Monthly Archives: May 2012
Introducing Our Newest Blogger: Jeremy Einbinder
I’m Jeremy and I am majoring in Radio/Television/Film at Rowan University. I have an interest in sitcoms and stand up. My favorite show lately is Community.
I hope to work in TV production or writing of some kind once I graduate. This is my first time working on a blog, but since it is about television, I feel like I’m in my element. I will always have a strong opinion and a unique perspective, one that usually differs from that of the general public. Sometimes things thought of as good, even exceptional, tend to bore me. Other times, TV thought of as horrible tends to hold my attention. It could be that I genuinely like it or because it’s a car crash I can’t turn away from.
Regardless, I’m excited to find my voice and to put my name out there. I will continue to be an outspoken contributor. Whether you like it or you hate it, I’m going to be doing the job.
Introducing Our Newest Blogger: Stewart Norton
I have a degree in advertising. Therefore, I enjoy watching the SuperBowl more for the commercials. I am a huge fan of nostalgia, especially everything from 90s Nickelodeon.
Some current shows that I like are The Biggest Loser, The Celebrity Apprentice, Family Guy (and the other Fox animated sitcoms), South Park, and anything with Gordon Ramsey.
I also am fond of Nintendo, especially Mario Bros., and Pokemon as well as Pixar and Toy Story.
Weekly TV Update: May 21
Each week we bring you stories from around the Internet that you might have missed.
The Wall Street Journal reports that network “TV Embraces Its Dark Side” with new shows inspired by the success of The Walking Dead and Dexter.
For more news on the upcoming Fall season, check out Philly.com.
Less than a week since Dan Harmon was fired, Community has new showrunners.
Kristen Wiig leaves Saturday Night Live.
The series finale of House is tonight. The Tampa Bay Times has some observations about the show.
Previewing NBC’s Fall 2012 Season- Part 1
Upon hearing that Community got renewed for a fourth season, I was excited, but also a little disappointed in the size of the order. Thirteen episodes means less of a chance of further continuation (six seasons and a movie!), but given the fact that NBC needed room to budget its new shows it wasn’t a surprise. It also got me very curious about the upcoming Fall season.
Most shows produced for network television never see the light of day. A lot of them get cancelled after a few episodes. Some get really bad time slots, others get terrible lead-ins. A lot of times, it’s just a bad show. The point is very few shows get respectable runs, especially in recent years. On NBC, the only truly stellar run in the last 5 years has been The Office, which is clearly on the decline. Not since the ending of Friends could any show on the network truly be considered a “classic”, so there’s a certain degree of skepticism in my mind when there are six shows debuting in the fall and many more set to debut afterwards.
Go On
Lately, Matthew Perry has made a career of less than promising movies and sitcoms that go no more than 15 episodes. It’s just not the same as when he was Chandler. Hopefully that will change because Go On is looking promising.
As Ryan King, Perry portrays a slick, sarcastic sportscaster who, after the death of his wife, is ready to get back to work. However, his boss will not let him back on the air until he goes to group therapy. King’s goal is really just to get back on the air as soon as he can, but it seems that his less-than-caring approach seems to work for him and the group. Perry’s character resorts back to what worked best for Chandler: a tragic backstory and the use of humor as a defense mechanism.
The highlight of the trailer was a sequence of Ryan holding a contest for “Who has the best sob story?”, known as “March Sadness”. With its snarky attitude, a caring story, and what seems like a solid supporting cast for Perry, this show looks like it could last a while. NBC is advertising this series as Matthew Perry’s return. Here’s hoping it’s a bit more triumphant than the last attempt, which was Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip in 2007.
Nickelodeon Brings Figure It Out Back
Nickelodeon’s Figure It Out has been brought back into production, much to the excitement and dismay of 90s kids everywhere. New episodes will start airing next month with current Nick stars, such as Victoria Justice, Big Time Rush, and Jeanette McCurdy.
Here is the promo for the new version:
For those unfamiliar with the show, it’s What’s My Line? meets Nickelodeon. Celebrities, mostly from Nickelodeons shows, guess the unique talents of the kid contestants. The panelists have to ask the contestant yes or no questions hoping that they get a little closer to the hidden talent. In every round the panelists are given clues to help them. The longer it takes panelists to “Figure it Out”, the more prizes the kid wins. If the panelists never guess the kid’s talent, the kid wins the grand prize.
While the show may not be remembered as well as other Nick game shows such as Double Dare or Legends of the Hidden Temple. Figure It Out is very much a Nickelodeon show with a large fan base.
The new version of the show looks promising; despite the absence of original host Summer Sanders. Hopefully, there will be a shout out to the original Figure It Out. It is unlikely to happen, but fans of the 1997 version will keep their fingers crossed for an appearance from Kenan Thompson or Amanda Bynes.
Enjoy your walk down memory lane 90s kids!
NBC’s Community Loses Dan Harmon
NBC’s Community officially lost its creator Dan Harmon. Earlier today on his blog, Harmon announced that Sony Pictures Television fired him from his position as showrunner. While Dan Harmon is still a consulting producer, his role with the creative aspects of Community is over.
Head over to Vulture for the full story.
Time magazine’s James Poniewozik has an analysis of Dan Harmon’s impact on Community.
Brandon Tartikoff’s Last Great Ride
Brandon Tartikoff was NBC’s entertainment president from 1980 to 1991. This is a book review of his memoir The Last Great Ride, which was published in 1992.
During the 1980 and early 1990s, NBC was “Must See TV”. It was also a time, as Brandon Tartikoff points out in his memoir, where a “27 share was the dividing line between renewal and cancellation.” Nowadays, the highest rated show on television, American Idol, does not even get close to a 27 share. American Idol only gets a 14 share due to the increasing number of niche audience, the fact that most homes have more than one television, and everyone can watch almost anything whenever and wherever they want. Brandon Tartikoff knew this in 1992, which was the year his book The Last Great Ride was published and VCRs were the only commonly found television-recording devices.
Foreign Friday: Newswipe
Every Friday, I post a clip from a country other than the United States.
This week’s clip is from Britain. Comedian Charlie Brooker, who’s a combination of 80s David Letterman and Jon Stewart, hosts BBC Four’s Newswipe. The segment How to Report the News hits the nail on the head when it comes to television news and the way it presents stories.
Logopalooza: Lifetime Edition
On May 2, Lifetime introduced a new yin yang logo with the tagline “Your life. Your time.”
In a press release, Lifetime’s Senior Vice President of Marketing Time Nolan said, “Great experiences build successful brands. Expanding on Lifetime’s 28 year legacy, our vision balances the equity the network built while breathing new life into the viewers’ experience. This new logo marks the next step with a distinctive new look and attitude. Embracing everything we love about life, Lifetime strives to be as brash as it is honest and always entertaining.”
While I applaud Lifetime for taking more steps away from its former image as the channel with movies about battered women, my initial reaction to the logo was that it would not seem out of place on a feminine hygiene product and seemed borderline ridiculous. The pink yin yang would fit perfectly on a package of Poise, which was probably not what the Lifetime executives intentions. As I thought more about the logo, I realized that Lifetime was probably going for the balance between work and having a family, the yin and yang in a woman’s life. The problem is that a network logo should not require someone to analyze and get existential.
I prefer the old logo because it did not have an unnecessary symbol and got straight to the point in feminine script. You knew you were watching Lifetime. There was no glancing at a irrelevant symbol before you read the print underneath it. The channel name was the logo.
My dislike of the new logo definitely has a lot to do with the fact that it is new. Since 1995, Lifetime’s logo has deviated little until the most recent change, so I grew up with one variation of the above logo or another gracing the lower right-hand corner of my television screen. Maybe the pink yin yang will become Lifetime’s thing, an iconic logo for an iconic network. The yin yang may end up like the NBC peacock, forever associated with a network despite having nothing to do with the content of what the network airs.
What to know what more of Lifetime’s former logos look like? Business Insider takes a trip down memory lane with this slideshow.
Wait! What's A Dial? 