M2tv

The Best & Worst of '07:Cheesy Gambits, Clunky Product Placement, Christmas Blood Bling Plus The Best Network Promo

Tornadoes, ferry explosions, weddings, fire, death - these are moth eaten plot devices time-honored television “events." Companion pieces to the "events" are the clamorous broadcast net promos that promise much but deliver little.

This year's dramatic series nadir was February's (sweeps, of course) Grey's Anatomy ferry crash arc aka creator Shonda Rhimes' swan dive into the shark tank. Meredith drowns, Izzie drills through the skull of a trapped victim, and, while patients croak, the staff mopes - about their hair dye jobs and weddings, etc.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE on NBC's Life, CSI NY, Second Life, Cane, Heroes and more.

Rob Owen On The Big Box Zeitgeist; CSI:NY - When Stodgy Networks Try Kewl

A number of television characters work in mind numbing big box stores these days. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette critic Rob Owen takes a fun look at the big box zeitgeist.

Also, tomorrow night The Tiffany Network’s CSI: NY makes a faintly desperate bid for younger viewers by going “Second Life.” Det. Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise) enters the virtual world of Second Life to solve a crime.

I hadn't paid much attention to this latest CBS gambit. I’ve made no secret of my dislike of the sleazy and gratuitous CSI: NY, with their chatter about pubic hair found on calendar pages, scantily clad dead women pinned to walls, and rock bands called Rough Sects.

CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY! (and a other little tidbits, including 60 Minutes, Anderson Cooper and Nancy Grace)