• First Look: AMC’s HELL ON WHEELS.
• Spotlight: BREAKING IN’s Christian Slater.
• Interesting: How NCIS plans to dis Osama Bin Laden.
• The Anti-Katie Couric? Scott Pelley to anchor CBS EVENING NEWS.
• From the department of where are they now, 25 questions for BOY MEETS WORLD’s Rider Strong.
• For those wondering why CBS is so obsessed with procedurals, read this.
Archives for May 2011
90210 Live Blog: We Watched It So You Don’t Have Too!
8:00PM: Only on TV would working on a “Charity Calendar” help secure Naomi — who if we’re not mistaken was on the verge of flunking out earlier in the season — a spot at California University.
8:03PM: After weeks months of being missing in action, Lori Loughlin’s Debbie and Ryan Eggold’s Mr. Matthew’s return, alongside Jen, who is back to help raise baby Jacques/Jack. BIG LOVE 90210 Edition anyone?
8:04PM: Teddy and Marco’s date is interrupted by a ridiculously blatant product placement for Android handsets when Marco receives a phone call from “Eric.” Why is GOSSIP GIRL’s only gay raining on Teddy and Marco’s parade? Stay tuned…
On TV Tonight: Tuesday May 3, 2011
It’s Time for HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER to Put Up or Shut Up (Re: The Mother)
If HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas aren’t prepared to introduce the titular mother to audiences in the not too distant future, they at the very least have to promise to stop putting Ted in a relationship that everyone and their mother knows is doomed from the get go. Or at least that’s what we spent the better part of 22 minutes pondering following last night’s somewhat less than inspired episode.
After-all, as any LOST fan can attest to, six seasons is an awful long of time to wait for answers. And while we respect a showrunner’s right to stick to their creative vision — particularly after reading this weeks Entertainment Weekly feature that alludes to the fact that the upcoming season finale will set in motion a plan to finally introduce television’s biggest no-show since Polkaroo — we would like to think that the feeling is mutual and that said aforementioned showrunners respect their fiercely loyal fans enough to, for lack of a better wording, stop jerking us around!
TV Ratings: Monday May 2, 2011
Time | Network | Show | Rating | 18-49 |
---|---|---|---|---|
8PM | ABC | Dancing with the Stars | 19.59 | 4.0/11 |
FOX | House | 8.48 | 2.9/8 | |
CBS | How I Met Your Mother | 6.73 | 2.7/8 | |
NBC | Chuck | 4.12 | 1.4/4 | |
CW | 90210 | 1.50 | 0.7/2 | |
8:30PM | CBS | Mad Love | 5.75 | 2.2/6 |
9PM | ABC | Dancing with the Stars | 22.16 | 4.7/12 |
CBS | Two and a Half Men (R) | 7.63 | 2.2/6 | |
FOX | The Chicago Code | 5.54 | 1.6/4 | |
NBC | The Event | 4.02 | 1.3/3 | |
CW | Gossip Girl | 1.28 | 0.7/2 | |
9:30PM | CBS | Mike & Molly | 8.06 | 2.3/6 |
10PM | ABC | Castle | 12.23 | 2.9/7 |
CBS | Hawaii Five-0 | 9.36 | 2.4/6 | |
NBC | Law & Order: LA | 4.81 | 1.4/4 |
Losing Momentum Can Be Detrimental to Television Shows: How to Stop the Hemorrhaging
A funny thing happens this time of year on television: ratings go down. With primetime shows wrapping up for the season and on hiatus until Fall, one would think that TV viewers would be flocking to the TV’s and making sure to savor every last bit of their favorite shows. But this is just not the case. In fact, it is as if viewers are experiencing fatigue or burn-out. Ratings begin slipping sometime between January and March and then steadily sink through early May. Then a rare blip occurs in the ratings when the finales air as record numbers of viewers typically tune-in for that final episode. But for a television programmer and TV showrunner, Spring time is a ratings nightmare. It is also known as “show killer season”; and for shows on the bubble, the sagging viewership can pop the bubble and result in cancellation.
As the typical television series only runs 22-24 episodes each Fall through Spring season, it is a challenge for a programmer to determine how to best space out the episodes so that they are sprinkled throughout the long 8-9 month time period. When you only have the equivalent of 5-6 months of episodes, they have to be spread out carefully or there are periods of short hiatus (typically 6-8 weeks from mid-December to late January or early February) and then another 3-4 week hiatus either in March or April. The benefit of these breaks is two-fold: it allows television shows a chance to catch-up – since it takes a good 8-10 days to film most episodes and they are running behind by Christmas — and it also allows program schedulers timeslots in which they can air holiday specials and other stand-alone shows.
But, for viewers, gaps and hiatuses are confusing — they break our concentration or love-affair with a show. Shows like THE EVENT and V are heavily serialized and it requires quite a bit of concentration to remember where these shows last left off and what they were about. Then there are shows like RAISING HOPE and COUGAR TOWN, which lure viewers with their funny antics and engaging characters, but find a hard time luring back their fans after extended breaks. Even shows like CHUCK, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, NIKITA and HELLCATS have found themselves challenged to woo back their viewers who act like the first bloom of love has fallen to the wayside and they merely shrug at the idea of falling back in love again.
[Read more…]
Morning Static: BONES, SMALLVILLE, DEXTER & More!
• Spotlight: Kristen Wiig.
• Not so super storytelling, IGN examines SMALLVILLE’s worst stories!
• From the department of “Duh,” Fox renews BONES for a seventh season.
• Hot and Not! Deadline takes a second look at how the 2011/12 TV season is shaping up.
• Interesting: The 8 best pilot scripts of 2011.
• Q&A: The Roastmaster General reveals the surprising secrets behind Charlie Sheen’s “Torpedo of Truth” tour.
• Killler Scoop! Producers casting for a potential love interest for DEXTER in season six.
• Say it ain’t so, Ownership of TV sets falls in the U.S.
The Art of the Press Release: Special RAISING HOPE Edition!
Continuing his penchant for delivering press releases that cut through the clutter comes the latest from the genius behind RAISING HOPE, Greg Garcia. See for yourself, after the jump.
[Read more…]
On TV Tonight: Monday May 2, 2011
NET | 8PM | 8:30PM | 9PM | 9:30PM | 10PM | 10:30PM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC | Dancing with the Stars | Castle | ||||
CBS | How I Met Your Mother | Mad Love | Two and a Half Men (R) | Mike & Molly | Hawaii Five-0 | |
CW | 90210 | Gossip Girl | ||||
FOX | House | The Chicago Code | ||||
NBC | Chuck | The Event | Law & Order: LA | |||
MISC | The Secret Life of the American Teenager (ABC Family) | Make It or Break It (ABC Family) Stargate Universe (Syfy) | Nurse Jackie (SHO, TMN in Canada) | United States of Tara (SHO, TMN in Canada) |
Lex Luthor Returns to SMALLVILLE: We Can’t See the Difference, Can You?
When Michael Rosenbaum makes his long-awaited return to SMALLVILLE in the equally anticipated series finale this May 13, he will not be doing so alone. Helping him complete the transformation to Lex Luthor, Clark Kent’s most nefarious nemesis, will be a trusty bald cap. Now, we’re no Michael Westmore, but we can’t see the difference, can you? Let us know in the comments below.