Category: Television
WEDNESDAY WHINE: FinallyFast.com – Worst commercial EVER?
UPDATE 11/23/09: I received a letter from Flaster/Greenberg P.C., the attorneys who represent Ascentive, creators of FinallyFast.com, asking me to remove all video, screenshots, and “defamatory, false, and misleading” comments regarding their software. I’m not sure that any of my comments are misleading, but I went ahead and removed the imagery as it is technically copyrighted. I didn’t want to look at the people in that silly commercial anyway. Edited comments are in brackets below. Normally I wouldn’t censor my own opinions, but I haven’t actually used their product so I can’t honestly make any claims toward whether or not it really does anything useful. I’m leaning toward no, but who knows.
I’m going to keep it simple this week:
I HATE FINALLYFAST.COM’S COMMERCIAL
For those who haven’t seen it (or just want to endure the pain again), here you go:
[Video removed by Ascentive, creators of FinallyFast.com. They've spared you the agony of seeing it again.]
So what’s so horrid about this commercial? How about a top 5…
#5 That “kid” playing the video game on his laptop.
This “kid” who whines to his mom about his slow internet connection has got to be at least 20 years old. Beyond that, something just irks me about the way he says, “this game should be a lot, LOT faster.” Yeah, you should be a lot, LOT less obnoxious. I hope this guy got paid a lot (or at all) as he is now [likely] hated by millions.
#4 The blue screen of death on a MacBook.
Should anyone be buying software from a company that shows this classic Windows fault on an Apple machine? Yes, I realize that it’s possible to run Windows on a MacBook but the people who know how to do that don’t need this [seemingly] worthless [software] to “fix” their machines.
#3 PC ONLY.
As if the blue screen of death wasn’t enough, check out the fine print in this commercial: Finallyfast.com is for PC Computers only. Ignoring the fact that they essentially wrote “Personal Computers Computers” in that sentence, why did they use Apple computers in the commercial if their software is for Windows only? Oh yeah, because they [probably] think that only morons buy their software.
#2 Added keywords to try to connect with viewers.
It’s as if this commercial were trying to be optimized to return good Google search rankings. It’s packed with keywords like adware, spyware, registry, and RAM. And to top it all off, it says this [potentially] lame software will speed your computer up ”even while watching video!” reminding viewers that the only important reason for having a fast computer and internet connection is to watch YouTube.
#1 “Hey, my computer’s fast – finally! FinallyFast.com!”
Somehow this guy reminds me of Steve from Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues. I think it’s the way that he’s talking to viewers as if Nickelodeon and FinallyFast.com have the same target audience: 2-year-olds, or at least viewers with the same mental capacity as 2-year-olds. Could you possibly say “FinallyFast.com” a few more times in your indigestion-inducing commercial?
So here’s a closing request to all television network owners out there:
Stop accepting money from these [people] and get this [obnoxious commercial] off the air. Thank you.
TweetTUESDAY TECH: 3D at Home for Movies, Video Games, TV, and More
With now-regular releases of 3D feature-length movies like Journey to the Center of the Earth, Bolt, and the upcoming My Bloody Valentine 3-D, it’s only a matter of time before we’re all enjoying 3D content in the comfort of our living rooms…
3D at Home
The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is right around the corner, beginning on Thursday, January 8, and I suspect that a large number of 3D displays and equipment will be shown off. As high-definition televisions work their way into the home environment, the next step is to take that crisp, clear 2-dimensional picture and bring it into 3D space.
Several companies have already begun the process of trying to make 3D technology common. I purchased a 56″ Samsung DLP HDTV around 1.5 years ago that I knew featured 3D capability of some sort, though I wasn’t entirely sure what it was. DLP.com’s somewhat vague Web site offers a little bit of information on how to hook up such a display to a computer for 3D gaming with a select number of games. Not exactly what I had in mind when I thought of 3D content.
However, when I visited the 2008 International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) convention in Orlando, I stumbled across a company’s booth that was demoing 3D content on such a DLP television… but they weren’t showing off some silly game. Instead, using a pair of shutter glasses (electronic glasses that receive an infrared signal to quickly open and close shutters over each eye in sync with the picture), they were displaying clips from Journey to the Center of the Earth in full-color, full 3D. No headache-inducing red/blue anaglyph glasses here. It was true 3D content, in high-definition, on a consumer-level television set. I immediately recognized this as the future of home entertainment.
Recently, Disney has pushed 3D in theaters with their Disney Digital presentations of most of their animated feature-length films. Pixar will release all of its future films in 3D, including re-releasing the original Toy Story and Toy Story 2 to theaters. But when it came to 3D at home, Disney resorted distributing free red/blue anaglyph glasses to present Miley Cyrus’ Best of Both Worlds Concert, as almost no one currently has the necessary equipment to view either polarized or shutter-based 3D content at home.
In the upcoming Superbowl, a red/blue 3D commercial for the film Monsters vs Aliens will premiere. Here’s a trailer with information on where to pick up the glasses:
But this is still resorting to decades-old technology to deliver 3D content to the average home viewer. Fortunately, Dolby Laboratories Inc. is working to change all of that:
From reuters.com:
Dolby says it is currently talking with content providers about encoding its digital 3-D technology into Blu-ray movies. It declined to identify potential partners. The company is also working on getting its technology used in 3-D video games.
In its push into home 3-D, Dolby will face stiff competition in a nascent market. Many companies at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas will be showcasing various ways to bring 3-D into the living room.
[…]
Dolby’s home 3-D technology is designed so viewers would not be required to buy additional hardware, he said. It would work on any 3-D enabled TV — currently available from companies including Mitsubishi and Samsung — with a standard Blu-ray player.
Most 3-D entertainment requires the use of glasses, from simple polarized lens to costly pairs with extremely fast-moving shutters. Dolby said its technology would support whichever glasses the TV manufacturer specifies.
So the good news is that 3D content is definitely on its way home. The bad news is that its path is a long one. With the upcoming digital television transition still confusing many consumers and HDTV only in around one-third of American homes, high-definition 3D content is still several technology leaps away.
TweetMONDAY MEDIA: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on Blu-Ray
As a huge fan of the Terminator film series, I was both thrilled and worried when FOX announced that they were developing a new show based off of James Cameron’s iconic sci-fi characters. My worries quickly disappeared and excitement grew as soon as the first episode premiered.
I enjoyed the show enough to purchase Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles – The Complete First Season on Blu-Ray. Rather than reviewing the show itself (which I believe any Terminator fan will enjoy), I’ll write a bit about the Blu-Ray release itself.
The Show
When you pop in the first disc, the series premiere beings playing immediately. No menus, no fuss. You just sit down and watch. When it ends, the credits roll and it moves right into the next episode. Since the plot line in each episode generally picks up right where the previous episode left off, it’s almost like watching a movie than an episodic TV show. Best of all, it disables the “Previously on Terminator…” recap at the beginning of each episode, so you don’t have to sit through what you’ve just watched (though they have included these snippets if you do want to see them). It’s very easy to sit down to watch one episode and end up watching several, only stopping because you reached the end of a disc.
Bonus Features
Here’s where Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - The Complete First Season threw me for a loop. I wasn’t expecting much out of the bonus features in this set. I wanted it mainly to re-watch the show and anything else was, well, just a bonus.
While the gag reel, commentary, and other smaller bonus features are mildly entertaining, the best (and strangest) parts lie in the three behind-the-scenes featurettes on disc 1 that give the show’s creators some screen time to discuss how the show was developed, what they’re able to accomplish on a TV budget, and how they’re all huge fans of the original Terminator film series. It’s great to see that the folks behind this show truly want to do justice to the world that James Cameron set up in his ground-breaking movies. Hearing how the terminator endoskeleton visual effects are developed based on what such a creation would need to function and survive in reality is quite interesting and makes it clear that the team working on this show want everything to make sense… or at least as much as it can when dealing with the subject of killer robots taking over the planet.
The parts of these behind-the-scenes featurettes that surprised me were the interview snippets with Thomas Dekker (who plays John Connor) and Lena Headey (who plays Sarah Connor). While Summer Glau (who plays Cameron, the protective terminator) seems like she’s exactly as you expect her to be, the same cannot be said for Dekker and Headey. First, Headey speaks with a British accent. After nearly two seasons of The Sarah Connor Chronicles, I was not expecting her to sound so… formal. While I didn’t exactly expect her to always talk in a whisper or be quite as in-your-face as Sarah Connor, I definitely wasn’t expecting her to be a happy, smiling Brit.
Even more confusing is listening to Thomas Dekker talk about John Connor, as Dekker is about as far removed from his character as you can imagine. While John Connor is an angst-filled teenager yanked from the grunge era of the early ’90s, Dekker seems to be a chipper young actor with a personality more similar to what you’d expect out of the person in this on-set photo where he is clearly not in John Connor-mode. His voice is higher in pitch, not raspy, and he doesn’t always look like his fight-or-flight response is about to kick in. He’s quite the polar opposite from John Connor. The fact that he is completely void of all hair (including a lack of eyebrows) during the interviews also makes for a strange bit to watch (he was prepared for his role as a cancer patient in the upcoming film, My Sister’s Keeper).
Of course, the fact that both Headey and Dekker are absolutely nothing like their Terminator characters speaks volumes about their acting talents. When combined with Glau’s ability to portray a menacing robot while still remaining funny and cute, this trio forms a great cast to lead the show into the future.
Quality
The video and audio quality of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on Blu-Ray is mostly fantastic. The episodes look great – even better than the compressed version received on FOX while watching via digital cable. No noticeable visual artifacts were present during the many action scenes. The stars, sets, and visual effects all look great in high-definition.
The only problem I ran into was during the bonus features where, for some reason, the audio was completely out of sync with the video. I performed a firmware upgrade on my Blu-Ray player and it seemed to mostly fix it, but not completely. I haven’t been able to find anyone else that experienced the same issue, so please comment on this post if you have.
I definitely recommend picking up the Blu-Ray release of this show over the standard-definition one. After watching the show in HD on television, I couldn’t imagine reverting to SD for the home release. The high-definition, widescreen picture makes for a cinematic experience that doesn’t quite match the original films, but comes close.
Price
Currently on Amazon.com, the entire first season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on Blu-Ray is just $19.99. If more feature-length films were priced as affordably as this 3-disc set, I’d be buying a whole lot more movies on Blu-Ray and I suspect the technology would catch on a lot faster than it has.
Overall
If the Blu-Ray release of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is what we can expect out of future home releases of television shows then call me satisfied. The show looks and sounds great and the bonus features are good enough to enjoy once or twice. With season 2 not returning from winter break until February, I think I’ll be going back and re-watching more of season 1 very soon.
TweetWEEKEND WEB: Lucas Francis Studios – Theme Park and Movie Prototypes and Merchandise
Here is a Web site guaranteed to entertain you for at least a few seconds this weekend:
Lucas Francis Studios – lucasfrancisstudio.com
If you’re a fan of sci-fi movies or Disneyland, there’s a good chance that you’ll want one something that Lucas Francis Studios created the prototype for. Here are a few of my favorite examples:
This was a prototype made using the Polar Lights model kit and through many hours of trial and error Lucas Francis Studios managed to make this work with ease. This was a cool concept designed for the Universal parks but never picked up due to the demise of the Back to the Future ride and overall costs of production. To my knowledge we are the only company to ever make a floating Delorean prototype.
Link (They also created a hoverboard prototype)
A couple of Haunted Mansion prototypes that I would have loved to have seen hit the market (click the images to find out more):
Ever wanted to build your own army of T-800 endoskeletons from Terminator 2? These life-sized replicas should do the trick:
Sideshow Collectibles
and Lucas Francis Studios are proud to present the Fully Licensed Terminator 2 Endoskeleton.Created by Stan Winston Studio, the Endoskeleton is one of the most recognizable characters ever created for film. This 1-1 scale replica was molded from screen used original Endoskeleton parts and stands over six feet tall. The Endoskeleton has been offered before, but never with the level of detail created by Lucas Francis Studio. This replica was cast from new masters, new molds and uses new techniques.
More Terminator 2 products and prototypes were made including an Endoskeleton arm (which I own the smaller version of) and a T-1000 set with plenty of liquid metal excitement.
Any fan of Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs has wondered why Dark Helmet’s collection of action figures was never released. It looks like John Francis Studios made their own Dark Helmet prototype figure:
“No, sir – I didn’t see you playing with your dolls again!”
There are many more interesting prototypes to be found throughout the site, including a Disneyland 3D sculpted puzzle, Frank the Pug from Men in Black, and a Rocketeer rocket pack.
TweetFRIDAY FLASHBACK: Arbor Day Foundation and Carly the Cardinal
Let’s face it: We’re all still living in the past to some degree. For me, that degree is huge. Nearly all of the music I listen to is from the early ’90s or prior. I regularly watch cartoons from the ’80s on DVD. And YouTube searches for old commercials regularly consume hours of my life.
So, to start off Friday Flashbacks, I bring you none other than the Arbor Day Foundation’s Carly the Cardinal talkin’ about trees:
I loved this commercial when I was growing up in the ’80s and I still do today. In fact, thanks to my wife and her ability to buy amazingly thoughtful Christmas gifts, I now own the following wonderful products from the Arbor Day Foundation store (you can click on each item below to buy it from them).
Carly the Cardinal Arbor Day Foundation stickers
Carly the Cardinal Arbor Day Foundation magnets
And, best of all…
Carly the Cardinal Arbor Day Foundation temporary tattoos
Don’t believe me? Here’s a picture of the back my hand (making a fist downward toward my desk):
It’s been on my hand for nearly a week, so it’s held up pretty well for a temporary tattoo. It looked perfect when I first applied it.
My wife also wanted to buy me a Carly the Cardinal t-shirt but, unfortunately, they only have junior sizes and as much as I act like a kid, I just can’t fit into a tiny t-shirt.
Now, sing it everyone! “Trees, trees! Carly’s Arbor Day Foundation, spread the word across the nation about trees. Trees are terrific! Ha ha!”
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