TMO UK Associate Editor Charlotte Henry (#4) - TMO Background Mode Interview

Charlotte Henry is a London-based technical journalist. A self-described media junkie, she writes about Apple — and now for the Mac Observer as well as our UK Associate Editor. She has also written for City A.M. (London’s daily business tabloid,) Computer Business Review, the Independent on Sunday and CapX. Her new book is: Not Buying It.

In this special episode, Charlotte and I discuss the various streaming TV services: Apple TV+, Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, CBS All Access, Britbox, Peacock, and Quibi. We chat about our favorite shows, our experiences viewing, the pricing, and the prospects of success for the new guys on the block. Charlotte loves The Bold Type (Netflix). John waxes poetic about The Mandalorian and Star Trek: Picard.

TMO Contributor Kelly Guimont (#9) - TMO Background Mode Interview

Kelly Guimont is a long-time podcaster, Contributing Editor for The Mac Observer, the host of the Mac Observer’s Daily Observations podcast, and a tech support guru.

In her 9th appearance, Kelly and I chat about our favorite TV shows and movies of late. We open in segment #1 with a shared favorite: The Mandalorian (Disney+). In segment #2: Kelly: Dr. Who (BBC), The World According to Jeff Goldblum (Disney+). John: Star Trek: Discovery (S2) (CBS), Virgin River (Netflix) and Downton Abbey – the movie (iTunes). Also: some honorable mentions. Join us as we explore together what’s great about these shows.

The DIRECTV - CBS Dispute is a Mess

CBS has blocked DirecTV’s CBS feed since July 19. Customers are angered. CBS All Access subscriptions have surged.( Duh.) Finger pointing abounds. Bloomberg writes: “CBS Blackout on DirecTV Is What’s Wrong With the TV Market.”

If the market for television and video-streaming services wasn’t frustrating enough for consumers, now comes news that millions paying for DirecTV suddenly can’t watch CBS, the most popular TV network in the U.S., due to a contract dispute between the media giants. The good news is that it’s not yet football season, and it’s also in both companies’ interests to reach an agreement soon. The bad news is that the channel-blackout trend is only getting worse.

I’d love to see Stephen Colbert’s take on this. If I could watch him.

Patrick Stewart Playing Jean-Luc Picard in New Star Trek Series

Hold on to your photon torpedos, kids, because Patrick Stewart will be starring in a new Star Trek series as Jean-Luc Picard. Stewart broke the news at the Star Trek convention in Las Vegas over the weekend, and what we know so far is it takes place 20 years after the last Star Trek: The Next Generation movie. The series in the early development stages, so Stewart doesn’t even know if Picard will still be a starship captain, or doing something entirely different. Like Star Trek: Discovery, the Picard-based series will be on the CBS All Access subscription service. A launch date hasn’t been announced yet.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 Trailer has Us Ready for Warp Speed

Star Trek: Discovery season 1 was pretty awesome, and the trailer for season 2 makes it look like we have plenty to look forward to when new episodes start airing in early 2019. We get to meet Captain Christopher Pike, who commanded the USS Enterprise before James Kirk, and he looks pretty bad-ass. We also get a Spock reference, Tilly being awesome at math, a lot of action, and a new space mystery for the Discovery crew to unravel. Star Trek: Discovery is available only on CBS All Access, so you’ll need a subscription to watch.