There have been many great characters throughout television history, but not many of them can claim to be as complex, round, or hard to figure out as Jimmy McNulty from the Wire. McNulty may be the most interesting and deep character ever created. The Wire has many great characters, including popular favorites Omar Little, Stringer Bell, and Avon Barksdale, but Jimmy McNulty was the poster boy for the show and he is the central figure of the show.

Jimmy McNulty is the character featured in the opening scene of the series, and for the next three seasons he plays a prominent role. McNulty is the character rattling the cages of those in charge of the police department. McNulty is the only character putting the job ahead of himself. He wants to catch the criminals, rid the streets of drugs, and make Baltimore a better place. Everyone else in the show is simply holding Jimmy back. If the Wire were a melodrama like most shows on television, it would seem natural to place Jimmy McNulty as the hero of the Wire. He may have a little too much to drink sometimes, he may have cheated on his wife with another woman, and he may have no respect for anyone but himself, but perhaps we can pity him for this rather than hate him. However, the Wire is not a melodrama. It is a drama based on the reality that is Baltimore. Jimmy McNulty does do great things as far as working … Continue Reading ...

Ernie Kovacs was television’s most original visual innovator and surreal comic genius, who made us see the world in a different way. He was a true artistic pioneer, who created his unique magic when the medium was just in its infancy.

The pictures that Kovacs conjured along the way, have had an enormous influence on a variety of television shows, as well as individual performers and writers who followed. These included: “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In,” “Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” and “Saturday Night Live,” to name just a few. In addition, performers and writers, such as Steve Allen, Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Chevy Chase, and Mel Brooks, all owe a great deal to this inspiring and creative free spirit.

In 1986, the Museum of Television and Radio (now the Paley Center for Media) presented an exhibit of Kovacs’s work, called “The Vision of Ernie Kovacs.” In the Museum’s booklet for the show, the Pulitzer Prize winning television critic, William Henry III wrote:

“Kovacs was more than another wide-eyed, self-ingratiating clown. He was television’s first significant video artist. He was its first surrealist…its most daring and imaginative writer. He was television’s first and possibly only auteur, and he was a genius… Kovacs’s genius lay in the realm of art. There, a genius is someone who causes an audience to look at the world in a new way.”

MEETING ERNIE KOVACS

In 1953, I first encountered Ernie Kovacs when I was 12 years old. Ernie’s early morning television show, “Kovacs Unlimited,” was being … Continue Reading ...

There is an ongoing debate about the effects of television on children. Some believe that TV has a lot to offer. It can educate, stimulate and entertain. If parents are discerning about what their child watches and how much they watch, there is nothing too harmful about TV. On the other hand, some experts say that any children under two should not watch any television. They feel that it hinders a child’s growth and development in many ways.

So before you sit your kids down in front of your huge plasma TV, have a think about what they are watching and how long they are watching.To get a look at both sides of the debate, lets break this discussion down in to the positive and negative effects of television on young viewers.

Positive:

• Children can learn about numbers, letters, colours and shapes by watching quality educational programmes.
• Children can learn about social interaction and manners on good quality dramatic and educational programmes.
• For many parents of young children, a day at home is many hours to fill. Sometimes a familiar or appropriate movie or programme can provide a relaxing moment both child and parent.
• Children enjoy the familiarity of a movie or show they have watched many times as much as they love to read the same book again and again.
• Many movies and shows have a moral tale, and this can sometimes provide a helpful way for parents to introduce moral themes and ideas into their children’s lives.
• Quite

The Panasonic Viera TXL32V10B is a frontrunner choice in the high definition LCD TV market. It hosts several brand new technologies, as well as some improvements on earlier designs. The state of the art design holds more features then most people could hope for.

The glossy, gorgeous 1920 x 1080 display on the Panasonic shows movies in High Definition. The video quality has a contrast ratio of 50,000 : 1, one of the most extreme on the market today. The 32-inch widescreen panel sports a viewing angle of 178 degrees. The images come through crisp and clear, even from a nearly sideways angle.

Only a few liquid crystal displays have the V-Real 4 engine available to them. The Panasonic Viera TX-L32V10B has the V-Real 4 engine built right in. The Panasonic Viera TX-L32V10B also has the V-Audio technology, along with two 10-watt standard speakers. V-Audio is a fascinating new technology that scans your living room dimensions with a special sensor, and then changes the sound signal output to provide the most enveloping surround sound you’ve ever heard.

It has several connectors and ways to use devices connection abilities. There are several HDMI connectors that allow you to hook up several devices. It has special features just for LUMIX cameras. If you plug in a LUMIX camera directly to the HDMI slot, you can view any of the media on the camera just by controlling it through the Viera remote control. It even has a built-in SD/SDHC memory card slot, so … Continue Reading ...

High Definition Television, or HDTV as it is commonly known in the market is one of the greatest innovation in entertainment technology that we have today. HDTV offers more than your average television set in sound, resolution and imaging, among others.

Here are some of the important accessories that one need to consider if they are to maximize the use of their HDTVs.

HDTV Receivers

The most popular HDTV Receiver we have today is the Directv. Directv is one of the leaders in HDTV industry and one of the first to offer HDTV-associated services for the consumers’ HDTV needs including HDTV tuners, HDTV receivers and HDTV satellite dishes. Directv HDTV receiver has made program tuning easy and convenient for their clients and customers. HDTV tuners can be easily attached to any HDTV-compatible antenna to receive programs from free and local channels.

HDTV Antenna

Choosing the right HDTV antennas are essential to getting the most out of what your high definition television can offer. Antennas are necessary high definition television accessories you can use to receive the best possible transmission and reception for the best high definition television viewing. Using any ordinary shelf antenna simply will not do. Thus, it is important to get an antenna that is just as technologically-advanced as the tube to which it will be attached on.

The high definition television industry is packed with antennas that consumers need. These are usually HDTV-capable or HDTV-compatible antennas.

HDTV Selector Switch

High Definition Selector Switch is another important accessory … Continue Reading ...

Welcome to the 21st-century television!. Now, your Samsung 46 TV can remotely access your PC’s personal media so that you can download music, video, and photos All by using the same remote control as your TV.

Full HD (1080p) contains 1.5 times more scanning lines than conventional HD TVs. That means more pixels, more details and a better picture. A resolution that is approximately twice as much as conventional HD TVs, creates the most flawless picture imaginable. You have to see it to believe it.

As a terrific example the Samsung LN46B750 HDTV offers dazzling entertainment with new Touch of Color and InfoLink RSS lets you stay connected. You can access news, weather, sports etc at the push of a button.

Want to be different?. Well you can make a statement with Samsung´s new Touch of Color design. It features a hint of red tone which is blended into the traditional black frame. This transforms your Samsung 46 TV into a work of art. You will not have seen anything like this before. Wait till your neighbours see this.

With just a push of a button you can access news, weather, sports and stock information. The latest models have a feature called InfoLink RSS which gathers up-to-the-minute content from USA Today and displays it on your screen. Now you can always stay connected while watching TV anywhere in your home.

The latest Samsung 46 TV is ENERGY STAR compliant so you know that your tv is helping the environment by … Continue Reading ...