#0722 – Talking About Television Shows, - Ang, mater, ESL Podcast McQuillan Jeff mp3+PDF
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English as a Second Language Podcast
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ESL Podcast 722 – Talking About Television Shows
GLOSSARY
TV season
– the period of time each year when most entertainment television
shows are shown on TV, usually from September until May
* There aren’t very many interesting shows this TV season, so I guess I’ll have
plenty of time for reading.
rerun
– a television show that is shown on TV repeatedly, after it has already
been shown on TV at least once
* When Jane is stressed out, she relaxes by watching reruns of the TV shows
she enjoyed as a child.
premier
– the first time something is shown or seen; the first episode of a TV
series, or the first episode of a show in a particular TV season
* New shows have to start with a fantastic premier, or else nobody will tune in to
the see the other episodes that season.
to cancel
– to decide not to continue doing something that had been scheduled
to continue; to stop something before it has finished
* When Dmitry broke his ankle, he had to cancel his gym membership.
hiatus
– a break; a pause or gap in a series of things
* The researchers were getting very frustrated with their work, so they decided to
take a one-week hiatus.
contract negotiations
– the discussions between two or more people or parties
to determine how much one should be paid for a certain type of work
* Fred says the contract negotiations went really well. They ended up offering
him an annual salary of $115,000, a corporate car, and great benefits.
to renew
– to extend something for an additional period of time when the first
period of time ends
* How often do the people in this state have to renew their driver’s license?
season finale
– the last episode of a particular show in a particular TV season
* Scriptwriters have to make the season finale interesting enough so that viewers
are willing to wait three months to find out what happens next.
cliffhanger
– a story, especially in a movie or television show, that leaves the
viewer or reader waiting to find out what happens next
* Each chapter in this book is such a cliffhanger that I can’t stop reading because
I’m too anxious to find out what happens next!
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ESL Podcast 722 – Talking About Television Shows
episode
– one of many shows in a TV series, usually lasting a half hour or an
hour
* Did you see the episode where the main character found out she had
unknowingly married her uncle?
to air
– to be shown on television
* The news story about our school winning the championship should air at 6:10
this evening.
mid-season replacement
– a show that takes the place of another show
partway through a TV season, usually because the first show was not successful
and did not have enough viewers
* Everyone else seems to like the mid-season replacement, but I really miss the
original show.
preempted
– replaced by something else, especially by something that is more
important or urgent
* Our fancy anniversary dinner was preempted by a trip to the emergency room
when our son swallowed a coin.
televised
– shown on television
* I’d hate to be a celebrity and have so many things from my personal life be
televised for everyone to see.
to conspire against (someone)
– for many people to work together to hurt or
harm another person in some way, especially to confuse that person or make life
difficult for him or her
* The king became paranoid that the soldiers were conspiring against him.
to give up –
to stop having or doing something that one normally likes or enjoys
* This year, Albert decided to give up sweet foods to improve his health.
that I’ve got to see
– a phrase used to express disbelief, meaning that one must
see something happen before one will believe it
* When Lolita said she was going to donate all her money to the poor, I said,
“That I’ve got to see!”
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these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
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ESL Podcast 722 – Talking About Television Shows
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. What type of episode starts a new TV season?
a) A premier.
b) A season finale.
c) A cliffhanger.
2. What happened to Madwomen last season?
a) It was temporarily suspended.
b) It received really good reviews.
c) It faced severe budget cuts.
______________
WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?
premier
The word “premier,” in this podcast, means the first time something is shown or
seen, or the first episode of a show in a particular TV season: “As soon I saw the
premier, I knew it would become my favorite TV show.” It can also be used as a
verb with the same meaning: “Do you know when that musical premiered on
Broadway?” A “premier” can also be the head, leader, or prime minister of a
country or province: “Stalin was the premier of the USSR for many years.” As an
adjective, “premier” describes things that are the best or most important: “It must
be fun to stay in premier hotels, but we save money by staying in cheap hostels.”
to give up
In this podcast, the phrase “to give up” means to stop having or doing something
that one normally likes or enjoys: “If we really want to save money to pay for
college, we need to give up eating at restaurants and going on expensive
vacations.” The phrase “to give up” also means to stop trying to do something,
usually because it is too difficult or frustrating: “I’ll never be able to learn how to
fix my own car! I give up!” Finally, the phrase “to give (somebody) up for dead”
means to stop looking for a person who is lost, because one believes he or she is
no longer alive: “Everyone had given her up for dead, but then the police found
new evidence that she might be alive.”
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English as a Second Language Podcast
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ESL Podcast 722 – Talking About Television Shows
CULTURE NOTE
Broadcast Syndication
“Syndication” usually involves arranging for photographs or articles to be sold to
individual magazines or newspapers. When the same thing is done for television
programs, the “practice” (something that is commonly done in a particular way) is
known as “broadcast syndication.”
“First-run syndication” happens when a new show is sold to many individual TV
stations and it has never been seen before. “Off-network syndication” is used for
older shows that have already been aired on network television, but can now be
aired as “reruns” (repeat showings) on other television stations that aren’t
necessarily part of the original network.
When a television show is sold to a network, it normally airs at the same time and
on the same day each week. When a show is syndicated, its “show times” (when
something is shown) are not as “predictable” (easy to anticipate and know what
will happen in the future). But if a syndicated show is popular among viewers,
the station will begin to air it more frequently and more “regularly” (at the same
time each day or week).
Networks “tend to be” (usually are) “conservative” (following traditions and rules)
when selecting new programs. Therefore, television producers who want to
“break the rules” (do something differently than how it has been done in the past)
are more likely to try to syndicate their shows to individual stations instead of
large networks.
Some syndicated shows are very well known. These include the popular “game
shows” (shows where people compete to win something) Jeopardy!, Wheel of
Fortune, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, among others.
______________
Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – a; 2 – a
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ESL Podcast 722 – Talking About Television Shows
COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 722: Talking About
Television Shows.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 722. I’m your host, Dr.
Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in
beautiful Los Angeles, California.
Visit our website at eslpod.com. Download a Learning Guide for this episode to
help you improve your English even faster.
This episode is a dialogue between Cleo and Victor; they’re talking about
television shows and some common vocabulary we might use when we talk
about TV shows. Let’s get started.
[start of dialogue]
Cleo: The new TV season is starting this week and I can’t wait. I’ve been
watching reruns all summer and I’m ready for the premiers of my favorite shows.
Victor: You watch Madwomen, right?
Cleo: Yes, it’s my favorite show.
Victor: Then I’ve got some bad news for you. It’s been cancelled.
Cleo: How is that possible? The show was on hiatus last season because of
contract negotiations, but I heard that it had been renewed for another season.
The season finale was a cliffhanger!
Victor: I know, but something must have gone wrong. They filmed two episodes,
which they’ll air, but then there’ll be a mid-season replacement.
Cleo: This is outrageous! I’ve been waiting nearly two years for its return. Oh
well, at least I can watch my other favorite show tonight, Reviver.
Victor: Sorry, but it’s been preempted. The president is giving a televised
speech tonight.
Cleo: Are you kidding me?!
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these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
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