When the credits roll on a TV show...

It used to be that the length of an hour long TV Drama was around 50 minutes (or even 53 minutes for some episodes of The Original Star Trek Series). Sitcoms could last for as long as 25 to 30 minutes.

In today's modern, advertising friendly world, this is completely unacceptable. As advertising space has increased, actual running time, actual story space (the essence of what happens in the drama) has gone down to as little as 42 minutes for an hour-long show and 18 to 19 minutes for a sitcom that is supposed to be 30 minutes long.

A similar trend has been observed on Documentaries or even Faux-Documentaries as seen on The History Channel. Case in point the show "Ancient Aliens".

The problem, however, is not so much the reduction in content, which conceivably could cause a decrease in quality, but rather what happens when the credits roll in the end...

Too many shows─as of late─have been using the end (closing) credits to actually conclude the show. By that, I mean, they finish telling the story that has been running throughout the episode during the closing credits. I find this astounding and distracting as well as in bad form. The biggest culprit of this is the ABC show: Suburgatory.

 However, other networks do this quite a lot. I mentioned the History Channel previously. They do this on almost all of their shows, including Ancient Aliens.

Why are TV Networks doing this?

The only thing I have figured out is that it's a tool they use against the users of DVR recording like myself. They actually want people to watch their shows LIVE. What a concept! Watch a TV show LIVE? That is so outdated and outmoded! With DVR technology and time-shifting and the power to watch what I want, when I want, YOU, the TV Networks will never have that power over me. If you continue to insist and play these game with the closing credits, one of two things are going to happen:

1. I, and many viewers like me, will give up on your stupid show.
2. Or, we will continue to time shift, ignoring your pathetic attempts to block us.

Please understand, the technology is here, the tool is powerful, and it give us control over our lives. And control is all about making our lives better. So no, we will not give in to you. So, give up this obsession of running your show during the closing credits. IT'S ANNOYING! Thanks.

The "Star Wreck" movie

Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning

Of course, that's a play on words. It really means: "Star Trek: In the Beginning", and this movie is a parody.

I belong to what one can describe as an online Science Fiction Fan Club or Association. Years ago, some other members had alerted me to the presence of this 2005 movie from Finland. It is a very well made parody of Star Trek made in the vain of the "Airplane" movies. The movie is just over an hour and a half long. At the time, the folks who had produced the movie were promoting it, and I had just gotten high-speed Internet. So, I took their offer of a free download. But, since that time, I had not had the opportunity to watch it.

But, technology finally caught up with this common man. I am the owner of a TiVo Box and there now exists the technology, via this wonderful program called pyTivo to watch any video stored on your computer via your TiVo on your TV.

Isn't Technology great? Thanks armoo and krkeegan, two of the developers of pyTivo!

Anyway, onto the movie . CAUTION! This contains some spoilers.

The story opens with Captain Pirk (yes, I know -- hilarious!) leading a combined fleet through some sort of "wormhole" (oh, you will like, what they call wormholes in this movie). But before, the movie continues, we're given some background. How Captain Pirk came to be in this situation.

Apparently, he and his crew, are caught in some sort of time warp that takes them to Earth's past (our present) where they try to blend in -- in a rather funny way. But then, they decide, enough with that, we'll speed up progress and conquer the world. So, Captain Pirk, becomes the leader of this new United World and goes on a mission to discover more habitable planets.

I will leave the rest of the movie UNSPOILED, for those who want to watch it. It is imperative to remember that some of the sensibilities of the actors are European from Finland, but a lot of the humor is universal. It's also important to remember what these folks accomplished without a big Hollywood budget. I was thoroughly impressed.

Even though, I got this movie for free, I will definitely be willing to spend money to purchase it, and I intend to do so. I think, the creators intended for word of mouth to spread the fame of this movie. So, if you don't find subtitles daunting, I recommend you go and find this movie, buy it from Amazon, or from whatever other online source, and enjoy it. You'll have a blast. More importantly, you'll question, WHY it takes Hollywood so much money to produce the kind of crap they put out, when a couple of guys from Finland can succeed with an effort like this. But even if you don't care about Hollywood politics, the movie is FUN.