Leftovers: TV on TCM, High-Def Ads

Today I give you a few thoughts I meant to share at the end of November but didn't get around to. (How's that for a pitch? Believe it or not, folks, no, I'm not in sales)

First, I wanted to comment on something that occurred on The Greatest Cable Channel Known to Mankind last month. Grace Kelly was Star of the Month, and while she was, is, and will always be a Star, she wasn't actually in a ton of movies. So TCM filled out its tribute with a few vintage episodes of "Studio One" starring the future princess.

I thought it was great. The actual episodes weren't what I'd call dramatic classics, but I got a kick out of seeing them, and though I treasure TCM in part because of its insistence on avoiding commercials, I loved that they showed the Studio Ones with the original Westinghouse ad breaks.

Some might balk at a classic movie channel--no, THE classic movie channel--showing old television, but if a movie star is involved, why not? You could tell the channel was a little defensive about the programming move, though, when Bobby Osbo introduced the first episode. He went out of his way to explain why they were doing it, and he became so apologetic I thought he was gonna tell me to send him my address so he could send me a refund--and I don't even pay directly for TCM.

As long as we don't get reruns of "Home Improvement" next month, I don't mind an occasional foray into the world of vintage TV in certain circumstances. The sad thing is, just by showing a handful of old "Studio Ones," TCM shot up to the top of the list of "classic TV" channels in November.

Also at the end of that month, I had a personal "aha" moment with regards to high-def. I've enjoyed sports on gigantic high-def sets before, but it wasn't until I was checking out some football up close on Thanksgiving that I was really wowed by HD. Get this, though--it wasn't even the game that provided this spark, it was the commercials.

In particular, I happened to zero in on ad for "The Blind Side," and seeing how sharp and, well, REAL everyone looked was a literal eye-opener. Seeing Lou Holtz in the same ad was almost an eye-closer, but I was still impressed. I began to watch the commercials (something I seldom do in low-def if I can avoid it) and noticed what the format seemed to be all about: selling things.

The next big commercial to grab me with its images was the "Old Dogs" preview. Yep, the one with those sexy movie stars like John Travolta and Robin Williams. I soon cursed Hollywood for not making enough movies with young people. Doesn't Jessica Alba have a movie coming out? Anne Hathaway? Salma Hayek may not be a Generation Y'er, but I'll bet she's a lot more fun to look at in HD than Seth Green.

Maybe it's for the best, though. If I hadn't endured the "Old Dogs" ad so many times, I might have really wanted to rush out and buy an HD set on Black Friday. Someday in the future, we'll upgrade here at Cultureshark Tower, but for now I'll have to settle for drab , old sports and bland-looking commercials.