Blackwolf the Dragonmaster's Diary of Magecraft

Being a Chronicle of the Inner Secrets of, and Spells of Magick as Wielded by, the Philosopher of the Internet and Unofficial Sorcerer-in-Residence of the City of New York

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Location: New York, New York, United States

As New York's Unofficial Wizard, my mission is to encourage the Mortals of Manhattan to imagine responsibly!

Monday, March 01, 2010

Vancouver 2010: The Morning After .... Blackwolf's Thoughts

Welcome to the first of these, the next 500 entires in Blackwolf the Dragonmaster's Diary of Magecraft. They've turned the lights out in Vancouver, which is to say, the XXI Olympic Winter Games has concluded. And, as Yahoo! blogger Chris Chase tells us, NBC Sports' attitude was tantamount to uttering an awkward and rather abrupt "Screw you!":

How did NBC choose to end its 685 hours of Winter Olympic coverage? By barely acknowledging that the said coverage was ending.

In a bizarre conclusion to its telecasts of the 2010 Games from Vancouver, NBC awkwardly cut away to the premiere of the much-hyped Jerry Seinfeld-produced reality show, The Marriage Ref. Viewers were abruptly informed that Closing Ceremony coverage would continue at 11:30 p.m., Eastern time.

But here's how it went down: At 10:29 p.m. Eastern, the network went to commercial after singer Michael Buble wrapped up swingin', big-band-style, Sinatra-like rendition of "O Canada." Following a few spots, the NBC team cut back to a wide shot of the Ceremony happenings, notably several inflatable mooses, caribou and other critters, which made the icy floor of BC Place Stadium resemble an indoor edition of Macy*s Thanksgiving Day Parade. At that point, viewers heard this from primetime lead anchor Bob Costas:

"We're back in an hour with the Closing Ceremony party from Vancouver. Nickleback and Avril Lavigne are among the acts that will be performing. But right now, we take you to the premiere of Jerry Seinfeld's new series, The Marriage Ref."

Suddenly, the show was over --- and the intro to The Marriage Ref kicked in.

All that NBC does to overdramatize the Games, and this is how you choose to end your coverage for a vast majority of viewers? (Because, let's get real here, most folks probably didn't tune in for the continuation at 11:30 p.m.) No Costas closing comments? No end credits video? Not even one cheesy summation of the triumphs of the Olympic spirit? Where's our closure?

Some very astute questions, Chris. I would presume that if it was closure you were after, you might have wanted to turn to CTV's Closing Ceremony coverage, which is presumably still available in its entirety online. Judging by Chris's rant, it is apparent that NBC failed its viewers, caring more for the bottom line than what the viewers wanted. And, again, you DO NOT go to commercial in the middle of a major production number! So, y'know what? If it's a real classy closing sequence you want, might I recommend this?

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