The Chronic Rift

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Dave

I don't post a great deal here as I've found that Twitter allows me to get right to my point in such a short amount of words.  (There's something to be said for all this.  I stopped using the phone as email allowed me to send messages and then I got hooked on texting as I could get to my point even faster and hopefully get a faster response.)

Twenty years ago, if you told me about all this, I'd have thought you were crazy.  And twenty years ago I was roaming midtown Manhattan, looking for a bar that would be willing to change the channel on their television to a public access station.  I was doing this as it was when the first episode of the public access version of The Chronic Rift premiered.

At the time, we were only going to do six episodes, an exotic resume stuffer as The Village Voice would come to call it.  But the first episode and the ones that followed went so well that I managed to convince the others to keep going, even though it was costing us $100 a pop to do so.

And we got creative with the show.  We scheduled big episodes during the sweeps like the networks would.  We came up with ways to allow for sponsors to be on the show to help subsidize the cost.  We developed a reputation that most people, despite some hesitation, came on anyway at the urgings of others.  (There were two who refused to do the show and I still feel a twinge of annoyance at their snobbery to this day.)

We had Peter David, Robert Greenberger, Gary Gygax, Ray Harryhausen, George Takei, Mark Lenard, Majel Barret Roddenberry, Sarah Douglas, Kenneth Johnson, Ben Bova, Susan Schwartz, Thomas Disch, Wendy Pini, Roy Thinnes, Conrad Brooks, Angus Scrimm, Marie Wallace and the Toxic Avenger himself at one time or another on our program.  And that's only a handful of the names.

Or more like, things that make you go "Huh?".  If you look to the right, there's a listing of our current top ten episodes for the month.  Look at what's at number one.  It's weird.  It's the kind of stuff I saw over at Podomatic all the time.  We'd get these odd bumps on odd days for no rhyme or reason and then on the days when we should have had more traffic, it was kind of quiet.  Couple that with the fact that I wasn't hearing anything from hardly anyone about the show and I knew it wasn't getting to as many people as Podomatic said.

With that said, I did some checking to see if such spikes occurred with my other two feeds on Mevio, Chronic Rift Classic and Chronic Rift Post-Mortem After Party. Neither one showed that kind of a spike.

All right, next I contacted Mevio.  They claim it's mostly traffic from iTunes.  And then I started seeing it.  Look at the other shows on the list. Last year's "Match Game" and "The Evolution of Horror" episodes are also on the list.  And shows from earlier this season like "Podcasts We Love" and "Paul Cornell".  Now, sometimes these older shows pop up because I repost them on Facebook for new followers there to listen to, but this isn't the case with these particular shows.

People are sampling the shows.  New people.  New listeners.

So, I just wanted to take a moment, in my usual roundabout way, to welcome any new listeners here to the show and ask that you please take a moment to let us know what you think about what you've heard, both old and new.  We appreciate you taking the time to listen and we hope to be serving your listening needs for a long time to come.

Consumer Reports won't recommend the iPhone 4G. The iPhone 4G bomb was dropped by the magazine because of reception issues. iPhone 4G antenna difficulties and also the "iPhone death grip" have dominated headlines about Apple since the company released the gadget last month. Accurate display of signal strength could be shown soon with an update Apple promises to be sending out. However, Consumer Reports ran its own tests on the iPhone 4G and recreated the reception problems everybody has been complaining about.

Source of article: <a title="After reception tests, Consumer Reports won't recommend iPhone 4G" href="http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2010/07/12/consumer-reports-iphone-4g/">Consumer Reports won't recommend iPhone 4G after reception tests by Personal Money Store</a>

<p><strong>Free iPhone antenna fix demanded by Consumer Reports</strong></p>

The rejection from Consumer Reports is the latest blow for the iPhone 4G. Since the iPhone 4G was first released, complaints about the death grip and class action lawsuits about the over-hyped gadget have besieged Apple. Apple then responded by promising an iPhone software update that will change how the phone displays signal bars. But CNN reports that a study by the magazine questioned Apple's "optical illusion" claim. Such as the iPhone 3GS, the iPhone 4 was tested with other AT and T phones. None had death grip issues as the iPhone 4G does. Consumer Reports noted the iPhone 4G otherwise ranked highest on the list of smart phone ratings that it released Monday. But the magazine said it will not recommend Apple's new device until the business unveils "a permanent -- and free -- fix for the antenna problem."

<p><strong>Tests let AT and T off the hook</strong></p>

So, I'm trying to find a copy of our catalog from the days of the public access show.  We used to sell custom-made VHS copies of the show and the catalog listed topics, guests, review segments, interviews, and airdates for those trying to make up their three choices on the tape.  I had one out recently, but I seem to have misplaced it, so I went up into the attic to look through the Rift archive boxes.

I didn't find a copy of the catalog, but I think I found something better.  Keith made up a listing of all the first season episodes with the information I listed above as well as the Memorable Moments, the date the episodes were taped, and the repeat dates.

I mention this as I completely forgot that the first episode was taped a month before it aired.  As we moved into the season, we shortened the gap to three weeks and then two weeks.

In looking at the dates, I'm trying to pinpoint exactly when it was that we made the decision to continue beyond the initial six.  It might have been as we were preparing for the sixth episode and Keith got us author Susan Schwartz and editor Jim Frenkel.  Once we saw who he was capable of getting, it seemed only natural to continue.  The next episode featured editors Bob Greenberger and Dave Stern as we talked about Star Trek: The Next Generation.

And then there was the end of the first season.  Maybe Keith can fill in my gap here as I can't remember.  There was an episode that was supposed to air earlier on science fact in science fiction with authors Ben Bova and Charles Platt.  Instead it aired just before the season finale on Blake's 7.

One of the nice things about this list is that it gives me proper names, especially ones I cannot remember, in a quest to find them and let them know that the show and their appearances live on.

Over on the Rift's Facebook page, I post links to fan pages I think people might like or may not be aware existed.  Today, I posted a link to the The Greatest American Hero fan page.  I simple put the link and said, "This really doesn't need an explanation, become a fan today."  I assumed everyone was aware of the show and if they didn't like it, they simply wouldn't go "Like" it.  One of our fans pointed out that she wasn't from America and didn't see any reason to become a fan.

I do this at times.  I forget that the Rift is a global show now.  Back in the days of the public access show, we were a regional show, focusing on New York mostly.  I did hear stories of episodes making it on to other public access systems in the country, but I never found any credulity to the stories.  We were producing the show for our New York audience.

Now, the show goes out on the world wide web and I forget that people listening may not always be aware of what we're talking about.  I've tried being conscientious of it, but I do lapse, as I did today.  It wasn't intentional, but I hope she wasn't offended.  Another problem with the internet is that tone doesn't translate well.

I am currently towards the end of a marathon of Seasons, 5, 6, and 7, and am 2 episodes into Season 7.  There are some things in my mind that have never really added up.  Maybe you could shed some light on them for me or come up with theories that resemble insane troll logic.

1. If Willow was such a bad-ass with the magics, why didn't she just whip up a healthy bank account so that Buffy could pay her bills?  Or why weren't she and Tara contributing their fair share the old-fashioned way?

2. Seriously, Spike didn't go to Africa with the intention of getting his soul, right?  The demon paid a funny trick on him, yes?  If we're going with choice B, then why does insane Spike in "Beneath You" come off all, "I went and got this soul for you, Buffy"?

3. Are those hair extensions Sarah Michelle was wearing at the beginning of Season 7?  Because there is NO natural way I know of that would have made her hair grow that much between season filmings.

4. And this one may be a tough one, Why doesn't Emma Caufield get more acting jobs?  She great with the funny.

Go ahead.  Ponder away.

I have officially broken up with David Boreanaz.  He knows what he did.

These links will provide both incredulity and hilarity, whether you think that Peeps are delicious or disgusting.  Enjoy!!!

Cakespy recipe for Peeps Fluffernutter

How to Make Peepshi = Peeps Sushi

Colbert Report - Easter Under Attack - Peeps Display Update

A short video starring Tippi Hedren and ... The Peeps

A slideshow of the top entrants in the fourth annual Washington Post Peeps Diorama Contest

I had the pleasure of meeting Ronald D. Moore (Star Trek: TNG, Battlestar Galactica, Caprica) at I-Con 29 this weekend. We were both guests on Destinies: The Voice of Science Fiction, a radio show out of WUSB in Stony Brook. (Click on the show title for an archive of the episode.)

Okay, some background. Waaaaaaaaaaaaay back when we were doing The Chronic Rift as a public access TV show in New York, we also had the Roundtable Awards, and Ron won one for his work on Star Trek: The Next Generation, for which he had only recently joined the staff (this was 1991).

Fast forward to this past Friday night. Ron, myself, and a bunch of other people (including Sarah Douglas and Glenn Hauman, among others) were sitting in the WUSB studio, and I mention the Rift. "Oh my God," Ron says, "you're from The Chronic Rift?" Not only did he remember getting the award, but he still has it. He remembers getting the phone call from either me or John (John, do you remember which of us called?) saying he won the award, and that we'd be sending it to him, and he remembered being excited about getting it.

Then it showed up in the mail. Keep in mind that we were a public access show, so we had no budget. The awards were a round styrofoam base, painted black, and a gold-painted plastic round table (actually the things used to hold up the center of a pizza). Ron was at once flattered and slightly disappointed...

He still has the award. He's had it with him at every office he's worked in since then, including in his current office for Caprica. It was the first award he ever won.

(PS: the last time Sarah Douglas was at I-Con was in 1992, and I interviewed her for the Rift. She of course didn't remember -- it was 18 years ago -- but I reminded her that she ran rings around me during the interview. She really did, too, it was hilarious.)