Monday, 3/30
Greek; ABC Family. 7 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.
I've heard this show is pretty good...
Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer guest stars on Chuck (NBC; 7 pm).
Tuesday, 3/31
Osbournes: Reloaded; FOX. 8:20 pm (Note the time). Series Premiere.
The Osbourne family does a variety show. Music, jokes, pranks, and skits where they attempt "real jobs" are on tap. Could be a disaster, but I am intrigued enough to watch at least the pilot.
Cupid; ABC. 9 pm. Series Premiere.
A "remake" of the 1998 dramedy (one I enjoyed quite a bit) with Bobby Cannavale playing a "grounded" Cupid who has to match 100 couples before Zeus will let him back in Mt. Olympus. Sarah Paulson plays the therapist who treats him (and will eventually fall for him, I'm sure).
I don't remember much about the original other than I remembered I liking it quite a bit.
I know this is a remake that should be on its own merits, but Cannavale has done nothing for me before, so I doubt I'll dig him as much as I dug Jeremy Piven in the original. Sarah Paulson has always impressed me, so I think I'll "buy" her easily enough. But, man, I fell in love with Paula Marshal in the original... Good times.
Maybe this will get the original series on DVD.
Pretty Wicked; Oxygen. 9 pm. Series Premiere.
Ten women get personality makeovers and compete in an "inner beauty" competition.
My Boys; TBS. 9:30 pm. 3rd Season Premiere.
This is a pretty good show with great co-stars (Jim Gaffigan and Kyle Howard). And it got rid of the cheesy sports-metaphor-for-life elements from the first season. Recommended.
Wednesday, 4/1
I Get That a Lot; CBS. 7 pm. Special.
Celebs like Mario Lopez, Ice-T, Heidi Klum, and Jessica Simpson disguise themselves as regular folk in the service industry and try to convince their customers they are not who they look like. I'm sure it's lame, but I've heard Klum and Simpson are pretty funny.
Pedro; MTV. 7 pm. Special.
Oscar-winner Dustin Lance Black (Milk) wrote the screenplay of this biopic about The Real World: San Francisco's Pedro Zamora.
I have to admit, I hated how MTV shoved Pedro down our throats back in the '90s, but I read roommate (and current DC Comics writer) Judd Winick's graphic novel Pedro & Me a few years ago, and I got a much better sense of the man from it. The GN is highly recommended. And I think the subject of this movie makes it worth at least trying.
Damages (FX; 9 pm). Season Finale.
Life on Mars (ABC; 9:02). Series Finale.
That's right: series finale. At least the creators got a chance to write a proper ending, so it won't be the usual show that just disappears on a cliffhanger.
Reno 911; Comedy Central. 9:30. 6th Season Premiere.
I'll give this show one more season (I've been terribly disappointed the past two years) before I stop watching.
Thursday, 4/2
ER (NBC; 9 pm). Series Finale.
The show should be going out with a bang. I don't know what'll happen, but they've had natural disasters, helicopter crashes, tanks smashes (I think), disease outbreaks... I think the only way they could top themselves is if the moon itself falls out of orbit and lands directly on the hospital.
Nah-- I'm kidding. My understanding is this show gets a proper and dignified send-off that honors the past.
As ridiculous and goddamned depressing as it got (I gave up after seven seasons, so maybe the tone changed after that), this was breakthrough television that almost didn't make it to the air. And it would have been a shame had we not experienced those first few years.
I won't watch the finale, but I'll raise a glass to it on Thursday. It earned it. Hopefully the fans who stuck around the full 16 seasons get what they deserve.
Eleventh Hour (CBS; 9:01). Season Finale.
Friday, 4/3
Escape to Chimp Eden; Animal Planet. 8 pm. Season Premiere.
Sunday, 4/5
Food Network Challenge: Lake Cake Standing; Food Network. 7 pm. Series Premiere.
Six pastry chefs do their thing in this reality competition.
In Treatment; HBO. 8 pm. 2nd Season Premiere.
The Tudors; Showtime. 8 pm. 3rd Season Premiere.
United States of Tara (Showtime; 9 pm). Season Finale.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
WIFE SWAP-- Telling Every Family's Story
I think they could have left this one on the cutting-room floor...
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
The Only Thing I Can Think Is That The Name is Wrong
How about "pierce-stream"?
And you just have to love the remote...
And you just have to love the remote...
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
ITM: Episode 5
Not particularly funny this time. I'm just including it because I'm already this far into posting the series...
This Chick is Getting More and More Ridiculous
Is it me, or has Tyra become a parody of those terrible day-time talk shows from the '90s?
Monday, March 23, 2009
Chickenfoot at Play
Rock stars have too much fun.
And the Will Farrell-looking guy is Chad Smith. I think. Could be Farrell...
And the Will Farrell-looking guy is Chad Smith. I think. Could be Farrell...
Sunday, March 22, 2009
ITM: Episode 4
The mom explaining to another kid what sex is is pretty good (around the 5 minute mark).
Premieres and Notables; March 23-29, 2009
Just a note: the magazines I steal this info from were pretty vague on just what these new shows are about. Sorry I don't have much to go on.
Monday, 3/23
Aaron Stone; Disney XD. 6 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Kelly Blatz stars as a young action hero (sounds like a cross between a spy and a Batman-type).
The Secret Life of an American Teenager (ABC Family; 7 pm). Season Finale.
Ted loses his job on How I Met Your Mother (CBS; 7:30). I'm sure it'll be funny anyway...
Roommates; ABC Family. 8 pm. Series Premiere.
All I know is it's a sitcom in the Friends vein-- and this cast is not nearly as white as that cast.
Sophie; ABC Family. 8:30 pm. Series Premiere.
A pregnant talent agents gets dumped by her boyfriend, who also runs off with her clients.
[Geez, I wonder if Middleman could have been saved by the network had Dubby been pregnant. Seems as if ABC Family likes those types of characters.]
RuPaul's Drag Race (Logo; 9 pm). Season Finale.
Tuesday, 3/24
Chuck Jones: Memories of Childhood; TCM. 7 pm. Special.
An hour-long look at the legendary Looney Tunes director.
College Hill: South Beach; BET. 9 pm. Season Premiere.
Wednesday, 3/25
Important Things With Demetri Martin (Comedy Central; 9:30 pm). Season Finale.
Thursday, 3/26
American Idol Extra; FOX Reality. 6 pm. Season Premiere.
Thank God! I mean, there's just not enough American Idol coverage nowadays...
In The Motherhood; ABC. 7 pm. Series Premiere.
The web series gets a network show-- with an entirely different cast.
Zatanna is introduced on Smallville (CW; 7 pm). Mmmmmm... Zatanna.
I hope the series tries to get her costume close to the one in the comics (traditional-- if sexy-- magician outfit and fishnet tights).
Nickelodeon's 22nd Annual Kid's Choice Awards; Nickelodeon. 7 pm. Special.
Hosted by Dwayne Johnson (he doesn't go by "The Rock" anymore).
Penguins of Madagascar; Nickelodeon. 8:30 pm. Series Premiere.
The only consistently entertaining characters in the Madagascar films get their own show. Let's all pray they don't become annoying now that they are focal characters in their own show.
Sunday, 3/29
Any Dream Will Do; BBC America. 7 pm. Series Premiere.
Singers compete for a lead role in the London revival of Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency; HBO. 7 pm. Series Premiere.
Singer Jill Scott stars as Botswana's first female private investigator in this adaptation of the Alexander McCall Smith novels.
A number of Star Trek: the Next Generation cast members make guest appearances (sounds? voices?) on Family Guy (FOX; 8 pm).
Jim Gaffigan: King Baby; Comedy Central. 8 pm. Special.
G4 Underground; G4. 8 pm. Series Premiere.
A documentary series. The first ep looks at people who put on costumes and fight crime.
The Mighty Boosh; Cartoon Network/[adult swim]. Midnight. Series Premiere.
A live-action series (ugh-- not on this network...) that probably has no relation to the phrase "Boosh" that the X-Tacles say on Frisky Dingo.
Monday, 3/23
Aaron Stone; Disney XD. 6 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Kelly Blatz stars as a young action hero (sounds like a cross between a spy and a Batman-type).
The Secret Life of an American Teenager (ABC Family; 7 pm). Season Finale.
Ted loses his job on How I Met Your Mother (CBS; 7:30). I'm sure it'll be funny anyway...
Roommates; ABC Family. 8 pm. Series Premiere.
All I know is it's a sitcom in the Friends vein-- and this cast is not nearly as white as that cast.
Sophie; ABC Family. 8:30 pm. Series Premiere.
A pregnant talent agents gets dumped by her boyfriend, who also runs off with her clients.
[Geez, I wonder if Middleman could have been saved by the network had Dubby been pregnant. Seems as if ABC Family likes those types of characters.]
RuPaul's Drag Race (Logo; 9 pm). Season Finale.
Tuesday, 3/24
Chuck Jones: Memories of Childhood; TCM. 7 pm. Special.
An hour-long look at the legendary Looney Tunes director.
College Hill: South Beach; BET. 9 pm. Season Premiere.
Wednesday, 3/25
Important Things With Demetri Martin (Comedy Central; 9:30 pm). Season Finale.
Thursday, 3/26
American Idol Extra; FOX Reality. 6 pm. Season Premiere.
Thank God! I mean, there's just not enough American Idol coverage nowadays...
In The Motherhood; ABC. 7 pm. Series Premiere.
The web series gets a network show-- with an entirely different cast.
Zatanna is introduced on Smallville (CW; 7 pm). Mmmmmm... Zatanna.
I hope the series tries to get her costume close to the one in the comics (traditional-- if sexy-- magician outfit and fishnet tights).
Hot damn! Looks like they got it right.
Saturday, 3/28
Nickelodeon's 22nd Annual Kid's Choice Awards; Nickelodeon. 7 pm. Special.
Hosted by Dwayne Johnson (he doesn't go by "The Rock" anymore).
Penguins of Madagascar; Nickelodeon. 8:30 pm. Series Premiere.
The only consistently entertaining characters in the Madagascar films get their own show. Let's all pray they don't become annoying now that they are focal characters in their own show.
Sunday, 3/29
Any Dream Will Do; BBC America. 7 pm. Series Premiere.
Singers compete for a lead role in the London revival of Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency; HBO. 7 pm. Series Premiere.
Singer Jill Scott stars as Botswana's first female private investigator in this adaptation of the Alexander McCall Smith novels.
A number of Star Trek: the Next Generation cast members make guest appearances (sounds? voices?) on Family Guy (FOX; 8 pm).
Jim Gaffigan: King Baby; Comedy Central. 8 pm. Special.
G4 Underground; G4. 8 pm. Series Premiere.
A documentary series. The first ep looks at people who put on costumes and fight crime.
The Mighty Boosh; Cartoon Network/[adult swim]. Midnight. Series Premiere.
A live-action series (ugh-- not on this network...) that probably has no relation to the phrase "Boosh" that the X-Tacles say on Frisky Dingo.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Best Week Lately
Maybe once or twice a year, I'll be hit with really great television from the variety of shows I watch.
The week from 3/15-3/21 was one of those times.
First off, we had How I Met Your Mother Monday night.
It wasn't one of those extremely hilarious episodes, and it wasn't what I call a game-changer (where something major happens), but it was right in the middle. Ted and Lily were discussing the new revelation that she just-- and has also done in the past-- manipulated his last relationship into having his girlfriend break up with him. She did it for the right reasons-- and Ted can see that-- but it was also a huge betrayal to him. I'm curious to see what happens there. Maybe it'll never be brought up again, but this isn't like most shows, it understands-- and pays attention to-- its history. I would imagine the next relationship Ted gets into (which could very well be with the titular Mother), will have him very leery of getting his new lady close to Lily.
And while that "heaviness" was happening, Marshall was proving to Barney how liberating a nightshirt is to wear in bed. It doesn't sound all that funny, but it was; trust me. And while all that was going on, Robin was having some troubles on her morning talk show which were even funnier.
Next, we had The Office on Thursday night.
Michael gets a new supervisor (Charles), which puts him off the deep end because, as he tells Charles, the last two bosses were Jan, "who came around when she was horny" and Ryan, "who was on drugs", so he's used to supervising himself. Charles would have none of that. He could see from just being in that office for five minutes, that there is very little control or leadership in it. Michael tried his usual nonsense, and Charles kept shutting him down. Michael decided to drive to New York to talk to the head guy (David)-- who had avoided his calls all day. In that confrontation, he mentioned that he deserved a party to celebrate his 15 years with the company, but along the course of that conversation, he was also very subtly telling David that he was disappointed that David blew him off all day. David realized that Michael was right; that Michael did deserve better treatment, so he said he would find the money for Michael's party. Michael got up and said, "I quit".
Only two or three other times in the run of this show has Michael pulled his head out of his ass enough to realize what's going on around him. Of course, the bulk of his problems are directly attributed to the fact that his head is up his ass the majority of the time; that he is either too irrational or too infantile to do the right thing. But he did the right thing in this case. One of his superiors proved that he doesn't listen to him-- and while it wasn't mentioned, the reality is Michael knows he got passed over for promotion again-- so he quits.
But an even more intriguing storyline was about Jim. Lovable, funny Jim… He loves pulling pranks and deflating the stupidity balloons around him (namely Dwight's). But one of his best jokes came the same day Charles arrived. Jim decided to go overboard on the dress code memo that Dwight sent out, so he wore a tuxedo to work. Funny, yes-- there even quite a few jokes surrounding it before Charles arrived-- but looking at it as a normal person would (through Charles' eyes), it was shown to be a juvenile prank. Especially because Charles would be the type of guy Jim would need to impress to go somewhere in the company. He further embarrassed himself to Charles for declaring he was the "assistant manager" under Michael-- something he teased Dwight about (for being a made up position) before Dwight lost the title.
So while Jim has always been the character that grounded us in reality while the lunacy of the office occurred around him, we saw Jim for what he has become: just another nutcase in that office.
Will the show get that "deep" and continue along this path, or were we just supposed to feel bad for Jim for making mistakes that one day? I hope they're brave enough to explore the "facts" I just presented (although none of this was mentioned in the episode) and that the show is on the track I'm on right now.
Later on Thursday, I watched the fourth season finale of The Wire. The bulk of my week was spent watching the season from start to finish (over 13 hours from Sunday night to Thursday night), and it was well worth putting everything else aside for it. Two weeks ago, I told a friend that The Wire Season Three (which I had just finished) were 12 of the best hours of television I'd ever seen.
Season Four was even better.
Since I'm focusing on the finale, I'll stay on that path. In about 75 minutes, I had my heart broken countless times, I actually shed tears on more than one occasion, and I was left emotionally spent for over 24 hours.
The beauty of The Wire is that each season is very much like a book. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end. There are many, many characters to follow as the plot progresses, but the main storyline was about four young boys in eighth grade who were at a turning point in their lives. These boys had everyone pulling at them: drug dealers, police, teachers, civic-minded individuals, family, friends... In the finale, we got to see the paths they ended up on, and, true to form for the show, not everyone had a happy ending-- and that was absolutely heartbreaking.
The show had always been about Baltimore, so usually the characters are just our way of getting to know the city, but, man, I loved those kids (even after knowing them for only twelve hours)and to see where some of them ended up was brutal-- even though I knew the odds were bad for them.
And if that wasn't bad enough, one of my favorite characters took two in the head after making the "right choice" and was dead before he hit the pavement. Another favorite character tried killing himself and ended up in an institution. And yet another favorite character failed so terribly after trying so hard to make amends for a mistake.
But while all that bad was going on, there were some good moments: the Major Crimes Unit got repaired, one of the most damaged characters got his shit together for a return, and Bunny Colvin showed that heroism can come in many forms and probably saved a life.
I cannot wait to see Season Five...
Finally (I know: Thank God), we have Friday.
First, came The Soup. Host Joel McHale has never really pulled punches with the stupidity he "reports" every week, but this week was especially brutal. I don't know if the writers are different, or if he was having a bad day, or if these reality shows just had an unbelievably stupid week, but it was harsh. And very, very funny...
And lastly came the Battlestar Galactica series finale. I didn't watch the series from Day One. I elected to wait until near the end to just watch the series in bulk. I started with Seasons 1 and 2.0 last summer and then crammed Seasons 2.5, 3, and 4.0 between Thanksgiving and the end of January, where I picked up on Season 4.5 as each episode aired weekly.
I have to admit that I was disappointed for much of Season 4.5 because there were so many loose ends to be tied up, and the show just didn't seem to want to acknowledge what was out there. So I knew all the questions would never be answered in the final episode-- especially because the Galactica still had one, last mission to go on.
And that last mission was a doozy. Without saying too much, I'll just say how the boarding party got on the ship it was infiltrating was cool as Hell.
Anyway, even though many of the loose ends weren't tied up-- and many of the questions still out there were not answered, I found the finale very satisfying on an emotional level. The show had always been about the characters (even if we didn't understand what they all were), and the episode acknowledged that fact. Fewer people died than I expected, which was a welcome relief after what they all had been through. And while I think the reliance on being ambiguous in certain areas was a bit annoying, this was a true ending for the show, and just based on that, it put this finale in an elite company.
I just wish I would have put my thoughts "in writing" about what I believed was happening after the second or third season because I came pretty close to figuring out how the series fit into "the big picture"...
So there you have it: my week in television. Sometimes I feel guilty about all the time I spend watching TV, but weeks like these make it impossible to cut back. You never know where or when the gems will come.
The week from 3/15-3/21 was one of those times.
First off, we had How I Met Your Mother Monday night.
It wasn't one of those extremely hilarious episodes, and it wasn't what I call a game-changer (where something major happens), but it was right in the middle. Ted and Lily were discussing the new revelation that she just-- and has also done in the past-- manipulated his last relationship into having his girlfriend break up with him. She did it for the right reasons-- and Ted can see that-- but it was also a huge betrayal to him. I'm curious to see what happens there. Maybe it'll never be brought up again, but this isn't like most shows, it understands-- and pays attention to-- its history. I would imagine the next relationship Ted gets into (which could very well be with the titular Mother), will have him very leery of getting his new lady close to Lily.
And while that "heaviness" was happening, Marshall was proving to Barney how liberating a nightshirt is to wear in bed. It doesn't sound all that funny, but it was; trust me. And while all that was going on, Robin was having some troubles on her morning talk show which were even funnier.
Next, we had The Office on Thursday night.
Michael gets a new supervisor (Charles), which puts him off the deep end because, as he tells Charles, the last two bosses were Jan, "who came around when she was horny" and Ryan, "who was on drugs", so he's used to supervising himself. Charles would have none of that. He could see from just being in that office for five minutes, that there is very little control or leadership in it. Michael tried his usual nonsense, and Charles kept shutting him down. Michael decided to drive to New York to talk to the head guy (David)-- who had avoided his calls all day. In that confrontation, he mentioned that he deserved a party to celebrate his 15 years with the company, but along the course of that conversation, he was also very subtly telling David that he was disappointed that David blew him off all day. David realized that Michael was right; that Michael did deserve better treatment, so he said he would find the money for Michael's party. Michael got up and said, "I quit".
Only two or three other times in the run of this show has Michael pulled his head out of his ass enough to realize what's going on around him. Of course, the bulk of his problems are directly attributed to the fact that his head is up his ass the majority of the time; that he is either too irrational or too infantile to do the right thing. But he did the right thing in this case. One of his superiors proved that he doesn't listen to him-- and while it wasn't mentioned, the reality is Michael knows he got passed over for promotion again-- so he quits.
But an even more intriguing storyline was about Jim. Lovable, funny Jim… He loves pulling pranks and deflating the stupidity balloons around him (namely Dwight's). But one of his best jokes came the same day Charles arrived. Jim decided to go overboard on the dress code memo that Dwight sent out, so he wore a tuxedo to work. Funny, yes-- there even quite a few jokes surrounding it before Charles arrived-- but looking at it as a normal person would (through Charles' eyes), it was shown to be a juvenile prank. Especially because Charles would be the type of guy Jim would need to impress to go somewhere in the company. He further embarrassed himself to Charles for declaring he was the "assistant manager" under Michael-- something he teased Dwight about (for being a made up position) before Dwight lost the title.
So while Jim has always been the character that grounded us in reality while the lunacy of the office occurred around him, we saw Jim for what he has become: just another nutcase in that office.
Will the show get that "deep" and continue along this path, or were we just supposed to feel bad for Jim for making mistakes that one day? I hope they're brave enough to explore the "facts" I just presented (although none of this was mentioned in the episode) and that the show is on the track I'm on right now.
Later on Thursday, I watched the fourth season finale of The Wire. The bulk of my week was spent watching the season from start to finish (over 13 hours from Sunday night to Thursday night), and it was well worth putting everything else aside for it. Two weeks ago, I told a friend that The Wire Season Three (which I had just finished) were 12 of the best hours of television I'd ever seen.
Season Four was even better.
Since I'm focusing on the finale, I'll stay on that path. In about 75 minutes, I had my heart broken countless times, I actually shed tears on more than one occasion, and I was left emotionally spent for over 24 hours.
The beauty of The Wire is that each season is very much like a book. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end. There are many, many characters to follow as the plot progresses, but the main storyline was about four young boys in eighth grade who were at a turning point in their lives. These boys had everyone pulling at them: drug dealers, police, teachers, civic-minded individuals, family, friends... In the finale, we got to see the paths they ended up on, and, true to form for the show, not everyone had a happy ending-- and that was absolutely heartbreaking.
The show had always been about Baltimore, so usually the characters are just our way of getting to know the city, but, man, I loved those kids (even after knowing them for only twelve hours)and to see where some of them ended up was brutal-- even though I knew the odds were bad for them.
And if that wasn't bad enough, one of my favorite characters took two in the head after making the "right choice" and was dead before he hit the pavement. Another favorite character tried killing himself and ended up in an institution. And yet another favorite character failed so terribly after trying so hard to make amends for a mistake.
But while all that bad was going on, there were some good moments: the Major Crimes Unit got repaired, one of the most damaged characters got his shit together for a return, and Bunny Colvin showed that heroism can come in many forms and probably saved a life.
I cannot wait to see Season Five...
Finally (I know: Thank God), we have Friday.
First, came The Soup. Host Joel McHale has never really pulled punches with the stupidity he "reports" every week, but this week was especially brutal. I don't know if the writers are different, or if he was having a bad day, or if these reality shows just had an unbelievably stupid week, but it was harsh. And very, very funny...
And lastly came the Battlestar Galactica series finale. I didn't watch the series from Day One. I elected to wait until near the end to just watch the series in bulk. I started with Seasons 1 and 2.0 last summer and then crammed Seasons 2.5, 3, and 4.0 between Thanksgiving and the end of January, where I picked up on Season 4.5 as each episode aired weekly.
I have to admit that I was disappointed for much of Season 4.5 because there were so many loose ends to be tied up, and the show just didn't seem to want to acknowledge what was out there. So I knew all the questions would never be answered in the final episode-- especially because the Galactica still had one, last mission to go on.
And that last mission was a doozy. Without saying too much, I'll just say how the boarding party got on the ship it was infiltrating was cool as Hell.
Anyway, even though many of the loose ends weren't tied up-- and many of the questions still out there were not answered, I found the finale very satisfying on an emotional level. The show had always been about the characters (even if we didn't understand what they all were), and the episode acknowledged that fact. Fewer people died than I expected, which was a welcome relief after what they all had been through. And while I think the reliance on being ambiguous in certain areas was a bit annoying, this was a true ending for the show, and just based on that, it put this finale in an elite company.
I just wish I would have put my thoughts "in writing" about what I believed was happening after the second or third season because I came pretty close to figuring out how the series fit into "the big picture"...
So there you have it: my week in television. Sometimes I feel guilty about all the time I spend watching TV, but weeks like these make it impossible to cut back. You never know where or when the gems will come.
New Chickenfoot Music
Here's a link to the Chickenfoot website. After the intro video, a media player with two new songs will play. Check them out.
Just old-fashioned, not overproduced, rock music. Satch's guitar is crunchy, Sammy's got his rock voice, and it put a smile on my face to hear Mikey's backing vocals behind Sam's lead.
http://www.chickenfoot.us/
Just old-fashioned, not overproduced, rock music. Satch's guitar is crunchy, Sammy's got his rock voice, and it put a smile on my face to hear Mikey's backing vocals behind Sam's lead.
http://www.chickenfoot.us/
Yet Another Stupid Network Decision
I guess offering professional wrestling and z-grade made-for-TV "horror movie" schlock wasn't enough for Sci Fi (formerly the Sci Fi Channel). They still aren't getting the "non-geeks" to watch.
So a name change is in order.
In the next few months, Sci Fi will be rebranding itself as "SyFy". I know; it's a big jump. How ever will we pronounce this new non-word?
I, honestly, don't think their troubles (if you can call having the highest ratings in your history last year "troubles") don't have much to do with being a science fiction-based channel. The problem is they've gotten too far away from what made this a great channel once.
I think maybe having shows like Battlestar Galactica will get your channel noticed. Sure, there will be some people who won't watch just because of the name, but the "geeks" of the world will get the word out about good stuff. It's not as if Battlestar was a secret to anyone as it got plenty of press.
While I watched the BSG finale last night, I caught some of the previews for new shows on the network, and not one could be mistaken as a science fiction-based show (not even the BSG "origin" show Caprica). Sure, there were a few "genre" elements, but those looked more like quirks than anything.
I like all types of shows, and I think it's a shame that this network thinks it needs to distance itself from what got it to where it is. It's a bigger shame when it's obvious that the network will try to distance itself from what it started out as. Would they give Battlestar a chance now? How about the even more science-fictiony Farscape (which was just lots of very serious fun)? Would Doctor Who get picked up?
To many networks are moving to the center (to use a political term). Bravo and A&E were two channels I used to respect until they moved into degrading reality-show garbage. Even the Cartoon Network shows live-action movies and a series here and there. AMC removed the "American Movie Classics" tag years ago and started showing very recent-- and usually bad-- movies.
Hey network heads: it's okay to be different. Ratings are down for everyone, so it's not as if making your network like everyone else's is going to the cure to your ills.
I'll just make you like everyone else.
Having standout shows is what will set you apart from the rest. There are a few science fiction shows in history that could be considered great, and there are many that you could easily compare to well-loved shows in any other genres.
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this name-change will just be a name change, and the content will still stay the same. But I doubt it. When the network says they need to let people know it's not just for geeks, then you know what they're saying: the fans that got them there aren't good enough anymore.
Boo Sci Fi or SyFy or whatever the Hell you want to call yourself.
So a name change is in order.
In the next few months, Sci Fi will be rebranding itself as "SyFy". I know; it's a big jump. How ever will we pronounce this new non-word?
I, honestly, don't think their troubles (if you can call having the highest ratings in your history last year "troubles") don't have much to do with being a science fiction-based channel. The problem is they've gotten too far away from what made this a great channel once.
I think maybe having shows like Battlestar Galactica will get your channel noticed. Sure, there will be some people who won't watch just because of the name, but the "geeks" of the world will get the word out about good stuff. It's not as if Battlestar was a secret to anyone as it got plenty of press.
While I watched the BSG finale last night, I caught some of the previews for new shows on the network, and not one could be mistaken as a science fiction-based show (not even the BSG "origin" show Caprica). Sure, there were a few "genre" elements, but those looked more like quirks than anything.
I like all types of shows, and I think it's a shame that this network thinks it needs to distance itself from what got it to where it is. It's a bigger shame when it's obvious that the network will try to distance itself from what it started out as. Would they give Battlestar a chance now? How about the even more science-fictiony Farscape (which was just lots of very serious fun)? Would Doctor Who get picked up?
To many networks are moving to the center (to use a political term). Bravo and A&E were two channels I used to respect until they moved into degrading reality-show garbage. Even the Cartoon Network shows live-action movies and a series here and there. AMC removed the "American Movie Classics" tag years ago and started showing very recent-- and usually bad-- movies.
Hey network heads: it's okay to be different. Ratings are down for everyone, so it's not as if making your network like everyone else's is going to the cure to your ills.
I'll just make you like everyone else.
Having standout shows is what will set you apart from the rest. There are a few science fiction shows in history that could be considered great, and there are many that you could easily compare to well-loved shows in any other genres.
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this name-change will just be a name change, and the content will still stay the same. But I doubt it. When the network says they need to let people know it's not just for geeks, then you know what they're saying: the fans that got them there aren't good enough anymore.
Boo Sci Fi or SyFy or whatever the Hell you want to call yourself.
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