>>>>>>BTW if you want the Olympics you can have it. I don't see why I should be subsiding a bunch of lycra clad drug addicts running jumping and throwing things.
>>>>>
>>>>>You shouldn't have to. Clubs matching that profile are what *made* the disco era <g>
>>>>>
>>>>>( you could probably sublet your place during the Olympics for enough to fund a year in the south of France )
>>>>
>>>>Definitely. Maybe that would take the sting out of it for Grumpy Nick.
>>>>
>>>>Back to the Super Bowl, I read an excellent article online this morning about the Packers victory rally at Lambeau Field yesterday. They sold tickets for $5 (reportedly resold for up to $200) and they sold out in two hours, despite zero-ish temperatures. The players and coaches walked along the stands, exchanging high fives and letting fans touch the Lombardi Trophy. My favorite quote was from a lady who said she touched Aaron Rodgers's pinkie and is never going to wash her hands again ;-) There really is something special about the bond between team and town. Green Bay is the Packers and the Packers are Green Bay. Even a California kid like Rodgers clearly loves it there.
>>>>
>>>>http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2010/news/story?id=6101078
>>>>
>>>>The game did indeed break viewership records. As I said before, I think it was a perfect storm involving the crap winter, the blue collar teams competing, and escape from the economy and financial worries.
>>>>
>>>>http://www.rttnews.com/Content/EntertainmentNews.aspx?Section=2&Id=1547372&SM=1
>>>
>>>Funny, it was pointed out that viewing numbers and attendance numbers are skewed as the market grows, ticket prices increase etc.
>>>
>>>But there is another factor at work. A couple years ago, two episodes of the Beverly Hillbillies ranked among the top TV ratings of all time.
>>>
>>>*Because there was nothing else on ! *
>>>
>>>Not sure how old you have to be to remember pre-cable TV with 3 channels. Competition was not stiff. On Friday night you had a choice of Bishop Sheen, boxing or some Albanian spinning plates on a unicycle. I think Gunsmoke was on opposite I Remember Mama.
>>>
>>>Last night - Tuesday - The Good Wife, Detroit 187, Southland, White Collar and Lights Out - every one of which better than anything that was on TV prior to about 1995 - were all on at the same time.
>>>
>>>Movies in the GWTW era didn't compete with TV and movies in color in 1939 didn't even compete with a lot of other movies. And studios owned the movie theaters (each showing 1 movie) , the stars and the movie press so they had the option of leaving it out there for as long as it took.
>>>
>>>Things change. <g>
>>
>>Of course. I remember very well the time when there were only three channels. And we watched them! I can name shows much worse than the ones you cite. (The Albanian spinning plates sounds interesting, though).
>>
>>In my house the question after dinner was not what we should do. It was which show should we watch. My mom subscribed to TV Guide and kept the current issue in a leather bound holder. "Ooooh, Johnny Carson has a special...." I withdrew from that scene as soon as I realized I had been dropped on my head. To this day I watch very little scripted television, even shows I am assured are excellent.
>>
>>Maybe I am prepared to make an exception, at least on a trial basis. After all the Super Bowl ads for "The Chicago Code" I set it up to record. It's set in Chicago so I am going to check it out. I think there is some connection to "The Shield" as well.
>
>I really really liked Chicago Code. The male protag is the guy who played in Showtimes "Brotherhood" based on Whitey Bulger and his brother - except in RI. He is Irish, I think but nailed RI accent and now does Chicago Pollack perfectly.
>
>Tonight at 10 on FX is open of season 2 for Justified !!!!! Very very cool show based on Elmore Leonard's Raylan Givens character. Give it a try.


I'm still disappointed in FX for canceling Terriers :( I'll probably catch Justified though. Here is a statement by FX President John Landgraf on its cancellation:

"We wish there was a perfect intersection between all that is good and all that is successful," he said. "But the reality is that there's a relatively poor correlation between excellence and commercial success. And what we said at FX all along was, we intend to find the points where those two things intersect." In its "at bats" over the past decade or so, Langraf noted, FX has a batting average of about .500, in terms of shows that were successful and those that weren't. "And we're going to keep swinging. We're going to keep plugging. We're going to renew the shows that hit both those targets and keep them on the air for a long long time and the ones that miss either one of those targets, we're going to move on."