I pay homage to Ken Jennings, the Trio network and Tru Calling. Good bye old friends”¦
LOOK AT THIS”¦
++ I think it’s funny when television personalities who act high and mighty (like Bill Maher for example) during their shows look stupid when they get taken to court for frivolous lawsuits”¦
++ I guess Martha Stewart isn’t getting the hell beat out of her in the cafeteria like we all had hoped might happen”¦
++ I’m not sure what I’d do if Jerry Orbach passed away and was no longer affiliated with the Law & Order franchise. Thankfully, despite his recent prostate cancer diagnosis, we don’t have to worry about that. Feel better!
++ Best wishes for a speedy recovery to NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol after suffering major injuries in a Colorado plane crash. He’s a pioneer to the industry and his loss would be felt all over the television industry.
THE OPENING CREDITS: Some post-Thanksgiving IP TV content
++ I didn’t get to write a Monday column this week as I had some personal business to attend to, but you could always read last week’s IP TV Weekly Pulse in case you missed me”¦
++ Hello, Ms. Katie from Road Rules? I’m wearing a nice shirt and tie and my best after shave. I even shined up my chrome dome of a head for you. Will you please pay attention to me?
Oh yeah, she also wrote a very revealing column about Road Rules/Real World Challenge strategy. She always shares something new and exciting. It’s worth a read!
++ I don’t think Nick Warnock is very attractive (nothing personal), but I was definitely looking forward to his latest comments after his boy Andy got fired from The Apprentice.
As usual, he brought up some good points. Andy certainly did show his youth and inexperience. Kelly seems like the best candidate left (despite being both arrogant and boring). And if the previews look accurate, Ivana could get fired whether her team wins the task she’s in or not. Did she REALLY pull down her skirt for the world to see? And doesn’t she realize she’s not that pretty?
++ If you love Survivor commentary from former contestants, then you HAVE TO check out Lex’s latest. He certainly doesn’t skimp out. God Bless You my man”¦
++ Speaking of Survivor commentary from former contestants, Mr. Reliable, Jake is back with his thoughts and makes an interesting prediction.
++ The immortal Scott Keith makes a return to IP TV with a review of the Friends: Season 8 DVD set.
++ Cheri gets creative this week and talks about crossover episodes she’d like to see. My favorite: the gang from CSI showing up on Wisteria Lane to help solve these mysterious disappearances on Desperate Housewives. But as I said before, two networks crossing over would probably be like President Bush teaming up with Osama bin Laden to battle the Chinese”¦Just not happening”¦
++ 183 words devoted to Sarah Quigley:
I’m not sure which quote from her latest column about The Apprentice I liked best. Choose for yourself:
Is it”¦
And once again, Trump proved himself to be a total sucker for the Jen-bot. I really think he wants to do her.
Or maybe”¦
My favorite moment of the whole show this week was watching Andy talk to Jennifer right after she’d taken a shower. With a towel on her head and no make-up, the woman was virtually unrecognizable. The transforming effects of hair bleach and eyeliner are amazing. Even I start to resemble Ava Gardner with enough kohl and red lipstick. Being a hottie isn’t as hard as everyone thinks.
Finally, there was this astute observation about everyone’s favorite tacky billionaire:
But being at the mercy of the Donald definitely is. He’s so fickle. One week, he’s praising people for speaking up and defending himself, the next week he’s telling everyone to shut up. When Trump is in a good mood, he closely resembles me on the twenty-seventh day of my cycle. That’s not a compliment.
++ Ms. Didey is a little late to jump on the Rescue Me bandwagon, but we’ll forgive her. She also talks about three of my favorite shows: Desperate Housewives, Boston Legal and (gulp) Seventh Heaven.
++ I’m going to start calling Mark Polishuk Captain Random”¦Not only did he talk about Survivor this week, but he openly wondered if Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins had sex, and if Anne Hathaway has slipped under the “hot radar.” By the way”¦my answers to those questions: Definitely not and Definitely.
++ Carlos does some serious analysis of Saturday Night Live‘s Weekend Update skit. He gives Amy Poehler the benefit of the doubt in her new role, points out the good and the bad. If I had to analyze what he thinks, I think he’s giving them a C+ or a B- overall. I don’t know”¦if I see any more obvious hand job jokes like I saw in the latest new episode, my grade is going to get knocked down to a D- or an F+ overall”¦
++ In honor of Thanksgiving, Mike Lawrence gets REALLY philosophical and in his diatribe, ironically, tells you that there are more important things than television. Sure, he’s right. But did he need to tell you that in a television column?
TV NEWS
**Trying a slightly new format this week in reporting/commenting on the news”¦Like it? Let me know what you think! scoogan@4sternstaging.com**
Everyone, start taping as much Trio as possible. It could be gone soon”¦
Satellite TV provider, DirecTV is “exercising an option” to drop cable network Trio from its offerings beginning Dec. 31 leaving the future of the network in doubt. Trio currently reaches 20 million cable subscribers and DirecTV makes up 60 percent (12 million) of available households.
Trio is the quirky “pop culture channel” probably best known for its “Brilliant, but Canceled” run of old television series that may have been critically acclaimed but were canceled before they ever caught on with an audience.
Also, the network ran a series devoted to “flops” and reran or produced their own shows devoted to several highly anticipated pop culture commodities that failed miserably both critically and financially. These included an old documentary about John DeLorean and DeLorean car in the early and mid 1980s and an outstanding documentary about the making of one of, if not the biggest, film flops in film history, Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate.
The network has always appeared to go after pop culture in a much different, more intelligent way than VH-1, which has largely morphed into a series of sound bites about the most ridiculous and obscure pieces of pop culture out there whether it’s Paris Hilton, Vanilla Ice, or 80s glam metal band, Cinderella.
Trio was part of Vivendi Univeral Entertainment before being absorbed in the merger that formed NBC Universal earlier this year. Ever since the network became a part of the new NBC Universal company, they haven’t denied that Trio was going to get shut down at some point, but the network continues to chug along.
Though with DirecTV choosing to cease airing Trio, an announcement of some sort couldn’t be too far behind”¦
So, for your own sake, go check out Trio and maybe even record some of the quality programming they have to offer”¦At the very least, it’ll be a keepsake!
* * * * *
++ Matt Lauer taking over for Dan Rather? – That’s the rumor being reported by respected news publication Newsweek (and repeated on TVGuide.com). The report says that CBS is interested in both Lauer and NBC political guru and Meet the Press host, Tim Russert, to take over the CBS Evening News anchoring post that Dan Rather is vacating early next year.
Then again, both Lauer and Russert are in the middle of lengthy contracts with the peacock, so it seems unlikely that either rumor would come to fruition. But if they do, you know where you heard it first!
* * * * *
Super Size Me director gets a show with FX
Isn’t it funny the way things work out? Morgan Spurlock, the director (and the subject) of the critically acclaimed documentary Super Size Me tells us something we all already knew (“Don’t eat McDonald’s food for every meal every day for a month.”) and now he’s a hot commodity in Hollywood.
Most recently, he’s signed a deal with up-and-coming cable network, FX, to air six episodes of his newest creation, 30 Days. The format of the show will vaguely follow the path Spurlock took in making Super Size Me in that his show will take people out of their normal elements (in Spurlock’s case, not eating McDonald’s at every meal for 30 days) and putting them into a situation completely different than what they are used to (in Spurlock’s case, ACTUALLY eating McDonald’s at every meal for 30 days).
However, the show won’t focus on people’s eating habits, but the way people live their lives in general. The pilot (ordered in March) featured takes a Christian insurance salesman from Spurlock’s home state, West Virginia, and drops him in with a Muslim family in Dearborn, Mich. for 30 days.
There isn’t much other information available about the show, but there doesn’t appear to any wild prizes of cash, luxury, or employment the way there are in shows like Survivor or The Apprentice. Instead, it appears to strip down reality television to some of its basic elements and just take people out of their normal element and see how they react when they are thrown into a situation not like what they are used to. It’s like a documentary film being shown every week.
In that respect, it’s much different (and probably could be considered more respectable) than much of the other reality television available to the viewing public. But, at the same time, is it really? After all, it’s still considered “reality television” and many critics consider that genre of programming to be the devil. Plus, as much as the critics appreciate FX, the network and its lineup still isn’t appreciated as much as HBO is, so it may take some REALLY STRONG word of mouth to attract a significant audience. I’m not optimistic, but I really do love surprises”¦
* * * * *
Various news and notes about shows with a “law” theme to them”¦
++ Candace Bergen is a busy lady”¦ – In addition to accepting a recurring role as a judge on NBC’s new Law & Order franchise Trial by Jury, former CBS star Candace Bergen has signed on to be a star in ABC’s Boston Legal. This will be her first regular series role since her hit show, Murphy Brown, left the air in 1998.
According to a Zap2it.com report, Bergen will join the cast in the show’s 12th episode, likely to air in January. She will play Shirley Schmidt, a founding partner in the law firm of Crane, Poole & Schmidt who’s been away for some time. She “returns” when other partners convince her to come back in an attempt to bring some semblance of order to the office, something that’s largely been missing since Alan Shore (James Spader) arrived at the firm earlier this year and has forged an odd, but close, friendship with Denny Crane (William Shatner). Crane is uneasy about Schmidt’s return as the two apparently have a “spotty history.” The conflict will likely play out on the screen as the series goes forward.
And to show chivalry really isn’t dead, to make room for Bergen, the young, extremely attractive Lake Bell (who plays Sally Heep) will leave the show midseason. See”¦Hollywood isn’t ALL ABOUT young, attractive women with long legs and big, perky breasts.
++ Is Mr. Big heading back to the Law & Order family? – According to Zap2it.com and their report from Broadcasting & Cable magazine, Chris Noth, “Mr. Big” from Sex and the City and a Law & Order veteran from the ‘90s, is set to reprise his Mike Logan character for an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent in January.
The Logan character actually has a history going back more than ten years. During the 1994-95 season, Logan was sent to work as a detective in Staten Island, one of the less exciting boroughs of New York City, after punching a corrupt city politician. Apparently, the character is still kicking around in police work as he will be involved in an upcoming case.
This appearance, coupled with Criminal Intent star Vincent D’Onofrio’s two recent fainting spells, one that delayed production on the NBC show has led to further speculation that producers are ready to kick D’Onofrio to the curb and let Noth reprise the Logan character full time. Noth acknowledges the appearance but there is no official word about a cast change.
++ Christopher ventures to the “other side of the law” – Michael Imperioli, apparently just killing time before the final season of The Sopranos begins production next year, has signed on for a “several” episode stint on Law & Order (TVGuide.com says three episodes, Zap2it.com doesn’t specify a number).
Somewhat ironically, Imperioli will play another main characte’s nephew during his Law & Order appearance taking on the role of Detective Joe Fontana (Dennis Farina)’s nephew temporarily working with his uncle.
Imperioli has worked with Law & Order creator Dick Wolf before working in a guest role on an episode of Law & Order in 1996 and another Wolf show, Fox’s New York Undercover after that.
Meanwhile, Farina’s normal partner, Jesse L. Martin, will be departing temporarily from Law & Order in order to reprise his Tom Collins character in the film version of Rent. Martin’s career took off when he played that role on Broadway.
* * * * *
++ Brokaw signs off for good”¦ – Following through on the plan he announced in May of 2002, NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw signed off for the last time at the close of the Dec. 2 telecast. Although the veteran journalist will still host documentaries for the network, he is taking a dramatically reduced role with the network and will spend time as a family man. Can you picture Tom Brokaw as a family man?
Long time MSNBC personality and NBC Nightly News fill-in, Brian Williams, will take over on a permanent basis now that Brokaw has departed.
* * * * *
Fox reshuffles its schedule yet again”¦
Here we go again”¦I feel like I have to write one of these every few weeks. It’s Fox’s new prime time schedule, reshuffled and packed with new series.
First up is Jonny Zero a series about an ex-convict turned private detective starring Franky G, an actor who had roles in the movies Wonderland and The Italian Job. But with a cast of unknowns and dreadful timeslot (Fridays at 9 p.m.), the show could end before it really begins. Jonny Zero is set to debut Jan. 14.
Next is Point Pleasant which according to Zap2it.com is “a supernatural soap with elements of Twin Peaks, Salem’s Lot and maybe a little Rosemary’s Baby.” It will take over the Thursdays at 9 p.m. slot starting Jan. 20 when North Shore‘s first season is completed. The debut of this show likely signals the end of the Eliza Dushku led supernatural drama Tru Calling which has had its second season debut pushed back twice already.
Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie will also return this spring for a third season of The Simple Life where the two clueless socialites completed a month-long series of east coast internships at a New Jersey auto shop and mortuary and the Baltimore zoo, among others, according to USA Today. Taping for the new show finished just before Thanksgiving.
Other returning shows include the critically acclaimed Kiefer Sutherland led drama 24 (Mondays at 9 p.m. starting Jan. 10), The Bernie Mac Show (new episodes at 8 p.m. Friday starting Jan. 14 and encore episodes at 8:30), House (sticking with its Tuesdays at 9 p.m. slot) and of course, the behemoth American Idol which will have one-hour episodes Tuesdays at 8 p.m. and Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. starting Jan. 18 until February when the Wednesday schedule will be altered slightly.
Meanwhile, the comedy block on Sundays featuring Malcolm in the Middle, The Simpsons and Arrested Development and the Saturday crime fighting series, Cops and America’s Most Wanted will remain in tact.
So, the new Fox prime time schedule is as follows:
Monday
8 p.m. Trading Spouses
9 p.m. 24 (two-hour premiere Sunday, Jan. 9; time-period premiere Jan. 10)
Tuesday
8 p.m. American Idol (premieres Jan. 18)
9 p.m. House
Wednesday
8 p.m. That ’70s Show”
8:30 p.m. The Simple Life 3: Interns (premieres Jan. 26)
9 p.m. American Idol (premieres Jan. 19; one-hour episodes through February)
Thursday
8 p.m. The O.C.
9 p.m. Point Pleasant (premieres Jan. 20)
Friday
8 p.m. The Bernie Mac Show (premieres Jan. 14)
8:30 p.m. The Bernie Mac Show (encore episodes)
9 p.m. Jonny Zero (premieres Jan. 14)
* * * * *
++ People are watching The Real Gilligan’s Island? Remarkably, yes. – The show isn’t about anything. The Real Gilligan’s Island features two “teams” of people that embody the roles from the show. Two “millionaires” and their “wives,” two “Mary Ann’s” and even two “movie stars” (played by Nicole Eggert and Rachel Hunter). They take part in “challenges,” but in reality it’s just a group of people who look like they are on the show Gilligan’s Island.
Yet, for a cable show, the ratings are pretty good. According to Zap2it.com, a total of 7.7 million people watched the first original episode (4 million) and an encore directly after the original (3.7 million). Even more impressive, just over 5 million of those people were in the coveted 18-49 age demographic (2.68 million for the premiere and 2.45 million for the second episode).
The television viewing public can be quite strange sometimes”¦
THE CLOSING CREDITS: Ken Jennings — “By the numbers”
Amazingly, Ken Jennings was on the cover of The New York Times AND USA Today on Wednesday, Dec. 1. Why? Because the episode of Jeopardy that ended his reign as champion finally aired on TV stations across the country. He won his first game on June 2 and, astonishingly, just shy of six months later, Jennings lost.
If you ever wonder how “news” is defined, this is a clear example that could describe the definition of the word. Why? Because news is defined, at least in part, as something unusual that happens. People drive to work, fly in airplanes or go to sports events every day. But it isn’t until someone causes a major accident, a plane crashes, or a series of fans fight with a series of players that it becomes “news.”
The same thing applies to Ken Jennings. Hundreds of people go on Jeopardy every year seeking either their 15 minutes of fame, some money for themselves or their families, or a chance to display how much pointless information and trivia they have in their heads. Yet, it never makes the cover of The New York Times. But Jennings came along and he kept winning and winning”¦not only winning but utterly destroying his competition. The two people who played against him every day didn’t know what hit them. He’d hit the buzzer with reckless abandon and answer each question with a cool, cocky, and somewhat nerdy response. I don’t think he ever stopped smiling either, even when he was wrong. He figured he’d make it up with the next question and was never worried. He was so confident, I don’t think he even needed to wear deodorant to cover up any sweat or scents he might have emitted off of his body.
All of a sudden, everyone started talking about him. It’s not every day that you see someone dominate a game show like this, especially one that has trivia categories ranging from “17th Century France” to “Potpourri.”
Then, everyone started paying attention. People would stop what they were doing to watch Jeopardy or at the very least find out if the dude won. For six months, we were saying “Yeah, he won.” or, during the summer hiatus, asking “When does Jeopardy come back on again?”
When would it end? There was a report from Television Week in September that Jennings’ streak was snapped after 74 games, an obvious fault of taping so many episodes at one time and then not airing them for months after that. Even so, we continued to watch. Even if the report was right, we still wanted to know when and how it was going to happen. It could even be argued that there was a small degree of people wanting to know where YOU were when Ken Jennings’ streak was snapped.
Then the episode finally aired on Nov. 30, just shy of six months from Jennings’s first victory and before anyone cared about who he was. And now its over.
The answer to the trivia question “Who was the player that broke Ken Jennings’ 74 game Jeopardy winning streak?”: Nancy Zerg, a former actress striving for fame and fortune herself before settling on a career in real estate. But then she lost the next day like so many Jeopardy contestants had done in previous years.
And that was that…the Ken Jennings obsession was over and Jeopardy just became another game show again.
But before we bid adieu to one of the biggest pop culture sensations from 2004, let’s take another look at Ken Jennings, this time”¦.by the numbers”¦
++74 – The number of consecutive wins Jennings endured to keep his record streak alive.
++148 – 74 * 2=148. That’s the number of other Jeopardy contestants defeated during his miraculous winning streak. For a little perspective, consider that is about 20 more than my high school graduating class”¦
++2,700 – According to an AP story, that’s the number of right answers Jennings gave during his 74-game winning streak. If you include Jennings’ 75th and final Jeopardy game, that’s an average of 36 right answers per game.
++$2,520,700 – The amount of money Jennings won during this record run. Considering that game shows constantly give away more and more money (for doing less and less), this record may not last very long. Nonetheless”¦
++30 – That’s how old young Ken Jennings is. So, he’s 30 and thanks to one of the most famous game shows in history, he’s set for life”¦which for him, could be a LONG TIME. 30 and a Mormon? We know his liver, lungs and kidneys don’t get the use that chain smoking, alcoholic degenerates’ organs on this Earth get.
++$34,063.51 – The average amount of money Jennings won per game during this famous stretch of victories. Considering the winner of the game he eventually lost only won a shade over $14,000, it makes what he did all that more impressive.
++$52,000 – The previous one-day high for a Jeopardy winner. Jennings toyed with that number deliberately tying it four times before shattering it with a $75,000 win in his 38th game. Cocky or just trying to have some fun?
++$252,070 (at least) – Jennings is a Mormon. As part of his religious practice, he’s already announced he’ll donate 10 percent of his winnings to the church. So, some lucky church in Jennings’ home state of Utah is going to get a handsome donation of more than $250,000. I hope they don’t spend it all on strippers, booze or make any risky bets”¦like any game the Seattle Seahawks play in.
++70,000 A big part of the answer that tripped Jennings up in his final appearance on Jeopardy. During “Final Jeopardy“, the answer was: “Most of this firm’s 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year.” The question: What is H&R Block? Jennings’ answer: What is Fed Ex?
That propelled former actress and current California real estate agent Nancy Zerg to beat the unbeatable Jennings. Speaking of her”¦
++1 – The number of shows Zerg remained champion before losing herself. Yep. Just one show after climbing the Jeopardy version of Mt. Everest, Zerg lost her very next match finishing in third place with just $2.
++22 – The number of percentage points Jeopardy‘s ratings climbed during Jennings’ impressive winning streak. Production company King World will certainly be sad to see the show get back to normal and not any freaky contestants winning every day”¦
Quite a run, huh?
Have a good weekend”¦
— Coogan
