Photo: Getty Images
“We’re for New York!!”
“I’m Jim Cramer and this is Maaaaaad Money!”
“Diana and Sade, hi!”
“Diana and Sade, five o’clock, right on time!”
If you don’t recognize the above phrases, you haven’t taken a taxi in New York in the last three months. They’re part of the relentless, repetitive blitz that is Taxi TV. The minute you get in a cab, it begins. Slightly too loud, overpromotional, and really kind of too food-oriented, Taxi TV is something that all New Yorkers are learning to deal with. Lately we’ve been coming to realize that Bloomberg’s big new transit addition has divided New Yorkers into two camps. People either turn off Taxi TV immediately upon cab entry, or they sit idly by and watch it, mesmerized and slightly brain-dead, the way they watch reality TV. We fall into the latter category, which is why we feel like we know Sara Gore (who is that chick? And what channel is she even on? And why can’t she stop swaying?) and Sade Baderinwa.
We spend time worrying about who the unidentifiable people are in the “4 New York” ads and whether Jillian Michaels looks uncomfortable in her scripted teasers. Why is Al Roker always yelling? And is the cannolli really that good at that place in Staten Island? Do French fries really belong in a sandwich? It can be very stressful. Which is why, dear readers, we want to hear what you think. Do you fall into the category of people who switch off Taxi TV the moment you get into the cab? Or do you feel like you know Katie Couric just that much better because of it? Please tell us in the comments. Because, seriously, Taxi TV does not respond when we start yelling questions at it. Or even, most of the time, when we start punching the mute button.
