the buzz log
Television 2.0: Say Hello to Sezmi
Cheapskates and cable-discontents will rejoice in the news that a TV service called Sezmi is coming soon. Customers in L.A. are already testing out the competitor to TV and DVR services that "sez" it offers a cheaper, more net-friendly alternative.
The all-in-one idea is a combo of local broadcast, cable channels like CNN, TNT and Comedy Central (without the cable price), Internet offerings like YouTube, and downloadable movies. (To get the service, you do need a Broadband connection.)
There's still a box and a remote. The welcome screen can be customized for you, and even for the kids, so the choices are geared toward whoever logs in — and you can have your own list of shows recorded just for you.
It's lower cost than cable, about $5 a month — or about $25 if you want to include pay channels. There is an initial hit of $300 for the box — but at 1 TB it supposedly holds a whopping 1,000 hours or programming — about six times bigger than Tivo. Still, for both movie downloads and cable, it's not a bad deal.
There is a downside: Some key sports channels aren't included, like ESPN, which we know would be a deal-ender for some die-hards. And movie buffs might miss the lack of HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax. But Sezmi has a library of TV shows available for download and rental, so you could potentially dump your Netflix. (More savings.)
Now if we could just have one remote control. That would really be priceless.
Filed under: TV
The Buzz on Morena Baccarin
The remake of the sci-fi show "V" that premiered on ABC raised many a mystery. One of the biggest: Who is that woman?
Even if you didn't watch the season opener, you may recognize Morena Baccarin from the promos for the show: She's the enormous serene head projected on a hovering spacecraft with a message to earthlings: "We mean no harm."
But don't you believe it. What you can believe is this: The actress is scoring out-of-this-world searches on the Web. Lookups on the rising star soared up an astronomical 4,580% in one-day searches on Yahoo!, making the "V" headliner one of the top five searches on the Web. The buzz is paying off: A whopping 13.9 million viewers tuned in, making it one of the highest-rated new shows this season.
The leggy actress is the head of the V (for visitor) alien invasion, a reptilian species — masquerading as human — that brings health care, technology, and, oh, yeah, a secret plan to take over the planet. (You can catch up with the show and the characters courtesy of the LA Times' roundup.)
Brazilian-born Baccarin is not new to sci-fi. The 30-year-old actor played the role of Inara Serra in Joss Whedon's 2002 space-western series "Firefly," and more recently she played the villainous Adria in "Stargate SG-1."
The original "V" miniseries from the 1980s imagined what would happen if fascism overtook America. The old version's beautiful but evil leader was played by Jane Badler. In the remake, the beautiful but evil leader channels a more modern bad guy: The corporate executive armed with a PR campaign that Enron would have envied.
Check out the opening of "V," where the star's enormous, well-coiffed head is first projected. With that warm smile coupled with chilling plans for world domination, we're betting that resistance to the star — and the show — will be futile.
Filed under: TV, Science Fiction
Tina Fey Is Back
It's been a long, unfunny spell without Tina Fey. OK, maybe it hasn't been so long, but when it comes to this hilarious actress, comedy is like dog years without our Fey fix.
Think about it: She channeled Sarah Palin's odd quirks in a way that actually seemed to effect the 2008 election, gave us a self-mocking frumpster alter ego on the TV sitcom "30 Rock," and when she wasn't writing, directing, or appearing on "SNL," she found time to star in the movie "Baby Mama." We'll see her again on the big screen in her upcoming flick "Date Night," with Steve Carell.
Bottom line, our national nightmare of life without Tina is finally over. With "30 Rock" back for this season, the comedy cut-up was back on the media circuit cracking jokes. She admitted to David Letterman that she lost her virginity at the ripe old age of 24, saying she "couldn't give it away." She gossiped with the women of "The View," hinting that she might be willing to don the Palin bouffant once again.
The funny gal is also the cover gal for the November issue of Harper's Bazaar. And we will go on record to say she sure cleans up nice. Fey, on the other hand, attributes the high-fashion photo shoot to stuff like "gay magic" and "fans" (the blowing kind).
If the season opener of "30 Rock" was any indication, seems it was worth the wait.
Filed under: TV
"Law and Order": Casting Intent
Here's a mystery. What is "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" without stars Vincent D'Onofrio, Kathryn Erbe and Eric Bogosian?
According to The Hollywood Reporter, all three will exit during the upcoming ninth season. (Yes, it's been that long. But really, who's counting?)
Insiders say that despite the popularity of the actors, they're being dumped to make room for Jeff Goldblum to be lead detective. D'Onofrio and Erbe have been cracking cases since the series first aired in 2001. (Bogosian joined in 2006.) While the show is an offshoot of the "Law and Order" machine, it's got a lighter tone than the original, which suits Goldblum more than the current leads. Rumors also pair Goldblum with Saffron Burrows as a possible replacement for Julianne Nicholson, who left the show earlier in the year.
While D'Onofrio is departing the show, viewers may be comforted to know that there could be room for him to return as a guest. We know, we know. It won't be the same.
But it's not like this hasn't happened before. Over the last decade, the cast has seen a lot of upheaval: Chris Noth left last year after being on the show for three seasons. Still, it's a lot of change for one show. Deals have yet to be inked, insiders on the show say, so stay tuned for more clues.
Filed under: TV
Lights Dim for Daytime Soaps
You can't feel too sorry for a show that's had a 72-year run. Before reality TV, before the CW teen dramas, before even shows like “Dallas” and “Melrose Place," there was "Guiding Light." After Friday, its gap will be filled by that other daytime staple, the game show (in this case “Let’s Make a Deal”).
First light
Being at the beginning means you create many firsts. NPR notes that creator Ima Phillips (also the person behind "As the World Turns" and "Days of Our Lives") loved cliffhangers and used organ music to transition scenes. Plots didn't just twist and turn, they contorted. Behind the scenes, soap operas were the training grounds for new actors (Sun-Sentinel has a slideshow of those who became famous faces), and those that remained but cultivated a loyal following.
Fade to black?
Not surprisingly, online attention has swelled for the CBS stalwart—searches on Yahoo! for "guiding light" have more than doubled compared to last month. Does the end portend well for other soaps, which might absorb "Guiding Light"'s traffic? Or will they too fall by the wayside?
The answer is: yes and no. CNN points out that ratings have dwindled over the years. Cable programming has provided competition, and reality TV has filled the urge for drawn-out dramas.
Getting soap fixes
Interestingly, though, the fans maintain their fix by tracking their favorites online. (Yes, they're mostly female, but men make up anywhere from 20% to 26% of soap-opera lookups). For instance, during the 2008-2009 season, searches for “Young and the Restless” increased 32% compared to the previous season. Some are holding steady: “As the World Turns,” "The Bold and the Beautiful," and “One Life to Live.”
Losing Web steam are shows like "Days of Our Lives" (-14% compared to last season) and "General Hospital" (-6%), and "All My Children" (-4%) like
Where the remaining fans are
Will soaps survive, or will these daytime dinosaurs fade away? Time and plot twists will tell. Meanwhile, here's a ranking of the soaps, and the top three regions from where their Search fans hail.
Most Popular Soaps and their Biggest Fans
- “Young and the Restless” (Baton Rouge, Lafayette, New Orleans)
- “General Hospital” (Cleveland, Philadelphia, Wilkes Barre-Scranton)
- “Days of Our Lives” (Sioux City, Lexington, Jackson Miss.)
- “Guiding Light” (Savannah, Hartford & New Haven, Charlotte)
- “The Bold and the Beautiful” (New Orleans, Raleigh-Durham, Columbus Ohio)
- “All My Children” (Chicago, Houston, NYC)
- “One Life to Live” (Boston, Chicago, Cleveland)
- “As the World Turns” (St. Louis, Houston, Atlanta)
Filed under: TV, Soap Operas
top movers
| Rank | Subject | 1-Day Move |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Worst Airports For Delays 2009 | Breakout! |
| 2 | How To Survive A Recession | Breakout! |
| 3 | Ice Cream Calorie Counter | Breakout! |
| 4 | Jayson Williams | Breakout! |
| 5 | Alexandra Kerry | Breakout! |
| 6 | Chaz Bono | 10707% |
| 7 | Kelly Osbourne | 3298% |
| 8 | Jennifer Hudson | 3218% |
| 9 | Nicole Richie | 2075% |
| 10 | Thierry Henry | 1125% |
top leaders
| Rank | Subject | Move | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black Friday | +413 | 1016 |
| 2 | Elizabeth Lambert | -677 | 263 |
| 3 | NFL | +66 | 235 |
| 4 | New Moon | +74 | 213 |
| 5 | Bing | +83 | 209 |
| 6 | Kelly Osbourne | +193 | 199 |
| 7 | Hulu | +7 | 139 |
| 8 | Nicole Richie | +124 | 130 |
what's the buzz?
A subject's buzz score is the percentage of Yahoo! users searching for that subject on a given day, multiplied by a constant to make the number easier to read. Weekly leaders are the subjects with the greatest average buzz score for a given week.
For more detailed information, visit our FAQ.