Yes, The River on ABC is a limited run (8 episodes) series but after watching the first two episodes last night I have to say that I am intrigued by the story which The River has to tell. It has elements of Lost, The Blair Witch Project, The Shining and Paranormal Activity to it. It's a found-footage concept which may or may not have been overdone in recent years but still works because viewers know that there is likely an endpoint to The River.
The central story is about the mysterious disappearance of Dr. Emmet Cole who, for over 20 years, was the central star of a fictional nature show in which his family was heavily featured. A film crew, along with Cole's son, wife and a longtime childhood friend of Dr. Cole's son meet in the Amazon River in an attempt to locate and rescue Dr. Emmet Cole.
The River's major flaw, unfortunately, is bad acting. The British actor playing Dr. Cole's son is brutal in the delivery of his sometimes forced and cheesy lines. But what is lost in the bad acting is made up for in the suspense. Oh, sure, we see a glimpse of the spirit-like being or monster which is likely responsible for the mayhem in this uncharted area of the Amazon River but unlike Lost, which made viewers wait for what seemed like forever for an explanation or even a glimpse of the smoke monster, The River gets right down to business -- knowing that they have a mere eight hours to wrap the story up.
I wouldn't worry about The River on ABC being drawn out beyond its initial eight episode run because its lackluster ratings last night seem to indicate that it's a one and done. So sit back and enjoy the suspense which The River has to offer. It settles in to its permanent timeslot next Tuesday at 8 PM central on ABC.
The oil boom in North Dakota's oil patch is huge. The buzz about the millions of dollars just waiting to be made doing the hardest form of work can make your mind race. But seeing this intensity, action and drama captured on film in the form of an extended teaser for what could very well be the first reality show ever set in North Dakota is almost exhilarating.
The real alluring part of the potential series is that the series focuses on five sisters -- all natives of the area surrounding Williston, North Dakota -- as they earn their livings in an oil boom town. From a welder to a septic truck driver to a bartender these women put a different face on the explosive growth taking place in North Dakota's oil patch. No gritty drama focused solely on guys on the oil rigs -- that instead is replaced with the every day goings ons of these women who struggle each day to deal with the influx of a mainly male group of workers who have left everything behind for the chance at a better life.
I'm curious which cable channel will land "Boomtown Girls" because it's not a matter of if it's a matter of when a cable outlet premieres a show focused on the North Dakota oil boom in the Bakken oil patch.
To summarize the Madonna Superbowl halftime show in one word is easy: bland. Madonna's career has now spanned four decades and the best she could do was put on a Superbowl halftime show which left me reaching for my remote and actually asking my wife to flip back to the Lifetime movie which I had pried her away from. And how in the holy hell did the hacks who make up schlock-rap due LMFAO get a spot alongside Madonna. It was a contrast of polar opposites. On one hand there's Madonna who is a legitimate performer with 30 years of experience and on the other hand there's LMFAO who are relative flashes in the pan. They've had two pop hits in the past calendar year and will likely be forgotten in five, hell, two years but they get to duet with Madonna for a few seconds because they guest on a track on Madonna's new CD? I could make my hair look entirely stupid and wear spandex too but I don't have a spot during the Superbowl halftime show with Madonna, do I?
All told, a Superbowl show featuring a recording artist who has a storied and deep career is the norm. We'll never see a Superbowl halftime show in my lifetime featuring a hot and now artist or a rising star in the music world. Instead we're subjected to an artist or band with a deep catalog of tracks because the Superbowl is about mass appeal. If it were anything else it would have all the popularity of the Puppy Bowl.
By the way, anyone know who won the Puppy Bowl? I was working.
Kelly Clarkson puts her own slight twist on the National Anthem prior to Superbowl XLVI. A damn good performance of the National Anthem at the Superbowl compared to some prior performances and Kelly Clarkson is a much more seasoned and talented performer than some who have belted out the National Anthem at the Superbowl.
As you can see, Kelly Clarkson is a much more suitable singer for the National Anthem at the Superbowl that someone like Jewel or Cher and especially Christina Aguilera who, in my opinion, ruined any chance of a comeback she had.
It is my understanding that websites which aggregate content would definitely be in a grey area when it comes to supposed piracy under the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect Intelectual Property Act) bills proposed by congress. MinnPics is one of those websites. None of the content posted to MinnPics is mine. While it is all linked back to its original owner and is all user-contributed content openly available on the popular Yahoo-owned photo sharing website Flickr, the company which I use to host MinnPics could pull down the website in order to protect themselves in fear of further retribution under SOPA and PIPA.
While I highly doubt that it would actually come to a consequence so dire that MinnPics would cease to exist, imagine your favorite website going away because of either fear of lawsuits or actual lawsuits from people wielding far too much power under new and unjust legislation.
There definitely is a problem with piracy in America but such broad and generalized legislation like SOPA and PIPA is not the solution. With two major lobbyist groups (The Motion Picture Association of America - MPAA and Recording Industry Association of America - RIAA) fighting tooth and nail against the technological advances in the world since the late 1990s instead of embracing those advances and finding alternative business models maybe not entirely centered on those models but using them to their power they have instead sued the largest consumers of their products (music and movies) and obviously lobbied extremely hard to have the result be the SOPA and PIPA legislation being seriously considered by congress.
Instead of fighting change, it's time for the RIAA and MPAA to embrace the changes of the past decade and reinvent themselves or vanish enitrely. Maybe those two associations will go the way of Sears, KMart and numerous other retailers who failed to act swiftly in our increasingly online-centered world.
Call or write your U.S. senators and representatives and find out if they support or oppose SOPA and PIPA. If they support it and you oppose it, express your displeasure to them or leave a message expressing your displeasure. In the end, its passage in its current form could mean the end of many websites as well as the possibility that websites could vanish without due process under the fear of stiff penalties. I love curating MinnPics and don't make a single cent from it but would hate to have it vanish. Say no to SOPA and PIPA.
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