ED MARTIN
Ed Martin is a well known media critic who has written for the Myers Media Business Report, TV Worth Watching,The Huffington Post, Inside Media, USA Today, Advertising Age, Broadcasting & Cable and TV Guide .Articles by Ed All articles by Ed
- Critic's Notebook: The New TV Season Is Off To An Okay Start in
TVBlog on
10/07/2024
The new "traditional" TV season is off to a relatively slow start with fiery political debates, scrappy news analysis, thrilling baseball games and a tantalizing preview of an upcoming new series atop the short list of attention-getters.
- An Unexpected Hallmark Summer in
TVBlog on
10/04/2024
Not to sound too corny, but throughout a very difficult summer, Hallmark Happiness was everywhere.
- Long TV's Most Traditional Network, CBS Now Challenging Broadcast Traditions in
TVBlog on
10/03/2024
Lately, it looks to me like CBS has simply separated itself from the broadcast pack and is operating on its own terms.
- Random Reflections On My Hindsight Experience With The TV Blog in
TVBlog on
09/15/2014
This column marks the end of my year writing the daily MediaPost TV Blog. Given the perpetual advances in digital technology, changing consumer tastes and lifestyles, demographic shifts and so much else, there is no predicting what TV will be year to year. TV may be an extraordinary platform today, but those of us who remember when three networks, PBS and a handful of local stations were more than enough know how lucky we were to be able to experience it then. Those were certainly grand times for advertisers as well. But these are glory days for programming too.
- The Hard Life Of The Ad Executive, As Explained In The Classic Cop Drama 'Adam-12' in
TVBlog on
09/12/2014
Has the life of the advertising executive always been a tough one -- one so demanding that it even prevents spending time with one's children? According to a storyline in an episode of the classic cop drama "Adam-12" recently telecast on the invaluable retro channel Me-TV and first seen 40 years ago, advertisers and their families have never had it easy.
- MSNBC's Riveting Annual Replay Of NBC's Real-Time 9/11 Coverage in
TVBlog on
09/11/2014
More than any documentary or news program that I can think of, this replay that runs for three hours and six minutes immediately transports me back to the experiences of that fateful day. I don't think we would be any better off with exponentially more coverage, much of it certain to be unbearably graphic and invasive. In that respect I'm glad technology in 2001 had not yet begun hyper-accelerating in the way that it would just a few years later. And yet I'm awfully glad we have the documentation that we do, and I applaud MSNBC for running its extended "Today" show-NBC News coverage from that morning.
- Is Fox's 'Utopia' The New Season's First (Epic) Fail? in
TVBlog on
09/10/2014
The 2014-15 television season doesn't officially begin until September 22, and already it has yielded its first apparent fail: Fox's reality series "Utopia." Given the intended scope of this series, perhaps the overused expression "epic fail" applies.
- Great News! James Corden Is Set To Take Over As Host Of CBS' 'The Late Late Show' in
TVBlog on
09/09/2014
A little over one month after the rumors began, CBS yesterday formally announced that actor, writer and producer James Corden -- a giant entertainment personality in the United Kingdom -- is going to become the host of CBS' "The Late Late Show" sometime in 2015 -- presumably sooner rather than later, since longtime host Craig Ferguson will be leaving the program near the end of 2014.
- A Fond Farewell To Joan Rivers in
TVBlog on
09/08/2014
Friday night just didn't feel right without Joan Rivers. There was special programming that paid tribute to Rivers three nights ago on a number of networks, but there was no new edition of the late entertainer's unfailingly funny Friday night series "Fashion Police" on E! Her passing seemed incomprehensible. How could Rivers no longer be with us, shocking us and making us laugh as she had with unparalleled consistency for over five decades?
- National Geographic Channel's Unforgettable Premiere For '9/10: The Final Hours' in
TVBlog on
09/05/2014
For the last 12 years, most of the annual early-September programming tied to 9/11 has offered looks back on the day itself. But I can't recall a news show or documentary that focused intently on the events of Sept. 10, the last day of relative "normalcy" any of us will ever know -- at least in what had been the traditional sense. On Sunday, Sept. 7, National Geographic Channel will do exactly that with "9/10: The Final Hours," a two-hour documentary that tells the story of what was happening in New York on Sept. 10 and what was on the minds of Americans on that unremarkable day.
Comments by Ed All comments by Ed
- Random Reflections On My Hindsight Experience With The TV Blog
by
Ed Martin
(TVBlog on
09/15/2014)
Thanks to Nicholas, Paula, David and everyone else I have heard from today for your kind comments. Look for more later this week in my Watercooler TV blog over at MediaBizBloggers (or watch your e-mail). Best to all, Ed
- Appreciating 'The Waltons' - Then And Now
by
Ed Martin
(TVBlog on
08/29/2014)
I agree that "Little House on the Prairie" was a family drama. I was never a fan so it had slipped my mind. But the other shows you mention (all among my favorites when I was younger) are either comedies or shows with a dog or a dolphin as the central characters. Definitely family friendly shows but not in the same family drama category as "The Waltons," "Little House" or "Parenthood."
- The Night 'American Idol' Broke
by
Ed Martin
(TVBlog on
04/10/2014)
Very true, Tom. Each of the five female finalists in 2013 could have beaten the entire Top 10 this season. I guess that says something about the instinct for finding true talent that Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey brought to the table.
- Atten-Hut Fox! Save 'Enlisted'!
by
Ed Martin
(TVBlog on
03/19/2014)
Yes, something is wrong. The show has been banished to Fox's Friday night and sandwiched between a dead show and a dying one, as noted in the column.
- 'House Of Cards': To Binge Or Not To Binge?
by
Ed Martin
(TVBlog on
02/19/2014)
"Feasting." I like it.
- 'House Of Cards': To Binge Or Not To Binge?
by
Ed Martin
(TVBlog on
02/19/2014)
True ... House of Cards and Orange is the New Black both hold up well during repeat viewings.
- A Not-So-Fond Farewell To Fox's 'The X Factor'
by
Ed Martin
(TVBlog on
02/11/2014)
Phillip Phillips. Can't turn on a radio without hearing "Home."
- Jay Leno's Grandly Entertaining (And Surprisingly Emotional) Farewell
by
Ed Martin
(TVBlog on
02/07/2014)
I couldn't agree more about the inclusion of Kim Kardashian in that group ... thought like it or not she is part of the cult of celebrity and she had been a guest on Leno's show. It is what it is.
- Kittens, Puppies, Zombies And Goldfish Fill Super Sunday Bowls
by
Ed Martin
(TVBlog on
01/30/2014)
Thanks for the reminder, Kevin. A great example of counter-programming the Super Bowl. Downton Abbey should hold up fine. I wonder how Sherlock will fare?
- Limited On-Screen Graphics Enhanced 'The Sound of Music Live!' And 'Bonnie & Clyde'
by
Ed Martin
(TVBlog on
12/10/2013)
Kevin -- That's terrible to hear. What were the people at WMAQ thinking? It's not like viewers aren't already aware of their late news.
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