Scott Patterson - Aliens in America #7~ It's been a fun ride... - Page 2

razzlephrat · 05-14-2008, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KbatMO (View Post)

Question NGNM - can you watch American VHS tapes?!

Or even dvds?

Does anyone know what the chances of a one season show with very little following getting a dvd are?

KbatMO · 05-14-2008, 02:24 PM

Eighteen eps. = enough for a DVD! I think there's a good shot. It's extra money for the CW - and DVDs are cheap to produce! I've got all the eps. recorded on DVR - on my cable box. Unfortunately my cable company only lets me copy recordings to a VCR.

There is a way to get it to DVD - but it requires a digital video camera w/ lots of memory (then you upload to computer and burn DVD) ... but I don't own one.

p.s. Amy Pietz was interviewed by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer this past Friday (May 9). There are several revelations about her I never knew ... found v. interesting ... notably a bizarre, real-life coincidence with Luke Danes!
Here's the link!
A Closer Look at Aliens in America's Amy Pietz

razzlephrat · 05-14-2008, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KbatMO (View Post)

Eighteen eps. = enough for a DVD! I think there's a good shot. It's extra money for the CW - and DVDs are cheap to produce! I've got all the eps. recorded on DVR - on my cable box. Unfortunately my cable company only lets me copy recordings to a VCR.

There is a way to get it to DVD - but it requires a digital video camera w/ lots of memory (then you upload to computer and burn DVD) ... but I don't own one.

p.s. Amy Pietz was interviewed by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer this past Friday (May 9). There are several revelations about her I never knew ... found v. interesting ... notably a bizarre, real-life coincidence with Luke Danes!
Here's the link!
A Closer Look at Aliens in America's Amy Pietz

I transferred from my Tivo to my desktop, s'why I suggested.

But good ol' tapes....in ten years you can rewatch and remember all the ridiculous commercials!

and I think it's funny that Amy worked with Lauren and Scott.

KbatMO · 05-14-2008, 02:56 PM

Well - Tivo is different than DVR in that respect. The cable companies are trying to bridge the issues of royalties and such.... But it is easier (and cheaper) to have it work directly through my cable box and remote; and it's in sync with TV programming.

I'm not aware of Amy Pietz having worked with Lauren ... I was referring to the end of the interview with AP, which you can access via the link in my previous post..........

Nogodsnomasters · 05-14-2008, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Question NGNM - can you watch American VHS tapes?!

Quote:

Or even dvds?

Dvds definitely. There are a few VCRs being used at my school, so I could watch a VHS. You two are sweeter than strawberry shortcake on a summer's evening. I'm hoping iTunes will get off their asses and do something. I got a response to my last e-mail today with a promise that they are looking into solving the problem. The last time I got a message like that, "One Hundred Thousand Miles" became available so I'm hopeful (at least about that).

Can't resist:Historic ‘Blockbuster’ Store Offers Glimpse Of How Movies Were Rented In The Past | The Onion - America's Finest News Source
You've gotta love The Onion.

razzlephrat · 05-14-2008, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KbatMO (View Post)

Well - Tivo is different than DVR in that respect. The cable companies are trying to bridge the issues of royalties and such.... But it is easier (and cheaper) to have it work directly through my cable box and remote; and it's in sync with TV programming.

I'm not aware of Amy Pietz having worked with Lauren ... I was referring to the end of the interview with AP, which you can access via the link in my previous post..........

Sorry didn't mean to be rude.

I just meant that Amy working with Lauren surprised me in general cause I've seen the episode of CiTC with LG in it but never knew that was AP.

One of my favorite episodes of any show is the one where Lauren plays a really annoying girlfriend and Amy Pietz just has this excellent line (and delivery) about no two tongues being alike :rofl:

Here's the link if you're interested: YouTube - Christmas Poopie: LG on Caroline In The city

And I think they tried to do that to us with the new upgrades for TiVo (which is DVR) but we never did so we still have the ability to do all that

Damn cable companies! Comcast and Verizon here suck royally.

lancer1993 · 05-15-2008, 03:42 AM

Here we have Austar (Pay TV = Satellite TV)

Well they have a DVR box and it also has the same limits, can't connect a DVR to burn off the stuff recorded on the built in HDD so you can either watch it on the box or delete. That's why I like my LG unit, DVD and HDD, I have to manually change the payTV channel but I can record edit them burn to DVD, and with my PC set up I can even turn them into divx files and get the full season of you average sitcom onto one DVD.

Back on topic - thanks for the Amy and CITC links.

KbatMO · 05-15-2008, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nogodsnomasters (View Post)

Dvds definitely. There are a few VCRs being used at my school, so I could watch a VHS.

Would be no prob/ my pleasure! I'm on i-tunes (for tunes) - I'll log on and send in a complaint, too! The more the merrier.....

Quote:

You've gotta love The Onion.

I haven't read it in a long while - cause it's not as easy to find on Miami Beach vs. in Manhattan! Thx vm for reminding me! Always loved it! Since no feedback, I posted content of above link to article about Amy Pietz. She sounds v. cool! (Underlines are my emphasis!)

Quote:

From link above:
A Closer Look at Aliens in America's Amy Pietz, Friday, May 9, 2008, Last updated 12:00 a.m. PT. By JANICE RHOSHALLE LITTLEJOHN, TV GUIDE

Amy Pietz isn’t afraid to say what’s on her mind. Which isn't surprising, considering she’s spent the last year doing a splendidly didactic turn as Franny Tolchuck, that hyper-involved, middle-class mom on Aliens in America (Sundays at 8:30 pm/ET), the CW’s post-9/11 satire of cultural acceptance in small-town Wisconsin. As much as she would like to think herself world-wise (she did, after all, take in a Muslim exchange student), Franny is influenced by the old-line gospel according to Bill O’Reilly.
Contrarily, Pietz — her political bent leaning more towards socialism — finds O’Reilly “to be really destructive to society,” says the 42-year-old actress. Her observation came only a few days before the Fox News host’s on-air comments about a famed Harlem restaurant had him labeled a racist (apparently dining at black-owned Sylvia’s can be as civilized as in an all-white suburb.)

Narrow-mindedness in real-life is annoying. Playing it for laughs? Golden. And Pietz even approached writers to give Franny more punch when it appeared the “power shifted,” and all the deliciously biting barbs were going to her on-screen hubby, Scott Patterson.

Pietz happily concedes that Franny almost always got to have her say and that the series never lost its sardonic tone. “I could always stand to see maybe a few more jokes here and there that have quite a provocative air about them.” Born in Oak Creek, a suburb of Milwaukee, she was expecting a more enlightened discussion with students when she visited her alma mater to screen an episode of the show at Milwaukee High School of the Arts. Students there seemed less concerned about the show’s sociopolitical observations than they were about “how much I make as an actress.”

Of course, after college Pietz took jobs in television “with the hopes of making money to pay off my student loans” — a four-year run on Caroline in the City played its role in burying the debt. Aliens, however, was all about art. “I took this role with a pay cut and a move to, potentially, Winnipeg because I believed in the script.” So much so, she auditioned three times.

If they hadn’t chosen her, Pietz would have gone back to her other job: birthing babies. It’s what she did during the strike. And it’s what she’s doing now that taping has wrapped. “It has made me a much better woman than I was before,” says Pietz who was inspired to become a doula, or birthing coach, by the people who aided her during the birth of a son whom she gave up for adoption. “Being a doula forces me to tap into the absolute softest parts of myself, the most ….” She pauses a moment and begins to cry. Divorced for about a year from actor Kenneth Alan Williams, Pietz contemplates remarrying some day and having other children. “It’s the most fascinating thing that has, a beginning, a middle and an end — wrap it up and you have this beautiful happy ending. This new soul. How do you explain the beauty of that?” Still teary-eyed, she complains of being “premenstrual.” No need to explain. Then she threatens, “You better not say I was crying.” She wipes a tear and laughs.

Amy Pietz is ... a "doula"!

My ignorance no doubt ... I'd never heard of a doula until Liz had a baby on GG - and I was not sure if it was a real word!! Sad about divorce and adoption ... and amazing she was such terrific, first-rate actress / comedienne with that going on in her real-life. Comedy is the best anodyne for tough times....! Anyway I just thought that was a weird little coincidence connecting AP with Luke Danes baby niece - named "Doula". Maybe not in L.A. - but it is in my parts!! (Hope she's not like the one Sookie had ... "And what are you doing to serve the baby?" She was mean!!!)

lancer1993 · 05-15-2008, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Amy Pietz is ... a "doula"!

My ignorance no doubt ... I'd never heard of a doula until Liz had a baby on GG - and I was not sure if it was a real word!! Sad about divorce and adoption ... and amazing she was such terrific, first-rate actress / comedienne with that going on in her real-life. Comedy is the best anodyne for tough times....! Anyway I just thought that was a weird little coincidence connecting AP with Luke Danes baby niece - named "Doula". Maybe not in L.A. - but it is in my parts!! (Hope she's not like the one Sookie had ... "And what are you doing to serve the baby?" She was mean!!!)

I love that

I wonder if at any point between takes Scott and Amy talked about it?

It is nice her has a normal job to fall back on but it must be a bit of a shock for them, "Hey weren't you on..."

Sad about the baby stuff, I she get all she wants in life.

So no AiA next year and nothing in the upfronts so far for Scott in the next TV season?

razzlephrat · 05-15-2008, 07:54 PM

Thanks for that, Karen. Amy is such a sweetie pie!

KbatMO · 05-15-2008, 07:58 PM

I hope she gets more success and recognition. She deserves it!

KbatMO · 05-16-2008, 11:23 AM

Sorry for 2 successive posts ... wanted to make sure everyone sees this item in today's TVWeek: CW Viability Threatened by Ratings Drop - TVWeek - TVBizWire
The blurb is based on an item in the Wall Street Journal:

Quote:

CW Viability Threatened by Ratings Drop WSJThe viability of the CW network is questionable if ratings don’t rebound, the Wall Street Journal reports. Either CBS Corp. or Warner Bros., the partners behind the network, may withdraw their support if the situation doesn’t improve this year, according to an unnamed source close to the situation, the Journal says. The CW’s ratings have fallen 28% this season among 18-to-34-year olds and have dropped 22% during the sweeps period, the Journal says. CBS Corp. CEO Leslie Moonves declined to comment to the Journal. Warner Bros. Television Group President Bruce Rosenblum is quoted as saying he was disappointed with the CW’s audience size but pointed to the strength of its distribution system and new-series development as positives.
--Danny King

(Underline = my emphasis)
Sounds like justice (!) for dropping all quality programming to me! ... IMHO - all the way back to letting go of the Palladino's - though I realize not every GG fan concurs ... certainly back to the decision to cancel GG. (But if the network hadn't treated the P's so shabbily, I doubt they'd have trounced on the show's plot as thoroughly and irreparably.... And yes - in 2006 it was still the WB - but it was about to become the CW - new top-level corporate bosses - same network executives making stupid, lousy decisions!!) And - in addition to GG and Aliens, it was Everwood - a great show that still had a lot of life in it. Seventh Heaven had been around along time and wasn't my cup of tea ... but it made shows in the CW's current line-up look like Seinfeld or ER!

Tarty History · 05-16-2008, 02:10 PM

Kbat, thank you so much for the CW update. What goes around does come around. CW has made such terrible decisions it was only a matter of time that they would lose viewers.

I agree with you regarding the Palladinos, very bad decision in letting them go. And not finding a way to keep GG...major blunder for the CW. Incredibly they didn't even seem to realize it.

The CW basically ignored Aliens while promoting some of their other vapid programming. Felt like an episode out of the Twilight Zone!! CW wished Aliens to the cornfield!!

*deep breath* Rant over

lancer1993 · 05-16-2008, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KbatMO (View Post)

Sorry for 2 successive posts ... wanted to make sure everyone sees this item in today's TVWeek: CW Viability Threatened by Ratings Drop - TVWeek - TVBizWire
The blurb is based on an item in the Wall Street Journal:

(Underline = my emphasis)
Sounds like justice (!) for dropping all quality programming to me! ... IMHO - all the way back to letting go of the Palladino's - though I realize not every GG fan concurs ... certainly back to the decision to cancel GG. (But if the network hadn't treated the P's so shabbily, I doubt they'd have trounced on the show's plot as thoroughly and irreparably.... And yes - in 2006 it was still the WB - but it was about to become the CW - new top-level corporate bosses - same network executives making stupid, lousy decisions!!) And - in addition to GG and Aliens, it was Everwood - a great show that still had a lot of life in it. Seventh Heaven had been around along time and wasn't my cup of tea ... but it made shows in the CW's current line-up look like Seinfeld or ER!

ITA - they messed up big time with ASP and in my mind no matter how much she screwed up L&L I'd like to think she would have made a much better final season of GG. As for Aliens, well if they actually promoted the show, not one talk show was a big mistake. All they have going for them right now is the buzz around Gossip and a few reality shows.

KbatMO · 05-16-2008, 04:58 PM

Plus declining ratings! And while I feel bad if it will mean that people not responsible for those terrible decisions will lose jobs ... I cannot help but gloat - at least a little. Above all, I hope it's a small comfort to Scott and everyone who worked on Aliens in America - 'the fault (dear Brutus) lies not in the stars ... but in the CW!'