Christmas Mistake, Where Do You Go?, Unreal Reality

 "The View From the Phlipside" is a media commentary program airing on WRFA-LP, Jamestown NY.  It can be heard Monday through Friday just after 8 AM and 5 PM.  The following are scripts which may not exactly match the aired version of the program.  Mostly because the host may suddenly choose to add or subtract words at a moments notice.  WRFA-LP is not responsible for any such silliness or the opinions expressed.  You can listen to a live stream of WRFA or find a podcast of this program at wrfalp.com.  Copyright 2013 by Jay Phillippi.  All Rights Reserved.  You like what you see?  Drop me a line and we can talk.

Program scripts from week of November 24, 2013


My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, radio, the movies and more.  I love them, and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this the View from the Phlipside. 

Unreal Reality                                                                                                        

So let’s start off today with a question.  Pretty simple one really.  If you were signed to appear in a reality show, a reality show that was about the work you do, what would you expect?  Doesn’t really matter what you do, the show is about the line of work you’re in rather than about you.  So we’re talking “Deadliest Catch” (which is about crab fishing in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska) versus say “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” (which is about God only knows what).

Well, if you’re like a lot of the folks on these shows you might forget who, or rather what, is the center of the show.  I probably can’t blame them too much.  There you are on the screen, endlessly re-running, with an introduction that might even include your own little “nickname” (“The Hustler”, “The King”).  Oh and the fans!  You will have fans.  Fans who will argue about if you are the best part of the show or the worst.

It has to go to your head eventually.

Which explains a lot of the hubbub over at “Storage Wars”.  If you don’t know the show it’s about the folks who bid to clear out storage lockers after people default on their rentals.  I was a dedicated viewer for a while but the problem is that it all starts to look alike after a while.  The variety is in the personalities of the “cast”.  

So it was no doubt a huge surprise to a couple of the “stars” of the series when the network gave them the axe.  What choice did the producers have though?  You can’t fire the storage lockers.  So once things started to go stale you have only way to make changes.  You rotate out the cast members and replace them with someone who will bring some new schtick to the program.

Which brings us back to the original question?  What would you expect if it were you?  Just in case let me give you a model to follow.  Check Chumlee on the reality show “Pawn Stars”.  He commonly plays the “village idiot” on the show but reports are that he is stashing away the money he makes from doing personal appearances and has founded his own company to market various Chumlee novelties.  Chumlee seems to have figured out that fame in the reality TV game has a shelf life and is making the best of his time in the spotlight.

Turns out the “village idiot” may the smartest guy on TV.  Not the answer you expected, was it?

Where Do You Go?                                                                                                 

More and more of us spend more and more of our time online.  Whether it’s at a desktop computer, a laptop, tablet or on our smartphone we are spending more time keeping in touch with our world virtually.  That means different things for different people.  For some it’s various social media sites.  For others its some form of old school information sites like news, sports and weather.  Add in e-mail, text messages and more and you get the idea.  We spend a LOT of time in the digital universe.

So where do you spend most of your time?  Our browsers, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari, Explorer, whatever, probably tell the story pretty clearly.  Most of us take the chance to make sure we can get to our favorite sites as easily as possible.  You do this by having your browser open to some of those sites in tabs and the rest can be placed on your Favorites bar.  So what would it say us, if we took a look at the stuff we want at easy access?

I offer mine as an example.  My primary browser is Chrome.  When I fire it up it gives my home page at igHome where I can scan news, sports and weather at a glance.  Next it is Facebook, then my blog feeds on Feedly and finally my to do list at Toodledo.  Pretty straight forward stuff.

Under that on the Favorites bar you’ll find links to both Blogger and WordPress for my two blogs (including the one for this program), then a link to MyDrive from Google because that’s where I do things like write these program scripts,  next comes Dropbox where I put the recorded versions of this program so WRFA can download them.  After that is my Netflix link (gotta keep my queue up to date), then MapMyRide to track my workouts (that one doesn’t get used as often as it should).  Finally you’ll my link to HootSuite, the application I use to control my social media posts, Google Play for when I need to have a little music in my life.  Last but not least is PhotoSig, a photo web site that I enjoy and don’t use nearly as much as I’d like.

So what would you learn about me by looking at my browser?  Well, about half of the items are related to the media, and about half of them are related to this program.  Yeah, that worries me a little.  I am both a media consumer and a content provider.

And I probably should work out more.

So where do you go?

Christmas Mistake                                                                                                                   

A couple times over the last few years I’ve taken some time to talk about my favorite Christmas movies.  Now because I’m allegedly very cranky on the subject of when Christmas media like music and movies should first start airing I will not start my annual viewing for another week.  However it’s not too early to start TALKING about the subject.

For this year I offer first some bad news and then some good news.  The bad news is that there are folks out there with no respect and no sense. These are the folks proposing to do a sequel of the Frank Capra classic “It’s A Wonderful Life”.  Worse than that it sounds like they are proposing a really bad sequel.  

My first thought when I read the story was that it was a fake.  But it was reported in “Variety” and several other respected sources seem to indicate that this bad idea is true.  The story says that they are proposing a script where Jimmy Stewart’s character “George Bailey”’s grandson, also named George Bailey, is visited by an angel to show him what the world would be like if Bailey redux had never been born.  That would be bad enough but the latter generation George is an unpleasant person apparently.

Then there’s the stunt casting.  Stunt casting is when you bring in a “name” actor to make an appearance in a movie or TV show.  Think, most of William Shatner’s career.  In this case the actor who played Zuzu Bailey in the original is to play the angel this time.

Feeling nauseated yet?  I could go on but it just makes me crazy.

The good news in all of this is that Paramount still owns the rights to “It’s A Wonderful Life” and all the characters.  They’ve issued a statement that they will block any attempt to make a sequel of any kind.  Let’s hope that they stick to that position.  At the same time it’s called the movie “business” for a reason.

Now if you really want a different take on“It’s A Wonderful Life” I can make a recommendation.  Check out a book called “The Last Temptation of Clarence Odbody” by John “Jughead” Pierson.  Warning, it’s a completely different take on the story.  But it’s pretty interesting.

And that’s all I ask for at Christmas.  Something interesting under the tree.

Call that the View From the Phlipside

The Duck Disease, The March of Time, Next On Tonight

 "The View From the Phlipside" is a media commentary program airing on WRFA-LP, Jamestown NY.  It can be heard Tuesday through Friday just after 8 AM and 5 PM.  The following are scripts which may not exactly match the aired version of the program.  Mostly because the host may suddenly choose to add or subtract words at a moments notice.  WRFA-LP is not responsible for any such silliness or the opinions expressed.  You can listen to a live stream of WRFA or find a podcast of this program at wrfalp.com.  Copyright 2013 by Jay Phillippi.  All Rights Reserved.  You like what you see?  Drop me a line and we can talk.

Program scripts from week of March 11, 2013



My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, radio, the movies and more.  I love them, and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this the View from the Phlipside. 

The Duck Disease                                                                                                         

I have confessed here before my guilty pleasure in a lot of “reality” television.  Some of it is compelling because of the nature of the activity like “Ice Road Truckers” or “Deadliest Catch”.  Never really thought about either of those jobs and I come away with a deeper respect for the people who make their living doing those kinds of dangerous and difficult work.

At the other end I have also enjoyed things like “Storage Wars” and “Swamp People” because of the personalities involved.  Nothing like some really over the top people to make sure that a show hooks me.

But my latest favorite in this category has gone somewhere that no other show of its kind has ever done.  Last year I stumbled on “Duck Dynasty” and fell in love hook, line and sinker.  If you haven’t seen the A&E network hit it’s pretty simple.  The show follows the Robertson family and their company Duck Commander.  They make duck calls, which right up front doesn’t sound like a very exciting TV show.  But the family and their employees are right up there on the personality charts.  Father and company founder Phil who was a good enough college quarterback to keep Terry Bradshaw as his backup.  His brother Si who is, well beyond description.  Miss Kay is the matriarch of the family and a classic southern lady.

Put them all together with a bunch of sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren and assorted others and you get some classic TV gumbo.

I’m not the only one to have caught the duck disease.  When the third season debuted just a couple weeks ago the audience was huge.  Big enough to tie for first place in that time slot with shows on ABC and Fox.  Remember this is on A&E, what we rather archaically call a “cable station” competing with the big boys.  The two half hour episodes grabbed over 8.6 million viewers that night.

What makes this show about a family of crazy redneck duck call manufacturers so compelling?  I think because it feels real.  These could be your crazy relatives.  But it’s also about family.  Each episode ends with the Robertsons et al gathered around the dinner table saying a prayer of thanks and love for one another.

It’s the kind of reality most of us would love to have a little more of in our lives.

The March of Time                                                                                                       

I’ve mentioned before that in real life I work with teenagers.  It’s mostly in the context of church youth ministry plus some work with groups like the Eastside YMCA.  It means that I’ve spent a lot of time with young people over the last decade.  It’s out of that experience that today’s commentary grows.  You see I think that the folks at Apple may be in need of someone with my background.

Apple has seen some of it’s sales numbers dip a little recently.  The rise of Android based phones have put a dent in the iPhone’s dominance.  Other tablets are beginning to crimp the iPad as well.  So, not surprisingly, Apple is looking for the next big thing.  They have a great brand and a retail arm that needs hot new products.  The near term idea is in the arena of a smart television.  It’s the long range plan that I have doubts about.

You see the next idea down the line is apparently a smart watch.  Now the first problem I have is that you say smart watch and the first thing I think of is from the days of the old Dick Tracy cartoon.  The real problem that I see comes from my experience with teens.  You see the one thing that most of those teens don’t have any more is a watch.  When they need to check the time they look at their phone.  So Apple is going to have to fight up a hill that they helped to create.

Now I’m aware that the watch industry is still perking along.  Last year it was a 60 billion dollar industry with a 60% profit margin.  And there are plenty of people who wear them, young and old.  I own two myself.  Add into that Apple’s track record for creating products that we didn’t even know we wanted and there’s always a chance for success.

At the same time I just can’t help thinking about a generation that hasn’t been raised relying on their wrist for time.  So what can you offer that makes them want to strap one on?  Watching TV on it would be awkward, don’t know that it would be a huge improvement to listening to music over the smaller ipods.  I know I’m working from a small sample size versus Apple but I just don’t get a real good feeling from this one.

At the same time it’s not the worst tech idea I’ve heard this week.  That would be Google’s talking shoe technology.

I’ll take Dick Tracy over Maxwell Smart any day.

Next On Tonight

So here we go again.  We can only hope that the principal players have learned their lesson and do a better job this time.

The story that is going into reruns this time is the Jay Leno retiring story.  You may remember the first viewing of this particular classic.  Leno was the king of late night TV.  Conan O’Brien wanted to be the heir apparent when the time came.  So his new contract in 2004 guaranteed the spot to him.  Five long years later Jay Leno decides to move from late night to prime time and Conan moves into the most historic and coveted seat in late night television.  The host of “The Tonight Show”.  The problem was that Leno (as predicted here) was a complete bomb in prime time.  Suddenly we have a problem.  One seat.  Two hosts.  There was a suggestion of inserting Leno into a new program and moving the “Tonight Show” back.  Which was just dumb and Conan knew it.  A deal was made and he eventually landed on TBS.  To be honest while Leno has re-taken the number one slot it’s a lot closer than it was before he left.

So now the rumor begins that Jay is thinking about actually retiring.  The situation is a little different in a variety of ways.  First there’s more competition than before.  Conan is now out there.  The real wild card is that ABC has moved into the network late night wars with Jimmy Kimmel Live.  And no I haven’t forgotten Letterman.  The competition breaks down into two groups, the old and the young.  Letterman is actually older than Leno while Conan and Kimmel draw a decidedly younger audience.

The early word is that NBC will follow the pattern that they’ve kind of created recently with Jimmy Fallon moving up from
“Late Night”.  The Peacock network is in an interesting position.  The last couple years have been awful.  The current season has shown signs of a real renewal for them but it’s still a delicate balance.  Add in that suddenly the long time king of MORNING TV “The Today Show” has slipped from its perch as “Good Morning America” on ABC has moved by them.

Fallon would seem to be the obvious next choice for that historic host slot. To avoid the kind of train wreck that happened in 2010  NBC needs to make the commitment to Fallon and Leno needs to walk away and keep on walking.
There’s no guarantee that any of those moves will be winners but anything else is sure to be a catastrophe.

Call that the View From the Phlipside

Star Trek Continues, Michael J Fox and Fake Reality

 "The View From the Phlipside" is a media commentary program airing on WRFA-LP, Jamestown NY.  It can be heard Tuesday through Friday just after 8 AM and 5 PM.  The following are scripts which may not exactly match the aired version of the program.  Mostly because the host may suddenly choose to add or subtract words at a moments notice.  WRFA-LP is not responsible for any such silliness or the opinions expressed.  You can listen to a live stream of WRFA or find a podcast of this program at wrfalp.com.  Copyright 2012 by Jay Phillippi.  All Rights Reserved.  You like what you see?  Drop me a line and we can talk.

Program scripts from week of September 5, 2012

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, radio, the movies and more.  I love them, and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this the View from the Phlipside. 


Star Trek Continues                                                                                             

I’ve said it here before I am not a fan of relaunches, remixes or reboots of classic movies, books, TV series, whatever.  I find them generally disrespectful of the original artists and ideas too often.  Plus I think it’s a cheap way of trying to avoid coming up with some a little more original.

But I may have to make an exception.

Let me start by noting that this week (Saturday in fact) marks the anniversary of the debut of Star Trek in 1966.  What Trekkies call “TOS” or The Original Series, that which began it all.  It’s easy to forget that TOS only ran for three seasons.  And that’s where this new idea finds its starting point.

“Star Trek Continues” is a web based video show that aims to finish out the initial “five year mission”.  The trailer currently available picks up in the final moments of the final episode.  The set and costumes appear to be top flight and the cast would seem to be quite acceptable.

This apparently is the brain child of big time video game and animation voice over actor Vic Mignogna through his company Farragut Films.  Mignogna will star as Capt. Kirk.  What will really jump at most people is Mythbusters Grant Imihara as Sulu and Chris Doohan, son James Doohan, stepping into his father’s uniform as Montgomery Scott.

The whole thing is just mind blowing from so many different directions.  First of all the company avoids my major complaint with these kinds of projects.  They clearly LOVE the original Star Trek and are not interested in giving it some new spin.  The sets and costumes are straight out of the ‘60s original and the actors are clearly trying to create faithful versions of the originals.  That’s not a small task, to be faithful to the originals without it becoming a parody or caricature.  I’m not sure how they managed to overcome the legal hurdles or where they got such precise replicas of scenery and costumes but it looks like a top quality job.

“Star Trek Continues” hits home for this long time Trekkie.  It may finally complete that original mission that has always felt like it was stolen from us.  For that reason alone they deserve a chance to win our hearts and minds and to allow us to boldly go just one more time.

Return of Michael J. Fox                                                                                               

I need to take a slightly personal moment right here and talk about something that has very close ties to my life.  It’s still about the media and it’s really about the courage of other people.

For as much as I have dumped on the Peacock network the last couple years they are willing to take a chance on something that hasn’t been done much if ever on popular TV.  Starting next fall NBC will debut a new series starring Michael J. Fox.  Fox already has two massively popular TV series on his resume “Spin City” and “Family Ties” plus the mega-hit “Back to the Future” movies.  Even though he stepped away from his acting career 12 years ago he remains immensely popular with audiences.

The reason why he stepped away is also what makes this new TV series so interesting.  Fox has Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative disorder of the nervous system.  And so will the character that he will be playing on the show.  That’s what really made me sit up and take notice.  If there is one sure fire truism for our culture it’s that we don’t like to talk about people who are sick.  When we do it’s usually to make them either tragic heroes taken too soon by their disease or victorious heroes that triumph over their adversity.  The base outline for this new show seems to be neither.  Michael J. Fox will play a character not unlike himself.  Father of 3, husband, working in New York City.  And suffering from Parkinson’s.

Here’s where I need to acknowledge my personal connection to this story.  I am the child of someone who suffered from Parkinson’s disease.  Over the final years of my father’s life I watched this horrible disease take it’s toll.  An intelligent, articulate vital man was reduced to a shuffling, mumbling shadow of himself.  I applaud Fox for his work over the last decade to raise the profile of this disease, and his willingness to put that into public view through this show.  I also applaud NBC for the decision to move forward with an idea that might be a little uncomfortable.

In Michael J. Fox they have the perfect actor to take America by the hand and introduce them to living with Parkinson’s.  If he can bring to bear the sharp wit and fun loving personality that made him famous it might just be the most important show out there next fall.

Fake Reality

Seems like I commented on this before but I don’t think I was doing this program the last time the concept of fake reality rolled around.  

Now let me be clear that I understand that all of TV and the movies are in fact “fake reality”.  They are intended to look real but they aren’t.  This includes the last decade’s worth of “reality tv” which by and large is really not all that real.  How many times have we heard after the show is over, even on one of my favorites - “Biggest Loser”, that what looked like major conflict on the screen was much more a creation of the editing room rather than the ranch?

No, what I’m talking about now goes beyond even that.  How about a reality show that isn’t a reality show?  It’s been tried once before (or maybe twice) back in 2003 on Spike with a show called “The Joe Schmo Show”.  The other possible precursor was around that same time with Fox’s “The Millionaire” where women competed for the affection of a guy who it turned out wasn’t really a millionaire.

But “The Joe Schmo Show” was the really amazing one.  It featured an unsuspecting contestant who thinks he’s on a reality show searching for the next great bounty hunter.  Except he’s not.  He doesn’t know it but everyone around him is an actor.  Think the “Truman Show” but slightly more cynical.  I’ve maintained for years that the underlying allure of virtually all reality TV is the reassurance to the viewer that “At least I’m not them”.  It’s designed to make us feel better about ourselves by giving us someone we can feel superior to, with or without any justification for that feeling.

But I’m just not sure that I can push myself to go that extra mile for the the announced return of Joe Schmo on Spike some time soon.  On all the other shows the contestants know that they’ve signed up for something that will drag them through a variety of humiliations for the public’s entertainment.  The concept for this show sounds way too much like the worst kinds of high school hazing of the new kid.  Set him up on a date with the Prom queen and then yank his pants down in front of everyone.

If this is what entertainment looks like in the 21st Century maybe I’ll start watching more stuff from Netflix.

Call that the View From the Phlipside.