Massively Multiplayer: Gaming In The New Millennium

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Speaking of Kpop ITTL, I reeeally hope the whole Kpop streaming music video view war insanity never develops.

My god, that is such a level of insane debotion it makes boy band fandoms tame...
 
Speaking of Kpop ITTL, I reeeally hope the whole Kpop streaming music video view war insanity never develops.

My god, that is such a level of insane debotion it makes boy band fandoms tame...

Actually, it is boy band fandoms we're talking about. But yes, that level of insane devotion is really fucking creepy - some "fans" even tried to poison a guy through a glue-laced drink once, and the less I say about that one love letter written with period blood the better.
 
Jay-Z and 2NE1? Now that's a pairing I did not expect - their OTL fling with will.i.am made sense since the Black Eyed Peas are more pop than hip-hop, but Jay-Z, I don't know... sure, he's done things with R&B artists before, but 2NE1 is not an R&B quartet. I wonder what will this collaboration result in.

I think Jay-Z will be more inclined to let 2NE1 do their own thing, he's not going to force them to do Destiny's Child-like music or anything XD he has a keen sense of what's hot in the music industry and he chose to pick them up for his label because of their original sound, not because he wants to mold them into something they're not.

God, I hope Casey has a better fate than OTL...

It's hard to say what will become of him but I think he'll turn out better than IOTL. He'll probably pass away around the same time but his last months will go better.

It all depends on the person who will manage them overseas, Jay-Z or Yang Hyun Suk. Former 2NE1 member CL's US debut fizzled out because Mr. Yang had the final say on everything about her career despite how she was signed to Scooter Braun's label in the US, in the end she snapped and leaked a full music video she'd filmed a couple years prior, meaning Y.H.S. was keeping her inactive on purpose out of nothing but spite. As I said before, the K-Pop industry is a seedy business that would make early 20th century Hollywood seem quaint, and earlier overseas exposure of it might actually result in a bubble-bursting chain of scandals.

Oh, K-Pop being thrust into the international spotlight earlier on will definitely result in some of these shadier aspects of the industry being toned down. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, after all. In 2NE1's case, Jay-Z picked up both the US and international rights to manage them, so Mr. Yang won't be involved with them anymore going forward. He might latch onto some other act, but I imagine he won't be able to pull quite as much as he did IOTL.

Nick Cannon? Does he still star as that arsenal player in Goal 2 ITTL?

Nope. Not sure that film even exists ITTL. He's still mostly famous for being a comedian and presenter.

Actually, it is boy band fandoms we're talking about. But yes, that level of insane devotion is really fucking creepy - some "fans" even tried to poison a guy through a glue-laced drink once, and the less I say about that one love letter written with period blood the better.

Inez: Regan, what's the weirdest substance you've ever used to write with?

Regan: What? I dunno, glitter ink?

Inez: Well, in Korea, one obsessed boy band fan wrote a love letter to her favorite band, and she used.... *whispers in Regan's ear*

Regan: *her eyes go wide* ...what? ....eww.....! ....gross!

Inez: Uh huh.

Regan: *making a grossed out face* ....nnngh? ...did she use an ink well for it?

Inez: I don't know.

Regan: I was gonna eat this ice cream, but now... *sighing* no, I'm still gonna eat this ice cream. *starts eating*

Inez: You're your mom.

Regan: My mom would have been a lot more energetic in how grossed out she was. *keeps eating* Why not just use glitter ink?

Inez: It would've come off as childish?

Regan: Yeah, that's way worse than coming off as CRIMINALLY INSANE. *keeps eating*
 
I think Jay-Z will be more inclined to let 2NE1 do their own thing, he's not going to force them to do Destiny's Child-like music or anything XD he has a keen sense of what's hot in the music industry and he chose to pick them up for his label because of their original sound, not because he wants to mold them into something they're not.

This probably means that their OTL composers will produce their US debut - not a hard feat, since they're for the most part Korean-American, and one of them (Teddy Park) was approached by Lady Gaga once - he declined her advances because he wanted to keep composing 2NE1's songs, that's how much he believed in them. Not surprising, since Teddy himself was part of a 4-member pop/rap group under YG Entertainment who fizzled out for reasons completely unrelated to music.

I hope their live performances will not be unearthed by the US crowd, because... uh... if there were a term for "East Asian wigger", they'd embody it.
 
This probably means that their OTL composers will produce their US debut - not a hard feat, since they're for the most part Korean-American, and one of them (Teddy Park) was approached by Lady Gaga once - he declined her advances because he wanted to keep composing 2NE1's songs, that's how much he believed in them. Not surprising, since Teddy himself was part of a 4-member pop/rap group under YG Entertainment who fizzled out for reasons completely unrelated to music.

Yeah, I think Jay-Z will keep their composing team on board. Of course, with Lady Gaga on Broadway at this point ITTL, I don't think Teddy Park has to worry about missing any opportunities on that front.
 
The 2008-09 Network Television Season/The New Stars Of Cable
(Here's the update reviewing the 2008-09 network television season!)

ABC:

ABC's season was all about the strong holdovers. Dancing With The Stars, Desperate Housewives, Lane, and Sheffield all stayed in the top 25, suffering only mild declines in their ratings. Lane remained a top 10 show in its seventh season, in which Lane went to college for the first time. The show remains one of the most acclaimed and powerful dramas on television, and shows little signs of slowing down, even as a 19-year-old Kristen Stewart became one of the highest paid actresses on television. As for ABC's new shows, there weren't too many hits to speak of, though The Alchemist, a show about a modern day chemistry genius who might possess mystical powers but has to deal with a hostile skeptic and an even more hostile hidden enemy, was a surprise hit and finished just inside the top 25 overall. The network would also see the debut of a mildly successful new comedy, Aloha, taking place in Hawaii and starring Kelly Hu as the busy matriarch of an energetic family.

CBS:

CBS had one of the strongest slates of new shows, adding The Mentalist and Eleventh Hour to a strong lineup that also saw sophomore hits Escrow and The Big Bang Theory rocket up the ratings charts. Escrow in particular saw spectacular success in the wake of the country's continued economic woes making it one of the timeliest and most controversial shows on television, and it became CBS' strongest drama overall. After struggling through some rough years, CBS was bouncing back in a big way, and began embarking on an initiative to push younger viewers to watch the network. The Big Bang Theory had proven successful, and their upcoming 2009-10 lineup looked to feature a massive amount of comedies and dramas featuring younger characters and aimed at younger viewers.

NBC:

Powers' third season, which featured spectacular twists and guest star appearances from the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Holly Hunter, was extremely successful, making it the top scripted program on television for the second straight year, and leading to the show winning an Emmy for Best Drama. Critics and fans alike couldn't get enough of Vince Gilligan and M. Night Shyamalan's amazing superhero show, and though the show wouldn't unseat American Idol (which, thanks to Chloe Wang, got its best ratings ever), it remained well above just about everything else. Apart from that, NBC didn't have too much going on in terms of holdovers. Sunday Night Football was still a huge hit and Cash Cab remained strong, but NBC's biggest story was its two rookie shows, the singing reality competition The Showdown and the firefighter drama Burn. The Showdown had a format in which one singer was the reigning champion and accepted challenges from up and coming singers who'd battled their way to the challenger spot, somewhat like the old Star Search program. Each episode culminated in the reigning champ singing to keep their throne, and viewers would vote on who would win. The Showdown joined Dancing With The Stars and American Idol as a runaway hit competition show, making it three in the top ten.

FOX:

FOX was struggling, even with American Idol topping the charts and House continuing to be a hit. The Moment Of Truth was still performing well, but its ratings were in decline, and though FOX's animation block remained strong thanks to The Simpsons and King Of The Hill, they had to trim the block to an hour due to the lack of other animated shows that could keep up from a ratings perspective. FOX struggled to find another success, canceling most of its new shows that debuted in 2008 and 2009. The network is at a bit of a crossroads, searching in unusual places for a new hit...

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Top 25 Rated Network Television Programs Of 2008-09:

1. American Idol (Wednesday) (FOX)
2. American Idol (Tuesday) (FOX)
3. Powers (NBC)
4. Sunday Night Football (NBC)
5. Escrow (CBS)
6. Dancing With The Stars (Monday) (ABC)
7. Dancing With The Stars (Thursday) (ABC)
8. Lane (ABC)
9. Standard Of Care (CBS)
10. The Showdown (NBC)
11. The Mentalist (CBS)
12. Cash Cab (NBC)
13. Heart Of Darkness (CBS)
14. Desperate Housewives (ABC)
15. House (FOX)
16. Flagrant Foul (NBC)
17. Burn (NBC)
18. The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
19. 60 Minutes (CBS)
20. Eleventh Hour (CBS)
21. Sheffield (ABC)
22. Survivor (CBS)
23. The Moment Of Truth (FOX)
24. The Nature Of The Beast (CBS)
25. The Alchemist (ABC)

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The Search For An Animated Prime-Time Drama May Be Over

It's a well known fact of American animation that dramatic/action shows can't be aimed at adults. Nearly all the "adult" animated shows that have ever aired on prime-time network television have been comedies. There have been some exceptions on cable, such as the limited series Aeon Flux, but for the most part, animated shows have been seen as exclusively for kids, and action shows especially, with even shows like Batman: The Animated Series forced to keep its content to a level that older children would be able to watch. That may be changing, as FOX has inked a deal with Joss Whedon to create an animated action show for the network's Sunday line-up, set to premiere early next year. The show's premise and title have not yet been revealed, but voice work and writing have already been completed for the first 13 episodes, and animation work is in progress. The show will be animated by Japanese studio Madhouse, and will have an anime look and feel, similar to hit anime shows such as Cowboy Bebop. It's a natural choice that Whedon's new show would take inspiration from anime, as Japan has been airing dramatic animation action shows aimed at adults in primetime for many years. It's rumored that FOX approached Avatar: The Last Airbender creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko to create a show for the network, but that the two elected to remain at Cartoon Network to create a follow-up to their hit Avatar series. The show will air immediately after The Simpsons in the 8:30 PM timeslot, looking to benefit from that show's lead-in, and while it will be an "edgy" show aimed at adult viewers, Whedon expressed hopes that teenagers will enjoy the show at well. It's likely that the show may be announced at the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con, in which Whedon is set to have a major panel announcing several new projects. If this new FOX show succeeds, it may well break new ground for televised animation, while also reviving FOX's stalling Sunday animation block.

-from a June 12, 2009 article at Toonzone.net

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AMC's attempts to create a slate of hit drama programs may not be going so well, but on rival network FX, a healthy lineup of brand new drama shows has elevated that network's status to one of the top-rated channels on basic cable. Three new shows debuted during the 2008-09 season, and all three of them are currently averaging at least two million viewers, led by Moonshot, a dramatic series about an ill-fated NASA moon return mission. The series takes place in 2019, and a struggling NASA, unable to convince the American public that a Mars mission is feasible, decides to return to the Moon for the 50th anniversary of Armstrong's landing. The mission goes horribly wrong, stranding a crew of six astronauts on the Moon, and as NASA attempts to scramble a miraculous rescue mission, the astronauts struggle to survive and political intrigue hangs over everything. The next show, Melissa, is about a teenage girl who also happens to be a serial killer. The show is intensely controversial but also incredibly addictive, and perhaps the most buzzed about of FX's new dramas. Then there's Can I Take Your Order?, a dramedy that chronicles the lives of workers at an inner-city fast food restaurant. Loosely based on Eric Schlosser's expose book Fast Food Nation, the show is more episodic in nature than the previous two shows mentioned but features plenty of gritty and realistic language and scenes, exposing the drudgery of minimum wage work in a way that resonates heavily in the current economic environment.

There's also Lifetime's effort to be taken more seriously, focusing more on dramatic programs than its somewhat maligned made for TV movies. With an effort to push quality, ongoing storylines and improve its slate of actors, Lifetime is seeing higher ratings as well, and this "stunt" seems to be going better than its brief flirtation with creating a more "fun" network back in the late 1990s. The History Channel is also seeing success with its series of "American Presidency" docudramas, three-part profiles on the life of a different American president, with a new installment airing once every three months and promising to finish up the entire series by the end of the 2010s. 2009's slate includes George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Richard Nixon, and Abraham Lincoln has already been announced for 2010. While some of the more lesser known presidents will probably see their stories padded and embellished, the series has become a major hit for the network, along with its brand new show Pawn Stars about the life and times of a Las Vegas pawn shop.

Of course, the best cable fare remains confined to premium channels, and HBO is the leader of the bunch, with hits such as the sci-fi drama Galvan, about a ship full of Earthlings that has drifted into the territory of a brutal alien empire. There's also Loveless, about a woman novelist struggling in the 1910s, and The Starter, about a volatile pro basketball star. Then there's Shadows Of The Hills, a mystery/crime procedural series taking place in post-WWII Los Angeles, and based on the works of James Ellroy. The series is said to be a spiritual successor to the 1997 film L.A. Confidential, and is one of the most acclaimed new drama series of the decade, though its ratings are somewhat lacking and it controversially lost to Powers for the 2009 Emmy. Other premium channels like Showtime and Cinemax are airing hits of their own, but HBO's slate remains the strongest, and amongst cable networks in general, only FX can boast a comparable lineup.

-from an article posted on Tubehound.com on June 25, 2009
 
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I think you ought to put more detail about Joss Whedon's ITTL show.

If episodes have been made, Fox could easily release more information about the show.
 
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