TOM TV is holdin out for a HERO!

It's back - HIPHIPHEROOOOOO(es) on TOM TV.

It's official, I'm happy. Heroes is back. Yes, it's true. I'm a very simple girl, and the return of Heroes on NBC tonight fills me with joy. Here's some goodies about tonight's Season 2 Premiere Episode from the Top of Mind...

Credits & Logline:
From creator/writer Tim Kring (NBC's "Crossing Jordan") comes "Heroes," an epic drama that chronicles the lives of ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities. This episode - "Four Months Later."

Overall - what did you think of the season premiere?
Good. Very good. But not spectacular. I kept getting thrown every time they showed Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) with a totally fake overgrown beard.

What was your favorite quote from this episode?
"The only thing I have to do, is find me a drink."

What was the most interesting moment?
Noah (Jack Coleman) breaking his new "Boss's" finger. I also like the new 'international' flair - not overly original, but still it's great to expand the world to Japan, Ireland, the Dominican Republic, etc. At least it provides lots of great accents!

What was the most annoying moment?
The end. :)

What was the most ridiculous moment?
Noah and Claire sitting with the family at the dinner table - even that psycho mom couldn't possibly have bought it.

At the end of this episode, who were your favorite and least favorite characters?
Claire is definitely still a favorite, but newcomer Maya has promise.

Overall Grade: A-

"Don't Freak Out" It's Chuck from TOM TV

Next up on the Top of my Naked Mind (TOM TV) - IT'S "CHUCK"

Credits & Logline:
From executive producer, Josh Schwartz and executive producer-director McG comes a one-hour, action-comedy series about Chuck Bartowski -- a computer geek who is catapulted into a new career as the government's most vital secret agent.

Overall - did you like the premiere?
Absolutely - I found "Chuck Bartowski" to be incredibly endearing, which was refreshing because to be frank - I had found the marketing to be a little flat and had set the bar really low. I'm almost disappointed I like this so much (really? ANOTHER show on Monday night?)

What was your favorite quote from this episode?
"Don't puke on the C-4" - Major John Casey

What was the most interesting moment?
In the beginning of the episode, there is a great 'ode to Jackie Chan' scene with secret agent Bryce. Some really nice stunt work in this scene, props to the double! Also loved the rip-off from 'Bourne Ultimatum' and every Bond movie I ever loved) as they went speeding down the stairs backwards.

What was the most annoying moment?
Hmmm... I'm ashamed to say I didn't really have one.

What was the most ridiculous moment?
Anything involving "Captain Awesome" (the fact that Chuck diffused a bomb searching for porn I found TOTALLY believable!).

At the end of this episode, who were your favorite and least favorite characters?
Chuck is great, as mentioned before. And I was thrilled to see Adam Baldwin (a.k.a. "Jane" from Firefly), although I really can't handle the geeky hair. Yes, I know that Adam has over 60 films in his long pedigree - I just don't care. He'll always be "Jane" to me - and frankly, I'll watch anything with him in it. My least fav would have to be the sister, Ellie, played by Sarah Lancaster. But that is definitely a very, very pretty girl. Maybe she'll loosen up in later episodes.

Overall Grade: B+

Simply Survivor on TOM TV

Thank God for DVR - catching up on the premiere of Survivor this weekend as travel and moving offices last week made me miss a very enjoyable tube night on Thursday. HooRah for China - I'm lovin' having Jeff back...

Did you like this episode? / Was it worth the wait?
Yes, but. I always find the first episode of the season a little blah, it's hard to care about all the obnoxious people until you know 'em better (and sometimes even then you're just watching to root for them to fail).

What was your favorite quote from this episode?
Every line from Jeff - it's like having an old friend back. :)

What was the most interesting moment?
I loved the Buddist "Welcome" scene in the opening minutes - the temple was incredibly beautiful, and you really got the feeling that you were getting a very special peek at something from another world.

What was the most annoying moment?
Courtney's incredible rudeness during the ceremony... and each of the dozens of times we were forced to stare at Ashley's behemothic boobs (ewww). BTW - I didn't find Leslie's exit from the ceremony rude or annoying, she had her reasons and wasn't opting out due to simple bitchiness.

What was the most ridiculous moment?
That Chicken thought that he was "in" - he was obviously driving every one crazy as he couldn't commit to anything, but like all those "First-Kicked" before him... he just didn't get it.

At the end of this episode, who were your favorite and least favorite characters?
Grave Digger James was my clear favorite, the strong silent type... and he was amazing on the challenge. Least favorites was a much tougher race, as the great majority of the cast was ridiculously annoying. There's Courtney - the pretentious and bitchy New York/Bostonian waitress, Ashley - the professional wrestler who's overly concerned with her 'fans' (WTF?), and Chicken - also known as Steve, a Chicken Farmer who we thankfully won't need to worry about any more cuz they gave him the boot. To say I don't care about these people would be overly kind.

Overall Grade: B-

Meteor Hits Napa! Web Analytics Set Back a Decade! Wine Saved!

Web analytics may not be for everyone in the high tech world, but those that are into it can really be passionate about it - check out this great review of SEMphonic's X Change Web Analytics conference in Napa, Ca. by Matt Nelson at ClickZ.

TOM TV: "Same 'ol Pretty" on Prison Break

As we start off the new season with a bang, I'll take a look at each premiere or pilot with six key questions - we call it "Top of Mind TV" or "TOM TV" for short. And to get us started... PRISON BREAK! Wanna join in, just send your answers to the same questions...

Did you like this episode? / Was it worth the wait?
Absolutely - been waiting all summmer for the return of Michael & Link.

What was your favorite quote from this episode?
T-bag comes through again - "Same 'ol pretty, just not good at makin friends"

What was the most sickening moment?
Plenty of these - but mostly Bellick in his underwear. EWWWWW.

What was the most thrilling moment?
Mahone's vicious end to the yard fight - DANG.

What was the sweetest moment?
Michael holding the crane and dreaming of sweet Sarah.

At the end of this episode, who were your favorite and least favorite characters?
Mahone earned favs for this episode based on the scene above, but T-bag was my
least favorite... or maybe the one you love to hate. He needs to come to a wicked,
wicked end.

Overall Grade: A-

Primetime is Breakin Out!!

Okay, as far as I'm concerned the Fall Primetime season is officially ON! Hooray for Prison Break - the countdown is running on their website, and the Season Premiere is on at 8. Afterwards, we'll check out the new series K'Ville - no real hopes up here, but who knows.

More to come later with a new series the hottie calls "Top of Mind TV".

Dollarprops for "Quarterlife"

Bucking the trend, producers Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick are launching a new hourlong drama with tv production values on MySpace and the web - "Quarterlife". Starting in November, a 10-minute segment from each episode will be posted on Sundays and Thursdays, and a day later on their site, quarterlife.com, and a week later through other online distribution channels.

Can't wait to see this ambitious new undertaking from Marshall, who many of you know as the President of the Producer's Guild - read more about it on The New York Times site.

Best Website Ever

Ok - haven't written in quite a while, mostly because I'm a total slacker and have been busy making 'sticks'... but I just found a new fav... noonebelongsheremorethanyou.com.

Granted, I may have exaggerated a bit with the headline - and surely won't go to this all the time like 'Indexed' or 'Cute Overload' - but truly, this is creative thinking at it's best. I'd like to tell you all about it - but don't wanna give away the gimmick. Sorry. Really. Can't even show you a picture.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

Naked Quickie...

A quick update to my last two posts... I found this in the Indexed archives:

Old Insight: Everybody loves the pretty people

Yes, you already knew this - but researchers have found that attractive people are more successful than unattractive people. In fact, The Independent reports that Beautiful People earn 12% more than Ugly Bettys. It sad, but true - the halo effect is real. Read the article here.

Naked Indexing

It's official, I have a new hands-down favorite blog: INDEXED. If you are one of the few people in the blogsphere (like me) that hadn't heard of this yet, Indexed is a blog made up solely of visual observations created by Jessica Hagy on individual virtual index cards.

I don't know who Jessica Hagy is - but I love her. Jessica is good. Jessica's observations make me laugh. Jessica makes me happy. You should send her money and bags of yummy cookies.

Simple is hard... it takes insight. I might even say it takes naked insight. Hat's (and everything else) off to you, Hagy.

-----

And for a clever animated take of Jessica's concepts, check out this little movie: "Le Grand Content", created by Clemens Kogler based on content from Indexed.

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Brandbench: Small can be BIG

Today I'm taking a look at best practices in positioning - the act of putting something in a certain place within the mind of your audience by providing context. Sometimes differentiating your product or story from the competition is as simple as presenting it from a new perspective.

Take the work of photographer Tamra Hayes, shown here with one of her recent pieces "White Spider". Now I was sitting just a few feet away from Tamra for most of the day she took this shot, and yet I never even noticed this cute little guy. He's beautiful - but it's all a matter of perspective, and I needed Tamra's practiced eye to bring him into my field of vision.

Or for a different take, french storytellers Helene Giraud and Thomas Szabo from Minuscule delight in the wonders of small. "Minuscule" recently won the prestigious international Pulcinella award for "TV Series for All Ages" for innovatively creating a world from real life footage and 3D characters, using humour and sound effects for adventurous stories. "Minuscule" shows insects in their day-to-day existence as if we were right there with them. The characters and setttings are very, very small - but the story and heart is BIG.

So we've covered the impact for artists and storytellers - how about from a community perspective?

It's likely that you've heard of CuteOverload.com, this community of cuteness reaches 65,000 broadband visitors a day with an estimated 90% of their audience comprised of women around the age of 25. That's a lot of floppy ear sightings.

CO founder Meg Frost loosely governs her chosen blog posts by a series of posted 'rules'. Rule #14 states that "If an everyday, small item makes you look small - it's cute." Further describing this phenomenon, Meg explains "Would you just look at the size of that green Post-It® note next to this kittens' "litter box"? Now, look at the Post-Its® on your desk—now look at the kitten. Repeat!"

The power of small is clear - it's BIG.

Take a moment to look at your story, marketing campaign, product positioning, etc. and ask yourself - "Could small be my new big?"

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Hot workers that have it worse than you

Having just returned from the seventh circle of hell (that's Houston for you fortunate souls who have never lived there), I was intrigued by a recent article from Portfolio.com, "Where the hot jobs are."

Driving around that foresaken city was everything I remembered it to be - hot, steamy, sticky and miserable. But I was just commuting to a cushy super-cooled research room to observe comfortably from behind the glass. What about the folks that have to work outside in the summer? How bad must it be for them - and how in the world does the EMT, roofer, landscaper or road paver with the risks?

Check out the article - and then take a moment to raise your cool tasty beverage in salute to the crazy souls that brave the heat.

(I think my yard guys deserve a bigger tip)

Photo Credit: ALERT Workers in Little Rock, AK - Alert Academy

Thinking outside the box could land you "in the circle"

But not likely. I think that Phil Hansen has a lock on the space. If you haven't heard of "Phil in the circle" - you've got to check out the fantastic work from this delightfully unique and talented artist in Minneapolis.

Phil has started blogging and tracking his process via webcam, and I must admit that even though the finished pieces are wonderful - the process is what's really fascinating. For one piece, he created a mural of Bruce Lee using only hand-dipped 'karate chops' - be sure to watch the video. Another is comprised of over 12,000 victim portraits brought together to show the face of the Green River Killer... the piece gave me chills.

To me, the value of art is defined by the emotional response it illicits. How does Phil's circle affect you?

"Best" Part Deux: Get in the heads of the people in your story

Continuing our discussions on the 'best in the world', I'd like to take a look at Denise Cramsey, Executive Producer of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. As a recent panelist in NATPE's "State of the Industry" address at LATVFest in Hollywood, CA - Denise discussed her thoughts on uncovering stories that audiences love with Reality TV.

Denise - an incredibly classy and perceptive woman living in the tumultuous sea of Hollywood arrogance - is a firm believer that the single most important part of her job is to "get into the heads of the people in the story". Denise shared a clip from a recent episode on the Rogers family that had eyes welling up for even the most seasoned of network programming executives. In this episode, the emotional 'clincher' centered around a small hand-painted house sign that had been placed over the entryway of the Rogers' new family home.

Denise discovered the sign after observing the family matriarch while the movers were sorting family items - the mom saw one of the movers rifling through the junk in an old bureau and had asked if he could be sure to not throw the sign away. Something about her casual question made Denise pause, and she made sure to secretly grab the sign and give it to the designers for prominent placement as part of the new home's entry.

When the new home was revealed the mom was glued to her spot, overcome with emotion - not by the gorgeous new home, but by the sight of "The Rogers" sign over the door. Turns out the sign had been a gift from her father at her wedding to her late husband - and she had been so embarassed of their dilapidated home that she had left it buried in a drawer for years.

Denise's committment to truly knowing the people in her stories is one of the key characteristics that has made her one of the 'best in the world' - as evidenced by the success of Home Makeover and that other little show of hers that launched a network - Trading Spaces.



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Want to create world-class products? Focus on the B.E.A.T.

I was reminded today of a great focus acronym taught to me by a very dear mentor - if you want to create world-class products, just focus on the B.E.A.T.:

B.elief
E.xperience
A.udience
T.eam

The first might be obvious - but you absolutely have to BELIEVE in your vision - sincere and honest passion for what you are doing is critical to success. Be willing to die on the field of battle to achieve your vision - but choose your battles wisely. The EXPERIENCE refers to the Guest/User/Fan experience - making sure that each and every interaction point is designed to delight, inspire and fulfill - never settling even on the smallest details. No product succeeds without a deep understanding of your AUDIENCE, and their needs, desires, actions and expectations should be in your crosshairs every step of the way. And finally, without the right TEAM, your vision is quite simply doomed to fail.

Seth, Saturday & Savion: Comments on being the best in the world

In marketing guru Seth Godin's latest book The Dip, he talks about being the 'best in the world' at whatever you do. I've had Seth's words in my head for the last several weeks since I enjoyed his latest, but it's never been more top-of-mind than this weekend.

First, I spent a lovely Saturday doing basically the same thing as a record-breaking 8.3 million other fans across the world - reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I find J.K. Rowling inspiring - she is the creator of probably the best-known and certainly the best-loved character in contemporary fiction; she is also the author of her own escape from destitution, with no job and few prospects. She definitely has earned her place as one of the best. Now I can't help but mention that my FAVORITE part about the book was probably the conversations we started at all the tables around us when my husband and I pulled out our books and started reading in a swank Los Angeles restaurant Saturday night, but I digress...

:)

Sunday then provided another 'best' look with an awe-inspiring performance from Savion Glover, in town to perform with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Savion caught my attention as the basketball-toting tap phenom in 1989's "Tap" with my personal hero, Gregory Hines. I then had the pleasure of meeting him in the early 1990's as he was again performing alongside Gregory in the Tony-award winning "Jelly's Last Jam". I knew then that he was something special - but I don't think I possibly could have imagined that goofy kid would grow and evolve into one of the greatest hoofers (if not the greatest) that has ever lived.

But watching Savion this evening with a beautiful rainbow bursting into color across the late California summer sky, it got me thinking about Seth's book - and about finding your niche to truly be the 'BEST' at whatever it is you do. Like many of you, I am also on this journey - scraping my way and picking up these refreshing reminders of how much is really possible for those with the focus, talent and determination to get there. Do you have it?

3D Update: Order of the Phoenix Smashes IMAX Opening Records

Following up on last week's post Sizzlin Stereoscopic 3D - visit VFX World to read the latest news on how "Phoenix" shattered opening box office records at IMAX theaters with a special 3D finale. I may have to see the movie again just to check this out!

Packing the house: Six takes on positioning a classic

I love movie trailers – absolutely LOVE ‘em – I think of trailers as little pieces of art. The beauty is that any story can be told any number of ways, so this is what I hope will be the first of many explorative pieces about what we can learn from movie marketing.

The first lesson is that any story can be told from a variety of viewpoints – even a classic like “Star Wars: A New Hope”. Check out the log lines below for a look at everyone’s favorite from six different points of view:

POV: Epic

Audience: General
Log line: In the continuing saga of the Empire, follow the adventures of a simple farm boy - Luke Skywalker – and a collection of unlikely allies (Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2, Ben Kenobi and Han Solo) as they attempt to rescue a beautiful princess from the evil Lord Vader. The ultimate battle between good and evil is about to be joined by new generation of heroes.

POV: Romance

Audience: Women
Log line: Han Solo was a rogue on the run. Princess Leia was a rebel leader trying to save her people from destruction. They had nothing in common and everything to lose. But together they would discover a love greater than all the powers of the galaxy.

POV: Darth Vader

Audience: General
Log line: Anakin Skywalker abandoned his greatest love for the powers of the dark side and set out to conquer the galaxy in the name of the Empire. But now, after his twisted dreams of dominion and hate have been fulfilled, he will find that the remnants of that love may spell his doom in the form of a naïve farm boy and his rag-tag band of allies.

POV: Underdog

Audience: General
Log line: After encountering a droid with a hidden message, young Luke Skywalker heads off to rescue the beautiful Princess Leia from certain death at the hands of the Empire and the evil Darth Vader. But first, he’ll have to leave the only home he’s ever known and learn to master the underlying force that controls us all.

POV: Buddy Movie

Audience: General
Log line: Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, a pair of unlikely traveling companions, find themselves at odds when they both fall for the beautiful Princess Leia. But before either of them can get the girl, they must travel the galaxy, battle Storm Troopers, attack the fearsome Death Star, and defeat the evil Lord Vader. The ultimate battle between good and evil has never been so much fun!

POV: Continuing Story

Audience: General
Log line: George Lucas' spellbinding "Star Wars" sequel, the battle to save the galaxy from the evil Empire rages on. Join Luke Skywalker - the owner of a droid with a secret message who discovers the ancient secrets of the Jedi . . . secrets Luke will need when he encounters the Dark Side of the Force in the ultimate battle between good and evil.

Photo Credit: Original movie poster for Star Wars (renamed Episode IV: A New Hope) Courtesy 20th Century Fox

Brandbench: My 2 Cents on a Monk-a-licious Site

So tonight's premiere was Monk-a-licious - but that's no surprise coming from me, I'm a biased fan of the defective detective.

But what I want to talk about is the craft that has been applied to the Monk show site. If you haven't been there, go and play - but for observers who want to learn something about truly bringing a brand to life, pay attention to the details that make this site a benchmark for extending the experience of character and story to life online:

• Sticky games stick to the story
  Bringing a character to life outside of the actual show is extremely difficult - most character/show sites succeed in having cute names that fit the show and interaction that fits the theme... but that's as far as it goes. Monk's games are not only totally addictive - every teenie tiny detail ties in with the story and celebrates the quirks of the characters.
  
  Take, for example, Monk's Mind Game. This is a wonderfully designed flash game that uses a combination of high-quality still photography and animations to bring to life Monk's phobias - like straightening pencils so that they are all perfectly parallel or cleaning smudge marks with disenfectant all before time runs out. These games are not only incredibly fun to play, but absolutely every interaction is based on reinforcing the core elements that fans connect with in the story.
  
  
• Purified promotions that pack a punch
  Not only do the games bring the core themes to life, but this site also has a new contest to help fans clean up their own act offline - a total closet makeover. What better for a Monk fan? And they do a great job of encouraging viewership by asking two pretty detailed questions from the show that have to be answered to qualify to win (I thought I was pretty good at this, but I actually got one of the questions wrong - I'm so ashamed)
  
  
• Germ-free Community
  Community features are a key component to keep Monkaholics involved in the show, and in addition to the standard message boards and a fan of the week feature - this season they've introduced the community-based 'Monk Across America' where fans upload photos of their Monk bobblehead in different locals across the country.
  
  Brilliant - since in order to enter you have to HAVE a Monk bobblehead, which of course was featured in the primary series campaign and also in the season premiere. Now that's integration: community + brand + commerce.
  
  Love.

It's tough to bring characters to life and make it look & feel this easy, but hat's off to USA for creating a benchmark for how a small-ish show site can get it done. yay!

Photo Credit: USANetwork Fan-Uploaded Photo