Chinese Language TV in Los Angeles, April 2011

It's been over a year since my last report! Not a lot has happened from the OTA side, but Time Warner did start offering a competitive Chinese language package (look at picture above).

Time Warner's new package includes
ETTV News
ETTV Super
ETTV China
ETTV Drama
ETTV YOYO
Phoenix InfoNews
Phoenix NA Chinese Channel
CTI-Zhong Tian
CCTV-4
CCTV-NEWS

Another OTA channel started up in February 2011 backed by the ETTV guys on 62.6. Mostly Taiwanese content from channel surfing there. I've mostly been watching the news there, pretty recent news too. However, I do get periodic signal distortion with this channel.

Also, since my last post, the 31.X channels signal has improved. Improved so much that I can't remember the last time I didn't get signal.

There also a wikipedia page that keeps a pretty good listing of the channels in Mandarin Chinese, Los Angeles free-to-air networks. The page neglects to list 31.9 as an CCTV-9 channel.

Great news to all you people that want to get FREE Chinese Channels.

18.8 has also increased its coverage to the "cable" networks with these channels:


Related Posts to Chinese Language TV in Los Angeles:
March 2010
January 2010
October 2009
May 2009
April 2009
Part 3 (January 2009)
Part 2 (January 2009)
Part 1 (August 2008)

Resident Evil: Afterlife - 惡靈古堡IV:陰陽界3D

Resident Evil: Afterlife (惡靈古堡IV:陰陽界3D) is a 2010 film out of the USA. The movie stars Milla Jovovich. Ali Larter has a supporting role. The film is very loosely based on the video game of the same name.

Plot courtesy of Netflix:

The Undead Apocalypse continues unabated as super-soldier Alice (Milla Jovovich) finds her way to a supposed sanctuary in Los Angeles, which may just be a deadly trap set for her by the ruthless Umbrella Corporation. The fourth film in Paul W.S. Anderson's blood-soaked saga finds Alice teaming up with Claire (Ali Larter) and Chris (Wentworth Miller) and a handful of stragglers to save what's left of humanity.

The is the fourth installment of the series and it was a good one. The "resident evil" universe can keep this series going as long as Bond. Or at least try. The movie itself was had the sci-fi elements in high gear and introduced new characters to kill off as the movie moves along. The story itself does assume you remember some parts of the previous three movies. But it wasn't enough to prevent you from following along. In all, I missed the 3D experience because I don't have a 3D TV.

Unfortunately, the Asian guy that appears in this film is playing a "kill off" role. Food for the zombies, just waiting for his time to come.

The A-Team -- 天龍特攻隊

The A-Team (天龍特攻隊) is a 2010 film out of the USA. The movie stars Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Sharlto Copley, and Jessica Biel. The movie is based on the 1980s television series of the same name. I grew up watching The A-Team and the many reruns. The movie is a current day interpretation of the television series. The tagline for the A-Team is slightly updated for the 2010 film:

(Ten years ago / In 1972), a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... The A-Team

Netflix has this plot summary:

This updated feature-film take on the hit 1980s television show follows a group of Iraq War veterans on the run from U.S. military forces while they try to clear their names after being framed for a crime they didn't commit. Along the way, Col. Hannibal Smith, Capt. H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock , Sgt. Bosco "B.A." Baracus and Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck help out various people they encounter. Joe Carnahan directs this high-octane actioner.

In all honestly, I had low expectations going into in due its poor performance at the box office over the summer of 2010. So, I didn't think this would be a great or even good film. With that in mind, I actually liked the movie. It wasn't campy like the television serious. It didn't go easy on the violence. And it didn't go easy on the plot. The plot was all over the place.

If you've read my blog for awhile, you'll notice that do follow MMA like I do the NBA and NFL. And Rampage is one of my favorite MMA fighters. And Rampage did a fair job playing BA. Bradley Cooper seems to fit the role of "Face" like a charm. The rest of the cast just fell in line.

If you're looking for an action movie with no pretentions of greatness. A film that looks to take blow things up as much as possible. This is for you. Fun and irrelevant. Just remember to go in with low expectations.

America's Best Dance Crew - Season 6 - Lil Wayne Challenge

Last night was the primiere of the sixth season of America's Best Dance Crew. Unlike other seasons, we're introduced to only 5 of the 10 teams. The five teams compete this week to impress the judges. But only 4 will move on. Next week, another 5 groups will be introduced.

As for the Superstar theme, shouldn't they get Stars that will at least make an appearance or record something for them?

Unlike the judges, I was not blown away by any of the 5 groups. They all had good spots, but was generally not very exciting. Maybe I shouldn't have watched all of Season 1 again this past week.

In general, previous seasons of ABDC has had a high Asian representation. This week, with these 5 crews, it was very little. And why does Street Kingdom have so many members? Hey, if you don't want Asians dominating, best not to even invite them. Previews for next weeks show has one Asian dominated group, we'll see how that goes.

I'll give it a try for a few more weeks. Hope its not a repeat of Season 4, where I watched only 2-3 episodes and the finale.

America's Best Dance Crew Season 6 - Upcoming

America's Best Dance Crew Season 6 is set to premiere tonight on MTV. I was hoping for an All-Stars version this time around. But maybe it doesn't make sense yet. However, from the sneak peak, doesn't look like an exciting season. Please prove me wrong ABDC.

If their were an All-Stars version, I would love to see these crews back:
Kaba Modern (Season 1)
Fysh N Chicks (Season 1)
Breaksk8 (Season 1)
SoReal Cru (Season 2)
Fanny Pak (Season 2)
Supreme Soul (Season 2)
Distorted X (Season 2)
Beat Freaks (Season 3)
Massive Monkees (Season 4)
Blueprint Cru (Season 5)
Hype 5-0 (Season 5)

Like the other promos, the winners of the previous season are showcased to promo the next season.