Pockets of Sanity

Damn You, Universal!

A few weeks ago, Universal released the second season of "Quantum Leap" on DVD. I'd been waiting until after the holidays to pick it up, but now I'm wondering if I'll be buying it at all.

Music is a crucial element to this time-travel series, and if you're not aware, in this day and age music rights cost an arm and a leg. Many shows are not on DVD yet simply because of music rights issues. Singers, songwriters and record companies all want their taste of that yummy DVD money, so you generally have to pay for the rights to music all over again when releasing your show.

Universal has decided not to play ball with the slimy record industry, which in a way is commendable but then again, we all suffer. So how does this affect "Quantum Leap"?

There are three very emotional moments over the course of the series, and each of the three has a particular piece of music that adds to the emotional weight of the scene. Two of those moments use the same song... Georgia on My Mind by Ray Charles. The first of these moments comes in the season finale of season two. And the music in this crucial scene has been completely replaced with something generic, because for whatever reason, Universal didn't get the rights to the music.

I've read this happens elsewhere throughout season two, mainly with Elvis music, but I could probably overlook those. But the omission of Georgia on My Mind is just brutal to that scene, especially considering that it is mentioned by name during the course of the episode and explained why it means what it means to the characters involved.

This link documents some of the changes and provides a comparison between the original version and the new version of that season's final scene. Even if you've never seen "Quantum Leap" before you can see how the whole scene is drastically different just by replacing one song.

Where's the Spice?

So I pop open some Pepsi Holiday Spice today, and I can safely say that it has no discernable flavor whatsoever, aside from the standard Pepsi-blandness. It's kinda red in color though, so that's something. But it doesn't taste like anything. Back to my Pibb Xtra.

Perhaps though the T.G.I. Friday's Potato Skins Snack Chips I was enjoying earlier have stripped the taste buds off my tongue. These things are a godsend since Tato Skins by some other company (Keebler, I think) haven't been on the market in years.

Please send me as many free products as possible.

60 Minutes: Ricky Williams

After watching my Jags win a game they had no business winning against the Green Bay Packers, I stayed tuned to CBS to watch that whackjob Ricky Williams be interviewed by Mike Wallace on "60 Minutes".

All I have to say about the whole thing at this point is this: I could have much greater sympathy for the plight of those who want weed legalized if every single pot user didn't come off looking like a deranged homeless person.

Weed has such a disgusting stigma attached to it. Smoke pot and disregard all grooming habits entirely! Just throw on a wool cap, throw away your razor and comb and smoke weed all the time.

Then, FLAUNT the fact that you smoke it.

You don't see bank robbers go on television and brag about the job they pulled at First National. You don't hear serial killers calling talk radio to beat their chests about their latest victims. But what is Ricky Williams' answer when asked if he could pass an NFL drug test today? "Nope. Tee-hee!"

</rant>

Black Monday for Football Gamers

This bit of sad news from Gamespot.com:

http://www.gamespot....gs_news&subj=6114977

In a nutshell, EA Sports now has exclusive rights to the NFL, making themselves the only company able to make a viable NFL video game for the next FIVE years. This means that come next season, you will have only one option for a NFL game, the Madden series. If you don't like the Madden series, tough. You don't have any other options now.

Wiping out the competition is the biggest mistake you can make in business. Competition breeds creativity. Without competition, what motivation will EA have to improve their NFL series year after year?

The only modern games that I pre-order each year are the new football releases, so this just absolutely sucks on ice for me.

I grew up on the Madden series for Genesis, but when the Dreamcast came along, I got hooked on NFL 2K. I've been a fan of Sega's football brand ever since. Now it looks as though I won't be allowed to make a choice anymore when it comes to console football.

Even if I was a Madden fan, I wouldn't be happy about this. Competition urges creativity and innovation. Would there be Holiday Spice Pepsi right now if there weren't 9000 other soft drinks on the market? Look at McDonalds and Burger King and Wendy's... they're always coming up with new and tasty products. Would they do that if they were the only burger joint on the planet?

Look what happened to the WWF after the sale of their only major rival, WCW. Ratings went south. The viewers who were loyal to WCW did not just blindly turn over the watch the WWF... they just stopped watching wrestling. And with no competition, there were no more surprises and shenanigans on WWF TV, so their core audience dwindled as well.

I sincerely hope that there is some sort of legal challenge to this. Not just because I enjoy the ESPN 2K franchise and wish to see it continue, but because having only one product to choose from is just flat out dull.

Mmmmm, beer lady

I don't give a rat's ass about beer, but the good folks over at Beer.com do have something worthwhile to give to society.  The virtual bartender is a fun little timewaster for the fellas. 

However, be warned that the virtual bartender is not work-safe. 

Oh, and its not woman-safe either. If your woman is anywhere within a 50 yard radius, be prepared to instantly switch to a spreadsheet or some other non-titillating thing. Pretend you're writing a renewal of your wedding vows or some other ridiculous nonsense.

South Park, SNL, Paris Hilton and Ashlee Simpson

You'd figure after 8 seasons and 1 feature film, "South Park" would be out of gas. You'd certainly have to imagine that they were beyond the "shocking" stage. But this week's episode proved both theories wrong. I can't say how many times I was thinking "Good lord, this is just wrong!" as I was laughing hysterically. Even better than the episode from two weeks ago... but maybe it just spoke to me because I hate Paris Hilton so much. Seek it out this weekend.

Last weekend's SNL was a rerun of the season premiere (Ben Affleck/Nelly). There were two noteworthy changes in the show, however. First, during Weekend Update, Affleck's commentary on Matt Damon was changed to the dress rehearsal version. Why? Who knows. There was seemingly no difference between the two, but the change was definite. Someone just likes to tinker.

But the most notable change was the inclusion of the dress rehearsal version of the horrible Debbie Downer sketch. Now, for what I believe is the first time on a non-DVD release of SNL, they put a title card on screen before the sketch saying "The following is from dress rehearsal, simply because it worked better." Keep that phrase "worked better" in mind.

So what spills out on screen is what always seems to happen in dress rehearsal... the sketch is one big gigglefest. No one can contain the hilarity that is Debbie Downer! So, what SNL is telling us is that "worked better" means that the material isn't funny unless the cast cracks up all throughout it. The sketch, as written, is garbage. That's proven true by the non-response the live audience gave. But get the cast to laugh and it's comedy gold! So if this is true, why not just replace EVERY sketch that bombs with a giggle-filled dress version? Why is Debbie Downer the only one worthy of "working better"?

This weekend skips the Queen Latifah rerun and heads straight to the Jude Law/Ashlee Simpson debacle. It'll be interesting to note what changes are made there.