On Sun, Jul 24, 2011 at 4:42 PM, Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote:
> I understand there is a lot of logistics that went into deciding when > the shuttle should land, but would it have been so bad to land > Atlantis during the day when more Americans could have watched it, > either in person or live on TV? I set my alarm and watched it as it > happened, but at 3am PST I was basically watching it half-awake and > out of one bloodshot eye. That said, I watched it live on NASA's free > iPad app, with no commentary by any network blowhard. None of the > networks have science editors anymore, let alone experts on space, so > what would have been the point of hearing any of them speak? > > For the best coverage/reaction to the shuttles, check out the previous > weekend's edition of John Oliver and Andy Saltzman's "The Bugle" > podcast. John Oliver, not even a US citizen, really spoke about how > awesome it is to witness the shuttle live and in person. > > I watched it on CNN, which as noted here was not too bad, but not up to its old Miles days. I think these are events that really benefit from informed and reasoned commentary, and frankly a old fashioned broadcasting sense of what makes for good TV. What made Oliver so great (both on TDS and The Bugle) was not so much any "coverage" he provided, but the genuine and palpable sense of "Shit! This is Cool!". Anyone who can't communicate some sense of that has no business working a space story on TV. Oliver was also really funny the week he talked about his TDS piece on the Palin Bus fiasco. Both of these (Shuttle and Palin) reminded me of how much work they put into those remote pieces on TDS - and also make me think that they have been doing fewer of those over the years. Indeed, it seems like they make less use of their correspondents in general than they used to. -- 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
