The Big Bang Theory barely held my attention last night (Sheldon's friends make him go to the DMV to finally get a driver's license, wacky antics ensue ...). Yet the fast-forward button on my ordinarily reliable DVR failed to shield me from perhaps the worst string of TV commercials since Jerry Seinfeld went shoe-shopping with Bill Gates.
The ad wizards from Bertolli pasta and CBS apparently thought it would be a great idea to put The Insider's Lara Spencer in a kitchen and have her gush about the similarities between CBS comedies and the wonderful line of pasta products from our friends at Bertolli.
For those of you who can't keep up with the intricate plot twists of a 30-minute sitcom, you have Spencer there to inform you about what happened the first few minutes of the show and to talk about how it reminds her of this pasta dish she just happens to be making.
This went on through most, if not all, of the prime-time rotation. ("Sheldon the genius learning how to drive? That's funny stuff!" the perky Spencer reminded us, in case we had missed the laugh-track cues on when to laugh.)
So thank you, CBS and Bertolli, for letting the viewers know that a frozen lasagna dish for two has so much in common with the ensemble cast of "How I Met Your Mother" and those incorrigible bachelors on "Two-and-a-Half Men".
I just wish I had stuck around to see what similarities our helpful pasta shill may have found between her dinner dish and David Caruso's crime scene on CSI: Miami.
Assistant sports editor Lorenzo Perez has bounced back-and-forth between The News & Observer's news and sports department several times since joining the newspaper in 1999. His latest assignment has him working with The N&O's ACC writers and online news. E-mail
Comments
Do you mean that the
Wed, 10/22/2008 - 11:26 — coughlin_jakeDo you mean that the fast-forward on your DVR wouldn't actually fast-forward?
This may or may not be relevant, but we've noticed that the new cable box interface is dreadfully deficient. It's also unreliable. Sometimes it doesn't record shows that it usually records (and yes, we checked the recording options). Or, it starts/stops recording too late/too soon.
The old interface worked like a champ. It's a crime that TW continues to charge the same fee when their in-house software falls far short.
But I digress...
Hadn't thought of that
Wed, 10/22/2008 - 11:08 — brookecainYou're right - I don't remember anything vividly, just having the overall impression that she had made a big mess and had a lot of pots and pans out.
CW did something like this a few years ago with Gilmore Girls (RIP) and Veronica Mars (RIP). At the end of every episode (and maybe at the halfway mark) there was a group of obnoxious young women sitting around chatting about the show, pretending to be friends and talking about how they identified with Rory or whatever. They were called "The Aerie Girls" and it was all just an irritating American Eagle commercial. There was significant fan backlash online.
Stupidest thing I've seen lately
Tue, 10/21/2008 - 14:59 — bellaparolaI thought maybe this was a new trend that I had missed the beginning of - apparently it was the intended beginning of a new trend that I hope never to see again .... it's almost bad enough to make me not watch those shows again, and is likely to join the list of commercials that make me change channels and not watch the rest of the offending show.
The food didn't even look slightly tempting, kind of wandering around lonely in the middle of the pan. I couldn't figure out what all the things she had to do to it added to the convenience factor. Don't most people buy that kind of prepared stuff in order to just open, heat, and serve? She kept taking stuff out, fiddling with it and putting it back all evening long.