Working at a Channel 6, I receive calls about everything on TV…even if its not on our TV station.

Recently, I’ve gotten a few calls of complaints about NBC’s coverage of the Winter Olympics for our colleagues at Channel 13. I’m not sure if viewers have confused our call letters (happens a lot) or if its just because I will return calls.

So as a public service, I’ll give the answers here just in case anyone else wants to know.  

CALL #1: Why are they showing so much skating? Why no hockey?

In a word, its about the ladies.

Women make up the largest part of the Olympic viewing audience on NBC. So they are focusing on the events and personalities that women are most interested in. So guys, the Hockey games will get regulated to CNBC, at least until the medal rounds.  That and Team USA beating the favored Canadians.

CALL #2 – WHere are the Olympics? I just keep seeing incessant commercials?

Those commercials are paying for the incredibly expense  rights fees for this year’s Winter Olympics. And even with the non-stop spots, NBC says they will LOSE $250 million dollars.

Ouch.

CALL #3 – I did not appreciate NBC showing the Luger’s deadly accident, over and over, especially when my kids were watching!

You weren’t alone. NBC took a lot of heat for showing the grim crash. They’ve made it a point to restrict the video now.

CALL #4- Why do they keep showing profiles of the athletes…just show the competition!

In a word, NBC’s Sports Department understands its not about sports. It’s about DRAMA. The competition itself is so much more interesting when you frame the characters/athletes and the conflicts/obstacles they have/need to overcome. Drama is all about conflict…a hero versus a villan, good versus evil, someone overcoming personal demons. Way back in the 60’s, ABC Sports icon Roone Arledge turned the sports world upside down when he recognized that by setting up the stories of the athletes, the actual competition was so much richer.

And its not just in the Olympics. Danica’s quest to break into the male dominated racing world, the New Orleans Saints overcoming devastation to win for their city. And in the story that offers the most drama (and is only partially written) can Tiger Woods rebound from his personal failures and reclaim glory on the golf course?

NBC Sports understands drama. Maybe they should take over NBC entertainment.

****

I like the new version of “We Are the World.”

The Remake...is it lacking?

The rap portion is especially good. It has an updated sound. It’s good.

But is it just me, or does this remake lack the enthusiasm of the original?

I have to admit, some of the new performances don’t quite live up to the originals in my book.

I miss Huey Lewis and Bruce Springsteen’s interpetations. Sorry, even Cyndi Lauper’s rendition of her particular “Well, well, well…” rebel-yell lyric is  so much better than Celine Dion’s new version.

UPDATED TO THIS POST:

After I posted my comments about missing Huey Lewis on the remake, reader Kathleen Curry emailed me a YouTube link from a hilarious bit that appeared on The Jimmy Kimmel Show.

Huey Lewis musically asks why he wasn’t invited back. Take a couple of minutes to watch this – (Click here) …it’s too funny.

Thanks for the heads up Kathleen! 

****

Steel drum fun

If you are ever looking to put together a fun program for a family event, I have the solution for you!

A steel drum band!

I worked on a Cub Scout event this weekend. Over 150 Cub Scouts and their families attended.

For entertainment, I found a group from Bloomington called Pan-USA. They put on a terrific show that was part-educational, part-audience participation and all fun!

Tom Berich and his musical crew entertained with a history of drumming.

It was really terrific.

If you are looking for a unique, musical alternative entertainment, I can’t recommend these guys enough. The parents and the kids really enjoyed this musical showcase!

You can find out more about them at www.panusa.us.

Or call Tom Berich at 812-345-7700.

Hopefully we'll see you in September, somewhere

A RANT – The Late Night Battle over “The Tonight Show.”

 

I’ve found  the shots Conan O’Brien has taken at NBC executives hilarious. As you might guess, I’m with  Team Coco.

Letterman, you’ve got the lead at 11:35p. So when Leno takes back “Tonight” don’t blow it.

ANOTHER RELATED RANT – NBC’s Intellectual Property Claims

In his deal to leave NBC, the network is reportedly claiming “the intellectual property rights” to bits and routines the comic has used on his network shows over the past several years. Meaning that if and when Conan pops up on another network or cable outlet with a new show that he can’t take signature bits like “In the Year 2000,” “Triumph the Insult Dog,” and the masterbating bear.

Like Conan himself said the other night on his show, the fact someone is calling those routines “intellectual property” is the biggest joke yet.

NBC, you ARE the Biggest Loser!

A RAVE – Craig Ferguson is a Hoot!

Forget all the other late night drama, this guy following Letterman is the real deal. Funny, insightful, even sometimes hilariously profound. But I did say Funny first cause this Scot (now an American citizen) is one wickedly funny comic. 

A RAVE – The Ultimate Trailer Show on HDNet

An entire show of new movie trailers. In HD. It’s cool. And to top it off, they throw in an old trailer from a classic movie at the end.

A RANT – 3D is not for Me.

The push for 3D is the next big in technology?

Not for me. I like the super-sharp HD images…not blurry three dimensional imagery. Thanks but no thanks.

A RAVE – 1,000 Ways to Die

Yep, it’s what it sounds like…a show that  features vignettes about people dying in various and unusual bad ways. It’s a Spike TV favorite. Grim reenactments that feature people doing stupid things that ends with someone dying. Who knew dying could be so much fun…kinda like those “Darwin lists” that come out each year, this is gruesome but funny viewing. Especially the animations that showcase how the person died. Crude and funny at the same time.

So NBC is pulling the plug on the Jay Leno Show primetime experiment.

NBC pointing fingers at their two stars?

And in typical NBC fashion, the network has effectively screwed up two of the best things that it has going for it –  Leno and Conan O’Brien.

Listen, I’m not gonna cry for a couple of guys that are guaranteed millions of dollars a year. But they do deserve better.

I’ve always found Conan hilarious. But Jay’s humor over the past decade has been a little soft.

Getting mistreated by NBC may make him funnier.

Remember when David Letterman, working at NBC, tried to offer his new GE bosses a gift basket? He and his camera crew were escorted from the building! It was great TV…and hilarious.

Cranky Dave has always been funny, but his humor got a helluva lot sharper (and better) when he went after the goofball bosses at NBC. 

Last week Leno took some uncharacteristic but hilarious shots at NBC when word got out that his show was going to be yanked from primetime. I thought it was some of the funniest stuff I’ve seen from him in years. It was GREAT!

Maybe Jay can learn from Letterman. A cranky Jay is a funnier Jay.

*****

BTW, if NBC is pulling Jay Leno out of prime…what the heck are they gonna put at 10pm? Can they do three hours of “The Biggest Loser” Monday through Friday?

*****

Did you see the Cowan family from Bunker Hill, Indiana on “Extreme Makeover Home Edition” on Sunday night?

I had the chance to talk to mom Heather Cowan last week by phone. Sweet lady and a very deserving family.

If you didn’t get to see it, you should be able to watch it on the ABC Video Player on-line at TheIndyChannel.com.

Desperate Housewives

I got a call from a viewer the other day that asked why Sunday’s episode of “Desperate Housewives” did not feature previews of the next episode.

Unfortunately, I had to deliver the bad news…”Desperate Housewives” will not be back with a new episode until next year!

Don’t worry, it sounds worse than it actually is.

“Housewives,” like most other TV series will return with new episodes - in January.

It’s the TV series winter hiberation period. You’ll notice when a show produces and airs a “Christmas” or holiday episode, that’s a sure sign the show is going into re-runs, or the less offensive “encore episode” mode.  (In “Housewives” case, a big disaster/cliffhanger usually proceeds a break.)

Because of the staggeringly high cost of producing TV shows (millions of dollars for a single episode!) the TV networks generally only produce about 22 episodes, sometimes only 18 eps of some shows, per year. These episodes are then spread out to air from late September through late May.

New episodes will run in the four weeks of Nielsen “Sweep” periods when Nielsen monitors who’s watching what shows. Those “sweeps” air in November, February and May.

So when you do the math you can figure out pretty quickly that you need to schedule the shows with repeats built in. 

And since TV viewing is affected by holiday schedules and vacations, it seems pretty logical to schedule blocks of repeats throughout the month of December.

So if you have a bunch of shows saved on your Tivo, the holiday season will be a great time to catch up!

***** 

The cast of "V"

I also heard some groans when ABC aired teasers for “V” and ”FlashForward” announcing the final episodes of the year. Same deal. Except these two terrific shows will not return in January but in March. 

By waiting until March to bring back new episodes of “FlashForward” and “V,” it will allow for both shows to air uninterrupted through the end of the season. ”FlashForward” will return on Thursday, March 4, 2010 (8:00-9:00 p.m), and “V” on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 (10:00-11:00 p.m., moving to its new timeslot following “Lost” (which debuts in early February!!!) 

That’s good news. I was wondering if ABC was going to subject “V” to the American Idol juggernaut at 8pm on Tuesdays. That’s good. Replacement programming for the current time periods will be announced shortly.

BTW, “Glee” on FOX will be taking an extended break. I understand that it will not return until APRIL!

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A new job for Cuomo?

Following up on the ABC News post I did earlier this week, apparently ABC NEWS will make JuJu Chang the newsreader on Good Morning, America.

It’s reported that Chris Cuomo is moving up to co-anchor “20/20″ with Elizabeth Vargus on Friday nights.

That’s a good gig for Cuomo as “20/20″ has grown into the #1 show in the Friday at 10pm time period.

Part of the reason for the news magazine’s success? Jay Leno’s failure.

Jay Leno is driving viewers away from NBC.

Ouch!

Zach Braff - "Scrubs" is back on Tuesdays at 9pm on ABC.

“Scrubs” is one of those shows that just doesn’t want to die.

NBC tried to kill it several times by constantly moving the show over the years. But the comedy kept coming back. That’s a good thing.

Last year ABC rescued the show from NBC for what was billed as the comedy’s last season.

Last spring they aired a series finale with Zach Braff’s ”JD” leaving the hospital and creating a fitting end (after eight years) for the quirky and terrific comedy.

Remember how I said the show wouldn’t die. Well Tuesday night, the show came back with most of the original cast along with several new cast members and a new school setting. It’s “Scrubs”…in Med School! Same fast pace and same quirky vibe as the original series. 

What surprised me was to see Zach Braff back. I didn’t think he was going to be a part of the show or at least such a major part of it. He’s the Executive Producer. So while he may not appear in every episode he and the other show producers have made it so he won’t have to be. Like “Scrubs” before it, this “Scrubs” is blessed with a great ensemble.

It’s cool that the cast seems to really love working together. Cameos were everywhere. In a show packed with fast and funny bits, one of the best was seeing Neil Flynn (now starring on “The Middle”) return for a quick bit as the Janitor. 

Good to have “Scrubs” back.

Again.