Chicago - A message from the station manager

The Chicago Code Drinking Game

By The Beachwood CSI: Chicago Code Affairs Bureau

* Drink every time someone in your viewing party says this is no Shield.
* Drink every time someone in your viewing party says this is no Wire.
* Do a shot every time someone in your viewing party says this is no My Boys.
* Drink every time someone in your viewing party complains in a whiny voice that “That would never happen here.”
* Drink every time someone in your viewing party refers to the boss hog with the big nuts.
* Drink every time someone in your party references “The Night Chicago Died.” (Drink twice if they cite the lyric about the old East Side.)
* Drink every time someone in your viewing party references Flashdance or Crocodile Dundee.
* Drinks on me if the season-ending episode reveals who hired Angelo Torres.

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Posted on February 24, 2011

Make Fun Of Public Access At Your Peril; CAN TV Has Been Chicago’s Campaign HQ

By Steve Rhodes

If CAN TV really is the black Chicagoan’s WTTW – as argued in a stupefying, offensive post on NBC Chicago’s often stupefying and offensive Ward Room blog – maybe the question NBC Chicago ought to be asking itself is why so many people in this city feel unrepresented by the likes of . . . NBC Chicago.
Meanwhile, how well has NBC Chicago done as the venue of choice for political news for dumb white people?
All you have to do is consider the Ward Room’s concept along with NBC Chicago’s noted pattern of embarrassing errors as well as the lost ethical compass of its boss men to dismiss it as unworthy of carrying CAN TV’s camera cables.
Among Chicago’s nine political influencers Ward Room purports to cover: Sandi Jackson, whose influence doesn’t even extend to the borders of her own ward, and Rod Blagojevich, whose influence isn’t even felt on reality TV anymore. The blog has mercifully dropped both Alexi Giannoulias, as if; and Lisa Madigan, finally realizing that her father is, um, sort of influential and that there was only room for one of ’em. For some strange reason only fathomable to the geniuses at NBC Chicago, Mark Kirk is one of Chicago’s nine influencers but Dick Durbin isn’t. The Ward Room also discovered Ed Burke somewhere along the line.
So not really in a position to feel superior.

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Posted on February 10, 2011

Joel Osteen To Hold “Night of Hope” At Wrong Chicago Ballpark

By The Beachwood Prosperity Preachers Affairs Desk

“Tens of thousands fill arenas and stadiums across America and millions more tune in from around the world to hear Pastor Joel Osteen, a voice of hope for a new generation.
“On August 6, 2011, Joel and his wife Victoria will bring their distinctive, uplifting message to Chicago’s legendary U.S. Cellular Field for an inspiring and memorable ‘Night of Hope.’
“In 2009, just nine days after opening, Joel and Victoria held the first non-baseball event at Yankee Stadium with nearly 45,000 attendees.

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Posted on February 9, 2011

The Chicago Code Finally Debuts Tonight After Seeming To Have Already Been On For Three Seasons

By Steve Rhodes

“Chicago!” writes Hank Stuever in the Washington Post. “What’s not to love? Great food, impressive architecture, scads of culture, sports and those underground comedy troupes where you might see the next Amy Poehler. Granted, the winters kind of stink, but man!
“Then there’s the Chicago of fictional television dramas, as seen over the years: That place is a freakin’ nightmare! Dirty, noisy, dangerous – stay away! Corrupt to the bone, from city hall to Mafia dens. Murderous, too. Helicopters crashing in front of emergency rooms; people pushing one another off El platforms (splat!); miles and miles of housing projects filled with the criminal element. My God, the sirens alone. You’d think Mrs. O’Leary’s barn was on fire 12 times a day.
The Chicago Code, Fox’s immediately engaging new Monday-night drama from The Shield creator Shawn Ryan, prefers Chicago both ways. Fleeting moments of true Windy City pride (Chicago hot dogs, Chicago pizza, Chicago accents and newly assigned partners bonding spitefully over the Sox-Cubs divide) are woven into a story that relies on a significant part of Chicago turning up dead.
“Dead informants, dead officers, dead thugs, dead joggers. The Chicago Code’s first order of business is to use up the national supply of yellow tape.”

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Posted on February 7, 2011

Art For The People: A Chicago Story

By TV Land

In honor of Black History Month, TV Land is paying tribute to the art and artists of AfriCOBRA with an original special entitled AfriCOBRA: Art For The People premiering Monday, February 7, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.
Narrated by Phylicia Rashad, this half-hour documentary features an engaging and animated history of the AfriCOBRA group, contemporary interviews with some of the AfriCOBRA artists and an illustrious display of their artwork. After the special airs, it will be offered in its entirety on TVLand.com.
“AfriCOBRA’s artwork is visually stunning and radiates unity and possibility,” said Larry W. Jones, president of TV Land. “This small and organized movement from Chicago uplifted and educated their struggling community with their own creative aesthetic and positive imagery. We have the very unique opportunity to speak with these artists’ firsthand and to share their philosophies and masterpieces which are still being created today.”

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Posted on February 3, 2011