Jeff Pfeiffer, Author at StayTuned Magazine

Veterans Day 2014 TV programming

November 5, 2014 Jeff Pfeiffer

Veterans Day 2014 in the United States is Tuesday, Nov. 11. Originally celebrated as Armistice Day, a day meant to commemorate the end of World War I (and still celebrated as such by some other countries, including France), Veterans Day in the U.S. has become a date on which all who have served in America’s armed forces are recognized and remembered. As always, there are a number of TV programs airing in honor of Veterans Day. Here is some of the notable Veterans Day 2014 TV programming. All times are Eastern. A Salute to the Troops: In Performance at the […]

Esquire Network documentary series to chronicle Clay Aiken’s congressional campaign

November 5, 2014 Jeff Pfeiffer

Clay Aiken, perhaps the most famous second-place finalist on American Idol (he was runner-up to Ruben Studdard in Season 2), came in second once again yesterday when North Carolina voters chose not to elect him to the House, opting to stick with incumbent representative Renee Ellmers. Had he won in the predominantly Republican 2nd Congressional District, Aiken, who ran as a Democrat, would have been the South’s first openly gay representative in Congress. The drama of Clay Aiken’s improbable congressional campaign will be chronicled in a four-hour documentary series for Esquire Network, set to premiere on the cable channel in […]

ABC special looks at history of Marvel Comics

November 4, 2014 Jeff Pfeiffer

After filing for bankruptcy in the 1990s, Marvel has had a renaissance in recent years, largely thanks to its enormously popular Marvel Cinematic Universe of overlapping films featuring some of the most popular superheroes in comic-book history (which made big news last week with the announcement of Phase 3 of that film universe, with a number of titles slated over the next several years). It took a long time — 75 years, to be exact — for Marvel Comics to reach this point, but it’s a fascinating history, and one that will be explored in the one-hour ABC special Marvel: […]

“American Dad!” recap: “Scents and Sensei-bility”

November 4, 2014 Jeff Pfeiffer

Despite its title being a play off a Jane Austen novel title, last night’s episode of American Dad! was unrelated to any of her classic works (sorry Austen fans). The main plot was more akin to The Karate Kid, as Steve and Snot decide to take up karate after witnessing supposed fellow nerd — new kid Martin — beat the crap out of an unsuspecting bully (with Martin being told to “FINISH HIM!” with the Mortal Kombat-style voice of a fellow student, which becomes a running joke in the episode, with this kid speaking everything in the tone of that […]

2014 midterm elections TV coverage

October 31, 2014 Jeff Pfeiffer

Tuesday, Nov. 4, is the date of the 2014 midterm elections in the United States (do vote if you’re able!). With control of the Senate, as well as a number of governorships, at stake, this year’s midterms are of great interest to citizens and political junkies alike. Several news (and one non-news) outlets will be covering the 2014 midterm elections on Nov. 4. Here are some places to watch for analysis and results; all times Eastern unless otherwise noted. ABC — Nov. 4 at 6:30pm. This year, instead of separate digital and network election broadcasts, ABC News will feature one […]

Nik Wallenda returns to the wire in “Skyscraper Live”

October 30, 2014 Jeff Pfeiffer

After making around 13 million television viewers’ hearts stop during last year’s gripping wire-walk across a portion of the Grand Canyon, Nik Wallenda is ready to have audiences wracking their nerves again. “I love challenging myself,” Wallenda tells us in an interview. That is obvious when one hears about his latest wire-walking attempt, which will be covered in the live Discovery Channel special Skyscraper Live With Nik Wallenda. As the title indicates, Wallenda will be engaging in a two-part walk between notable Chicago buildings (the second part of which will find him blindfolded). The first part of the crossing will […]

The Flash recap: Captain Cold is introduced in “Going Rogue”

October 29, 2014 Jeff Pfeiffer

In last night’s episode of The Flash, titled “Going Rogue,” we finally get to see one of the “big bads” of the Flash mythos — Captain Cold (a.k.a. Leonard Snart), played very well by Wentworth Miller. Miller displayed the cool-under-pressure sinisterness of Captain Cold that fans of the villain’s appearance in comics and in animated versions should appreciate. The episode title is also likely a sly reference to The Rogues, a group of villains in the comics headed by Captain Cold who regularly tried to stop The Flash. The end of this episode also saw Captain Cold trying to recruit […]

“Nashville” Christmas album releasing next week

October 28, 2014 Jeff Pfeiffer

Halloween is just a few days away, and you know what that means — just about time for many people’s thoughts to turn toward the Christmas season (probably starting at 12:01am on Nov. 1, if not already). Right at the start of the season, on Nov. 4, fans of the ABC series Nashville will get an early Christmas gift with the digital release of the album Christmas With Nashville. Christmas With Nashville will feature holiday songs from the drama’s cast, including Connie Britton, Hayden Panettiere, Charles Esten, Sam Palladio, Clare Bowen, Jonathan Jackson and more. Including familiar holiday favorites and […]

Neil Patrick Harris to host variety series for NBC

October 28, 2014 Jeff Pfeiffer

Neil Patrick Harris certainly hasn’t been suffering for work now that How I Met Your Mother has ended. The actor can currently be seen on the big screen in the hit film Gone Girl; he recently finished a Tony-winning run on Broadway as the lead in Hedwig and the Angry Inch; he confirmed two weeks ago that he will be hosting the 2015 Oscars; and yesterday NBC announced that the multi-talented performer will be hosting a new primetime variety series for the network. Ten hourlong episodes of the as-yet-untitled series have been ordered. The program will be based on the […]

“American Dad!” recap: “CIAPOW”

October 27, 2014 Jeff Pfeiffer

Last week’s season premiere of American Dad! on its new network, TBS, topped basic cable entertainment programs for the evening — delivering 2.5 million viewers between its TBS premiere and its encore presentation on Adult Swim. The episode also was tops for basic cable entertainment in key demos, drawing in over 1.6 million adults 18-49 and 1.2 million adults 18-34, according to a TBS release. We’ll see if the new episodes continue to draw similar numbers, of if people tuned in that first night to see if the show may be “edgier” than its FOX incarnation. As I wrote about […]