MetaFilter posts tagged with abc

A bad weekend for Scientology

CunningLinguist — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:26:50 -0800

"I am only ashamed that I waited this many months to act. I hereby resign my membership in the Church of Scientology." In a blistering letter that calls out some church lies, "Crash" director Paul Haggis quits Scientology after 35 years over its support for Prop 8. He says he was also influenced by this acclaimed St Pete Times series. The high level defection comes as ABC began running a multipart expose of the church that included choice video of Scientology spokesman Tommy Davis storming off when asked about the alien lord Xenu.

Homelessness in Sydney

bystander — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:38:04 -0800

"I always had this picture in my head a homeless person is they're got torn dirty clothes, they're not shaven, they're, they're sort of sitting in the corner you know waiting for a handout and that was my and to think that - I'm not in that category - but I don't have a home for my family."
A report from Australia's Four Corners documentary TV show looking into homeless families in Western Sydney. Link has video and a transcript, plus background info.

Upside down! Upside down!

Effigy2000 — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:28:41 -0800

Mr Squiggle, the Man from 93 Crater Crescent, the Moon, turns 50 today. Created by cartoonist and puppeteer Norman Hetherington, who would take children's scribbles and then craft it into a drawing, Mr Squiggle, along with friends Gus the Snail, Bill the Steam Shovel and the ever grumpy Blackboard (whom Mr Squiggle would use as an easel, being told to "Hu-rry u-p, hu-rry u-p" as he did) has been something of an institution for generations of Australian kids. Relive some of the magic...

Teens in ABC Documentary: Oral Sex Is the New Goodnight Kiss

eiro0701 — Fri, 29 May 2009 02:41:06 -0800

ABC News After four years researching for the documentary, Azam told "Good Morning America" that oral sex is as common as kissing for teens and that casual prostitution -- being paid at parties to strip, give sexual favors or have sex -- is far more commonplace than once believed.

You don’t need an upfront. You need therapy

waraw — Wed, 20 May 2009 07:48:53 -0800

“Let’s get real here. Let’s get Dr. Phil-real here. These new fall shows? We’re going to cancel about 90 percent of them. Maybe more.” At ABC's annual Upfront meeting with advertisers and press, late night host Jimmy Kimmel had a breakdown/"Jerry Maguire" moment/opportunity to use blackmail photos, and rips into the whole practice. Via (the predictibly gleeful) Gawker.

Discrimination to Fight Discrimination?

Effigy2000 — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:42:12 -0800

"How do black women fight crime? They have abortions." "How do you stop a poofter from drowning? You take your foot off his head." These and other 'jokes' featured in an advertisement on The Gruen Transfer, an Australian television program focusing on advertising. The ad, part of a segment called 'The Pitch' which usually produces humorous ads, was banned by the ABC, but the national broadcaster has still allowed it to be viewed online, and hundreds have now seen it. The ad was designed to sell "fat pride", with creator Adam Hunt explaining his motivation behind the ad being to say "if you discriminate against somebody on the basis of their shape then you are no different to someone who is racist, homophobic or anti-Semitic." Debate has raged online if the ad is offensive and discriminatory, as the ABC has declared, and whether or not it was effective. Watch the ad and judge for yourself.

20 Years Of Supercilious Gits

Fiasco da Gama — Thu, 07 May 2009 22:59:17 -0800

Twenty years old this year, fifteen-minute long Australian television programme Media Watch criticises television and print journalism. (Previously).

15 Minutes of Infamy

ericb — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 10:52:29 -0800

After appearing last month on the ABC reality television show 'Wife Swap,' "San Francisco resident Stephen Fowler was forced to resign from the boards of two nonprofits, allegedly received e-mailed death threats and stood on the sidelines as his wife, Renee Stephens, issued a public statement condemning his behavior and asking him to get 'professional help.'...Thanks to online TV and easy access to private information, Fowler's 15 minutes of fame have snowballed beyond his control." "What has generated such wrath is Fowler's condescending treatment of Gayla Long, a mother of four from rural Missouri....In wince-producing remarks, Fowler, who is British, wrote off middle America with such pronouncements as 'Your two languages seem to be bad English and redneck.'" Video highlights - 1, 2. Fowler has since apologized publicly on his wife's blog for his behavior.

StephenFowlerSucks.com ABC News report. Fox News report. Yahoo!TV -- Husbands Behaving Badly. 'Wife Swap' Long\Stephens-Fowler Full Episode: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Police Squad! In Color

not_on_display — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:05:47 -0800

In 1982, the comedy team of Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker introduced Police Squad! to network TV viewers. It lasted six episodes before being cancelled. What, you missed it? You weren't even born? Here are episodes two, three, and four. • More clips: 1 2 3. • A compilation of episode epilogues. • The Police Squad series spawned three successful spinoff movies (clip 1, clip 2 [interspersed with Airplane! clips], Siskel and Ebert review), but lesser known spinoffs included a series of advertisements in the UK for Red Rock Cider. (Leslie Nielsen also starred in a series of commercials broadcast in Holland for Dutchtone: 1 2 3.) • Leslie Nielsen also farted on a morning show in the UK. Turn up the volume. • The DVD's pretty cheap, too.

Vote in my space.

gman — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:40:36 -0800

Newfoundland's Progressive Conservative Premier registered his Anything But Conservative campaign today with Elections Canada. The same agency also deemed that the online vote swap on Facebook is in fact legal. They're hiring.

Not with a bang but with a televised political satire

sdodd — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:07:41 -0800

"We don't vote for them, we don't even know their names and we're not quite sure what they do. But they wield enormous influence. They are the power behind the power. They are The Hollowmen." You can watch the Australian Broadcasting Company's new political satire The Hollowmen [warning: sound] on the web. Or you can find it via Bittorrent. (Or if you live down under I suppose you could watch it on ABC 1 Wednesdays at 9pm or ABC 2 Thursdays at 8:30pm.) It's worth a look because it may be the funniest new satire on any English-language network. "I tell you, they become prime minister and they start thinking they can do what they want." The Hollowmen follows the Australian Prime Minister's fictional Central Policy Unit, charged with crafting the PM's public policy whilst battling the civil service and the press. Sound familiar? Episode two of the first series could be a "Yes, Minister" episode almost unchanged. But there's a lot less swearing than "The Thick of It." The Working Dog Productions show was picked up for a second 6-episode "series" (AKA "season") before the first episode even aired. Having settled into second place in its time slot, I suspect we'll be seeing more of it in the future. Thanks to this show I now know the national capital of Australia and the definition of "ANZAC."

ABC reporter arrested in Denver

waraw — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:08:30 -0800

ABC reporter arrested in Denver on a sidewalk after filming senators and VIP's at a private meeting with big-money donors. Video here. Asa Eslocker, the reporter in question, is now remaining mum, though he has been working on stories about the influence of lobbyists who throw some pretty lavish parties, including a private performance by Kanye West.

WAAALT!

Fizz — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 05:30:08 -0800

WAAALT! For fans of ABC's show LOST: Keeping track of Michael's annoyingness since....

End of the World? ABC wants your ideas

stbalbach — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 08:14:46 -0800

Earth2100.tv is a project by ABC (video preview) to solicit ideas from the public and experts about the dangers facing world in the next 100 years. "The world’s brightest minds agree that the “perfect storm” of population growth, resource depletion and climate change could converge with catastrophic results. We need you to bring this story to life."

The Mike Wallace Interview(s)

steef — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:27:31 -0800

"My name is Mike Wallace. The cigarette is Philip Morris." Before there was 60 Minutes, there was The Mike Wallace Interview. Thirty minutes with Steve Allen, Frank Lloyd Wright, Kirk Douglas, Pearl Buck, and Salvador Dali, to name just a few.

Force majeure axe

Tehanu — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:27:55 -0800

The WGA strike has entered its third month. Since New Year's, Worldwide Pants, the Weinstein Co., and United Artists have reached interim deals with the WGA, with rumors of more to come. Microsoft announced new deals with Hollywood companies. And on Friday, ABC Studios terminated deals with more than a dozen writers. Tonight, CBS, NBC, and 20th Century Fox have followed suit. Names of producers, writers, and shows affected are still being revealed as letters are received. Force majeure. So far, reports suggest that most or all of the people whose deals were terminated are writers without projects currently on the air-- people with a show in development or with a recent show that's no longer on the air. But names are still being reported so it's not entirely certain yet. Meanwhile, there is a rumor that a deal between the AMPTP and DGA will be announced tomorrow.

The Magic of ABC starring David Copperfield, 1977

The Deej — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 21:23:39 -0800

How do you fit Fred "Rerun" Berry, Shaun Cassidy, Howard Cosell, Kate Jackson, Hal Linden, Penny Marhsall, Kristy McNichol, Donny & Marie, Parker Stevenson, Dick Van Patten, Adam Rich, Abe Vigoda, and Cindy Williams all into a single 48 minute TV show? It would take a magician like David Copperfield, in his first television special in 1977.

Masters of Science Fiction: Buried at Birth on ABC?

spock — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 22:22:23 -0800

I watch virtually no television but this NPR review for the debut episode of Masters of Science Fiction (ABC) had me intrigued. (A similar review in the NY Times). ABC is being accused of burying this show with the timing of its introduction (and time slot). As for me, I'm still thinking about the debut episode, three hours later.

My name is Zoom and I live on the moon...

mkb — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 17:10:37 -0800

You're the star today! In 1976, ABC's Record and Tape Division came up with the Captain Zoom Personalized Birthday Record. A two-minute song with 8 instances of the birthday boy or girl's name was recorded and mastered for a paper-thin flexible 7" record. It was sent in an envelope along with the lyrics to the song, a mini-coloring book, and an order form. In 1978, the Record and Tape Division was disbanded. Robert Stiller, a sales consultant who was involved with the project at ABC, bought the rights to the project and began distributing the record with his own company. Captain Zoom left a lasting impact on those who heard his little jingle.
And there's a wedding version too. How sweet.

"This may be the end of this thing..."

hermitosis — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 14:41:01 -0800

Two news helicopters met in a deadly midair collision today while covering a police chase on live television (video, tragic but not graphic).

Hmm, good idea for long drives

metasonix — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 21:06:20 -0800

The Bladder Buddy. You can thank ABC's American Inventor for this.

Coming soon: boffo Hugh Grant gecko pic!

miss lynnster — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 21:19:52 -0800

ABC is developing another new comedy pilot. Based on? Geico caveman commercials, of course. Because that kind of thing has worked so well before.

From Broadband to Broadway

PreacherTom — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 05:03:41 -0800

From Broadband to Broadway Video bloggers are the newest phenomenon to go from online to the mainstream. For example, Amanda Congdon, former host of Rocketboom, has a new gig as an ABC contributor. In fact, major movie and TV studios are increasingly looking to the Web for new talent for both on and off-line projects. Here's a list (with pictures) of the up and comers.

Thinning the Air America

washburn — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 09:59:10 -0800

Blacklisted! The bankruptcy of the liberal Air America Radio Network is old news. What's new is a leaked ABC memo to affiliates (.pdf original) listing 90 corporations and major advertisers that stipulated that their ads not be aired during the broadcast of Air America content. Is there any hope that radio or television news in the United States can report stories that do not uniformly support the goals and viewpoints of the S&P 500? There are of course, alternative models. Is it time for a PBS Newschanel?

Bill Clinton foils plot for Disney to make Mickey Mouse tee vee

tsarfan — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 07:19:22 -0800

ABC agrees to take the lies out of their 9/11 miniseries. previously discussed here