Category Archives: Television

May 26, 2007 · 8:20 am

The Future of FOX’s ‘On The Lot’

So, at some point in the Fall of last year Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett announced a reality show. This pairing is pretty powerful, or was at the time anyways. Since that point, Burnett has actually lost some of his lustre with an atrocious season of The Apprentice and the further decline of Survivor. And, while Spielberg remains Spielberg, one wonders how he’d have time for the series between movies and his new venture into video fames. So, as we moved closer to the series’ late Spring launch, I guess you could say that expectations had cooled.

And for good reason: the show ‘On The Lot’ became, in its first weeks, was an American Idol-style boot camp with group activities, eliminations, and a misplaced focus on the drama of it all instead of the product of that drama. In other words, these first few weeks have been a bit of a mess in terms of reality television production…but it is my belief that we should stick with this show. Because the product of that drama is actually kind of cool.

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Filed under FOX, On The Lot, Reality TV, Television

May 25, 2007 · 1:12 pm

‘For Your Consideration’ – The Emmy Awards Hype Begins

It will be some yet before I settle into extensive Emmy Awards coverage, considering that we are still over three months away from the show itself. However, the studios are not leaving it to chance, and the Emmy Awards season is officially beginning with a series of For Your Consideration [Wikipedia] ads popping up in Variety/The Hollywood Reporter…well, since I don’t quite have access to the papers themselves, more specifically on their websites.

In the case of some networks, they’ve actually gone so far as to create video databases hosted on the sites of Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, although the latter has a large amount more coverage. I’m guessing that these databases will grow as time goes on.

Variety

Emmy Contenders 2007

The Hollywood Reporter

For Your Consideration: Emmy showcase

Now, Hollywood Reporter has the really interesting shows, plus banner ads from ABC-Television for Lost and Scrubs. Now, the other shows (Most of which come from Sony Television and NBC Universal) all have multiple video clips from various episodes. For today, I’m going to analyze and run down three such shows (All of them NBC-owned Dramas): Heroes, Battlestar Galactica and Friday Night Lights. Will the clips do the shows justice?

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‘Save Jericho’: The Cowardice of Traditional Media

So, I’ve written extensively about the ‘Save Jericho’ Campaign, as have a large number of internet sites and blogs. This thing is only a week old, and already it has escalated into an internet phenomenon on the levels that were unfathomable when the show was canceled last week. And, it’s had an impact: CBS executives are apparently meeting this week, although the chances of a season two still seem fairly remote. However, there’s something that needs to be made note of: there has been little to no coverage of the ‘Save Jericho’ campaign in the “traditional” media.

This would be your newspapers. Your television stations. Your major media outlets for entertainment news. These sites? Aren’t quite as willing to jump on the bandwagon. Now, there have been some stories about it in more major news outlets, but there is a distinction that needs to be made.

Those outlets (New York Times, USA Today, Chicago Tribune) are not reporting on the actual content of the Save Jericho campaign, but rather on its status as an internet phenomenon from a group of crazed fans [The New York Times walks a fine line]. They are not covering the ‘Save Jericho’ campaign as something real, something genuine, but rather as some sort of novelty. Now, for the sake of the campaign, this coverage is good. Major papers covering the story is getting press out there, and that’s a great start.

But these major papers are refusing to really pick up this story and run with it: they were unwilling to send media to cover the delivery of peanuts to CBS headquarters, they are tentative to actually talk to the people involved, and on the whole they’re reporting about the story instead of actually reporting the story itself. And when they do it’s brief mentions in their pop culture blogs, not actual articles. And I think there’s a reason for this:

Cowardice. I believe that they are unwilling to engage this campaign as an actual entity because it will be legitimizing the internet as a source of power in media. It will be legitimizing blogs, message boards, and everything else. To cover this campaign in the same way blogs have, these major papers would have to admit that they were scooped, that the same stories bloggers are writing about are worthy of their pages.

And that would change the mass media forever.

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Filed under Jericho, Television

Tagged as CBS, Mass Media, Save Jericho

May 24, 2007 · 8:14 pm

Network Upfronts Extravaganza 2007: Canadian Edition

So, I spent last week covering the American Network Upfronts, but in reality that was all a warmup for the epic event that is: the Canadian Upfronts. Man, what a week this is going to…oh, you mean they already selected all their shows? And they just announced them in a press conference? Really? That’s, uh…wow, I wasn’t really prepared, I expected to have all sorts of time to write previews and…wow. Okay, so I guess I should run down some of the new that came over the past few days? I’m all out of sorts here.

Who are the Players?

Global (CanWest) and CTV are really the only major players involved now that CTV bought out CityTV and the rest of CHUM. There’s Sun TV out of central Canada, but they’re not a huge player. It’s really down to the big two for the big shows.

What should we know about Canada’s simulcasting system?

Well, first off, do the math: the shows airing on five different American networks don’t easily fit onto two Canadian networks, not all of them anyways. This has left some fairly substantial hits south of the border (America’s Next Top Model, Ugly Betty) off of these main networks and onto networks like CityTV or Sun TV.

Canadian networks struggle most with the fact that many of their shows overlap. For instance, they own the rights to both CSI and Grey’s Anatomy: as a result, the network is forced to air Grey’s an hour earlier than it is in the U.S. It’s all a give and take like this, which makes for some interesting Canadian scheduling. Another example was just last night, when CTV had the rights to both the Lost and American Idol finales, and actually split Lost into two parts in Central Canada to make it work.

Which network is better at simulcasting?

Definitely CTV. Global is a complete and total mess: its HD is extremely limited, its commercials are far worse, and all in all the production values just aren’t the same. I really wish they’d revamp everything to be less ugly, too. They really need to work on that. CityTV and the others aren’t terrible, but they don’t have the same level of nationwide coverage, which is a problem for families without digital cable or the joys of timeshifting that some of us enjoy.

So what’s happened so far?

Well, CTV has not officially announced any of its pickups thus far, but there have been some leaks ahead of their early June Upfront Presentation in Toronto. Meanwhile, Global has spilled the beans on which shows they’ve picked up. For all the information, you can follow to The Hollywood Reporter. For a complete summary and analysis, keep reading.

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Casting Call: Producers Plan to Expand the ‘Heroes’ Universe with New Characters

Well, we know little about them, but The Hollywood Reporter is telling us that the series will be dealing with some new faces next year. We knew that there would be some shifts in casting with the show, in order to keep things fresh, but these are certainly a cryptic and scattered array of casting selections. Via casting calls, the following are confirmed:

– A Boyfriend for Claire (Sexy, it says)

– A 28-year old Black Mother

– A Surrogate for Niki’s Son

– An Irish Mobster (Black Donnellys cast, hello!)

– A Twentysomething Latina

I worry about this, only because none of these character sounds all that interesting outside of an Irish Mobster. I also worry about the show’s ability to balance these character arcs: Hana, the Wireless girl, came and went so fast (Before showing up in Five Years Gone) that she didn’t even matter in the end. Was that really worth the short time we spent on her? I think the show needs to stick with its own characters, at some point.

Either way, this list remains tentative, and we can only speculate for now how these people might come into play…and what powers they might have.

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Filed under Heroes, NBC, Television

May 24, 2007 · 12:10 pm

Reviewing the Finales: Lost, Heroes, 24 Ratings Breakdown

Well, this week has seen perhaps three of the biggest cult hits of the last decade end their seasons. 24, Heroes, and Lost are perhaps the biggest shows amongst the younger viewers that advertisers crave so much, and each show also shares something else: a rabid fanbase. These fanbases are devoted, and I have been a part of each of them since each series began. Which is why I want to, over the next few days, consider the way these three shows ended their seasons. I want to do so on a number of levels (Because my decision on quality will be one-sided). While the others will take time, the first thing that we need to consider is gloriously quantitative.

The Ratings

[Ratings Data from PIFeedback and TheFutonCritic]

Lost

Hour One

Total Viewers: 12.4 Million

18-49: 5.2

Hour Two

Total Viewers: 15 Million

18-49: 6.4

Total Average

Total Viewers: 13.66 Million

18-49: 5.8

Lost needs to be commended for a HUGE Post-Idol boost, as people seemed willing to watch just the final hour of the season after the reality show concluded. That huge boost in viewership boosts Lost’s total viewers ahead of Heroes, and its overall 18-49 within the same range. Facing off against stiffer competition, Lost is inevitable the ratings champion amongst the three shows with a strong performance in all key categories in the tougher spot…and it bodes well for next season with 15.4 Million catching the last half hour of the episode.

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Filed under 24, ABC, FOX, Heroes, Lost, NBC, Ratings, Television

Tagged as Reviewing the Finales

May 24, 2007 · 7:33 am

Where Does ‘Lost’ Go From Here: Debating the Structure of Season Four

So, Lost went “Through the Looking Glass” [Full Review of Last Night’s Episode] to tremendous effect: the show hasn’t had this much buzz since the first season, and the contrary voices are suddenly few and far between (Even Matt over at Be Something has seen the light again). One of the things that Lost has always thrived on is questions: questions of its future, questions of the island. And, well, we’re now left with a fairly big one to ponder.

Where do we go from here?

The largest source of disagreement that I’ve seen is over what structure the show takes in the coming years. Here’s the two most plausible, in my view, options:

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Filed under ABC, Lost, Television

May 23, 2007 · 11:00 pm

Reviewing the Finales: Lost – “Through the Looking Glass”

Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking-Glass” tells the story of young Alice traveling through a mirror into a world much like her own. She describes her vision of this room as follows:

‘Now, if you’ll only attend, Kitty, and not talk so much, I’ll tell you all my ideas about Looking-glass House. First, there’s the room you can see through the glass–that’s just the same as our drawing room, only the things go the other way. I can see all of it when I get upon a chair–all but the bit behind the fireplace. Oh! I do so wish I could see THAT bit! I want so much to know whether they’ve a fire in the winter: you never CAN tell, you know, unless our fire smokes, and then smoke comes up in that room too–but that may be only pretence, just to make it look as if they had a fire. Well then, the books are something like our books, only the words go the wrong way; I know that, because I’ve held up one of our books to the glass, and then they hold up one in the other room.

‘How would you like to live in Looking-glass House, Kitty?’

Tonight, after the season finale of Lost, we’ve glimpsed “Through the Looking Glass”. It is like the world we knew, but yet it is different. The words go the wrong way, and a fire burns brightly but at more strength than ever before. Everything is going the wrong way, and we cannot see what is behind the fireplace…but we want to know.

We would like to live in the Looking-glass house very much, Alice. Very much indeed.

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Filed under ABC, Lost, Television

Tagged as Reviewing the Finales

May 23, 2007 · 8:48 pm

‘Save Jericho’: Much Ado About Peanuts [UPDATED]

UPDATE: Well, according to CBS, it appears that the peanuts are being given in a way quite similar to what was suggested here. Jericho fans = Smart, it seems, and CBS appears to be routing the peanuts for a good cause. This is a positive development, and considering that another 4000 pounds are on their way today [Maybe with media as well]…things aren’t done yet.

WCBSTV.com – ‘Jericho’ Fans to CBS: ‘Nuts!’

“CBS spokesman Chris Ender estimated Wednesday that about 300 boxes of nuts ranging in size from three pounds to 10 pounds had arrived.

“We’ve made arrangements for the bulk of the boxes to be picked up by Staten Island Project Home Front, an organization that focuses on fundraising and supporting military serving in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Ender told wcbstv.com. “We’ve also made contact with the Bronx Zoo to see if they’d like some of these, as well as local homeless shelters and food banks.””

Sounds like they’re headed to a good cause. Let’s hope that CBS, in the process of this, understands what is going on here on a larger level.

And now back to regularly scheduled analysis.

Okay, so over the past few days I’ve been delving into this Jericho question, and the more I discuss it the more I sympathize with the show’s fans. Much of this has to do with their level of argument within the two past threads (To be found Here and Here), but I have to admit: a lot of it has to do with the peanuts.

That peanut side of the story is quite simple: Skeet Ulrich’s Jake said “Nuts” in the season finale (As part of some form of surrender: I need to watch this finale at some point, eh?), and fans have used it as their battlecry. “Nuts to CBS” is a common statement amongst the show’s fans, but they didn’t stop there. As opposed to just sending their thoughts, they decided that they should send something more tangible: peanuts. Hundreds, if not thousands, of peanut orders started flying off from various online peanut delivery companies…however, one took notice.

NutsOnline.com – Nuts for Jericho

It was NutsOnline that did so, and they’re now sending mass shipments to CBS, the first of which should have arrived recently (There is to be video confirmation later).

In the meantime however, I figure that there’s a question that should be answered:

What should CBS do with all of these roasted peanuts?

My personal suggestion is to provide them to the writing staffs for their new fall shows, but to then refuse to provide them water, holding them hostage until they put out scripts which are good enough to meet their approval.

So, does anyone else have any suggestions on what they should do with the nuts? Perhaps Ms. Tassler should make a honey-nut glaze humble pie? Got another recipe in mind? Have some fun with it, I’m sure that there’s plenty of imaginative minds out there.

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Filed under Jericho, Television

Tagged as CBS, Peanuts, Save Jericho

May 23, 2007 · 1:37 pm

‘Save Jericho’: The ‘CBS’ Viral Conspiracy Theory

This will be a brief update, but it is something to consider. On the Official Jericho Boards, “colsteve” posted with news that someone apparently from CBS (Through StatTracker, this information was discovered) had arrived at their blog after searching for the following phrase:

“SAVE JERICHO CAMPAIGN FAILS”

That’s how it reads. First, let’s make this clear: there has been no official word as to the campaign’s success, and as a statement this is not true: the fight goes on.

Now, the theory is of course that CBS is trying to downplay the movement by spreading doubt as to its success. I think this is a little bit tenuous, however; that IP address could have been a mistake, the person could have been a low-level intern, and I don’t think there is any real justification in claiming that CBS is virally attempting to stop the movement.

That being said, I think it raises the interesting question: how ARE people reacting at CBS? It’s hard for us to imagine as non-executives, but for them this likely presents a huge public relations and media challenge, not to mention actually dealing with their coming development cycle. I almost can see why they would be interested in trying to start things in a viral fashion, because the traditional methods of damage control only work against much smaller “problems”.

Because the ‘Save Jericho’ campaign is a problem for CBS. Are these viral searches part of a vast conspiracy to undermine the NUTS drive? Theoretically. But, without actual proof, all we can do is wonder whether or not CBS is planning something substantial in response to it all. Perhaps we’ll see in the coming days.

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Filed under Jericho, Television

Tagged as CBS, Save Jericho