• 29Dec 08

  "Homepage Discussion" vs. "Official Episode Discussion"

  Hello everyone, I thought I'd post the following PM I received from jkatj and the response I sent. I should've explained this earlier but if you all could help to get the word out I'd appreciate it.

  "Hi waltmor, Sorry to bother you, but I have a question that I think you might be able to help me with. Lately, I've been noticing in addition to forums for shows with names like "Official Episode Discussion: [episode name]" there are sometimes show forums set up titled "Homepage Discussion: [episode name]." I've been wondering what different purpose the two are meant to have. While searching around trying to find an answer, I noticed that you started all the "Homepage Discussion" forums that I can find right now (for example in forums for "The Unit," "30 Rock," "CSI"). Could you fill me in on what should be discussed under "Homepage Discussion" vs. "Official Episode Discussion"? I appreciate your help"

  The difference is that I'm trying to keep comments made on the homepage in the main feature block out of the official episode discussions. I have to associate a forum topic to each of the main homepage headlines now in order to accommodate the comments that are made. And I'd rather keep them outside the official discussion threads because they're shorter and much more casual than the entries in the official threads. Does that make sense?

  If anyone has a better suggestion for what to title each of these new threads please let me know. I settled on "Homepage Discussion" because I thought that might be self-explanatory but if that's not working so well I can adjust it.

  • Posted Dec 29, 2008 9:59 pm PT
  • Category: Editorial
  • 2 Comments
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• 19Mar 08

  American Idol: Enough with Old Songs!

  The first Beatles episode was interesting, mainly because Brooke's "Let It Be" had me clapping at the end. I thought it was a magical performance. The second Beatles night... some terrific performaces but a big overdose on the songbook.

  My songbook pick for this season: Prince.

  And I cringe at the songs they might make them sing as the season progresses. cla$$ic country, the American Songbook, cla$$ic soul, cla$$ic rock, etc. I would make the cutoff date the 80s. No songs older than the 80s! If we must go older keep it to one night of "Singing the cla$$ics!" and let them pick whatever $tyle they like. I want to see them really connect with the songs. I don't want to listen to them like they're running through the motions.

  Some of last night's performances were way off but now that I think about it maybe that's fine. Jason was super kooky, and Ramiele worked the white hat. Brooke played the sunny card too heavily though and was boring and Simon was onto it. David Cook played the smug rock star too heavily and was predictable and Simon was onto it. But the judges were way off on some: Chikezie and Michael were far better than given credit, while David was in good voice but didn't really connect but the judges still loved it. The second half of Chikezie's performace was full of life. Michael tackled a tough song and pulled it off for the most part. And I loved Syesha's performance!
  • Posted Mar 19, 2008 12:30 pm PT
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• 18Dec 07

  Happy Holidays!

  I'm busy today and tomorrow putting the finishing touches on TV.com's programming for our holiday break. As you may or may not know all of CNET closes down over Christmas and New Year's Day. We'll all be back Wednesday, January 2nd. I'm headed to Istanbul, Turkey for 10 days so I probably won't be checking in on anything work related. I'll be too distracted by the Aya Sofya, Blue Mosque, and Grand Bazaar, not to mention the food, people... I'm sure I'll watch a little tv though while I'm there.

  I'm trying to keep the homepage as fresh looking as I can during that time but you'll probably notice a focus on the Top 20 or 40 shows. In addition to all the great community generated stuff, we have many updated photo galleries that are worth checking out. I'm finding a lot of new pictures that I'd never seen before. I'll also be pointing to a number of your recaps and episode guides. So anyway... Happy Holidays everyone! Thanks for everything you've done to make our site what it is. Here's to 2008!

  • Posted Dec 18, 2007 4:14 pm PT
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