When I read that Desperate Housewives “jumped-the-shark” it got me thinking. Is it really fair to say that a television show is not as good as the first season? Unfortunately, most shows today hit their peak during season one. Why? Because they have such high-concepts, and it becomes impossible to duplicate that momentum. Desperate Housewives was so great when it started, because of the mini-murder mystery. When the mystery was complete, the show was too. Sure Marc Cherry tried to keep it afloat by inserting other mysteries, but he painted himself into a corner. Had the story been secondary to the characters, and not the other way around, perhaps it would not have taken such a hit. Look at Grey’s Anatomy. It began as character driven, and became story driven after season two — which is when the decline began (remember all those bombs and car crashes that strangely kept happening every other episode?). Interestingly, many of the most successful shows in television history got better after the first season, when the show had an opportunity to “find its way.” Both Seinfeld and Cheers, for example, did not immediately catch on. Those shows were built around the characters, not the intense story-lines, and it therefore avoided the creative roadblocks. So what’s the solution? Stop getting greedy and start getting creative. When someone pitches an idea that doesn’t involve a car-chase, don’t kick them out of the meeting. Also — don’t sack shows that struggle at their outset. Have some darn patience.
Tag: ABC
Whoopi Says Mel Gibson’s Not a Racist — I Beg to Differ
‘The View’ got heated, and this time it was Whoopi who caused the stir. She defended Mel Gibson, and said that while he’s a “bonehead,” she cannot say he is a racist after having spent “time with him in her house with her children.” First of all, can we all stop using the “my best friend is black” excuse? I’ve met plenty of racists that have a black significant other, best friend, etc . . . . Believe it or not, you don’t have to run through the streets shouting the N-word to be racist. (Even though that’s basically what Mel Gibson did). Here’s my next question for Whoopi: did he also hang out with you and keep your teeth intact? Does that mean he’s not a wife-beater? And how about his anti-Semitic tirade? Oh right — he was drunk? Plus, you have a Jewish last name. That has to count for something. Watch the video below.
GLAAD Attacks the View in Variety
All this time I thought that the ladies of ‘The View’ were actual scientists. I’m so disappointed to learn that they got their facts wrong. GLAAD is pissed at ‘The View’ and they took out an ad in Variety Magazine to demand an apology. The controversy surrounds a ‘hot-topic,’ where the ladies claimed that the black community has a statistically higher rate of AIDS than the white community, because so many black men are gay and in the closet (“on the down-low”), and continue to have unprotected sex with women. According to GLAAD, the Center for Disease Control has debunked this “myth,” and they want an apology so that the rumor goes no further. Plus –and here comes the funny part — “when ‘The View’ talks about these kinds of issues, people listen” Watch the discussion-in-question below.
Blog Daily Roundup
- Dancing With the Stars’ Julianne Hough is dating Ryan Seacrest. Digital Spy
- Kelsey Grammar’s wife filed for divorce. The Celebrity Cafe
- Lindsay Lohan punched by waitress on her birthday. Popeater
- Paris Hilton arrested for smoking pot in Brazil. Technorati
- Girls Gone Wild’s Joe Francis is getting married. Dlisted
- Jude Law wants to block his ex, Sadie Frost, from writing a book. Contact Music
- Jaycee Dugard awarded a $30 million settlement from California. Radar Online
- Andrew Garfield is Spiderman. Movieline
- Tori Spelling’s husband is out of the ICU. E! Online
- Melissa Etheridge files for divorce, leaves Tammy Lynn Michaels blindsided and broke. Zap2It
- Elin Woods will get a $100 million settlement from Tiger Woods. Hollywood Life
- Carrie Prejean gets married. Spreadit
Today’s Gripe: The ABC Full Episode Player is HORRIBLE
So I crawled into bed at the end of my very long day to watch one of my favorite girly, guilty pleasures: ‘The View.’ Much to my horror, I discovered that the ABC full episode player is not working. Now you might ask yourself why didn’t I just watch ‘The View’ on HULU? Well, good question. Because ‘The View’ is on a one day delay on HULU, and I’m the fucking DISHMASTER! I can’t watch shows on a one day delay! (note to self: calm down). Anyways, I was forced to go to the worst website on the planet known as ABC.com. In case ABC or any other network is wondering why HULU is so popular – I will enlighten you. It is not because it provides streamlined access to free television shows. It is because the video player actually works! Did I mention that HULU, unlike ABC, does not make me click a million ridiculous buttons before getting to the episode player? I apologize for wasting my readers time with this, but I simply have no other choice. I have emailed ABC directly about this problem numerous times, to no avail. And since I have personal knowledge of the fact that networks get their panties in a tizzy over negative bloggers, I had to use this oh so powerful blog to express my dismay. DONE!
Virginia Madsen Calls-Out Neal McDonough on ‘The View’
Virginia Madsen was on ‘The View’ to promote her new television show, ‘Scoundrels,’ and she discussed the recent controversy surrounding Neal McDonough’s last-minute recasting. You might remember that McDonough was recast because his religion prevented him from doing sex scenes. Madsen shed some new light on the controversy. She said that it was clear in the pilot script that the actors had to be sexual on screen, and McDonough withheld his aversion to doing so until the last minute, presumably to land the role in hopes of changing the script once he got it. Yikes! That’s pretty shady if it’s true. Hats off to Madsen for actually answering the question.
Kate Walsh Stops Show Over Hearing Aid – Time to be a Better Actor
Kate Walsh revealed on ‘The View’ today that she stopped her monologue in the middle of her Off-Broadway show, ‘Dusk Rings a Bell,’ because she thought someone’s cell phone was going off – it turned out to be a hearing aid. Walsh isn’t the first actor to stop a show because of a distraction. Hugh Jackman & Daniel Craig stopped mid-scene in their Broadway show, ‘A Steady Rain,’ because of a cell phone. I have a couple of things to say about this. First, if you cannot continue a scene because of an audience distraction, get your ass off Broadway (or in Kate Walsh’s case – Off-Off-Broadway). I know that you are used to the Los Angeles way of filming, where you get to fart around all day while everyone else does the heavy lifting, but New York is for real actors. And real actors can tune out distractions during a live performance. Second, contrary to the ridiculous cowboy-like attitude of Jackman & Craig in the scene below, you aren’t proving any points by calling people out. Instead, you are ruining the entire show for the other 99% of the audience.
Elizabeth Hasselbeck Calls Out Kathy Griffin on ‘The View’ – Who Wins?
Kathy Griffin appeared on ‘The View’ yesterday, and Elizabeth Hasselbeck was not too pleased to see her. Griffin often makes fun of Hasselbeck in her act, and at one point she even said to the press that “somehow, [she] has snowed American audiences into not knowing that she is a fucking Survivor reject. I am sorry; I am going to listen to the political beliefs of someone who wore wacky scarves on Survivor?” Hasselbeck broke her silent-treatment to ask Griffin if it’s uncomfortable for her to encounter the person that she makes “un-funny” jokes about. Griffin’s response? “Bring it bitch!” My first piece of advice to Hasselbeck is not to go toe-to-toe with a comedian – you’ll always lose. Second, if you are going to act like a pouty four year old every time you see someone on your show that has said mean things about you, it is time to work somewhere else. Watch the exchange below.
Idea of the Day: Julianne Hough and Derek Hough – The Next ‘Donnie & Marie
With all the remakes and ripoffs in the entertainment industry, I’m surprised no one has thought of this. Derek and Julianne Hough, the brother/sister dancing duo on ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ should get together and host a variety style talk show. They’re both beautiful to look at, and all attempts to venture out of the dancing world and start other projects, have pretty much fallen flat. Why? Because they never tried this idea before. To top off the strange Donnie & Marie connection, the two are both Mormons. They grew up in Utah and moved to London at an early age to further their dancing careers (where they interestingly trained with the parents of fellow ‘Dancing With the Stars’ professional, Mark Ballas). Though it pains me to admit this, I did not actually come up with this idea on my own. An executive at my office did, and he gave me permission to take full credit. I just couldn’t do it though. So in an effort to maintain his anonymity while still making him sound cool, I’ll just call him C-Dog. If anyone steals this idea though without forking over some major dough, I’ll sue you. Hear that dancing duo?
Grey’s Anatomy Spoiler – Does Alex Die?
Mike Ausiello of Entertainment Weekly confirms via Shonda Rhimes herself, that Alex/Justin Chambers will live. This makes me happy, especially since Alex is really the only Alpha male on the show. Patrick Dempsey is always near tears in every scene, and Owen is such a mess that I’m not quite sure he could knock a guy out if need be.