coming to television this fall…

Oh, Upfront Week. All last week, the five major U.S. networks—ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW—announced their new, fall primetime shows. (As well as those shows that were renewed for another season.) I love and hate Upfront week. Every year I eagerly watch the promo videos for new shows, hoping there is another Mad Men or Lost amongst them. And each year, I am often disappointed with the less-than-inspired choices.

Here are a few of the upcoming shows that have piqued my interest—and made me cringe…

NBC

Not enthused with any of the new comedies, save for perhaps Up All Night. Will Arnett was hysterical in Arrested Development, and Maya Rudolph is pure fun to watch. As for dramas: Grimm looks as though it could be quite fresh and thrilling or a complete dud. I really enjoy reinterpretations of old fairy tales, and Grimm sets itself out to be one…sort of. Apparently there are creepy monster-like beings that exist in normal human bodies, and only a ‘Grimm’ (yes, a descendant from the famous brothers themselves) can spot them. From the trailer, however, the plot looks unsure of itself. Is this a horror story? A crime show? I’m afraid Grimm might shut down due to an identity crisis. Also premiering on NBC is Prime Suspect. Now I did not watch the original with Helen Mirren, so I’m not upset—as some are—of the new version with Maria Bello. I do know that Bello is a dynamic actress, and I love to watch her on screen. I’m hopeful for this one. It looks like The Playboy Club is NBC’s answer to Mad Men. This one is set in 1960’s Chicago…about playboy bunnies, their customers, and some murder thrown in for good measure. I love the look of the show—glossy, highly stylized a la Mad Men, but the plot probably won’t hold. Smash is being called ‘the adult’s Glee’. I was confused by the trailer. Is this a show about producing a Broadway musical? Or the drama between two competing divas? The fact that one of these aspiring actresses is the doe-eyed, girl-next-door Katharine McPhee…excuse me as I retrieve my eyeballs from the floor. Seriously, NBC? Where is the originality?

 

FOX

Looks like Fox is relying on the UK-import ‘The X Factor’ to rake in the ratings. They only have seven new shows—most of which sound lackluster. Zooey Deschanel is following her big sister’s footsteps into television with The New Girl…but her character is a young woman who can’t keep a boyfriend. Um, it’s Zooey Deschanel. Really?! Jonah Hill created a new animated show, Allen Gregory. I’m not a fan of Hill’s humor, but for those who are, knock yourselves out. Even though Terra Nova was advertised last year—and then never aired—I’m still interested in it. It has dinosaurs. Heck. Yes.

ABC

Tim Allen is back with a new comedy Last Man Standing. It would be great to see him with a comeback television show, but it looks and feels too conventional. I shuddered at the rest of their comedies: Apartment 23, Man Up, Suburgatory and Work It. There is another version of Charlie’s Angels in case the original series and two full-length movies weren’t enough. More fairy tales with Once Upon a Time. The title alone annoys me. Obviously ABC did not want to be left out of the 1960s club; they’re offering Pan Am, which follows the lives and tribulations of the blue-frocked stewardesses in the 60s. The entire time I was watching the preview, I felt as though I had seen this before. Pam Am…the 60s…oh right, Catch Me If You Can.

CBS

Oh…CBS. One show looked vaguely appealing: Person of Interest stars Jim Caviezel and the fantastic Michael Emerson (Ben Linus from Lost) in this drama produced by J.J. Abrams. It has enough mystery and intrigue to hook my attention—and it addresses a very real issue from today: Constant video and audio surveillance. You’d like to think this show was a futuristic or conspiracy thriller. But surveillance is becoming all too commonplace. Perhaps that’s what makes this story so creepy.   The other shows—Unforgettable (in which Poppy Montgomery spends a lot of time staring concernedly into the distance), A Gifted Man (a story about a man who sees the spirit of his dead wife), How to Be a Gentleman (ugh, no comment), and 2 Broke Girls (poor girl meets fallen heiress at work…at a diner…and they become friends…the voice in my head is begging for it all to stop) fail to impress. And will most likely fail renewal.

 

CW

What does the teen-oriented network have in store for 2011? Hart of Dixie: essentially big city doctor goes to small-town Alabama and rediscovers herself. It’s like Doc Hollywood meets The O.C. (Though I will say it’s nice to see Rachel Bilson again.) Sarah Michelle Gellar is back in Ringer, which includes twin sisters, assumed identities and murder. I have a smidge of interest…just a smidge. And if vampires were not enough with The Vampire Diaries, you’ve now got witches to cozy up with on your Thursday evenings. The Inner Circle appears to be about a bunch of young, overly attractive witches who want to create a new witch circle and play magic…or something to that effect. I’ll stick to Harry Potter, thanks.

These are just my initial thoughts—mostly from trailers. I’m sure my opinions will change as the shows get started in the fall.

What shows are you looking forward to this fall season?

 

the cheesy, tacky wonder that is Eurovision

Azerbaijan: 2011 Winner of Eurovision. Photo courtesy of Eurovision.tv.

There are certain things, as an American, that you never really get the chance to take part in. Eurovision is one of them. And no, Eurovision is not a European eyeware shop, as I first thought. It is perhaps the most spectacular display of cheesy, tacky, musical entertainment on the planet.

Every country from Europe selects a representative and sends them to the semi-finals, and then the ‘best’ 25 bands compete in the final for viewers’ votes. Nobody here in the UK seems to take Eurovision seriously—and you can’t really. It exists purely as a guilty pleasure. Like American Idol and The X Factor mashed together, pumped full of Euro-pop steroids. It is so bad it’s fabulous. An unnatural amount of smiling, over-hyped audience members, a dizzying array of international flags. Performers who can’t sing, horrendously bad choreography, outrageous costumes. It is shameless. Eurovision reminded me of the film Mama Mia! which my friend, Jacki, described as, ‘a bunch of adults getting drunk and deciding, “Hey let’s make a musical!”’ Europe: you got drunk and made yourselves a fantastically awful music competition.

This being my first Eurovision experience, I kept a record of my initial thoughts last night—and some from my viewing buddies: Lauren, Phil, Maria, and Fei. (Click on the country’s name for video.)

1. Finland: The boy looks fourteen and far too young to be exposed to such madness. His song title is Da Da Dam, which he wrote himself. The poor thing…

2. Bosnia and Herzegovina: There is a tambourine! Whee! And a trumpet player who spends most of the song dancing around the stage. That checkered jacket: I want. I would rock that.

3. Denmark: Oh, the hair, the hair! Lead singer looks like he stuck his finger in an electrical socket. Opening line: ‘C’mon girls, c’mon girls, in this crazy crazy world, you’re the diamonds, you’re the pearls. Let’s make a new tomorrow today.’ So women, we are apparently sparkly and shiny objects, and that will usher in a new utopian era!

4. Lithuania: It’s Rachel Berry! In a sea of fake fog.

5. Hungary: We are all distracted by her gigantic ring…the rest of the song pales in comparison. Granted, this is the first song you could dance to—if you’re drunk enough.

6. Ireland: Thanks to The X Factor, the UK unleashed Jedward into the world. If there is ever a sci-fi reinterpretation of Alice in Wonderland, you’ve got your Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. My apologies, Denmark. This is electrocuted hair. And enough energy to fuel all 25 peformances.

7. Sweden: ‘I will be pop-u-lar!’ Great message for the kids, Eric Saade. And dude, lose the glove. You are not Michael Jackson.

8. Estonia: Ooh magic! She changes a handkerchief into a cane. Okay, she’s kinda adorable, despite the Barbie-pink lipstick. And…confession…I’m liking this song, as awful as it is.

9. Greece: So…utterly…disoriented. First, out walks a ‘rapper’ talk-singing in a horrendous growly voice. Then…a Greek Josh Groban? And a frightening number of formal, black suits. Phil: ‘It’s like a suit advert’.

10. Russia: Alexey is that unnaturally pretty boy from high school…in the 80s. Nobody is that squeaky clean in appearance. Disney would snap him up for a teen movie.

11. France: Amaury, dear, why are you at Eurovision? Leave this pop trash and audition for Marius in Les Miserables. Go, go now. Your voice is wasted here.

12. Italy: Take Jazz 101. Stat.

13. Switzerland: Er…uh, yeah it just ended and I’ve already forgotten.

14. United Kingdom: Another boy band! Well, man band really. Oh, they are so nervous. I feel like I should be rooting for them, being a current UK resident and all. They’re not making it easy with those awful blue suits made of…polyester? Highlight: Simon Webbe’s abs. (Here is what their song should sound like.)

15. Moldova: There. Are. No. Words. Just please please watch the video.

16. Germany: Hometown favourite and reigning champ. I like her tattoo. That’s about it. (Sorry, Maria.)

17. Romania: I’m running out of ways to say ‘dull’.

18. Austria: Maria—‘Is that a woman?’ Ouch. And now we can’t stop talking about her uneven haircut.

19. Azerbaijan: Dreamy and floaty and flowy. It’s like cake in the place of dinner—insubstantial. (Postnote: they somehow won the competition. Maybe people resonated with their opening lyrics: Oh oh oh, oh oh, oh oh.)

20. Slovenia: Damn, she’s only nineteen? Impressive voice. Costumes…not so much. It’s like biker meets S&M. Shudder.

21. Iceland: It’s pleasant. That’s about it.

22. Spain: Props for singing in Spanish! Fun. Makes me want to be on a cruise ship. However: too much male shimmying. We’re talking excessive shimmying. In white suits.

23. Ukraine: Isn’t this a form of cheating? Having a sand artist on stage, with her artwork projected onto the back screen, thereby taking attention away from the mediocre performance?

24. Serbia: Okay, I’ve been watching for a long time now…60s retro costumes fail to hold my attention.

25. Georgia: Dreadful. At this point, we have stopped watching and are talking about biochemistry and proteins that regulate your body in knowing day versus night. Epic fail, Georgia.

Moment of honesty: I love Eurovision. In all its tacky, appalling glory. I wish we had something like this in the States.

For those that watched, which was your favourite performance?

 

and the fall TV lineups are announced…

It’s that time of year: Television networks are releasing their lineups for the 2010 fall season. For those who are interested, here is a fabulous interview with media critic Eric Deggans, from the St. Petersburg Times (thanks to NPR for the article). It appears that dramas have returned to television. Below is a roundup of articles, highlighting the changes (and non-changes) of television networks.

• ABC has added a few new shows but mostly fails to rock the boat. Mr. Sunshine is the only addition that appeals to me, personally. And that’s because Matthew Perry returns to primetime comedy. Having loved Chandler Bing on Friends, I am excited to see him in a new role.

 

• A shocking 13 new shows are slotted for NBC’s fall season. That is a tremendous amount of new material. Might not be the wisest move on a network’s part, but I have to give them credit for being gutsy and (hopefully) fresh.

 

• Apparently CBS is remaking Hawaii 5-O. Oh dear. Deggans mentioned that CBS could very well be the most conventional broadcast network (see the first article from NPR): “They have a formula for how they do dramas. And they surround – they pack the cast with pretty people, they find a star that they believe in to sort of center the action, and the stories are self-contained from week to week.” I don’t know about you but that sounds, yawn, so utterly unimaginative and, well, unrealistic.

 

• And, of course, there is Fox. I really only watch Bones and Glee, and while I know that Bones has been renewed for another season, it is barely given a blip of coverage. Glee, on the other hand, is everywhere. I admit I am a gleek, but I can’t help but feel nervous for the show. So much attention can either be a blessing or career-killing curse.

 

television world abuzzin’: the end(ing) of lost

The END of Lost.

It sounds so dramatic, as though it is the television equivalent of armageddon. Or the death of something beloved. I don’t know whether to be amused or frightened by the devoted attention that Lost is receiving by fans and critics. You can practically feel their obsessive energy reverberating through cyberspace and magazines. Forget 2012. The end of Lost is upon us!

One thing is for certain: The Lost finale will be one of the bigger television events in primetime history. I just read that ABC is charging $900,000 per 30-second advert for the show’s two and a half hour finale. (May 23rd people!) Apparently, only the Oscars and the Super Bowl charge more for commercials.

With less than a week until the finale, the cyberworld is abuzz with articles, interviews and speculations about the ending of that phenomenon called Lost. Two of the more interesting articles out there are by critic Alan Sepinwall, who interviewed the show’s writers Cuse and Lindelof, and an article in Time. In fact, the Time article covered so many of the topics I had planned to touch upon—and with much more elegance—that I decided to leave it for you to read and merely highlight my own pre-finale thoughts.

Media studies and pop culture: For me, Lost is a fascinating topic of study. The serialized drama completely changed the landscape of television. And it did so on regular broadcasting. Lost was not on cable or HBO where, arguably, more risks can be taken. Everyone has had access to Lost. Thus there is a veritable army of viewers who have invested into the story over several years and deeply care about the ending. They have journeyed with the characters through battle, elation, and mystery. The show has drawn viewers in with cryptic puzzles and mind-bending plot twists. If a story can weave a sci-fi mystery while simultaneously engage questions about faith and science, good and evil—all those archetype mythological binaries—you have one dynamite show. So then the question becomes: How will it end?

Entitled fans: While I understand the emotional investment, I want to tell the hyper-anxious viewers to chill out and accept the story as it comes. Audience entitlement has magnified over recent years. Viewers have always held opinions about certain shows, but now they feel as though they have the ability to sway writers’ (and the networks) decisions. If you need confirmation on this, check out what Chuck fans are doing these days. Flash mob, anyone?

I like what Lindelof had to say: “The question that we would throw back at the audience is, Well, what did it mean to you? Your own personal relationship with Lost actually trumps any intention that we had as storytellers. And we wanted that to be the legacy of the show.”

That is a bit of a risk on the storyteller’s part. It is an act of letting go. In every interview I’ve read of Cuse and Lindelof, they have sounded so laissez-faire about the final season and finale. They cannot control the reader’s perception and opinion, so the argument goes, thus there is no reason to try and please everyone. Sepinwall asks a very good question about responsibility though: How much of a sense of responsibility do you feel you have – that the ending has – to the legacy of the show? To which Lindelof responds that his hope is for viewers—in the coming months and years—to look back on Lost and not judge the show on its finale but the series as a whole. Hmm.

Writer’s responsibility? When you are responsible for crafting the ending of an epic drama that has captivated millions of people, what do you do with that responsibility? What factor does that play when creating the ending, if any? Naturally you want the ending to be satisfying. Everyone can relate to reading an epic novel that leaves you sleep-deprived only to encounter a thoroughly dissatisfying ending. It’s enough to make one throw the book across the room. The end of an epic is a crucial piece of the story. Absolutely.

Yet I want to draw attention to the word ‘ending.’ I am no grammar guru, but the –ing can create a present continuous tense. Yes, the show of Lost will end, yet the ending will continue into the future as people debate, discuss, and dissect the show’s final moments—and indeed the show overall. The dialogue that surrounds Lost is far from over. In some way, the ending of Lost is yet another springboard into new conversations. It is where the media analyses come in. And, to me, that’s the fun part.

What do you think? Are you a fan of Lost? What are your thoughts about the series’ end?

 

get Lost

the season that started it all

Tonight is the season finale of LOST. Two full hours of the crazy, time-twisting show that has mesmerized a cult-like following over the past five years. And I am excited. As opposed to the diehard fans who have faithfully journeyed with the characters since the Pilot, I first watched Lost last spring—and it was for an assignment.

For two solid years I had friends who doggedly tried to pull me into their Lost Club. They would gather together on whatever night the show aired, watch it together, and then discuss it afterwards. I found the entire affair absurd. It’s a television show, and a ridiculous one at that. How can you sustain a plot that deals with survivors on a remote island? I swore I would never—repeat never—watch Lost. Nevermind the seemingly dead-end island plot, but Lost was (and continues to be) a fad. I choose not to partake in fads. Call it an idiosyncrasy of mine, or a personal code of pop culture ethics. Once a show, song, film, book, fashion—you fill in the blank—reaches widespread popularity within mainstream culture, I have a bizarre resistance to it. To this day I have not watched a single episode of Survivor due to the frightening zeal the show sparked within viewers. (Now I would be curious to go back to those early days of Survivor and attempt to piece together what ignited that mania. It was one of the first reality television shows to become a 21st century global explosion, and we can all see how that genre has expanded.) That same curiosity was what prompted me to examine Lost and Heroes last spring for my Communication Theory course.

The assignment was simple enough: write a theoretical criticism essay on a subject where media and culture converge. I was intrigued with the idea of investigating the theories behind a popular television show, and a quick perusal of the websites of ABC and NBC cemented this desire. As I wrote in my essay: “Producers, writers, and critics alike are mystified with the strength of obsessive fervor the shows’ fans display. Lost and Heroes have become so popular that the characters and plot have spread from the television screen into other media, such as online magazines, online fan forums, graphic novels, and books.” Two years ago, Rolling Stone noted several fan forum Internet sites that were developed for the sole purpose of discussing various shows. In the case of Lost, there is a forum called Lostpedia, which has seven international versions and 10,000 volunteers who edit thousands of entries (Kushner, 2007, p. 34).

Unbelievable. And the thing is: people participate. In droves. Why? I wanted to gather everyone together and calmly tell them Lost was just a television show; it was not real and to find some other outlet to devote their fervid energies. And yet, something about the phenomenon pulled me in. I was fascinated with this obsession and so I decided to research further. I felt like a detective, equipped with my communication theorists (Barthes, McLuhan, Griffin, Stuart) and film/theater background, and sat down one seemingly innocuous Thursday evening to watch the first three episodes of Lost (and Heroes) to unravel my own mystery of why and how these shows had captivated a global audience.

I won’t bore you with my findings and theories (save for a small comment at the close). Suffice to say: I was hooked. Hardcore. Heroes can be thrown to the canines (sorry, Heroes fans), but Lost was spectacular. The Pilot itself is a goldmine of cinematographic genius, symbolism, and intriguing juxtaposition of frames. Not to mention a gripping, mysterious plot that all but had me holding my breath while scribbling furiously on my notepad. I vividly remember the ending of the second episode—where the screen abruptly cuts to the black background with ‘LOST’ in white lettering (the screen that fans have come to dread for it means yet another week must pass before the saga continues)—and I paused the DVD and just said, “What?” As in: what the hell just happened? what does this mean? and…how am I liking this show? Yeah, I was hooked. It took me a good two weeks before I could admit that to people—after all my vows of never watching, never following, never taking part in the Lost-craze, I now could not wait to finish the season and get caught up for the beginning of season 5. Shame, shame, shame.

Okay, yes, the show has its numerous faults, and I am a large critic even as I enjoy the unfolding plot. But the nature of its appeal continues to engage my curiosity. Popular culture and media, and how they interrelate. Those who know me will know of my desire to pursue this field in graduate study. In his analysis of media, McLuhan developed the tetrad for various mediums, calling attention to the effect a given technology has upon the environment. Shows such as Lost encourage the village community from the tribal age McLuhan describes. The ‘clubs’ that view and discuss episodes highlight the unique quality of sharing the visual experience of televised drama. Viewers can feed off one another’s reactions. In essence, the group is experiencing the same show together at the same time. They are in community with one another, united around a common interest, and they are no longer separated by distance (which the telegraph and telephone made possible). Those viewers who are separated by distance are not unreachable, as the online forums prove. The popularity of serialized drama and spread of television into other media have simultaneously extended the global village and reintroduced the notion of the tribal village. It will be exceedingly interesting to observe how the two villages interact, and how the electronic and digital ages affect one another over the next few years.

But for now, I’m readying myself for tonight. Two-hour finale. It’s gonna be wild.

check it out:
Kushner, D. (2007). Fanboy Forum. Rolling Stone, 1021.