CableCARD Now Open To All, No Need For OEM Installations

By Shawn Oliver

For HTPC owners, most thought this day would never come. It's a liberation celebration, and frankly, it's coming way too late. Still, we'll take late over never almost all of the time, so we can't help but thank those involved for finally freeing CableCARDs of the OEM chains. This past week at CEDIA, Microsoft announced that anyone could now purchase an off-the-shelf CableCARD and install it into their system. This has absolutely not been the case in years past.

Up until now, users have had to purchase an entirely new system from a certified OEM (think Dell, HP, etc.) with a CableCARD installed at the factory. If you even attempted to install a loose CableCARD into your own machine, you'd never get anything to work. Without that OEM touch, CableCARDs were worthless. Obviously, this ensured that only the affluent ponied up for a CableCARD-equipped HTPC. After all, who wants to buy an entirely new rig just to use one $100 part?

As Windows 7 enters the fray, users will be able to add CableCARDs to their own systems with little to no hassle. These cards will allow users to access all of their carrier's cable channels right on their HTPC, eliminating the need for a cable box and a media center PC. Switched Digital Video support was also added into Windows Media Center for Windows 7, which definitely comes in handy for those looking to tune into SDV channels.

Switched Digital Video (SDV) Support Added for Windows Media Center

In response to customer requests and cable providers' deployment of SDV, Microsoft now supports SDV in Windows Media Center for Windows 7. In conjunction with a device known as a tuning adapter, supplied by a customer's cable provider, Windows Media Center and a digital cable tuner with CableCARD will be able to tune to SDV channels. Customers can enjoy SDV broadcasts on PCs running Windows Media Center in Windows 7 and a digital cable tuner with CableCARD.

End Customers Can Now Add Digital Cable Tuners With CableCARD to Their PCs

Microsoft and CableLabs announced that customers will now be able to add digital cable tuners with CableCARD to a Windows 7-based PC with Windows Media Center. A new tool will be provided by Microsoft that assesses the PC's ability to support the solution. This tool will analyze the customer's PC and enable digital cable support if the PC meets requirements, opening digital cable options to Windows Media Center customers across the country. Microsoft also announced that, with Windows 7, it has increased the number of TV tuners that can be connected to the PC from two to four per tuner type, thereby allowing customers to simultaneously record or watch as many as four digital cable TV channels.

"We are excited that digital cable customers will now be able to take advantage of this new opportunity to bring great cable TV programming to the PC," said So Vang, vice president of OpenCable at CableLabs. "We are dedicated to helping customers get the most from their cable service, and this will be a great win for both the customer and the cable operators."

Digital Cable Customers Can Now Enjoy More TV Portability in Windows Media Center

Microsoft and CableLabs also announced that they worked together to enable digital cable tuner with CableCARD customers to enjoy more portability for digital cable TV that is marked as "copy freely" (CF). Customers will be able to play CF-marked digital cable recordings, such as those from local channels, on other PCs, devices and portable media.

Windows Media Center Features in Windows 7 Highlighted

Using new Windows 7 features such as Windows Touch, HomeGroup, Remote Media Streaming and PlayTo, sharing recorded TV, videos, music and pictures throughout the home, while on the road and to remote locations has never been easier. There is also support for the AVCHD format. This allows customers to view HD video from many popular HD video cameras.

In addition, support for the international broadcast TV standards that was released with the Windows Media Center TV Pack 2008 will also be included in Windows Media Center in Windows 7. This includes native support for both ATSC and QAM, the ability to remap channels, and support for subchannels.

New Firmware for ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuners

In conjunction with the Microsoft and CableLabs announcements, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) will be providing a new firmware update that is available to all ATI TV Wonder digital cable tuners being used with Windows 7 and Windows Vista. This firmware update will allow existing digital cable tuner with CableCARD customers to enjoy more portability for digital cable TV marked as CF. Customers will be able to play CF-marked digital cable recordings, such as those from local channels, on other PCs, devices, and portable media. In addition, the firmware will contain support for SDV. When installed on a Windows 7-based PC with a digital cable tuner with CableCARD and a tuning adapter from a cable provider, it enables access to switched digital channels in locations where SDV has been deployed.

Rear-Projection Urinal Lets You Pee Over Football Games or Bill O'Reilly

By Jesus Diaz (Edit, to draft, Slurp)

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A pub in Melbourne came up with what potentially could be the best and wrongest multimedia device ever invented: A urinal with a rear projector, so you don't miss a single second of a game when you have to pee.

The idea of the Rear Projection Urinal is good, although potentially disturbing—especially when your favorite TV anchor appears. Or when people instinctively follow the ball and end peeing on the next guy in line. Or when they play a Nicholas Cage movie.

Yes, this can be disturbing and very wrong. Not as disturbing as the crazy singing clown urinal from Osaka, but close. [Melbourne Pubs]

How much do stores jack up ambient lighting to sell you HDTVs?

Posted by Sean Portnoy

Along with selling unknowing consumers $80 HDMI cables that they could buy online for a few bucks, HDTV retailers other longtime scam is to boost the brightness in their stores (including on the sets themselves) to entice buyers. Why? In part because bright screens can mask poor black-level performance on cheaper sets. But then some buyers are then surprised when sets that “pop” in a store appear far more muted when they are hooked up in the living room.

Adding a little bit of empirical evidence to back up this claim, HDGuru recently visited major retailers with an illuminance meter in hand to see just how much brighter their showrooms are compared to the average living room. While he measured 10 homes with light levels that ranged from 1.2 to 110.1 lux, the stores he visited measured: Best Buy, 180.3; Sears, 236.58; Target, 371.38; Walmart, 411.66; BJs, 412.13, and Costco, 742.77. You’ll notice that the stores that have sales people who specialize in home theater equipment (Best Buy and Sears) register far lower readings than the big-box and warehouse stores that don’t offer dedicated TV help. HDGuru theorizes that the amped-up levels at Target and Costco help the cheaper sets they sell look a lot better than their performance will be once you bring them home.

Of course, all stores will be more brightly lit than a typical home, but that doesn’t mean the TV department has to be as bright as the rest of the store. In fact, HDGuru’s measurement of the Magnolia Home Theater section of the Best Buy found a far more muted reading of 34.7 lux, like in a typical living room. Why the difference? The more expensive sets sold in the Magnolia showroom have superior black-level performance that can’t be properly displayed with the cheaper sets radiating in the other part of the store.

The morale: Don’t expect the HDTV you buy from a bricks-and-mortar retailer to have the same picture as it displayed in the store—and that’s necessarily a bad thing. Have you been disappointed with a new set after you’ve brought it home from a store? Let us know about your experience in the TalkBack section.

Color-Shifting "Master of Disguise" Cuttlefish Inspires Hyper-Energy Efficient TV

by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada

Image: Getty & Samsung

Biomimicry Strikes Again
Scientists at MIT are studying color-changing cuttlefish, and with an understanding of how these fascinating creatures (see the 3 videos below) can change color in less than a second, they're building electronic-ink and TV screens that could "use less than one-hundredth the power of traditional television screens" yet be cheap, easy and safe to make using "dirt cheap polystyrene" . If it all works out, it would be a great example of how biomimicry can help us develop greener products.

From Discovery News:

The current screen prototype is several square inches across but only one micron thick. Crammed into that narrow space are 20 to 30 layers of alternating "dirt cheap polystyrene that doesn't do anything," said Thomas, and "responsive" poly-2 vinyl.

At rest, with no electrical charge, the screen is clear. As the voltage increases, the poly-2 vinyl expands, becoming thicker and thicker while reflecting ever longer wavelengths of light, starting with blue and finishing with red at 10 volts.

Of course there are some drawbacks; viewing angle can be limited, and since the screen is reflecting light, you have to use it in a lit room. But it's still early and maybe those problems can be fixed, or maybe the "cuttlefish" screens and electronic-ink can be used in certain specialized applications where those things aren't a problem.

Videos of Cuttlefish Changing Color and Camouflaging
For your viewing pleasure, here's a couple videos of a cuttlefish going all Star Trek with the active camouflage:

Via Discovery News

The 10 Most Controversial 'South Park' Episodes (Videos)

Trying to choose the 10 most controversial "South Park" episodes is like trying to choose the worst Rob Schneider movie -- there are just so many to choose from. But as the show begins its 13th season, we thought we'd round up the episodes that have generated the most publicity over the years. And there have been a lot of them.

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‘Star Wars’ Live-Action TV Series Casting Underway

Published by Eric Ditzian

A live-action TV series set in the “Star Wars” cosmos has been an elusive, tantalizing prospect for years. News of the potential production first surfaced in 2005 while George Lucas was promoting “Revenge of the Sith.” Work on the “Clones Wars” animated feature film and Cartoon Network series, though, took creative precedence. In late 2007, Lucas revealed that he and his team were about to begin writing scripts for the live-action show. Now MTV News has learned that casting for the series is currently underway.

During the junket for the Nicolas Cage thriller “Knowing,” star Rose Byrne let slip that Team Lucas is casting a wide net for actors to join the show. “A lot of my friends have been auditioning for it,” she said.

According to Lucas, the show will focus on minor characters from the saga and be set in the time period between “Revenge of the Sith” (Episode III) and the original “Star Wars” (Episode IV). The action will follow the Rebel Alliance as it slowly gains strength against the Empire. There will be Stormtroopers, but no Jedi or Darth Vader will appear on screen. As he did with the “Clone Wars” series, Lucas will write and shoot an entire year’s worth of episodes before looking for a cable channel on which to air the series.

Thus, with casting just now moving forward, it looks to be quite some time before fans will be able to catch some live-action “Star Wars” on the small screen.

Bryne couldn’t have been more pleased about her time working with Lucas on 2002’s “Attack of the Clones.” “My experience was wonderful,” she said. “George is a great guy. I was just there for a week, standing behind Natalie [Portman] looking very demure and supportive. 95% of the fan mail I get is from ‘Star Wars’ and I’ve never seen them.”

As much as she enjoyed the “Star Wars” experience, Byrne, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for her work on FX’s “Damages,” will not be auditioning for the live-action series. “I’m on a show,” she said. “I don’t know if I look that good in space.”

Who would you like to see cast in a live-action “Star Wars” TV show? Which cable channel would be the best outlet for the series?

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NBC: 'Heroes' will return next fall

NBC: 'Heroes' will return next fall

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NBC plans to bring back “Heroes” for another season, said entertainment president Angela Bromstad.

The action-drama’s ratings decline has caused some media reports to speculate as to whether the show will return next fall. As part of Hollywood Reporter’s annual Q&As with the five broadcast network chiefs, Bromstad was asked if “Heroes” could be considered “on the bubble” for a renewal.

“No,” she said, and added that the network plans to order 18-20 episodes of the show for next season.

That's fewer hours than "Heroes" first (23) or current third season (25), with season two having been cut short due to the writers strike.

For all its headline-making audience erosion, “Heroes” is still tied with NBC's “The Office” as the network’s top-rated series among adults 18-49 this season.

Also being factored: NBC's pilot project “Day One,” about a group of survivors in the wake of a catastrophic global event. If the serialized “Day One” goes to series, having an established sci-fi drama like “Heroes” could help the new show in a few ways, including possibly airing as part of the same Monday night block.

"'Day One' is a big event and we're looking at that to come into the 'Heroes' spot," Bromstad said. "It's right now being looked at as a 13-episode run -- something people could commit to and we could make a big splash with."

If “Day One” does launch in the “Heroes” time period, “One” would get the advantage of its strong sci-fi-established slot for a number of weeks. With a slightly shorter episode order, “Heroes” can then continue its usual pattern of airing with few breaks by virtue of debuting later in the season. A second potential home for “Day One" is on Sundays, she said, where quasi-futuristic “Kings” will premiere March 15.

Another point in “Heroes” favor is the show performs well internationally. Bromstad said she experienced the drama's global popularity first-hand in her previous NBC post, heading the network’s international efforts based in London.

"Every single place you go has heard about 'Heroes' -- whether you’re in China or Japan or Russia," she said. "And to me, that is global content."

The network has privately discussed setting a series end date for "Heroes," which would followed the creative model used with critical success by ABC's “Lost,” Sci Fi's ”Battlestar Galactica” and FX's “The Shield.” But even if NBC ever made such a move, Bromstad said, they wouldn't want to make next season the conclusion.

"Heroes" fans aren't entirely in the clear yet: a renewal isn’t a deal until it’s a deal. If the show took a sudden dire ratings turn, the network still has time to reevaluate this strategy. But barring something dramatic happening, NBC is not deterred by the current ratings and will bring back "Heroes" for a fourth round.

Doh! 'The Simpsons' back for 2 more seasons

Doh! Big-screen success hasn’t jaded Homer, Bart, Marge, Maggie and Lisa. They’re going to stay on TV for a long time, Fox announced today.

The network renewed “The Simpsons” for two more seasons. That means 44 additional episodes after this season, bringing the show through its 22nd season and 493rd episode. "The Simpsons," created by cartoonist Matt Groening, debuted as a regular series on Jan. 14, 1990 after a Christmas special on Dec. 17, 1989. It first appeared in 1987 as a series of 30-second shorts for “The Tracey Ullman Show.”

Fox currently is showing its 20th season at 7 p.m. Sundays. In Sunday's episode, “How the Test Was Won,” Bart and other “underperformers” at his school are sent to Capital City by officials to avoid them bringing down standardized test scores. Meanwhile, Homer has to avoid getting injured when his insurance lapses.

'Heroes,' 'Chuck' hit lows; 'Beauty' finishes solid

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Chuck vs. the series low

CBS was in repeats. The CW was in repeats. ABC aired the "Women Tell All" special episode of "The Bachelor." And yet despite mostly weak competition, NBC's "Chuck" and "Heroes" generated their lowest ratings ever.

"Chuck" (6.5 million viewers, 2.2 preliminary adults 18-49 rating and 6 share) dipped a tenth in the adult demo from last week. "Heroes" (6.9 million, 3.3/8) was down 8% from its previously established settling point. Both shows placed last in their hours among the major broadcast networks.

The "Heroes" fan complaints are familiar by now. Too complex, too many character personality flip-flips, too many logic-leaping "save the world" stories. The recent "Fugitives" reboot was supposed to "save the series, save NBC Monday nights." The show's focus is more singular now (an "X-Men"-ish "mutants fighting those who seek to control them" angle) but perhaps it's not enough.

The "Chuck" drain is more mysterious. The show continues to get praise from critics and recently climbed in the ratings following its well-received 3D episode. One wouldn't think Fox's "House" moving into the same time period would draw the same audience, but the medical drama does seem to be having an impact on the crime-fighting geek.

Do these latest drops mean anything for the shows' futures?

Tough to say. NBC has so little that's competitive right now ("Biggest Loser," late-night), and is making such radical moves in some ways (moving Jay Leno to 10 p.m.), yet seems almost paralyzed in others (what's airing on Wednesday nights again?). You can pretend to be an NBC executive and make an argument for the return, or the demise, of "Chuck" and "Heroes" next fall, and neither speech would seem all too far fetched.

At 10 p.m., "Medium" (8.5 million, 2.7/7) looked at its falling lead in, shrugged, and went back to its usual rating.

If anybody benefited from NBC's slight drop, it was Fox, enjoying a slight gain while once again winning the night in the demo and total viewers. "House" (14.6 million, 5.4/14) climbed a couple tenths, plus "24" (11.6 million, 3.7/9) was up a peg

ABC was second for the evening with a special episode of "The Bachelor" (11 million, 3.7/9), which was up 61% over last year's "Women Tell All" and was the third-most-watched "Tell All" in the history of the "Bachelor" franchise. The finale of "True Beauty" (7.5 million, 3.2/9) was up slightly from last week despite a much-reduced lead in and won its hour -- strengthening its chance of a second season. In third place, CBS showed off by tying NBC with its repeats.

Here's a clip from "Heroes" for those contemplating a jump back in:

The Golden Age of Animated TV Opening Titles

Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 25, 2009 in Animation |

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As with most things in TV land our story begins in another medium — film! Back in the 50s THE designer who revolutionized opening credits was Saul Bass who favored a very graphic and illustrational approach to making opening titles an art form onto themselves. To me his masterpiece was Anatomy of a Murder in 1958 which matched a striking musical score by Duke Ellington to a simple yet powerful animation:

This revolution in cinema from the late 50s had a huge impact on the golden age of television during the 60s. Although TV was not a high brow medium ready to borrow modern art references and embrace primitivism — but what was interesting is that this freed up many shows from that era to have animated opening titles even though the television show itself was live action. The first example I came across of this trend was the titles from the series My Three Sons from 1960. The color version shown here is a later version of the black and white opening titles:

A bit later in 1962 The Lucy Show came out which was a follow up to he popular series I Love Lucy. What’s interesting with these title is that they feature caricatures of Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance which are quite mod looking:

By 1964 the trend had taken off — these opening titles from Bewitched could easily stand up on their own as an animated TV show:

And of course I Dream of Jeannie from 1965 is even more exotic picking up on an Arabian Nights meets NASA visual theme:

What’s interesting to me is that animated opening titles weren’t just limited to sitcoms, but could also be used for action and adventure television series. Here’s a good example from the opening titles of The Wild Wild West from 1965:

In 1966 things came full circle when you had the Batman TV series which was based on a comic book turned into a live action drama — but what makes these titles so amazing is that they’re picking up on the fine art notion of Pop Art. These titles owe a great deal to Roy Lichtenstein who started to create paintings that were based on panels from comic books, but what makes these titles so cutting edge is that Lichtenstein was only doing those paintings just a few years before in the early 60s:

In 1967 the torch is carried by The Carol Burnett Show which kept the flame going until the mid-70s:

And of course no article on animated opening titles would be complete without a mention of 1969’s Monty Python which featured the brilliant animation of Terry Gilliam:

And on the hipster side The Partridge Family starts to bring in a hippy touch to the genre in 1970:

Sadly with the 70s realism came back to television and even comedy shows started switching back to live action or straight graphic approaches to opening titles. Although one last gem that I did find was the opening titles from Rhoda from 1974 which feature a photo collage technique which still stands up very well today:

'Absolutely Fabulous' U.S. pilot a go

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Fox has picked up a pilot episode of a U.S. adaptation of the British comedy "Absolutely Fabulous," industry sources say.

The Hollywood Reporter said Friday the U.S. adaptation will be set in Los Angeles and original "Fabulous" actress Jennifer Saunders will be the executive producer.

Saunders not only starred as neurotic fashion publicist Edina in the BBC version, but also wrote for the British series.

The pilot order for a U.S. version of "Fabulous" comes after several past attempts to adapt the quirky comedy

for U.S. audiences failed to reach the pilot stage.

Sony Pictures TV, BBC Worldwide Productions and Tantamount will produce the U.S. adaptation.

The Reporter said "Fabulous" follows Edina and her best friend, Patsy, as they enjoy wild lives that frustrate Edina's restrained daughter, Saffron.

© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Ten Greatest Lost WTF-isms

Published by Sub-Zero

Season five of Lost premieres tonight after an eternally long wait, and I wanted to take a look back at the long road of WTF that it took to get to where we are. Some of these moments’ mysteries have been resolved, while others we might be waiting until the final episode for an answer. Here are the ten most Lost-ish moments in this history of Lost.

10) “I don’t know what is more disquieting; the fact that the rest of the statue is missing, or that it has four toes.” - Sayid

Context: Jin, Sun and Sayid are sailing across the island’s coast in Desmond’s boat when they see a giant broken foot statue.

Scale from Zero to Solved: Zero. We’ve seen ancient writing in a few places on the island, but we have no clue whatsoever about the island’s ancient inhabitants, besides a possible hint that the modern ‘Others’ are descended from them.

9) “I said all of you, he’s coming too.” - Ben

Context: In the season four finale Ben shows up on the mainland and tells Jack that everyone who left has to go back to the island, including corpse-ified Locke who we find out has been contacting all of them and calling himself Jeremy Bentham.

Scale from Zero to Solved: About a three. We don’t know why Locke dies in the future, but it’s not too hard to image and number of ways it could have happened. Presumably this season will explain much of that.

8 ) “Do you ever think that maybe they put you down here to push a button every 100 minutes just to see if you would?” - Jack

“Every…single…day.” -Desmond

Context: Upon breaking into the hatch, the survivors discover Desmond living down there typing in a code, and pressing a button every 108 minutes “in order to save the world.”

Scale from Zero to Solved: Solved. The button might actually be one of Lost’s most successful and satisfying explanations. It actually did do something (releasing electromagnetic energy), and because it wasn’t pressed one time it crashed the survivor’s plane. Bad Desmond!

7) “You found a what?” -Jack

Context: Boone and Locke discover a metal hatch in the jungle, one of the first signs that they are not on a completely deserted island after all.

Scale from Zero to Solved: Solved. Finding a hatch in the tropic jungle way back in season one was one of the show’s initial WTF moments. Since then we’ve explored the thing inside and out, discovered it was a research station, and blew it up.

6) “Don’t tell me what I can’t do!” -Locke

Context: We find out through a flashback that before the flight Locke had been confined to a wheelchair, but after the crash was fully able to walk again.

Scale from Zero to Solved: About a seven. It’s quite clear that the island has magical healing powers for those it likes (Locke, Rose) and scorn for those it doesn’t (Ben, pregnant women). We don’t know why exactly, but it’s not one of the most pressing mysteries.

5) “Where did that come from?” -Kate

“Probably Bear Village, how the hell would I know?” - Sawyer

Context: Sawyer shoots something making its way through the grass towards the group, assuming it’s a large boar. It’s ****ing polar bear.

Scale from Zero to Solved: Pretty much solved. We know Dharma brought polar bears as some sort of “animals out of their natural habitat” experiment (check Lostpedia for a more detailed analysis). What we don’t know is the context as to why one of them got teleported to the Tunisian desert. Hmm.

4) “One of them isn’t in the manifest. He wasn’t on the plane!” -Hurley

Context: After Hurley finds the manifest and takes a census, he discovers that one passenger, Ethan, wasn’t on the list, and at that moment he’s off kidnapping Claire and hanging Charlie from a tree. It’s the first time we figure out that there are other people on the island and hence the term “Others” is born.

Scale from one to Solved: About a two. The Others are still one of the show’s greatest mysteries. We found a lot out about Ben, but he wasn’t exactly a true Other since he came over with Dharma. The “native” Others are still perplexing, as one appears to be immortal and a few others appear to be ghosts or teleporters.

3) “I’m sorry.” -Michael

Context: Michael takes a gun from Ana Lucia to shoot Ben, but instead shoots her, Libby and himself.

Scale from Zero to Solved: Solved. At the time this was probably one of the most shocking moments of the show to date, and it still retains that title today. What would prompt Michael to kill two survivors and shoot himself? Well, we found out later he made a deal for his son with the Others.

2) (Unpronounceable)

Context: Pick your poison. The first time the noise is heard in the jungle is the very beginning of Lost’s mysteries, letting the audience know that this just isn’t some Robinson Crusoe knock off about surviving on an island. Also, two more WTF moments are when we first catch a glimpse of the monster, which turns out to be a pillar of smoke, and the time when the smoke monster gets right up in Mr. Eko’s grill and we can hear mechanical noises and see images flashing inside of it.

Scale from Zero to Solved: Negative ten. Alright, not really, let’s say one. The Smoke Monster is probably the one of the greatest remaining mysteries on the show, and no explanation seems to make sense. We know it’s a security system, it’s controllable, and it’s named after Cerebrus, the guard dog of hell. Awesome.

1) “We have to go back!” -Jack

Context: In the last scene of the season three finale, Jack meets Kate and an airport and says they have to go back to the island. This turned everyone’s worlds upside down since until now, all flashbacks had been well, in the past. It threw the show for a loop to know that they actually do get off the island at some point, but even more so, that they weren’t supposed to.

Scale from Zero to Solved: Five. We now know how they got off the Island, but we’re waiting until this season starts until we can fully grasp the reasons why everything turned to sh*t.

The Evolution Of Alex Trebek

by Noel Murray

Alex Trebek, took over for Art Fleming as the host of Jeopardy! when creator Merv Griffin revived the series in syndication in 1984, and for the past 25 years, Trebek has presided over what’s arguably TV’s most challenging game show--all while demonstrating the kind of quiet, almost smug authority that one would expect from a man with a philosophy degree from The University Of Ottawa. And yet the Trebek we know today is not the Trebek that Americans first met. The Trebek who came south to host the game show The Wizard Of Odds in 1973 was this Trebek:

This Trebek had started his career as a serious broadcast journalist at the CBC, but had been dabbling in game show hosting for a few years before he arrived in the U.S. (with pal Alan Thicke in tow as The Wizard Of Odds’ producer and theme-song-composer). And this Trebek was apparently ready to conform to whatever American TV wanted him to be.

The Wizard Of Odds only lasted a year—and has all but disappeared from TV history, save for some tiny, tiny publicity stills and an episode in UCLA’s archives—but Trebek came back strong the next season with High Rollers, his first show for innovative game show producers Merrill Heatter and Bob Quigley. On High Rollers, Trebek acted the part of the consummate huckster, cracking jokes and goosing contestants to keep the game lively. He’s almost 180 degrees removed from the kind of host he is now.

During his run on High Rollers, Trebek had a cup of coffee as the host of The $128,000 Question, and spent a year hosting the reasonably complex trivia game Double Dare, on which he acted a little classier then he did on High Rollers, while still remaining basically chummy (with an undercurrent of ‘70s swinger smarm).

After High Rollers ended in 1980, Trebek moved on to Battlestars, a blatant Hollywood Squares ripoff that had Trebek mimicking Peter Marshall, albeit with a higher level of exasperation at the show’s camera-hog celebs.

The early ‘80s were something of a shaky time for Trebek, career-wise. While suffering through Battlestars, he was also hosting the syndicated Pitfall back in Canada, and trying unsuccessfully to liven up one of a wave of gimmicky game shows that emerged around that time (weighed down by elaborate sets and complicated game-play).

But at least Pitfall wasn’t as bad as Malcolm, which never got past the pilot stage. Here, Trebek shared hosting duties with a wisecracking cartoon:

Jeopardy! stabilized Trebek’s career path and his reputation, though even after signing on to host Jeopardy!, Trebek took other game show gigs that let him be a little looser, like a revival of Concentration…

…and to To Tell The Truth:

I grew up with Alex Trebek on my TV, but never gave him much thought until I started getting deeper into game shows in my early 30s. My interest was sparked in part by a growing affection for old-school showbiz craft, and in part by the almost knee-buckling nostalgia factor of watching a rerun of The Price Is Right or Card Sharks. When we first started getting Game Show Network on our cable system, I’d gaze at the faces of all-but-forgotten celebrities and hear the music of Match Game, and it was like being transported back to the shag carpet in my grandparents’ sunken living room. I saw my life flashing before my eyes--though none of the big moments. Not the triple I hit in Little League, or my parents’ divorce, or my first kiss… no, just the day-to-day idleness that makes up so much of our lives and then disappears a dim haze.

By all accounts—particularly in Ken Jennings’ fascinating three-part interview with former Jeopardy! clue-writer Carlo Panno—Alex Trebek is very hands-on with his signature show, making sure that Jeopardy maintains its standard of excellence. Because of that--and because he’s been the Jeopardy! guy so long--Trebek’s achieved a kind of cultural permanence as a mild-mannered know-it-all. I’d read some about Trebek’s earlier career, and I remember seeing him on TV a lot pre-Jeopardy!. But stumbling across YouTube clips of Trebek’s pre-Jeopardy! work was jarring. It was a lot like a recent experience I had with a high school friend on Facebook, who posted a picture of me in a sweater that I used to love, but hadn’t thought about in over 20 years. That’s what’s so great about the internet: it's become a common store for our memorabilia, and has given us concrete images to connect with our shaky memories. And that’s what’s so frustrating too, because what the internet can’t provide—like clips from The Wizard Of Odds, for example—has begun to feel remote, unreal, perhaps even impossible.

For example, I have a vague memory of an early episode of Jeopardy! in which Trebek described a psychological condition called “inability to entertain,” and joked that he was afraid he suffered from it in the early ‘80s. But now I can find no record of the condition or Trebek’s joke. I also couldn’t find anything on-line about Trebek’s association with a new breed of game show “hunks” that emerged in the mid-‘70s, though I could swear I read an article about that bunch five or six years ago. Perhaps I just dreamed these things. But I could swear I didn’t.

These aspects of our cultural life—game shows, talk shows, dime novels, comic books, regional commercials, journeyman baseball players, discontinued fast food sandwiches—come and go so quickly, and because we rarely make a big deal about them at the time, they sometimes retain their connection to the era they belong to even more strongly than those rare movies and songs and books that endure. Casablanca is a record of the ‘40s, but regular references to the film—and its continued popularity on TV and home video—means that people can associate Casablanca with different times in their own lives. Ditto the Jeopardy! Alex Trebek, who transcends generations.

But that jumpy, shaggy-haired dude laying down a line of patter on High Rollers? Well, he’s a man wholly of his time.

CES 2009: World's thinnest television unveiled

The world's thinnest television was unveiled on Tuesday measuring just 6.5mm (0.26inches).

By Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo

Electronics companies are expected to unveil even thinner televisions in the near future. Photo: AFP

The wafer thin television, which was created by the South Korean company Samsung Electronics, is being hailed as the world's slimmest television ever created.

Its features include a LCD (liquid crystal display) screen as well as an LED (light emitting diode) backlighting system, to which its creators attribute its record slimline structure.

A prototype of the new flat-panel television is to be displayed during the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas which opens on Thursday.

Global economic turmoil and diminishing demand for goods has intensified competition between global electronic companies battling to produce the world's thinnest, smallest and lightest products.

During the Las Vegas show, the Japanese company JVC will also unveil what it claims is the world's lightest 32-inch LCD TV, which is fractionally thicker than Samsung's creation at 7mm (0.28inches).

The new generation of slim televisions eclipse streamlined models such as the Philips 8mm (0.3 inches) prototype LCD television unveiled in Berlin last year, Sony's 9.9mm (0.4 inches) set which is currently on sale and Samsung's Bordeaux 850 LCD TV.

Electronics companies are expected to unveil even thinner televisions in the near future based on new screen technology known as organic light emitting diode (OLED).

'24' to return to four-hour premiere

Two-night season opener

By James Hibberd

Fox has set a premiere day for the return of "24," planning a two-night, four-hour event in January.

The seventh season debut will air on Sunday, Jan. 11 and Monday, Jan 12 at 8 p.m.

The network used a similar rollout plan for 2007's sixth season premiere. Delayed due to the writers strike, the premiere is the first new regular episode of "24" in nearly two years.

"Day Seven" opens with CTU dismantled and Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) on trial. Bauer's day takes an unexpected turn when former colleague Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard) returns after being presumed dead.

Two-hour prequel movie "24: Redemption" will give viewers a head start on the season when it airs Sunday, Nov. 23.