I have long been a critic of the way Fox Sports does baseball. I much prefer ESPN, and now even TBS, and of course my local broadcast and cable productions of Giants games, to the weekly Saturday Fox broadcasts. But I have to say I have been impressed with the quality of their work on the World Series so far. I am still frustrated with how much Joe and Tim's knowledge (but especially Tim) of these two teams is from Media Guides and recent discussions with their cronies (in other words, it is obvious that neither Joe nor Tim have seen many Giants or Rangers games for most of the regular season). But Joe and Tim have been less obnoxious than usual so far (though this might have something to do with the endorphins coursing through my blood system right now).
I am particularly impressed with the quality of the images. Somebody finally got to the producer (or would it be the director?) of Fox Baseball, and they have cut WAY back on their crowd reaction shots. Not only does this let us actually see more baseball, but it means the crowd shots they do give us have more impact. They had a very effective shot tonight of Babs Bush scoring the game while son W. was mindless clapping that was an excellent example of how an image can enhance the game – you can describe that shot in words, but you really have to see it, with just the right, brief comment from Joe (maybe a nice Olbermann joke would have worked, but you would have had to phrase it just right, and it would be hard), to make it work. Near the end of the game that had a couple of very evocative shots of Ranger fans' anxeity and growing concern (one particularly good one was I think a silent image of a woman with her coat pulled up over her eyes and head, as if she couldn't bear to look). Even on a Halloween night they kept their crowd shots of costumes to an acceptable level - mostly in one inning. I have also been impressed with how quickly they have given us key replays – and again, less of the endless and mindless loop of irrelevant replays, but brief and focused replays of key plays and angles. In I think the first inning of tonight’s game Giant 2nd baseman Freddy Sanchez lept high into the air to snag a line drive right at the apex to end the inning and a Ranger’s threat. It was a classic “snow cone” (noted again by Joe, which I never mind – the charm of baseball is the eternal return of favorite clichés, and I almost require my baseball announcers to ritually invoke them when appropriate, like a priest saying a mass). Almost immediately (it was the third out, and they did it as the were going to commercial) we got a quick, focused slo mo replay of the catch, and then a close up moving to freeze frame of the fielder coming out of his roll, showing the ump his glove with the top third of the ball spilling out the top. Very nice image, and nicely presented. It was not just the standard replay of the play frozen on that last image - they had that last image cued up and ready to dissolve out of to commercial. A few innings later the same 2nd baseman (who had a hell of a game tonight) grounded out for the second time with a runner on base, failing to move him over to third. Fox cameras and mikes caught him yelling in disgust at himself in the dugout. Seconds later the next Giant batter hits a 2-run homerun, and rather than just replay the majestic shot 10 times, Fox (after 1 replay) gives us a shot of Sanchez, still in the corer of the dugout cursing himself, reacting to first the crack of Huff’s bat, then the sight of it going over the wall, demonstrating that he was able to put aside his focus on his own failure and celebrate the accomplishment of the team (not all professional athletes can or would do that). I think I would be able to recognize Fox's improved coverage even if the Giants had not just taken a 3 games to 1 lead in the freakin World Series, in Texas, in front of two of the worst presidents of the 20th and 21st centuries - but it does help that I have been smiling so much while watching these games. -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
