Hollywood PC Attacks 'Threat Matrix'

Phil Valentine.com ^ | Tuesday, September 30, 2003 1:00 PM | Phil Valentine

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

From the website;

"Jumping the shark a defining moment when you know that your favorite television program has reached its peak. That instant that you know from now on...it's all downhill. Some call it the climax. We call it "Jumping the Shark." From that moment on, the program will simply never be the same."

http://www.jumptheshark.com/page.htm

[Chancellor Palpatine]

The phrase "jumping the shark" is how you describe shows that pass their prime, and try and counter it by doing something so outrageously stupid that it is obvious that they are desperately trying to stay afloat. The original moment happened on "Happy Days", when Fonzie was water skiing in his leather jacket and juped over a shark.

In the case of JAG, it has jumped the shark on several occasions, including, but not limited to Harm getting his vision restored, all the CIA cloak and dagger stuff, Afghanistan combat, etc.

[TexasCajun]

..I've seen it advertised, but haven't watched it.

I'll have make an effort to support the show from now on if it has the liberial whining.

[Robert Drobot]

Let's not forget ABC is Disney.

Given their enthusiastic support for the homosexual agenda, and propping up of the Hollywood insane like Alex Baldwin, this otherwise good program will no doubt carry storylines that give the sick 2% sympathetic leads and attention.

Disney is IMO one of the primary 'enemies within'.

[Wright is right!]

"Dammit - its opposite "Survivor", a household favorite. And whenever I try to record one thing while watching something else, I screw it up."

You'd REALLY have fits with my setup. I have DirecTV, Comcast cable, and two VCR's. Cable feeds the VCRS, so I can tape TWO shows whilst watching a third. DirecTV feeds - usually - the giant screen, but once a show is taped, we can flip inputs to either VCR to watch that.

We have both satellite and cable because satellite has the better picture BUT we also have a cable modem, which gives us everything on cable TV (except the premiums). It comes in handy during heavy rains when satellite goes down - we still can watch cable.

Beginning tomorrow night, I will now be taping BOTH Survivor AND Threat Matrix, and the Survivor deck will be left on to capture CSI, one of the smartest TV shows I've ever seen. My wife doesn't care for much besides comedy and newsmag shows after a long hard day in the home-bound education field.

Michael

[Grampa Dave]

Actually it came close for us about 3 years ago when its writers went PC.

Since then they have backed away.

Thanks for decoding Jumping the Shark!

[Chancellor Palpatine]

I like CSI - but it is completely improbable. The cops on homicide and narcotics that I know watch it as humor, because they say there ain't no way you can get that kind of work that fast out of the crime lab.

They also all want those little magic flashlights that suddenly highlight those minute crumbs of evidence......

[Grampa Dave]

Thanks for the link and my first new learning experience of the day on Free Republic.

Free Republic is the greatest.

An old and out of date Grampa can ask a question about what "Jumping the Shark" means, and I get a link from you that tells me exactly.

Thanks again.

[Wright is right!]

"The phrase "jumping the shark" is how you describe shows that pass their prime, and try and counter it by doing something so outrageously stupid that it is obvious that they are desperately trying to stay afloat. The original moment happened on "Happy Days", when Fonzie was water skiing in his leather jacket and jumped over a shark."

Or, CP, you could say a show has jumped the shark when it loses sight of its original, winning premise. The West Wing jumped the shark when it became preachy at the beginning of last season. Up till then, it had been a pretty smartly-written, if liberal show. But after it jumped the shark, even my fairly lib wife couldn't stand it.

There are countless examples of TV shows jumping the shark, and one could start a very entertaining thread or two about them.

Michael

[Grampa Dave]

We despise Disney/ABC/Eisner/Jennings. So we were really surprised about this show.

When the Islamokazi was stuffed into the bomb blast containment container, my wife was stunned. Then she laughed and said, "I bet you never thought that you would see that on ABC?"

[Grampa Dave]

Michael, you sound like the tv expert to ask this question.

Is HDTV worth getting into now?

What is the difference between the longer and narrower screens versus the HDTV's that look like a normal tv?

Any other input re HDTV would be appreciated. Our 12 year old RCA will die one of these days. We are on Dish without the hdtv receiver, and I would like to know about HDTV before our old set dies.

Thanks.

[Wright is right!]

"I like CSI - but it is completely improbable. The cops on homicide and narcotics that I know watch it as humor, because they say there ain't no way you can get that kind of work that fast out of the crime lab."

One has to look past the improbably-fast lab work - the rest of the show IS credible. You couldn't put together an entertaining TV show that depicted the actual, glacial movement of material thru a typical crime lab. BUT - what comes OUT of the crime lab is much more important than how fast it comes out, and THAT'S what the show is about. Plus, it has some superb writing and very original situations.

I've been watching Seasons One and Two on DVD, and there was one episode in Season Two where I was worried that the show had jumped the shark.

One of the consistent things on CSI is that the viewer knows and is comfortable with the fact that the CSI's are never in harm's way themselves. That separates it from the stupid-horror-movie genre. But Episode 219 had the team in physical peril and it played like a Freddie-Horror flick. I was appalled. But they snapped out of it and the rest of the season is back in-premise.

Michael

[Pyro7480]

I love CSI too. The thing with each episode though is though it seems like each scene is taking place immediately after the previous, the actual timescale in solving the case is probably over the course of weeks, just like in real life.

[carton253]

A bad episode does not mean a show has jumped the shark...

A bad episode is just that...

That's my only problem with the jumptheshark website. Some of the voters think one episode is jumping the shark.

In the Happy Day's episode where Fonzie (who had never waterskied before and in his leather coat) jumped the shark... it was the beginning of the end. All episodes that followed were just as bad if not worse.

Sorry about the rant!

[Wright is right!]

"Is HDTV worth getting into now? What is the difference between the longer and narrower screens versus the HDTV's that look like a normal tv?"

The window is just now opening on getting HDTV. There are now enough primetime shows and sporting events in HDTV to make the move worthwhile, and the prices for sets have been rapidly been moving into the realm of mainstream affordability. Some things to bear in mind -

You'll need either an outdoor antenna or digital cable to watch the broadcast network offerings in HDTV. It will be years before everything on DirecTV or Dish will be HDTV.

Get a HDTV with the tuner built-in. An HDTV-ready set requires a separate, set-top HDTV tuner, a $300-$500 item. And get a set with a screen large enough to really show off the bennies of HDTV. 40" should be a minimum, and indeed, I can't think of a mfr that makes one smaller.

Get a 16:9 widescreen. The 4:3-ratio sets are Walmart cheapo orphans that you'll be sorry you ever got. Within another 2 years, almost every show on TV will be 16:9, with the exception of some cable channels.

You will most likely get the best picture from Mitsubishi RP HD sets and from plasma and other fixed-pixel displays. Note that not all plasma TV's are HDTV - the one from Gateway, for example, is NOT. The best thing to do is to go to several places and audition a variety of sets. Among the RP's, Mitsu should emerge as a clear winner. Among the plasmas, there are two or three good choices. LCD displays are also fixed-pixel (meaning that no convergence adjustments are ever needed to correct misalignment of the three color tubes on RP sets).

Michael

[Grampa Dave]

Thanks Michael.

I will start a folder re HDTV and your comments will be the first in that new folder.

[smith288]

24 "jumped the shark" to me when the nuke went off in the desert. The rest of the shows appealed to me very little.

[Wright is right!]

"A bad episode does not mean a show has jumped the shark... "

I know that. Which is why I said I was glad that the show got back on-premise in its next epi. With careful writing, CSI could easily run several more seasons. It's very witty.

Michael

[carton253]

My rant wasn't really directed at you... if it seemed that way... I apologize.

[StriperSniper]

I'll have make an effort to support the show from now on if it has the liberial whining.

Yeah, I think I'll also have to give it a try for just that reason. ;-) Not that I have ever watched either one yet, but "Threat Matrix" sounds like the anti-"LeftWest Wing".

P.S. - Hannity is on tonights episode on "Threat" if that floats anyones boat.