I’ve never watched American Idol – until four weeks ago. But I found out that my Abilene nieces are well-versed fans, so, in an attempt to be an informed uncle, I’ve watched part of the past four weeks. Not whole shows, of course. That’s a bit too much Simon for me. But pieces of shows.
And the winner? Taylor.
The amazing thing to me is that 63,000,000 Americans cast their vote? More than have voted in any presidential election.
Gore/Bush? Too busy to vote. Bush/Kerry? Still to busy. But Katharine/Taylor? Now THAT is worth a vote!
My only must-see show on t.v. right now is “The Office.” I’ve heard lots of people say they’ve watched it once and didn’t care for it. Maybe you have to watch a few times. Steve Carell is hilarious as the too-eager-to-be-loved-and-respected boss. (Any other good shows out there? My brother says that “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” is good.)
All right, back to textual criticism. Today? Early versions: Latin, Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, Georgian, and Ethiopic. Only Jeff could make this interesting.
I can only vote once for the president. I voted 150 times for Katherine for American Idol! That might explain the disparity between presidential elections and Idol votes.
Bravo’s Top Chef is my favorite “competition” show now. To steal a bit from ESPN’s Colin Cowherd regarding Survivor - only in America would we give a million dollars to someone for being able to live for a month like 80% of the world’s population lives - and call that riveting entertainment.
The best reality show out there is Deadliest Catch.
If you haven’t already, you should watch the original British version of the Office. They have the series at the Main Library downtown. Carrell is funny, but every character on the British version is side-splittingly funny.
Is it true that Jeff has his important numbers and information written down in Syriac because he knows that if his identity is stolen, it must be one of the other three in the world who are fluent in the language?
Without a doubt “24″ is the ultimate TV show!
P.S. Seeing as though my first picks of Chris or Elliott did not win AI I am glad that Taylor did!
Mary Kate just bought the first season of The Office. Wanta borrow it?
I watch both Extreme Home Makeover and Amer. Idol because they are two of the few shows I can watch with my kids. (We don’t have cable by choice so our choices are slightly more limited)
Steven really likes “Numbers”. Being involved all his life with them, well, he has taken a shine to that show. I enjoy “Antique Road Show”. My, we are getting old.
I am a hugh AI fan!! I’ve watched it every season and I even auditioned one season (we won’t talk about that experience). I think that last night’s show was pretty much summed up in BrandonScottThomas’ blog. Halarious to read that, becasue it’s so true! What was up with last nights performances???
I never watch american idol. Don’t like the way Simon treats people. I don’t enjoy watching people get shredded on television. Don’t get it. The office on NBC not BBC is the funniest thing on. I love Steve Carell. He is one funny guy. I love his humor.
You’re right about the Office. We love it (my wife and I). Steve Carrel is perfect in that role. We are both usually teary-eyed by the end of every episode. The only other show that I love more than the Office is ‘24′–I’m with Arlene!
Is it just me, or has TV been quite a bit better than the movies lately?
I’ve just had an epiphany, thanks to Val’s post. I’ve see people referring to “AI” a couple of times, and I just couldn’t figure out what the movie Artificial Intelligence had to do with what they were talking about. Now I get it. Duh. (Not watching TV puts me way out of the loop of understanding sometimes.)
Without a doubt, Boston Legal is the best show on television. Hands downs.
Well, except for the fact that it’s summer and it isn’t actually ON television.
Story lines ‘ripped from the headlines,’ Denny Crane’s buffoonery…it doesn’t get any better. Do yourself a favor and Netflix season one as soon as it comes out!
I am confident that Fox’s “24″ is the best show on TV right now. Season 5 just ended and season 6 doesn’t start until January 2007. So you have 6 and a half months to play catch up! I suggest getting a copy of the first season!
I had never seen “24″ until this season, and now I’m totally hooked. It’s riveting.
My wife, the retired math professor, loves “Numbers”.
I’ve never seen AI and never will as long as Simon is on it.
Mike,
Come on! The best show you saw last night was not on T.V., but instead was one that you were at, that being the dysfunctional Baybears thrilling come-from-behind-walk-off-grand-slam win over the (former) first place team. Even for a non-baseball fan like me, that was great entertainment.
P.S. Any luck on the lottery ticket?
“The Office” and “24″ constitute two-thirds of the must-see programming on my TV. “Lost” trumps AI on Wednesdays. One actually must have a brain, and occasionally use it, to follow the storyline, but that’s what makes it so hard to stop watching!
Boston Legal is a pretty good show. Though, I feel like I need to bathe after watching it…
Best show: House. Fabulous show. It’s the one that was cancelled or moved to another night way too many times because of “Idol.” Hopefully now we can catch up on it.
Ah, TV, let me see…
1) I didn’t think Taylor was that good. If he is in charge of the “soul patrol” then America should be removed from any dancing/hip-hop competition in the world for the rest of time.
2) LOST is an excellent show. My wife and I borrowed the first season from a friend (thanks Clint!) and watched 24 episodes in 3 1/2 days during the week before finals (easy finals week for us).
3) The Office and My Name Is Earl are both pretty funny to me. Maybe it’s just because we only had two channels there in Abilene and those were on one of them.
4) Does it get any better than Sportscenter? Honestly? I just don’t think it does.
Best show on tv? Baseball Tonight.
And ATL Mom, you only got to vote once for president? Go to Chicago to fix that.
I keep mentioning this show and very few have seen it. There’s a show on our PBS stations and on the Travel Channel called “GlobeTrekker”. Hosts/travellers go all over the world. When they visit a place, they immerse themselves in that culture. Makes for great TV.
I also love “The Office” (British and American) and (somewhat guiltily) “Big Love” on HBO.
definitely Lost. it’s the only show I won’t miss. but it’s not one you can pick up in the middle. I’ve watched it from the beginning. You can get season 1 on DVD, and season 2 will likely be available before season 3 starts in the fall, so there’s still time to catch up.
I wasn’t thinking. Sure, “Sportscenter” is, indeed, the best! Something Chris and I have watched together many, many times.
And Charlie is right. Our little league team won in the bottom of the last inning with two outs against the #1 team with a walk-off grand slam. A good evening, indeed.
I would love to be sitting with you in class. If you can take the time, I would appreciate your thoughts regarding the doctrine of biblical preservation as held by those who espouse the KJV only.
To the best of my understanding, it works like this: since for many generations the only texts available were Textus Receptus and the Masoretic, and God has promised to preserve His word; therefore, the above mentioned texts have to be OK.
Personally, I have many reasons why I cannot accept such a rigid formulation of the doctrine of biblical preservation. However, I struggle to find the language to communicate with folks who have little insight into the world of textual criticism and the dynamics of biblical translation.
I live in a part of the world where the Christian scene in dominated by Freewill/Christian Baptists. My goal is not to convince my buddies to trade in their KJVs for TNIVs, but rather to undermine the conviction that all modern translations must be condemned. I enjoy fellowship with my friends but my choice of English version is a major hang-up for them.
What I am asking for here is some fresh insights as to how to engage in a healthy dialog with folks from the “KJV only” camp. Thanks.
Ah, yes, Sportcenter and when you miss Sporcenter there is always ESPNEWS on 207.
Glad you see it “my” way, Mike
And a walk-off grand slam against the best team? I love it!
In my opinion the best show on TV is “The Andy Griffith Show” (black & white episodes, of course). Everything else is a distant second…..
We’re with Jeff…..we watched several episodes of Andy this past weekend on TV Land’s 48 hours of Mayberry. I would suggest, I learned significantly more in a few of these episodes than I ever could in a textual criticism class!
Since I’ve spent the last year getting very sick and recovering from said illness, I’ve had ample time to watch TV. And thankfully, I can be fully reassured that I still have some sense of decency because the vast majority of TV makes me want to walk away and pick up a good book. So here are a few of what I think are the hidden jewels TV has to offer (sorry, most of these are on cable… not trying to be exclusive).
*Living in TV Land (TV Land)– Profiles different stars of classic comedy in a sort of mockumentary. They’re always hilarious!
*Adoption Story (Discovery Health)– Tells the story of different families adopting in all kinds of different situations. Reminds me of God’s adoption of us into His family!!!
*Going Tribal (Discovery, I think)– This British guy named Bruce goes into remote tribes of the world and lives like they do for several weeks, oftentimes participating in important tribal rituals. Bruce’s reations are so funny because he’s honest in his commentary (when he thinks something is crazy or scary), but will try anything and is extremely respectful of every culture.
*Pros vs. Joes (Spike)– Former professional athletes compete against “average” guys (actually they’re probably all the types who were the top jocks at their high school), and usually the Joes get creamed.
HBO series Six Feet Under
Showtime series Sleeper Cell
The Office?? You may notice no women consider it the best show on TV. I was in a previewing focus group of The Office. When asked my opinion, [I never ever have one, do I - lol] it went something like;
Women have spent years trying to break down the glass ceiling, the boss-can-do-no-wrong attitudes, including sexual harrassment. The preview episode I saw threw us back into the 50s - so sorry guys, it just isn’t a show I’ll watch. Gives me the jitters, to say the least.
I agree with House being one of the best on TV right now, as well as Numbers AND Baseball Tonight. Also, Fox has a fascinating newbie that’s on the rise - Bones, based on the life of a famous forensic anthropologist. Bones is probably my favorite of them all [other than Baseball Tonight that is!! ]
Mike, is there anything more exciting than a ninth inning, walk off grand slam? I think not - in earthly terms at least.
I’m a huge fan of House, but if you can’t get through a whole episode of American Idol because that would be “too much Simon,” you might get “too much” Dr. House with a full hour of House…
…I on the other hand absolutely LOVE his character on the show. But then again I also appreciate Simon’s comments a lot of the time on American Idol.
If we could vote for our nations leaders on our cell phones or computers, (coming in 2015), I’m sure the “turnout” would have been higher. AI seems to be one of the purest forms of entertainment on the tube these days. Its a talent show, like the ones our kids have performed in our living rooms for years and the judges are us! I have a show that I’m hooked on for the last year: HOUSE. Comes on right after AI. Laurie is a great british actor, (you would never know it the way he talks on the show) who plays a doctor with unusual bedside manner. I also agree; Sportscenter is good.
Keith
I just can’t believe it. Mike, I’ve loved your blog since discovering it only a few weeks ago. But now you’ve left me in shock. This is the first season I’ve ever watched Idol, and am not too proud to say I’m totally hooked. But here’s the deal. I live in Mexico so we get the show a week and one day later than you. So last night we saw the final three perform. Tonight I should have found out which two were going to be the finalists.
NOT NOW!
On the bright side, perhaps I should make a wager with my wife.
LOST!!!!! You get a HUGE puzzle filled with clues to keep you guessing, PLUS every episode is packed with redemption stories! And faith…..it’s all about faith. Get LOST Season 1 on DVD & you can watch Season 2 on abc.com! (The problem w/LOST is that it’s on Wed. night when most people are at church. Luckily we have TiVo!)
I don’t think anyone has mentioned House which comes on Tuesday nights at 9:00 (eastern time). Hugh Laurie, who plays the character, Gregory House, was nominated for an Emmy in 2005. He won the Golden Globe this year for his role. In my opinion, most definitely one of the best shows on TV right now. To say Hugh Laurie is a great actor is seriously undermining his abilities. He has one of the best characters on TV…so complex! My husband and I are addicted.
Okay, I see that Kimberly & Keith both mentioned House. I’m not the only one!
Jeff Childers can make watching grass grow interesting!!
My roommates and I have been on a TV fast this school year, but we do break down and pull out the Sienfeld season two every once and a while.
You all watch way to much TV.
TV:
1. My Name is Earl - I do not miss. The whole cast just sends me reeling - but Joy is the best.
2. Boston Legal - I love the fact that William Shatner does not take himself too seriously to play the quirkest character on TV right now.
3. Battlestar Galactica (Sci-Fi Channel) - It just won a Peabody Award for distinguished achievement in electronic media. I was a senior in high school when the first one came out. This new series is incredible. I am sorry that it is not on a network channel for a wider audience.
Lost is a must-see but get the DVDs for season 1 and season 2 (when they come out). You will not be disappointed.
I also agree with many that House is a great show. The season finale the other night was especially great.
And, as for Idol, I watch it because of Simon. If he left, I would not watch anymore. He tells the truth and sometimes the truth hurts.
Mike,
My previous comment is awaiting moderation?????
Help!!!
Voting for American Idol is easy and convenient… and inconsequential. Voting for politicians isn’t that hard, but it’s not always convenient. And it always has consequences you’re not sure you’re going to be happy with.
Sometimes it’s all I can do to vote for the “Pick of the Day” on my local radio station. No consequences there, unless everyone else picks Pink Floyd.
Besides being able to vote multiple times and texting, another big difference in comparing American Idol voting to voting for a President is that kids 17 and under make up a HUGE population of your voting for AI and they aren’t allowed to vote for the President. So, its not really much of the “same crowd” voting for both.
However, maybe with shows like AI where you CAN be a part of the decision, the next few generations will be much more involved with voting and partaking in major decisions.
I’m going to try C&P my earlier response to see if it gets past the “awaiting moderation” function of you site. Humpf!
The Office?? You may notice no women consider it the best show on TV. I was in a previewing focus group of The Office. When asked my opinion, [I never ever have one, do I - lol] it went something like;
Women have spent years trying to break down the glass ceiling, the boss-can-do-no-wrong attitudes, including sexual harrassment. The preview episode I saw threw us back into the 50s - so sorry guys, it just isn’t a show I’ll watch. Gives me the jitters, to say the least.
I agree with House being one of the best on TV right now, as well as Numbers AND Baseball Tonight. Also, Fox has a fascinating newbie that’s on the rise - Bones, based on the life of a famous forensic anthropologist. Bones is probably my favorite of them all [other than Baseball Tonight that is!! ]
Mike, is there anything more exciting than a ninth inning, walk off grand slam? I think not - in earthly terms at least.
I’m afraid I’m a clickaholic! I can’t stay tuned to any one show for very long so I cover the dial and watch about three or four shows at a whack. I always see parts of LOST, CSI, Grey’s Anatomy, House, Boston Legal, American Idol, and whatever sports programming is on.
I have adapted the motto, “Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other hand” to Bible in one hand and the clicker and newslink.org in the other hand”.
Peace.
Kathy,
Avoid all the five syllable words! :-0
Peace.
I love American Idol, even got to go to a live taping last season, but 24 is by far the best thing on television. Lost is good also if you can hang in there since every other week seems to be a rerun. They need to pick up the philosophy of 24 and go with a non-interrupted season. It would keep it more interesting.
Time to come out of the closet………my wife has won me over to Rachel Ray! And no, I am not a eunuch.
DU
Dude!!
We here in Brazil are a week behind on American Idol. I have been avoiding the news sites so that I wouldn’t find out who won American Idol. Didn’t expect it to be spoiled on the Blog. Sigh!
Love The Office! And I must admit that my teenage children have me hooked on Idol too. I really need to stop watching so much television.
I never watched American Idol, and I’m a political agnostic, so I seldom believe in my vote enough to cast it, but when I was a Sophomore, I picked up the Ehrman and Holmes The Text of the New Testament in Contemporary Research volume of the Studies and Documents series. I was recovering from some major injuries at the time, but it was so engrossing that I spent the three or four waking hours I had each day reading about early versions (Watch out for the chapter on the OL. it is now considered invalid becacuse the evidence, which the author claimed to have at the time, was missing when he gave up the project a few years later). For those of us who can’t help wishing that we could make a living on Philology, ancient tranlations are some of the most interesting aspects of TC, Esp. with an expert like Dr. Childers to enlighten us.
BTW - what about Slavic (Old Church Slavonic), and Arabic [scholars routinely ignore languages like Nubian and Gothic because of the paucity of manuscripts, but Slavic and Arabic have quite a few, though most are at least as late as the Ethiopic]? there is probably just not enough time to cover them . . . life is tough.
There has never been a better TV show than Dukes of Hazard
Lots of good ones here, SportsCenter will always win in my house but, The Office, 24, and Deadliest Catch all get serious consideration. However, the funniest show on television is The Colbert Report. Hands down Stephen nails it every night.
Well, reckon at my ripe old age (70) I can admit that I’ve never watched the idol show … spend most of the time wearing my eyes out on computer screens designing web sites so have no eye strength left for T.V. Except for one thing … Would you believe I enjoy that World Series of Poker thing? I do not endorse poker but it sure is interesting to watch those folks play their hands and try to out-figure them … so mark my vote for: Poker = 1 … Idol = 0
Preacherman said he doesn’t like to watch Idol because people get shredded on there…
I don’t have a problem with it. Obviously, no one else in their lives has cared about them enough to tell them the thuth, or else they are too stubborn to understand that they just can’t sing.
In any event, what Simon does is ultimately for their own good, because they need someone to be that blunt with them to get them to get it.
Just my opinion though… feel free to shred at will
Brian
The Office is a must see. I get so disappointed when it is a rerun.
We also love Criminal Minds on Wednesday nights. It is very entertaining!
Steve, LOL
You mean like, “Doh!” or “umm” or maybe my favorite “Humpf” :o)
I was trying to say that my favorite TV show is a rising star on Fox,
Bones
About a real life forensic anthropologist. Then there’s House, and Baseball Tonight, as well as mlb.com and the live Padres games [even when they lose as they did last night, Humpf!]
I see people comparing this to votes for President, but as reported here (http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/) 120 million votes were cast, one to a person, in 2004. Given how frequently my wife votes, I’m sure the number of actual Idol voters was under 30 million, and could easily be under 15 million.
Still an impressive total for a TV show, for better or worse.
My brother in Hong Kong called me and told me I had to watch The Office on the BBC. That was before the american version. I guess I need to see it. Mike Cope is silly..
I’m partial to Criminal Minds - CBS
The Office is just coming on and it said Caution, contains adult content. I guess I will stop reading blogs and see why you guys like this so much. I must admit I have watched it, but I wasn’t impressed. Maybe I am too old, but I will give it another viewing.
Just a couple of thoughts for Jason Coriell who asked a question way up there at the beginning of all this (not that I know anything… and I’m also not in the class…)
Jason, it seems to me that the biblical preservation doctrine, as you describe it, assumes that preserving God’s “Word” is identical to preserving “scripture.” NOW… I do believe that God’s Word can be found in scripture… and that scripture is inspired, however, God’s Word is much more that just scripture. It is at least also the person of Christ (as John refers to him). But scripture itself is refered to in the greek as “graphe” (if I’ve spelled that correctly). Any time scripture refers to “scripture,” I believe “graphe” is the original word… that MEANS the written word. When scripture refers to the “Word” of God in the new testament, the greek word is “logos” from which we get the English word “logic.” This is a word that specifically does NOT refer to the written word… “graphe” is used for that.
So… could God preserve his “Word” even during a time when his “scripture” was in flux or lacking in total completeness? Maybe so. At any rate, I think that most people who cling that much to KJV, are really clinging to something that is very near and dear to them because of their own personal experiences with it. THAT is a perfectly valid reason to use the KJV.
Unfortunately, the doctrine of biblical preservation sounds to me like the old “better safe than sorry” arguments that have been so prolific in many traditions (my own included). That kind of reasoning seems to grow out of fear. Paul says that perfect love drives out fear.
In my opinion, perfect love takes Jesus’ promise seriously that those who truly seek will find.
Well, The Office just ended. This one was about sexual harassment and I see why it had a disclaimer. I know sometimes you have to watch a show several times before you get into it. BTW has anyone noticed that Steve Carrel kinda looks like Mike, but with a bigger nose? Not being unkind, Steve is cute.
My favorite show is Pardon the Interuption. Tony and Wilbon crack me up.
Aside from that Lost is without a doubt the best show on TV. Medium and West Wing are good, too.
Lost
Medium
Surface
Prison Break
My Name Is Earl
How I Met Your Mother
Invasion
Four Kings
I vote for Gilmore Girls.
What Charles says above is true… I’m sure 63 million individual Americans didn’t vote… probably closer to 10-15 million individuals — many punching redial or resending text messages (which is much easier than dialing) for 2 hours straight.
122 million individuals voted in the 2004 presidential election (well, there’s always Florida — who knows how many votes an individual is able to cast there
)
Also, I think the host of AI said more votes were cast than any *one* president had received, which may be true.
Baseball Tonight (with Carl R., Harold R., Jeff B. and Peter G. and since I am in WV I better say John Kruk)
Sportscenter
CSI: Any of ‘em
Law & Order: Criminal Intent Re-runs
Andy Griffith (b&w only)
Little House on the Prairie re-runs (my 5 year old daughter is hooked)
I too have never watched American Idol but about 4 weeks ago I turned it on and was hooked. The shows I enjoy watching include:
1. Home Makeover–I think I cry in ever episode
2. Grey’s Anatomy–soap opera+vital organs
3. House–you love to hate him
4. Pretty much anything on Food Network!
Taylor Hicks is not my favorite, but I didn’t really have a favorite this year. American Idol is the only television show that I try to always catch.
I am watching season 1 of X FILES, which is really really cool. The Truth is Out There. Yeah.
Mike,
I have an aversion to tv. But there are two shows that seem worth the time. Extreme Makeover Home Edition is like heaven. People of a community labor for seven days straight for neighbors in need. They have shown compassion and generosity for others without expecting anything in return. After being sent on a vacation, these neighbors come back to a brand new home with a huge bus parked in front so they can’t see it. As the whole town cheers like UT is about to beat USC, they shout in unison, “Move that bus!” They do, and for the first time see the labor of love and sacrifice done for them. I cry every time. It makes me think of when I will finally get to see God face to face! It reminds me of His command to love each other along the way.
The other one scares me witless. Super Nanny, where have you been? Couples need to be required to see this show before starting a family. Do families she helps REALLY exist? Tell me it’s all staged! The counseling industry will never need to worry about going out of business with adults who have no clue how to establish a schedule around the house and interact with their kids. Pure entertainment and downright scary.
24
House
Smallville
Simpsons
American Idol
Mythbusters
American Chopper
Hogan Knows Best
Dog the Bounty Hunter
TNA Wrestling
Oh,
Sportscenter
O’Reilly Factor
Hannity and Colmes
Hey Mike,
I’m sorry this post is late but here goes. Ryan said that more votes were cast in the AI final than for any President, not any Presidential election. I had to watch the Tivo to clear that up myself. About 60 million votes were cast in AI, over 150 million people voted in the 2004 Presidential election. Being in the heart of “Soul Patrol” country, I heard one lady on the radio who claimed that she voted for Taylor 1200 time by text message (and yes, I think that’s pretty weird)
Blessings,
Ed
David Hernandez made Simon a fan of his and who gets off David? WRONG!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Get Amanda Off People!!!!!!!!!!!!! First contestant stripped from pack on‘ Idol’ - American Idol- msnbc.