Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with tvshow

Yes, another gift question. Sorry.

Mavri — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:31:22 -0800

What would be a good TV show to give to a person with Alzheimer's? A family member has Alzheimer's. I've always given him books for gifts, but he can't really follow them anymore. (He's a history buff, especially WWII and military history.) His wife says he likes NCIS and the CSI's. She also says she doesn't think he could follow a show with complex, season-long plots, like Lost or the Wire.

I would kind of like to avoid getting him DVD's of a show that's on TV all the damn time, like NCIS and the CSI's. Any suggestions for hour-long dramas that are both engrossing and stand-alone? It doesn't necessarily have to be an American show, but something with thick accents might be hard to follow for him.

Any other suggestions related to the military history and WWII aspects are welcome too--good documentaries, for example.

How to find out about new TV shows without having to check various websites or actually watch TV

saladpants — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 21:25:07 -0800

Is there an RSS feed that can inform me about new TV shows that are coming out, and only new TV shows? Since I watch almost all of my television by DVR, I don't often see commercials for new shows anymore, and then I hear from friends that I should watch X show about 6 weeks after it starts...too late to get into it. They tell me to watch episodes on Hulu or other such sites, but my internet connection isn't fast enough for that, and where I live I have no faster option.

This post was helpful for identifying when shows I watch come back for a new season from a hiatus, but doesn't do anything to identify new shows I may be interested in. I don't particularly want to subscribe to a general TV feed like from TV guide, since that contains loads of information I have no interest in. I just want something that tells me what new program is coming out, and contains an explanation or description of that show, or a link to such information. Any thoughts?

Is it foolish to start watching Jericho now?

sharkfu — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 07:49:51 -0800

TV show Jericho fans: Is it foolish to start watching the series now, knowing that it has been abruptly canceled and feature film plans aren't guaranteed? Or should I walk away before I get too invested? I caught a couple episodes from the middle of the first season of Jericho the other day and I really liked it... but is foolish to continue watching since we already know it has been canceled (for the 2nd time it appears) and a feature film may never happen?

Should I willingly invest in story that will end without closure or is it an enjoyable experience despite the abrupt end?

(Note: Wikipedia mentioned the possibility of a comic book, but I probably wouldn't read that)

Scary kids' show with a monster in the bed?

arianell — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:36:39 -0800

My brother is trying to locate a kids' show/movie from the late 90s involving a monster that moves through a child's bed. It would have aired in either 1998 or 1999, and my brother is pretty sure it wasn't an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark (plus, Wikipedia's list of episodes doesn't contain anything that meets his description).

All he remembers is that the monster looked sort of like Swamp Thing, and that it had a necklace made of the toys and bones of its conquests. He thinks the protagonist of the story was a young boy with an older brother.

Our information is vague enough that Google hasn't been much help.

Historybusters?

tim_in_oz — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:58:52 -0800

What is the TV show in which people recreate ancient technology? It's bugging Mrs Oz and I. I've definitely seen an episode of something in which engineers recreate (or attempt to recreate) Caesar's famous bridge across the Rhine. I'm pretty certain other episodes dealt with moving stone and making siege engines. For the love of god, what is the TV series??

90's tv show skit about deviled eggs?

azuresunday — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:48:45 -0800

Mystery TV show segment - in the early 90's (I think) there was an American cable television show which had a cutaway gag about the history of movie theater popcorn. The joke was that before popcorn was invented, concession stands sold deviled eggs. Help me find it! I'm pretty sure I saw this on cable in the early to mid-90's as a kid, most likely on Nickelodeon. My first thought was Pete & Pete, or maybe a Bill Nye the Science Guy skit, but Google is failing me. If I remember correctly, the actual gag featured a 1950's era concession stand with a popcorn machine stuffed full of deviled eggs, which an employee was hurriedly shoveling into paper trays for a crowd of customers. Am I crazy?

Real Time with Bill Maher Tickets

shortbooks — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:25:15 -0800

How do I get tickets to be in the audience for Real Time with Bill Maher?

Name this TV program

tslugmo — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:44:06 -0800

I think it was PBS, a roundtable discussion about a hypothetical ticking timebomb and what each branch of society thought should be done. I believe there were 3 panels: law enforcement, attorneys, and politicians. I think the host was an African-American male. I only caught a minute of this, and it was a couple years ago, but it looked really interesting. The way I vaguely remember it there were several tables and at each were members of a community, like attorneys, and they'd weigh in on things like whether to torture, or how far they'd go, and why. Does anybody know the name of this program? Even better, where I might be able to stream it? Thanks!

Tracking down a Big Bang Theory sweatshirt

craven_morhead — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 20:07:32 -0800

I'm looking for a sweatshirt that the character Penny (Kaley Cuoco) wears in the last episode of the first season, "The Tangerine Factor." It's yellow and orange, with fairly intricate designs. Seen here. Any ideas?

Generally I try not to admit anymore that I actually used to read fanfiction, but here I'll make an exception.

Quidam — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:05:44 -0800

Is there a term for the type of person that tends to becomes an obsessive fan of a particular book, movie, TV show, etc.? Sometimes obscure, sometimes not so obscure? You know what I'm talking about? People that find a book/movie/TV show and have read/watched it a zillion times, and are a part of the online fan club, and the online forums, and have been to the fan convention, and read or write the fanfiction, and generally just get way, way, way more excited about it than the average person. My roommate is like this with all things Anne of Green Gables. I had one friend who was like this with the X Files and Roswell, and another who was like this with CSI and Harry Potter. There was a short-lived TV show on CBS called Christy that I'm like this about, among others.

I guess you could just call it an obsessive fan, but I feel like it attracts a certain type of personality. Like, for example, if I find a new TV show that I really like, you can bet your butt I'm gonna be on the website and all the fan websites and I'm going to be looking for spoilers and I'm going to be generally doing everything I can to get as much information on my hands as possible about it. But I also know tons of people who might be really big fans of, say, Grey's Anatomy or what have you, and might never miss an episode, but it would never occur to them to do anything other than just watch the show. Actually, they would probably think it would be totally weird to do anything else.

I ask because it was just recently that I found out I had this in common with my roommate, and it's spawned tons of "oh my gosh, you did that TOO?" conversations, and generally created a bond between us of "I am so glad you understand what I'm talking about, because most people I know totally don't."

So. Maybe this is totally unanswerable, but is there a name for that? That type of person that has a propensity towards this behavior? Anyone know what the heck I'm talking about?

Everyone's personality is the same!

carpyful — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:15:49 -0800

Help me find a video I saw a couple of months ago: It's a clip of a foreign tv show where the host asks a bunch of random people to write their names, and afterwards he gives them each a private envelope that describes the that individual's personality. Everyone says that their envelope is amazingly accurate. In the end, he asks each person to switch envelopes with one another, and they all see that the same thing is written in every envelope. Sorry if I'm not being clear. Basically, the paper that describes the personality is vague, complementary, and far-reaching enough that everyone feels like they can relate to it. Everyone thinks that the host somehow knows everything about them, when in fact, everyone's envelope is identical.

I'm pretty sure I saw the video on Digg, but I'm not positive and my google-fu is failing me.

I found this video particularly interesting because a couple of years back, I went on a site that was very similar. I typed in my name and it described my personality, which I thought was very accurate (although, in hindsight, it was mostly vague, saying like, "you're shy, but you are confident when you need to be"). Bonus points if you can find that site as well.

Sorry for the long explanation, but mefites, I need your help!

The 10 minute Sex and the City

bluefly — Wed, 28 May 2008 04:54:22 -0800

Can you point me towards a concise summary of the major events from the entire run of the Sex and the City show? My friend invited me to go to see the movie with her this weekend, but I think I've only seen 2 episodes of the show, and neither of them had "Mr. Big" in them, which I gather from the commercials is a rather major character. I tried reading the TWOP recaps, but they're just too long to get through by Saturday. Is there a summary somewhere which can fill me in on enough of the show to appreciate the film?

divx? DVD? what?

youngergirl44 — Thu, 22 May 2008 11:27:21 -0800

I want to rip my TV Series DVD's and store the episodes on my computer (Windows 2003 or XP). Can someone tell me what hardware I need to do this? Just a DVD drive in the computer? I've found some software information, including this old AskMe thread, but updated recommendations would be helpful. I'm not going to share the shows with anyone. I just want to be able to watch a whole day's worth of these shows without changing discs in a DVD player or selecting episodes from a menu.

It's technically a gift for my BF, but I'm going to enjoy it too. He mentioned something about getting a divx encoder. Is that the same as the divx software or is it an actual drive to install?

Usually I'm not this bad with technology, but ripping DVD's or even burning our home movies to a disc isn't something I've ever tried to do before.

What was this TV show?

JFP — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 08:09:20 -0800

A young, lonely girl meets a mysterious man in a television set in her grandparents' attic. She secretly meets the man in the TV every night, falling in love. He persuades her to help him come through so they can be together for real. She does, unwittingly opening a transdimensional invasion route for his evil army. What was the title of this show? It was made in the mid- to late 70s. A children's production similar to the ABC After School Specials. I recall that the man from the other side of the TV had black hair and pale skin. The girl was brown haired, and stocky, as I remember. I believe the show was an episode from a television anthology. At the end of the story, one of the last scenes was the closed attic door, with bright green light pulsing underneath and around the jambs.

This one's got me worse than a word on the tip of the tongue! I've been scouring IMDB and trying blunt internet searches with no luck. Does anyone remember this show?

Hey, remember crazy mannequin shows from the 80's?

pedmands — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:54:55 -0800

Here's a semi-tough one (at least, I think). TV show from the 80's, had at least one character that was a mannequin who would come to life after you placed his cabbie-hat on him... I remember him being in a department store at the top of an escalator, something to that effect. There was also an episode in which a live character was home sick and he brought her chicken soup, I think. There was also a computer and an owl. Damned if I don't sound crazy.

This one has been bugging me and my lady all day, to the extent that I passed up my chance this week to ask an anonymous Q that's been bothering me... impulsive, I know, but necessary.

Thanks.

A TV Show's name?

zouhair — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 16:51:23 -0800

What is this TV show that teach classical music? I once saw a Black & White TV Show (seems around the '60 but not sure) of a conductor that "conduct" an orchestra in a theatre. All the show is about explaining insight of classical music by talking to the audience and then turning back to the orchestra to conduct an example. This was one of the greatest thing I've ever seen, so if you know anything, don't keep it to yourself, or I'll have to use non-torturing techniques like waterboarding. Nah just kidding

Name that TV show. Gasmasks, hotel rooms, eggs and dead maids.

slimepuppy — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 05:04:52 -0800

Name that TV show. Gasmasks, hotel rooms, eggs and dead maids. I saw this a few years back in the UK, it was the final few minutes of what I think was an American TV show. It involved a maid walking into a hotel room to find a man in the bathroom wearing a gasmask injecting chicken eggs with some kind of biological agent. The man is surprised and he drops one of the eggs. It cracks open and the maid slumps down and dies practically instantly. The man calmly packs away the rest of the eggs and, now shown from a first person point of views, walks out of the room to find a few more people dead in the hallway, obviously because of whatever he was doing. End credits.

What was this show and is it as good as this one brief sequence makes me think it is?

Not the King Biscuit Flour Hour...

stefnet — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 11:47:32 -0800

I have a vague memory of some show airing during the early 1980s that I think was sponsored by Robin Hood Flour or maybe King Arthur Flour. I have little to no recollection of what happened on the show (some sort of baking challenge for kids maybe?) but I know that I would watch it around lunchtime when I had half-days of kindergarten. It could have been either a PBS or CBC show as we got CKWS out of Kingston, Ont. in my village in Upstate NY. Robin Hood Flour sounds right, so I'm leaning toward it being a Canadian show. Does this ring any bells with anyone?

Name That Song...

slim — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 07:40:56 -0800

Can anyone name this song from the end of an entourage episode? Short clip, what is the name of the song and artist at the end?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tusYhgxkWEU

How do I pitch a TV show for the Travel Channel?

DoctorFedora — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 18:33:22 -0800

How do you pitch a TV show idea, particularly if it's unsolicited? A friend of mine and I have an idea for a show for the Travel Channel, and I'm sure that there have been plenty of other people trying to pitch similar ideas, but I'm wondering whether or not it would even be POSSIBLE to pitch the idea.

There's also the question of whether basic cable would be able to pay enough for living expenses, at least temporarily, but that is of course a secondary issue beyond simply getting the green light.

Help me identify this cliche

lalalana — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 13:07:39 -0800

Help me identify/find examples of this movie/tv relationship cliche: attractive, intelligent, uptight, bossy woman plus attractive, jocky, loose cannon, cocky-funny guy equals sparks fly, with arguing ? Maybe like Moonlighting? I haven't seen the show since I was a kid, but it seems right. Maybe also like Baloo and Rebecca from the Disney TV show TailSpin (except sexier and not as, you know, furry)? Maybe like X-Files except Mulder's not flirty enough and Scully's too nice?

Any examples? This is a cliche, right?

Chief Whatshisname?

gnutron — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 12:21:50 -0800

[ChildhoodMemoryFilter]...I'm trying to remember the name of a TV program I watched as a child in Philadelphia in the 80s. It was a variety show hosted by a Native American. I vividly recall watching this program as a child, but I can't remember what it was called. I am drawing nothing but blanks and my google-fu is failing me.

I grew up in Philadelphia in the 80s, and I think it may have been just a local thing. If I recall correctly, it was on weekend mornings around cartoon time. The host was a Native American (or at least pretended to be one) and the acts were usually children singing and/or dancing. The host was the kind old man type, wearing a feather headdress. I'm pretty sure 'Chief' was in the show title.

Updates on tv House Flippers

Iax — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 19:43:46 -0800

Any fan sites with updates on the tv house flipping shows that are on A&E or HGTV? My mom really likes watching these shows, and she heard that there are fan sites out there that track down the MLS listings and the people involved in the house flipping, and find out what the houses really sell for, because most of the time the show doesn't even tell you if it sold.

Ive tried to find something like that, but have failed.

I remember it was in a deserty place too!

KingoftheWhales — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 22:43:53 -0800

Help me remember the name of a show that I used to watch! It was a sort of futuristic (possibly post-apocalyptic) gladiator arena where the contestants fought in large (think gundam wing) sized battle suits that couldn't fly. I remember watching it in the 90's as a youngin. It was all 3d computer animation, around the same time (I think) as the transformers: beast wars series.

Help me learn the name of a TV Show!

Effigy2000 — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 22:55:48 -0800

A few years ago (possibly in or around the year 2000), while channel surfing, I remember catching parts of a TV show on Australia's ABC which was set in Australia's federal Parliament House. I don't have a clue what it was called though, and my searching has turned up nothing. I think it might have been a comedy, too. Anyone know what show this is?