And the Emmy for Worst New Show Goes To…

Covert Affairs. This series from the USA Network has earned our highest grade for unwatchability – a perfect 10. Forget about the farfetched premise and plotlines with more holes than a spaghetti sieve, what brings this series down is star Piper Perabo or, more specifically, her lips. Show after show, shot after shot, pictures Ms. Perabo with the oddest contrivance of attitude to ever effect post-Angelina lips. At times, it looks like she has lost all control and feel of her lips as if she’s been shot up with Novocain. Or maybe they’re frozen. No matter, I can almost hear the director demanding from her “more poutiness, more poutiness.” Whenever the camera’s on her the focus is on her lips. Sorry, I tried to watch a couple episodes but I could not get past the lips, the lips, the lips. God, is it ever distracting. Surrounded by competent actors like Kari Matchett (“24” and “ER” among her credits) and Peter Gallagher (“While You Were Sleeping”), Perabo hijacked the show with her lips. After that, the show never had a chance.

Much Ado About Nothing – Changes at WUSF-FM

Car Talk, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Jazz – that’s all I really want from my public radio station. I’m not really into classical music. I do listen to it some times, when I don’t want to be distracted. For me, it’s sort of like elevator music.

Recently, I learned that my local NPR station, WUSF-FM, was splitting it’s offerings onto two stations. Their acquisition, located at 89.1, will now broadcast classical music 24/7. Big whoop. WUSF, 89.7, will switch to a talk radio format during the day with Jazz still available only to us night owls.

Those talk shows they’ll be throwing at us are already available to me on WUFT-FM out of Gainesville. In fact, I get a stronger signal from Gainesville which is about 100 miles north than I do from the locals which sit 40 to 50 miles south. So, the big expansion that goes into effect September 15th, 2010, doesn’t really excite me. Jazz during the day – now, that’s something I could’ve gotten excited about.

I can’t help thinking that if you invited all those who are thrilled about the new 24/7 classical music station, along with those who will be listening to the endless litany of NPR talk, to a picnic, no one would show up – too boring.