Who Wants to Tank a TV Show?

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: : In fact, it makes perfect sense to me to run an 18-24 year old show in summer. It's a great way to get younger viewers to sample the network when there's nothing else on. : Yeah. When we're all drunk, getting laid, attending musical events and/or sporting events, something we couldn't do in the fall and winter on a WEDNESDAY when 18 to 24 year olds were in college/entry level jobs. : Should'a polled the audience on that one. : : Take Drew Carey's "Whose Line is it Anyway" and "Millionaire" as examples of our biggest success stories in the past couple of years. Both launched in the summer (Whose Line in '98 and Millionaire in '99). Now they're both regular series on the schedule. : "Whose Line?" : Come on... the only reasons that show's on are (1) incredibly low production costs and (2) the placation of Carey's contract demands and his more rabid fans. Without either factor, it wouldn't've even made it to pilot stage. : "Millionaire"? : Christ, look up 'programming fluke' in the dictionary and you find 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'. It was the exact opposite of everything expected in that slot and that's that. That show hadn't happened since 'Twenty-One' and it ain't gonna happen again for a long time. : Use your phone a friend, ask Dick Clark how his Millionaire clone is doing. : : Instead of complaining, why doesn't he use his website to rally all of his fans to watch the show so that he can show ABC that he was right." : Because, ultimately, the internet isn't the great resource for interactivity with the entertainment industry that it flouts itself as. Other than a few individual creators, Kevin amoung them, the industry in general views the Internet as a promotions medium and not a two-way communications medium. : The only internet resources given any credibility are the least credible showboats and lapdogs... the ones who are happy to shill, to traffic in 'gossip' that's insider propaganda and generally have a lot more enthusiasm than integrity. : There's a reason why Harry Knowles is fucking-everywhere and Garth Franklin is only known to those who are both film and 'Net literate. : Which one of them does a glowing review of Armegeddon in exchange for airfare from Austin to Orlando and a few autographs? : Take your time. You still have your 50-50. : Letter writing campaigns? The Family Guy, Suddenly Susan and Jesse are still on the air while Homicide and Freaks and Geeks get cancelled while Sportsnight barely holds on while Newsradio never held a timeslot for four weeks straight? What now? : Pet projects of powerful executives, package deals (ie you want ER? well, pick up this Warner-produced Carrottop sitcom for 3 seasons...) and soulless heartless parades of pretty faces (Dawson's Creek, Friends) rage on. That's the rule of network television. : And, yes, that's my final answer. : : I think this person has a point. This might be a blessing in disguise. Why debut the show right before Sweeps? If anything, it will face too much competition and get lost in the mix. : Why cut an ad that overlooks all the edginess and creativity of the show's concepts and put together Jay playing with a firecracker and Dante and Randal looking like refugees from MTV Downtown? Because the ad wizards wanted it to look like Beavis and Butthead, because they're not open to new ideas... and shove them in new packages. : You show a show before sweeps to get it seen. : : Kevin, you're right that viewership drops off after Sweeps, but never say die. Last summer 'That 70's Show' benefited from new episodes in the Summer... and ratings were strong because there was very little competition. The show held onto that momentum, and is now strong enough to anchor its own night. : But... that 70s Show is easily marketable for its kitschy-nostalgia and its annoying "Is the wussy and the mannish redhead gonna fuck or what?" angle. : The Pitching Session : Producer- "It's like Dazed and Confused... except offensive to no one and lacking all wit!" : Exec- "Sort of like a clean Stoned Age?" : Producer- "Yeah... and it'll be horribly directed... on purpose!" : Exec- "You're selling me... you're selling me... is an overly smart asshole kid talking to the camera involved?" : Producer- "No... but I'm sure the unwashed masses will buy the When Are The Leads Gonna Fuck angle for the 5,000th time in TV history." : Exec- "You've got yourself a deal!" : : My point? I realize that I have no business telling you how to act, but why make an enemy out of ABC? At this point you can either put a smile on your face, play the hand you're dealt, and make the most of it; or you can bitch and moan and piss off ABC, giving them no reason to promote the show. : First rule of this age of media promotion... : If you're going to bitch, bitch in full view. : Bitch so much and so publicly that they have to change their position or else lose a good chunk of sincerity and trust in the industry and amoungst the viewing public at large. : Gone is the time of honor amoungst thieves, Neil... and though I'm still but an amateur in this field... I've learned that we're thieves, us media cats, we're fighters and savages and pirates and we've gotta fight for every inch... and then fight to keep every inch. : And a healthy distrust of the bosses is good in every profession. : If you DO play the industry's game and DO keep all your battles private and DO try to keep everyone happy... oh... you know, for example? : You could have a comedy with great crossover potential, some of the biggest stars in America and amazingly low production cost get respun and respun by execs and agents (read: the devil but a devil you've gotta accept is a part of the game) execs and agents who avoid controversy at the drop of a hat until it becomes a semi-arthouse flick with an ensemble cast that only makes 30 mil. : Controversy, met face on and accepted with a smile, even exploited by the people its supposed to be attacking... and you've got a South Park. : Before this is an art... even before its even an industry... its a spectacle. We're the bread and circuses of the new frontier, kids, might as well use that for us as opposed to against us. : You keep bitching and bitching and bitching until a lotta people listen. : I'd tell you a little tale of a squeaky wheel... but I've written too much already. : Newhouse bred for a lethal combination of jaded and opportunistic : Smalls

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