Blog Archives
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.
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.
Welcome to Wait! What’s A Dial?
At Wait! What’s A Dial?, you will read a twenty-something year old’s opinion on TV. As someone who is studying radio/television/film and journalism in college, I hope to give the opinion of a young person, who actually knows what they’re talking about.
I have a particular fondness for late night television. I love Jimmy Fallon, Conan, David Letterman, Johnny Carson, and Steve Allen. (Yes, I’ve actually watched the latter two men.)
My favorite shows are anything with Steve Allen, David Letterman Hogan’s Heroes (don’t judge), The Monkees (cute boys), Burns and Allen, The Jack Benny Program, Good Eats, and British panel shows.
Current shows that I watch are America’s Got Talent (because it reminds me of the Gong Show, again don’t judge), Law & Order, and sometimes 30 Rock.
-Allison Lips
Wait! What's A Dial? 