American Idol 2008 - WELCOMING LINEUP
WELCOMING LINEUP
If they rebuild it, will they come? That’s the question facing the broadcast networks once the original episodes of popular TV series start to return next week.
There is a theory out there that viewers aren’t exactly clamoring for the return of new episodes of TV’s big hits because they may have found other ways to entertain themselves during the writers’ strike.
Of course, this is similar to the incorrect prediction that the NHL and Major League Baseball would never recover from their strikes.
Jim Toellner, the general manager of WGRZ-TV, the local NBC affiliate, is of the belief that TV viewers will return just as sports fans did.
“If you’re a fan of a show, you’re a fan,” said Toellner. “You can’t wait for it to return. People still look to network TV first before they go for anything else. The quality has to be there. People will embrace good dramas and good comedies. I know I’m growing tired of reality.”
“I think the strike proves what we probably already knew,” said Channel 4 General Manager Chris Musial via e-mail. “The viewers want new, smartly written dramas and comedies, and not endless reruns. I believe the viewers will come back. . . . I don’t think there will be a large or long, lingering hangover.”
Bill Ransom, Channel 7’s general manager, also believes that there is “high anticipation” for new episodes of popular ABC series. “Especially the dramas,” said Ransom.
Unfortunately, new drama episodes, which are twice as long as comedies, also take longer to produce. CBS’ Monday comedies — “Two and a Half Men,” “How I Met Your Mother” and “The Big Bang Theory” — return next week with new episodes.
Speculation about possible post-strike disinterest increased after it became apparent during the writers’ strike that local viewers weren’t buying the new scripted series that the networks delayed until midseason to give viewers an alternative to all the reality series that have polluted the airwaves.
In some cases, the networks apparently have decided it is better to wait and re-launch some of the best of this year’s freshman drama class next fall — including NBC’s “Chuck” and “Life” and ABC’s “Dirty Sexy Money” — rather than hurriedly bring them back this spring without knowing if audiences will care.
Delaying their return should enable the networks to give those shows a better promotional push next fall. The delay in returning promising new series also reduces the pressure on new pilots, which will be tougher to produce because of the development time that producers and writers lost due to the strike.
How poorly did scripted series do during the strike? Even ABC’s “October Road,” which was popular with viewers last spring, experienced big local audience declines during the writers strike. It only averaged a 4.7 rating on Channel 7 on Mondays during the February sweeps, meaning 4.7 percent of area households tuned in.
That was slightly behind NBC’s “Lipstick Jungle,” which averaged 4.9. Fox’s “Terminator,” which started strong, averaged a 4.1. Its two-hour finale on March 3 spiked to a decent 5.5. ABC’s “Cashmere Mafia” averaged a paltry 3.4.
The only new midseason scripted series to do well locally in February was ABC’s appealing “Eli Stone,” which averaged a 7.8 thanks to the strong lead-in it received from the return of “Lost.” But even it is fading.
The newest Fox drama, “New Amsterdam,” about an immortal New York City detective, got a strong sampling last Tuesday and Thursday after “American Idol” but it lost a large percentage of its popular lead-in, dipped significantly on Thursday and now is on its own on Mondays.
The ratings for most of the new series are extremely low when you consider that popular shows like the “CSIs,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Desperate Housewives” and “House” typically get ratings in the mid to high teens. Most new shows didn’t get close to the 8.3 local rating that NBC’s “Las Vegas,” which reportedly has been or will be canceled, averaged here on Fridays in February.
Fox would be thrilled to get half of that rating for the latest of its midseason series, “The Return of Jezebel James.” It premieres at 8 p.m. Friday on WUTV. The comedy also is the return of writer-director Amy Sherman-Palladino, best known for “Gilmore Girls.”
The pilot was once going to air after “American Idol” on Wednesday, but since was replaced by “The Moment of Truth.” The truth is it is being dumped on Friday, where it is bound to get a small audience sampling. And since it isn’t all that funny, it is doubtful that many viewers will return for succeeding episodes.
Parker Posey stars as Sarah Tompkins, a fast-talking (hey, this is a Sherman-Palladino series), highly successful and highly stressed children’s book editor who has created a character based on the imaginary childhood friend of her younger, less successful, free-spirited sister, Coco (Lauren Ambrose of “Six Feet Under”).
Having just broken up with her long-term boyfriend, Sarah is now dating a colleague, Marcus Sonti (Scott Cohen). Neither wants the relationship to be about much more than sex.
The fact that Sarah’s baby alarm clock is ticking is offset by her recent discovery that she is infertile. What’s a sister to do? Sarah enlists her sister to become a surrogate and have her move in with her in a spacious Brooklyn apartment. The sisters argue with each other, worry about each other and eventually even bond.
Posey is the primary reason to watch because she does an admirable job with Sherman- Palladino’s dense vocabulary and dialogue. Still, there aren’t enough laughs to imagine it will attract enough viewers to see any eventual pregnancy go full term.
More likely, it will be greeted with the same kind of disinterest that almost all new scripted shows have faced since the writers’ strike.