Pros: lots of articles and entertainment news, easy-to-read format, more color photos, puzzles
Cons: incomplete TV program listings -- listings could be presented in a better format
The Bottom Line: The Bottom Line enjoys filling idle time by relaxing with informative TV Guide articles ... and it goes elsewhere for program listings.
Just the words TV Guide bring back memories of growing up with television. My parents had a TV Guide subscription all during my growing years and still do. Carrying on the tradition, I have a subscription, too.
The Format Change
For years TV Guide has maintained a small paperback book-like style. The interior was filled primarily with TV listing information for each day of the week with a few articles about shows and the entertainment industry. With the October 17, 2005 issue ... all that changed. The new TV Guide not only enlarged its size to 8" x 10 3/8", but the content underwent a drastic reformation.
I welcomed the addition of more entertainment articles and features. The glossy pages are filled with color photos and stories that are presented well, making them easy to read. My parents immediately disliked the new format. The television program listings were much different than in the old issues. I didn’t care too much about the television listings since I had already discovered the joys of Yahoo TV listings online in addition to the guide on the television provided by the cable company.
Television Program Listings
If you are familiar with the television listings online at Yahoo TV, you will see a similar layout in the new TV Guide. Television programing is color coded (yellow = movies, blue = specials, orange = sports, purple = news). There are also icons depicting whether programs are for family viewing, close captioned, and how they are rated as well as if a program is new. The listings are located on 39 pages at the back of the TV Guide under a section titled “This Week”.
The first few pages are devoted to recapping some favorite television series. Not all series are covered. After that there are four pages of movie listings. Four-Star movies are listed in a half-page column, and other 3- and 4-star movies are listed beneath weekday headings. Each day is written in a different color.
Next, Daytime listings Monday - Friday (12:00 pm - 7:30 pm) are on a 2-page spread. Saturday and Sunday daytime programming is not listed. Then come 2-page Prime Time listings for each day of the week (8:00 pm - 10:30 pm). Between each weekday are two pages of highlights for each day, including late-night Talk Show descriptions. The Saturday and Sunday pages also feature Sports Highlights for those two days. Late Night television Monday - Friday (11:00 pm - 4:30 am) listings do not cover every channel. There is also a page listing Late-Night Movies (11:00 pm - 6:30 am). Notably missing are show listings from 4:30 am - Noon.
The listings do not give in-depth descriptions of the programs. Many of the programs have no descriptions at all. In the Daytime section, if a television station features different shows during the week, there is only one description: “Various Programming”, which is no help at all. The Daytime television listings only list the name of the show with no description. As if to cover the lack of information, at the bottom of each programming page, TV Guide includes a link to their website for "24-hour local listings and channel numbers".
That’s another feature I miss. The old TV Guide had a “Cable Conversion Chart” for my area. I could look at the chart and know (for example) that PBS was on cable channel 2 and the number cable channel for the major networks, TLC, H&G, Nickelodeon, and the SciFi Channel just to name a few.
Features
There are more feature articles in the new enlarged TV Guide. I enjoy reading about my favorite programs and the people who are making them. The larger pages allow room for a lot more photos, too. Sometimes TV Guide includes snapshots taken at gala events. I especially enjoy peeks at what goes on when the camera is off and the shows' crews are between takes. TV Guide also includes spoilers to various programs but gives warning when they are about to spill the beans.
Each issue of the TV Guide opens with a page titled "TV Guide’s Moment of the Week". This usually features a series program. There is also a Table of Contents followed by a 2-page spread of "21 shows You've Gotta See!" complete with a photo and description of each show episode mentioned. There is also a page of "Breaking News" regarding the television world.
A feature in each issue titled "Behind the Scenes" focuses on one or more programs and delivers candid snapshots with descriptions of what happens off camera during a show’s production. Sometimes an issue has a celebrity guest columnist, too.
Columns & Featurettes
As with the old version of TV Guide, the new TV Guide also features the columns we are used to seeing plus a few extra featurettes.
The Ausiello Report – recent/upcoming changes to TV series
The Numbers – top 20 shows
Just the Facts – celebrity news: deaths, splits, engagements, births, arrests
Mail & Ask TV Guide – letters to TV Guide and questions answered
Cheers & Jeers – TV Guide polices the shows with their observations
Q&A – questions presented to a specific actor or actress with full-page photo
Insider – new faces, old favorites, hot trends
The Love Column – a few couples from TV shows are featured each week
Quote - Unquote – quotes snatched from television programs
What I’m Watching – celebrities talk about their favorite shows
Figure It Out – different numerical statistics relating to TV
Roush Review – Matt Roush reviews programs
Is It Just Me? – Rochell D. Thomas ponders the vagarities of TV programs
Radar – merchandise featured in TV programs
Hot List – family programming highlights
Then & Now – celebrities where-are-they-now is in most issues
DVD – new releases and a small Q&A section
Soaps – Damian J. Holbrook keeps track of soap plot lines
The Logan Report – Michael Logan focuses on soap news
Hits & Misses – Susan Stewart lists notable and forgettable upcoming programs
Horoscope – full page devoted to each sign’s horoscope
Puzzles
The TV Guide wouldn’t be complete without a crossword puzzle. I enjoy doing them, too. I’m not sure if it’s my imagination ... but I find the crossword puzzles in the new TV Guide more difficult to complete.
Sudoku puzzles are sweeping the nation. Now in each issue, TV Guide prints its own version of the puzzle. However, instead of numbers, the puzzles use nine letters of the alphabet. The nine letters form the title of a television show (and if the show name is not nine letters long, a few extra letters are added). For instance, here is how one Sudoku puzzle is presented: “A Must-See sitcom that debuted in 1994 appears in the puzzle at the left that contains the letters D, E, F, G, I, L, N, R and S.” As an added hint, the name of the show appears somewhere in the Sudoku puzzle grid after the letters are filled in.
Purchasing
TV Guide has a news stand price of $1.99 an issue. The insert inside the issue states that 52 issues can be purchased in four monthly installments of $12.87, which equals 99-cents an issue. Free gifts often accompany the subscription offer.
If you are considering subscribing to TV Guide, I can attest that the issues arrive a few days before they are needed. So far every issue of the larger edition has arrived in perfect condition. The name and subscription expiration date are printed directly on the TV Guide (no peel-off label).
Summary
I enjoy the new TV Guide as a source of information about my favorite shows. These pages cover a lot of territory. However, as a list of TV programming, this guide misses the target. The show listings are incomplete. I would not purchase the new TV Guide for its program listings. There are better sources out there.
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