My current TV thoughts

[susandennis]

In no particular order:

• I'm sure going to miss Tech TV. They are going to be sucked into G4 which is a gaming channel and, I suspect, my favorite shows will be gone. On the up side, it's going to save me $6 a month. This is the extra cable charge I pay to get Tech TV. It appears that G4 does not cost extra.



• There was a NBC(?) ABC (Thanks, tbone!) show on for about 4 episodes last March - The D.A. I watched a couple and Tivo'd the others. They yanked it after 4. Last night I watched one of the Tivo'd episodes. They shouldn't have yanked it.



• No one liked Law & Order Special Victims Unit but me. I really liked the character Iced Tea played and Munch and the rest. It had really as good or better cast than regular L&O. And now... it's gone.



• But the new, Nip/Tuck is a month away... Bravo has been airing the first season and I've been Tivo'ing them. I'm set for a Nip/Tuck marathon.



• And a Shield marathon, except I think I may have missed one.



• I'm so ready for Friends to be over. I remember now how they crushed Mash into a pulp, and beat the bejesus out of Cheers and pounded Seinfeld into submission. I like closure as much as the next guy but please....



• Fox is starting six new shows soon. I love not waiting until September. I wish they sounded more interesting. But, one or two of them sound like they might not suck.



• I still think Vicar of Dibley is hilarous. They've started showing it again on BBC America and I've recorded a bunch of them. I think I've pretty much seen all of them but some are so funny that they must be seen several times. Dawn French at her best.



• I've had enough of Building Character. I think I've seen all of the episodes of This Small Space but now fj has me hooked now on Home to Go. Although Peter Felico is very annoying.

Comments

[wbahner.livejournal.com]

I think a few of the shows from TechTV will stay around, but I agree with you that most of them will go away. Which is sad, because what little I've seen of G4 has not been impressive....

[fj.livejournal.com]

I pretty much created that entry just so I could tell you about Home To Go. I was writing about Home To Go and wanted to tell other readers why I liked it, and 10 minutes later the entry was what it was.

I mind Peter less than Susan The Airhead or GidgetCarl The Overrated Trite Decorator. Of all three, Peter was the one to spin off.

[susandennis]

I totally grabbed the goods out of your entry... But, of course, you knew I would. And you are right. I was not grateful enough that Susan and Carl got left behind. I am now. Thanks and I was harsh. Peter has moved on past moldings... I should learn to forgive and forget.

But, the real question is why doesn't my Tivo tell me about these things? I get motor racing and yard work shows. You'd think after all these years, Tivo and I would have a better relationship...

[pinkfish.livejournal.com]

We used to make Peter more entertaining by calling him "Peter Fellatio". Of course, you and I share our penchant for mis-spelling Carl's name . . .

[susandennis]

Oh yeah ... Peter Fellatio does make it much better.

[fj.livejournal.com]

Peter has moved on past moldings...

I wouldn't go that far; he still reaches for them with a frequency I can only categorize as 'distressing'. It's just that he is smart enough to realize that he can't solve all decorating problems with it.

What I do like is that he constructs everything he does in situ. It's not like the other shows where a master carpenter and the complete workshop appear out of nowhere in the front yard,. He is also honest enough about having some things done at the DIY center he couldn't do himself. Our Home Depot will actually do a lot of cutting if you ask them.

[susandennis]

You are so right! He was doing this big gluing job on top of the bed the other day... I thought for sure he was going to glue the pillows together!!

[tbone.livejournal.com]

"The DA" was an ABC show. It wasn't yanked, exactly. It was just only scheduled for four episodes-- kind of a mini-series, if you will. We got a lot of positive response about that show, and I really hope the network plans to bring it back in some form.

You've got a lot of cool thoughts on television. I wish you (or people like you) would post more to tv.</plug>

[susandennis]

Ohhh Thanks for the catch and I wonder how I missed that mini-series vs. regular series info. I pride myself on staying on top of those things... :)

I've always wondered... and this seems the perfect time and a good person to ask...

When someone in 'The Biz' says 'we got a lot of positive response' what does that mean, exactly? How did people respond and how did you know about their response? Cards and letters? Polls? Street buzz? I've always wondered.

And somehow - although I routinely check a zillion different TV news websites/blogs every day - I totally spaced on an LJ TV community! I'm on the way right now. I promise. Thanks for plugging!

[tbone.livejournal.com]

Well, I get a lot of calls, and I keep track of all of them. We have to for our public file. I also get quite a few e-mails. My GM gets a lot as well, and he's pretty good about relaying the ones I need to see. But of course, the networks generally dont' care a whole lot about what the local affiliate response is. Maybe in LA or New York, but not in the smaller markets. They do their own research, although I'm never sure about their methods. There is always the Nielsen ratings, of course. We're in one of the four-times-a-year ratings months right now, and it's making my job a lot tougher than it should be. They do take those numbers (and the estimated overnights from the metered markets) very seriously.

[susandennis]

That's amazing to me. I would never in a million years think to call or write to my local station about a program. It wouldn't even dawn on me. I've always figured the Nielsen's guided the world... and they've never asked me.

Four sweeps? February, May, November and ????

I just joined your community - very excellent. Here at work, I'm waiting for a guy to get back to me before I can publish his webpage. I hope he holds off just a big longer while I get community caught up!

[tbone.livejournal.com]

July. Nobody ever remembers July, just because the numbers are usually so much lower than the other three. But it's there.

And I was kind of surprised at the things people call us about. Once they get it in their heads that they can call a TV station, they call about everything! "My cat's stuck in a tree." "Will that face cream really work?" "Can you relay this message to Peter Jennings?" Yes, I see Mr. Jennings all the time here in Boise. I also used to get a lot of feedback about our local news stories, but I have nothing to do with those at all. Now I mostly get calls about shows (like "The DA") that the network is tinkering with. Those are the people I wish I could help, but I never can.

[rsc.livejournal.com]

It [the DA] was just only scheduled for four episodes

That's what I thought I remembered -- thanks for confirming it. I liked it, I hope it returns. (Then maybe we'll finally give up on "NYPD Blue", unless ABC beats us to it.)

[tbone.livejournal.com]

Excellent...</MontyBurns>

[melodysk.livejournal.com]

I love Nip/Tuck ..the 1st series just finished here a few weeks ago ...

Vicar of Dibley is wonderful ....especially Alice !

I am awaiting the new series of 6 Feet Under though ..it seems forever since we saw the last series

[susandennis]

no, no, no, no, no, no.... YES!!!!

[melodysk.livejournal.com]

*giggles*

Have you seen the one where, at the end joke, Alice gives a full explaination of the dynamics of the joke and really puts Geraldine down?

Still has me in stitches when I see that one :)

[geordie.livejournal.com]

Ah the creeping mediocrity. I wanted Speedvision when I couldn't get it, now that I can it's the Speed channel and it's just another Nascar portal. No more proper motorsport from the rest of the world that can turn the steering wheel in both directions.

[tinman.livejournal.com]

SVU is the only L&O I don't much like (well, there was that reality version which was lame, but I never really counted it). There will be a new L&O coming on this fall, "Trial By Jury" or something like that. The guy who does Briscoe (sp?) on the original one is moving over and he's pretty good so hopefully the new show will be.

As for Friends it's been my favorite show on TV pretty much since it started so I'm very sad to see it going.

[glass-diva.livejournal.com]

# No one liked Law & Order Special Victims Unit but me. I really liked the character Iced Tea played and Munch and the rest. It had really as good or better cast than regular L&O. And now... it's gone.

No!!!!!!!!! The SUV One is my favorite! (it's what got me watching L&O Classic in the first place; the one with the guy who talks like Annoying Old-Trek Guy seems like it could be interesting, but TGWTLAO-TG makes it pretty much unwatchable) I thought they had a contract for like three more years?

[susandennis]

So you're the other person watching SUV! Sadly, two of us weren't enough to keep it. There is a new L&O coming this next fall, tho. Trial by Jury, I think is the name.

[davmoo.livejournal.com]

Granted this is a gaming show, but since "X Play" is Tech-TV's highest rated show and pulls numbers that even the networks would be proud of, it is highly doubtful that "X Play" will be canned.

The same with "The Screensavers". Its shows are pretty healthy in the ratings too.

And judging by the outpouring of phone calls, letters, and emails when Vulcan (the former owners of Tech-TV) tried to shitcan Leo Laporte, to the point that they quickly brought him back, Comcast would be stupid to get rid of "Call For Help". Most people who sent hate mail to Vulcan, myself included, also sent letters to Comcast. And supposedly Leo was already talking to Comcast before Vulcan brought him back.

I am a bit worried, though, from the fact that Comcast's channel has **much** more of a 18-30 year old male bent than Tech-TV does.

That pile of crap that Martin does, and those stupid robot competition shows can't be removed soon enough to make me happy.

[mostcurious.livejournal.com]

SVU is gone?? It probably isn't my favorite L&O, but I do like it. Now I'm all sad.

[joyofmacs.livejournal.com]

I stopped watching Friends about four years ago. Got tired of the Ross/Rachel deal. Got old for me.

If I were any of them I would never act again. Go out in a blaze of glory. They can invest their money and never have to work again.