summer hiatus
the summer tv season used to be the worst time of year for a tv addict such as myself. 4-5 months of an original programming drought is really harsh. some people plan their schedules around the pleasure of getting lost in their favorite tv worlds (thanks to the miracle of tivo, that isn't much of a problem these days, but that's beside the point) and to yank it away suddenly for the summer is just plain mean. it's not like the summer is one long weekend after the age of 14. people work. weekends still exist. weeknights still exist. and many people just want to veg in front of the tv a couple nights a week to relax.
luckily, thanks largely in part to the reality tv boom, both networks and cable netlets alike have started to schedule summer seasons to keep people entertained (and money rolling in). most of the original network dramas and sitcoms that have had the misfortune of launching in the summer have failed miserably. but reality shows seem to fair a little better. (making money in tv 101: reality shows are dirt cheap to produce, and thus do not require nearly as high of ratings to become successful. and when they do achieve astronomical ratings, i.e. american idol and survivor, networks will structure their entire finanicial strategies around them.)
this summer, i admit that i have been kept fairly entertained, and i feel compelled to discuss a couple of the new offerings i picked up. so here's a little rundown of the good, the bad, and the whitney.
being bobby brown (bravo) is an atrocity of a celebreality show if ever there was one that none of us can stop watching. whitney houston is completely off her rocker, and her jaw-dropping antics are worth the price of admission. bobby himself is just a completely disgusting waste of space that you almost feel sorry for because no one tunes into the show to see the title character. the breakout star, in my mind, is bobbi-kristina, whitney and bobby's daughter. she's pudgy, endearing, and shockingly normal considering that her mother is high 24/7, and her father is in and out of jail for dui's, drugs and domestic violence. she should be the poster child for teenage therapy, but may be lucky enough to actually escape unscathed. it's a story worth watching.
kathy griffin: my life on the d-list (bravo) is a fantastic celebreality show. kathy is grateful for the level of fame that she has (which is really higher than d-list). she's brutally honest, frugal and one of the hardest working people in hollywood. the blend of her comedy and raw emotion is so pure that i am sad when the hour is over (and that's a long time for a reality show to last). it's refreshing to see a celebrity who is authentically modest, unabashedly determined, and realistically vulnerable. her supporting cast of family members, including her overly supportive husband, and her ridiculously nonsupportive parents, make her all the more real, and all the more fun to watch.
the comeback (hbo) is an original scripted series starring lisa kudrow. as the audience, we are led to believe we are watching the raw footage from reality tv cameras that are filming the comeback of a washed up sitcom star from the 90s (valerie cherish) who has been cast in a new sitcom starring kids half her age. the show is a comedy, but it's really more of a drama that is painful, raw, and uncomfortable. the writing is absolutely brilliant, and so is kudrow's acting. the fictional sitcom's writers are the arch villains, and as we witness each of valerie's humiliating experiences as she struggles to recapture her fame and status, you can't help but cringe while rooting for her to succeed in the end. i'm also rooting for a second season.
weeds (showtime) is another new scripted series that stars mary louise parker as a pot dealing widowed mom in upper middle class suburbia. it's a premium-channel comedy that is actually funny most of the way through, but there is a backbone of real drama that keeps it from being silly. the best part about it is parker, who has a magnetic charisma that electrifies every scene she is in using the subtlest of acting techniques. the worst part about the show is that it only lasts a half hour.
luckily, thanks largely in part to the reality tv boom, both networks and cable netlets alike have started to schedule summer seasons to keep people entertained (and money rolling in). most of the original network dramas and sitcoms that have had the misfortune of launching in the summer have failed miserably. but reality shows seem to fair a little better. (making money in tv 101: reality shows are dirt cheap to produce, and thus do not require nearly as high of ratings to become successful. and when they do achieve astronomical ratings, i.e. american idol and survivor, networks will structure their entire finanicial strategies around them.)
this summer, i admit that i have been kept fairly entertained, and i feel compelled to discuss a couple of the new offerings i picked up. so here's a little rundown of the good, the bad, and the whitney.
being bobby brown (bravo) is an atrocity of a celebreality show if ever there was one that none of us can stop watching. whitney houston is completely off her rocker, and her jaw-dropping antics are worth the price of admission. bobby himself is just a completely disgusting waste of space that you almost feel sorry for because no one tunes into the show to see the title character. the breakout star, in my mind, is bobbi-kristina, whitney and bobby's daughter. she's pudgy, endearing, and shockingly normal considering that her mother is high 24/7, and her father is in and out of jail for dui's, drugs and domestic violence. she should be the poster child for teenage therapy, but may be lucky enough to actually escape unscathed. it's a story worth watching.
kathy griffin: my life on the d-list (bravo) is a fantastic celebreality show. kathy is grateful for the level of fame that she has (which is really higher than d-list). she's brutally honest, frugal and one of the hardest working people in hollywood. the blend of her comedy and raw emotion is so pure that i am sad when the hour is over (and that's a long time for a reality show to last). it's refreshing to see a celebrity who is authentically modest, unabashedly determined, and realistically vulnerable. her supporting cast of family members, including her overly supportive husband, and her ridiculously nonsupportive parents, make her all the more real, and all the more fun to watch.
the comeback (hbo) is an original scripted series starring lisa kudrow. as the audience, we are led to believe we are watching the raw footage from reality tv cameras that are filming the comeback of a washed up sitcom star from the 90s (valerie cherish) who has been cast in a new sitcom starring kids half her age. the show is a comedy, but it's really more of a drama that is painful, raw, and uncomfortable. the writing is absolutely brilliant, and so is kudrow's acting. the fictional sitcom's writers are the arch villains, and as we witness each of valerie's humiliating experiences as she struggles to recapture her fame and status, you can't help but cringe while rooting for her to succeed in the end. i'm also rooting for a second season.
weeds (showtime) is another new scripted series that stars mary louise parker as a pot dealing widowed mom in upper middle class suburbia. it's a premium-channel comedy that is actually funny most of the way through, but there is a backbone of real drama that keeps it from being silly. the best part about it is parker, who has a magnetic charisma that electrifies every scene she is in using the subtlest of acting techniques. the worst part about the show is that it only lasts a half hour.
posted by mark at 2:24 PM
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