Aereo -- savior for cord cutters?

This New York Times story last week noted plans for Aereo, a new service being backed by Barry Diller, and set to launch in New York next month (March). Aereo will set up arrays of small broadcast TV antennas in remote locations in Brooklyn and elsewhere. Subscribers, for $12 a month, will be able to rent their own single antenna in the arrays. These antennas will be fed into the Internet to stream broadcast TV content to Roku boxes and similar devices for home TVs, along with embedded DVR capabilities.

I'm really pleased to see this venture making plans to launch, although it seems a bit tricky that there may be a waiting list and they haven't responded to a sign-up inquiry yet. I "cut the cord" from Time Warner back in August after getting frustrated with their poor customer services and callous attitude about their excessive subscription costs. The cable companies' greed in this respect has worked for a long time. I'm surprised that with the Roku technology available now, more people haven't cut the cord as well. I think that Aereo could very well be the tipping point for cable TV. It's a momentous development that will affect all entertainment.

SNL: Ranking episodes and performances

Awhile ago on Jester, I used to do little takes on Saturday Night Live seasons as they got a few episodes under their belt each fall (2008, 2007, 2006). These tapered off after some time, as it felt less necessary or pointed to do in-depth critiques of the show. It's still possible to do this intelligently, though, as Mike Ryan of Moviefone and the Huffington Post proves in this piece, reacting to last weekend's Zooey Deschanel-hosted episode. (Haven't caught all of the episode myself yet, but so far the Clint Eastwood commercial parody featuring the always-inspired Bill Hader seems like the best thing in it).

I have my own favorite and not-so-favorite players out of the current cast, and also favorite and not-so-favorite characters. Sometimes cast members I don't normally like do come up with something good, and vice versa. Taran Killam, who Ryan notes got the most screen time last week, is a good chameleon and can play a lot of characters, but doesn't quite generate an anything-can-happen, anarchic type of feeling that one gets from Hader, or even Kenan Thompson at times.

The current cast is also without a Phil Hartman or Darrell Hammond type who can convincingly take on older characters with more authority. Jason Sudeikis does fill this role to some extent, but it would be interesting to see someone already known join the cast in this capacity, even now, or at least next year.

Have you heard about these things called podcasts?

The New York Times alights on comedy podcasting ... Is this a bit belated, perhaps?

Hearing the Bugle's call

A quick and brief entry tonight. Just belatedly discovered yet another comedy podcast to add to my list -- the Bugle, a weekly affair that has been around awhile, but only recently debuted on iTunes. It features the Daily Show's John Oliver with partner Andy Zaltzman, riffing on politics and the news. On a recent episode titled "Playas gon play," listeners can see why Oliver's segments on the Daily Show often have the most fire and life to them of anything on that program -- because he exhibits the same cutting attitude here at much greater length.

NBC Must See TV column

In this column, and a lengthier podcast that expands on the column, Grantland's entertainment writers Andy Greenwald and Chris Ryan deliver a spot-on critique of NBC's Thursday night comedies, as well as other current TV series. In particular, they identify and explain in detail some of the issues "The Office" seems to be having since Steve Carell's departure. These are worth checking out.

Letterman fallout/Another recommendation

To follow up on a previous blog post here, according to Mirth, Eddie Brill is now out as booker of comedians at the "Late Show With David Letterman," mainly because of one small remark quoted in the New York Times story about him. Mirth's editor wrote an insightful column probing that remark that may have called attention to a problem with Brill's comments and the attitude they represent, perhaps leading to his departure from the booking role. I would recommend Mirth as a source of interesting news and features to comedy fans.

Letterman, Steven Wright tips

Read with interest this story on Eddie Brill, the veteran stand-up and longtime booker for the Late Show With David Letterman. I thought it was interesting because it tapped into some dissent among comedians about Brill's booking practices -- notably that he books mostly only friends, and that the show has only had 22 stand-ups over the course of the past year. Anthony Jeselnik was sharply critical, saying Brill trades on Letterman's name for his own comedy classes and hints that studying with him will give a performer a shot at getting on.

Speaking of Letterman, also out there, on Twitter, is @BernhardOnDave, an unofficial campaign to get Sandra Bernhard back on Letterman's show. She had several memorable appearances, but at some point got blackballed from the show and hasn't been on in years.

Overall, what both these items make me think about is that -- and this is probably stating the obvious -- Letterman hasn't been a place to actually catch creative comic talent in a long time. That's long been ceded to Conan, Craig Ferguson, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon -- the next generation.

Lastly, had to devour Marc Maron's latest WTF podcast while riding the trains today -- an interview with Steven Wright. It struck me that in Maron's interview with Wright, you actually get to hear Maron draw Wright almost all the way out of his sleepy comic persona. Together, the two comedians connect and riff so well in the conversation that Wright's voice actually becomes fast and animated. It's fascinating for Steven Wright fans -- a must-listen.