The Kids Aren't So Alright Anymore and General Miscellany

Baby Boomers are feeling left behind by today's TV programmers and advertisers. According to a recent study by Harris Interactive, folks in the 49+ demo feel "alienated" by what's on their TVs these days; both the shows and the ads.

Depending on what you watch and where you watch it, they may be justified. There are a lot of shows and, accordingly, a lot of ads that are targeted towards a much younger demographic than those of the boomer generation. As described in an article by the AP's David Bauder:

The theory among advertisers is that it's important to reach young people as their preferences are forming — get them hooked on a certain toothpaste or soda early and they'll be hooked for life. Advertisers will pay a premium for young viewers: $335 for every thousand people in the 18-to-24 age range that a network delivers, for example. Viewers aged 55-to-64 are worth only $119 for every thousand, according to Nielsen Media Research.

I've never been able to see the logic in the second part of that statement. People in the 18-24 range are, in my mind, less apt to watch as much TV as those in the 55-64 range. Not only that, but 18 to 24 yr olds have a heck of lot less discretionary income. So why pay a premium to reach people who aren't as reachable or as able to afford your product? And as far as preferences are concerned, everyone has favorite brands, but when money is tight (which it usually is when your in your late teens/early 20s) price is usually all that matters. Find the biggest dolt in any college dorm and he'll know you get a better deal buying a case of Milwaukee's Best than a 12 pack of Sam Adam's. What's more is that's he's probably never seen a commercial for the "beast".

The results of the study are prompting some in the industry to question whether the above ratios make sense anymore. But while programming execs and marketing agents need to consider whether they are willing to alienate their biggest demographic just on the hope that they can create brand loyalty among a smaller group of viewers, they should also consider the words of Evan Shapiro, head of the Independent Film Channel:

"If you are a 50-year-old male or female, there is an enormous amount of television for you. It's just not on all the places that it used to be."

You know what? He's right. I stopped whining years ago about how crappy MTV had become and just accepted I was no longer part of the channel's target market. Besides, there are other channels that do what MTV used to do, and who do it better. Twenty years ago that might not have been true, and though the major networks are still behind the curve in orignial and innovative models of programming, the niche programming provided by cable allows for unheard of possibilities for both viewers and advertisers.

Miscellaneous Notes

• ABC has put "The Nine" on indefinite hiatus. They say the show will return, but are not forthcoming as to when.

• For those who still watch, and I'm not one of them, tonight is the fall finale of "Prison Break". New episodes should return in January to coincide with the start of the sixth season of "24".

• "Scrubs" returns for it's sixth season Thursday night following "30 Rock", for which NBC requested three more scripts. Let's hope they request additional episodes.

"The Nine's" Lives Are Just About Up

So about 2/3 of the way through last week's episode of "The Nine" I decided it was time to give up. I didn't even bother to finish watching the episode, I just got up off the couch, grabbed -GASP!- a book, and headed off to bed. You can only allow yourself to be bored for so long. Every man has his breaking point, and as soon as Audrey (or the chick who played Audrey in "24" - I can't remember her character's name on this show) started whining to her shrink, I realized I had hit mine.

Anyway, last night I found myself staring at the screen and thinking of a million different things, not one of which had to do with anything that was being reflected onto my retinas from the direction of the TV. Thus I realized that I don't really care what happened in the bank, largely because I don't really care about the characters. When you're dealing with a show who's premise requires it to be both story and character driven, you better make sure that both are equally compelling, a la "Heroes" or "Lost".

And maybe that's the problem with "The Nine". In both "Heroes" and "Lost" we are living the mystery with the characters, and seeing their true essence and identity develop and evolve as a result of their trying to find the same answers as the audience. "The Nine" on the other hand, has created a "mystery" solely for the purpose of enticing viewers. The characters know what happened in the bank, it's only the audience that doesn't. In that context the mystery aspect of the story can't possibly provide for effective or satisfying character development the way it does in the other shows. My feeling is that the creators are trying to show how a traumatic event such as the one depicted affects the lives of everyone involved. That by itself is actually an interesting idea for a show; so why bog it down with a gimmick that distracts from that goal? Getting rid of that excess baggage would have allowed the writers to create a group of truly complex, compelling characters rather than a bunch of 2-dimensional stereotypes.

Anyway, I gave this show a few weeks, but now I think I quit. I hung around because the pilot was decent, but mostly because I like Tim Daly and want to root for shows he's in. I always thought "Wings" was a decent show, and I really liked last year's cancelled-much-too-early "Eyes", which was also on ABC. But as I've said in other posts, goodwill can only get you so far, and right now "The Nine" is just about out of lives.

"I once drove a rental car into the Hudson, just to practice escaping."

Alec Baldwin is the funniest guy in primetime. Sure, the folks from The Office give you the most bang for your buck week after week, but that's more of a collective hilarity. Alec Baldwin is a one man juggernaut who could do a five-minute monologue and have you rolling on the floor the entire time. If you need proof, track down last night's episode of 30 Rock and watch the scene with the b-roll of his character's attempt to make a promo tape for a new GE product. Besides, if you've ever seen any of his dozen or so appearances on SNL (Brasky, Kanker, etc.), not to mention his unexpected cameos in countless movies and shows, then my opening statement should come as no surprise.

A recent profile of entertainment's latest utility man can be found here.

As for the show, 30 Rock is solid. Not great, yet, but very entertaining. There are usually one or two laugh out loud moments a week, which is more than I can say for anything ABC ever aired as part of it's popular TGIF programming. It's also more than I am willing to say for a lot of this year's current crop of new comedies. The writing is clever, the acting is good, and the show seems to have worked out some of it's early kinks. Tom Shales had some nice things to say about the series and last night's episode in particular in yesterday's Washington Post.

Though it hasn't done spectacular in the ratings, that may soon change. The show has just been moved to Thursday nights, and beginning on Nov. 30 it will find a new home sandwiched between The Office and Scrubs, which is finally getting it's sixth season underway.

However, if ratings don't improve and NBC decides to shelve the show, they really need to consider creating a project for Mr. Baldwin. As Kenny Bania would say; "He's gold, Jerry! Gold!"

Feeling Lostless?

For those of us who will be going through "Lost" withdrawal during the next two and a half months, there is some good news. It seems ABC is going to play some teasers for the second half of the season during the new show "Daybreak" which will occupy "Lost's" time slot at 9 pm Wednesday nights. The full story is here.

While this isn't enough to get me to watch what is essentially "Groundhog Day" turned into a crime drama, it's nice to know they are doing at least a little something to satiate the faithful. Luckily, the teasers will be available for viewing on the "Lost" page at abc.com the day after they air, along with all six episodes that have aired so far this season.

Selected Recaps for the Week of 11/6

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!!!!

Heroes:
Nikki tries to get her dark side to come out, while we find out that Micah has some abilities of his own. Meanwhile, we see some possible alliance foreshadowing with Hiro helping DL save the car crash victims. Peter asks for Nathan's help in retrieving the missing picture that will help solve the riddle of the "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World" tagline. Nathan gets it, but lies to Peter about having it. What's up with that? And what's up with different groups of people having similar tattoos?

Studio 60:
See in-depth critique below. This episode was OK. Tonight is the conclusion. We'll find out the compelling mystery as to why Tom was driving 120mph in Nevada. Should be a nail biter!

Lost:
Pretty good ep. Though a few too many things left hanging for what is essentially the fall season finale. I'm still not sure Kate doesn't love Jack. His trick at the end with Henry Gale and the walkie talkie was pretty 007. Can't wait for February! EW.com has a great recap available here.

Dancing with the Stars:
It's down to Emmit and Slater!!

The Office:
Quite possibly the best opening ever for this show with the "Future Dwight" fax prank. Scranton branch closes, then doesn't. Jim's coming back to Stanford, along with the girl who is "kinda in to him", and I don't mean Pam. Ryan's joke about the business cards was priceless, and right on. There is an extended version of this ep at www.nbc.com/office.

Smallville:
I was so excited when Lana was fainting and getting checked out in the hospital. I wish they would kill her off, she is the most one-dimensional character on television. Of course my excitement turned to disappointment when it turned out she was only pregnant. There was a cool inside joke about Green Arrow not being in Clark's "league".

Studio 60, Season 1: The Culture Wars

This weekend found me working my way through my DVR backlog, catching up on last week's crop of new episodes, when I got to the latest episode of "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip". I never look forward to watching this show the way I do "Lost" or the way I used to with "Smallville", but nonetheless I record it every week, knowing that it can get better, and hoping that it will.

I started watching this show largely because of its pedigree. I will watch anything, just on general principle, if it is brought to us by the same people who created "Sports Night" and "The West Wing". But the goodwill these guys have created with me is almost used up.

Enough with the Hollywood vs. Religious Right theme! It was a decent idea for a story or two, but in no way should it be used as the base premise for the series, and that's where it feels like this show is going. It worked well when they used it as the plot device for the first couple episodes, but now it seems like every week the whole religion thing is either the plot or sub-plot of the show. Not only does this theme appear in virtually every episode, but the sketch show within the show has a religion-related sketch every week as well. Ironic? No. Overly redundant, boring and ridiculous? Yes.

One of Sorkin's minor drawbacks, as evidenced in both "Sports Night" and "The West Wing", is that he can fall into "preachy" pretty quick. This becomes a major drawback when the stories lend themselves to this week after week.

The show does draw some critical raves and it should; it is well acted, well written, and mildly entertaining for the most part. Most reviewers agree that the major drawback is how unfunny the SNL type show within a show is. Tim Cuprisin from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has an article out today that focuses on this and a couple other problems he has with the show.

Regardless, the show has been picked up for a full season (read the AP story here), so hopefully the writers will start to work out the kinks and concentrate on making a must-watch show rather than a weekly rant against the religious right that people watch out of faith in the creators. Now that's ironic.

Welcome

Welcome! This blog is meant to be a place for me to live out my fantasy of being a television columnist. I've watched way too much TV throughout the course of my life not to do something at least nominally productive with it. Check back for updates on all things old and new regarding TV.