Tag Archive for: television
There used to be a time when network television was good. Sadly, it seems that time is fading quickly. Sure, you have a few gems here and there. Take a look at Modern Family this season. It is doing quite well in the ratings and is genuinely a good show. I would argue that Modern Family is an exception to the rule as the show was created by one of TV’s most respected sitcom writers and producers, Christopher Lloyd. While it has been successful, it still falls in line with the traditional family sitcom. It isn’t groundbreaking at all. It seems nothing new and creative makes its way to network television anymore.
When you look at a couple shows that were truly original in their concept (meaning not a cop/lawyer/doctor show), they have failed. NBC’s Kings was an excellent show with excellent acting by Ian McShane. NBC barely gave it a shot. ABC could have won big with a space mystery/drama in Defying Gravity but they didn’t have faith in it and started it in the late summer and with little to no promotion. Shows like Mad Men and Breaking Bad went to AMC because the networks didn’t want to risk their profit margins on new, and possibly risky, ideas. Instead, they have become a haven for reality programming, procedural dramas and spin-offs, and dance shows.
It is now getting to the point where I will not watch new shows on any of the major networks anymore for fear that I will like them and they will be canceled. The networks are too worried about their bottom line to take risks like they used to. In fact, NBC CEO Jeff Zucker has even mentioned that such an iconic show like Seinfeld would not make it in today’s TV climate based on the shows initial soft ratings. It is sad that so much creativity and originality is stifled because of the bottom line. Who knows what other Seinfelds might have been cultivated if given the opportunity to grow.
Have you noticed how much NBC loves actors from their hit 7 year drama The West Wing? I’ve noticed it in recent years as they have been popping up all over the NBC-owned USA Network since TWW went off the air.
- Richard Schiff, who played Toby Ziegler on TWW, has appeared in episodes of Monk, Burn Notice, and In Plain Sight.
- Joshua Malina, who played Will Bailey, has appeared in several episodes of In Plain Sight
- Dule Hill, who played Charlie Young, is a main character on USA’s psychic detective show Psych.
- Bradley Whitford, who played Josh Lymon, appeared in an episode of Monk
- Mark Feuerstein, who played Cliff Calley, now stars in the new series Royal Pains.
- Mary McCormack, who played Kate Harper, is the star of In Plain Sight.
- Gary Cole, who played Bob Russell, has appeared on Psych
- Tim Matheson, who played John Hoynes, appeared on Burn Notice.
- Kathryn Joosten, who played Dolores Landingham, appeared in two episodes of Monk.
There might even be more, but those are the ones I could come up with. They are all fine actors and I’m glad to see that NBC recognizes talent and keeps them in mind for future programming, even if for one episode.
Starting with new television shows airing on HBO several years ago, we’ve seen a giant shift of new programming moving to non-traditional paid channels. There was a time where over-the-air networks dominated the new show markets, but that time is over. Each TV season we see a plethora of new programming on the “cable” networks, and not just HBO. The best thing about these new shows is that they are often better than the shows found on the traditional networks.
When I think about it, this trend really took root when the networks were dominated with “reality” programming and game shows. People who didn’t want to watch The Biggest Celebrity Dance Star getting voted off the island by big brother tuned into programming that was too edgy for network television. FX, TNT, and USA were a few of the networks (besides HBO and Showtime) that began airing original programming. Shows like The Shield Rescue Me and The Closer dominated cable ratings. Monk has been on for years and continues to draw good ratings, followed by one of my favorites, Psych.
It has come to a point in my TV viewing where most of the TV shows I watch are not on the major networks. Monk, Psych, Raising the Bar, True Blood, Weeds, In Plain Sight, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, are all great shows that draw me away from the networks. In fact, there was a recent article that stated the USA Network drew more viewers than the 5th “major” network, The CW. Networks like TBS, A&E, Starz, and AMC have joined TNT, FX, USA, HBO, and Showtime on the original programming bandwagon, and oftentimes they air some of the best programming on television.
I think part of the reason these new shows thrive and survive on the cable networks (besides the fact that they may be able to get away with more edgier content) is that on paid TV the shows are given more of a chance to pick up steam. A show like Psych would have never survived if it was shown on parent network NBC instead of USA. The ratings would not have been high enough. If you look at the show Kings on NBC it had low ratings but, in my opinion, was a really good show. I think part of the reason is that it was never given a proper chance to gain viewership. NBC should move it to USA over the summer and see if it gains traction there (why not, they’ve done it with two Law and Order series).
Perhaps the major networks could learn something from the cable stations and take bigger chances on programming. Or perhaps, since many of the cable channels are owned by the same corporations as the major networks, they are content having shorter seasons and keeping the programming where they are. I don’t know, but I continue to find myself watching the major networks less and less.
America loves Gottis, America loves bodies
Pacino counting C-Notes for shooting up club lobbies
While Eddie Nash controls bankrolls in Wonderland
Tony Soprano hits channels and holds down On-Demand
–CunninLynguists – America Loves Gangsters
I never watched The Sopranos when it originally aired on HBO, but I have always been a fan of mob-themed movies. I don’t know when this fascination started, but I can’t get enough of movies like The Godfather pts I and II, Goodfellas, A Bronx Tale, Donnie Brasco, etc. Well, recently I started watching The Sopranos and throughout the series Tony Soprano does some disgusting things that repulse you, but then there are other times where you realize you start admiring the man for the good things he does for his family, and his “family.” He’s a hypocrite, just like the rest of us, maybe that’s what makes his character so intriguing. One minute he’s friendly with the parents of the friends of his kids, the next he’s taking their business due to gambling debts, and enjoying it. It’s compelling television.
What is it with America’s fascination with gangsters? Do we like the violence and power or do we like the deep characters? Some of the most widely acclaimed movies involve some of the most violent characters. Think Scarface. I don’t think I’ve seen an episode of Cribs where either the movie isn’t playing in the background or there’s a giant poster on the wall. In Godfather, Michael Corleone rules in a more calm manner, but the amount of violence and destruction he can inflict with one command is amazing. So do we love the violence and power or do we love well-written characters that happen to be violent? I don’t know what the answer to that, but I do know there’s more to the characters than violence. You see Michael Coreleone’s frustrations when he wants to make the family business legitimate, but struggles along the way. “C” finally realizes how bad the gangster life is after his hero falls in A Bronx Tale, but you also feel sad because Sonny dies. And I can’t wait to see the cat and mouse game between Christian Bale and Johnny Depp in the Dillinger movie, Public Enemies. So why do we love them? I don’t know, but Hollywood knows we do and as long as there are gangsters, Hollywood will be making movies about them.