When I first saw this press release I thought - wait a second, this is cheating, you can't do that. My paranoia set in during the "misinterpretation of the rules" statement made in the 'spygate' case by my teams' coach. I'm leery of everyone now. Here's the deal: Nielsen Media Research will measure the audience watching NBC-TV's "Heroes" for the second time (in rerun) this Saturday night. Huh? The only condition being that NBC run the same commercial it ran during the shows' season debut on Monday night. And exactly why would the other networks allow this to happen? Because Nielsen's clients, which would include a network or two I would imagine, agreed to it in the summer, that's why...
There won't be any rating given for the rerun but the unduplicated viewers (but what's to prevent a previous viewer from watching it again?) will be added to what undoubtedly will be a high number for Monday. So NBC will be able to throw out a low-rated hour from, oh let's say "Life" or one of their new shows from its average week. If you don't agree with this new rule, not to worry because it probably won't happen again this season. It's kind of like, the earth ("Heroes") aligning with Mars (same commercial) exactly the same, twice in one week...
The rule change was made because of the changing landscape of television viewing and is done at times in syndication. It's inevitable that total viewing (or listening) accuracy will never be achieved but we can come as close as a random sampling will allow. There's only one answer for that: Find out what (viewers) (listeners) are (watching) (listening to) right now...
10 Timeline Memories:
- 1894] It's pony time: Aqueduct Race Track opens in Ozone Park, Queens, giving the New York metro area its first race track...
- 1954] Tonight, tonight: Steve Allen becomes the 1st host of the new "Tonight Show"...2004] NBC-TV tells Conan O'Brien he will become the new host of the "Tonight Show", replacing Jay Leno in 2009...Conan gives us a history of the show in this great video clip: http://youtube.com/watch?v=-umKXS0Am3s ...
- 1964] Warren wrap: The Warren Commission issues a report on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, concluding that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. Questions remain...
- 1972] Dropping the puck: The 1st hockey game is played at the brand new Nassau Coliseum. In a pre-season affair, the Rangers beat the Islanders 6-4...
- 1973] Special K: With a strikeout of Minnesota's Rich Reese, Nolan Ryan breaks the Sandy Koufax record for K's in a season with his 383rd...
- 1973] What's your name?: Carlos Santana, a disciple of Sri Chinmoy, changes his name to Devadip, begging the question, was it Devadip Santana or Santana Devadip??? Hare Krishna...
- 1983] Real Celtic green: Larry Bird becomes the highest paid Boston Celtic player in history, signing a 7-year contract for $15 million. They would give him the franchise today...
- 1996] Ptooey: Orioles All-Star second-baseman Roberto Alomar spits on umpire John Hirschbeck during an argument. The two will become friends eventually after Alomar apologizes...
- 1998] Tainted record: Mark McGwire of the Cardinals sets the all-time home run record for a season when he hits numbers 69 and 70. That was not Tang he started his day with...
- 2004] Spector charged: Phil Spector is charged with murder in the shooting death of Lana Clarkson at his mansion in 2003. For more on yesterday's hung jury, see my Commentary...
Music Memories:
- 1963] Number One on this date: "Blue Velvet" - Bobby Vinton...1973] "We're An American Band" - Grand Funk. This is a terrific live version of the tune: http://youtube.com/watch?v=_RGnNWmsWIs ...1984] "Let's Go Crazy" - Prince...
- 1964] Premiered on this date: The Beach Boys make their 1st appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" singing "I Get Around". This is from Britain's "Ready, Steady, Go!" in 1964: http://youtube.com/watch?v=DCYouoLKxjo ...
Commentary...
When the jury came to the judge deadlocked at 7-5, there appeared to be a chance for a verdict in the Phil Spector murder trial but yesterday they were hopelessly deadlocked at 10-2 in favor of conviction. The judge did the only thing he could and declared a mistrial. If you think this is all over, think again. Prosecutors said they will seek a retrial of Spector at a hearing to be held October 3...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Avril Lavigne (23), Gwyneth Paltrow (35) Here's Gwyneth and Huey Lewis with their great version of Smokey's "Cruisin'": http://youtube.com/watch?v=XAuokuvaZ0s , Meatloaf a.k.a. Marvin Lee Aday (60), Randy Bachman (64), Don Cornelius (71), Wilford Brimley (73), Jayne Meadows (87), Johnny Pesky (88) and Zach a.k.a. Zacherle a.k.a. John Zacherley (89)...
Timeline Countdown: 6 days until the MLB playoffs begin and 27 days until the World Series opener...
