write "watching people...". I, like you, can be amused by people who don't need to do so doing it; I just don't know why I'd want to watch.

Actually...

[tangerinpenguin.livejournal.com]

...I bet Alton Brown could make it worthwhile, even if you couldn't apply it personally.

[anniemal.livejournal.com]

If I think hard, "As Time Goes By" and "Waiting for God" come to mind as favourites, but dumb forensics shows fill time while the laundry dries/gets checked/hung. We have replay, but laundry fits commercial breaks. Old movies are nice, sometimes, too.

I don't care who eats bugs. In/on Borneo, according to my ex-boyfriend whose sister studied orangutans there, a certain 6" pink caterpillar was considered a delicacy. Even I have recipes for crickets and mealworms (great for roughage and protein). I'm guessing there's an "UGH!" sort of laughtrack to those.

Good luck skewing their sample to the better.

Oops

[anniemal.livejournal.com]

I was back to thinking about shows with people eating bugs and garbled my modifiers.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

As I understand it, the fact that the "expert witness" made shit up was discovered at the time, but the judge ruled that fact inadmissable, which is why there's a mistrial.

[cellio]

Ah, thanks. I didn't follow the original trial, so all this is new to me. (In general I do not follow the trials that the media has decreed to be a big deal, and I seem to recall this being one. I'm more interested in what's going on out of prominent view.)

[sue-n-julia.livejournal.com]

Being part of the Neilsen family is not all it's cracked up to be. Especially in my demographic. In fact, Juliana and I kept forgetting to mark what we were watching as our viewing habits are sporadic and half the time, the TV stays on as background noise (or to make the bird happy).

S

[cellio]

That would be a nuisance, yes. I, on the other hand, watch TV with premeditation only; I don't channel-surf, but rely on word of mouth, sometimes a commercial advertising a new show, and keeping up with some of the usual suspects (e.g. web sites for shows I care about, to learn about related shows). I'd welcome the chance to do my miniscule part to increase the proportion of thoughtful, intelligent programming on network TV.