“We’re here with Tracy Jordan, who just recounted, by the way, the entire plot of the movie ‘Teen Wolf.’” - Larry King as himself
Selma Hayek’s big boobs, a jag-weed cabbie and the ultimate television duo, Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin. What is there not to love about “30 Rock”? This half-hour comedy on NBC ranks near the top of my list of all-time great television comedies. Certainly one of the best currently airing, next to “The Simpsons,” of course.
This week found Liz Lemon and Kenneth the page venturing to the Wild West, otherwise known as Queens. I’m surprised they could get the proper insurance to shoot in such a dangerous part of town. Kenneth was actually tagged by a spray painting hoodlum and Liz started singing “99 Luftballoons” a capella.
I could quite possibly fill my “Pop Quote of the Day” column daily with tidbits from this laugher. The show pulled in 6.3 million viewers last night, which is down from its 8.5 million season opener, but still steady. And the industry certainly approves, as “30 Rock” swept this year’s Golden Globes taking home the award for best comedy and acting (Fey and Baldwin).
“30 Rock” airs on NBC Thursday nights at 9:30/8:30c.
A good friend of mine, and former professor, TJ Sullivan, has launched a new blog chronicling the downfall of newspapers around the country. And like the good journalist that I am, my affection for the printed word runs deep. I’ve been a loyal subscriber to the New York Times for many years. And when I was back in Los Angeles, I also gave in and paid attention to the west coast red-headed stepchild, the LATimes. But I read much more news online, which I admit is easier, thanks to rss feeds, email alerts and iPhone apps.
Yet, it is Michael Riedel’s column in the New York Post that is both my guilty pleasure and border-line addiction. I find myself yearning for his often biting commentary on Broadway happenings. Aside from having worked as as theatre critic, my appreciation for Broadway and live theatre in general is a big part of who I am. So it only makes sense that I would be so attracted to Riedel’s writings, as he exposes the underbelly of Broadway.
Reading his latest column, on Jane Fonda’s return to the Great White Way, I was drawn to a video feature, linked within the article. It featured Riedel and Betty Buckley doing a sit-down interview and performance. That’s when I realized why his column is often more interesting to me than any other. He has embraced the wave of online video and provides top-notch webisodes.
Riedel’s videos are unique to the Post, unlike many other online newspapers that use borrowed footage from a local television news affiliate. It makes zero sense for me to watch local TV news clips online when I wouldn’t dare watch local news on my TV in the first place. So kudos to Riedel and his production crew for crafting enjoyable online video and bucking the trend of re-purposing clips that can be seen everywhere on the web. Now if only the Post could get these videos viewable on an iPhone.
Word of early renewals came down the pipeline this week as the CW delivered golden tickets to shows including “90210,” “Smallville,” “Gossip Girl” and “America’s Next Top Model.” Kudos to the casts and crews. But, instead of thanking CW exec Dawn Ostroff, these shows should consider giving a big hug to an advertiser’s greatest nemesis, the DVR.
After “90210’s” much anticipated debut late last year, which ranked as the highest-rated premiere in the CW’s history (as short lived as that might be), the following week things became grim. Tanked might be a more accurate description. Ratings were down 30 percent for the second episode. Ouch. While traditional ratings have continued to remain on the low side, earlier this month it saw a slight increase amongst females… and myself.
However, an interesting development occurred shortly after the “90210″ premiere, as the CW began reporting that their last hope (rumor had it that if the show flopped, so would the network) posted the biggest increase of any scripted series on television when factoring in live-plus seven day ratings. For those not in the know, live-plus seven takes into account how many people watched back a program on DVR within seven days of its original airing. CW’s other popular show, “America’s Next Top Model,” also scored well in the same category, getting the biggest increases of any network series. In fact, the CW drew in the highest primetime viewership of any network among women ages 18-34 with Live+7 ratings.
I recently spent the day analyzing an internal report from a major network regarding new media analysis (don’t ask) and it got me thinking about the increase of DVR use across America. Nearly 30% of all U.S. households report having DVR units, according to Nielsen. New York ranks number one on the list with 2.2 million units while Los Angeles is close behind with 2 million. Those are, after all, the only two cities that really matter.
Nielsen has been the subject of much ridicule the last few years, as its ratings systems, aka “randomly” selected families with special boxes, don’t appear to truly represent viewing habits of most Americans. It certainly doesn’t factor my personality into the equation, otherwise “Twin Peaks” would still be on the air and “Two and a Half Men” would have disappeared without a trace years ago. Seriously, Cryer and Sheen? I still don’t get it.
If you think the current ratings technique is outdated, get a load of what Nielsen apparently tested out on viewers. At one point, the company would use a device hidden under seat cushions. When someone, presumably a viewer, sat down, it would register for ratings purposes. Other failed gadgets include infrared motion sensors and a stop action camera fixed to a television set. Nielsen’s current ratings boxes have already become just as laughable.
So with DVR usage on the rise, and shows proving successful when counting such ratings, it is imperative that network execs start using those numbers when selling ad space. Obviously, advertising firms don’t want to be bothered with numbers counting people that skip over their 30-second propaganda messages, but times have changed. If broadcast television wishes to remain relevant as cable channels like HBO and Showtime rack up all of the Emmys and Golden Globes, then they must fully acknowledge the viewing habits of their loyal customers. Otherwise, Hulu and other new media services will more rapidly erode the power of NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox and the CW.
“It was painful at times. It was an effort. It was a struggle… but you do have very good legs.” – Simon Cowell
It’s hard to refute that “American Idol” is a force to be reckoned with. Ratings might fluctuate, but every other program prays to the TV gods that they are not put opposite Fox’s talent competition.
Contestants aside, as a gossip fan, the most entertaining “Idol” news to surface this week was Paula Abdul’s comments that she might soon be ankling. Hallelujah. She has turned into such a hot mess. With Kara Dioguardi on board, Paula is sounding more incoherent than ever. And that seemed nearly impossible.
But if Ryan Seacrest emphasizes “This… … is ‘American Idol’” any harder, he might be labeled more of a prima donna than he already is. Is it just me, or does he hold that pause longer each season?
Now, the standout Wednesday night was, without a doubt, Nick “Norman” Mitchell. That boy was decked out in sparkles, white coat tails and a red headband and wound up making love to the “AI” logo. He’s gay with a capital “G,” and I love him to death. “Idol” needs someone with a sense of humor. And who can refuse a man who snaps back at Simon with “It takes one to know one sassy pants.” If he sticks around for another week, everyone MUST keep voting for him.
Judging on vocal talent, however, which I guess is how “Idol” is set up to work, Allison Iraheta is a 16-year-old powerhouse. Her rendition of a Heart song definitely put her in mine.
“American Idol” airs on Fox, typically, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8/7c.
NBC announced earlier this week that Conan O’Brien will be picking up his former co-host, Andy Richter, on his way to Los Angeles, where the two will fill the shoes of soon to depart Jay Leno. Other than “Late Night,” Richter might be best known for multiple failed shows on Fox and NBC since leaving Conan in 2000. So basically, this washed up comedic hack found a way to weasel his way back into the good graces of O’Brien.
Quite possibly, this could mean ratings gold for the new incarnation of “The Tonight Show” beginning on June 1. O’Brien, after all, has said the two have “proven chemistry.” Yet, it wasn’t until after Richter left the show that the offer came down for O’Brien to replace Leno. Between 2000 and last week, when O’Brien officially signed off from “Late Night,” his program has been winning the time slot with an average of 2 million weekly total viewers, according to Nielsen.
On the other hand, what if O’Brien took a page out of the playbook of two well reviewed, if slightly less watched, late-night laffers? ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and E!’s “Chelsea Lately” have a glaring similarity that might suit O’Brien well. I’m speaking of the Mexican sidekick. What better way to totally embrace his new Los Angeles home than by picking up a Mexican-American for his show?
Over on “Chelsea Lately,” host Chelsea Handler often turns to her Mexican sidekick, Chuy Bravo, throughout the half-hour program for many laughs. And they appear to embrace the novelty of having a foreign sidekick. Chuy’s official biography on E!’s website says his “first exposure to Hollywood was as a young man, when the production of ‘The Three Amigos’ rolled into his tiny Mexican village, which led to a temporary job arranging nightly hookers for the production crew.”
While Handler pulled in 910,000 total viewers last week, it is a point of quality programming, and that she’s on cable. As the New York Times wrote in September 2007, shortly after the show’s premiere, “this is a demanding tabloid seminar that assumes a high degree of pop literacy,” adding that Handler is “just good” and “she makes late-night look pretty easy.”
Another late night show that bleeds with L.A. sensibility is Jimmy Kimmel’s program. An About.com critic described “Jimmy Kimmel Live” as being “akin to Conan’s first years in the talk-show business.” Lo and behold, this show also sports a Mexican counterpart. Guillermo Rodriguez is the real-life parking lot security guard for Kimmel’s show, and has been appearing in numerous skits. His “Guillermo’s Hollywood Roundup” is always a crowd pleaser.
This Mexican style humor often comes from a slightly racist place, as both shows play up the fact that these men have broken English and are either overweight or in Chuy’s case, that he has “little nugget legs.” But the fact remains that, tinged in racism or not, these bits are quite hysterical.
Say hey, Conan, if the ink hasn’t already dried on Richter’s contract, maybe you can send him back into canceled television exile and pick up a Mexican sidekick of your own. There is no need to try rekindling something you had nearly a decade ago. Time for a complete reinvention. If Mexican isn’t up your alley, you could always go Chilean-American and snag Horatio Sanz from “Saturday Night Live” fame. Better yet, Jimmy Fallon could reunite with his “SNL” cohort and live it up as O’Brien’s replacement on “Late Night.”
AMC has really begun making a mark on the pop culture scene thanks to the critically acclaimed original series, “Mad Men.” Matthew Weiner’s advertising firm drama set in the early 1960s is a much more intriguing look at that time period than say, last year’s film “Revolutionary Road.”
And thanks to that standout program, I decided to give some time to another AMC original, the series “Breaking Bad.” Bryan Cranston stars, and having been a fan of his high-energy turn on “Malcolm in the Middle,” I was intrigued to see what else he had up is sleeves. He does not disappoint. The show centers around Cranston’s character, Walter White, who is a chemistry teacher in New Mexico that goes off the deep end as his family life begins falling apart. His mid-life crisis, of sorts, leads him to drug manufacturing and dealing.
Now, I realize this might sound like a “Weeds” inspired knockoff, and I first thought that very thing. And who wants to see a watered down version of the Mary Louise Parker standout? In fact, “Breaking Bad” takes an entirely different tone, and is worthy of a look before the second season premieres on Sunday, March 8 at 10 p.m. Cranston delivers the depths of depression and allows the viewer to go inside the mind of a man on the edge.
The complete first season of “Breaking Bad” is out on DVD this week.
Travel Channel’s “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations”
“The place that’s best when it smells like vomit and Lysol… the dive bar.”
Anthony Bourdain is the James Dean of food shows. A man that I hold in high regard as a role model of sorts. With his leather jacket, boots and sunglasses, this New Yorker traipses around the globe bringing his rough and ready culinary expertise to even the seediest of restaurants. His narration comes off as sweet poetry, romanticizing all things food.
His latest episode returns to New York City. Manhattan to be exact, focusing on the disappearing staples of yesteryear. Keene’s Steakhouse, Katz’s Deli and Le Veau d’Or are just some of the gems Anthony drops in on. At Heidelberg on the Upper East Side, he takes to drinking beer from a giant-glass boot with Fat Dave. This is how I want my food shows to be. Let me sit back on my couch with a scotch, neat, and not be troubled by the Rachel Ray’s of the world.
Anthony has no shame admitting he likes MSG, cornstarch and egg rolls. “No Reservations” finds a way to glamorize the underbelly of cuisine, one hip episode after another.
“No Reservations” airs on Travel Channel HD Monday nights at 10 p.m. ET.
Variety reports that Warner Bros. TV has joined the ranks of unpatriotic production companies as it opts to flee America for Canada in order to save a buck on “Fringe.” The J.J. Abrams hour-long drama premiered on Fox earlier this year to uncertain ratings but has steadily increased its viewers. It pulled in 13 million at the beginning of February, although slipped a bit to 10.5 million viewers a week later. Still, the scuttlebutt is that Fox will renew this “X-Files” light intrigue for a second season.
And now that the greedy execs at Warner Bros. are saving a pretty penny by jumping to Canada, why wouldn’t they enjoy a second season? They will no longer be troubled by pesky union wages for behind-the-scenes crews, mostly, as the biggest perk of shooting in our friendly neighbor to the north is cheap labor. I.A.T.S.E. certainly gets the short end of that stick. [editor’s note: Providing full disclosure, I was raised in an I.A.T.S.E. house, as my father is a property master in Hollywood.]
But hey, in order to save face, WBTV released a statement addressing this very subject. In it, they call the decision to ditch the Red, White and Blue “difficult” adding that “we did not come to this conclusion easily.” Uh-huh. This is by no means a new practice amongst Hollywood power players.
Television viewers are often fooled into believing locations seen on popular television programs and films are really shot in this country. The Film and Television Action Committee has been proactive in exposing programming overrun with greedy producers. As of February 24, the U.S. economy has lost $1,457,659,198 to runaway production, according to the committee’s website.
While “Fringe” is supposed to take place in Massachusetts, it has recently been filming in New York City. Surprisingly, it first started production in Toronto before making a move here to Long Island’s Silvercup Studios. That initial transfer was also based on money, as are most decisions in Hollywood. Art be damned, it’s a business. Variety reported that NYC had a record number of shooting days in 2005. So why move once again, this time to Vancouver? New York’s film incentives have dried up, thanks in part to the tanking economy. And Warner Bros. being such a stand-up kind of company, it is filing for divorce from its American partner, just as the good times have turned poor. Don’t vows mean anything?
All it would take is a handful of Hollywood’s A-list actors to stand up and say no to runaway production. If someone like Tom Hanks or Will Smith were to refuse starring in a film that didn’t shoot in the U.S., would producers be so quick to replace them as they so easily do to off-screen talent?
When I first came on board The Hollywood Reporter in the features writing department, one of the projects I started working on was compiling all of the filming incentives state by state. It was a long list at that point, in 2006. Here’s the two-page spread that ran in THR that year (Page 1, Page 2). I can only imagine how this project would turn into a measly sidebar, if not a blurb, were I to tackle it today.
My attention came back to this subject a year later while filing radio reports for KCSN in Los Angeles. I decided to spotlight the then recent threat of runaway productions on popular locations around the L.A. area. Take a listen:
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Like any good couch potato, my viewing habits will be undeterred by the villainous Warner Bros. TV, as I’m already hooked on “Fringe.” Damn you J.J. Abrams and your engaging my geeky side. First “Alias,” then “Lost” and now “Fringe.” What next, are you going to find some odd way of pulling me back into “Star Trek”? Still, I will be quietly protesting all those shows that run for higher financial ground. Just don’t tell my father that I’m supporting such behavior. He might cut me out of the will. Then I could be forced to runaway to Canada in order to save on blogging costs. Never fear, I will just continue using by DVR to completely ignore all commercials, that way “Fringe” can’t use me as a statistic in selling viewership to advertisers. Snap!
Word of early renewals came down the pipeline this week as the CW delivered golden tickets to shows including “
NBC 
