AllThingsD » MacGyver

Viral Video: Terrific "MacGruber" Trailer and More Awesome Mullet

Kara Swisher — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:01:29 +0000

Television comedy skits from “Saturday Night Live” don’t always translate into movie gold–remember the dreadful “It’s Pat” and “A Night at the Roxbury”?

But this trailer for the upcoming “MacGruber” is really funny and chock full of techie jokes.

It’s a spoof of the cheesy-yet-perfect television series “MacGyver,” about a hero who can turn a gum wrapper into an atomic bomb.

Starring Will Forte and Kristen Wiig of SNL, here’s the video of the film clip, as well as one of the funnier–though edgy–MacGruber sketches from the NBC show:

Weekend Update, 10/17/08

John Paczkowski — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 00:00:01 +0000

Beyond the wet-your-pants whipsawing of the financial markets, the week ending Oct. 17, 2008, was one in which Apple (AAPL) figured prominently. On Tuesday, the company unveiled revisions to its MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air portables, as well as its new LED Cinema Display. It also issued a Steve Jobs health update: The Apple CEO’s blood pressure is 110/70.

Meanwhile … YouTube, through a new deal with CBS (CBS), added “MacGyver” and “Star Trek” re-runs to site classics like “Cat Falls in Toilet” and “Laughing Baby.”
EBay (EBAY) updated it’s guidance to better reflect “current business trends,” i.e., lousy ones.
With rumors of December layoffs in the wind, shares of Yahoo (YHOO) slipped into the mud, but recovered slightly thanks to some off-the-cuff remarks by Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer.
Walt reviewed T-Mobile’s (DT) G1, the first cellphone based on Google’s Android OS, and concluded it’s a good first effort, but has some downsides.
And, finally, Google (GOOG) reported third-quarter earnings that beat expectations, proving it’s doing relatively well in the current economic downturn. So far.

YouTube MacGyver-ized

John Paczkowski — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:00:55 +0000

[ See post to watch video ]

What Should We Watch After MacGyver? "Kicked in the Nuts" or "Cat Falls in Toilet"?

John Paczkowski — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:19:49 +0000

YouTube is finally expanding its catalog of long-form video beyond the “This video has been removed due to terms of use violation” notice that so often appears in lieu of network video content. A newly-inked deal with CBS (CBS) in hand, the video site has begun offering full-length episodes of TV series like “Dexter,” “Californication,” “MacGyver” and “Star Trek” alongside YouTube staples like “Cat Falls in Toilet” and “Kicked in the Nuts.” The shows will be presented in a new Theater View style. More importantly, they include advertising. “As we test this new format, we also want to ensure that our partners have more options when it comes to advertising on their full-length TV shows,” YouTube explained in a post to the company blog. “You may see in-stream video ads (including pre-, mid- and post-rolls) embedded in some of these episodes; this advertising format will only appear on premium content where you are most comfortable seeing such ads.”

For YouTube, which has been struggling to monetize the 330 million visitors coming its way each month, this may be the beginning of the business model that has so far eluded it. That said, the company is going to have to offer those visitors a bit more than grainy “MacGyver” reruns if it hopes to prevent them from turning to Hulu for premium long-form video content.

What Should We Watch After MacGyver? "Kicked in the Nuts" or "Cat Falls in Toilet"?

John Paczkowski — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:19:49 +0000