allow me to retort..

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: : : Two shows based on British shows? That's your proof? : Irrelevant point. The fact that they're both game shows (kind of) takes away some credibility from my point... but their origin has no bearing. : : And what's the point of rallying in February if the shows not on till the end of May? Rally in May, sure, obviously (I don't think Kevin needs to be told that). : Because they had the opportunity to run an ad during the high-profile Super Bowl. They knew that there was no set launch date in place, but it made perfect sense to tease it during the most-watched event of the year (ok, it was during the pre-game show, but you get the point). They'd be fools to not take advantage of the HUGE audience. : : So, yeah, debut it when nobody's watching 'cause nothing is on anymore. : While TV viewership does drop during the summer, it is only by about 25%. People are still watching a lot of tv, just not in record numbers. You're over-simplifing by saying that "nobody's watching". : Plus, as Cable networks have been broadcasting more and more original programming during the Summer, the season has become less of a wasteland. : : To be fair on two levels ... (1) That '70's Show was an established show for an entire season (post-Simpsons, no less) ... and (2) Fox almost steadfastly refuses to cancel anything. : True, but if memory serves (and please correct me if I'm wrong, 'cause I'm not 100% sure about this), it was on for a few months, and then FOX pulled it for about 3 months, when it returned late Spring. It wasn't on for a full season. And it did do well when it first aired, but it had a sweet lead-in. The Summer episodes helped bring it up to the next level. If it wasn't for the bump it received from those Summer episodes, I doubt it would be able to anchor its own night. : : NBC did *not*, notice, bother to put F&G up in Sweeps, especially against the aforementioned That '70's Show, because they knew it would be slaughtered. : My point exactly. ABC might not want a quick, painful death for 'Clerks', so why put it on the front lines? : : I really want to mock Comedy Central programming here, but I won't because it already seems like I'm attacking you, which I don't mean to, and I know you don't do them anyway, so it'd be unfair. : I have nothing to do with CC programming. I'll defend some of it (mainly Strangers With Candy and The Daily Show), and I'll mock other shows (The Man Show is one of my least-favorite shows on TV). But again... irrelevant point. : And I know you're not attacking me. Just debating. : you know... come to think of it, maybe Maximum Bob was not on Saturday nights. But Gun definitely was. : : Okay, based on that, here's an impression of ABC: : : "Damn that Kevin Smith, he's talking about our network on his website. Well, I guess we shouldn't even bother promoting the show that we invested in and sold commercial time for, even though it's running opposite all re-runs in it's time slot, because phooey on him." : : They own the show, they put money in the show, why, pray tell, would they not promote it? I doubt, heavily, that ABC actually wants the show to fail (though between the time slot and the "prove us wrong" thing, I'm starting to wonder). : I'm sure that Kevin could talk more in-depth about what I'm about to mention (considering his ties to Miramax), but I saw Jim Jarmusch do a Q&A during an advance screening of 'Year of the Horse'. One thing that he discussed was the box office failure of 'Dead Man'. He said that he asked Miramax for more $$, and they refused, that is... unless he shot it in color. He basically told them to fuck off. So he pinched every penny he was given and got the flick done within budget. The test screenings were AWFUL. He refused to alter the film. "When you sign on for a Jim Jarmusch film, you get a Jim Jarmusch film. You have my final cut." So they were pissed off and basically sabatoged the film. Granted, Dead Man doesn't exactly have BLOCKBUSTER written all over it, but they put zero effort forth in the promotion of the film, first theatrically and then for the Oscars (they easily could have promoted it for Johnny Depp, cinematography, Neil Young's score, etc.). According to a very bitter Jarmusch, they wanted to put the filmmaker in his place, which they did. : So would ABC want to fuck with Kevin if he bad-mouths the Network? : I wouldn't put it past them. We live in a fucked up, back-stabbing world. "This is not a business, this is show business. Punching below the belt is not only alright, it's rewarded." : About a year after Dead Man came out, I ran into Jarmusch at Sounds on St. Marks Place in NYC. I told him that Dead Man was one of the best films I've seen in a long, long time. He said, "Really? I'm amazed you've actually seen it." He seemed like quite the bitter auteur. : Neil Juan Luis Pedro William Blake Philipo de Huevos

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