Bob Barker’s final episode of The Price is Right was a classy affair that, despite being just another episode on the surface, felt representative of everything the show stood for. However, as we say goodbye to Bob Barker, it was hard to ignore the push that CBS is giving one of the shows it said goodbye to in May before reconsidering. That show is ‘Jericho’.
The advertisement is everything that CBS should be doing to promote the show (It is also being placed at the end of some CBS Innertube viewings). Starting with various scenes from the end of the show’s first season, it reminds viewers that only once in a long while is there a show that fans will fight to keep on the air. And that show is…Jericho.
The commercial goes on to inform viewers that the show will begin reruns on July 6th, and on the whole really makes the show out to be something that people should pay attention to. And let me tell you, the commercial is effective: it features the emotion of the show’s characters and doesn’t try to bog viewers down in the conspiracies seen throughout the show’s first season.
Now, while the show wasn’t peppered with the ads or anything, I think it shows that CBS is willing to spread the word about this series in what might well be one of the highest rated specials of the summer season (We’ll get final ratings tomorrow). For now, fans of the series can finally believe that the network will be in their corner, and can hope for more coverage this evening during the Daytime Emmy Awards.
In the land of television game shows, the host is an important part of the equation. What would Jeopardy be without Alex Trebek’s trademark moustache…er, without his self-important readings of answers in fake accents? And seriously, would it be better if those letters just appeared themselves on Wheel of Fortune as opposed to Vanna White elegantly pressing that hidden button? And, while the models are certainly part of the appeal, hypochondriac Howie Mandel basically makes Deal or No Deal what it is. And yet, these hosts have proven themselves able to pick up on new game show trends and ride them for twenty years. Bob Barker took an aging pricing game format thirty five years ago and has kept it relevant, even while hipper game shows pop up every year. It is that accomplishment that makes Bob Barker the most impressive game show host of our time, and in the wake of his retirement today it is important that we remember what makes him so engaging.
The Price is Right: Bob Barker’s Final Episode
Syndication:Check Your Local Listings
Primetime:8pm EST on CBS
The Price is Right hasn’t changed much over the years, at least since I started watching it at a young age. The pricing games still features old technology as opposed to flashy video screens, they never did update the bidding ones, and Bob Barker still holds his trademark wired microphone. And yet, somehow, that hasn’t mattered; while other game shows from this era are now long gone, The Price is Right remains.
I believe that to be entirely the job of Bob Barker. He has remained the focus of the series from day one, and has weathered many storms. I remember a point when Barker’s beauties were the talk of the series, but now they’ve turned into nameless models because that fad came to an end even as Barker persisted. There is something timeless about him, something that allows him to continue to affect generations in a way that attractive women could only dream of achieving.
The man became a pop cultural icon by being something that today seems so foreign: he’s relateable. Now as people are attracted to the rich, to the famous, Bob Barker comes across as someone you pretty well want to be your father or uncle. When people went on stage with him they felt like they could borderline molest him because he was so darn friendly, and I often wondered how he didn’t strangle some of them (Especially the slow ones. You don’t need the audience to help you).
I don’t know if the show will be able to survive without a relateable figure like Bob Barker, and I don’t think you can replace someone like him. I will leave you with proof of his legacy in the form of pop culture references and appearances. And with a reminder to help control the pet population. Seriously, if you don’t do it now, you should be smacked upside the head.
How I Met Your Mother – Showdown
It may be the most recent, but this episode in which Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) believes Bob Barker to be his father speaks to the above. Even though it is through a television, and is clearly naive, Barney completely and totally believes Barker is his father, and you can actually see how he connects with him through television. Plus it’s pretty well hilarious.
Happy Gilmore
In perhaps the greatest signal of his legacy, Bob Barker plays against type by knocking out Happy Gilmore in what became yet another example of his impact on a pop cultural generation.
[EDIT: Pirate Master was canceled in late July, and its remaining episodes will be streamed online every Tuesday at CBS.com.]
Last week I promised that I was going to stop watching slowly sinking Pirate Master…but after finishing up tomorrow’s For Your Consideration piece, I decided I’d turn on the TV and see what was going on. So, my impressions are only of the first 15 minutes…and I feel like I just transported into a bizarro world.
A Change in Leadership!
Azmyth, who didn’t even get to TALK in the first episode, is suddenly the captain of the ship. I assume this means that the team without the captain (Joe Don) on it lost the expedition, which is at least a necessary twist in the game. Also, Azmyth taking on an accent gave Cameron an opportunity to actually make an ad-lib!
Vive la Revolution!
Man, everyone seems really happy all of a sudden. I refuse to believe that this happened without the assistance of mind-altering drugs, can someone confirm or deny this? It seems way too sudden, as if Azmyth gave them all money…wait, did he give them all money? That seems possible.
People Have Opinions!
Much more like a Survivor tribal council, the people at “Pirate’s Court” had things to say, people to talk about, concerns, questions, and everything else you could imagine. Even one of the officers got to talk, which was just fascinating for me. Apparently with new leadership comes new energy and openness, which was certainly one of the show’s downfalls.
Things Happened!
I will assume things happened in the actual episode itself, but there was a tie! The crew is divided! The captain makes a fascinating and nearly incomprehensible decision! This has never happened before!
I don’t know about you, but I kind of like this game of just watching the last fifteen minutes: it’s much more interesting when I have to guess what has happened in the previous part of the episode. The show is still not perfect, but I have a suspicion that this episode might have it on a better track. Did anyone else brave the entire episode? Was it so soul-crushing that the conclusion couldn’t save it? Please let me know.
Next Week on Pirate Master: Sean is dead to Jay! Joe Don tests Jay’s loyalty! And a treasure surprise sends the pirates SPINNING! Looks like things might get even more interesting…but who knows.
If CBS gives the go-ahead, producers of two of the network’s highest rated programs might be switching writing staffs for a week. However, perhaps surprisingly, these two shows are Two and a Half Men and CSI:. One is a light-hearted innuendo-laden comedy. The other is a procedural drama that only occasionally wanders into the comedy realm. This is perhaps the greatest idea ever.
Now, I have no idea how it would work out for either show (Which excites me), but it does have me thinking: which other TV series should swap writing staffs for a week? And I came up with all sorts of options, but here are two to get us started.
‘The Office’ and ‘CSI: Miami’
This would address the question I’ve been dying to have answered: would CSI: Miami be more or less funny if the humour was intentional? Horatio Caine is basically the most ridiculous character on television, and through the joys of YouTube his unintentional humour has become a cult sensation. However, what would happen if the hilarious writers of The Office got to write lines actually meant to be funny, meant to elicit laughter. I’m imagining Horatio talking a lot like Dwight while investigating the recent marijuana incident…and it’s basically cracking me up right now. As for the other side of the coin, I think it would be interesting to see whether the CSI: Miami writers are actually capable of being funny…my bet is on no, but the other side would be totally worth it.
‘Heroes’ and ‘Battlestar Galactica’
Admittedly, this one is somewhat less about comedy. However, I think that this would be a very interesting experiment because I think that Heroes’ writing staff would learn a lot about character development and sustaining multiple storylines. While Battlestar has its slow episodes, its characters have been so well developed that they often don’t resonate. If Heroes writers could pick up on that, they might be able to survive an entire season at a stronger pace. Meanwhile, I would love to see what Ronald Moore and David Eick could do in the Heroes universe considering their success on the Sci-Fi series.
Okay, so that’s it from me on this subject (I have more, don’t get me wrong, but I figure I should give people a cchance). Are there any other shows that you think might be ready for a crossover opportunity? Is there another show you think might benefit from The Office’s hilarity or one that could be helped by Lost’s mythology? What writers do you think should spend time on Wysteria Lane with some desperate housewives? Are there any writers that you think might benefit from spending some time in Jericho? Feel free to comment below.
When CBS announced that it planned to air reruns of Jericho this summer in anticipation of the show’s upcoming midseason return, I had personally thought that they would re-air all of the season’s episodes starting at some point in June, perhaps doubling up on certain weeks in an attempt to fit in all 22 episodes before September came around. Well, CBS seems to think differently, and their official schedule features only 13 episodes from Jericho’s first season. And, well, I think it’s a good schedule.
The Jericho Summer Rerun Schedule
Friday July 6th
9pm EDT – Episode 1 – “Pilot”
Friday July 13th
8pm EDT – Jericho Recap Show (Eps. 1-11)
9pm EDT – Episode 12 – “The Day Before”
Friday July 20th – September
9pm EDT – Remaining Episodes of Jericho’s First Season
Firstly, this schedule will currently take them until September 21st, which would mean the final repeat would air after the official start of the fall season. As a result, a two-hour event here or there might well take place.
After learning this news, I first felt it was a bit of a copout. However, I’ve since decided that it is strong plan that makes a lot of sense for a variety of reasons.
Emphasize Your Strongest Features
The pre-hiatus Jericho was a slow-moving, never-ending post nuclear society struggling with food shortages and your regular post-disaster scenarios. The interest parts (Hawkins’ behaviour, the conspiracy rumblings) can be covered in the recap special, and the show can move into its strong post-hiatus period creatively.
[In Week Two of Cultural Learnings’ 59th Annual Emmy Awards Nominations Preview, we’re looking at possible contenders for the Supporting Actress awards in both drama and comedy. Today, we present our fourth set of candidates. For last week’s Supporting Actor candidates, and an index of all candidates, Click Here]
Supporting Actress in a Drama
Kelly Bishop (Emily Gilmore)
Gilmore Girls
This year, for the first time, Gilmore Girls is submitting in the drama category. This decision will certainly benefit the series, I believe, as it more directly represents the show as a whole. However, at the same time, it will also directly benefit who is arguably the series’ most important supporting player. Kelly Bishop has portrayed the Gilmore matriarch for seven seasons with a sense of grace, but she was rarely given a chance to be “comic” by popular standards. Sure, Emily Gilmore can be hysterical, but it makes more sense for her to be considered as a dramatic performance. As a result, as the series shifts over, so too do Bishop’s chances of finally getting her due. In the show’s final season, Kelly Bishop portrayed Emily Gilmore as a powerful wife, mother and grandmother in a way that was always real despite her wealth and status. As a dramatic performance, Bishop deserves to be considered for an Emmy Award.
This past season has been an opportunity for Emily to come to terms with her own life, as opposed to that of her daughter. Her life changed when her husband suffered a heart attack, and all of a sudden she was alone in many things. That sense of loneliness sent the always on the edge Emily over the cliff, in a sense. Faced with a new reality, a change in her routine, it required a lot of dramatic range from Bishop. At that age, where retirement and everything else kicks in, people are faced with a change of lifestyle, and Bishop portrayed it with a subtlety and vulnerability that was in line with Emily’s past actions.
Perhaps most importantly, however, was that Emily’s journey felt complete. After seven seasons of tense relations with her daughter, the season ended with her attempting to ensure that her connection with Lorelai would continue even as Rory is graduating. Their strained relationship was always important to the core dynamic, and to see it resolved in the finale was perhaps the most important moment from my personal perspective. What Bishop always brought to the role was a sense that Emily held a grudge, but that she also very much loved and cherished her relationship with her family. In her finale season, Bishop lived up to that history and delivered a performance worthy of Emmy consideration.
Episode Selection:“I’d Rather Be In Philadelphia” (Aired February 6th, 2007)
A moment of crisis is always rife with drama: in this case, Emily is faced with her husband’s heart attack and struggles in the hospital to pull together. Her reaction is real, honest, and Bishop portrays her anguish with just the right amount of denial. While I think she had better performances, this is the one where she was placed in a tougher position. Remorse, anger, it’s all there. It wasn’t perhaps the most subtle of her performances, but I think it is certainly the one that might get a good amount of Emmy related attention.
I watched the first two seasons of How I Met Your Mother in the span of a few weeks, and in the process I warmed up to Cobie Smulders in a big way. I was, for the most part, ambivalent towards her as the seasons progressed, but over time I began to come to terms with her contribution to the series. While Alyson Hannigan is perhaps the bigger star, Smulders often has the more difficult role to play. Her relationship with Ted needed to seem worthwhile, honest, and it always did. She brought to the role a sense of comic timing that was always somewhat offbeat, and she always played the role of the outsider in the right way. And really, I’ll be honest: while I believe that her performance as a whole is deserving of attention, I’m really only listing her for one reason: Robin Sparkles.
I might not be watching the series anymore, but I certainly am still watching the ratings for CBS’ Pirate Master. And while it isn’t the huge decline that hit FOX’s On the Lot earlier this summer, it is certainly bad news for the struggling reality series.
Week two of CBS reality dud Pirate Master lived up to that description, with a disappointing 6.34 million viewers (#2) and a 1.9/ 7 among adults 18-49 (#2t) from 8-9 p.m. Comparably, Pirate Masters opened on May 31 with 6.99 million viewers and a 2.3/ 6 in the demo, based on the final nationals.
That means that the show dropped roughly 10% of its premiere viewers, while dropping a more disastrous 17% or so in the key demos; and this is without the same level of competition as last week! CBS, like FOX with On the Lot, is likely to stick with it to avoid admitting defeat, but Pirate Master will certainly not be returning for another voyage any time soon.
Also of note: ABC’s Fast Cars and Superstars failed to ignite racing fans:
Earlier in the evening on ABC was the debut of Fast Cars & Superstars at (an also estimated) 5.62 million viewers (#3) and a 1.9/ 7 among adults 18-49 (#2t) at 8 p.m.
Well, Mark Burnett, I gave Pirate Master two weeks of my time, but unfortunately I am not going to be able to continue walking the plank, dropping the anchor, or rigging the sails any longer, as Pirate Master has outstayed its welcome. I was all ready to follow you from sea to sea, from adventure to adventure (I even made a photoshop template last week, Mark, come on!). However, I’ve decided that sticking with it will only frustrate me further, so I should cut myself adrift before the ship sinks for good. But, of course, I can’t just say goodbye without letting you know my reasons for leading my mutiny.
5. The Confusion
On Survivor, and every other reality show, the rules are usually fairly simple (Or are ever-changing, like on Big Brother). Here, however, everything is left vague. Rules pop up out of nowhere, the Captain starts tossing around money as if it’s a normal strategy play, and the eliminations aren’t surprising but rather completely underdeveloped. It’s one thing to make a thinking man’s reality show, but it’s another to make one that only a doctorate thesis could properly dissect at this rate. They needed to set the rules down in this episode, and all they did was make them more confusing.
4. The Editing
Very simply, Mark Burnett has forgotten how to edit things. In the Eco Challenge era, he pioneered characterizations in reality television through smart editing, making sure that rivalries were fostered and created. Here, none of that seems to be present: the comments chosen for talking heads are often highly cliched, and fail to ignite any sort of character within these people. It is the job of the editing to make even boring people look good, and it just isn’t working here. There are no stories for these people, no identities. It’s not entirely the fault of the editing, but it should be stepping in to save these people. Speaking of which…
3. The “Pirates”
Reality contestants need to be either interesting or outrageous, and this cast consists of neither. When they’re asked to explain things in talking heads, like Cheryl explaining the Black Spot process, they are embarassingly terrible actors. When they were clearly told to dramatically look at the marked crew members and the captain during the elimination ceremony, they were wooden and terrible again. These people just are not good reality contestants. This episode at least showed them doing more of the work on the boat, which was cool, but none of them could even build a story around themselves. This episode boiled down to weaknesses, not strengths, and its highest profile pirate (Azmyth) didn’t even speak last week. That’s a cast filled with nobodies.
2. The Host
Cameron Daddo, you are not funny, charming, entertaining or engaging. I do not care when you’re on screen, and you don’t even try to get me to take your silly chest of Zanzibar seriously. A reality TV host is supposed to make even the most mundane challenege intriguing: when Jeff Probst or Phil Keoghan are stuck talking up a crappy challenge, they damn well make it sound like the best thing ever. Daddo just maintains his monotone perspective, believing that all pirates are soothed by stoic speech. This is not the case, and I certainly don’t tolerate it either. A good host could have steered this ship away from the sharp pointy rocks of suckage, but Cameron Daddo is not that host.
And finally, the #1 Reason I’m no longer watching Pirate Master…
Just a heads up to my regular blog readers: I’ve officially opened the For Your Consideration: Jericho page I have alluded to in far too many previous posts (I’m a whore for the email link recently, apparently).
If you want to submit something, or think that another show might deserve a similar page, send me off an email…well, I won’t post it again, but it’s in the upper right hand corner for those interested.
In an official statement to fans of Jericho, Nina Tassler (President of CBS) has publicly announced the midseason order that has been rumoured for the past 24 hours. Here is that statement:
To the Fans of Jericho:
Wow!
Over the past few weeks you have put forth an impressive and probably unprecedented display of passion in support of a prime time television series. You got our attention; your emails and collective voice have been heard.
As a result, CBS has ordered seven episodes of “Jericho” for mid-season next year. In success, there is the potential for more. But, for there to be more “Jericho,” we will need more viewers.
A loyal and passionate community has clearly formed around the show. But that community needs to grow. It needs to grow on the CBS Television Network, as well as on the many digital platforms where we make the show available.
We will count on you to rally around the show, to recruit new viewers with the same grass-roots energy, intensity and volume you have displayed in recent weeks.
At this time, I cannot tell you the specific date or time period that “Jericho” will return to our schedule. However, in the interim, we are working on several initiatives to help introduce the show to new audiences. This includes re-broadcasting “Jericho” on CBS this summer, streaming episodes and clips from these episodes across the CBS Audience Network (online), releasing the first season DVD on September 25 and continuing the story of Jericho in the digital world until the new episodes return. We will let you know specifics when we have them so you can pass them on.
On behalf of everyone at CBS, thank you for expressing your support of “Jericho” in such an extraordinary manner. Your protest was creative, sustained and very thoughtful and respectful in tone. You made a difference.
Sincerely,
Nina Tassler
President, CBS Entertainment
P.S. Please stop sending us nuts 🙂
Whether or not fans despise her for her earlier decisions, this statement could not be more true. She, and rightly so, is calling on fans to make good on the promise that they set forward. And, in order to do this, fans need to find ways to turn this into ratings momentum. As a result, this campaign cannot die off now, and hopefully further good can come from this movement. The power of many cannot be refuted, in this instance, and in 8 months or do fans will have their chance to make their voices heard when Jericho returns to network television.
In preparation for this, you can send off an email as to why Jericho deserves Emmy Award recognition to cultural.learnings @ gmail.com, and it will be included in the growing database of comments from fans regarding the show’s future.
Congratulations, folks. I shall eat some peanut butter in your honour.
Bob Barker’s final episode of The Price is Right was a classy affair that, despite being just another episode on the surface, felt representative of everything the show stood for. However, as we say goodbye to Bob Barker, it was hard to ignore the push that CBS is giving one of the shows it said goodbye to in May before reconsidering. That show is ‘Jericho’.
Supporting Actress in a Drama
Supporting Actress in a Comedy
Cultural Learnings 