Movies and TV

Thanks to my home theater PC -- it's basically a home-made TiVo -- I can record hundreds of hours of television programming from Dish Network. I use these links to help me scour the airwaves for quality movies and news coverage, so that I never have to lower myself to any network sitcom just because that's all that's on. (And I don't have to watch commercials!) The result is a full hard drive and plenty of choices for watching at home on the big screen, or on my laptop while on travel or while just lying in bed at night.

This document last modified April 14, 2007.

Movies

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Movies

At any given time, I probably have about 50 movies on my hard drive that I haven't seen yet. I'll typically scour the schedules of the networks below, and find what looks interesting. If it didn't get very favorable reviews on the Internet Movie Database, and if it doesn't have content that looks like it will be interesting to me, I'll pass.

The DISH Network Showroom tells me what movies I can see FOR FREE!.

The Internet Movie Database at Mississippi US If you want to know anything about Movies, Actors, Actresses, Directors, etc. -- it's here! If you want, just go straight to their search forms .

The All-Movie Guide is another excellent source of movie information.

Starz Network is my top choice for quality movies. Sure, HBO might get the best recent releases first, but you're also paying for alot of crap that I'm just not interested in seeing. Cinimax and Showtime are even worse.

TNT is another source of decent movies, albeit with commercials. They produce some excellent home-grown programming, too.

TBS has some decent stuff, too.

FX -- ditto.

International Film Channel (IFC) is hit and miss, in my opinion. Check it out this week, but don't write it off for next week.

Bravo occasionally has some winners, too.

AMC. If you're looking for older movies, this is the place. Caveat Emptor, though, as this station is frequently the home of the absolute worst movies on television. It's telling that this was the only movie channel that ran commercials from Hollywood types begging for money to help them "preserve these classic movies" that nobody wants to watch. We don't need Jane Fonda to save these horrific productions -- supply and demand (financial darwinism) will do a fine job of weeding out the bad movies so that none of us need to see them again.

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TV News

I'm a news junkie, but I'm pretty particular about my sources -- I can't stand network news coverage! Most of it is sensationalized noise, having little bearing on my life. If someone gets hit by a bus in Brooklyn, what does that have to do with me? And Hollywood's private life is really pretty far out of my usual field of view. Most of those people's public viewpoints don't count for much -- they're just hairstyles and fancy clothes, not political scientists!

What I crave is the big picture: state, national and international news, science breakthroughs, financial and business coverage, and commentary by people that have enough of a clue that they get elected or appointed to their positions based on what they know, not based on how many records they've sold.

These are my picks for daily and weekly sources that I won't miss. Many of them even supply video or audio feeds online or for downloading and portable playback.

New Jersey Network is a New-Jersey-based PBS affiliate. They host excellent local news coverage and commentary via NJN News and Caucus: New Jersey.

WNET is the New York City PBS affiliate. They host The NewsHour, with Jim Lehrer, which I'm convinced is the finest news program on television, bar none. Completely unbiased and very thorough, this one sets the standard by which all other news programming is judged. WNET also hosts excellent news and commentary programming such as the Nightly Business Report, Washington Week and Inside Trenton.

This Week tends to have a bias to the left. Decent guests, although some of the discussion panelists tend to lean so far to port that the ship looks like it's about to capsize. Thank God for George Will!

Fox News Sunday -- in stark contrast to ABC's This Week, above, Fox News Sunday displays that network's typical over-done conservativism. I think they actually lean further to the right then any of the others do to the left. Here's a direct link to their podcasts.

Meet the Press -- Host Tim Russert does a surprisingly good job of keeping an even keel. He'll beat up on everybody with equal harshness, and do it in a friendly and professional manner. You can watch the entire show via the web, right here.

Face the Nation -- I've only just started watching this one with any regularity. It's only a half-hour long, and its schedule conflicts with other programs that I don't want to miss, so CBS has taken a back seat.