As you've likely heard, The West Wing will be ending its run this year, which makes a certain logical sense what with Jed Bartlett riding off into the sunset and the untimely passing of John Spenser. And I can't say I was too interested in watching a Santos or Vinick administration unfold; as much as I like Jimmy Smits and Alan Alda, I don't think either could match Martin Sheen's performance over the series.
Not that we've gotten to see too much of him this season, what with the focus on the campaign and all. Which is interesting, given how the original idea for the show was going to be light on POTUS and more about his staffers. I think that's what's made this season seem uneven for me - when Danny went off on CJ a couple of episodes ago about how Bartlett was running out the clock, it was hard to say if he was right or not because we'd seen him do precious little of anything. It makes one long for the days when we got a Presidential aside about Assyrian history or Victorian typography or something similarly esoteric.
Many of the articles I read in the wake of this announcement talked about how the show made government cool or brought civics to the masses, etc. I wouldn't go that far. It was entertaining - at times - and instructive on how government probably operates - at time, and with a caveat about the show reflecting the ideology of its creators - but not exactly a treatise on government written for the current generation. More often than not, though, what we got from The West Wing was entertaining and at least a little instructive. That's more than we get from most prime time fare.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
U! P! Dead!
I was pretty stunned by today's announcement that the WB and UPN are planning to merge into something called The CW. It's not like either network was setting the world on fire, but given the rhetoric each has used towards the other, this wasn't the most obvious move.
It'll be interesting to see what gets saved and what gets dumped as they integrate each other's shows into a common schedule and try to combine the WB's quest for young viewers with UPN's "urban" demographic.
This is also a bonanza for TV dead poolers, but I'm pretty sure that's an unintended consequence. I'll be happy either way as long as Related doesn't survive the merger.
A merger also means that there are several current affiliates who will soon lose their network. I hope this marks a return to independent TV stations, who have some flexibility to offer distinct programming options. I worry that someone else will get the bright idea to form a new network out of the ashes of the merger. I am horrified at the possibility that all these stations will become shop at home or infomercial outlets.
I wonder if this is the Curse of Michigan J. Frog?
It'll be interesting to see what gets saved and what gets dumped as they integrate each other's shows into a common schedule and try to combine the WB's quest for young viewers with UPN's "urban" demographic.
This is also a bonanza for TV dead poolers, but I'm pretty sure that's an unintended consequence. I'll be happy either way as long as Related doesn't survive the merger.
A merger also means that there are several current affiliates who will soon lose their network. I hope this marks a return to independent TV stations, who have some flexibility to offer distinct programming options. I worry that someone else will get the bright idea to form a new network out of the ashes of the merger. I am horrified at the possibility that all these stations will become shop at home or infomercial outlets.
I wonder if this is the Curse of Michigan J. Frog?
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Bluths Saved?
According to a post over at TV Barn, both ABC and Showtime are making offers to pick up Arrested Development once Fox officially gives it the boot (interestingly, when Fox reduced the number of episodes to 13 this season it allowed a contract clause to kick in OKing these negotiations). ABC is looking for a one year deal, Showtime two. While the latter would allow the Bluths the full limits of their insanity, I am pulling for the ABC deal as it means I'd still get to watch for free.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Daniel by the Book
While I've not seen any of The Book of Daniel yet - and from what I've read, I don't seem to be missing too much - I have enjoyed watching the contrivoversy unfold as it did for shows like God, the Devil and Bob and Nothing Sacred:
1. Network creates show involving religion that may or may not have elements religious folks and conservatives would objext to.
2. Those groups object anyway.
3. A handful of TV stations refuse to air the show. Network enjoys free publicity.
4. The show tanks, gets cancelled, we forget about the contretemps until some suit decides to repeat step one.
With that in mind, I wonder if it is impossible to create a show that takes a compelling look at contemporary religious issues? To my money the closest candidate was Nothing Sacred, whose depiction of an inner city Catholic parish showed promise when it wasn't trying to do either Issue of the Week or attempt to make star Kevin Anderson TV's hottest priest. It also had the misfortune of airing during the reign of Jamie Tarses at ABC, a woman who never met a show she couldn't cancel.
Other recent attempts haven't fared much better, as anyone who sat through an episode of the nonsensical Revelations could attest. The dueling John Paul II movies earlier this year failed to generate much interest, though it was entertaining to think of Jon Voight playing a pope.
History suggests that we like TV and religion combinations to be unthreatening and vaguely upbeat - hello 7th Heaven and Touched by an Angel - but with some of the great drama that's unspooling across TV sets now, you'd think that we could get one show that's about clerics rather than cops, lawyers, or forensic scientists. On the other hand Father Dowling Mysteries were pretty popular...
1. Network creates show involving religion that may or may not have elements religious folks and conservatives would objext to.
2. Those groups object anyway.
3. A handful of TV stations refuse to air the show. Network enjoys free publicity.
4. The show tanks, gets cancelled, we forget about the contretemps until some suit decides to repeat step one.
With that in mind, I wonder if it is impossible to create a show that takes a compelling look at contemporary religious issues? To my money the closest candidate was Nothing Sacred, whose depiction of an inner city Catholic parish showed promise when it wasn't trying to do either Issue of the Week or attempt to make star Kevin Anderson TV's hottest priest. It also had the misfortune of airing during the reign of Jamie Tarses at ABC, a woman who never met a show she couldn't cancel.
Other recent attempts haven't fared much better, as anyone who sat through an episode of the nonsensical Revelations could attest. The dueling John Paul II movies earlier this year failed to generate much interest, though it was entertaining to think of Jon Voight playing a pope.
History suggests that we like TV and religion combinations to be unthreatening and vaguely upbeat - hello 7th Heaven and Touched by an Angel - but with some of the great drama that's unspooling across TV sets now, you'd think that we could get one show that's about clerics rather than cops, lawyers, or forensic scientists. On the other hand Father Dowling Mysteries were pretty popular...
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
And They Danced
Notes from the first week of Dancing With the Stars:
* Kenny Mayne was the first "star" to get the boot. He shouldn't have been. Though he clearly would have been the second. His sense of humor will be missed, though his inability to display it in short bursts won't be.
* Master P should have gone first, given that he may be the one man in America who is a worse slow dancer than me. Not sure if he got through based on his fan base or the fan base of his partner, who danced on the first installment. And while sartorial idiocy seems the norm for ballroom dancing, I'm still wondering who thought the baseball cap with the rhinestone 'P' was a good idea.
* George Hamilton is no John O'Hurley. But he seems to recognize that.
* During the results show, Tatum O'Neal spent pretty much the entire half hour talking to her partner. He may just tank a dance next week so he can get some peace and quiet.
* The producer who decided that the two male judges should be more over the top needs to be beaten. The British guy is annoying but tolerable; the Italian guy makes Roberto Begnini seem restrained. The WWE woman who is in the competition (Stacey Kebler? Is that right?) should get involved.
* Speaking of whom, she dances very well. I'd not be surprised to see her in the finals.
* Can we get the folks at Intervention to get Lisa Rinna in for an episode to get her off the collagen? Make it a 2 hour episode, anything. Her lips need saving.
* Jerry Rice showed surprising skill, though I think he was trying to downplay expectations when he said during a sideline interview that the dancing was harder than going across the middle in the NFL. I think he'll do well, but may not outlast someone like Drew Lachey, who (like McIntyre last time) is showing that boy band dancing may be good for something.
* Oh, there was a crowd shot of Nick Lachey during the Thursday show. I wonder if that fulfills any contractual obligations for ABC? It's not like he and the ex-wife will be doing any more variety shows. Thank God.
* Tom Bergeron has a new co-host this year. I don't care for her. She's a little too much E! correspondent for me.
* Kenny Mayne was the first "star" to get the boot. He shouldn't have been. Though he clearly would have been the second. His sense of humor will be missed, though his inability to display it in short bursts won't be.
* Master P should have gone first, given that he may be the one man in America who is a worse slow dancer than me. Not sure if he got through based on his fan base or the fan base of his partner, who danced on the first installment. And while sartorial idiocy seems the norm for ballroom dancing, I'm still wondering who thought the baseball cap with the rhinestone 'P' was a good idea.
* George Hamilton is no John O'Hurley. But he seems to recognize that.
* During the results show, Tatum O'Neal spent pretty much the entire half hour talking to her partner. He may just tank a dance next week so he can get some peace and quiet.
* The producer who decided that the two male judges should be more over the top needs to be beaten. The British guy is annoying but tolerable; the Italian guy makes Roberto Begnini seem restrained. The WWE woman who is in the competition (Stacey Kebler? Is that right?) should get involved.
* Speaking of whom, she dances very well. I'd not be surprised to see her in the finals.
* Can we get the folks at Intervention to get Lisa Rinna in for an episode to get her off the collagen? Make it a 2 hour episode, anything. Her lips need saving.
* Jerry Rice showed surprising skill, though I think he was trying to downplay expectations when he said during a sideline interview that the dancing was harder than going across the middle in the NFL. I think he'll do well, but may not outlast someone like Drew Lachey, who (like McIntyre last time) is showing that boy band dancing may be good for something.
* Oh, there was a crowd shot of Nick Lachey during the Thursday show. I wonder if that fulfills any contractual obligations for ABC? It's not like he and the ex-wife will be doing any more variety shows. Thank God.
* Tom Bergeron has a new co-host this year. I don't care for her. She's a little too much E! correspondent for me.
Monday, January 09, 2006
A disturbing trend
Clip shows masquerading as "catch up" shows. ABC has done this twice with Desperate Housewives, did it last night with Grey's Anatomy, and will do it on Wednesday (also for the second time, I think) with Lost.
I can see the value for this for a show like Grey's Anatomy, which started in mid-season and built buzz as it went along. However, I think they could all be avoided if ABC would air new episodes in a normal manner. It seems like the last time we had new episodes of these three shows in the same week was sometime in November.
I can see the value for this for a show like Grey's Anatomy, which started in mid-season and built buzz as it went along. However, I think they could all be avoided if ABC would air new episodes in a normal manner. It seems like the last time we had new episodes of these three shows in the same week was sometime in November.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Televisions Second Most Exciting Season
It's midseason! So what new offerings are out there?
ABC - Most notable on the schedule is the Monday night "romance" lineup, with Emily's Reasons Why Not (starring Heather Graham), the inexplicable return of the John Stamos sitcom Jake in Progress, and the return of The Bachelor, this time a doctor who is handing out roses in Paris.
I can't say any of this interests me, which probably isn't a surprise given where I fall demographically. I'd happily tune in to look at Heather Graham if (a) this were HBO, thus increasing the odds of disrobing, and (b) she wasn't starting to take on Shelley Duval's bug-eyed look. Seriously, I find the protrusion of her eyes a little discomforting.
Thursday gives us the return of Dancing With the Stars and Crumbs, a new sitcom featuring the likes of Jane Curtin and Fred Savage. I'm sure I'll watch the former, given how the wife drew me in to the original (I suppose I'm rooting for Jerry Rice). The latter, eh. It strikes me as a watered-down Arrested Development, though it's supposed to be based on the family of the creator of Caroline in the City. That's strikes two and three right there.
Friday delivers inJustice - or is it In Justice? - where Kyle MacLachlan leads a team of lawyers and investigators focused on springing prisoners who were wrongly convicted. I suppose it's better than another police procedural. MacLachlan looks old, though I assume it's to give his character more gravitas.
CBS brings Jenna Elfman back to TV - were we really clamoring for that? - in Courting Alex, where Elfman plays an attorney who is looking for love, etc. It's based on a British show called According to Bex that I know almost nothing about, though the few comments I have seen were not kind.
On the positive, it has Dabney Coleman, which makes me want to like it. It also has Josh Randall, best known for playing Dr. Mike Burton on Ed. I may actually have to watch the first episode now. Argh.
Tom Cavanagh, Ed himself, stars in Love Monkey, a dramedy (sorry) about a single guy in the music industry. That it's an hour-long show not involving some facet of the government trying to either incarcerate or unincarcerate people, it already stands out.
CBS, in its wisdom, put the show on Tuesdays at 9. Where it gets to face Commander in Chief and an American Idol-amped House. Man, I hope Les Moonves is patient.
NBC will mostly get nods for the return of Scrubs and the return of the two hour sitcom block on Thursday, completed by the moving of My Name is Earl and The Office. One of their new shows is in that block, Four Kings. The four kings in questions are four single guys living in New York. I'm unsure if it's trying to be Friends or a male-themed Sex in the City. The Boston Globe review of it was unstinting in its criticism, comparing it to some of the lesser lights of "Must See TV" Thursdays past.
On Friday we get The Book of Daniel, where Aiden Quinn plays a minister with a variety of problems, some of which he hashes out in talks to Jesus - by which I mean face-to-face conversations, not just praying. A wackier Joan of Arcadia? Possibly.
Oh, and there are the Winter Olympics from Turin, which will take up a goodly chunk of February.
Fox is mostly returning stuff at mid-season, most notably 24 and American Idol (if you've seen more than 90 seconds of Fox primetime programming in the last month, you know about the latter show's return). The one new show: Skating With Celebrities. Why watch House and its fake injuries when you can see Dave Coulier give Nancy Kerrigan an actual subdural hematoma?
The WB brings back Beauty and the Geek and Life With Fran, but no new shows as of yet. That's kind of amazing.
U!P!N! offers two shows for people who like to look at and hear things, but maybe not pay that much attention. The first is Get This Party Started, where a team of party planners puts together an event for a deserving person. It's like Three Wishes, but with a DJ and cake.
The other show is South Beach, which tries to put some drama into the vapid Miami club and fashion scene. Jennifer Lopez is involved. Thankfully, it'll give way to a new cycle of America's Next Top Model sometime in early spring.
After seeing all this, I almost long for a show like Admiral Baby.
ABC - Most notable on the schedule is the Monday night "romance" lineup, with Emily's Reasons Why Not (starring Heather Graham), the inexplicable return of the John Stamos sitcom Jake in Progress, and the return of The Bachelor, this time a doctor who is handing out roses in Paris.
I can't say any of this interests me, which probably isn't a surprise given where I fall demographically. I'd happily tune in to look at Heather Graham if (a) this were HBO, thus increasing the odds of disrobing, and (b) she wasn't starting to take on Shelley Duval's bug-eyed look. Seriously, I find the protrusion of her eyes a little discomforting.
Thursday gives us the return of Dancing With the Stars and Crumbs, a new sitcom featuring the likes of Jane Curtin and Fred Savage. I'm sure I'll watch the former, given how the wife drew me in to the original (I suppose I'm rooting for Jerry Rice). The latter, eh. It strikes me as a watered-down Arrested Development, though it's supposed to be based on the family of the creator of Caroline in the City. That's strikes two and three right there.
Friday delivers inJustice - or is it In Justice? - where Kyle MacLachlan leads a team of lawyers and investigators focused on springing prisoners who were wrongly convicted. I suppose it's better than another police procedural. MacLachlan looks old, though I assume it's to give his character more gravitas.
CBS brings Jenna Elfman back to TV - were we really clamoring for that? - in Courting Alex, where Elfman plays an attorney who is looking for love, etc. It's based on a British show called According to Bex that I know almost nothing about, though the few comments I have seen were not kind.
On the positive, it has Dabney Coleman, which makes me want to like it. It also has Josh Randall, best known for playing Dr. Mike Burton on Ed. I may actually have to watch the first episode now. Argh.
Tom Cavanagh, Ed himself, stars in Love Monkey, a dramedy (sorry) about a single guy in the music industry. That it's an hour-long show not involving some facet of the government trying to either incarcerate or unincarcerate people, it already stands out.
CBS, in its wisdom, put the show on Tuesdays at 9. Where it gets to face Commander in Chief and an American Idol-amped House. Man, I hope Les Moonves is patient.
NBC will mostly get nods for the return of Scrubs and the return of the two hour sitcom block on Thursday, completed by the moving of My Name is Earl and The Office. One of their new shows is in that block, Four Kings. The four kings in questions are four single guys living in New York. I'm unsure if it's trying to be Friends or a male-themed Sex in the City. The Boston Globe review of it was unstinting in its criticism, comparing it to some of the lesser lights of "Must See TV" Thursdays past.
On Friday we get The Book of Daniel, where Aiden Quinn plays a minister with a variety of problems, some of which he hashes out in talks to Jesus - by which I mean face-to-face conversations, not just praying. A wackier Joan of Arcadia? Possibly.
Oh, and there are the Winter Olympics from Turin, which will take up a goodly chunk of February.
Fox is mostly returning stuff at mid-season, most notably 24 and American Idol (if you've seen more than 90 seconds of Fox primetime programming in the last month, you know about the latter show's return). The one new show: Skating With Celebrities. Why watch House and its fake injuries when you can see Dave Coulier give Nancy Kerrigan an actual subdural hematoma?
The WB brings back Beauty and the Geek and Life With Fran, but no new shows as of yet. That's kind of amazing.
U!P!N! offers two shows for people who like to look at and hear things, but maybe not pay that much attention. The first is Get This Party Started, where a team of party planners puts together an event for a deserving person. It's like Three Wishes, but with a DJ and cake.
The other show is South Beach, which tries to put some drama into the vapid Miami club and fashion scene. Jennifer Lopez is involved. Thankfully, it'll give way to a new cycle of America's Next Top Model sometime in early spring.
After seeing all this, I almost long for a show like Admiral Baby.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
This Party Was Over a Long Time Ago
I've been meaning to write something about the end of Monday Night Football, but have had some trouble getting motivated. Which, really, says more about my relationship to the show than anything.
The show clearly has places in both TV and sports history, at least. It also has some unusual cultural cachet - a fair number of Americans heard about John Lennon's killing on MNF, and we all got to talk about race in America when Alvin Garrett was compared to a primate. But for as much of a football fan as I am, MNF was must sample TV rather than must watch.
Four reasons come to mind for this:
1. My home team, the New England Patriots, once went 13 years without a Monday night appearance. It's not like they were being snubbed - the team was legitimately awful, and the city father of Foxborough generally had a negative stance on Monday night games. But when your team goes that long without getting on air, and when that dry spell is during one's formative years, you can see where that might set a pattern of casual viewing.
2. Some teams got on MNF based on demographics rather than talent. There's been some awful football on Monday nights, thanks to the need to show a lousy team from a major media market. I wouldn't watch these teams on a Sunday afternoon; why would I lose sleep to watch them during the week?
3. The games started at 9 pm (actually later, as the coverage started at 9). That guarantees a finish time after midnight (and generally closer to 1 am than midnight), which I could do when I was a student. Not so much now when I have to get up and go to work. I could have recorded games, but why bother when you can get a solid condensed recap on Sports Center or the like?
4. I can now see new football games, between college and pro, pretty much every night of the week. If there's not a new game, I can probably find a game from last week being repeated, or catch an old one on ESPN Classic. This saturation made Monday night less of a requirement for getting one's pigskin fix.
As for the personalities, I never really had the problems with booth or sideline personnel that others had, outside of Lisa Guererro, who was awful (possibly even worse than Eric Dickerson, who was at least entertaining in a fish out of water kind of way). I enjoyed the Dennis Miller experiment as much as John Madden's sound effects, and recall Howard Cosell's bombast as well as Frank Gifford's dull but sonorous voice. Speaking of which, he did not compare well to Don Meredith. Dandy Don looked pretty good, although he appeared on the last episode via tape, while Frank was live. So to speak.
(Also speaking of Gifford, I will say that the period where he did intros and Chris Berman did stuff from the ESPN Zone restaurant was not good, either. At least they killed that off quick.)
I suppose the biggest argument against missing MNF is that there will still be Monday night football - just on ESPN. Like the vast majority of America, I have that channel. I just hope they start the games earlier.
As an American male I should feel more passionate about the end of Monday Night Football, but I don't.
The show clearly has places in both TV and sports history, at least. It also has some unusual cultural cachet - a fair number of Americans heard about John Lennon's killing on MNF, and we all got to talk about race in America when Alvin Garrett was compared to a primate. But for as much of a football fan as I am, MNF was must sample TV rather than must watch.
Four reasons come to mind for this:
1. My home team, the New England Patriots, once went 13 years without a Monday night appearance. It's not like they were being snubbed - the team was legitimately awful, and the city father of Foxborough generally had a negative stance on Monday night games. But when your team goes that long without getting on air, and when that dry spell is during one's formative years, you can see where that might set a pattern of casual viewing.
2. Some teams got on MNF based on demographics rather than talent. There's been some awful football on Monday nights, thanks to the need to show a lousy team from a major media market. I wouldn't watch these teams on a Sunday afternoon; why would I lose sleep to watch them during the week?
3. The games started at 9 pm (actually later, as the coverage started at 9). That guarantees a finish time after midnight (and generally closer to 1 am than midnight), which I could do when I was a student. Not so much now when I have to get up and go to work. I could have recorded games, but why bother when you can get a solid condensed recap on Sports Center or the like?
4. I can now see new football games, between college and pro, pretty much every night of the week. If there's not a new game, I can probably find a game from last week being repeated, or catch an old one on ESPN Classic. This saturation made Monday night less of a requirement for getting one's pigskin fix.
As for the personalities, I never really had the problems with booth or sideline personnel that others had, outside of Lisa Guererro, who was awful (possibly even worse than Eric Dickerson, who was at least entertaining in a fish out of water kind of way). I enjoyed the Dennis Miller experiment as much as John Madden's sound effects, and recall Howard Cosell's bombast as well as Frank Gifford's dull but sonorous voice. Speaking of which, he did not compare well to Don Meredith. Dandy Don looked pretty good, although he appeared on the last episode via tape, while Frank was live. So to speak.
(Also speaking of Gifford, I will say that the period where he did intros and Chris Berman did stuff from the ESPN Zone restaurant was not good, either. At least they killed that off quick.)
I suppose the biggest argument against missing MNF is that there will still be Monday night football - just on ESPN. Like the vast majority of America, I have that channel. I just hope they start the games earlier.
As an American male I should feel more passionate about the end of Monday Night Football, but I don't.
Ringing in the New Year - Briefly
We decided to usher in 2006 in a low-key style, catching up on recorded TV and taking it easy. Even so, we avoided pretty much all of the New Year's Eve specials, save for two or three minutes to see the ball drop. This was long enough for me to make two comments:
1. Stuart Scott got in that final pointless comment of 2005 when he asked that viewers make a New Year's resolution not to boo athletes because they do things we can't do.
So please, people, don't boo the millionaires.
2. I didn't get to see much of Dick Clark on ABC, but I did get to hear him. As you'd expect from someone who'd had a stroke, his speech was slurred. But from the short bit I caught he was intelligible, and will hopefully make further progress in the new year. Signing Ryan Seacrest to co-host (and eventually take over) seems about right.
1. Stuart Scott got in that final pointless comment of 2005 when he asked that viewers make a New Year's resolution not to boo athletes because they do things we can't do.
So please, people, don't boo the millionaires.
2. I didn't get to see much of Dick Clark on ABC, but I did get to hear him. As you'd expect from someone who'd had a stroke, his speech was slurred. But from the short bit I caught he was intelligible, and will hopefully make further progress in the new year. Signing Ryan Seacrest to co-host (and eventually take over) seems about right.
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